NEW DELHI: A panel of clerics from the Kanpur-based Madrasa Jamia Ashraf-ul-Madaris issued on Friday a fatwa over mobile phone etiquette. The panel has objected to the use of Aayats (verses from the Holy Quran) as ringtones. The religious scholars argue that people who use Aayats as ring tones and answer their cell phone midway through the Aayat commit a sinful act.The panel of clerics in Kanpur also said that taking a cell phone to the toilet as it rings is a sin because Aayat cannot be heard in a toilet. They also condemned the habit that people have of keeping cell phones on vibration mode while attending prayer services.A fatwa is a legal pronouncement in Islam, issued by a religious law specialist on a specific issue.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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