Iranian satellite raises US fears

The United States has voiced "great concern" over Iran launching its first domestically built satellite.

Robert Wood, a US state department spokesman, said that Tuesday's satellite launch by Tehran could "possibly lead to the development of ballistic missiles".

The fears were mirrored by Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, who said that it raised suspicion that Iran was continuing to develop a missile of "increasingly long range".

The satellite, named Omid (Hope), was launched into orbit by rocket and is the first in a series that Iran plans to put into space by the end of next year.

"With this launch, the Islamic Republic of Iran has officially achieved a presence in space," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, said in a broadcast.

Omid will stay in orbit for up to three months as part of a programme Iranian officials say is aimed at improving telecommunications and monitoring natural disasters.

Nuclear fears

Ahmadinejad has made scientific development, which often puts the country at odds with the West, a central theme of his presidency.
The satellite's launch demonstrates the development of technologies that many countries fear could one day be used to launch nuclear weapons. Iran insists it has no plans to do so.

The Iranian Fars state news agency said the satellite "has been designed for gathering information and for testing equipment ... [that] is going to help Iranian experts send an operational satellite into space".

It said the launch was "another achievement for Iranian scientists under sanctions".

Iran is under two rounds of UN sanctions due to its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, which the US and other Western nations fear could lead to the production of nuclear weapons.

Tehran says its nuclear ambitions are limited to generating electricity.

A satellite was put into orbit by Iran in 2005, but was carried by a Russian rocket.

Source: Al Jazeera, Agencies

Islamic Studies Chair for Carolina Students

CAIRO — The University of North Carolina (UNC) is creating an endowed faculty chair in Islamic studies to meet the growing hunger for information on Islam and Muslims in the post-9/11 world.

"At Carolina, we're proud that our academic strengths include the study of diverse religions since that helps our students and the public better understand other cultures," Holder Thorp, the university chancellor, told the Herald Sun on Monday, January 26.

Along with money granted from the state tax, fundraising effort would be led by Cemalnur Sargut, president of the Turkish Women's Cultural Association in Istanbul.

"We're grateful that our distinguished friends from Turkey are providing a new opportunity to further enhance the university's expertise in Islamic studies," Thorp said.

Named after Turkish writer Kenan Rifai, who advocated women education and development in the 20th century, the chair aims to raise awareness about Islamic studies and the Muslim world.

"It's not teaching religion the way you might do it in Sunday school," notes Dee Reid, director of communications of the College of Arts and Sciences.

"It's not for a practitioner of Islam, it's for an expert in Islamic studies…for the academic study."

Chartered in 1789, the UNC was the first public university in the US and the only one to graduate students in the 18th century.

Today, it is a public, multi-campus university dedicated to the service of North Carolina and its people.

It encompasses 16 diverse constituent institutions and other educational, research, and public service organizations.

Growing Interest

The Islamic studies chair aims to meet the growing interest among American students for information about Islam and Muslims.

"There's increasing interest in this among students," explains Reid, the College of Arts and Sciences communications director.

"I think since 9-11 there's been tremendous interest in learning Arabic and learning about people who practice Islam in different parts of the world," added the official.

"It's an emerging field. Students are tremendously interested in going abroad because of this."

A recent Pew Research Center and the Pew Forum poll showed that the majority of Americans know very little about the practices of Islam.

The Islamic studies chair has drawn a "wait-and-see" stance from the Christian groups at the university.

"I'd really rather not comment on it until I have a chance to look into it and think about it," Lee Sullens, campus minister with Carolina Baptist Campus Ministry, told the newspaper.

"We would be interested in understanding it more," agreed Miles O'Neill, campus director of Cornerstone Campus Crusade for Christ.

"It's not the type of thing we're going to protest."

Source : IslamOnline.net & Newspapers

Conditions Regarding the Property Given on Lease

The property which is given on lease, should fulfil certain conditions:
(i) It should be specific. Hence, if a person says to another: "I have given you one of my houses on lease", it is not in order.
(ii) The person taking the property on lease should see it, or the lessor should give its particulars in a manner which gives full information about it.
(iii) It should be possible to deliver it. Hence, leasing out a horse which has run away, and the hirer can not possess it, will be void. However, if the hirer can manage to get it, the lease will be valid.
(iv) Utilisation of the property should not be by way of its destruction or consumption. Hence, it is not correct to give bread, fruits and other edibles on lease for the purpose of eating.
(v) It should be possible to utilise the property for the purpose for which it is given on lease. Hence, it is not correct to give a piece of land on lease for farming, when it does not get sufficient rain water, and is also not irrigated by canal water.
(vi) The thing which a person gives on lease should be his own property, and if he gives the property of another person on lease, it will be correct only if its owner agrees to it.
It is permissible to give a tree on lease for utilising its fruit, although fruit may not have appeared on it yet. The same rule applies if an animal is given on lease for its milk.
A woman can be hired for her milk, and it is not necessary for her to obtain her husband's permission. However, if her husband's right suffers owing to her giving milk (to the child of another person), she cannot take up the job without his permission