Pakistan - Parents slam Pak-Turk schools handover to Turkish 'Islamist' NGO.

Pakistan - Parents slam Pak-Turk schools handover to Turkish 'Islamist' NGO. (ET).

LAHORE: Parents of students of Pak-Turk schools and colleges blasted the Pakistan government for handing over the education system to a Turkish nonprofit organization called Maarif Foundation. They alleged the move was an effort to gain political millage.

Speaking to the media at the Lahore Press Club on Friday, parents representing the Pak-Turk International Schools and Colleges Parent-Teacher Association said their children’s future was put at stake to “please a foreign political party”.

They said that the schools and colleges would suffer if handed-over to the “poorly-equipped and infamous” Maarif Foundation. The speakers underlined they would be forced to take their children out of the schools if the government went ahead with the plan. They also threatened to protest, along with students, against the government. The parents said those taking over do not understand the education systems in Pakistan, whether it is matriculation or Cambridge.

Pak-Turk International Schools and Colleges Parent-Teacher Association was represented by Qadeer Hussain, Adnan Kakar and Ghazala Bano. They all agreed Maarif Foundation was an infamous entity that would destroy the future of their children. Qadeer Hussain claimed that any school handed over to the Maarif Foundation was closed-down. “It is unacceptable that a complete chain of high-performing schools will be being destroyed at the behest of a foreign political party.”

Adnan Kakar said that the way Turkish teachers, who spent decades educating Pakistani children, were treated was shameful. He added foreign dictation would not be accepted as it was matter of their children’s future.

Ghazala Bano alleged members of the Maarif Foundation were involved with ISIS and some were imprisoned on terrorism charges. She said that around 30 teachers from Maarif were being trained at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML). “They are being taught English. How will they teach when they are learning the language of education at this stage?” She said Turkey’s domestic political issues should not impact Pakistani society and the government should think about the associated risks. She added the future of more than 15,000 students was at stake.


Related:

Is [Erdogan’s] Maarif Foundation capable of delivering quality education?

The Pak-Turk Schools and Colleges management is being pressurized to be handed over to Maarif Foundation as it has also filed petition to become party to the litigation process in Islamabad High Court.

Though funded by Turkey’s Ministry of Education, the nascent organization remains a mystery and source of anxiety for staff, parents and students of the Pak-Turk institutions alike.

Minister for National Education Ismet Yilmaz expressed that Turkey’s Maarif Foundation is the extension of the Ministry abroad and said, “It is a public foundation and founded by law. We also have our Ministry of National Education schools abroad; when they will be ready and when they will demand it from us, we will also transfer them to the Foundation.”

Not only will the Maarif Foundation be unable to accomplish anything conducive and rewarding, it will not be able to prepare the required generation of youth with open-mindedness and critical thinking.

Maarif Foundation claims to have taken control of private Turkish schools in Somalia, Guinea, Chad, Senegal, Mauritania and Sudan.

Maarif Foundation is so desperate to hire staff to replace the Turkish schools abroad that it is offering jobs to inexperienced youth, many of whom has recently completed their degrees.

According to a study by the Turkey’s Ministry of National Education, there are 12,824 students who will be teaching and providing education in about 120 countries where Maarif is required to provide teaching staff as well as management.

The parents and staff members, privy to Turkey’s substantial share of problems in the education sector fear for that it will not be able to maintain the standard of teaching and management that has been the hallmark of the founding organization. In fact, Turkey’s annual education ratings are considerably inferior to many developing countries.

The activities of the Maarif Foundation, which has brought two-dozen teachers currently learning English at National University of Modern Languages, lack requisite offshore teaching experience as well as exposure to Pakistani culture and society.

The basic question arising here is as to why Pakistan should accept Turkish public sector teachers while its own citizens prefer the expensive but quality private sector education for their kids. A marginal number of Turkey’s MP would have attended public sector schools while their children surely are enrolled in private sector teaching institutions.

Besides lacking knowledge of Pakistani society, the staff sent from Turkey not only has been chosen on political basis but is also devoid of administrative and foreign language skills.

Given AKP’s close ties with Muslim Brotherhood, blind import of manpower will come with political ideology, which has been minimized in Pakistan’s schools and colleges after efforts of two decades.

Not only will the Maarif Foundation be unable to accomplish anything conducive and rewarding, it will not be able to prepare the required generation of youth with open-mindedness and critical thinking.

Video - C.A.I.R. is HAMAS: How the Federal Government Proved that the Council on American Islamic Relations is a Front for Terrorism

C.A.I.R. is HAMAS: How the Federal Government Proved that the Council on American Islamic Relations is a Front for Terrorism. HT: Centerforsecuritypolicy.org.

(Washington, D.C.): Since its founding in 1993, the Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has presented itself publicly as a benign Muslim American “civil rights organization.”

From that time to this, however, the United States government has known that CAIR actually is an entity founded by the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestinian franchise: Hamas, a group officially designated since 1994 as a terrorist organization. Read the full story here.

CAIR is Hamas is available for purchase in Kindle and paperback format at Amazon.com. As with all editions of the Archival Series, can be downloaded for free here.

Egypt court revokes death sentence for Morsi, orders retrial of MB leaders over 2011 Prison break.

Egypt court revokes death sentence for Morsi, orders retrial of MB leaders over 2011 Prison break. (AlAhram).

Egypt’s Court of Cassation revoked on Tuesday death sentences and ordered retrials for ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and other Muslim Brotherhood leaders over the 2011 Wadi El-Natrun prison break case.

The court also revoked the death penalties against Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie, and other MB figures including Brotherhood deputy leader Rashad Bayoumy, and 2012's parliament speaker and MB figure Saad El-Katatni.

The court also cancelled life sentences for 21 others in the same case.

The defendants had been charged with "damaging and setting fire to prison buildings," "murder," "attempted murder," "looting prison weapons depots" and "releasing prisoners" while escaping from the prison outside Cairo during the January 2011 uprising.

This was the only death sentence issued against Morsi to date.

The ex-president has received only one final verdict: a 20-year imprisonment handed down in October over the Ittihadeya clashes case, after his defence exhausted all appeals in the case.

Morsi is still being tried in three other cases. In the first, known as the Qatar espionage case, he was sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison (a life imprisonment sentence of 25 plus an additional 15 years).

A court hearing to decide on his appeal is scheduled for 27 November.

In the second case, Morsi and 16 others including Brotherhood figures Mohamed Badie and Essam El-Erian, were convicted of espionage (unrelated to the Qatar case) and sentenced last June to life in prison.

In the case, prosecutors charged Morsi and 35 other defendants with conspiring with foreign powers -- including Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guards -- to destabilize Egypt.
The sentence has been appealed.

Finally, Morsi is being tried with others on charges of insulting the judiciary.

A hearing on this case is set for December 10.

Video - Ever wondered where ISIS Got all those pickup trucks?

#Turkey ships 35 brand new pickup trucks on 7 car haulers to #Jarablus today from Karkamış for rebel use in #Syria pic.twitter.com/xzDNbnLEkt

— Abdullah Bozkurt (@abdbozkurt) September 10, 2016

Turkey fears Fethullah Gulen is planning to seek refuge in Canada.

Turkey fears Fethullah Gulen is planning to seek refuge in Canada. (Napo).

Turkey fears Fethullah Gulen, the cleric it accuses of orchestrating a failed coup that killed hundreds of civilians and led to a severe crackdown on his followers, is about to flee to Canada from his long exile in Pennsylvania.

This would be “a landmine for our relationship,” said Cemalettin Kani Torun, deputy chair of the Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee, and leader of a cross-party delegation that is in Canada this week trying to raise awareness of what it calls the terrorist threat posed by Gulen and his followers.

He pointed to several indications, including rumors Gulen has purchased a property in Ontario, Canada’s lack of an extradition treaty with Turkey, and the upcoming visit of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Turkey to discuss Gulen’s possible extradition on charges of plotting to kill President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and seize power for himself.


He also accused Canadian officials, MPs, “policy chiefs,” and “many high-level people they think they can use in future” of accepting bribes, in the form of trips to Turkey, from Gulen’s organization.

He is “a terrorist man” said Izzet Ulvi Yonter, MP for Istanbul and a member of the Nationalist Movement Party, in a media conference with the delegation at the Turkish consulate in Toronto on Wednesday.

After meetings in Ottawa and Montreal, they are to meet Thursday with MP Omar Alghabra, parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs.

Gulen’s followers, who call their movement Hizmet, meaning service in Turkish, are well-established in Canada. Their immigration to Canada is as old as the movement, which began in Turkey in the 1960s. Read the full story here.

CHANGE - Russia, Qatar to hold talks on signing agreement on military cooperation.

CHANGE - Russia, Qatar to hold talks on signing agreement on military cooperation. (Tass).

Russia and Qatar will hold negotiations on signing an agreement on military cooperation between the two countries’ defense ministries.

"To accept the proposal of the Russian Defense Ministry coordinated with the Russian Foreign Ministry on conducting negotiations on signing an agreement on military cooperation between the Russian Defense Ministry and Qatar’s Defense Ministry," says the Russian government decree posted on the legal information website on Friday. Hmmmm........

Related:  

In Doha’s point of view the cooperation with Ankara is a visionary plan to protect the gas-rich sheikhdom in the post-US retreatment from the region period.

Turkey Opens First Mideast Military Base in Qatar

What's Behind Building Turkish Military Base in Qatar?

Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie receives life sentence in Egypt.

Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie receives life sentence in Egypt . (AA).

An Egyptian court on Monday sentenced the Muslim Brotherhood's leader and 35 other people to life in prison over violent clashes after the army overthrew Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

Mohamed Badie, the Brotherhood's supreme guide, had already been sentenced to death and lengthy prison terms in other trials.

The court also sentenced 48 defendants to jail terms ranging from three to 15 years, and acquitted 20 others.

The authorities have arrested thousands of Brotherhood leaders, members, and supporters - including Morsi himself -  since his ousting by the army in 2013.

Hundreds have been sentenced to death, although many have appealed against the mass death sentences and won retrials.

On Monday, the court convicted Badie and the other defendants of involvement in clashes in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya which killed three people.

The country was rocked by violence for weeks after Morsi's supporters set up protest camps and demonstrated against his overthrow.

The police and security services killed hundreds of his supporters in clashes, including between 800 and 1,000 on August 14, 2013, as they dispersed Cairo protest camps.

Morsi, a senior Brotherhood leader, had won the country's first free election in 2012, more than a year after a popular uprising ousted veteran strongman Hosni Mubarak.

His rule was divisive and millions held protests in Cairo demanding his resignation, prompting the army to overthrow and detain him.

Mullah Mansour or Muhammad Wali: Fake name but genuine 'Pakistani' credentials on CNIC.

Mullah Mansour or Muhammad Wali: Fake name but genuine 'Pakistani' credentials on CNIC. (ET).

While Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor may have used a fake name to obtain a Pakistani identity card, his credentials with the authorities are all genuine, verifiable on specific helpline numbers.

Mansoor was reportedly killed in Balochistan in a US drone strike on May 21. A Pakistani CNIC and passport found at the site identified the victim as Muhammad Wali, a resident of Karachi.

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), which issues computerised identities to Pakistani citizens, also facilitates verifying the basic credentials via short messaging services (SMS).
When forwarded Wali’s identity card number 54400-0563462-9 at 7000 – a service to verify the CNIC holder’s name, the reply is: Muhammad Wali, son of Shah Muhammad.

The voter registration details of any CNIC number can be obtained through a text message to 8300. Wali’s number shows he was a registered voter with the serial number 38, block code 454050104, ward number 31 in Chaman Municipal Corporation union council of Killa Abdullah district.

While getting an identity card is a struggle for many Pakistani citizens, especially those living in districts other than their permanent address, the fact that Mullah Mansoor was able to get a Pakistani CNIC as well as a passport raises quite a few questions.

According to the “current address” mentioned on the CNIC, Wali lived in Flat Number B-016 of Bismillah Terrace, Plot Number FL-03, Karachi. Interestingly, the address does not include the area of this residential building, which is actually located in Gulzar-e-Hijri, Karachi.

A raid at the address in Karachi provided clues to the slain militant’s past as well.

A suspected militant associated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was among three people arrested in a raid by intelligence personnel at Bismillah Terrace near Sohrab Goth, a police source told The Express Tribune. The men were identified as Jabbar alias Charya, Haji Yousuf and Shaiq. Hmmm......Just like Osama Bin Laden 'Home sweet home' is Pakistan'.Read the full story here.

Video - The U.S. must recognize the Muslim Brotherhood for what it is "A terrorist Organization".

SIGN THE PETITION NOW: http://counterjihad.com/designate

Trudeau gov contemplating using the military to bring Ten thousand of additional Syrian refugees to Canada.

Trudeau gov contemplating using the military to bring Ten thousand of additional Syrian refugees to Canada. HT CIJNews.

Talks are underway between the Liberal government and the military to ascertain whether the latter may be able to assist the government to resettle thousands of privately sponsored Syrian refugees in Canada, reported The Canadian Press.

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship John McCallum confirmed that he is deploying staff overseas, including existing and retired employees of the Immigration Department, to work through hundreds of applications which were previously submitted by private groups across the country in order to bring as many as 10,000 additional refugees by the end of 2016. Hmmm.....Can't use Military for Fort McMurray? Read the full story here.

PS:

#Trudeau gov committing $1.6 billion taxpayer $ to #Jordan & #Lebanon over the next 3 years. https://t.co/Nm3mAbZFE3 pic.twitter.com/glmAkFAsBr

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) May 7, 2016

'Islamist' Turkey Won’t Amend Anti-terror Laws in Return for Visa Deal, Erdogan Tells EU.

'Islamist' Turkey Won’t Amend Anti-terror Laws in Return for Visa Deal, Erdogan Tells EU. (Novinite).

Turkey won’t change its anti-terrorism laws to win visa-free travel to the EU for its citizens, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

"The EU at the moment is saying you will change your anti-terrorism law for visas," Erdogan said at a speech in Istanbul on Friday, according to AP.

"You allow terrorists to set up tents next to the European Parliament. Why don't you change your mindset?", Erdogan said, in an apparent reference to the Kurdistan’s Worker's Party (PKK). Symbols of PKK, which is designated as a terrorist organization in Turkey, had been seen on tents placed outside the European Parliament in March.

"We'll go our way, you go yours. Go make your agreement with whoever you can," Erdogan said, according to AP.

Earlier this week, the European Commission gave provisional backing for Turkish citizensto travel without visas for short stays in the EU’s passport-free Schengen areain return for Turkey stopping migrants reaching Europe. The Commission pegged its backing to the condition that Ankara met five more benchmarks to complete the bloc’s list of 72 criteria on Turkey’s visa liberalization roadmap by the end of June.

One of these outstanding tasks is to bring Turkish anti-terrorism legislation in line with European standards by narrowing its legal definition of terrorism. Erdogan, however, has been pressing for a broader definition of terrorism to fight a Kurdish insurgency in Turkey's southeastern regions and the threat of Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. Critics, however, say that broader definition of terrorism is used by the government in Ankara to stifle dissent.

Trudeau gov committing $1.6 billion taxpayer $ to Jordan & Lebanon over the next three years.

Trudeau gov committing $1.6 billion taxpayer $ to Jordan & Lebanon over the next three years. (CanadaGov).

Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Government of Canada, today signed a memorandum of understanding with Jordan to increase cooperation between the two countries on security and stabilization in the region.

Jordan is essential to stability in the Middle East. This memorandum is part of Canada’s whole-of-government strategy, announced in February 2016, to support the Global Coalition’s efforts against the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and to respond to the crisis in Syria and Iraq.

The strategy includes a commitment of $1.6 billion over the next three years to provide security, stabilization, humanitarian and development assistance. 

The funding will address the impact of this crisis on Jordan and Lebanon and will increase Canada’s diplomatic engagement in the region. The memorandum also increases accountability for all current and future Canadian assistance projects in Jordan. Hmmm........Alberta ....Fort McMurray you're on your own..Read the full story here.

Egypt sentences 6 Morsi co-defendants to death sentence in Qatar espionage case.

Egypt sentences 6 Morsi co-defendants to death sentence in Qatar espionage case.(AlAhram).

Cairo criminal court issued Saturday preliminary death sentences against six of ousted president Mohamed Morsi’s co-defendants in what is known as the Qatar espionage case.


The court is yet to issue a verdict on Morsi, but this likely means that he won’t be sentenced to death in this case.

The verdict will be either confirmed or reduced on 18 June after consultation with Egypt's mufti, the highest Sunni cleric, whose opinion is not mandatory to the court.

The defendants sentenced to death are five men; Ahmed Abdo Afify, Mohamed Adel El-Kelany, Ahmed Ismail, Alaa Omar and Ibrahim Helal as well as one woman, Asmaa El-Khateeb.

The court will reveal Morsi’s verdict, along with verdicts on three other co-defendants, in the June court session once it deliberates the Mufti’s consultation.

Once the criminal court issues its verdict, Morsi and his co-defendants can appeal in front of the appeals court.

Morsi, who was ousted in July 2013, was charged with using his post to leak classified documents to Qatar with the help of secretaries and Muslim Brotherhood figures.

Morsi and the head of his office, Ahmed Abdel-Ati, were also charged with leaking secret information on general and military intelligence, the armed forces, its armaments and other state secrets. The prosecution argued that the two used their positions to pass the files from the presidential offices to Amin El-Serafy, a presidential secretary, who then passed them to his daughter, Karima, who gave them to agents to give to the Qataris.

The other defendants – who include Ahmed Afify, a documentary producer; Mohamed Kilany, a flight attendant; Ahmed Ismail, a teaching assistant; and Khaled Radwan and Asmaa El-Khatib, two journalists at pro-Brotherhood TV channels – were charged with turning over copies of the classified documents to two staffers of the Qatari-based Al-Jazeera and an unknown Qatari intelligence officer.

Three of the 10 defendants are being tried in absentia.

The espionage case is the fourth major trial of Morsi on various criminal charges since his ouster in 2013.

Morsi has already been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in the "Ittihadiya case," received a death sentence in the Wadi Natroun jailbreak case, and life in jail (25 years in prison) over leaks to foreign groups, including militant groups Hamas and Hizbullah.

All other sentences are currently being appealed.

Israel confirms upgraded NATO ties as Turkey said no longer to object.

Israel confirms upgraded NATO ties as Turkey said no longer to object. (ToI).

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Wednesday that Israel would upgrade its ties with the 28-member NATO military alliance by opening a permanent mission to its Brussels headquarters.

The move comes as NATO member Turkey reportedly agreed to end its objection to closer links to the Jewish state.

“I announce that Israel will accept the invitation; we will open an office soon,” he said at the start of a cabinet meeting.

“I think that this is also an important expression of Israel’s standing in the world. The countries of the world are looking to cooperate with us due to – inter alia – our determined fight against terrorism, our technological know-how and our intelligence services,” Netanyahu added, according to a translation released by his office.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Tuesday that NATO had invited the Jewish state to “open an office at NATO headquarters in Brussels and complete the process of accrediting its representatives to NATO.”

On Wednesday, NATO issued a statement averring that “the North Atlantic Council has agreed ‎to accept the request that an official Israeli Mission be established at NATO headquarters.

“Israel is a very active partner of the Alliance as a member of NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue, established in December 1994,” the statement continued. “NATO has invited all partners to open diplomatic missions to the Headquarters of the Atlantic Alliance in Brussels.”

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon corrected the NATO statement, telling The Times of Israel that Israel’s Ambassador to the EU David Walzer, and not its envoy to Belgium, Simona Frankel, would head the mission to NATO.

An Israeli expert told AFP that the invitation was a result of pressure by other NATO members on Turkey, which joined in 1952, to drop its veto on closer alliance ties with its former ally.

“It’s a Turkish confidence-building measure vis-a-vis Israel,” said Tommy Steiner, an expert on NATO-Israel ties at the Institute for Policy and Strategy near Tel Aviv.

“Since the introduction of the new [NATO] partnership policy in 2014 Israel was formally invited,” he said. “But Israel never did that because there was a Turkish veto on such a measure.” Hmmm.......Israel needed to face Russia? And they took the bait. Read the full story here.

Ahrar Ash-Sham, Jaysh Al-Islam; The Obama 'Admin's' Favorite Islamic Terrorists.

Ahrar Ash-Sham Leader Source

Ahrar Ash-Sham, Jaysh Al-Islam; The Obama 'Admin's' Favorite Islamic Terrorists. (AlWaght). 

Washington and its allies in West Asia region make efforts to draw a line between the two terrorist groups ISIS and al-Nusra Front and other groups in which they have representatives in the Syrian peace talks.

The most prominent of them are Ahrar ash-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam which Washington wants to separate from other militant groups and refuses to blacklist them as terror groups and at the same time, even insists that they are part of the Syrian opposition.

Meanwhile, Moscow has expressed its refusal to the idea, calling the groups terrorists with no difference from ISIS and al-Nusra Front terrorists in practice. What could these groups be called? Why does the title “terrorist groups” fit them well?

Ahrar ash-Sham: A background of terrorism, looting and trying to disintegrate Syria.

The Islamic Ahrar as-Sham group, as it calls itself, is considered as one of the armed groups in Syria that takes up the Salafism as its ideological basis. It rose in the beginning of the Syrian crisis on November 11, 2011 after unification of four Islamist Syrian movements Ahrar ash-Sham Battalions, al-Fajr Islamic Movement, Jamaat al-Talia al-Islamiya and al-Iman Fighting Brigades. Despite the fact that the movement has emphasized, since its establishment, that it was independent and that it would not follow any of the fighting movements inside and outside Syria, the movement has failed to hide its regional links to both Turkey and Qatar.

In addition to looting, Ahrar ash-Sham has taken control of border crossings as an income sources, a step that has driven it in many cases to work with ISIS terrorist organization. Moreover, the terrorist group receives donations from some institutions.

Some sources suggest that Ahrar ash-Sham has been provided with huge Qatari and Turkish military support, as well as funding supplied to the group by IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, a non-governmental Turkish organization (NGO) but holding links to Turkey's government. Besides, the group received help from Qatar Charitable Society, a civil organization, also connected to the Qatari government.

A terror partnership with al-Nusra Front and open adoption of Salafist ideology.

The Ahrar ash-Sham militant group is known for its outstanding military relations with the terrorists of al-Nusra Front although it tried to move away from Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and claim that it does not carry the same ideology of the terror organization. Many of its large-scale military assaults took place in coordination with al-Nusra Front, however. 

While Ahrar ash-Sham tries to claim that its cooperation with al-Nusra is tactical and happens due to situational requirements and calls the members of the Front "Khawarij"-the outsiders in English-, it overtly announced that it adopted a Salafist ideology and that it moved towards establishment of an Islamist state. Additionally, it repeatedly said that it would use solely armed methods and power to trigger change in Syria- the crux of Salafist ideology.

Therefore, the group’s attempts to stand out of other terror organizations active in Syria fail when its ideological and intellectual bases are brought in spotlight. One of its ideological leaders is Abu Musab al-Suri, one of the most prominent Al-Qaeda propagandists, and Abu Basir al-Tartusi, who came back to Syria from Britain as his exile place and started activity in takfirism promotion.

Jaysh al-Islam: Its foundation and links to Al-Nusra Front.

Jaysh al-Islam is a result of mix of over 55 armed factions, formed after outbreak of Syrian crisis. It started work under title Saraya al-Islam as a military brigade aiming at fighting the Syrian government.

Afterwards, it developed into Jaysh al-Islam following rise in number of its fighters. On July 29, 2013 there a statement emerged, announcing foundation of Jaysh al-Islam as an outcome of combination of tens of factions. The group was at that time the largest armed force of opposition, led by Zahran Alloush, before it joined the Islamic Front which had also Alloush as chief commander. Administratively, Jaysh al-Islam is comprised of leadership council, 26 executive offices and 64 battalions.

Present in many Syrian regions, Jaysh al-Islam took part in many terror operations in a variety of Syrian cities. It never hid its partnership with al-Nusra Front. Its former Commander-in-Chief Zahran Alloush said that “ al-Nusra Front is a fighting faction in Syria with which we worked in an array of battles and we observed their practice, jihad and diligence, and we hail al-Nusra Front and do not consider them Khawarij.

Analysis and reasoning.

Without doubt, the US and Russia disagree on blacklisting these two sides as terrorist groups. A couple of cases need clarification concerning the case, including:

1. Washington attempts to exploit these groups as political trump cards including for its own interests in Syria and, as it is clear, Washington’s policies are on collision course with those of the Syrian people. The key feature of the two groups is the working to impair the Syrian government. They use killing and looting to realize their aims and ensure their funding. Besides, it embraces a Salafist ideology, which it never hides.

2. Here the Russian interests collide with those of the US, especially that Moscow is diligently seeking to guarantee success of the Syrian peace negotiations, but it seems that they are faltering as a result of problems inside what is called the Syrian opposition, leading to some members defecting from the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), the main Syrian opposition delegation to Geneva peace talks. 

The defection took place after members of HNC disparaged “dominance of the extremists, including leaders of Jaysh al-Islam, over the negotiating delegation.” Such a dominance led to Moscow’s infuriation, expressed by the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who called for blacklisting such groups as terrorist organizations.

What is obvious is Moscow’s hard work to broker a peaceful political deal for the Syrian crisis while Washington shows not much caring about finding a settlement for a devastating five-year conflict, rather, its stances and attempts lay bare its need for killing the time and thus betting on getting more bargaining chips in the future- a good interpretation for failure of Syria’s peace negotiations so far.


RELATED !!!

Here's what the US Treasury says about AQ & head of the group whose statement is featured by #AlJazeera homepage: https://t.co/lbtcpSy8uJ

— David A. Weinberg (@DavidAWeinberg) April 27, 2016

And yet here is video of #Qatar's Father Emir apparently kissing the guy last year, UN terror sanctions be damned: https://t.co/p3QzKVSizt

— David A. Weinberg (@DavidAWeinberg) April 27, 2016

Top article on #AlJazeera's home page promotes statement by a group whose head is under US & UN terror sanctions: pic.twitter.com/Yv1T64gbo3

— David A. Weinberg (@DavidAWeinberg) April 27, 2016

Egypt - Christian church in Luxor destroyed by fire one week before Orthodox Easter.

Egypt - Christian church in Luxor destroyed by fire one week before Orthodox Easter. (EI).

A huge fire broke out at the Coptic Catholic Church of Mar-Girgis church in Luxor at dawn yesterday Wednesday 20 April. Raafat Samir, a Luxor rights activist, gave Watani an account of the incident.

According to Mr Samir, at 5.00am Wednesday, the priests residing on the second floor of the building adjacent to the church, which serves as a community center and a home for the church pastor—felt extreme heat emanating from the church.

They rushed to the church, and found out that a huge fire had completely eaten up the interior of the church and that only the outer door remained. The fire had also devoured the first floor of the service building and was pushing up to the second. Even the marble on the walls of the church, Mr Samir said, had fallen off.

Mr Samir said the official report by the Luxor building administration will determine whether or not the ruined church should be demolished; and it will be the responsibly of Luxor Governor Muhammad Badr to grant a rebuilding or renovation permit.

According to Mar-Girgis’s Father Stephanous, the forensic authority is investigating the reason behind the fire.

He insists he had checked the church before closing it on the eve of the fire, and made sure there were no burning candles. He then switched off all the electric switches.

Fr Stephanous told ++Watani++ that Governor Badr visited the church after the fire and promised to issue permits for its demolition and rebuilding.

Syrian information minister: IS may have received air defense systems from Turkey, Saudi Arabia.

Syrian information minister: IS may have got air defense systems from Turkey, Saudi Arabia. (Tass).

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi doesn't rule out that militants may start using man-portable air defense systems.

Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi has not ruled out that the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization (banned in Russia) may have received man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) from Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

"It is not ruled out that Turkey and Saudi Arabia may have supplied them, and they [militants] will start using them," al-Zoubi told reporters on Friday. Read the full story here.

Riyadh's Rolexes: Leaked document claims to reveal Saudi 'bribes'

Riyadh's Rolexes: Leaked document claims to reveal Saudi 'bribes'. (AlAraby).

An array of expensive gifts should be handed out to Egyptian officials during King Salman's recent visit to Cairo, according to a document purporting to be a diplomatic cable leaked from the Saudi embassy in Cairo, published online on Wednesday night by former Egyptian presidential candidate Ayman Nour.

The document, posted on Nour's Twitter feed, appears to be an official cable from the Saudi ambassador in Cairo to the head of the royal court and the country's foreign minister.

The document includes a list of Egyptian officials, starting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, along with suggested gifts they should receive during King Salman's visit, including the price of the gift.
The document suggests that Sisi should receive a Rolex Submariner Diamond Emerald Baguette watch, worth an eye-watering $290,000 - $300,000.

The head of parliament and the prime minister should be given a lower model Rolex watch, worth only $185,000 - $190,000, according to the cable.


As for the 508 male members of parliament, the document suggests that they receive Tissot watches worth between $1300 and $1500, while it suggests the 87 female MPs receive watches worth $1000.
The document ends its suggestions by noting that there is a prior agreement to allocate cash gifts to government ministers, journalists and "all employees in the Egyptian presidency".

Nour appeared on the opposition satellite channel Elsharq on Wednesday evening to announce that he intended to use the document to file a criminal complaint against the Egyptian government for receiving foreign bribes.


Mutaz Matar, the TV presenter hosting Nour, described the Saudi "gifts" to Egyptian officials as "bribes" to guarantee the handover of two Red Sea islands, Tiran and Sanfir, to Saudi Arabia.

Nour told the TV station that there were laws regulating the exchange of valuable gifts between world leaders, but the fact that the Saudi document suggests gifts for all members of parliament - and select members of the media -demonstrates an intention to buy influence among lawmakers. Read the full story here.

Some Twitter users have, however, cast doubt on the authenticity of the document, with one Saudi user, Badr al-Amer, arguing that it contained phrases unliekly to be used in official government correspondence in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Amer also contends that the document contains grammatical errors, while official documents are routinely edited for spelling and grammar.

@MFS001 :@AymanNour doc fake&photoshopped as usual. Hashtag making fun of him trending nw @EjmAlrai @moscow_ghost pic.twitter.com/facK7onB3h

— Hasan Sari (@HasanSari7) April 14, 2016

@MFS001 Pro-MB terrorist fugitive @AymanNour has long record in faking documents in Egypt:@EjmAlrai @moscow_ghost pic.twitter.com/NlvqBkfkKA

— Hasan Sari (@HasanSari7) April 14, 2016

Video - Muslim Brotherhood 101: Why the State Dept should designate them a terrorist entity in the United States.

Video - Muslim Brotherhood 101: Why the State Dept should designate them a terrorist entity in the United States. (ClarionProject).

What are other governments doing about the Muslim Brotherhood?

The Muslim Brotherhood has been banned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as a terrorist organization. The UAE ban included U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entities the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim American Society (MAS) as well as Islamic Relief Worldwide, which has sent money to Hamas.

Israel has also banned Islamic Relief Worldwide for funding Hamas.

The UK commissioned a report into the Muslim Brotherhood. While it stopped short of banning it as a terrorist organization, the British government rejected the myth that the Brotherhood is “moderate” along with the patently false notion that it is “non-violent.” The UK will keep the Muslim Brotherhood under review.

Which US Organizations Are Included in This Bill

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR); the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT).

Read our profiles of each group’s extremism by clicking on the links

Click here to send a letter to your congressman and support our campaign. Read the full story here.

US Media Fails Again- US Muslim Brotherhood Electoral Group Receives No Scrutiny https://t.co/iTZYpMVQTV

— MFS - The Other News (@MFS001) April 7, 2016

To learn more about the Muslim Brotherhood see our detailed Special Report: The Muslim Brotherhood

Video - Saudi Author Said Al-Suraihi: The Ogre of ISIS Emerged from Our History Books.

Video - Saudi Author Said Al-Suraihi: The Ogre of ISIS Emerged from Our History Books.

In a TV interview, Saudi author and literary critic Said Al-Suraihi said that ISIS emerged from the history books, which "link the spread of Islam to the sword, the battles, the killings, and the wars." "It does not tell us how model conduct can spread Islam among people," he said in the interview, which aired on Sky News Arabia on February 12, 2016.