Is the new Jewish State in occupied Palestine permanent? Have the Jews 'come to stay' in the Holy Land? What does the Qur'an say about the Jews' second return to Palestine from where they were driven out twice, first by Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, in 587 BC (they returned about 500 years later) and again by the Roman Emperor Hadrian after quelling the Bar Cochba rebellion in 135 CE? Since then Jews' settlement in Palestine has been restricted and at times they were barred from entering even Jerusalem except for performing religious rites.

The Anglo-Saudi friendship treaty (December 1915) opened up vast new opportunities for Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. He became the recipient of British largesse - 80,000 annually (60,000 annually plus a lump sum payment of 20,000). His task was to harass Turkish allies in eastern Arabia and to disrupt their supply lines.

Browsing through the index of any Year Book on the Middle East creates the immediate impression that it is either about a region on some other planet, or that the Arab world enjoys more than its share of political, economic and social cohesion as well as cooperation.

Although human rights activists groups have spoken out against the injustices by Burma’s military regime , SLORC (State Law and Order Restoration Council), little awareness of the brutalities against Burmese Muslims have concerned the Muslim world.

What do Indonesia, Nigeria and Sudan have in common? They are huge countries, in terms of area and population, which are overwhelmingly Muslim but with Christian minorities and ethnic diversity that the west uses to destabilize these potentially rich and powerful States.

Only one day after colonel Mu’ammar Qaddafi had vowed publicly to fight ‘terrorism’ and destroy all traces of religion in his country’s politics, the Vatican announced the establishment of ambassadorial-level diplomatic relations with Libya.

British people will go to the polls on May 1 to elect a new government. Muslims, like everyone else, will have the chance to exercise their ‘democratic right to vote’. One strange fact is that Muslims have a higher voting turn-out rate than non-Muslims.