Somali. Black. Muslim. Woman. Refugee. American: The making of Ilhan Omar
Middle East EyeShe came to America from a refugee camp in East Africa. Now she’s at the forefront of a new wave of US politicians challenging Donald Trump.
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The rise of female Sharia judges in India
Al Jazeera“The practice of female [qazis] is novel in India, but the idea is not novel,” says Ebrahim Moosa, a professor of Islamic studies at The University of Notre Dame. “Muslims in North India followed the Hanafi school of law for centuries that allows women to be judges.”
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The Palestinian women standing up against Israeli incursions at Al-Aqsa
Middle East EyeHanadi Halawani’s home lies just a few meters away from Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Yet, for the past few months, the 39-year-old has not been able to step foot into the holy mosque. Halawani is one of several Palestinian women who have been repeatedly barred from entering the al-Aqsa Mosque compound by Israeli authorities for her political activism.
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US envoy decries lack of response from Islamic world to China's attacks on Uighurs
The GuardianSam Brownback, ambassador at large for international religious freedom, was hopeful that the more Muslim populations around the world heard about the imprisonment of an estimated more than 1 million Uighurs, the more they will put pressure on their governments to speak out.
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The Muslim Brotherhood and Washington's misguided Middle East policy
Middle East EyeMarco Canelos argues that if the US was genuinely interested in dealing constructively with political Islam in the Middle East – an unavoidable option if it genuinely aspires to regional stabilization and development – it would have seriously engaged the Brotherhood, ignoring the biased “advice” of certain Arab governments interested in maintaining their grip on power.
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Kosovo is trying to reintegrate ISIL returnees. Will it work?
Al JazeeraIn April, 110 Kosovars – mostly women and children – returned home on a US military aircraft from a Syrian camp.
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65 Rohingya Muslims found shipwrecked in southern Thailand
Washington PostThe chief of Tarutao National Marine Park, Kanjanapan Kamhaeng, said a boat carrying the Rohingya was discovered Tuesday morning after several Thai and Myanmar citizens told park officials their ship had crashed onto rocks. They initially denied they were transporting Rohingya refugees.
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Muslim Woman Investigated Her Own Hate Crime After NYPD Dismissed Her Case
HuffPostA Muslim woman who was robbed and brutally beaten by a group of young people last month says the New York Police Department and the Bronx District Attorney’s office failed to properly investigate until she dug up video evidence proving the hate crime.
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Prominent Egyptian preacher Khaled Abu Shadi 'disappeared' in Cairo
Middle East EyeThe popular speaker, who is married to the Muslim Brotherhood deputy head’s daughter, was ‘kidnapped’ on Monday according to his family.
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New social media vetting for visa applicants can hurt American Muslims, advocates say
Religion News ServiceThe U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s newly expanded social media monitoring policies will directly impact an estimated 15 million prospective visa applicants, but civil rights and legal advocates say the policy will infringe most on the rights of Muslim communities, both in the U.S. and abroad.
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Tennessee DA faces investigation after Islam, gay comments
APThe Council on American-Islamic Relations provided a copy of a letter sent by the state Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibility confirming its investigation of Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott. Northcott wrote: Islam is “evil, violent and against God’s truth” and likened being Muslim to “being part of the KKK, Aryan Nation, etc.”
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When disaster hits, Indonesia’s Islamists are first to help
APThe humanitarian arm of the Islamic Defenders’ Front, known as Red Crescent Indonesia, is not part of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies — but it was very busy last year. Besides the Palu earthquake and tsunami that claimed more than 4,000 lives, earthquakes killed hundreds and destroyed thousands of homes.
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Islamic traces in Portugal's past
The New ArabFor over 500 years, most of Portugal was governed by Islamic rulers. Although not many monuments from this period survived, Portugal is replete with traces of its Islamic past.
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France smashes neo-Nazi cell over plot to attack Jews, Muslims
France24Five members of a group accused of planning attacks on Jewish or Muslim places of worship, who were “close in ideology to the neo-Nazi movement” were charged between September and May over the alleged plot, a source close to the investigation said.
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3 life sentences without parole for man who killed 3 Muslims
Fox NewsCraig Stephen Hicks, 50, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder more than four years after the February 2015 slayings and two months after incoming District Attorney Satana Deberry dropped plans to seek the death penalty in hopes of concluding a case she said had languished too long.
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Manchester United’s Paul Pogba explains why he became a Muslim and how it made him a ‘better person’
The Independent UK“Islam is not the image that everyone sees, terrorism,” World Cup winner Paul Pogba told The Times’ Life Times podcast. “What we hear in the media is really something else. It’s something beautiful.”
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Daily Beast Contributor Wins $4.1 Million From Neo-Nazi for ISIS Smear
Daily BeastAfter comedian Dean Obeidallah wrote a Daily Beast article condemning President Trump’s approach to white supremacist terror in 2017, the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer falsely accused Obeidallah of being behind an ISIS attack.
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Iraqi Shi'ite groups deepen control in strategic Sunni areas
ReutersIraq’s second city, once a recruitment center for Sunni officers in Saddam Hussein’s army, became an al Qaeda hotbed after the 2003 U.S. invasion that toppled the dictator, and later the base from where IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a caliphate in 2014.
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Army War College postpones appearance of controversial author with anti-Islam history
Penn LiveThe U.S. Army War College has postponed the appearance of an author widely regarded as being Islamophobic. The decision comes in the wake of strong opposition from the Muslim community to the previously scheduled appearance of author Raymond Ibrahim.
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Islamophobia will not solve Europe or Asia's problems
Al JazeeraA joint official statement from Myanmar and Hungary laments the shared “challenges of migration” and “the emergence of the issue of coexistence with continuously growing Muslim populations.” Ibrahim Kalin provides an alternative narrative.
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Netflix's first Jordan-based Arabic series drops today
Esquire Middle EastNetflix’s first Arabic language original, Jinn, follows the lives of a group of high schoolers who encounter supernatural forces after a school trip to Petra. It’s the first of many Jordan-based Netflix originals and will hit your screens on June 13.
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Iranians boycott ride-hailing app after hijab controversy
Al JazeeraSnapp, Iran’s equivalent of Uber, is facing a boycott after a driver argued with his passenger over her disheveled hijab, the Islamic headscarf which Iranian law compels women to wear.
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Lord Patel of Blackburn obituary
The GuardianLord Adam Patel, who has died aged 78, drew his strength from the combination of his status as a profoundly devout Muslim with his belief in civic responsibility. A highly intelligent man who exuded a sense of wisdom, he had the instincts of a natural leader.
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Grandeur brings halal and vegan burgers, fries and more to Adams Point
Yahoo NewsAfter a soft opening last week, the casual eatery Grandeur officially debuted today. It offers both vegan-friendly and carnivorous fare, with all of the meat items — like lamb burgers and fried chicken sandwiches — certified halal.
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Sajid Javid and the complex life of a Muslim Conservative leadership hopeful
The ConversationSajid Javid, the son of Pakistani Muslim immigrants and currently the British home secretary, has positioned himself as the “change” candidate in his bid to become the next leader of the Conservative Party, and de facto prime minister.
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Belgium’s Beijing Embassy Calls Chinese Cops on Uighur Family
Foreign PolicyBelgian officials say their small country can’t risk offending China.
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Muslims 'targeted with arbitrary arrests' after Easter massacre
Al JazeeraThe EU has joined a warning call as Muslims, activists and politicians report rising arrests and police bullying in Sri Lanka.
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Muslim, Jewish groups bicker over Muslim event at Statehouse
APMore than a dozen mosques and Muslim organizations said in a statement Thursday that they’re disappointed the Jewish Community Relations Council joined pro-Israel groups in criticizing a June 5 Eid al-Fitr event co-hosted by state lawmakers and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
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Was Islamophobia behind Sajid Javid's Trump banquet snub, Muslim group asks
Middle East EyeThe UK government’s failure to invite Home Secretary Sajid Javid to a state banquet for US President Donald Trump could constitute Islamophobia. The Muslim Council of Britain sent a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this month asking if Javid had not been invited to the dinner during Trump’s state visit because of the home secretary’s Muslim background.
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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!