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Wednesday, 03 February 2010 13:55 |
 * Journalist disagreed with Prime Minister * Harassment upsurge before election, local media say ADDIS ABABA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - An Ethiopian journalist has been jailed for one year for writing a newspaper article disagreeing with the country's prime minister, a U.S.-based press freedom watchdog said on Tuesday. The Horn of Africa country holds national elections in May and international rights groups say the government is cracking down on dissent ahead of the poll. The government denies that. Ezedin Mohamed wrote a column in Al-Quds, a newspaper marketed at Ethiopia's Muslims, questioning Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's characterisaton of the country in an interview as "Orthodox Christian Ethiopia"The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says that is why he was jailed. The group did not say what the specific charge against the journalist was. Ethiopian government officials were not immediately available to comment. "The jailing of Ezedin Mohamed is another example of Ethiopia's intolerance of independent and critical voices," CPJ's Tom Rhodes said in a statement. "It is high time for Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to demonstrate his commitment to democratic values by ending the practice of imprisoning journalists." Ethiopia's government usually says it is secular. The country's population is 43.5 percent Orthodox Christian and 33.9 percent Muslim, according to Ethiopia's last census. There has been little trouble between Christians and Muslims in the country of about 80 million people and inter-marriage is not uncommon, locals say.
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Wednesday, 03 February 2010 13:51 |
 February 1, 2010 (New York) - An Ethiopian judge sentenced a journalist to prison on Friday in connection with a January 2008 column that criticized Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s statements about religious affairs in Ethiopia, according to local journalists. Federal High Court Judge Mohammed Omar sentenced Editor Ezedin Mohamed of the Muslim-oriented newspaper Al-Quds to one year in prison. The precise charges were not immediately available but were related to a January 30, 2008, column that came in response to Zenawi’s interview with The Guardian of London that month, according to CPJ sources. The Al-Quds column challenged Zenawi’s characterization of his country as “Orthodox Christian Ethiopia,” one source said. Mohamed has begun serving his sentence at Kality Prison outside the capital, Addis Ababa, sources said. “The jailing of Ezedin Mohamed is another example of Ethiopia’s intolerance of independent and critical voices,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes. “It is high time for Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to demonstrate his commitment to democratic values by ending the practice of imprisoning journalists.” Mohamed is the fifth journalist imprisoned in Ethiopia, which is the second worst jailer of journalists in Africa, according to CPJ research. Only Eritrea jails more.
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Monday, 01 February 2010 14:14 |
 RENOWNED Swiss politician Daniel Streich, who rose to fame for his campaign against minarets of mosques, has embraced Islam.
A member of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) and a well-known politician, Daniel Streich was the first man who had launched a drive for imposition of ban on mosques minarets, and to lock the mosques in Switzerland. The proclamation of Streich’s conversion to Islam has created furore in Swiss politics, besides causing a tremor for those who supported ban on construction of mosques minarets.
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Monday, 01 February 2010 14:07 |
By Danstan Asif Kaunda, IOL Correspondent |
LUSAKA – Zambia is tapping into the thriving Islamic finance industry by formulating guidelines for Shari`ah-compliant banking services for the first time, with bankers expecting the move to accommodate Muslim clients and help the economy of the Southern African country. "The guidelines are intended to provide a broader framework for conducting Islamic banking services in the country," Bank of Zambia Governor Dr. Caleb Fundanga told IslamOnline.net.
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