Why do Muslim women wear a hijab?
The ConversationIn advance of World Hijab Day on 01 February, Caitlin Killian examines important questions of identity, religious freedom, and resistance that surround the hijab, and the diverse rationales Muslim women choose to wear the headscarf.
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Czech court jails man for train attacks staged to blame Muslims
ReutersA 71-year-old man was sentenced to four years in prison after derailing two passenger trains and attempting to implicate Muslims in the attack by leaving leaflets proclaiming ‘Allahu Akbar’ at the scene.
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Blaming European anti-Semitism on Palestinians and Muslims
Al JazeeraThe German and Austrian far right are incorporating Zionism into ultranationalism to whitewash its bloody past, writes Denijal Jegic.
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How the Far Right Accused a Chocolate Bar of 'Islamizing' Europe
HaaretzEuropean Far Right groups have launched a campaign suggesting Toblerone is part of a subversive Muslim agenda after the chocolate bar was certified Halal last April.
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China's Muslims fear crackdown in ancient city of Xi'an
The GuardianThe Muslim community in Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, is almost as old as Islam itself, but this major tourist destination, famous for its halal food and ancient culture, is beginning to feel the impact of China’s efforts to bring its Muslim minorities under tight control.
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'China is after us': Uighurs in Pakistan report intimidation
Al Jazeera“Members of Uighur Muslim community say Islamabad is not fighting for their rights as Pakistan maintains close ties with China.”
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How the Left Should Respond to Ethnic Cleansing in China
The NationAdvocating as they do an end to military interventions, anti-imperialist intellectuals must create and promote non-military options to solve the problem of ethnic cleansing, namely resettlement programs, regulations, and consensus-building.
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Over 1,000 Rohingya flee India for Bangladesh fearing crackdown
Al JazeeraHundreds of Rohingya Muslims, unable to register as refugees in India and wary of Hindu nationalists calling for their expulsion, have fled to Bangladesh rather than face a forced return to Myanmar.
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Houellebecq's Muslim France novel to be made into TV series
France 24The controversial novel Submission, which imagines the imposition of shari’a in France after the election of a Muslim President, is being adapted for television with government financial backing.
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Ebrahim Rasool accused of ‘un-Islamic’ practices at daughter’s wedding
IOLA well-known South African politician whose daughter married a man who converted from Hinduism to Islam has spoken out against those who criticized the ceremony for including cultural practices they say are un-Islamic.
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'Muhammad: Forty Introductions' Isn't Setting Out To Satisfy
NPRIn this book review for NPR, Lily Meyer describes Professor Michael Muhammad Knight’s Muhammad: Forty Introductions as a highly personal project with important academic origins. In his struggle to balance between professor and believer, Knight succeeds, she says, in his goal “to seduce, educate, and irritate its audience into curiosity about Islam and Muhammad.”
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Louisville airport to be renamed after Muhammad Ali
CBS NewsThe Louisville International Airport is changing its name to honor the three-time heavyweight boxing champion, activist, and native son Muhammad Ali.
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Florida official facing calls to resign for saying Muslim Rep. Tlaib might 'blow up' U.S. Capitol
NBC NewsAnabelle Lima-Taub, a city commissioner in Florida, was criticized by several of her fellow commissioners after Facebook remarks stating that newly seated Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib might “blow up Capitol Hill.”
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Iran Slams U.S. as 'Apartheid Regime' After Arrest of Black Muslim Journalist Working for Iranian TV Channel
NewsweekBlack American Muslim journalist Marziyeh Hashemi was detained by US authorities after entering the country to visit a sick relative.
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Police yet to greenlight Muslim MPs’ special prayers
New VisionPending approval, several Muslim members of the Ugandan Parliament plan to hold prayer services in the capital to draw attention to incarcerated Muslim Ugandans.
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Black Muslims account for a fifth of all U.S. Muslims, and about half are converts to Islam
Pew Research CenterA population with a long history in the US, black American Muslims account for only two percent of black Americans while accounting for one fifth of all American Muslims.
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Two Muslim Women Appointed As Judges on Malaysia’s Sharia High Court
Muslim GirlFor the first time, Malaysia’s Syraiah high court will have two Muslim women judges.
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History shows the folly of China’s paranoia about Islam
The EconomistThe life of General Bai Chongxi, a Hui Muslim who fought against the Japanese, demonstrates the many ways that Chinese Muslims adapted to life in the East Asian nation, and the mistakes China is making as it attempts to ‘Sinicize’ Islam.
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Trump's new 'anti-Muslim' appointee worries civil rights groups
Al JazeeraA former member of the board of directors for the Center for Security Policy, designated an anti-Muslim hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Charles Kupperman was appointed to assist National Security Advisor John Bolton.
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Rare autobiography of Muslim slave goes online via Library of Congress
Religion News ServiceA highly educated Islamic scholar from Senegal, Omar ibn Said was captured in 1807 and enslaved until his death in 1864; his 15-page autobiography, written in 1831, is the “only known existing autobiography of a slave written in Arabic in America.”
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Want to be Danish? You'd better shake hands
ReutersA newly enacted Danish law requires new Danish citizens to shake hands as part of the naturalization process, a change seen as part of a hardening against new immigration to northern European nations.
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The Rise of Halal Tourism
NY TimesBusinesses in the travel industry are adapting their business models to target the growing market of Muslim travelers, catering to their dietary restrictions and daily prayer times.
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‘Reeducating’ Xinjiang’s Muslims
NY Review of BooksIn Xinjiang province, hundreds of thousands of Uighur Muslims have been held in prison camps, subjected to reeducation by the Chinese government.
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Saudi Arabia pumps money into restive Shi'ite quarter it once flattened
ReutersAwamiya’s old quarter, destroyed in 2017 after years of serving as a haven for militants, has been replaced with “shopping complex, events hall and expansive plazas dotted with palm trees,” part of a policy attempting to end militancy in Shi’ite majority areas.
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Uyghur refugee tells of death and fear inside China's Xinjiang camps
CNNUyghur Muslim refugee Mihrigul Tursun describes the three months she spent detained in Xinjiang province and the life of her son who died in detention.
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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!