Defender Abel Xavier quits football for Islam

A veteran of World Cup and European championships, Abel Xavier, has made the decision to convert to Islam and hang up his boots.

The former Everton soccer player will now go by the name of Faisal Xavier.

“I hope to participate in something very special as I enter a new stage of my life,” Xavier was quoted as saying by Goal.com on his recent embrace of Islam.

"In times of trouble, I have found comfort in Islam. Gradually I learned of a religion that professes peace, equality, freedom and hope. These are extremely important."

The Mozambique-born defender has vowed to embark on humanitarian projects with the United Nations.

The 37-year-old Xavier last played for Los Angeles Galaxy. He launched his career in Portugal and pursued it in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, England, Turkey, Germany, and ultimately the USA.

Malaysian customs seize alcohol for Christmas, New Year's revelries

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian customs officers seized more than 1 million ringgit (285,715 dollars) of liquor and beer believed to have been smuggled from India to meet demand during this year's Christmas and New Year's celebrations, a news report said Thursday. Two containers from India, which had been falsely declared as turmeric spice, were stopped in the northern city of Penang late Monday after a tip-off, state customs director Matrang Suhaili was quoted as saying by the Star daily.

Customs officers seized 1,100 crates of beer and liquor from the containers, he said.

Christmas celebrations and New Year's countdown parties, which are fueled with alcohol, are popular in Malaysia despite the country having a minority Christian population and a majority Muslim population, which is forbidden to consume alcohol.

Every year, dozens of revelers are detained at the end of the year for causing public disturbances and vandalism and engaging in drunk driving.

More Malaysians Join "Viva Palestina Convoy" To Gaza

December 22, 2009

From Kuzaimah Idris

DAMASCUS, Dec 22 (Bernama) -- Two more members of the Malaysian Perdana Global Peace Organization, PGPO and four Bernama TV crew joined the 'Viva Palestina Convoy' on Tuesday as it continues its 2,000-mile journey to Gaza to distribute humanitarian aid.

The PGPO members are Mathias Chang and Shamsul Akmar Musa Kamal, while the Bernama TV crew are journalist Kuzaimah Idris, Assistant Producer Azmawati Azmi, presenter Masrenny Waty Che Masri, and cameraman Mohd Shafiee Abdullah.

The six arrived in Damascus from Kuala Lumpur on Dec 18 to join the final leg journey of the convoy from here with 144 trucks, vans and ambulances loaded with more than US$1 million worth of relief supplies.

Two members of the PGPO, Juana Jaafar and Ram Karthigasu had earlier joined the convoy which embarked on its journey in London on Dec 6, traveling through several towns and cities in various countries.

PGPO is among the participants of dozens of institutions and associations acting in solidarity with Palestinians and in rejection of the siege on Gaza.

The convoy of 416 volunteers from Malaysia, the United States, and United Kingdom will make a six-day journey from here to Amman and Aqabah in Jordan and Nuweiba and border Rafa in Egypt.

According to the Head of Convoy in charge of logistics, Amer Nazir, relief materials as part of the humanitarian package for the Palestinians include medical equipment, food, babies' food and winter clothing.

He said the Palestinians in Gaza were suffering from shortages of clean water, fresh food and medical supplies.

"As far as medical aid, we've got a whole range of medical supplies from syringes, dialysis machines, heart transplant machines, wheelchairs, walking sticks, bandages, from the smallest things to the biggest machines, we have with us," he said.

Amer, a volunteer himself, said the convoy consisted of people from all nations including Malaysia, US, UK, France, Belgium, Italy, Turkey, New Zealand and Australia with diverse background.

"It's a whole wide range of people who work for charity. There are people who have left their jobs to come here, there are people of professional background who see this as the only way they can express how they feel about the issues, there are people who are just normal family men, taxi drivers who left their families and headed out to Gaza," he told Bernama.

Amer said material support for the convoy had been overwhelming so far and there was no shortage of volunteers willing to make the journey.

The Viva Palestina, the British-based charity, is on a mission to provide humanitarian aid for civilians trapped in war-torn Gaza.

Meanwhile, 70-year-old British, Sylvia Wall flew all the way from England to Damascus to join in the convoy in its final leg to Gaza, via Rafa.

She was unable to join the convoy from London as she was not fit to travel 3,000 miles to Syria due to her age and physical condition.

Wall shared her spirit to show solidarity to the Palestinians, related her experience and cause to the Palestinians.

She hoped the huge international convoy to Gaza would signal a strong message that the world communities demanded the Israelis regime to open the Gazans' lifeline to the outside world.

Gaza has been blockaded since 2007, leaving the Palestinians in dire need of food, medicines, clothing and other basic needs.

"Because of the injustice to the Palestinians has been as long as I've lived, I'm 70 years old and for 60 years now, the Palestinians have been treated dreadfully, that word can't explain. I am so angry.

"I have many Palestinian friends in England, in Cyprus. They are lovely people, you know. They are not what the west portrays them as terrorists, in England it's very bad, every time they say the word Palestinian, it is almost always followed by the word terrorist and it's not so, not at all", she said.

Wall, a volunteer, has been involved in the Palestinian cause all her adult life.

She was in Greece right after the Gaza war and dedicated herself to providing help and support to a 14-year-old Palestinian boy who lost his leg during the war.

"I will travel to Jordan and Egypt through the Nile desert along the coast, the coastal roads about 40 kilometers to Rafah and hopefully, InsyaAllah we will go to Gaza".

For the record, each person traveling on the convoy is a self-financed volunteer.

On Dec 27 last year, Israel began a wave of air strikes on the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of stopping the rocket attacks from and arms smuggling into the territory.

Israeli forces killed over 1,400 Palestinians in three weeks and created widespread destruction of essential infrastructure including homes, schools, hospitals and power plants.

Israel had since banned all but humanitarian relief from entering into Gaza, including building materials.

Indonesia's vice president faces questioning over bank bail-out

Jakarta - Indonesian Vice President Boediono was questioned by a House of Representatives special committee Tuesday for his role in the controversial bail-out of a minor bank last year. Boediono, who was governor of the central bank at that time, insisted that rescuing Bank Century was the "right decision." If the bank had been allowed to fail it would have had systemic impact on the country's banking industry, he said.

Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati are both deemed responsible for the 6.7-trillion-rupiah (716-million-dollar) bail-out in late 2008. Indrawati was also faces questioning by the committee.

The cash injection was condemned by government auditors and led to accusations of graft and illicit campaign financing.

Boediono said the country at the time was facing a possible economic crisis due to the global downturn with Indonesia having unstable currency reserves and bank having stopped giving loans to each other. Rumours about ailing banks spread rapidly and foreign exchange was fluctuating.

"In such a kind of situation if a bank was left to collapse, no matter how small, it would cause a chain reaction in the banking industry," argued Boediono, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

In its report to the House last month, the Supreme Audit Agency listed a number of irregularities linked to the bail-out process, for which the central bank failed to provide full information.

On Monday, former central bank officials including former governor Burhanuddin Abdullah, dismissed Boediono's line of argument, and said that Bank Century was "too small to pose a systemic threat" to the country's banking sector and the economy.

The emergency bail-out was enacted with a presidential decree. Politicians, however, later argued there was no legal basis for the rescue, particularly since most of the funds were injected after parliament had rejected a government regulation in lieu of law.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last week rejected the committee's appeal to suspend both Boediono and Indrawati while the investigation is underway.

Economists and bankers had warned that the prolonged political debate over the rescue may harm the country's economy as Indonesia loses momentum to bolster growth, while other nations gear up to attract investors.

Yudhoyono has strongly denied any involvement, insisting that the bailout was necessary to protect the economy from a crisis.

BANGLADESH: Community-Based Climate Strategies Are Key

By Darryl D’Monte

COPENHAGEN, Dec 19 (IPS/TerraViva) – Many countries treat Bangladesh as a country that is so afflicted by calamities that it is incapable of pulling itself out of dire poverty. Yet, it has blazed a trail in drawing up blueprints for community-driven climate adaptation strategies.

Part of this blueprint is to revive traditional farming practices that could withstand extreme weather changes.

“People used traditional farming practices,” notes Prof Ainun Nishat, a former academic, now senior adviser for climate in Asia to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Dhaka, told IPS. “We had 5,000 varieties of rice which could withstand this variability, but have now been lost.”

Non-government organizations and the IUCN have for several years been encouraging people to revive such practices. In undivided Bengal, before the partition of India in 1947, for instance, it was common for people to set aside five percent of their land for a pond to breed fish and irrigate paddy.

He cites a program reintroducing water-tolerant species as well as those that can survive in floods, drought and salinity, a breakthrough. There is a species of rice that can be submerged under water for 15 days without deteriorating. The new government is also implementing a project to resuscitate river networks.

Since Bangladesh receives up to two billion tonnes of sediment from the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers every year, it is encouraging communities to maintain the age-old networks of small rivers and canals, which have fallen into disrepair. Traditionally in Bengal, these were excavated by manual labor under the supervision of the local community and this valuable practice is being revived.

“This initiative is community-based,” he says. “It is both top-down and bottom-up. Collectively, we sensitize the government.”

“Bangladesh is nature’s disaster laboratory,” says Prof Nishat. “Apart from volcanoes, we have every type (of disaster),” he adds, stressing the urgency of adopting mitigation measures, particularly at the community level. He is particularly worried about the erratic monsoon, which can give rise to drought-like conditions.

A decade ago, experts realized that to help people combat climate variability, they had to find alternative means of generating incomes. One way was to harvest the troublesome hyacinth weed in ponds and pile it to grow seedlings. IUCN and non-government organizations introduced these methods in two coastal islands of Bhola and Hatiya.

A. Atiq Rahman, the well-known executive director of the Bangladesh Center of Advanced Studies, who took part in the just concluded climate talks in this Danish capital, organized three international workshops to synthesize the lessons drawn from efforts to explore alternative sources of income. The Bangladesh government expressed an interest in the proceedings. When it had to formulate plans to cope with climate change in 2003-2005, it did away with the normal route of hiring consultants and created seven task forces, half of which were headed by non-government experts, including Prof Nishat.

The government allocated 200 million U.S. dollars for this purpose, for which 12 to 15 projects were shortlisted. Importantly, the task forces were not put under a ministry or directorate but operated with a high degree of autonomy. “This was because of the cross-cutting nature of these problems: every ministry was involved.”

“A key issue is food security,” he says. “The seal-level rise is less worrying than the ingress of salinity.” By 2100, it is estimated that salinity may travel 89 meters inland, and this will affect people’s livelihoods.

Experts are also monitoring “storm surges” and cyclones, which have increased in intensity and frequency. Between 1960 and 2009, there were 15 major events; from 2007, there have already been four. “The sea is also growing rough and preventing fishermen from venturing out on certain days,” Prof Nishat reports.

In 2007, then Environment Minister C.S. Karim asked officials and NGOs to contribute to a report in the build-up to the Copenhagen conference. To operationalise the Bali Action Plan – the so-called “road map” to a new global climate treaty – the government was fully engaged in drawing up an adaptation strategy, which attracted the attention of donors.

Funding for the strategy came from the British government, the World Bank and the British Department for International Development. The resulting ‘Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2009’, was published in September or three months ahead of the Copenhagen talks.

There are six themes: food security, social protection and health; disaster management; infrastructure; research and knowledge management; mitigation and low-carbon development; and capacity building and institution strengthening.

“This is an open-ended document in the making, not a finished product,” Prof Nishat clarifies. “Low-carbon growth is an important component. We hope to add people’s responses to the projects listed under each theme.”

The new government, headed by Sheikh Hasina, has instituted a task force to review these activities. “She has strengthened the political commitment to tackle climate change,” he says. “It was in her election manifesto.”

Relocation of Myanmarese, Bangladeshi migrants rejected

Sunday, December 20, 2009 4:43 PM

Apriadi Gunawan , The Jakarta Post , Medan | Sat, 12/19/2009 1:05 PM | The Archipelago

Residents rejected on Friday a relocation of 195 refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh from Aceh to a housing complex in Medan, North Sumatra.

Meanwhile, the Rohingya boatpeople hoped they could recieve Indonesian citizenship.

The residents threatened violence if the government decided to settle the immigrants at the Tempua housing complex in Medan's Sunggal district.

Nazaruddin, one of the residents, said they were surprised to find the foreigners were being accommodated in their housing complex without prior notification.

"Residents here disagree with *moving the* immigrants into the housing complex. We will use violence if the foreigners stay here," Nazaruddin said.

To avoid clashes between the immigrants and local residents, officers from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Polonia Immigration Office, Medan, evacuated the immigrants from the housing complex to a foundation office at the Education and Training Center on Jl. Cempaka, Medan Selayang district.

In the center, the refugees were seen resting after being bussed in from Aceh.

Rahmat Larosa of Polonia Immigration Office admitted that relocating the immigrants from the housing complex to the center was their only option to avoid any conflict.

Rahmat said the immigrants would stay at the center temporarily while waiting for a decision by the Directorate General of Immigration.

Meanwhile, the immigrants said they did not know why they were relocated from Aceh to Medan.

Muhammad Yunus, an immigrant from Myanmar, said the IOM, who facilitated the relocation, promised to give the immigrants residency documents after they arrived in Medan.

Yunus hoped the Indonesian President would be willing to give them residency.

"We want to become Indonesian citizens," he said.

The immigrants, 147 Myanmarese and 48 Bangladeshis, arrived in Indonesia on Jan. 7, this year when their boat washed ashore on Sabang Island in Aceh. The immigrants were originally detained and processed at the Sabang Island Naval Base.

The Foreign Ministry said the boatpeople were to be repatriated to Bangladesh once their identity verification was cleared by their countries of origin.

There are 388 Rohingya people in Aceh, all fled Myanmar and Bangladesh because of poverty and alleged government persecution.

The Rohingya number about 750,000 in Myanmar, but are not recognized as a distinct ethnicity. Rights groups say they face forced labor, land seizures, rape and murder.

Thousands have risked their lives in dangerous boats fleeing to neighboring countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh and India.

Bangladesh to ask Myanmar to stop pushback

Dhaka, Dec 19 (bdnews24.com) -- Bangladesh will put pressure on Myanmar to stop pushback of Rohingya people across border at the upcoming foreign secretary level talks, foreign secretary said Saturday.

Bangladesh foreign secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes will receive his Myanmar counterpart U Maung Mynt on December 28 for a two-day bilateral talks.

"We will talk on repatriation of Rohingya refugees and stopping pushback by Myanmar," Quayes told reporters at a press briefing at the foreign ministry.

"In addition to 29,000 refugees living in the camps, some 300,000 people have intruded into Bangladesh over the past several years."

"We will stress on improving the situation in Myanmar so that exodus of the people stops," the foreign secretary said.

Repatriation of Rohingya refugees has remained a major issue for discussion between the two countries since 1992 when over a million people from Myanmar's Northern Rakhain state from crackdown on its Muslim Rohingyas in the bordering Bangladesh.

The two neighbours with the help of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees repatriated most of the refugees, but about 29,000 people have refused to go back to their homes in Myanmar fearing further repressive actions by the military.

According to the government officials, most of the "repatriated" Rohingya refugees returned to Bangladesh as human rights and economic situation has not improved in their ancestral homes.

Quayes also said a Myanmar delegation was scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on the second week of January to discuss the maritime boundary demarcation disputes with Bangladesh.

He, however, said besides the bilateral talks, Dhaka will continue with its legal fight in the UN tribunal to settle the maritime disputes with India and Myanmar.

Bangladesh and Myanmar have claims on overlapping offshore blocks in the Bay of Bengal. India and Myanmar have counter claims on 19 out of total 27 sea blocks of Bangladesh. Dhaka has been in negotiations with the two countries for years, but the bilateral talks ended with no tangible results.

The Awami League led government a few months back went to the UN tribunal to settle the maritime disputes. The government hopes that the issue will be resolved through the UN tribunal in four to five years.

"Certainly, we will be discussing the issues of trade, investment and banking facilities between the two countries," said Quayes, in reply to a question.

Education for Rohingya refugee children: Save our generation from losing their future

By Muhammad Saifullah

Today, the children of Rohingya refugees are struggling with their future to be saved as they are not recognized as refugees by the both Malaysian government to have access to education and UNHCR as mandated refugees to get resettlement like other refugees. They are marginalized and in languishing in horror situation. Their children are deprived of basic right to education, victims of exploitation and going to be a generation of beggars in Malaysia.

As per we know, two things can destroy a nation, illiteracy and poverty. Unfortunately, if we see the ethnic Rohingya, an estimated literacy rate of the Rohingya children both in home and exile are less than 0.5%. Literacy rate in Malaysia is “0”%.

It is very pitiful situation for the Rohingya community and true that Rohingya nation has lost their future. So, the education is most important to develop to any nation and to know what is the right and wrong things to get the basic rights in the future.

According to statistics issued by UNHCR Malaysia as of last October 2009, about 67,800 refugees and asylum-seekers were registered with the Refugee Agency. Of this figure, 62,000 are refugees from Burma, comprising 28,100 Chin, 16,100 Rohingya, 3,700 Burmese Muslims, 2,900 Kachin and other ethnic minorities.

Based on the available statistics, 51 per cent of the refugees and asylum-seekers were men while women made up 49 per cent. There were 14,600 children below the age of 18.

UNHCR Malaysia said there were also a large number of persons of concern to the agency who remained unregistered and the figure was said to be around 30,000. Believe there is also being a large number of children who are not yet granted refugee status.

The children of the Rohingya community in Malaysia do not have the privilege to study in government schools as they do not have birth certificates or any other official documents. Under the Malaysian Education Act (1966) only three categories of foreigners are permitted to enroll in government schools i.e the children of foreign embassies, children of foreigners who have legal work permits and those who have been granted permanent resident status.

Rohingyas arrived in Malaysia in early 1980s. More than 70% of Rohingya children are of school age. They could enter public schools, but as refugees, they were expelled out from the government school in early 2006, while very few numbers of Rohingya children got chance to study in public school as adopted children of local Malaysian. But still there is no any record a single Rohingya child from refugee community could manage to be a university student ever. Some managed to go through the categorized as “permanent resident,” which means they must pay higher fees, buy their own books and face a lot of red tape. Most cannot afford the extra costs. Access is also restricted as most of the refugee children do not have birth certificates, a legal prerequisite for admission.

The children of Rohingya in Malaysia are not recognized and are at greater risk of statelessness than their parents. Though they get birth certificates but they do not get any right to attend school. In past two decades, our unfortunate Burmese ethnic Rohingya children who have been born and grown up in Malaysia do not have access to government schools although primary school education is compulsory and available free to all in this country. And hence, the stateless children have not been able to develop their knowledge, skills, personality, talents etc.

Approximately there are more than 5,400 Rohingya refugee children in Malaysia are of school age. According to UNHCR report, they have not received basic education due to financial and bureaucratic obstacles. But I believe the main feature is that Rohingya children cannot enroll in public schools because Malaysian law does not recognize their refugee status.

That resulted most of them are working in odd jobs like construction sites, garbage collectors which should be considered as child labor.

Education is backbone of the Nation; Today’s children are tomorrow’s future. Peculiarly, Rohingya children in Malaysia don’t have access to get education. Rohingyas existence as a nation or ethnic group of Burma is depends on their children. Without education they are blind and unable to fight for their future due to lack of knowledge. We can for see what will happen to the Rohingya refugees and their children living in Malaysia if nothing is done to help them?

However, in 1998, Yayasan Salam came up to help to educate some Rohingya children in Kampung Cheras Baru as an implementing partner of UNHCR and that project was terminated in 2000.

From the year 2001, ABIM stood to fund for that school with a view to giving read and writable education to some 50 children.

Similarly, the UN refugee agency partnered with a non-governmental organization, the Taiwan Buddhist Tzu-Chi Foundation, opened five new education centers within the Klang Valley in 2008, serving some 300 Rohingya refugee children. The project received funding from the United States government, bringing education to the Rohingya community on an unprecedented scale in Malaysia.

Likewise, from January 2008, UNHCR extended a supportive hand to facilitate primary education to the Rohingya refugee children in Tasik Permai, Tasik Tambahan, Taman Muda, Kampung Pandang and Selayang respectively. As per my study, those schools are also not fully equipped.

But those 5 schools are based within klang valley only. Mostly the Rohingya live in Penang and Johor. But their children are still deprived of basic right to formal education. Thanks to a humanitarian NGO, JUMP Network Group, while helping Rohingya children in penang in 3 schools.

Recently there is another school supported by Muslim Welfare Association of Malaysia (PERKIM), a local NGO chaired by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister of Malaysia since September 2009. That school is situated in Lamba Jaya, Ampang. There are 3 teachers including a religious teacher and 120 students enroll regular classes. All the expenditures of school and students such as rental, accommodation, text books for children, necessary material are conducted by PERKIM. The sad reality is that two of UNHCR’s five schools closed down as all the students shifted to PERKIM School.

In Johor Baru, there are some schools set up by privet initiative of Rohingya community to educate their own children but due to lack of fund unable to go further and waiting to get any assistance from UNHCR or any GNO to develop school curriculums as minimum standard.

According to strategic country plan by UNHCR, the 2010-2011 UNHCR budgets for the protection of children is USD $209, 825 and for the refugee education in Malaysia is listed USD $1, 555, 717. Rohingya community hope on that issue, UNHCR may set up some more schools for Rohingya children in different places like Klang, Johor and Penang if the decision of government remains unchanged.

In addition, Harvest Centre Sdn Bhd, set up an informal school in Sentul. About half of the centre's students are Rohingya refugee children. Believed to be Malaysia's first Montessori school for marginalized children, Harvest Centre was set up in 2004 with seed funding from World Vision and is run on public donations. The school, which has qualified and full-time staffs and a host of volunteers, and entered as an implementing partner with UNHCR but there is not more than 200 Rohingya refugee children studying.

After nearly two decades in Malaysia without education for their children, Malaysia's 16,100 registered Muslim Rohingya refugees from Arakan state of Burma are especially hungry for formal schooling.

Future Global Network Foundation (FGN) a local NGO has been helping the local coordinators of the Rohingya communities in some settlement areas. FGN only supports 500 ringgits for 12 religious teachers in 9 different education sectors since 2007.

There is another school namely “Darul Uloom Blossom Garden” Kampung Sungai Pinang, Klang, Two teachers are in charge of religious studies; 1 teacher for teaching English, Maths and science. FGN can only support for two religious teachers due to insufficient funds. There is no teacher available for the teaching of Bahasa Malaysia at the moment.

The complaints of Rohingya children have been spread out that most of them are involved in beggar’s path. Why they are begging and what is the main reason behind it? In my study, the key spur is education. So I hope and strongly believe that only education would take the refugee children off the streets and prevent them from becoming a generation of beggars apart from being dragged into being part of the 'bad hats'.

It is true to be heard that there are two groups of Rohingya children who took to the streets as beggars in Malaysia.

On one side, the children were in the clutches of a triad from some their own ignorant people and local gangs who paid some money to the parents of the children and the children themselves before sending them out to the streets to beg which is believed to be a part of exploitation.

"The other group is that who have no choice but to beg and begging is the easiest form of earning a livelihood on the name selling books”.

A notable example of such inconsistencies relates to the government’s statements regarding Rohingyas in Malaysia In 2004, the Government announced that it would consider regularizing the status of existing stateless Rohingyas in Malaysia, to enable them to legally work and live without fear of arrest from the enforcement agencies... The Rohingya were so glad and hoped their children would be able to attend for public school. However, to date, this policy does not appear to have been implemented.

Issues also arise with regards to the status of the children of Rohingya refugees who are born in Malaysia. Since their parents are undocumented, such children are more often than not, hindered in obtaining birth certificates and other identification documents which would facilitate their access to basic needs including medical care and education.

"To me, the only way to get these people out from the clutches of poverty is through education. We can give them food, for few days or give them money but money is never enough. "We need to empower them, especially the children, teach them how to find out food, not just giving them packets of food, so they can stand on their own two feet and become the master of their own destiny. What if one day we are not here anymore and also the people who are helping them?

"I have been teaching refugee children for 3 years, now in Klang. That school was set up in 2006 by some Rohingyas and still all the expenses are born by the community. The children are great, very responsive and excited to learn but being refugees they are unable to enjoy their full rights to education with full equipments like public schools.

It is satisfying to see the glow on their innocent faces as they respond to my teaching. They also love drawings, playing football and netball.

"They are practically living with no hope, no dreams and no tomorrow, nothing. I am helping them straight from my heart. My goal is, let's say out of 63 students, if I can get one into university or can get a doctor or engineer; this is already a huge reward for me in my life. May be it will take some time but I am willing to do this forever.

Thus, there is still room for optimism notwithstanding the current plight of refugees in Malaysia. As long as the authorities accept deficiencies in the current status quo and are willing to engage in dialogue to redress the situation, there is still room for hope. For everyone’s part, we can continue to work to increase awareness of children’s rights, and to encourage the government to adopt comprehensive and long-term refugee children protection policies, beginning with accession to the Child Convention and amendment to relevant immigration laws and other policies affecting refugees in Malaysia. For the time-being, we can also continue to encourage the government to adopt interim measures to alleviate at least some of the problems faced by refugee children, for instance, by encouraging the government to grant registered refugees with the right to seek and obtain employment lawfully, and to have access to basic needs such as shelter, food, healthcare and particularly education.

Malaysia has ratified the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) and is thus obligated to protect all children, including migrant, asylum-seekers and refugee children. In the 2007 Concluding Observations of the Committee of the Rights of the Child, the Committee has expressed concerns over various aspects of migrant, asylum-seekers and refugee children including detention.

The Committee specifically recommends the Malaysian Government to stop detention of children in relation to Immigration proceedings and to develop a legislative framework for the protection of asylum-seekers and refugee children.

We would like to request to the Malaysian Government to fulfill its obligation to protect the rights of children, regardless of the child’s citizenship. In addition, the Government is obligated to provide protection to asylum seekers and refugee children as according to Article 22 of the CRC.

We believe the Government will ensure that the refugee children are secured and not subjected to any violence or negligent treatment during arrest and detention and provide basic assistance through formal education.

Ibn Battuta on the big, big screen

by Nabila Pathan
15 December 2009

London - For many Muslims worldwide, the name Ibn Battuta evokes a sense of great pride and conjures up a golden era of Islamic history. The Rihla, one of the greatest travel journals ever recorded, has been greatly responsible for passing on the tales of the 14th century explorer who followed the sun and stars to reach Mecca.

In the past year, this 700-year-old story made the transition to the big screen, shown at over 12 IMAX theaters in locations around the world. Journey to Mecca: In the footsteps of Ibn Battuta is mostly shot on a set in Morocco and combines dramatic performances with documentary footage to re-tell a classic adventure.

The British Film Institute recently put on a special screening of the film at their London IMAX theatre to mark Eid ul-Adha. Prior to the screening, the film's producer Jonathan Barker spoke to the audience filled with Ibn Battuta enthusiasts and explained his vision behind the film, which was "to celebrate a well known Muslim hero" and to "provide a better understanding of a historical figure that is unknown to many non-Muslims."

Those who cherish the timeless tale of Ibn Battuta's exploration will find that the film successfully captures the essence of his travels to the holy city of Islam–a physical journey that emulates the spiritual one in search of the divine through enlightenment and knowledge.

Filmed in a format that displays images that are greater in size and resolution than conventional film systems, IMAX creates a unique visual experience that is larger than life. The dramatic scenes of desert landscapes and breathtaking moving aerial shots take the viewer on a journey alongside Ibn Battuta, from Tangier to Mecca. It even brings to life his reoccurring dream of "flying to Mecca." Scenes of the "valley of death", the caravan community en route from Damascus to Mecca and the modern day Hajj, the pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites in Mecca, remain unforgettable and etched on the mind.

By interposing scenes of 14th century Hajj with those from the 21st century, the viewer is invited on an expedition that takes them to parallel worlds: the past and the present. The power of the visual illustrates a ritual that has remained the same for centuries. This, topped with beautiful imagery narrated by the familiar voice of actor Ben Kingsley, provide explanations that are both simplistic and symbolic of the spiritual significance of acts like circling the most sacred site for Muslims, the Kaaba: "We mirror the movements of the heavens seven times".

The filmmakers took a bold step to choose to shoot the first-ever IMAX shots at two of Islam's holiest sites. Gaining access was a long drawn out process of trust building and red tape for Barker, who was previously involved in productions in space (Mission to Mir) and to the bottom of the ocean (Into the Deep). He describes this project as "one of the greatest challenges" in his IMAX career. But the efforts finally resulted in unprecedented footage, fulfilling the ethos of IMAX–bringing the audience to a world they cannot access, such as the Great Mosque of Mecca, which houses the Kaaba and is restricted to Muslims.

An eye for detail is evident, both visually and in the plot of Journey to Mecca. Lines such as: "If I should die then let it be on the road to Mecca" are taken from Ibn Battuta's collection of notes and embedded into the narrative giving an authentic tone to a modern day recreation. The 14th century version of the Kaaba, which is what Muslims around the world face toward in worship, was painstakingly reproduced in Morocco to represent how it actually looked at that time.

Furthermore, the lead of Ibn Battuta was faithfully and convincingly portrayed by the Moroccan actor Chems Eddine Zinoun. His performance possessed gravitas in reflecting one of Muslims' most revered heroes. His portrayal is his own legacy to the world, as he tragically died two weeks after completing the film.

Movies such as The Message, Lion of the Desert, and the character of the 12th century sultan of Egypt and Syria, Saladin, in Kingdom of Heaven have offered a few of the limited portrayals of historical figures and themes from Islamic history by Western filmmakers. The tale of Ibn Battuta possesses the perfect blend of an epic tale mixed with entertainment to join such a list. While it succeeds in celebrating a well-known Muslim hero, it remains to be seen whether it can cross over to the mainstream as the others have done.

The limitation of the IMAX medium is that it is restricted mostly to viewers attending museums and science centers because such large screen theaters are traditionally linked to such venues. The target audience is very specific. With Muslims making up 75 per cent of audience members at a Toronto IMAX screening, its popularity will depend largely on grassroots promotion and efforts by leaders of the Muslim communities to generate interest. Such efforts would be well worth the trouble.

Of bells and minarets

by René Guitton
15 December 2009

Paris - When Jerusalem was conquered in 635 AD, the second caliph Omar Ibn Al-Kattab refused to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, despite an invitation from the Christian patriarch Sophronius, for fear that his men invoke the precedent to turn the place of worship into a mosque and thus deprive the Christians of their right to freely practice their religion.

Although 1,400 years have passed, people were sometimes more civilized and more tolerant then than in our modern world, where passions and tensions seem to have translated into a return of fanaticism and religious intolerance.

The example set by Omar, the inventor of dhimmitude, the code governing the life of non-Muslims under Islamic law, is symbolic of the covenant bearing his name, which granted the "People of the Book" (a term which refers to Jews and Christians) the right to live on Muslim-majority or Muslim-ruled lands and possess their own places of worship. Is it possible to imagine Jerusalem, Aleppo, Cairo, Baghdad, Damascus, Tunis, Algiers, Casablanca, without their lace-like filigree of church towers, minarets and sometimes synagogue cupolas soaring up to the sky like so many ladders guiding the prayers of the faithful up to their God?

The complicated Middle East of bygone eras provides a simple lesson for today, one that it sometimes finds hard to follow because it finds itself riddled by deep contradictions and attempts toward religious uniformity.

This situation, which has been exemplified by Switzerland on 29 November with the adoption of a law prohibiting the construction of minarets on its soil, risks promoting a rejection of the "other" and the unconditional right to pray as one chooses.

The incident would be trivial if it were not, in a sense, tragic. It is difficult to fathom how Switzerland, a country that prides itself in its centuries-old neutrality, could feel that its existence and culture are threatened by the construction of minarets.

Regardless of the factors inspiring the bill, many feel its results primarily expressed a rejection of Islam and the right of Muslims to practice their rites freely wherever they live.

However, the Swiss referendum results do not only affect Muslims, although they are its main victims. It also risks institutionalizing the so-called "clash of civilizations", leaving it up to citizens, or their elected representatives, to decree lifestyles and mindsets as a function of demographic majorities.

With this type of reasoning, a ban on the construction of minarets in countries where non-Muslims constitute the majority could also apply to the construction of churches or synagogues in Muslim-majority countries. In this regard, ethno-religious uniformity and viewing religion as a monolith risks reviving the post-Reformation concept of one people, one country, one religion, in which the ruler's religion determined that of a country's.

The absurd application of this principle is responsible for the disappearance of the time when Spain was known for its three religions, when the Jews and Moriscos (Muslims forced to convert to Christianity and suspected of doing so in name only) were expelled at the time of the Renaissance, a move that resulted in the spiritual and material impoverishment of the Iberian Peninsula. The same principle inspired many a totalitarian regime in the modern era, in an effort to remove any spiritual element that might threaten their rule. The same principle is again at work today in many regions of the planet where being a member of a minority is synonymous with inequality.

Those who reject the construction of minarets in Switzerland do not realise that they could be viewed in the future like those who burnt synagogues or destroyed churches in what was known as the Fertile Crescent, or elsewhere. It is worth recalling that whenever a community is threatened, be it Jewish, Christian, Muslim, agnostic or atheist, others could be threatened too.

The spiral is now set in motion and could wreak its horrendous effects unless we stand up to reaffirm that the pre-eminent dignity of every human being, and the right for every person of faith to pray to his or her God as he or she sees fit, are not subject to a building permit.

The minarets of Geneva are worth as much as the bells of Basel. Now is the time for one and all to remember this.

Violence against women is not a tenet of Islam

by Naazish YarKhan
15 December 2009

Glendale Heights, Illinois - Listening to the radio one day, I was shocked to hear the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report on widespread occurrence of rape in Afghanistan. As a Muslim who knows that the core of her religion is about justice and mercy, I asked myself how the perpetrators of these acts could have strayed so far from the Muslim faith and from basic humane principles.

The idea that mercy, compassion and justice are the cornerstones of Islam and that that includes the way women are to be treated has been too often forgotten here. Sadly, specific verses have been misinterpreted as condoning control over women—or even violence.

The Qur'an spells out how men and women are meant to relate to each other, “The Believers, men and women, are helpers, supporters, friends, protectors, of one another” (Qur'an 9:71). Yet certain verses continue to be misused in support of unequal treatment of women, such as: “Your women are as a tilth [land] for you (to cultivate) so go to your tilth as when or how you will” (Qur’an 2: 223). This verse is misinterpreted by some as giving license to men over women’s bodies.

To understand what is actually at the core of this verse, I talked to Dr. Maher Hathout, Senior Advisor at the Muslim Public Affairs Council and a noted expert on Islam. “It’s a shame and a travesty that that verse is interpreted and used in ways that are opposite to what it means,” he told me. “The verse means that intimate relations with one’s spouse should be consensual and produce good things–whether it be in offspring or emotional closeness.”

Why then is there such disagreement about the meaning of this verse and others like it? Dr. Hathout explains: “social factors were taken into consideration when the texts were being translated. It’s about how one chooses to interpret an existing word that has multiple shades of meaning. In societies where it was acceptable to treat women poorly, the meanings that suited them were the ones they adopted, even when other meanings were possible. [However, today] we must seek different meanings and understand the text in a different way.”

When dealing with verses that have frequently been misinterpreted with regards to the treatment of women, “we must understand the Qur'an with the actions of the Prophet Muhammad as context. And we should remember that he never raised his hand to anyone, let alone his wives,” says Dr. Hathout.

Instances of violence against women in Muslim homes and in Muslim societies are borne from a lack of knowledge of the faith or an intentional disregard of the basic teachings of Islam–respect and compassion, justice and mercy. What we must do is look back at these core tenets and recognize that these principles apply as much to women as they do to men.

Every day, mainstream Muslims struggle against stereotypes and misperceptions of Islam, especially those perpetrated by the tiny minority of extremists who have twisted aspects of the faith for their own purposes–whether they are bombers who attack innocent civilians or family members who use violence against those in their own homes.

However, a sea change in mentality often begins with just one strong voice. If the voice is local, even better. The local women-led organization Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) is just one of them. Its leaders risk their lives each day to help the women in Afghanistan speak out against domestic violence.

The more mainstream Muslim men and women speak out against violence against women and remind people that Islam and the Qur'an advocate justice and mercy, the sooner we can correct the misguided interpretations of our holy book.

The world is changing at a faster rate than ever before. The information age has ensured that hideous deeds will no longer remain hidden and gives those who speak out a wider platform from which to be heard. Uphill as this battle is, if there is a time for hope, it is now.

30,000 troops withdrawn from Kashmir: Antony

18 December 2009

NEW DELHI: Defense minister A K Antony on Friday announced that the Center has withdrawn around 30,000 troops from Jammu and Kashmir.

A K Antony said two Army divisions comprising around 30,000 troops have been moved out of Kashmir in the wake of improvement in the security situation there.

Addressing reporters Antony said, "Two Army divisions comprising around 30,000 troops have been moved out of Kashmir due to improvement in the situation there."

"Whenever we feel the situation has improved or is improving we will further reduce the visibility and presence of the Army in the state... it is because of the presence of the army that we have been able to counter terrorism in the state," Antony added.

The Army has begun withdrawing troops from the Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir in a move seen as a confidence building measure to get Kashmiri separatists, especially the hardliners, on board for talks.

The twin districts of Rajouri and Poonch were brought under the Disturbed Area Act along with the Kashmir Valley in July 1990 and the security forces were given special powers under Armed Forces Special Powers Act around the same time.

The two districts have a 200 km Line of Control with Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Antony made the announcement just days after home minister P Chidambaram informed the Parliament, that troop reduction in Jammu and Kashmir was on the cards considering improvement in the overall security situation in the northern state.

Reacting to the Chidambaram's statement, former state chief minister and union minister for new and renewable sources of energy Farooq Abdullah had said that the home minister had finally given good news to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Reduction in the number of troops deployed in the state would definitely ease the tensions here and herald the beginning of peace and development in the state," Abdullah had said.

Rohingya boatpeople relocated to Medan

Local immigration office in Aceh has relocated 195 Rohingya boatpeople, who have been staying in two different locations in the province since early this year, to Medan, North Sumatra.

Bambang Widodo, head of the office, told Antara news agency Thursday that they were going to relocate 183 Rohingyas from a shelter in Sabang and 13 others from another shelter in Idi Rayeuk.

The relocated Rohingyas were all men. They were carrying only one travel bag each and each wore an identity tag.

Foreign Ministry had said that the boatpeople were supposed to be repatriated to Bangladesh once their identity verification was cleared by their original country.

There are a total of 388 Rohingya people in Aceh, all escaped their home countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh because of alleged persecution by the governments.

Malaysian police rescue five children from baby-selling syndicate

Mon, 14 Dec 2009

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian police have rescued five babies and detained 15 people believed to be part of a baby-selling syndicate headed by a doctor, a news report said Monday. Police revealed Monday that the arrests, which also included two childless couples who were allegedly customers of the syndicate, were made earlier this month following investigations and public tip-offs.

The syndicate was believed to have recruited women from the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia to bear and then sell their offspring back to the syndicate for 5,000 ringgit (1,430 dollars), federal criminal investigations chief Bakri Zinin was quoted as saying by the Star online news portal.

The syndicate would then sell the babies for at least 15,000 ringgit to its customers, he said.

Police have launched a manhunt for a doctor, believed to be the ring leader. The suspect was believed to have delivered all the babies at a hospital he runs in order to avoid detection.

The rescued babies, including two girls and three boys aged between two weeks and nine months, have been sent to a hospital where they were reported to be in good health.

"The doctor had gone into hiding soon after two couples who wanted to purchase the babies were arrested last Friday. The couples included a university lecturer and a company manager," Bakri said.

Bakri said police are continuing investigations to try and locate more babies as well as syndicate members.

Dr M blasts OIC for failing to unite Muslims

By FLORENCE A.SAMY

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has lambasted the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) which he said had failed to unite Muslims.

“It often serves to emphasize divisions within the Muslim world. The disagreements between member countries are so obvious as to expose their disunity,” he claimed on Tuesday.

Dr Mahathir, who was the prime minister when Malaysia chaired the OIC in 2003, said the problem was that it was an organization of governments of countries whose interests took precedence over the religion.

“As an organization of governments, the OIC is unable to consider anything purely on the basis of religious injunctions or the interest of religion.

“Even the injunction of Islam that all Muslims are brothers could not override certain other national priorities,” he said in his keynote address at the Second International Muslim’s Unity conference.

The OIC, he added, worked on a basis of consensus which was not conducive to organizational decision making.

He suggested setting up a chain of Muslim non-governmental organizations in Muslim communities and countries to restore the brotherhood and unity of Muslims regardless of sects or differences.

Using such NGOs as the vehicle for Muslim unity, he said, should be focused on the promotion of Muslim brotherhood, reducing misunderstandings or suspicions, acquiring knowledge and skills, and pushing for better education systems, among others.

Muslim NGOs, he added, must also launch a concerted campaign to stop the “revenge mentality” which leads to blind retaliation.

“Muslims are very angry. And in anger, they lash out at everyone, including other Muslims. They blow themselves up in revenge, killing at random, not so much their enemies as they do their own people.

“After they have lost their lives, what have they gained? Basically nothing that will stop their enemies from continuing to oppress and kill them,” he said.

Muslims, Dr Mahathir said, must work out plans and strategies with the objective of achieving success in their struggles.

“One should be prepared to accept partial unity if total unity cannot be achieved as much can still be done,” he said.

“Today, Muslims are deeply divided into many different sects which often are violently pitted against each other.

“Lethal suicide bombers of different sects direct their attacks against each other, killing hundreds of Muslims each time. They may believe they will become martyrs and go to heaven but can we really believe they will when they go against the injunctions of the Quran that Muslims must not kill Muslims?

“True practicing Muslims must stop the fighting, reduce the divisions and restore brotherhood and unity,” he said.

Indonesian president begins state tour to Europe

Sun, 13 Dec 2009

Jakarta - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono left for a week-long tour to Europe Sunday that will include attendance at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Denmark. Yudhoyono will visit Belgium, France and Germany to discussing efforts bilateral ties and to promote the climate change talks, presidential spokesman Dino Pati Djalal said.

Accompanied by his wife and several cabinet ministers, Yudhoyono is scheduled to visit Brussels on December 14, Paris the following day and Germany on December 16, state-run Antara news agency said.

"The visit (to Europe) is long-awaited. In the past five years the president has several times planned to visit Europe but to no avail because he had to adjust his time," Djalal said.

In Brussels, the Indonesian leader will also hold talks with European Union President Jose Manuel Barroso on how to enhance relations between the 27-nation bloc and Indonesia.

In Copenhagen, Yudhoyono is scheduled to deliver a speech to the first session of the climate change conference, Djalal said.

He explained the presence of seven provincial governors in the entourage as designed to show the world that Indonesia is "serious in the field of forest conservation to reduce the level of global warming."

Kashmiri Diaspora urged to highlight the abuse of human rights in IOK

LONDON, Dec 14 (APP): The UK Kashmiri Diaspora has been urged to highlight the abuse of human rights in the Indian Occupied Kashmir.A leading Muslim member of the British Parliament, Lord Nazir Ahmed, recently elected as Chairman, All Parties Parliamentary Group on Kashmir, speaking at a seminar organized by the UK chapter of Jammu Kashmir Liberation League to commemorate the 61st UN Human Rights, said it is an important day for the people of Jammu Kashmir and awareness raising activities and campaigns regarding the situation of the human rights in Jammu Kashmir.

He advocated the need for bringing the cause of Kashmir to the notice of the representatives of the people in both houses of parliament in the UK.

Lord Ahmed was of the opinion that political activists and representatives of the Diaspora in the UK and all over the world should take an approach that revolves around the basic rights of the people of J&K rather than being critical of either countries party to the conflict.

Welcoming the participants at the House of Commons and specially Lord Ahmed in his new role as the chair of the APPG,Dr Misfar Hasan, the organizer of the seminar and the senior leader of JKLL, said that recent discovery of more than 2700 unnamed graves in the Indian Held Kashmir is another indication how much people of Kashmir have suffered at the hands of the Indian armed forces.

Talking about the recent attack on a senior political activist of APHC, he said that the incident is an indication that forces with vested interests want to sabotage the dialogue process as ever.

Speaking on the occasion, member of Parliament from Aylesbury and the Shadow foreign minister for the Conservative Party, David Liddington describing discovery of mass graves in the Held Kashmir as unfortunate was of the opinion that organizations like Amnesty International, International red Cross and other Human Rights organizations must have an unfettered access to investigate such unfortunate cases of crimes against humanity.

He further said that his party would accept a settlement of J&K that is acceptable to the people of Jammu Kashmir.

Another Conservative MP Paul Goodman while describing his visits to the refugee camps in the AJK said he has the firsthand account of the torture and use of force by the Indian authorities against the people of Held Kashmir.

He further said that people in different regions may be of different opinions regarding the final settlement of the issue.

Goodman said that they need to keep a focus on human rights violations in Held Kashmir. A resolution that takes into account wishes of the people of J&K would be lasting solution of the problem.

Prof. Nazir Shawl, Executive Director, Kashmir Center, London, presented a report on human rights violation to Lord Ahmed and reiterated that while the Indian government is giving an impression to the International community of talks and peace in the state yet the discovery of another unnamed mass graves in the Held Kashmir valley presents to the civilized world the possibility of mass genocide of many innocent civilian Kashmiris.

Muhammad Khan, a senior leader from Muslim Conference, UK, asked for a unified action to support the cause of the right of Self Determination and hoped that Lord Ahmed would use his good office to evolve some joint strategy in helping towards a political resolution of the issue through mediation.

Dr. Hassan in his closing remarks said that Kashmir is a political issue that must not be taken in context of religions as people of Kashmir with a very diverse culture and religions have lived peacefully side by side for centuries.

He said JKLL as a political party condemns all acts of terrorism anywhere on the globe and advocates a peaceful political settlement of the issue.

The participants agreed to a proposal by Lord Ahmed for an all parties moot in January to develop a consensus on the role of Kashmiri Diaspora to achieve the right of self-determination.

Islamic umbrella organisation demands Swiss lift minaret ban

Thu, 10 Dec 2009

Geneva - The organization representing 56 Islamic nations on Thursday called for the lifting of Switzerland's minaret ban, passed in a controversial referendum last month. The Geneva-based Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said it feared that the ruling could set a precedent for other European countries.

Other symbols of Islam, not just minarets, were in danger of being banned, the organization said.

Ambassadors of the OIC nations appealed to Swiss United Nations ambassador Dante Martinelli to lift the ban, Pakistani UN ambassador Zamir Akram told journalists in Geneva.

"The Swiss authorities must use all constitutionally available and legal possibilities to make the result of this referendum void," said Akram.

Clashes continue in India-controlled Kashmir, separatist leader arrested

SRINAGAR, India-controlled Kashmir, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) - Clashes in Srinagar city, the summer capital of India-controlled Kashmir, continued for the second consecutive day Saturday, police said.

The clashes broke out early morning with protesters hurling brick pieces and stones on the contingents of the police and paramilitary troopers. Police fired dozens of tear smoke shells to disperse the agitating youth.

On Friday at least 100 people including 59 policemen and 12 photojournalists were hurt in the day-long clashes.

One of the protesters sustained bullet injury and is undergoing treatment, doctors said.

The clashes were triggered amid shutdown called by hard line separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani to protest the "illegal occupation of land by the Indian army" in the region.

Geelani was prevented by police from addressing a rally in the old city that intensified further protests. Late in the evening he was arrested by police.

According to Geelani, Indian army and paramilitary troopers have occupied 138,057 hectares of land across the region.

Amid clashes a shopping complex caught fire in which several shops were gutted. The locals alleged that the complex caught fire after a stray smoke shell fired by police exploded inside the building.

"A shop in a shopping complex caught fire but the stone pelters did not allow the fire tenders to reach the shop and extinguish the fire. The fire was brought under control later on," read the police statement.

Kashmir protesters clash with army

Hundreds of protesters have clashed with troops in the Kashmiri city of Srinagar, as they rallied for an end to Indian rule in the region.

At least seven demonstrators and four soldiers were injured in the unrest on Friday, the region's senior police official said.

Protesters, chanting "We want freedom" and "Indian troops leave Kashmir," set fire to a checkpoint and pelted the soldiers with rocks.

Army used tear gas and fired warning shots to disperse the crowds.

Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a separatist leader, had called for a shutdown of shops and other establishments in the town.

He led thousands of people in a march after Friday prayers, demanding the withdrawal of Indian forces from the India-administrated part of Kashmir.

India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over the predominantly Muslim Himalayan region, which is claimed in full by both countries.

India has an estimated 700,000 soldiers in Kashmir to counter groups that have fought Indian rule since 1989.

More than 40,000 people have been killed and over 200,000 displaced in the uprising and subsequent Indian crackdown.