Bishkek,

The second meeting of the Muslims of Kyrgyzstan has passed a number of resolutions, the most important of which is the establishment of a number of Islamic educational institutions, and the printing of Fatwas (religious pronouncements) and the rulings of religious leaders in the Directorate of Religious Affairs. The meeting also resolved to expand the Scholars Commission. Kyrgyzstan’s population stands at five million, of whom Muslims comprise 70 percent. There are, at present, 200 mosques in the country, 39 schools, and seven educational societies.

Taken From: http://66.221.2.86/links/pages/Newsletter_Media/more2.html

Sweden: Muslim youths active in preservation of identity

Stockholm,

The Swedish Muslim Youth Federation has a membership of 12,000 youths, belonging to 40 different societies, in 16 regions of Sweden. It is an intellectual, cultural, and religious gathering that seeks to preserve the Islamic identity of the Muslim youths and to spread the Islamic culture. The Federation was founded in 1992, and among its many activities is the publication, in three Scandinavian languages. Not long ago, the Federation held a conference under the theme “Islam: Past, Present, and Future,” in which not less than 700 youths, of both genders, from the Scandinavian countries, and were addressed by scholars from various European countries, on a variety of relevant topics.

Taken From: http://www.islamicnews.org/english/en_daily.html

Christians fear denial of rights

LAHORE

There was a difference between Pakistan and Islamic ideology, keeping in mind which the Sharia Bill should not be imposed on minorities; leaders of the Christian Democratic Front of Pakistan (CDFP) told a press conference at Lahore Press Club (LPC) on Saturday.

CDFP leaders Uzma Saeed, Khalil Tahir Sandhu, Robert Daniel, Father Zafar Iqbal, Samuel Khokhar and George Clement, former Member of National Assembly (MNA), said the press conference aimed at explaining the minorities’ view about the Shariat bill.

They said the bill presented in the National Assembly (NA) by chief of Millat-e-IslamiaPakistan (MIP) Maulana Azam Tariq was a copy of the Sharia Bill already tabled in the house in 1990 and 1999 and the 15th Amendment of the Constitution.

Taken From: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_13-7-2003_pg7_18