06-12 May Islam in Media Roundup

Calling the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group would make all Muslims scapegoats

Calling the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group would make all Muslims scapegoats

The Washington Post

Trump administration is pushing to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a “foreign terrorist organization,” which would bring the weight of U.S. sanctions against a diverse political movement with millions of members.
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 Why Ramadan is called Ramadan: 6 questions answered

Why Ramadan is called Ramadan: 6 questions answered

Religion News Service

The Arabic term Ramadan connotes intense heat. It seems that in pre-Islamic Arabia, Ramadan was the name of a scorching hot summer month. In the Islamic calendar, however, the timing of Ramadan varies from year to year.
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Pakistan's Ahmadi community faces growing discrimination, report says

Pakistan's Ahmadi community faces growing discrimination, report says

Reuters

Pakistan’s Ahmadi community faces growing institutionalized discrimination fanned by last year’s election campaign by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the minority movement said in a report issued on Monday.
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Ramadan: ‘It will be a test but the peace you get is beautiful’

Ramadan: ‘It will be a test but the peace you get is beautiful’

The Guardian

Fasting to Muslims represent a combination of test and rewards where they work to combine both their spirituality and their busy lives.
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A look at the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan

A look at the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan

AP News

Many Muslims around the world began fasting Monday to mark the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
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 Gaza laments deadly start to Ramadan, amid funerals and debris

Gaza laments deadly start to Ramadan, amid funerals and debris

Reuters

After two sleepless days and nights of Israeli shelling and Palestinian rocket fire, Gazans on Monday faced the first day of Ramadan overshadowed by funerals and the grim task of pulling bodies from collapsed buildings.
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For Western leaders, Ramadan is a time to reassure the world of Islam

For Western leaders, Ramadan is a time to reassure the world of Islam

The Economist

In more recent times, leaders of the democratic world have taken the period of daybreak-to-dusk abstinence, the latest enactment of which began at sunset on May 5th, as a cue to salute and reassure Muslims everywhere, in their own countries and around the world.
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The implications of a Trump war on political Islam

The implications of a Trump war on political Islam

Al Jazeera

The White House announced it was intending to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation soon after Trump met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi last month and praised him as a “great president” despite his dark human rights record.
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Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters reporters freed from prison in Myanmar

Pulitzer Prize-winning Reuters reporters freed from prison in Myanmar

The Washington Post

Two Pulitzer-winning Reuters journalists held in Myanmar were freed after their coverage of the crackdown on Rohingya Muslims.
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'Beautiful Ramadan': Prayers, celebrations, and determination at Sudan's protest sit-in

'Beautiful Ramadan': Prayers, celebrations, and determination at Sudan's protest sit-in

Middle East Eye

Protesters gathered outside military headquarters in Khartoum hoping that Ramadan will bring renewed energy and recruits to their cause.
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How Iran's hard-liners aim to sideline traditionalist clerics

How Iran's hard-liners aim to sideline traditionalist clerics

Al-Monitor

The relationship between the state and the clerical establishment in Iran has been unsteady over the last four decades. The state has often criticized the Qom seminary for its lackluster support for the Islamic Revolution and for its lack of involvement in everyday matters of government, as it limits itself to religious issues.
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Revealed: new evidence of China's mission to raze the mosques of Xinjiang

Revealed: new evidence of China's mission to raze the mosques of Xinjiang

The Guardian

More than two dozen Islamic religious sites have been partly or completely demolished in Xinjiang since 2016, according to an investigation by the Guardian and open-source journalism site Bellingcat.
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Mainstream Charities Are Unwittingly Funding Anti-Muslim Hate Groups, Report Says

Mainstream Charities Are Unwittingly Funding Anti-Muslim Hate Groups, Report Says

NPR

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, says that charitable foundations, mostly mainstream, are directly and indirectly giving millions of dollars to anti-Muslim hate groups.
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The Saudi Shia: Between an Iranian rock and a Saudi hard place

The Saudi Shia: Between an Iranian rock and a Saudi hard place

Al Jazeera

The Saudi Shia community has been caught in the struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia for regional hegemony.
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Curfew imposed after religious tension rises in Negombo

Curfew imposed after religious tension rises in Negombo

Al Jazeera

State schools reopened amid tight security after fighting broke out on Sunday between ethnic Sinhalese people and Muslims.
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 Yemen war: Civilians struggle to buy food to break their fast

Yemen war: Civilians struggle to buy food to break their fast

Al Jazeera

In the last four years, Yemen’s currency has sunk and the cost of food soared, becoming a major driver behind the current food crisis.
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Harsh punishments under Sharia are modern interpretations of an ancient tradition

Harsh punishments under Sharia are modern interpretations of an ancient tradition

The Conversation

According to Jessica Marglin, Sharia is a complex tradition with multiple interpretations – one that accommodates the celebration of same-sex attraction alongside rulings condemning homosexual intercourse.
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Britain used to ask Muslims to move here. What happened to us?

Britain used to ask Muslims to move here. What happened to us?

The Guardian

Arabic-speaking ‘recruitment’ videos the British government made in the 1960s show a more tolerant nation than today’s hostile environment.
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Muslims afraid, resentful as ethnic divide deepens in Sri Lanka

Muslims afraid, resentful as ethnic divide deepens in Sri Lanka

Reuters

Muslim groups say they have received dozens of complaints from across Sri Lanka about people from the community being harassed at workplaces, including government offices, hospitals and in public transport since the Easter Sunday attacks.
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Muslims gather in Jerusalem for first Ramadan Friday prayers

Muslims gather in Jerusalem for first Ramadan Friday prayers

AP News

Israeli police said more than 135,000 worshippers prayed at al-Aqsa mosque in the sacred compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount.
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The black Muslim female fashion trailblazers who came before model Halima Aden

The black Muslim female fashion trailblazers who came before model Halima Aden

The Conversation

Media reports have celebrated Halima Aden becoming the first woman to be featured in the Sports Illustrated annual swimsuit edition wearing a hijab or a burkini.
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Rooh Afza off shelves: India's Muslims have a Ramadan crisis

Rooh Afza off shelves: India's Muslims have a Ramadan crisis

Al Jazeera

Since the holy month of Ramadan began this week, millions of Muslims in India have been greeted with a rude shock: a shortage of Rooh Afza, a staple in “iftar” (breaking of the fast at sunset), especially during the summers.
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In Largely Catholic Philippines, A Muslim Woman Shakes Up Senate Campaign

In Largely Catholic Philippines, A Muslim Woman Shakes Up Senate Campaign

NPR

Samira Gutoc cannot help but stand out from the crowded roster of candidates in the Philippines’ midterm elections. The ebullient 44-year-old is a Muslim and the only woman among the opposition’s slate of eight candidates running for the Senate.
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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!