The attack on US Embassy in Libya and other places, and killing of American diplomats is deplorable, senseless and everyone, especially every Muslim, should condemn it.Such senseless outburst of violence and taking away innocent lives is pure madness and denigrate Islam and its teachings. In this internet and free media age, anyone can write, publish and produce a material that can be offensive and it is a fantasy to think that it can be stopped by violence. One should either rebut it or ignore it-better to ignore it. Violence exactly plays into the hands of those who produce such offensive material. As per NYT the producer of film says: “Bacile, a California real estate developer who identifies himself as an Israeli Jew, said he believes the movie will help his native land by exposing Islam’s flaws to the world”.  The link to the news article: .http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2012/09/12/us/ap-us-egypt-filmmaker.html?_r=1&hp

This senseless and callous violent reaction played into the hand of producer of the film.

President Obama issued the following statement and I agree with his statement:

“I strongly condemn the outrageous attack on our diplomatic facility in Benghazi, which took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. Right now, the American people have the families of those we lost in our thoughts and prayers. They exemplified America’s commitment to freedom, justice, and partnership with nations and people around the globe, and stand in stark contrast to those who callously took their lives.

I have directed my Administration to provide all necessary resources to support the security of our personnel in Libya, and to increase security at our diplomatic posts around the globe. While the United States rejects efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others, we must all unequivocally oppose the kind of senseless violence that took the lives of these public servants.

On a personal note, Chris was a courageous and exemplary representative of the United States. Throughout the Libyan revolution, he selflessly served our country and the Libyan people at our mission in Benghazi. As Ambassador in Tripoli, he has supported Libya’s transition to democracy. His legacy will endure wherever human beings reach for liberty and justice. I am profoundly grateful for his service to my Administration, and deeply saddened by this loss.

The brave Americans we lost represent the extraordinary service and sacrifices that our civilians make every day around the globe. As we stand united with their families, let us now redouble our own efforts to carry their work forward.”

Posted by Fayyaz

This news article shared by Tahir Mahmood.

WEST BLOOMFIELD: A Christian legal group that recently defended a US pastor who publicly burned a copy of the Quran is now attacking a plan to turn a vacant US school into a mosque, saying it wants to confront the ”threat of Islam” and stop a ”stealth jihad” to turn the country into an Islamic nation. Click below for complete news article.

http://dawn.com/2012/09/07/us-mosque-plan-draws-protest-on-threat-of-islam/

In this interesting news article in NYT, the reporter describes the televangelist trend in Pakistan and Mr. Aamir Liaquat Hussian is emerging as a super star. The Geo television is portraying him as the anti-dote of General Zia’s policies. The reporter writes:

“It created a lot of noise,” said one, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Many of us wanted to know what he was coming back as.”

The answers were provided by the network’s chief executive, Mir Ibrahim Rahman, a 34-year-old Harvard graduate who argues that Pakistan needs people like Mr. Hussain, who hold water with Islamic conservatives, to incrementally change society.

“We are still recovering from the Zia years; we can’t move too fast,” Mr. Rahman said, referring to the excesses of the Islamist dictator Gen. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq in the 1980s. “We need people like him to ease us down the mountain.”

This news article was shared by Tahir Mahmood.To read the complete article click on the link below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/01/world/asia/a-star-televangelist-in-pakistan-divides-then-repents.html?pagewanted=1&emc=eta1

As per news article on august 26, 2012 in NYT:

Overseas weapons sales by the United States totaled $66.3 billion last year, or nearly 78 percent of the global arms market, valued at $85.3 billion in 2011. Russia was a distant second, with $4.8 billion in deals.

Sales to Saudi Arabia last year also included dozens of Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, all contributing to a total Saudi weapons deal from the United States of $33.4 billion, according to the study.

The United Arab Emirates purchased a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, an advanced antimissile shield that includes radars and is valued at $3.49 billion, as well as 16 Chinook helicopters for $939 million.

Oman bought 18 F-16 fighters for $1.4 billion.

To read complete news story click link below;

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/world/middleeast/us-foreign-arms-sales-reach-66-3-billion-in-2011.html?hp