12-year-old from Gabon shines at Qur’an competition after converting to Islam
Imam’s praise for boy’s extraordinary dedication
Updated 12 August 2024
Arab News
RIYADH: Mahdi, a 12-year-old boy from Gabon, has made a remarkable impression at the 44th King Abdulaziz International Qur’an Competition in Makkah, competing just two years after embracing Islam, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
Mahdi is currently the only Muslim in his family and his mentor Zakaria, an imam at a nearby mosque, told of his surprise when Mahdi first approached him, accompanied by his younger brother, to express his desire to embrace Islam.
“At first I thought he was joking,” Zakaria admitted, recalling how unexpected it was given Mahdi’s young age.
“I asked if he knew anything about Islam, and he kept insisting that he wanted to follow the religion of Allah. In my heart I said ‘This is a gift from Allah’.”
Zakaria guided Mahdi through the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith, and felt profound gratitude for being part of Mahdi’s spiritual journey.
He then began teaching Mahdi the Arabic alphabet, gradually progressing to short Qur’anic surahs (chapters) until Mahdi had memorized a quarter of the Qur’an.
“I noticed how quickly he memorized and understood the Qur’an,” Zakaria said, highlighting that Mahdi was memorizing a page a day just a week after his conversion.
Alongside his Qur’anic studies, Mahdi has also memorized various Islamic texts, showcasing his aptitude for learning.
“He is truly a unique young man, unlike any I have ever seen,” Zakaria said, praising Mahdi’s extraordinary dedication.
Frankly Speaking: What a Trump foreign policy might look like
Former US ambassador to Syria, Algeria and Iraq and current Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute outlines his expectations for the Middle East and beyond as Republican President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take the reins of power
Updated 17 sec ago
Arab News
DUBAI: Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House after a resounding victory in the Nov. 5 election is set to reshape America’s foreign policy. Since it comes at a time of unprecedented tension and uncertainty in the Middle East, regional actors are closely watching for signs of how a new Republican administration might wield influence and power.
In a wide-ranging interview, Robert Ford, a veteran American diplomat with extensive Middle East experience, outlined his expectations for the Middle East and beyond, indicating that it is important to set expectations for what can be achieved.
Middle East conflicts, especially those in Gaza and Lebanon, have dominated the international conversation since a deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year and Israel’s devastating military retaliation. “With respect to President-elect Trump’s promises to end wars, I don’t think he can end a war in a day,” Ford said on “Frankly Speaking,” the weekly Arab News current affairs show.
“I don’t think he can end a war in a week, but he can push for negotiations on the Ukraine war. And with respect to the war in Gaza and the war in Lebanon, he has an ability to influence events. (But) I am not sure he will use that ability.”
Ford noted that there is little support within the Republican Party for a two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, making it unlikely that the incoming Trump administration will pressure Israel on this issue.
Robert Ford, a veteran American diplomat with extensive Middle East experience, outlined to Frankly Speaking host Katie Jensen his expectations for the Middle East and beyond following the election of Donald Trump as US President. (AN Photo)
“The American Republican Party, in particular, has evinced little support for the establishment of a Palestinian state over the past 15 years. There is no (faction) in the Republican Party exerting pressure for that,” he said.
In fact, he pointed out, “there are many in the Republican Party who back harder line Israeli politicians who reject the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
In the current political climate, when there is strong Arab-Islamic unity over the Israeli invasion of Gaza and the consequent high civilian death toll, recognition of a Palestinian state has become a matter of priority for regional actors. Saudi Arabia has been leading efforts to boost international cooperation to reach a two-state solution. In September, the Kingdom’s government formed a global alliance to lead efforts aimed at establishing a Palestinian state.
Ford, who is a current senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, believes that any push for progress on this issue will likely come from Gulf leaders. “The only people who will have influence with President Trump personally on this are in fact leaders in the Gulf. And if they make Palestine a priority, perhaps he will reconsider, and I emphasize the word ‘perhaps’,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is keen on normalizing ties with Saudi Arabia, but the Kingdom has made it very clear that normalization will be off the table unless it sees the recognition of a Palestinian state.
“The first thing is I would imagine that the incoming Trump administration will ask the Saudi government whether or not it is still insistent on a Palestinian state — or at least concrete measures toward a Palestinian state — as part of a package deal involving a US-Saudi defense agreement,” Ford told Katie Jensen, the host of “Frankly Speaking.”
“I think the Trump people would rather not have any kind of Saudi conditionality regarding Palestine as part of that agreement, because, in large part, the Israelis won’t accept it.”
The US has long been the largest arms supplier to Israel. Last year, after Israel began its assault on Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups, it asked the US for $10 billion in emergency military aid, according to a New York Times report. The Council on Foreign Relations, an independent US-based think tank, estimates that the US has provided at least $12.5 billion in military aid to Israel since last October.
Trump has reportedly told Netanyahu that he wants the war in Gaza, which so far has claimed more than 43,400 Palestinian lives, most of them civilians, to finish by the time he takes office in January. Does that mean a Trump administration will put pressure on the Israeli leader to wrap up the war?
Trump waves as he walks with former first lady Melania Trump at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6. (AP)
Ford ruled out the possibility of a reduction in US supply of weapons to Israel. “It’s extremely unlikely that, especially in 2025, President Trump and his team will impose an arms embargo on Israel,” he said.
Ford expects Trump’s well-known disdain for foreign aid to affect US assistance for Israel in the long term, but without the use of reductions as a threat.
“I do think that President Trump does not particularly like foreign aid. He views foreign aid as an expenditure of American money and resources that he would rather keep in the US,” he said.
“So, over the long term, and I stress the word ‘long term,’ I could imagine that President Trump might look for ways to begin to reduce the annual American assistance to Israel, which is over $4 billion in total.
“But I don’t think he would do that in a way that is used as a threat against Israel. It’s much more likely it would be part of a Trump measure to reduce foreign aid to a lot of countries, not only Israel.”
The Middle East’s second major conflict, between Israel and Hezbollah, has been raging for 13 months now in Lebanon, taking a toll of 3,000 lives, including combatants, and displacing 1.2 million people from the country’s south. In Israel, 72 people, including 30 soldiers, have been killed by Hezbollah attacks and 60,000 people have been displaced during the same period.
The war shows no signs of ending: Israel says it is carrying out new operations targeting Hezbollah infrastructure across Lebanon and in parts of Syria, while Hezbollah continues to launch dozens of rockets into northern Israel.
Ford sees potential for early US involvement in discussions on Lebanon “fairly early in the administration,” adding that the engagement would begin through a family connection between Trump and Lebanon.
Although he does not think Lebanon is high on the incoming administration’s agenda, he finds “it is interesting that there is a family connection between President-elect Trump and Lebanon.”
“The husband of one of his daughters is connected to Lebanon, and his daughter’s father-in-law,” Ford, said referring to Massad Boulos, a Lebanese-American businessman whose son Michael married Tiffany Trump two years ago and who acted as a Trump emissary to the Arab American community during the election campaign.
“Because Trump operates very much with family, and we saw that in the first administration — first Trump administration — supposedly this Lebanese American gentleman, businessman, may be involved in some discussions.”
Ford also noted that “Israeli success against Hezbollah and against Iran has made the Hezbollah and Iranian side more flexible in their positions,” adding that “it might be easier to reach an agreement on ending the war in Lebanon than, for example, it will be in Gaza.”
Moving on to Syria, Ford, who served as the US ambassador in Damascus from 2011 to 2014, said while the country “is very low on President Trump’s priority list,” Trump might pull the remaining American troops out.
The US is reported to have a military presence of approximately 900 personnel in eastern Syria and 2,500 in Iraq as part of the international coalition against Daesh. The troops in Syria serve various purposes: helping prevent the resurgence of Daesh, supporting Washington’s Kurdish allies and containing the influence of Iran and Russia — both of which also have a military presence in Syria.
“I think it more likely than not that President Trump will withdraw the remaining American forces in Syria, which numbers somewhere around 1,000,” Ford said, adding that the president-elect might also “withdraw the American forces that are now in Iraq as part of the international coalition against Daesh.”
He added that Trump “may, perhaps, accept a bilateral relationship, military relationship with Iraq afterward,” but Syria remains “low on his priority list.”
Ford also thinks it is “impossible” for Syrian President Bashar Assad to abandon his alliance with Iran, against which the new Trump administration is expected to reapply “maximum pressure.”
“The Iranians really saved him (Assad) from the Syrian armed opposition in 2013 and 2014 and 2015,” he said. “There is no alternative for President Assad to a continued close military relationship with Iran.”
He added: “I’m sure President Assad is uncomfortable with some of the things which Iran is doing in Syria and which are triggering substantial Israeli airstrikes. But to abandon Iran? No, that’s difficult for me to imagine.”
He said to expect the Syrian leader to trust Gulf Arab governments more than he would trust the Iranians would be “a big ask.”
When it comes to US policy toward Iran, Ford expects the new Trump administration to return to the “maximum pressure” policy. “For a long time, the Biden administration ignored Iranian sales of petroleum to Chinese companies. ... But the Trump administration is certainly going to take more aggressive action against Chinese companies that import Iranian oil and other countries,” he said.
Demonstration by the families of the hostages taken captive in the Gaza Strip by Hamas militants during the Oct. 7 attacks, calling for action to release the hostages, outside the Israeli Prime Minister's residence in Azza (Gaza) Street in central Jerusalem last month. (AFP)
“It’s highly unlikely that the Trump administration is going to accept that Iraq imports and pays for Iranian energy products, such as electricity and natural gas.”
Ford sees the Trump team as split into two camps: the extreme conservatives, who want regime change in Tehran, and the isolationists, who oppose the US entering a war with Iran.
“There is a camp of extreme conservatives, many of whom actually do favor attempting regime change in Iran. They won’t use the words ‘regime change’ because the words have a bad air, a bad connotation in the US now, but they are, in effect, calling for regime change in Iran,” he said.
“I should hasten to add that they don’t know what would replace the Islamic Republic in terms of a government.”
According to Ford, the second camp “is a more, in some ways, isolationist camp. J.D. Vance, the vice president-elect, would be in this camp; so would American media personality Tucker Carlson, who’s a very strong Trump supporter and who has influence with Trump.
“They do not want to send in the American military into a new war in the Middle East, and they don’t advocate for a war against Iran.”
Ford’s own sense of Trump, from his first administration and from recent statements, is that “he, too, is very cautious about sending the US military to fight Iran.”
Similarly, the Trump team is divided when it comes to the Ukraine war, according to Ford, so it will take some time “for Trump himself to make a definitive policy decision.”
“There are some, such as former Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, who are very firm supporters of the Ukrainian effort against Russia. Others, like Vance, are not.”
The second reality regarding Ukraine, Ford said, is that Trump himself is skeptical about the value of NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“I cannot imagine that he will be enthusiastic in any way about Ukraine joining NATO. That will at least address one of Moscow’s big concerns,” he said. “The third point I would make: The Americans may propose ideas. But the American ideas about, for example, an autonomous region in eastern Ukraine or freezing the battle lines.”
He added: “I’m not sure that (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky is going to be enthusiastic about accepting them. I’m not sure the Europeans will be enthusiastic about accepting them. And therefore, again, the negotiation process could take a long time.”
On who might advise Trump on Middle East policy after he moves into the White House in January, now that Jared Kushner, the former senior adviser and Trump’s son-in-law, has announced he does not plan to join the administration this time, Ford said Trump places a very high regard on loyalty to him personally.
“People such as Richard Grenell, who was his acting director of national intelligence, and Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state and former CIA director, pass that kind of loyalty test,” he said. (On Sunday, Trump announced he would not ask Pompeo or former primary opponent Nikki Haley to join his second administration.)
“Trump’s agenda this time is massive change in the Washington federal departments among the employees. And he will trust loyalists … to implement those deep changes — the firing of thousands of employees,” Ford said. “We will see a very different kind of Trump foreign policy establishment by the time we arrive in the year 2026-2027.”
Bangladesh to seek Interpol alert for fugitive ex-PM Hasina loyalists
Dozens of Hasina loyalists accused of involvement in bloody crackdown have been arrested
Red notices issued by Interpol alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about fugitives
Updated 10 November 2024
AFP
DHAKA: Bangladesh said Sunday it would request an Interpol “red notice” alert for fugitive leaders of the ousted regime of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was toppled in a revolution in August.
“Those responsible for the indiscriminate killings during the mass uprising in July and August will be brought back from wherever they have taken refuge,” Asif Nazrul, the interim government’s law adviser, told reporters on Sunday.
“We will ensure they are arrested and brought to justice.”
Dozens of Hasina’s allies have been taken into custody since her regime collapsed, accused of involvement in a police crackdown that killed more than 700 people during the unrest that led to her ouster.
France-based Interpol publishes red notices at the request of a member nation, based on an arrest warrant issued in their home country.
Nazrul did not mention any individual by name, but Bangladesh has already issued an arrest warrant for 77-year-old Hasina — last seen arriving in India after fleeing by helicopter as crowds stormed her palace.
Hasina’s 15-year rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
Red notices issued by the global police body alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about fugitives.
Nazrul said they would request a red notice “as soon as possible.”
India is a member of Interpol, but the red notice does not mean New Delhi must hand Hasina over.
Member countries can “apply their own laws in deciding whether to arrest a person,” according to the group, which organizes police cooperation between 196 member countries.
Hasina has been summoned to appear in court in Dhaka on November 18 to face charges of “massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity.”
Mohammad Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), told AFP on Sunday that the court had “sought arrest warrants for more than 60 individuals,” and that “so far, around 25 have been arrested,.”
Jakarta: Indonesian and Chinese companies signed business agreements worth more than $10 billion on Sunday, as the two countries agreed to strengthen ties during a state visit by President Prabowo Subianto to Beijing.
Prabowo on Sunday wrapped up the first stop of his first overseas tour since taking office last month. After China, he will head to the US before making his way to South America for the APEC and G20 summits, which will be followed by trips to the UK and the Middle East.
He and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to deepen ties on Saturday, elevating security to a fifth “pillar” of cooperation, on top of political, economic, maritime and people-to-people exchange. The two countries will hold a first-ever joint meeting of their foreign and defense ministers next year, according to a joint statement.
“Indonesia and the People’s Republic of China are committed to strengthening our friendship and furthering the prosperity of our two nations,” Prabowo wrote on X on Sunday.
Before leaving Beijing for Washington, Indonesia’s new leader presided over a ceremony between the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and top Chinese corporations, during which they inked billions of dollars worth of deals on renewable energy, and health and food security, among other issues.
“The strong participation of Chinese businesses in Asia is an important element in close cooperation between our two countries. I have met the president and prime minister, where we agreed to continue this collaboration,” Prabowo said at the Indonesia-China Business Forum in Beijing, as reported by state news agency Antara.
“This is part of our synergy across all sectors, in education, business, industries, people-to-people … we are very optimistic about the prospects,” he added.
“We must give an example that in this modern age, collaboration — not confrontation — is the way for peace and prosperity.”
China, which was also Prabowo’s initial foreign destination as president-elect in April, is Indonesia’s biggest trading partner and the source of more than $7 billion of investment.
“The visit to China is significant because China currently supports Indonesia’s ambitious economic program through investment, including industrial downstreaming programs. China also supports various infrastructure projects … Prabowo has met Xi Jinping before and this visit strengthens the ties,” Dr. Ahmad Rizky Mardhatillah Umar, an Indonesian political researcher at the UK’s Aberystwyth University, told Arab News.
Economic and defense affairs appear to be a top priority for Prabowo for his overseas tour, which includes China and the US, the world’s two biggest economies.
“He's trying to balance and hedge between two sides,” Umar said. “He is trying to maximize economic benefits with China with trade and investment, and to bolster defense ties with the US for defense modernization.”
His choice of China as the first stop on his multi-country trip is likely a strategy to lure more investment from the US, said Teuku Rezasyah, an international relations expert from Padjadjaran University in West Java.
“This development will become an ammunition for Prabowo when he speaks with American businesses,” he said. “He’ll be able to say: If you want to make a comeback in Southeast Asia and be part of the economy, this is now the time.”
Prabowo is trying to establish his own legacy early on, Rezasyah added. Though the president has said he will continue the programs started by his predecessor, Joko Widodo, those are matters related to domestic affairs.
“He wants to give the international community some confidence that they’re dealing with the right person in their language because Prabowo speaks more than one international language,” Rezasyah said, referring to Prabowo’s ability to speak English, Dutch, French and German.
King Charles leads silence for UK war dead as Kate returns to public life
Catherine watched the ceremony from a government building balcony as she stepped up her return to royal duties since ending chemotherapy in September
Updated 10 November 2024
AFP
LONDON: King Charles III led Britain in two minutes of silence on Sunday to honor the country’s war dead at a remembrance service also attended by Catherine, Princess of Wales, as she returns to royal duties after cancer treatment.
The king, who was also diagnosed with cancer this year, was among the dignitaries laying wreaths at the Cenotaph memorial in central London after the nation fell silent at 11:00 am (1100 GMT).
Crowds lined the Whitehall area of the capital as political leaders including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, current and former members of the armed forces, and war veterans paid their respects to Britons killed in the world wars and other conflicts.
Catherine, wife of heir to the throne Prince William, watched the ceremony from a government building balcony as she stepped up her return to royal duties since ending chemotherapy in September.
The event came after she smiled and clapped alongside William at the Festival of Remembrance commemorative concert on Saturday night, the first major royal occasion she had attended since her treatment.
The events, two of the most important dates in the royal calendar, marked the first time the princess had carried out two consecutive days of public official engagements this year.
Buckingham Palace announced in February that Charles, 75, had been diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer and would withdraw from public life to undergo treatment.
The following month Kate, 42, revealed that she also had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.
Britain’s Kate, Princess of Wales, stands on a balcony during the National Service of Remembrance at The Cenotaph in London, England, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP)
Both have since made limited returns to public duties, with Charles recently pausing his treatment while on tour in Australia and Samoa.
William said this week that the past year had been “brutal” and probably the “hardest” of his life because of the twin diagnoses.
“Honestly, it’s been dreadful,” he told reporters on Thursday at the end of a four-day visit to South Africa for his Earthshot prize initiative.
“So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.”
Queen Camilla, Charles’s wife, missed the remembrance events due to a chest infection.
Services took place across the United Kingdom, including in Belfast where Northern Ireland leader Michelle O’Neill became the first senior figure from the pro-Irish unity party Sinn Fein to attend a Remembrance Sunday service in the province.
O’Neill said her attendance backed her commitment to “moving beyond old limits and building bridges.”
Sinn Fein was the political wing of the paramilitary IRA during the Troubles — the three-decade sectarian conflict over British rule in Northern Ireland.
UK minister rules out using Nigel Farage as link to Trump
Nigel Farage, the Brexit-campaigner and self-described troublemaker, is a friend of Donald Trump
He has offered to act as an interlocutor between the British government and the Trump administration
Updated 10 November 2024
Reuters
LONDON: A British minister said on Sunday that the government is unlikely to ask the Reform party leader Nigel Farage to act as an intermediary to deal with US President-elect Donald Trump.
Farage, the Brexit-campaigner and self-described troublemaker, is a friend of Trump and was at his election victory party in Florida.
He has offered to act as an interlocutor between the British government and the Trump administration, which takes power in January.
The Treasury minister Darren Jones said on Sunday that the government would likely reject that offer.
“I think that’s probably unlikely,” he told Sky News, saying Farage, who is a member of parliament, should probably spend his time with his constituents rather than in the United States.
Governments around the world are trying to figure out how to deal with Trump, who has promised to increase tariffs and whose first four-year term was characterized by a protectionist trade policy and isolationist rhetoric, including threats to withdraw from NATO.
Starmer delayed starting a recruitment process for a new ambassador to Washington until the result of the US election was known.
The role will be crucial in the coming years in navigating Britain’s relationship with the Trump administration.
Farage said at the weekend he has “a great relationship” with Trump and would be willing to act as an intermediary for the government because it is in the national interest.
