Affirming mosques help gay Muslims reconcile faith, sexuality
NBC NewsFrom Toronto’s Unity Mosque to Berlin’s Ibn Rushd-Goethe, several LGBTQ-inclusive places of worship are proving “there are many ways to practice Islam.”
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Tea, chilies, and takeaway: what food choices reveal about British Muslim identity
The ConversationFood. We all need it and we all eat it. But what does it tell us about who we are? This was one of many questions Cardiff University’s Riyaz Timol explored in his recent research focused on the evolution of Muslim identity in the West.
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How Hind Makki is changing the conversation around women’s inclusion in mosques
Religion News ServiceWhen women are cut off from the rest of the congregation, they lose the experience of group prayer, which is considered critical for a community’s social and spiritual development in Islam.
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Before mosque attacks, New Zealand failed to record hate crimes for years
ReutersWeeks before a gunman killed 50 Muslims in Christchurch, a man had threatened to burn copies of the Koran outside New Zealand mosques, in what community leaders said was the latest in a long list of threatening behavior against religious minorities.
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The Balkans Are the World Capital of Islamophobia
Foreign PolicyThe region’s genocidal wars are over—but bigots from across the West still flock there for inspiration.
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Australian senator slammed over mosque shooting comments
AP NewsThe Australian lawmaker who had an egg cracked on his head by a teenage boy for his comments about last month’s New Zealand mosque shootings faced a stinging attack on Tuesday in the first sitting of Australia’s Parliament since the attacks.
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Arab Regimes Are the World’s Most Powerful Islamophobes
Foreign PolicyMiddle Eastern governments have forged alliances with right-wing groups in the West dedicated to anti-Islam bigotry.
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The countries with the 10 largest Christian populations and the 10 largest Muslim populations
Pew Research Center“Top 10” lists can often be helpful in displaying and illuminating data. For example, the two tables of countries with the largest Christian and Muslim populations featured here reveal differences in the concentration, diversity and projected changes in the world’s two largest religions.
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Millions of pilgrims travel to Shiite shrine in Iraqi capital
Al-MonitorSeveral million Muslims have traveled to the shrine of Imam Musa al-Kadhim in Baghdad in recent days to commemorate the revered Shiite figure’s death, an Iraqi official said Tuesday.
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Pakistan soldiers killed in fresh clashes on India border
Al JazeeraAt least three soldiers were killed, and one wounded in an exchange of fire in the disputed region of Kashmir, Pakistan’s military says.
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UN chief warns against rising anti-Muslim hatred
Al-MonitorUN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday against growing hatred of Muslims, less than a month after a deadly attack on mosques in New Zealand killed at least 50 people.
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Overcoming fears of ‘making noise,’ US Muslims step into civic life
Religion News Service“There is a tendency within the Muslim community to self-isolate, to live within their own bubbles, but it’s not a one-way street where people have to accept us,” says Saad Amir, whose organization is focused on facilitating community engagement forums. “We have to go out and put in the work and that’s why this organization was created.”
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US-backed force tracks Syria jihadists after 'caliphate' falls
Al-MonitorA US-backed force said Tuesday it was chasing Islamic State group jihadists in eastern Syria, as coalition warplanes pound the militants more than a week after their “caliphate” was declared defeated.
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A Michael Gove premiership would be another blow for British Muslims
Middle East EyeAs far as Muslims are concerned, Britain’s environment secretary is best known as the unsung commander-in-chief of the Islamophobes inside the Conservative Party, writes Peter Oborne.
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After Mosque Shootings, A Rebranding Debate Over Christchurch's Rugby Crusaders
NPRThe Crusaders rugby team will consider dropping its imagery of sword-bearing knights on horseback and changing its name, following last month’s shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which 50 people were killed.
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Jacinda Ardern’s grief should not eclipse that of Muslims
The GuardianMariam Khan writes that the New Zealand PM’s response to the Christchurch killings is to be admired, but the focus must be on the Muslim communities affected.
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New penal code imposes death penalty for rape, adultery, sodomy, robbery and introduces public flogging.
Al JazeeraFulfilling a promise to “strengthen” the presence of Shari’a in society, Brunei’s new penal code imposes death penalty for rape, adultery, sodomy, robbery and introduces public flogging.
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On Capitol Hill, persecuted Muslims unite to protect religious minorities’ rights
Religion News ServiceMore than 125 members of the minority Ahmadi Muslim community spent April 1st in Washington DC advocating for international religious freedom causes — particularly lending their voices on behalf of beleaguered Uighur Muslims.
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Muslim American girls need to see their role models reflected in the spotlight, too
The Washington PostSaadia Faruqi says Muslim American children have always had a scarcity of role models, but this fact didn’t really make an impression on her, as a mother, until recently.
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Iraq meeting between Lebanon’s Berri, Sistani boosts moderate Shiism in region
Al-MonitorIraq’s top Shi’ite cleric has sought to strength moderate forces in Lebanon, agreeing with Prime Minister Nabih Berri on efforts to establish peaceful coexistence based on mutual respect.
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In 1994, 100s took shelter in this Rwanda mosque. Only 8 survived
Al JazeeraOn the 25th anniversary of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, residents in Mabare village share stories of survival, heroism, and tragedy.
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U.N. slams Brunei's Islamic laws a violation of human rights
ReutersBrunei is violating human rights by implementing Islamic laws that would allow death by stoning for adultery and homosexuality, the United Nations said on Wednesday
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Uighur debate shows shifting influence in Turkish policies
Al-MonitorTurkey’s security officials are divided over how to handle China’s ongoing repressive policies against the Uighurs, a Turkic minority living mainly in China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
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Moderate Islam in the Maghreb: How US foreign policy shapes Islamist contention
BrookingsSince the beginning of the U.S-led war on terror, a handful of Muslim-majority states have begun to brand themselves on the international stage as a source of “moderate Islam.” A recent report by Shadi Hamid and George Mason’s Professor Peter Mandaville observes that states’ uses of Islam in foreign policy are extensions of domestic religious-political cultures.
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The Sultan of Brunei: Opulence, Power and Hard-Line Islam
The New York TimesHassanal Bolkiah the sultan of Brunei is famous for his wealth and affluence. He is also the main enforcer of religion in his tiny country and has in recent decades advocated a hard-line vision of Islam that is at odds with the royal family’s opulent lifestyle. Here is a look at his powers, his background and the international condemnation of Brunei’s new laws.
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German military to appoint Jewish chaplains and open forces to Muslim imams, too
Religion News ServiceGermany’s armed forces will soon appoint Jewish chaplains, almost 100 years after rabbis last served with the country’s military. The forces will also welcome imams into their ranks to minister to Muslim troops.
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Malaysia won’t join ICC overpressure from Muslim opposition
AP NewsPrime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Friday Malaysia won’t ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the second treaty the government is withdrawing from after coming under pressure from the majority Muslim opposition.
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Islamic banking in Ethiopia offers Muslims financial inclusion
Al JazeeraSharia-compliant finance boosts financial inclusion in Ethiopia, but a fully-fledged Islamic bank has yet to take root.
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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!