Philippines gains halal cred for efforts at Muslim-friendly travel

Philippines gains halal cred for efforts at Muslim-friendly travel
Philippine Tourism Undersecretary Myra Paz Valderrosa-Abubakar receives the Emerging Muslim-friendly Destination of the Year award at the Halal in Travel Global Summit 2023 in Singapore on June 1, 2023. (Department of Tourism)
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Updated 03 June 2023
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Philippines gains halal cred for efforts at Muslim-friendly travel

Philippines gains halal cred for efforts at Muslim-friendly travel
  • Boosting arrivals from the Middle East is among the Philippine government’s priority goals for 2023
  • Philippines becomes Emerging Muslim-friendly Destination of the Year at Halal in Travel Global Summit

MANILA: The Philippines is focused on positioning itself as a Muslim-friendly destination, its tourism authorities said on Saturday, after winning an award at this year’s Halal in Travel Global Summit.
Muslim travelers are one of the fastest-growing tourist groups and attracting them is crucial for the Philippines as following the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a slowdown from Europe and China, which traditionally have been the main sources of visitors.
As the Muslim travel market is forecast to reach a value of $225 billion by 2028, the Philippine government announced last year that boosting foreign arrivals from the Middle East and Muslim-majority countries was among its priority goals.
The efforts were recognized with the Emerging Muslim-friendly Destination of the Year award during the Halal in Travel Global Summit — a key industry event — held in Singapore from May 30 through June 1 to honor places, groups, businesses, and people who have had a significant influence on the travel market for Muslims this year.
“This award is an affirmation of our collaborative efforts toward positioning the Philippines as a preferred destination for Muslim travelers, and strategically developing our halal tourism portfolio across our regions,” the Philippine Department of Tourism said in a statement quoting Secretary Cristina Frasco.
“This global recognition also opens up enormous opportunities for our country to introduce our rich and diverse culture and heritage evident in our Muslim communities, and our immensely beautiful destinations, including Mindanao,” Frasco said, referring to regions inhabited by the country’s Muslim minority.
In the predominantly Catholic Philippines, Muslims constitute roughly 5 percent of the country’s population of 110 million. Most of them live on the island of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago in the country’s south, which are known as scenic locations with white sandy beaches and turquoise waters.
While many Muslim travelers look for restaurants serving food that is halal, or permissible under Islamic law, the Philippine Department of Tourism has employed “a wide range of services and amenities” designed to cater to them.
Tourism Undersecretary Myra Paz Valderrosa-Abubakar, who accepted the Emerging Muslim-friendly Destination of the Year award, said: “We hope to continue the great stride on tourism promotion and economic boost in our country for our Muslim brothers and sisters who are arriving in the Philippines,” she said, adding that Muslim visitors were welcome to explore the archipelago nation’s hospitality and more than 7,000 islands.


Swedish police open arson case after mosque fire

Swedish police said Tuesday they were investigating whether a fire that reduced a mosque to rubble the previous day in Sweden.
Swedish police said Tuesday they were investigating whether a fire that reduced a mosque to rubble the previous day in Sweden.
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Swedish police open arson case after mosque fire

Swedish police said Tuesday they were investigating whether a fire that reduced a mosque to rubble the previous day in Sweden.
  • “The mosque is almost completely destroyed, nothing can be saved,” mosque spokesman Anas Deneche said
  • Deneche said the mosque had been the target of several acts of violence in the past year and his family had been threatened

STOCKHOLM: Swedish police said Tuesday they were investigating whether a fire that reduced a mosque to rubble the previous day in central Sweden was arson.
“The investigation into the fire is continuing. Police will question witnesses and verify whether there were security cameras in the area,” the police said in a statement on their website.
The fire broke out on Monday around noon in Eskilstuna, a town of 108,000 people 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of Stockholm, causing no injuries, a police spokesman told AFP.
There are no suspects and no arrests have been made.
“The mosque is almost completely destroyed, nothing can be saved,” mosque spokesman Anas Deneche told AFP.
Deneche said the mosque had been the target of several acts of violence in the past year and his family had been threatened.
“But it’s still too early to draw any conclusions (about the cause of the fire), we’ll have to wait for the police to do their work,” he said.
Police said they were investigating several leads but provided no other details.
Between 15,000 and 20,000 Muslims live in Eskilstuna.


Russian Black Sea commander shown working after Ukraine said it killed him

Russian Black Sea commander shown working after Ukraine said it killed him
Updated 26 September 2023
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Russian Black Sea commander shown working after Ukraine said it killed him

Russian Black Sea commander shown working after Ukraine said it killed him
  • Ukraine’s special forces said on Monday they had killed Sokolov, Moscow’s top admiral in Crimea, along with 33 other officers in a missile attack
  • Sokolov was shown apparently taking part in a video conference with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu

MOSCOW: Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and one of Russia’s most senior navy officers, was shown on Tuesday attending a video conference, a day after Ukrainian special forces said they had killed him.
In video and photographs released by the Russian defense ministry, Sokolov was shown apparently taking part in a video conference with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other top admirals and army chiefs.
The video was shown on Russian state television.
Ukraine’s special forces said on Monday they had killed Sokolov, Moscow’s top admiral in Crimea, along with 33 other officers in a missile attack last week on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in the port of Sevastopol.
Earlier on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had declined to comment on the Ukrainian claim, referring reporters to the defense ministry.
In the video released by the ministry, Shoigu said that more than 17,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in September and that more than 2,700 weapons, including seven American Bradley fighting vehicles, had been destroyed.
“The Ukrainian armed forces are suffering serious losses along the entire front line,” Shoigu said, adding that the Ukrainian counter-offensive had so far produced no results.
“The United States and its allies continue to arm the armed forces of Ukraine, and the Kyiv regime throws untrained soldiers to their slaughter in senseless assaults,” Shoigu said.
Ukraine’s counter-offensive has yet to yield significant territorial gains against Russian forces, which control about 17.5 percent of the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine.
According to a Sept. 19 scorecard by the Belfer Center at Harvard’s Kennedy School,
Russia has gained
35 square miles of territory from Ukraine in the past month while Ukrainian forces have taken 16 square miles from Russian forces.


German police raid premises across the country in connection with migrant smuggling

German police raid premises across the country in connection with migrant smuggling
Updated 26 September 2023
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German police raid premises across the country in connection with migrant smuggling

German police raid premises across the country in connection with migrant smuggling
  • Inside the searched apartments and other buildings, police discovered many migrants without residence permits

BERLIN: More than 350 German federal police searched premises across the country early Tuesday in connection with the smuggling of migrants early on Tuesday.
The focus of the raids was on cities and towns in northern and western Germany but also in Bavaria in the south, German news agency DPA reported.
Police executed five arrest warrants, three in the northern town of Stade and two in the western town of Gladbeck. Inside the searched apartments and other buildings, police discovered many migrants without residence permits, dpa reported.
The raids were ordered by federal police at Frankfurt airport on suspicion of gang and commercial smuggling of foreigners, German news agency DPA reported.


India’s BJP, the world’s biggest party, plots election drive of epic scale

India’s BJP, the world’s biggest party, plots election drive of epic scale
Updated 26 September 2023
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India’s BJP, the world’s biggest party, plots election drive of epic scale

India’s BJP, the world’s biggest party, plots election drive of epic scale
  • BJP launches what it calls biggest voter outreach in history
  • Party sends out 18,000 activists to meet 35 million voters

KOLKATA: Indian activist Partha Chaudhury is on a war footing as he strides out of the ruling BJP’s regional headquarters in Kolkata armed with passion and pages of voter lists.

“We need to meet each and every BJP supporter, and all of this has to be done in less than 300 days,” the 39-year-old tells a group of fellow activists advancing into the north of Kolkata, the teeming riverfront capital of West Bengal that’s home to about 15 million people.

“We want people to remember that the BJP knocked on their doors much before any opposition party worker did.”

Chaudhury and his team are among an army of 18,000 volunteer activists fanning out across India ahead of next year’s national election. Their mission is to meet — face-to-face — with about 35 million BJP supporters by January, or roughly 2,000 each.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, the world’s largest political outfit with 180 million members, is betting on what it says is the biggest voter outreach campaign in history, to secure a third term in power in the world’s most populous country.

Its leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, remains enduringly popular among Indians after almost a decade having brought political stability, invested in infrastructure, and championed welfare reforms and national security.

Despite voter concerns about inflation, unemployment and uneven growth, opinion polls suggest the right-wing BJP will comfortably win a third term in the federal elections, expected to be held in April and May.

It’s no sure thing, though: growing anti-incumbency sentiment is conspiring with a newly formed national alliance of 26 opposition parties, including archrival Congress, to pose what BJP officials say will be Modi’s toughest test by far.

“For once we are now seeing a united opposition,” said Tamoghna Ghosh, a senior BJP official campaigning in Kolkata. “They may be devoid of a shared political ideology or vision, but their determination to defeat Modi can’t be overlooked.”

While Modi and his party stress they govern for all Indians, their emphasis of their Hindu faith and culture has disquieted some members of minority groups who feel politically excluded, especially Muslims who make up about 14 percent of the 1.4 billion population.

Some critics warn of an erosion of India’s status as a secular democracy, long enshrined in its constitution.

BJP leaders in New Delhi have been spurred to action by an internal report presented to them by researchers in February that concluded that an anti-incumbency vote could see the party lose about 34 of their 303 lawmakers in the lower house of parliament, robbing it of the majority that gives it a freer hand to pass laws, three senior party officials told Reuters.

“This time we will have to win in uncharted territories as retaining all the existing seats for the third time in a row is going to be a challenge,” said BJP national president J.P. Nadda, who is leading the grassroots mobilization drive.

In conversations with Reuters, Nadda and six other senior BJP figures outlined previously unreported details of the project — dubbed the “Big Outreach” internally — which they said marked a shift from its 2014 and 2019 election strategies focused more on large campaign rallies across the country.

It won’t be an easy task, or free of risk, according to Nalin Mehta, dean at the UPES School of Modern Media in Uttarakhand and author of the book “The New BJP.” He said the ground mobilization, accompanied by an online campaign blitz, could fuel anti-incumbency sentiment in some quarters.

“The BJP’s challenge as the dominant national party is to manage voter fatigue and to sustain the enthusiasm among its cadres after two terms in power,” Mehta added.

“The party’s ground-level cadre-building goes hand in hand with the creation of a massive digital footprint ... as well as an industrial scale use of social media.”

’BJP WON’T BE THIRD-TIME LUCKY’

The BJP’s outreach began over the summer, much earlier than in its previous campaigns when mobilization started about four months before national elections.

The campaign isn’t focusing on wooing voters from rival parties, according to the party officials, but will instead make direct contact with people who voted BJP in 2019 to lock down their support, enlist their campaigning assistance and provide intelligence on local issues.

The first phase, slated to end in early October, targets 134 priority constituencies with Hindu-majority populations where they lost by narrow margins in 2014 and 2019.

“These seats require energetic intervention and insulation of existing vote share,” said Nadda, adding that the second phase ending in January would see activists visit all of the 303 seats that the party won four years ago.

“This time, the world’s biggest party has launched the biggest-ever outreach to win the world’s biggest elections.”

Mahua Moitra, a national lawmaker with the regional opposition All India Trinamool Congress, isn’t impressed. She said the bolstered outreach efforts reflected the threats posed to the BJP by the “INDIA” alliance of 26 rivals formed in July to challenge the ruling party’s nationalist platform and oust Modi.

“The BJP is in panic mode and it’s forcing them to set up a taskforce to meet voters a year before elections,” she added. “They won’t be third-time lucky.”

Moitra is MP for Krishnanagar in West Bengal, a state in India’s far east where Muslims make up about a quarter of the population. The BJP is resented by many voters there who fear its brand of Hindu nationalism has marginalized minorities and hindered their economic progress.

Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the rival Congress party, said the coalition of 26 regional parties might not have the financial clout enjoyed by the ruling to launch a similar grassroots campaign, but the alliance had mustered a broad enough opposition base to oust Modi.

“The BJP’s grassroot workers can gather intelligence or coax voters but they will not win the 2024 election,” he said, adding that too much “in-your-face” campaigning could turn off voters.

KOLKATA: CRADLE OF RENAISSANCE

Not so, says BJP leader Nadda who says politicians must keep their ear to the ground.

Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, is a city with deep historical, strategic and political significance. Long a trading hub for commodities like jute and tea, it was once the seat of British power in India as well as the cradle of an intellectual and artistic renaissance born in the 18th century.

Kolkata North, where and his group are campaigning, is a prime example of an early priority seat being targeted by the ruling party, as well as the problems the BJP faces nationally.

The BJP was beaten by a regional opposition party four years ago, even though it had strong support there, winning roughly 600,000 of the total 1.5 million votes cast.

Nonetheless Partha Chaudhury, an ophthalmologist by profession, has a clear vision as he traverses streets dotted with the 300-year-old crumbling architectural legacy of a bygone colonial era.

His first stop is a tin-shed shop in a slum district skirted by Victorian-era houses that have seen better days, where introduces himself to a bare-chested shopkeeper tending a cauldron of oil and kneading dough to fry samosas.

“Please tell us, elder brother, what can we do to make your life better?” Chaudhury asked the shopkeeper and simultaneously ticks off the man’s name in his voter list.

He speaks fervently about a slew of reforms introduced by the federal government to improve lives of the urban poor since Modi came to power in 2014.

Chaudhury intones a mantra he’ll repeat to more than 20 voters in the next three hours: “We know you vote for the BJP and we are here to understand what we should be doing to win this seat in 2024.”


Anti-Muslim hate speech in India concentrated around elections – report

Anti-Muslim hate speech in India concentrated around elections – report
Updated 26 September 2023
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Anti-Muslim hate speech in India concentrated around elections – report

Anti-Muslim hate speech in India concentrated around elections – report
  • Anti-Muslim hate speech incidents in India averaged more than one a day in the first half of 2023
  • About 70 percent of the incidents took place in states scheduled to hold elections in 2023 and 2024

WASHINGTON: Anti-Muslim hate speech incidents in India averaged more than one a day in the first half of 2023 and were seen most in states with upcoming elections, according to a report by Hindutva Watch, a Washington-based group monitoring attacks on minorities.
There were 255 documented incidents of hate speech gatherings targeting Muslims in the first half of 2023, the report found. There was no comparative data for prior years.
It used the United Nations’ definition of hate speech as “any form of communication... that employs prejudiced or discriminatory language toward an individual or group based on attributes such as religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, color, descent, gender, or other identity factors.”
About 70 percent of the incidents took place in states scheduled to hold elections in 2023 and 2024, according to the report.
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat witnessed the highest number of hate speech gatherings, with Maharashtra accounting for 29 percent of such incidents, the report found. The majority of the hate speech events mentioned conspiracy theories and calls for violence and socio-economic boycotts against Muslims.
About 80 percent of those events took place in areas governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is widely expected to win the general elections in 2024.
Hindutva Watch said it tracked online activity of Hindu nationalist groups, verified videos of hate speeches posted on social media and compiled data of isolated incidents reported by media.
Modi’s government denies the presence of minority abuse. The Indian embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
Rights groups allege mistreatment of Muslims under Modi, who became prime minister in 2014.
They point to a 2019 citizenship law described as “fundamentally discriminatory” by the United Nations human rights office for excluding Muslim migrants; an anti-conversion legislation challenging the constitutionally protected right to freedom of belief, and the 2019 revoking of Muslim-majority Kashmir’s special status.
There has also been demolition of Muslim properties in the name of removing illegal construction and a ban on wearing the hijab in classrooms in Karnataka when the BJP was in power in that state.