Lives forever changed by Christchurch shootings
ReutersA special report examines the pain and sense of loss of those affected by the massacres in Christchurch, and how they are coping and seeking to honor the martyrs in the future.
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Don’t blame Sharia for Islamic extremism – blame colonialism
The ConversationDebates about “stealth Jihad” and creeping Islamic extremism in the US reflect ignorance of Sharia, which is not a strict legal code. Sharia means “path” or “way”: It is a broad set of values and ethical principles drawn from the Quran – Islam’s holy book – and the life of the Prophet Muhammad. As such, different people and governments may interpret Sharia differently.
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There are two types of hijabs. The difference is huge.
The Washington PostThere are two vastly different kinds of hijabs: the democratic hijab, the head covering that a woman chooses to wear, and the tyrannical hijab, the one that a woman is forced to wear.
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Indonesian loses blasphemy appeal over mosque loudspeaker complaint
ReutersIndonesia’s Supreme Court has upheld a jail sentence for a mother of four who was convicted last year on blasphemy charges for complaining that her neighborhood mosque was too loud.
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Will Brunei's anti-LGBT Sharia law spread across Southeast Asia?
CNNBrunei’s implementation of a harsh punishments for gay sex has sparked a waved of condemnation in the West, but some in the Muslim majority countries of Indonesia and Malaysia fear that the rise of “conservative Islam” is a step backward.
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Sisi keeps watchful eye on Al-Azhar's growing role abroad
Al-MonitorEgypt’s President is concerned that Al-Azhar’s efforts to expand its influence outside of his country may also be an effort to protect itself from government control.
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Ardern names judge to head royal inquiry into mosque attack
AP NewsPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern has named a sitting Supreme Court justice to head New Zealand’s top-level investigation into the actions of security agencies and other issues related to the mosque shootings last month in which 50 people were killed.
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Dubai's 'Quranic Park' draws on Islam's holy text
ReutersA new park that uses gardens and landscaping to tell stories from Islam’s sacred text has opened in Dubai, offering locals and tourists a day out with a religious twist.
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Why Americans appear more likely to support Christian refugees
The ConversationTwo Professors who study NGOs did an experiment, to find out how likely Americans would be to say they would donate US$20 to a charity that runs refugee camps abroad if they were told, directly or indirectly, that most of the refugees in the camps were Muslims.
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Stoning Gay People? The Sultan of Brunei Doesn’t Understand Modern Islam
The New York TimesJournalist and author Mustafa Akyol says the arguments of those who emphasize punishment focused and literalist interpretations of Shari’a as more authentically Islamic are missing the point.
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Parents, we need to teach our children about the dangers of hate-laced speech against Muslims
The Washington PostHena Khan says that when she was in elementary school her classmates’ idea of an insult was calling her “Indira Gandhi” but in the age of Islamophobia the dangers for the next generation are much higher.
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Stoning Gay People to Death in Brunei Is an Outrage and Not My Definition of Islam
The InterceptMehdi Hasan writes that Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, has traditionally seen homosexuality as a sin — with the reality of life in modern, pluralistic, secular societies in which gay people cannot be wished away or banished from sight.
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French student on hijab, media and being used as political puppet
Al JazeeraFor those of us who are Muslims, however, there is no point denying that queer people do face particular abuse, discrimination, demonization, and violence across the Muslim-majority world. It is long past time for us to engage in a frank discussion about our attitudes toward gay people in our midst.
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Morocco, commander of the (African) faithful?
BrookingsIn the increasingly competitive market of Islamic soft power, Morocco is another regional player that deploys religion to assert its official legitimacy and position itself as a global leader of “moderate Islam.”
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Ocasio-Cortez on Omar Death Threat: When Fox's Pirro Rallies People to Think Hijabs Are Threatening, It Leads to This
HaaretzInterviewed at his home by investigators, the man who threatened to kill Ilhan Omar ‘stated that he was a patriot, that he loves the President, and that he hates radical Muslims in our government’.
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Millions of Voters Are Missing in India
Foreign PolicyVoter suppression is commonly discussed in the United States, but in India the discourse has barely begun. In the United States, the tactics used range from creating minor voting hurdles to selectively purging entire categories of voters from the rolls.
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Islam is a growing social force in Britain’s second city
The EconomistAs guardians of a faith followed by a quarter of Brummies, including a plurality of the city’s children, the mosque’s leaders play a growing role in civic life.
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Pakistan court rules teenage Hindu girls converted to Islam voluntarily
ReutersTwo Pakistani Hindu sisters whose parents said they were kidnapped and forced to change their religion to marry Muslims had converted voluntarily, a court ruled on Thursday, in a case that has attracted attention in Hindu-majority India.
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Sudan’s Omar Hassan al-Bashir is ousted by military after 30 years in power
The Washington PostSudan’s president was deposed Thursday the same way he came to power 30 years ago — in a military takeover.
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Terrorist planned to bomb UK’s largest mosque ‘to get justice’ for Manchester attack
The Independent“I think it would be justice if someone did to them what they do to us,” Steven Bishop told police after being arrested for planning to bomb the UK’s largest mosque.
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Inside the Pakistani madrasa where India said it killed hundreds of 'terrorists'
ReutersFor the first time since the Indian government said it had killed hundreds of “terrorists” and their trainers and associates in the school’s compound, Pakistani authorities on Wednesday allowed a group of journalists working for foreign news organizations, and foreign diplomats based in Islamabad, access to the site.
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Why giant statues of Hindu gods and leaders are making Muslims in India nervous
The ConversationFor many Muslims and other religious minorities, these hulking public monuments of Hindu icons send an ominous message about their status in society.
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Islamic State recruit says many foreign fighters jailed or killed
ReutersA Tajik man who joined Islamic State said many foreigners who enlisted in its self-declared caliphate in Iraq and Syria were jailed or killed for trying to leave.
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China’s hi-tech war on its Muslim minority
The GuardianSmartphones and the internet gave the Uighurs a sense of their own identity – but now the Chinese state is using technology to strip them of it.
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Muslims arrived in America 400 years ago as part of the slave trade and today are vastly diverse
The ConversationScholars estimate that as many as 30% of the African slaves brought to the U.S., from West and Central African countries like Gambia and Cameroon, were Muslim.
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Muslims and LGBTQ people should stand together, not fight each other
The GuardianDon’t let the Birmingham school protests perpetuate divisions when a common enemy – the far right – is once again looming.
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How Indonesia's president has tried to claw back voter support in Muslim heartland
ReutersAs conservative Islam gains greater traction in Indonesia, many politicians including Widodo have taken pains to appear “more Islamic” to appeal to Muslim voters.
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Jokowi's Poll Fight Shows Indonesia's Islam Identity Crisis
BloombergQuestions of religious identity have become an increasing political issue in Indonesia, which was founded on secular ideals to unite a diverse archipelago stretching across three time zones.
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Brunei once held off on strict Islamic law to stay in a U.S.-backed trade pact. Then Trump pulled out.
The Washington PostBrunei quietly moved ahead with the laws it once said would never be carried out. The final phase came into effect April 3, sending a ripple through LGBT and minority communities in the country.
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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!