7/31/13 Syrian President joins Instagram as 7,000 people die every month in civil war

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Source New York Post

More than 7000 of his citizens are dying every month in a bloody civil war but Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has found time to join Instagram.

Assad, using the handle “syrianpresidency”, joined the photo-sharing network last week and had uploaded more than 50 photos – mostly shots of him greeting fans or his wife Asma al-Assad talking to citizens.

Syria’s civil war has claimed more than 100,000 lives in two years and Assad has been accused of using chemical weapons on his own people in the northern village of Khan al-Assal. Read more

7/23/13 Report: Millions of girls still at risk of female genital mutilation

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Source: CNN

(CNN) — The largest report yet into the extent of female genital mutilation, or cutting, has shed new light onto a practice that affects tens of millions of women and girls worldwide, U.N children’s agency UNICEF said.

There is some positive news in the new UNICEF report, with data on trends revealing that the practice is becoming less common in more than half of the 29 countries where it is concentrated.

Read more

On Yom HaShoah AIFD remembers the Holocaust

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Statement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

On Yom HaShoah AIFD remembers the Holocaust

 

PHOENIX, AZ (April 7, 2013) – Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, a devout Muslim and the president and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) issued the following statement to mark the day of Yom HaShoah.

“At this point in history with so much transformation and uncertainty throughout the Middle East and North Africa it is very important to take time and commemorate Yom HaShoah, which reminds us of the evil that was perpetrated on the Jewish people in the Holocaust. As we say together a collective – “Never Again!” and pray for all the victims and their families, we should resolve to bring the global community together in eradicating anti-Semitism from the earth.  This day of commemoration ensures that we will never forget.

At AIFD, as Muslims we worry about the rising tide of Islamism in the region and its use of anti-Semitism to gain power. Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, President of AIFD provided this testimony linked here to Congress on February 27, 2013 to the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations  on the direct link between Islamism and anti-Semitism and its threat to global security as it spreads among Muslim populations. We must stand in solidarity with the people of Israel and Jews from around the world to ensure that hatred and bigotry cannot dominate the region.  We must stand in the face of the supremacist ideology of Islamism and be outspoken advocates for religious freedoms

Yom HaShoah is an opportunity to remind ourselves what can happen when we allow bigotry to go unanswered and renew our vigilance to protect the rights of all.

We offer a fervent prayer to remind ourselves of the collective strength we have to make sure that the Holocaust is never repeated.”

About the American Islamic Forum for Democracy

The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization. AIFD’s mission advocates for the preservation of the founding principles of the United States Constitution, liberty and freedom, through the separation of mosque and state. For more information on AIFD, please visit our website at http://www.aifdemocracy.org/.

 

MEDIA CONTACTS:   Gregg Edgar
                                    Gordon C. James Public Relations
                                    gedgar@gcjpr.com
                                    602-690-7977

The Syrian riddle

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JC Derrick, Worldmag.com, 6/26/13

CONGRESS | House panel weighs plight of religious minorities in Syria

WASHINGTON—Despite widespread religious persecution in countries like war-torn Syria, the Obama administration is still opposed to creating a special envoy for religious minorities in the Middle East, according to a State Department official who testified before Congress on Tuesday.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Melia made the comments at a joint subcommittee hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing room regarding the plight of religious minorities in Syria.

Last week President Barack Obama announced the United States would begin arming Syrian rebels, purportedly because Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has used chemical weapons against his own people—which Obama had publicly characterized as a red line for U.S. intervention.

Read More at Worldmag.com

8/29/13 Syria Could Become Another Iraq on Religious Freedom, Says Retired Army Lt. Col.

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Read the entire story at ChristianPost.com

excerpt from article

But Dr. M Zuhdi Jasser, a Syrian-American and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, told CP that the Assad regime encouraged the religious violence.

“Religious liberty is at a historic low in Syria as the Assad regime has employed a scorched earth policy by intentionally stoking militants with sectarian divisions in order to rip apart Syria from within,” said Jasser.  “While the revolution began as a diverse political movement of all faiths against the Assad regime, it has now degenerated into a sectarian conflict dominated by the narrative of a Sunni dominated opposition against an Alawite regime which claims to be the protector of other religious minorities.”

Jasser also said that “if the U.S. takes a military role it needs to be decisive” in regards to military strikes, support for opposition, and the “information war” regarding popular opinion.

“Defeat Assad quickly and the proxy war with Iran ends quickly. Let it go longer and God knows where Iran takes its emboldened positioning,” said Jasser.