American Muslims look to Quran when writing wills
Houston ChronicleAmerican Muslims from Muslim-majority countries are especially likely to not have a will, as their native countries would have divided up their assets according to Islamic law; imams and organizations in the US are attempting to address the issue.
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Rahaf al-Qunun: Saudi woman ends airport hotel standoff
BBCA woman seeking protection from her family has been placed in the care of the UNHCR after attempting to flee to Australia through Thailand; according to the woman, she had renounced Islam and was fleeing potential punishment for apostasy.
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Egypt el-Sissi inaugurates cathedral, mosque in new capital
AP NewsIn the New Administrative Capital, President el-Sissi opened a Coptic Orthodox Church cathedral and one of the region’s largest mosques, a sign of the Egyptian government’s emphasis on religious tolerance.
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Belgium Bans Religious Slaughtering Practices, Drawing Praise and Protest
NY TimesAs of 01 January, slaughter by kosher and halal rules has been banned by the Belgian government, joining several Western European nations that have banned the practice in recent years.
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Muslim youth group cleans up national parks amid government shutdown
CNNMembers of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association have supplanted government workers in park maintenance activities, as the government shutdown has furloughed most National Park Service workers.
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India's lower house passes citizenship bill that excludes Muslims
Al JazeeraA new bill will provide a path to citizenship for “Hindus, Jains, Parsis and several other non-Muslim religious groups who migrated without documents from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan”; critics allege an anti-Muslim bias as many undocumented Hindus will gain citizenship, while Muslims in Assam have been stripped of citizenship.
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Amazon removes bathmats and items imprinted with verses from the Koran following complaints
The Washington PostThe online retailer removed dozens of items from their marketplace, after the Council on American-Islamic Relations registered complaints regarding offensive products.
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Dubai Islamic Bank hires banks in preparation for Islamic bonds issue
ReutersSeveral major international banks have been hired to arrange meetings ahead of the issuance of over $500 million in Islamic bonds.
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Is Stunning an Animal Before Slaughter More Humane? Some Religious Leaders Say No
NY TimesThe Belgian government’s ban on kosher and halal slaughtering practices has further inflamed a debate on animal suffering and religious tolerance; according to experts, no definitive study has proven whether stunning or religious slaughter causes less pain for animals.
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The cone of silence around China’s Muslim ‘gulags’
The Washington PostIshaan Tharoor summarizes the events in Xinjiang province, which have led to the detention of hundreds of thousands of Uighur Muslims and provoked media outrage but little follow-through in the West.
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Turks losing trust in religion under AKP
Al MonitorThe number of Turks referring to themselves as religious has declined while the number referring to themselves as atheist has risen; the changing demographics have occurred against the backdrop of an increasing emphasis on Islamization from the AKP government.
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Muslim group sues to block ‘No Boycott of Israel’ measure
AP NewsCiting first amendment freedoms, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has filed suit against Maryland Governor Larry Hogan over an executive order banning the state from working with contractors supporting the BDS movement.
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Barbie at 60, and how she made her mark on the Arab world
Arab NewsThe Barbie doll remains popular in Middle Eastern nations, despite temporary bans in Saudi Arabia and a permanent ban in Iran, and has spawned regional variations, including the Fulla doll.
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Pakistan Wants To Reform Madrassas. Experts Advise Fixing Public Education First
NPRCurriculum reforms have been increasingly promoted by Pakistani government officials, as both government and educational leaders express concerns over the quality of education provided in the thousands of madrassas across the nation.
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Denationalisation: A punishment reserved for Muslims
Al JazeeraSeveral Western nations have turned to stripping citizenship from terror subjects as a method for combating and addressing extremist behavior but so far only against Muslim citizens.
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'If you enter a camp, you never come out': inside China's war on Islam
The GuardianLuopu County, like many other parts of Xinjiang province, has witnessed a growing state security system meant to control the Uighur Muslim population, including several construction projects building onto the local detention camps.
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Texas county GOP votes to allow Muslim leader to keep his position. But 49 voted to oust him over his religion.
The Washington PostShahid Shafi, the Muslim vice chairman of the Tarrant County GOP in North Texas, will remain in his position after a winning a vote of the county precinct chairs; several dozen, however, voted to remove Dr Shafi solely because of his religion.
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Canada grants asylum to Saudi teenager Rahaf al-Qunun
Al JazeeraOriginally planning to seek asylum in Australia, a Saudi teenager fleeing “physical and psychological abuse” from her family will leave Thailand for Canada.
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Pro-Uighur protests in Indonesia shadowed by ominous domestic politics
Religion News ServiceProtests in Indonesia may have been aimed as much at the incumbent government as at the Chinese government’s repressive tactics in Xinjiang province; the Indonesian general elections are scheduled for 2019.
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Qatari artist Yasser Al Mulla: Drawing a Sufi controversy
Al JazeeraYasser Al Mulla, an agricultural engineer by day, operates his own studio in the evenings, drawing from the “philosophies of the Sufi tradition” to create black and white images.
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Want to Cultivate a Liberal European Islam? Look to Bosnia.
The AtlanticAccording to the author, interpretations of Islam coming from Muslim populations in Southeast Europe provide a paradigm for an integration of Muslim and European identities.
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Cast and crew’s delight as Dunya’s Day becomes first Saudi film to premiere in Kingdom
Arab NewsThe all-Saudi and all-female cast film premiered in front of 200 people in Riyadh and will be the first Saudi film screened at the Sundance film festival.
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Maydan editors selected some of the most thought-provoking news items on issues around Islam, religion and public-life for you. Let us know what you have been reading. Drop us a line at mediaroundups@themaydan.com!