2nd Danish Version of Qur’an Released

A second Danish translation of the meanings of the Holy Qur’an and the first by a non-Muslim has seen the light in Denmark , in a bid to tell Danes what Islam is all about.

“I tried my best to translate the Qur’an,” Ellen Wulf, a PhD in Arabic language said.

“I’m not saying this is 100 per cent accurate and there might be some mistakes or vague meanings.”

Wulf said the translation was just a bid to introduce the Muslim holy book to Danes in a “simple and academic way.”

“Those who want to thoroughly and accurately understand the Qur’an must first learn Arabic, the language of the Muslim scripture,” she advised.

It took Wulf three years to get the mammoth task done. She depended on two translations of the meanings of the Holy Qur’an, a German and an English.

Wulf used communicative language though eloquent and expressive.

The publishing of the new translation, sponsored by a Danish businessman, was launched last week in a ceremony at the Copenhagen University .

Wulf said her translation was just the start. “Other accurate and more comprehensive translations could emerge in the future, but this is just a start and we still need to learn about the circumstances surrounding the revelation of Qur’an.”

Wulf sees no problem in a non-Muslim translating the Qur’an, saying this translation would be helpful for the new generations of Muslims in Denmark . But she is not enthusiastic about joining forces with Muslim writers and researchers. “I am not for this idea because translation is all about style which differs from one translator to another.”

The first translation was launched in 1967 by Abdullah Madsen. It drew much criticism because the author was influenced the Al-Ahmadiya school in addition to some linguistic mistakes.

Dutch Face-veil Ban Draws Fire

Dutch Muslims and opposition have accused the governing Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) of trying to win scores with the right-wing electorate by pledging to ban the Muslim face-veil if re-elected on November 22.

“This is a big law for a small problem,” Ayhan Tonca of the Dutch Muslim Organisation (CMO) said on November 19.

Tonca said as few as 30 women of the one-million Muslim minority in the Netherlands wear burqas, which cover the entire face and body.

Rita Verdonk, minister of immigration and integration, said the government would table a bill proposing a ban on the face-cover, describing it a threat to public order and safety.

“The ban would be imposed in public and ‘semi-public’ places such as schools, courts, ministries and trains,” her spokesman Martin Bruinsma was reported as saying on November 18.

Ahmed Markouch, a Moroccan mosques representative, predicted that the bill would go down badly with the country’s sizeable Muslim population, “because it comes from Verdonk, not because they are in favour of the burqa.”

“They are going to have to find a better argument than security. It is an infringement on the freedom of religion,” he said.

Riyadh Summit to Explore Ways of Bolstering GCC Ties

Leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council will hold their next summit in Riyadh on December 9 and 10 to explore ways of further bolstering cooperation and take up joint stances on major regional and international issues, most importantly the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Iraq’s security and territorial integrity.

Saudi King Abdullah is hosting the summit, the first such meeting held in Riyadh after his accession to the Saudi throne in August last year. A staunch advocate of empowering the GCC, Abdullah has often urged member countries to stand united to strengthen their position on the world stage.

Foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia , Qatar , Bahrain , Oman , Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) met in Riyadh on November 21 to finalise the agenda for the summit conference after going through the recommendations of the various ministerial panels for promoting cooperation in the areas of defence, security, economy, health, water, electricity and others. They also discussed joint projects of member countries as well as major developments at regional and international levels.

The Riyadh meeting will review progress on the GCC customs union, the common market, the monetary union, joint currency, joint water and railway projects, economic relations with other blocs and the impact of expatriates on the demographic structure of the Gulf states .

Pentagon Devises ‘Hybrid’ Iraq Plan

A Pentagon ad hoc group reviewing the situation in Iraq has devised a “hybrid” plan that aims to curb sectarian violence, train Iraqi servicemen and shrink the number of US troops in the country, reports said on November 20.

The plan is a mixture of three options outlined by the group commissioned by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Peter Pace to improve the situation in Iraq .

Dubbed “Go Big,” “Go Long” and “Go Home,” the three options proposed increasing the number of the US servicemen or shrinking the forces but staying longer or full withdrawal from the oil-rich country.

The review group, led by three high-profile colonels H.R. McMaster and Peter Mansoor of the Army, and Thomas C. Greenwood of the Marine Corps, rejected an immediate pullout from Iraq . It recommends a combination of a small but short-term increase in the troops and a long-term commitment to training and advising Iraqi forces.

Under this mixture of options, which is gaining favour inside the military, the US presence in Iraq , currently about 140,000 troops, would be boosted by 20,000 to 30,000 for a short period, officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, reports said.

The temporary increase is aimed at curbing sectarian violence and sending a message to the Iraqi government that the “Go Long” option was not a disguised form of withdrawal.

Under the hybrid plan, the short increase in US troop levels would be followed by a long-term plan to radically cut the presence, perhaps to 60,000 troops.

HRW Dub Saddam Trial Flawed

The trial of ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity was fundamentally flawed and the death penalty is unsound and indefensible, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on November 20.

“The trial... was marred by so many procedural and substantive flaws that the verdict is unsound,” the rights watchdog said in a statement released with its 97-page report on the trial.

“The proceedings in the Dujail trial were fundamentally unfair,” said Nehal Bhuta, who wrote the report.

Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging earlier this month over ordering the deaths of 148 Shiite civilians, mostly boys and men, from the town of Dujail , north of Baghdad , after an assassination attempt in 1982.

Two other defendants were also sentenced to death while four were sentenced to prison terms of from 15 years to life.

Among specific criticisms of Saddam’s trial, the HRW says the court regularly failed to disclose key evidence to the defence in advance and defendants were denied the basic right to confront witnesses against them.

It said the trial saw “lapses of judicial demeanour” which made the presiding judge appear partial and there were “important gaps” in evidence that weakened the prosecution’s case, putting in doubt the proof of the crimes charged.

The report is based on 10 months of observation and dozens of interviews with judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers. While the verdict and sentences are under appeal, Saddam, who was forced from power by the US-led invasion in March 2003, is being tried on separate charges for genocide.

British Muslims March against Islamophobia

A cohort of British figures and anti-racism organisations organised a rally in the heart of London on November 20, to condemn stigmatisation and demonisation of Muslims and to call for freedom of religion, conscious and thought.

Under the slogan “End Attack on Muslims”, the event featured a range of key speakers drawn from across the political spectrum and from various faiths and none.

The BMI, formed in February 2006, is an independent initiative that seeks to stand up for the rights of Muslims in Britain , estimated to number more than 1.8 million.

British Muslims have been in the eye of storm since the 7/7 attacks, which killed 56 people, including the four British Muslim bombers.

The meeting at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster represented the broadest yet response to the issues raised by the recent barrage of attacks on British Muslims.

“ Britain today faces a systematic campaign by sections of the media and some politicians, fanned by the BNP, to undermine this right by sowing hatred against Muslims,” said the BMI. “This has culminated in physical attacks, fire bombings and assaults on women.”

“The attack on Muslims in reality threatens freedoms for all of us,” Livingstone warned.

Livingstone asserted that the sizable Muslim minority is unfairly demonised.