Washington, Sep.13 (ANI): At least 50,000 American Muslims will participate in a national prayer gathering for September 25 in Washington, D.C.
According to a report filed by The Star-Ledger, the gathering is taking place in the city’s National Mall area and is being organised by representatives of a mosque in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
The paper quoted Hassen Abdellah, president of the Dar-ul-Islam mosque and an event organizer, as saying: “Most of the time, when Muslims go to Washington, D.C., they go there to protest some type of event…This is not a protest. Never has the Islamic community prayed on Capitol Hill for the soul of America. We’re Americans. We need to change the face of Islam so people don’t feel every Muslim believes America is ‘the great Satan,’ because we love America.”
The Star-Ledger reports that “A permit from the Capitol Hill police, granted July 28, allows access to the area by the West Front of the Capitol building from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. on September 25, but the main gathering will occur at 1 p.m., for the Friday prayer service.
Abdellah said he expects 50,000 people to attend, from mosques around the country, though non-Muslims are welcome, too.”
Abdellah stated the idea germinated after President Obama’s inaugural speech, and was reinforced by this summer’s Cairo address: “For the first time in my lifetime,”
Abdellah said, “I heard someone of his stature speaking about Islam and Muslims not in an adversarial sense, but in the sense of being welcome and acknowledging we are integral citizens in the society-that we’re gainfully employed, we’re educated.”(ANI)
Rudd says navy sex betting ring ‘disturbing’
Canberra (Australia), July 6 (ANI): Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has expressed his dismay over reports of a sex betting ring on board a ship of the Australian Navy.
“Can I say I’m sure the Chief of Navy has all those matters under active investigation and that appropriate action will be taken? These alleged behaviours are disturbing, but it’s important also to get to the facts of it all and we’ll await the investigations by the chief of navy to establish all those facts,” Rudd told reporters here.
Rudd’s comment came after it was revealed that a group of sailors from HMAS Success had been sent home for allegedly organizing a challenge to have sex with as many female crewmates as possible.
The Seven Network reported that the sailors detailed their contest in a document called The Ledger, where dollar values were placed on each woman during an overseas deployment in May.
Larger amounts were offered if the sailors could sleep with a female officer or a lesbian and sailors challenged each other to have sex in various locations, including on top of a pool table, the report said.
The arrangement was discovered while HMAS Success was visiting Singapore.
The captain ordered the sailors to return to Australia immediately after they were formally interviewed.
On Sunday’ Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard called for a full investigation of the incident by the Australian Defence Force.
Gillard said nothing should preclude women from enjoying a full and rewarding career in the Australian Defence Force.
“Obviously this is a matter for our defence forces to deal with and to fully investigate,” Gillard told Network Ten on Sunday.
She said both the government and the nation had been saying for a long time that women should be able to join the army, the navy or air force.
“We don’t want to see anything that precludes women from having a good career in our armed forces if that is what they choose to do with their lives. Clearly these allegations need to be fully investigated,” she said.
The Defence Department confirmed a formal inquiry was underway, but said: “The veracity of any allegations has yet to be confirmed.” (ANI)