Showing posts with label Aisha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aisha. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Gaddafi's Daughter Urges the Overthrow of Libya's Government

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The daughter Muammar Gaddafi has urged the Libyan people to rise up and overthrow the transitional government which toppled her father's regime.

In an audio message broadcast on Syria's al-Rai television station, Aisha Gaddafi called for a revolt against Libya's new rulers, a government that she said "arrived with the planes of Nato."

"My father has not left, he is always among us," she said, following the traditional 40-day mourning period after his death. "Don't forget the orders of your father urging you to continue fighting, even if you no longer hear his voice." » | Tuesday, November 29, 2011

THE HUFFINGTON POST: Aisha Gaddafi, Daughter Of Former Libya Leader, Calls For Overthrow Of New Rulers: ALGIERS, Algeria — Moammar Gadhafi's daughter urged Libyans on Tuesday to overthrow their new rulers, possibly violating the terms of her exile in Algeria. » | Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Libyan Rebels Ransack Home of Gaddafi Daughter in Sirte

The latest footage from Sirte shows Libyan revolutionary forces breaking into the seemingly abandoned home of Aisha Gaddafi, one of the daughters of the deposed dictator

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Gaddafi’s Daughter to Leave Hospital After Giving Birth

OMAN DAILY OBSERVER: ALGIERS — Aisha Gaddafi, who gave birth in Algeria this week after fleeing Libya as her father’s regime crumbled, was to leave hospital in the southern town of Djanet yesterday, a government source said.

The government said Tuesday that she had crossed into Algeria on Saturday with her brother Hannibal, their mother Safiya — Gaddafi’s second wife — and the fugitive leader’s eldest son Mohammed.

“Both (mother and daughter) are in very good health,” said the source who requested anonymity. The government said on Tuesday that Aisha Gaddafi gave birth to a baby girl in the small southern town of Djanet [français], 2,300 kilometres south of Algiers, early on Sunday.

The government official declined to comment on tensions between Algiers and Libya’s National Transitional Council, which has all but vanquished Gaddafi and has called for the handover of the Gaddafi family members.

Algeria’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said the Gaddafi family members were allowed in the country “for strictly humanitarian reasons”.

The daily Ennahar newspaper reported yesterday that up to 62 Gaddafi clan members had entered Tunisia. » | Agencies | Thursday, September 01, 2011

Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Gaddafi's Daughter Sues Over Deadly Nato Air Strike

THE GUARDIAN: Aisha Gaddafi claims air strike that killed four members of her family, including her daughter, constitutes a war crime

The daughter of Muammar Gaddafi has launched a lawsuit for murder following the death in April of four members of her family during a Natoair strike.

Legal papers were submitted to the prosecutor's office in Brussels on Tuesday by the French lawyer for Aisha Gaddafi.

During the bombing raid on 30 April the Libyan leader's son Saif el-Arab, 29, as well as three of his grandchildren were killed. Ms Gaddafi's four-month-old daughter Mastoura was one of those who died.

She argues the coalition forces that carried out the attack are guilty of "war crimes", stating the air strike did not target a command and control post held by troops loyal to her father, but was a private residence in Tripoli where members of his family were living. » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Libya: Col Gaddafi's Wife and Daughter 'Flee Libya'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Col Muammar Gaddafi's wife and daughter have fled Libya for Tunisia in a sign of mounting pressure on the dictator, it has been reported.

Safiya Gaddafi and her daughter Aisha crossed into Tunisia "a few days ago" with a Libyan delegation, according to Tunisian security sources.

The pair are currently at a refugee centre on the island of Djerba. The departure, if confirmed, would be a major blow to Col Gaddafi's embattled regime, already rocked by the apparent defection of the key oil minister, Shukri Ghanem, on Tuesday. » | Andrew Gilligan, Tripoli | Wednesday, April 18, 2011

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

From a Qaddafi Daughter, a Glimpse Inside the Bunker

THE NEW YORK TIMES: TRIPOLI, Libya — Aisha el-Qaddafi, the daughter of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya, likes to tell her three young children bedtime stories about the afterlife. Now, she says, they are especially appropriate.

“To make them ready,” she said, “because in a time of war you never know when a rocket or a bomb might hit you, and that will be the end.”

In a rare interview at her charitable foundation here, Ms. Qaddafi, 36, a Libyan-trained lawyer who once worked on Saddam Hussein’s legal defense team, offered a glimpse into the fatalistic mind-set of the increasingly isolated family at the core of the battle for Libya, the bloodiest arena in the democratic uprising that is sweeping the region.

She dismissed the rebels as “terrorists” but suggested that some former Qaddafi officials who are now in the opposition’s governing council still “keep in touch with us.” She pleaded for dialogue and talked about democratic reforms. But she dismissed the rebels as unfit for such talks because of their use of violence, hurled personal barbs at President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and, at one point, appeared to disparage the basic idea of electoral democracy.

After arranging the interview last week, Ms. Qaddafi spoke for more than an hour late Sunday afternoon, just hours before NATO escalated its airstrikes with an attack that disrupted state television and another on the Libyan leader’s compound in Tripoli. Ms. Qaddafi, one of the many unofficial and sometimes rivalrous Qaddafi family power brokers who dominate Libya’s economic and political life, said the crisis had pulled the family together “like one hand.” » | David D. Kirkpatrick | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Friday, April 15, 2011

Aisha Gaddafi Visiting Bab El Aziziyah in Tripoli, Libya (April 14, 2011)


Aisha Gaddafi whips up a frenzy in Tripoli »
Aisha Gaddafi Whips Crowds into a Frenzy

MAIL ONLINE: Call to arms as Libyan defector Musa Kusa flees Britain

Muammar Gaddafi's daughter today defied the West's demand that her father leave power, dubbing it an 'insult' to all Libyans.

'In 1911 Italy killed my grandfather in an air strike and now they are trying to kill my father. God damn their hands,' Aisha Gaddafi told a flag-waving crowd gathered at her father's Bab Al-Aziziyah compound in the capital.

The event, broadcast live on state television, marked the 25th anniversary of American strikes on the huge complex, which includes military barracks.

Ms Gaddafi, wearing a green headscarf and black leather jacket, said she had been five years old at the time.

'They rained down on us their missiles and bombs, they tried to kill me and they killed dozens of children in Libya,' she said, her speech interrupted several times by the cheering crowd.

'Now a quarter of a century later the same missiles and bombs are raining down on the heads of my and your children.'

At a meeting in Doha yesterday, a Western and Middle-Eastern states called for the first time for Gaddafi to step aside.

'Talk about Gaddafi stepping down is an insult to all Libyans because Gaddafi is not in Libya, but in the hearts of all Libyans,' his daughter said.

Addressing the Western powers who are carrying out air strikes under a U.N. resolution to protect civilians against her father's forces, she said: 'Who are the civilians you are protecting? Are they the people who have automatic weapons and hand grenades? Are they the innocent civilians you are trying to protect?' In her father's footsteps: Gaddafi's daughter Aisha whips crowds into a frenzy as she calls on West to 'leave our skies' » | Daily Mail Reporter | Friday, April 15, 2011

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Gaddafi Daughter: 'I’m Still in Libya'

Libyan Arab Airlines Aircraft Rejected: ‘Malta Was Not Willing to Risk Arrival of Undesirables’

THE MALTA INDEPENDENT ONLINE: The Libyan aircraft which was circling above Malta yesterday afternoon was denied permission to land because the government was not willing to risk the arrival of an “undesirable” in Malta, an official government spokesperson told The Malta Independent yesterday.

Italian news agency ANSA reported that, among the 14 passengers aboard the aircraft, there may have been Muammar Gaddafi’s daughter, Aisha, or one of his wives. However, “we do not know”, the spokesperson said.

The fact is that the aircraft flew to Malta unexpectedly and requested landing permission. However, the lack of a passenger manifest and the fact that the aircraft had no landing permission meant the government was not willing to take the risk.

The Libyan Arab Airlines aircraft made a request to land to the Maltese Air Traffic Control, but this was denied. It spent a while circling over the south of Malta while the decision was reconsidered, but was eventually refused permission to land and had to turn back to Tripoli. [Source: The Malta Independent Online] Chiara Bonello | Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Malta Independent Online >>>

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Meet Gaddafi's Girl - a Chip Off the Old Block

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Aisha Gaddafi, defender of Saddam, supporter of the IRA and UN goodwill ambassador, talks to the Sunday Telegraph about life the Libyan way



To anyone in Britain who still thinks of her Dad as a tyrant, IRA quartermaster extraordinaire, and all-round Mad Dog of the Middle East, Aisha Gaddafi would like to extend a cordial invite.

"Come to Libya, you are all most welcome," she says, when asked about her father's unique talent for planting thorns in the side of successive British governments. "I know what is said in Britain about my father, and most of it is just following a political agenda. So I would give the British people this invite: find out the real facts by coming and meeting us Libyans in person."

First though, meet Aisha herself, the only girl among the eight children that Gaddafi has fathered in between his other duties as Brotherly Leader, self-appointed Saviour of Africa and Guide of the Revolution. Dubbed "The Claudia Schiffer of North Africa" in the Arab press for her striking good looks, the 33-year-old is arguably the most photogenic of Libya's First Family, yet she is still very much a chip off the old block. A lawyer by training, her father's regime is not the only contentious cause she has spoken up for over the years. In her youth, just like her Dad, she was a keen supporter of the IRA, and three years ago, she was on the legal team that defended that other controversial Arab leader, Saddam Hussein.

Her other passion, though, is promoting women's rights in Libya, which is why she agreed last week to a no-holds-barred interview at her home, a huge, high-walled villa in a Tripoli suburb. At first, it feels rather like being in a Gaddafi version of a Hello! shoot. Flawlessly turned out in peach jacket, white trousers and designer jewellery, Aisha holds court in a vast drawing room decked out with family pictures, and later poses for photos on a huge, mermaid-shaped settee worthy of her father's extravagant tastes. Meanwhile, her three young children wander in - one of whom, three-year-old Muammar, is named after Grandpa.

"People forget that as well as being a great leader, he is also my father," she smiles, as the pint-sized Gaddafis scuttle about. "We are very close as a family, and while he is always very busy, every day I insist that we have a gathering with him. My boys love being in his tent, and they enjoy drinking his camel's milk." >>> Colin Freeman in Tripoli | Sunday, October 10, 2010

Friday, October 16, 2009

Aisha’d 'ave Known!

MAIL ONLINE: A barrister claiming £33million compensation from her sex-scandal legal firm today warned she could 'lose the will to live' unless she wins.

Aisha Bijlani broke down in tears at the employment tribunal into race discrimination and victimisation which she claims she suffered at prestigious legal chambers Four New Square.

She told the hearing she may never recover from her ordeal at the hands of her bosses.

She has already accused the senior clerk, Lizzie Wiseman, of having extra-marital affairs with two former heads of chambers, Justin Fenwick QC, a Deputy High Court judge, and Roger Stewart QC, a part-time judge.

Dr Bijlani said they had driven her to clinical depression and left her £7million out of pocket in lost earnings to date. In total, she is demanding £33million, plus interest.

Today, she told Central London Employment Tribunal: 'Unless I win my case and am vindicated, I have no doubt I will not be able to work again and I may lose the will to live. What [the] chambers and Roger have done to me should not have been allowed to occur.'

She continued: 'Roger Stewart made my life a misery and exacerbated my condition as much as he could. From being a very hard-working professional who took great pride in her work and her home, I feel I have lost my identity and my life has fallen apart.'

Mr Stewart, 46, a married father of three, was not in the tribunal yesterday. But 44-year-old Mrs Wiseman, a mother-of-four who now lives with him, sat listening to the evidence.

Several times, Dr Bijlani wept in the witness box, and at one point the hearing was halted after she ran from the room crying.

Dr Bijlani accuses the firm of hiring racist legal clerks who regarded her as an 'educated wog' and constantly undermined her, the tribunal has heard.

When in February 2006 she complained to Mrs Wiseman and Mr Stewart, then head of chambers, she says he branded her a 'failure at the Bar'.

She told the hearing: 'I had done him no harm and found it difficult to understand why he could be so cruel for no reason. I have always tried to help people and still can't rationalise his cruelty.'

Indian-born Dr Bijlani, who is in her early forties and trained as a doctor before switching to a career at the Bar, said she was subsequently victimised by Mr Stewart and Mrs Wiseman and now suffered from depression.

She said: 'I still have difficulty getting to sleep and often toss and turn for hours or just cry. Tearful barrister claiming £33m for victimisation says she may 'lose the will to live' if her case fails >>> Sam Greenhill | Friday, October 16, 2009

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Anti-Dhimmitude! Three Jailed for Arson Attack over Muhammad Bride Novel

THE GUARDIAN: Muslim trio who attacked publisher's home days before release of The Jewel of Medina each get four and a half years in prison

Three Muslim men were jailed today for an arson attack on the home of the publisher of a novel about Aisha, the child bride of the prophet Muhammad.

The trio poured diesel on the front door of the house in Islington, north London, and set it on fire. The attack in September last year took place days before Martin Rynja's company, Gibson Square, was scheduled to publish The Jewel of Medina, by the American author Sherry Jones.

Ali Beheshti, 41, and Abrar Mirza, 23, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson, while 30-year-old Abbas Taj was convicted of the same offence at Croydon crown court in May. Today, Mrs Justice Rafferty, sitting at London's Royal Courts of Justice, sentenced each of them to four and a half years in jail.

Andrew Hall QC, representing Beheshti, said in mitigation that it was "an act of protest born of the publication of a book felt by him and other Muslims to be disrespectful, provocative and offensive".

The judge said: "If you chose to live in this country, you live by its rules. There is no such thing as a la carte citizenship and, in your case, there is no such thing as a la carte obedience to the law." >>> Peter Walker | Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Islam: Prophet Bride Novel Published in US

AKI: New York - A controversial novel about the Muslim Prophet Mohammed's child bride was released in the US this week , despite a firebomb attack against its British publisher.

Beaufort Books published The Jewel of Medina by American journalist Sherry Jones after Random House dropped it amid fears its publication could incite violence.

The novel has been denounced by Muslim fundamentalists as an "insult" to Islam. It traces the life of the Prophet Mohammed's child bride Aisha from the age of six until his death.

Denise Spellberg, professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas, criticised the novel as a disrespectful misrepresentation of history, warning Random House its publication would be "a national security issue."

It's uncertain if the book will be published in Britain after the firebomb attack last month on the London home of Martin Rynja, the novel's UK publisher.

Three male Muslims aged between 22 and 40 were last Friday charged over the attack on Rynja's house in Islington, in north London.

Beaufort Books said it had decided to bring forward The Jewel of Medina's release date so it could be assessed on its merits as literature.

"We felt that ... it was better for everybody ...to let the conversation switch from a conversation about terrorists and fearful publishers, to a conversation about the merits of the book itself," said Beaufort Books president Eric Kampmann. Islam: Prophet Bride Novel Published in US >>> | October 7, 2008

Beaufort Books >>>

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>

Thursday, September 04, 2008

The Jewel of Medina: Prophet’s Wife Novel to Be Released in UK

THE GUARDIAN: A novel about the child bride of the prophet Muhammad is to be released in the UK next month, after its publication was cancelled by a US publisher.

The Jewel of the Medina is by first-time novelist Sherry Jones, and was published in the US last month by a division of Random House, but was pulled after scholars of Islam objected. At the time, Random House said it had received cautionary advice that it might be offensive to some Muslims and "could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment".

Yesterday, Jones' agent, Natasha Kern, said the rights had been bought in 10 countries, including by Gibson Square in the UK. In a statement, the firm's publisher, Martin Rynja, said: "I was completely bowled over by the novel and the moving love story it portrays. The Jewel of Medina has become an important barometer of our time. "

As the story of Muhammad's favourite wife, Aisha, the novel is criticised as being provocative and historically inaccurate by academics. Denise Spellberg, who teaches Islamic history at the University of Texas at Austin, described it as "soft core pornography".

But Random House's decision to pull the book sparked intense criticism from critics and literary bloggers, who compared the case to Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses.

Kern said that Gibson Square had been chosen because it of its past experience of controversial books - last year, it published OJ Simpson's hypothetical account of the murder of his ex-wife.

In August, a Serbian publisher quickly withdrew an edition of The Jewel of Medina from shops after protests from local Islamic leaders who said it insulted Muhammad and his family. [The Guardian] By Martin Hodgson | September 4, 2008

ZEIT ONLINE:
''Das Juwel von Medina'': Mohammed-Roman wird veröffentlicht: Ein umstrittener Mohammed-Roman, der in den USA und Serbien aus Angst vor Protesten von Muslimen zurückgezogen wurde, kommt in den britischen Buchhandel.

"Das Juwel von Medina" ("The Jewel of Medina") der US-Journalistin Sherry Jones über die junge Ehefrau des Propheten Mohammed soll im Oktober auf den Markt kommen, teilte der unabhängige Verlag Gibson Square mit. "In einer offenen Gesellschaft muss es ungeachtet der Furcht freien Zugang zu Literatur geben", sagte Verlagsmitarbeiter Martin Rynja. Andernfalls sei es ein "Rückfall ins finstere Mittelalter". Der Verlag ist für die Veröffentlichung politisch brisanter Bücher bekannt.
>>>
| 4. September 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
Controversial Book about Mohammed and Child Bride to Be Published: A controversial novel about the prophet Mohammed and his child bride that was pulled by Random House over concerns that it would anger Muslims is to be printed by another publisher

…"that one of the biggest publishing houses in the world refuses to publish a book because of warnings is a sobering comment on the state of freedom of speech in the USA." – Sherry Jones, Washington >>>
By Tom Peterkin | September 4, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Dust Jacket Hardcover, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback, direct from the publishers (UK) >>>