-"Times Of Israel"- In a move considered aggressive by US and European officials, Russia has sent at least 12 warships to patrol waters near its naval base in Tartous, Syria.

The deployment appears to be a warning to Israeli and Western officials against military intervention in Syria’s bloody civil war, which has now claimed the lives of over 80,000 people. 

Russia’s increased presence in the region — which began raising eyebrows in the US three months ago — represents one of its largest sustained naval deployments since the Cold War, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Also Thursday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov shrugged off Israeli pleas not to sell sophisticated S-300 air defense systems to Bashar Assad’s regime, saying Moscow would fulfill its contract with Damascus. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin, in emergency talks on Tuesday, that the sale could push the region toward war.

Quantitative Easing is the term given to the Federal Reserve’s policy of printing 1,000 billion new dollars annually in order to finance the US budget deficit by purchasing US Treasury bonds and to keep the prices high of debt-related derivatives on the “banks too big to fail” (BTBF) balance sheets by purchasing mortgage-backed derivatives. Without QE, interest rates would be much higher, and values on the banks’ balance sheets would be much lower.

Quantitative Easing has been underway since December 2008. During these 54 months, the Federal Reserve has created several trillion new dollars with which the Fed has monetized the same amount of debt. 

One result of this policy is that most real US interest rates are negative. Another result is that the supply of dollars has outstripped the world’s demand for dollars. 

These two results are the reason that the Federal Reserve’s policy of printing money with which to purchase Treasury bonds and mortgage backed derivatives threatens the dollar’s exchange value and, thus, the dollar’s role as world reserve currency.

To be the world reserve currency means that the dollar can be used to pay any and every country’s oil bills and trade deficit. The dollar is the medium of international payment. 

This is very helpful to the US and is the main source of US power. Because the dollar is the reserve currency, the US can cover its import costs and pay for its cost of operation simply by creating its own paper money.

If the dollar were not the reserve currency, Washington would not be able to finance its wars or continue to run large trade and budget deficits. Therefore, protecting the exchange value of the dollar is Washington’s prime concern if it is to remain a superpower.

The threats to the dollar are alternative monies–currencies that are not being created in enormous quantities, gold and silver, and Bitcoins, a digital currency. 

The Bitcoin threat was eliminated on May 17 when the Gestapo Department of Homeland Security seized Bitcoin’s accounts. The excuse was that Bitcoin had failed to register in keeping with the US Treasury’s anti-money laundering requirements.

Washington has stifled the threat from other currencies by convincing other large currencies to out-print the dollar. Japan has complied, and the European Central Bank, though somewhat constrained by Germany, has entered the printing mode in order to bail out the private banks endangered by the “sovereign debt crisis.”

That leaves gold and silver. The enormous increase in the prices of gold and silver over the last decade convinced Washington that there are a number of miscreants who do not trust the dollar and whose numbers must not be permitted to increase. 

The price of gold rose from $272 an ounce in December 2000 to $1,917.50 on August 23, 2011. The financial gangsters who own and run America panicked. With the price of the dollar collapsing in relation to historical real money, how could the dollar’s exchange rate to other currencies be valid? If the dollar’s exchange value came under attack, the Federal Reserve would have to stop printing and would lose control over interest rates.

The bond and stock market bubbles would pop, and the interest payments on the federal debt would explode, leaving Washington even more indebted and unable to finance its wars, police state, and bankster bailouts.

Something had to be done about the rising price of gold and silver.

There are two bullion markets. One is a paper market in New York, Comex, where paper claims to gold are traded. The other is the physical market where personal possession is taken of the metal–coin shops, bullion dealers, jewelry stores.

The way the banksters have it set up, the price of bullion is not set in the markets in which people actually take possession of the metals. The price is set in the paper market where speculators gamble. 

This bifurcated market gave the Federal Reserve the ability to protect the dollar from its printing press.

On Friday, April 12, 2013, short sales of gold hit the New York market in an amount estimated to have been somewhere between 124 and 400 tons of gold. This enormous and unprecedented sale implies an illegal conspiracy of sellers intent on rigging the market or action by the Federal Reserve through its agents, the BTBF that are the bullion banks. 

The enormous sales of naked shorts drove down the gold price, triggering stop-loss orders and margin calls. The attack continued on Monday, April 15, and has continued since.

Before going further, note that there are position limits imposed on the number of contracts that traders can sell at one time. The 124 tons figure would have required 14 traders with no open interest on the exchange to sell all together in the same few minutes 40,000 futures contracts. The likelihood of so many traders deciding to short at the same moment at the maximum permitted is not believable. This was an attack ordered by the Federal Reserve, which is why there is no investigation of the illegality.

Note also that no seller that wanted out of a position would give himself a low price by dumping an enormous amount all at once unless the goal was not profit but to smash the bullion price.

Since the April 12-15 attack on the gold price, subsequent attacks have occurred at 2pm Hong Kong time and 2 am New York time. At this time activity is light, waiting on London to begin operating. As William S.Kaye has observed, no entity concerned about profits would choose this time to sell 20,000 to 30,000 futures contracts, but this is what has been happening. 

Who can be unconcerned with losing money in this way? Only a central bank that can print it.

Now we come to the physical market where people take possession of bullion instead of betting on paper instruments. Look at this chart from ZeroHedge. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-05-16/gold-demand-one-chart-physical-vs-etf The demand for physical possession is high, despite the assault on gold that began in 2011, but as the price is set in the non-real paper market, orchestrated short sales, as in the current quarter of 2013, can drive down the price regardless of the fact that the actual demand for gold and silver cannot be met.

While the corrupt Western financial press urges people to abandon bullion, everyone is trying to purchase more, and the premiums above the spot price have risen. Around the world there is a shortage of gold and silver in the forms, such as one-ounce coins and ten-ounce bars, that individuals demand.

That the decline in gold and silver prices is an orchestration is apparent from the fact that the demand for bullion in the physical market has increased while naked short sales in the paper market imply a flight from bullion. 

What does this illegal manipulation of markets by the Federal Reserve tell us? It tells us that the Federal Reserve sees no way out of printing money in order to support the federal deficit and the insolvent banks. If the dollar came under attack and the Federal Reserve had to stop printing dollars, interest rates would rise. The bond and stock markets would collapse. The dollar would be abandoned as reserve currency. Washington would no longer be able to pay its bills and would lose its hegemony. The world of hubristic Washington would collapse.

It remains to be seen whether Washington can prevail over the world demand for gold and silver. Can the dollar remain supreme when offshoring has deprived the US of the ability to cover its imports with exports? Can the dollar remain supreme when the Federal reserve is creating 1,000 billion new ones each year, while the BRICS, China and Japan, China and Australia, and China and Russia are making deals to settle their trade balances without the use of the dollar?

If the consumption-based US economy deprived of consumer income by jobs offshoring takes a further dip down in the third or fourth quarter–a downturn that cannot be masked by phony statistical releases–the federal deficit will rise. What will be the effect on the dollar if the Federal Reserve has to increase its Quantitative Easing?

A perfect storm has been prepared for America. Real interest rates are negative, but debt and money are being created hand over foot. The dollar’s demise awaits the world’s decision how to get out of it. The Federal Reserve can print dollars with which to keep the bond and stock markets high, but the Federal Reserve cannot print foreign currencies with which to keep the dollar afloat.

When the dollar goes, Washington’s power goes, which is why the bullion market is rigged. Protect the power. That is the agenda. Is it another Washington over-reach?

As a matter of fact, the earth is just a part of another more expansive mosque (a place of worship), that is, the whole of the universe. The Holy Qur'an repeatedly asserts that everything in the universe: the sun, the moon and all the stars, including the earth itself, incessantly glorifies, sings praises and prostrates itself to Allah, the Creator, Master and Sustainer. A hint as to the way in which Allah created the heavens and the earth and how obedient and devoted they are, Allah says: "Then He turned to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: "Come both of you, willingly or unwillingly." They said: "We come, obedient." Then He ordained them seven heavens in two periods and inspired in each heaven its duty and command; and We adorned the lower heaven with lamps, and rendered it inviolable. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Knower." (Fussilat, 11, 12)."To Him belongs every being that is in the heavens and on earth: all are devoutly obedient to Him." (al-Rum, 26).

By the universe and its numerous worshippers, we do not mean only the celestial planets, stars and other objects, but also all the physical unintelligent living things therein. It is exceptionally interesting that Allah in His Qur'an is explicit about this aspect of His creation. He says: "And one of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and what He has spread forth in both of them of living beings (dabbah); and when He pleases He is all-powerful to gather them together." (al-Shura, 29)

Abdullah Yusuf Ali commented on this verse as follows: "Life is not confined to our little planet. Though no scientific demonstration is possible, it is reasonable to suppose that life in some form or other is scattered through some of the millions of heavenly bodies scattered through space. What a wonderful sign of Allah! The Almighty Who created such countless beings has surely the power to bring them together."

We assert – and Allah knows best — that those faithful and obedient life forms scattered through space, which render the universe a place of worship (mosque), are unintelligent, in the sense that they are dissimilar from and cannot possibly rival man, because the presence of man for whom, and because of whom, the universe has been created, is confined to the planet earth alone. This has been explicitly and in various contexts divulged by Allah, the Creator, time and again in the Qur'an. He said, for example: "Behold, your Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." (al-Baqarah, 30)

We also cannot but contend that those extraterrestrial life forms are physical, which exclude angels and jinns who are spiritual beings, because the word used in the verse quoted above is "dabbah" which normally means any type of animals, or mammals and reptiles that crawl or walk on two or four legs. Allah says: "And Allah has created every animal (dabbah) from water: of them there are some that creep on their bellies; some that walk on two legs; and some that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills for verily Allah has power over all things." (al-Nur, 45)

The universe, thus, is replete with "aliens" which may or may not be similar to what exists on the earth. However, those "aliens" are non-human and, in all likelihood, unintelligent animals. Their forms, lifestyles and the environments in which they subsist have been designed in such a way that they perfectly suit and support each other. As another possible hint at this remarkable truth, Allah says that He creates many other things, apart from what is known to man, of which man has no knowledge whatsoever. (al-Nahl, 8) Allah also affirms that of knowledge it is only a little that has been communicated to man (al-Isra', 85), and regardless of what his achievements and discoveries might ever be, man will never be able to triumph over this inborn "ignorant" state of his.

Besides, to the virtually infinite kingdom of the heavenly mosque (a place of worship) we can also add the world of angels many of whom, although spiritual beings created from light (nur), reside in the heavens and some even on the earth due to a number of assignments given to them by Allah. They by nature endlessly worship Allah never experiencing any deficiency or fatigue in their total and incessant devoutness. They are Allah's most obedient servants who are unable to err. The Prophet (pbuh) has said that in the earthly heaven (al-sama' al-dunya) there is no space as big as a span of a hand, which is vacant. It is all occupied by angels who continuously and in different postures worship Allah.

The Qur'an makes a reference to the al-Bayt al-Ma'mur (the Oft-Frequented House) (al-Tur, 5), or the seventh heaven's holly mosque or the Ka'bah, of which the Prophet (pbuh) also spoke. The following is an extract from Ibn Kathir's commentary of the Qur'anic verse in which a reference to the al-Bayt al-Ma'mur has been made: "In the two Sahihs (the Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim) it is confirmed that the Messenger of Allah said in the Hadith about al-Isra', after ascending to the seventh heaven: "Then, I was taken to al-Bayt al-Ma`mur. It is visited every day by seventy thousand angels who will not come back to visit it again." The angels worship Allah in al-Bayt al-Ma`mur and perform tawaf (circumambulation) around it just as the people of the earth perform tawaf around the Ka`bah. Al-Bayt al-Ma`mur is the Ka`bah of those who reside in the seventh heaven. During the Isra' journey, the Prophet (pbuh) saw Ibrahim al-Khalil, who was reclining with his back on al-Bayt al-Ma`mur. It was Ibrahim who built the Ka`bah on earth, and surely, the reward is compatible with the action. Al-Bayt al-Ma`mur is parallel to the Ka`bah; every heaven has its own house of worship, which is also the direction of prayer for its residents. The house that is located in the lower heaven, is called Bayt al-`Izzah."

The Prophet (pbuh) has also said that the earthly Ka'bah was built directly under the heavenly al-Bayt al-Ma'mur. If the latter falls, it would fall directly on the former. Such is the arrangement between the two holy mosques, or Ka'bahs, that despite the constant movement of all the heavenly bodies, including the earth, the two mosques always remain one above the other. Prophet Adam too is said to have worshipped Allah in the al-Bayt al-Ma'mur prior to his descent to the earth.

In this context we can also mention the world of jinns, many of whom are believers, and who constantly roam the earth and the heavens for different reasons. They are made from fire (nar). The believing section of jinns, though spiritual beings, certainly helps in rendering the universe an infinite and a very amazing and complex place of worship, or a mosque. In addition, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has been sent to convey Allah's final revealed message to both men and jinns. In the Qur'an there is an entire chapter dedicated to jinns. It is called "al-Jinn" (jinns).

Indeed, by all these and other similar Qur'anic truths about existence, believers have been invited to constantly reflect on their surrounding earthly and heavenly realities in order to try to comprehend them and their own position in the matrix of creation, and to try to comprehend the nature and framework of their relations with the other protagonists of life. They are thus to always grow, to be optimistic and visionary. Being passive or static is uncharacteristic of them. Believers' growth starts from their private domestic mosques, and via the neighborhood, jami' and the earthly mosques, it culminates in the highest levels of spiritual meaning and experience, a state which transcends their physical contexts dominated by the time and space factors. These are typified by the nature and expanse of the heavenly mosque which extends as far as the furthermost frontiers of the phenomenon of creation and towards which everything earthly aspires and aims. The supreme heavenly mosque signifies the limitless potentials of the truth and its seekers, as well as that there are neither insurmountable obstacles nor unreachable goals in a believer's quest for enrichment, success and growth. Even the sky does not constitute the limit. The Believers aim is higher than that.

Dr. Spahic Omer, a Bosnian currently residing in Malaysia, is an Associate Professor at the Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design, International Islamic University Malaysia. He studied in Bosnia, Egypt and Malaysia. His research interests cover Islamic history, culture and civilization, as well as the history and philosophy of the Islamic built environment. 

The main purpose of ICC is to meet the emerging challenges and deal with burning issues facing the community besides seeking to play a role in the overall development of the country.

The need for such a body has been felt for sometimes in view of the continuous  moral decadence  of Muslim politicians who had become community’s shameful liability Even the others  failed to rise up to the occasion to protect the interest of the community.

It was also reminded that such efforts were made in the past and the failure to do so had cost the community a great deal.

Under such circumstance, when the community was left in lurch, the need for a  genuine group of people to take over the task of guiding the community was felt badly .This was especially so in the context of fierce anti-Muslim campaign unleashed by a  small number of ethno religious fascists  aimed at pitting the mainstream Sinhalese against peaceful Muslim community.

The result was the formation of Interim Consultative Council, ICC, aimed at rescuing the community.

In the short term the ICC will seek to deal with challenges faced by the community whose very existence is threatened due to the abrupt rise of anti-Muslim forces with their sinister agendas against the Muslim community. They are suspected to have been backed by powerful local and foreign forces hostile to Muslims.

The organizers explained the purpose, shape and all other relevant details of the ICC which would pave the way for the final consultative council. These details were submitted to the participants for their comments which will be discussed at an open forum early next month.

Some of the main organizations attended the gathering include All Ceylon Jamiathul Ulema, ACJU, Tabligh Jamaath, Thowheed Jamaath, Jamiathe Islami and Thareekas besides professionals, intellectuals, businessmen and others.

In his inaugural speech Yusuf Mufthi of ACJU explained the great importance attached to consultation in Islam in arriving at any decision. 

It was also addressed by General Secretary of ACJU  Sheikh M,.M.M.Mubarak, Sharia Council   President Moulavi Hasbulla, Shaikh Mufti Yusuf Haniffa, Professor M Siddeeq of Peradeniya University, Moulavi A.L.M. Ibrahim, former Ameer of Jamaathe Islami, Ustad M.A.M.Mansoor, Professor A.L.H.M Ibrahim, former Sri Lanka Ambassador to Iran M.M.Zuhair, former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Javid Yusuf, Shaikh I.L.M.Hashim, Shaikh Ismail Salafi, Moulavi A.L.M.Hashim and Mansoor Dahlan.

They all supported the move in one voice as timely .There was consensus that the establishment of such a Shoora council may take time and thus they welcomed the decision to set up an interim consultative council as a prelude to the formation of a permanent Shoora Council.

Dr Musthafa Musthafa, Chairman of Colombo based Abrar Institute, explained the issues,   around 132, faced by the community to be tackled. Thus the task ahead is gigantic.However,as  the age old Chinese adage says that  ”one thousand mile journey begins with a  step”  the need to start somewhere to  reach somewhere was highlighted.

As part of its overall agenda the proposed NSC will be concerned about any threat to communal harmony or any   threat to the country by local NGOs, international forces, extremists from all communities   besides doing everything possible to ensure peace and harmony in the island.

The NSC will encourage people from grassroots to involve in participatory democracy to overcome issues; the centuries old ethnic politics and decorative political leadership. 

Tracing the circumstances which led to the formation of the ICC it was pointed out that it all happened when some dedicated young Muslims from all walks of life belonging to diverse professions and committed to the welfare of the community met around early last January to discuss what could be done to save the sinking community. They met at a time when the racist elements were building up hatred towards the community and destroying communal harmony in the country.

Since then they held meeting after meeting .Following lengthy stormy sessions they prepared a list of names of people who could fit into this agenda. They screened and selected each and every one and finally ended up selecting around 200 people, from different fields, who could play a significant role in guiding the community in the right direction.

Such careful screening was essential, because as Jemath Islami former chief Moulavi Ibrahim rightly said” there are Bodu Sala Senas within our own community .Thus the need to bring together   likeminded sincere group which would place the interest of the community above their own interests.

Once the list was finalized they didn’t rush. Instead they formed into different teams and met individuals, groups, associations and personally explained the concept .The overall response has been spontaneous reception. Encouraged by the response and equipped with all relevant details they formed an Interim Committee for National Shoora Initiative.

The Interim Committee absorbed ideas from eight different models and prepared a provisional concept which could be adjusted to suit the need of the time within the framework of Islamic teachings. In doing so it was decided that the NSC will not directly discuss or decide on any matter relating to Shareeah, not overshadow or pose a threat to the existing organizations in any manner and the voluntary interim committee consisting of persons of diverse backgrounds will not opt to be members of the Shoora.

The characteristics of the proposed NSC will be inclusive and participatory, widely represented, consultative, united and coordinated, independent, recognized and accepted, accommodative, assertive, authoritative and able to make decisions binding all.

Some of the qualifications to be members of the NSC include the need to abide by Islamic principles, genuinely committed to the development of the community, will to dedicate time and energy, president/chairman or an authorized member of an organization who has a say in it, locally or internationally recognized person in relevant fields, patriotic and supportive of national development and be apolitical.

Bashar Ja’afari, Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the UN, addresses the Assembly on May 15. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

UNITED NATIONS, May 15 2013 (IPS) - When the 193-member General Assembly voted Wednesday to condemn the beleaguered government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, there was an increase in the number of sceptics who neither supported nor opposed the tottering regime in Damascus.

The resolution, which is legally non-binding, was adopted by a vote of 107-12, compared with 133-12 last August.

As the number of supporters to the resolution declined, from 133 to 107, the abstentions increased significantly, from 31 to 59, including a mix of Asian, African and Latin American countries.

The abstentions included Algeria, Bangladesh, India, Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, El Salvador, Eritrea, Fiji, Kenya, Lebanon, Myanmar, Singapore, Sudan, South Sudan and Uruguay.

Asked for a response, Jose Luis Diaz, Amnesty International’s U.N. representative in New York, told IPS, “I think the number of abstentions – and the divisions in the General Assembly – are the consequence of political considerations.”

He said some countries would have preferred to give space to a renewed push for negotiations in the wake of the recent agreement between Russia and the United States, including a proposed international conference on Syria.

“They abstained because to vote ‘no’ would have been to side openly with Assad and to ignore the appalling crimes taking place in Syria,” Diaz said.

“All in all,” he said, “I don’t think there’s much disagreement among the vast majority of the General Assembly members – not counting the Syrian government and its supporters, like Russia, China and North Korea – about what is needed in Syria.”

As expected, China and Russia voted against the resolution, as they did in the Security Council when they exercised their vetoes on three Western-sponsored resolutions condemning the Syrian regime and the killing of civilians.

Besides Syria, China and Russia, the countries voting against the resolution included Bolivia, Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, Ecuador, Iran, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

The resolution, drafted by Qatar and co-sponsored or backed by most of the Arab countries and Western powers, recognised the Syrian National Coalition as “effective representative interlocutors needed for a political transition” in Syria.

Unlike resolutions adopted by the Security Council, General Assembly resolutions are not legally enforceable.

Asked if the resolution will have any impact, Luis Diaz told IPS, “It probably won’t have an immediate impact, but one good thing would be if it builds pressure on the Security Council to take up the issue again and press for binding action.”

Lost in the highly political debate on the resolution text, he said, was the fact that it has the strongest language on accountability of any of the previous General Assembly resolutions on Syria.

Russia, which lobbied last week against the resolution, described it as “very harmful and destructive”.

Russia’s deputy permanent representative Ambassador Alexander Pankin said, “It’s particularly irresponsible and counterproductive to promote this when the United States and Russia reached a very important agreement … and need a unified approach.”

Early this week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in Moscow and agreed on a proposed international conference on Syria.

U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo told delegates Tuesday that over the last 26 months “we have witnessed a brutal conflict in Syria”.

She said the Assad regime, drawing upon an arsenal of heavy weapons, aircraft, ballistic missiles, and potentially chemical weapons, has killed or injured untold numbers of civilians who for many months manifested their opposition purely through peaceful protest.

She said the sustained violence has created a severe humanitarian crisis with more than 1.4 million refugees and 4.25 million internally displaced persons within Syria.

“The consequences of this crisis are growing more dire not only within Syria, but across the region,” DiCarlo said.

She singled out the generosity of the governments and people of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and others who host large numbers of refugees “which has been extraordinary.”

“But these countries now face grave threats to their security and an overwhelming economic burden. It is clear that we need a Syrian-led peaceful political transition,” she added.

As the campaign began to intensify, Boutros-Ghali recounted a brief encounter with Chidzero, a longstanding friend, at a conference in Africa, a continent which at that time claimed the job of U.N. chief on the basis of geographical rotation.

Chidzero, who hailed from an English-speaking country and was backed by the UK and the 54-member Commonwealth of mostly ex-British colonies, was in conversation with Boutros-Ghali when he suddenly switched from English to French.

Having picked up the subtle message, Boutros-Ghali said he put his arms around Chidzero and jokingly remarked, “Bernard, if you want the approval of France, you must not only speak French, but also speak English with a French accent.”

France, a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, has been so passionately protective of its language that it may well have exercised its veto on any candidate who did not speak French.

And no one who aspires to be the secretary-general of the United Nations can expect to be elected to office if he or she does not have a working knowledge of French – or at least promises to master the language – because France considers it the “language of international diplomacy”.

Over the last 66 years, the two working languages of the United Nations have been primarily English and French, although there are four other official languages recognised by the world body: Chinese, Arabic, Spanish and Russian.

Boutros-Ghali, who was fluent in English, Arabic and French, held “the world’s most impossible job” from January 1992 through December 1996.

Last week the 132-member Group of 77 developing countries complained “that the disparity among the use of the (six) official languages on the U.N. website has continued to deepen.”

Ambassador Peter Thomson of Fiji, the current G77 chair, told the Committee on Information that despite the efforts of the Department of Public Information (DPI) to improve the multilingual contents of the U.N. website, the shortcomings continue.

“The Group reiterates its request that content-providing offices in the U.N. Secretariat translate all English language materials and databases into all official languages and make them available on the respective language websites,” he implored.

Last month the DPI took the initiative to pilot the translation of press releases into Spanish during the meeting of the Commission on Population and Development.

Currently, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations is the only U.N. website in all six languages.

Asked for a response, U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq told IPS that as for press releases, the two regular units are the ones that put out press releases in English and in French, the two official working languages of the United Nations.

“However, we have radio services in many more languages, including the six official languages, and we translate the secretary-general’s messages into a large number of languages, including those six, once they are disseminated,” he said.

Haq said simultaneous interpretation is therefore not the only instance where the U.N. uses all six languages.

Another example is U.N. documents, including resolutions, the secretary-general’s reports, exchanges of letters and so forth, which are translated into all six languages, he added.

Asked about the language skills of the current secretary-general, Haq said Ban Ki-moon speaks three of the six languages (English, French and Chinese), along with Korean.

“When he travels, he also tries to use his grasp of other languages,” Haq said. “That also answers your other question, since Boutros Boutros-Ghali was not the only secretary-general fluent in three languages: Javier Perez de Cuellar (of Peru) was fluent in English, French and Spanish.”

Asked for her response, Ambassador Lyutha Sultan Al-Mughairy of Oman, chair of the Committee on Information, told IPS her committee, for the first time, underlined the responsibility of the Secretariat in mainstreaming multilingualism in all its communication and information activities, “within existing resources on an equitable basis”.

“It is thus a reference that is not limited to DPI. That said, the new under secretary-General for DPI, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, has offered innovative ideas in this regard,” she added.

A pilot project was launched in issuing press releases in Spanish for meetings of a major commission last month.

And the website of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali is in all six languages, she pointed out.

With the support of U.N. Volunteers, the introductions to chapters of the most recent Yearbook of the United Nations have been translated into all official languages.

“So I believe there is much that is creatively possible and I believe we have a leadership in DPI which wishes to do its best,” said Ambassador Al-Mughairy.

Many conferences are being held in various part of the world in the form of Dialogue between Islam and Christianity and Islam and Judaism. Many Muslim and Christian Organizations on the part western world are playing a significant role in promoting understanding, dialogue and co-existence between Muslims, Christians and Jews, but very little attempts have been made to initiate a dialogue between Islam and other Oriental religions at International level.

The followers of oriental religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism constitute about half of the world population and the oriental religions had played an important role in shaping the spiritual traditions of humanity. The orient has a long history of peaceful co-existence between religions, except for few instances in which there had been frictions and conflicts due to reasons that are more political and economic and less motivated by religious impulses and more over conflicts of this nature are not the norm but exceptions.

However, now the time has come to come together with an open mind to engage in dialogue and to make a sincere effort to discover the shared values and commonalities of love, respect, tolerance, forgiveness, mercy, peace, brotherhood and freedom among the religions of the east. It is on the basis of these shared values we can evolve a framework for peaceful co-existence.

When Islam encountered Christianity during the early phase of its history, it acted in the same spirit inviting the Christian to come to understanding with the Muslims on the basis of the commonalities of both religions.

Say: “O people of the book! Come common terms as between us and you: that we worship none but Allah, that we associate no partners with him, that we take not from among ourselves Lords and patrons other than Allah. (Quran: 3:64)”

Islam believes in the universal God-Rabbul A’lameen – which means the creator and sustainer of the world – whose mercy and compassion, benevolence and care embraces the entire creation. Islam also believes in the universality of revelation and according to Islamic belief since the creation of mankind, Allah has sent his prophets and messengers with divine guidance to all nations and communities.

“For every community was sent a messenger” Quran: 10:47

“And there are never was a people without a Warner having lived among them” Quran 35:24

Quran only mentions the prophets whose life and message had a bearing onthe mission of Prophet Muhammad and who appeared in the region bordering the geographical space of Islam. “We have indeed sent prophets before you (Muhammad) about some of whom we have informed you, about others we have not” Quran 14:4

In respect of the prophets who had appeared in the East, Quran has not made any mention of them and this by no means imply that no prophets or divine messengers were sent to this part of the world. The East is an heir to a great spiritual tradition nurtured by the religions like Hinduism and Buddhism and in the teachings of these religions one can easily discern a glimpse of prophetic teachings. Islam recognizes diversity and pluralism, and this is very clearly indicated in the following verses of Quran.

“Had God so willed he could surely have made them all one single community” Quran 42:8.

“For each of you we have established a law and a path. Had God willed he could make you one community but his plan is to test you in what he had given you. So vie with one another in good works. Unto God you will return” Quran 5:48

Diversity is presented as a factor which contributes to the enrichment of human life, culture and civilization whereby different groups, communities and nations come to know each other in a spirit of tolerance and mutual understanding.

“O mankind! We created you from a single pair of male female and made you into nation and tribes that you may know one another” Quran 49:13.

This verse of the Quran highlights three important facts: This passage is addressed to entire mankind not specifically Muslims ,the creation of humanity into distinct groups came from God and distinction and diversity are of positive value, it encourages people to transcend these differences to learn from each other.

The Quranic phrase Litha a’rafu in the above verse, which means to know each other, is of great significance. By this call, Quran invites the nations and ethnicities that constitute humanity to come to know each other discovering the commonalities that bind them as members of the larger human family.

Against this wider background of Islamic perspective of diversity and pluralism I wish to make some general observations about Islam and how it encountered Buddhism in the course of its historical expansion resulting in fruitful cultural dialogue. Alex Berzin, a scholar of Tibetan Buddhism who had made substantial contribution to Buddhist Muslim dialogue observes in his book ‘Buddhist – Muslim Doctrinal Relations : Past, Present and Future’ that there has been interaction between Islam and Buddhism for over a period of thousand years and this has been very constructive and fruitful.

There is a long history of relations between Islam and Buddhism. These two major religions of the World came into contact first in Central Asia and later in South Asia and South East Asia. The first encounter between Islam and Buddhism took place in the Middle of the 7th Centuries in East Persia, Transoxiana, Afghanistan and Sind.

During the Umayyad period with the expansion of Muslim rule in central Asia northern Afghanistan and western Turkistan, and with the capture of Balkh in 663 AD the lands to which Buddhism already spread came under the Muslim rule and here the first contact occurred between Islam and Buddhism. The Umayyad rulers followed the same policy towards the Buddhists that they followed earlier in the same century in respect of Hindus after the conquest of Sind. Following the conquest of Sind by Mohamed ibn Qasim in 711 AD Muslims encountered Hinduism a religion which they had never known before.

Muhammad ibn Qasim sought instructions from the caliph in Damascus on how to treat the followers of new religion. The caliph called a council of Ulama to render a judgment on the basis of the governor’s report. TheUlamassuggested that the concept of theAhlul Kithabwhich was originally applied to Christens and Jews could be extended to include Hindus and Buddhists.

The Muslims knowledge of Buddhism during the Umayyad period could be seen in the writings of Umar bin Al Azreq Al karmani. This Arab author gives an exposition of Buddhism and its customs drawing parallel with certain Islamic practices Al Karmani gives a detailed account of Nava Vihara(Nawbhar) at the beginning of the eight century and his account is preserved in the later tenth century work Kitab – ul – Buldan of Ibn-ul- Faquihal Hamadani. Nava Vihara was a Buddhist monastery near the ancient city of Balkh in the Greater Khurasan province.

Alex Berzin in his article “Historical sketches of Buddhism and Islam in Afghanistan observes as follows: “Al Kiramni’s description indicates an open and respectful attitude by the Arab Muslims in trying to understand non-Muslim religions such as Buddhism that they encountered in conquered territories.”

Nava Vihara under Muslim rule continued to flourish as an important monastery and the Han Chinese pilgrim Yijing (I-tsing) visited Nave Vihara in 680 AD and observed it as flourishing center of Buddhist learning.

During the Abbasid period Caliph Mansoor (752-775 AD) established an institution called Baitul Hikma with a translation Bureau. He invited scholars in various religious and cultural traditions to translate scientific texts available in Greek and Sanskrit into Arabic. And in respect of Sanskrit apart from scientific texts Buddhist scholars translated into Arabic few Mahayana and Heenayana Sutras dealing with devotional ethical themes.

Yahiya bn Barmak, the Muslim grandson of one of the Buddhist administrative heads of Nawa Vihara was the minister of Abbasid Caliph Harun Al- Rashid (786-808 AD). Under his influence the Caliph invited from India the Buddhist scholars to translate Buddhist texts into Arabic. The kitab Al-Fihrist of Ibnu Nadeem(995 AD) mentions the list of Buddhist works and among them was the Arabic version of an account of Buddha’s previous life. This Arabic translation entitled Kitab-ul Bhud –(Book of Buddah) was the text based on two Sanskrit works “Jatheka Mala” (a rosary of previous life’s account of Buddha’s) and Buddha Charitha.

Ibn Al Nadeem (D.985 AD, the author of Al Fihrist) observes also as follows: “These people (Buddhist of Khurasan) are the most generous of all the inhabitants of the earth and all the religious. This is because their prophet Budhasf (Bodhisattva) has taught them that the greatest sin, which should never be thought of or committed, is the utterance of “No”. Hence they act upon this advice; they regard the uttering of “No” as an act of Satan. And it is their very religion to banish Satan”.

The great Muslim scholar of comparative Religion during the Suljik period Al-Shahristhani (1086- 1153 AD) wrote a book entitledKitab al Milal Wan Nihel– a text in Arabic on non-Muslim religions which contains some references to Buddhist texts. He shows high regard for Buddhism and its spirituality.

An Egyptian scholar of recent time, Hamid Ab Al Kadir in his book Buddha Al Akbar Hayathuhu val Falsafathuhu (The great Buddha – his life and Philosophy) holds the views that prophet Zul kifl mentioned in the Quran (chapter 21 and verse 85 )- refers to Buddha. Kifle according to him is an arabicized form of Kapil the abbreviation of Kapila Vasthu.

During the Mongol period the Muslim Mongol ruler Ghazan khan (1295-1304 AD) commissioned Rasheedud deen to write the history of the world both in Arabic and Persian. Ghazan khan invited to his court Bakshi Kamalashri a Buddhist monk from Kashmir to assist the historian in writing a section on the life and teaching of the Buddha. This book gives a account of Buddha and he is classed as a prophet with a book called “Abi dharma”.

This long historical interaction between Islam and Buddhism is an eloquent testimony to the fact that it is only through understanding, tolerance and mutual respect that fruitful dialogue could be established between religions and cultures.

Religious tolerance is not achieved by reducing all religions to one denominator nor by explaining away differences in belief and practices as accident of historical development. Tolerance in respect of religions involves the capacity to confess the differences and diversities as real, basic and fundamental and to make a sincere effort to rise above these differences identifying the shared values and commonalities.

Islam and Buddhism share some common values that could form a strong basis for dialogue between these two religions. Generally speaking compassion and mercy, love and kindness to living beings, patience and forgiveness, tolerance and generosity are some of the important values emphasized by both Islam and Buddhism. Love, compassion and mercy are values that find an important place in Islam and Buddhism. Ar- Rahman – the merciful- and Ar- Raheem – the compassionate- are two important attributes of Allah. His love and mercy finds its manifestation in entire creation.

“My mercy encompasses everything” Quran 7:156.

Prophet of Islam is reported to have said as follows: “Have mercy on those who are on the earth Allah who is in the heaven will have mercy on you”Al Tirmidhi.

In Islam love and kindness embrace not only mankind but it is also extended to entire creation of Allah. “The creation is God’s family” stated the prophet. Compassion and mercy are central to Buddhist ethics. Buddhism places much emphasis on Metta (loving kindness) Karuna (compassion) Muditha (sympathetic joy) and Upekka (equanimity) as means of avoiding resentment. According to the Buddha love and compassion will be generated only in a mind which is free from anger and hatred.

Harbouring pleasant thoughts in the mind, eradication of hatred and cultivating love and kindness leads to purity of mind. It is anger and hatred that leads to tension and conflict.

Dhammapada which contains the teachings of Buddha describes anger as follow:

“Anger is like a chariot

He who curbs anger is the true charioteer

Others merely hold the reins

With gentleness overcome anger

With generosity overcome meanness.”The Dhammapada, Verses 222

To be continued

Not brainwashed: American converts to Islam speak out

Jonel Aleccia

When an American convert to Islam was revealed as the wife of the dead Boston bombing suspect, Lauren Schreiber wasn't surprised at what came next. Comments from former acquaintances and complete strangers immediately suggested that 24 year old Katherine Russell, a New England doctor's daughter, must have been coerced and controlled by her husband, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died last week in a firefight with police. She was a very sweet woman, but I think kind of brainwashed by him,” reported the

Associated Press, quoting Anne Kilzer, a Belmont, Mass woman who said she knew Russell and her 3 year old daughter. That kind of assumption isn't new to Schreiber, 26, a Greenbelt, Md, woman who became a Muslim in 2010.

“The moment you put on a hijab, people assume that you've forfeited your free will,” says Schreiber, who favors traditional Islamic dress. The Boston terror attack and the questions about whether Russell knew about her husband's deadly plans have renewed stereotypes and misconceptions that U.S. women who have chosen that faith say they want to dispel.

Lauren Schreiber, 26, converted to Islam in 2010 after a study-abroad trip. She and others want to dispel stereotypes that have sprung up after news reports about Katherine Russell, 24, the US born wife of suspected Boston bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

“It's not because somebody made me do this,” explains Schreiber, who converted after a college study-abroad trip to West Africa. “It's what I choose to do and I'm happy.”

Her view is echoed by Rebecca Minor, 28, of West Hartford, Conn, a special education teacher who converted to Islam five years ago. When her students, ages 5 to 8, ask why she wears a headscarf, she always says the same thing: “It's something that's important to me and it reminds me to be a good person,” says Minor, who is secretary for the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut.

Muslims make up less than 1 percent of the US population, according to studies by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. In 2011, about 1.8 million U.S. adults were Muslim, and about 20 percent had converted to the faith, Pew researchers say. Of those converts, about 54 percent were men and 46 percent were women. About 1 in 5 converts mentioned family factors, including marrying a Muslim, as a reason for adopting the faith. Rebecca Minor, 28, of West Hartford, Conn, converted to Islam five years ago. Wearing a hijab “reminds me to be a good person,” she said.

Accusations are ‘harsh’

Women convert for a wide range of reasons – spiritual, intellectual and romantic – says Yvonne Haddad, a professor of the history of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations at Georgetown University. “Islam is attractive to women that the feminist movement left behind,” says Haddad, who co-authored a 2006 book, “Muslim Women in America: The Challenge of Islamic Identity Today.”

Women like Lindsey Faraj, 26, of Charlotte, NC, say that wearing a headscarf and other traditional Islamic garb in public often leads people to assume she sacrificed her American life to please a man.

“'You must have converted in order to marry him,’ I hear it all the time,” says Faraj, who actually converted simultaneously with her husband, Wathek Faraj, who is from Damascus, about four years ago.

She's also heard people say that her husband is allowed to beat her, that she's not free to get a divorce, that she and her two children, ages 4 months and 2, are subservient to the man. Such concepts are untrue, of course, she says.

Lindsey Faraj, 26, of Charlotte, NC, converted to Islam four years ago. She says it was thoughtful, heart-felt choice that changed her life.

“In the beginning, it did offend me a lot,” says Faraj, who grew up in a Christian family in Florida. “But now as my sense of my new self has grown, I don't feel offended.” She's able to joke, for instance, about the woman who screamed insults from a passing car.

“They screamed: ‘Go back to your own country’ and I thought, ‘It doesn't get more white than this, girl,'” says Faraj, indicating her fair features.

Like all stereotypes, such views are steeped in fear, says Haddad.

“Accusations of brainwashing are harsh,” she says. “They cover up the fact that we don't comprehend why people like ‘us’ want to change and be like ‘them.'”

All three women say they came to Islam after much thought and spiritual searching.

Islam ‘entered my heart’

Schreiber, who is a community outreach and events coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, says she was drawn to the religion after meeting other Muslims on her trip abroad before graduating from St. Mary's College of Maryland in 2009.

She grew up in an agnostic family where she was encouraged to discover her own faith. “It was whatever you decide to do – temple, church, mosque – I support you finding yourself,” says Schreiber. She's now married to a Muslim man, Muhammad Oda, 27, whose parents were both converts to Islam. She said came to the faith before the relationship. Faraj, a stay-at-home mom, says she never saw herself “as a religious person, in the least,” but became enthralled after trying to learn more about Islam before a visit to see her husband's family.

“The concept of Islam hit me,” Faraj recalls. “It was just something that entered my heart.

Minor, who is single, says she was intrigued by Islam in college, when she was close friends with a deployed American Marine but had Muslim friends at school.

“I saw a huge discrepancy in the negative things I heard coming from my (friend) and the actions I could see in my co-workers,” she recalls. After spending 18 months learning about Islam, she decided to convert. The response from family and friends has been overwhelmingly supportive, Minor says. The more you can do to educate people about Islam, not by preaching, but by actions, the better,” she says.

Reports that Katherine Russell might have been embroiled in an abusive relationship, or that her husband intimidated her aren't an indictment of Islam, Haddad says. “Abusive men come in all colors, nationalities, ethnicities and from all religions,” she says. “No one says that Christianity teaches abuse of women because some Christian men are abusive.” Schreiber says she frequently gets comments from people surprised to see her fair skin and hear her American accent from beneath a scarf. She says she appreciates it when people actually ask questions instead of making assumptions.

“I just want people to know that there are American Muslim women who wear hijab by choice because they believe in it and it feels right to them, not because anyone tells them to.

Source: NBC News – JoNel Aleccia, Senior Writer, NBC News