United States
The Crisis at Syracuse University
The CutThat latest incident, in which a group of students in a library received the Christchurch shooter’s violent manifesto without their consent via Apple Airdrop, has “triggered a panic,” one student told the New York Times. “We can’t sleep. We can’t think.”
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How I Became An All-American Muslim Girl
CNNBecause of my appearance, the Islamophobia I’ve experienced over the years is very different from that of my Muslim cousins, aunts and friends. People don’t stare at me at the grocery store or make comments about my appearance or lack of hijab while I’m working out.
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Ghosts of Sugar Land Tells an Essential Story of Betrayal and Islamic Identity
Vanity FairBassam Tariq’s Sundance-winning documentary short, which is streaming on Netflix, is a gripping study of what can happen when a recent American convert to Islam goes rogue—and of what it might mean for his fellow Muslims back home.
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Why Did a Muslim Civil Rights Group Oppose Democrats’ Plans to Confront White Nationalism?
Rewire NewsThough compelling arguments have been made that CVE programs contribute to the marginalization and alienation of the very communities they’re meant to engage, they continue to receive significant funding from major cities, universities, and other institutions.
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It’s Time for Democrats to Start Talking about International Religious Freedom
Religion NewsEven though many see it as a conservative cause — thanks in part to the Trump administration’s emphasis on it — religious freedom abroad presents an opportunity for a Democratic presidential candidate.
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He’s Sorry for Stop-And-Frisk, and Locker-Room Talk. Where’s Mike Bloomberg’s Apology for Spying on Muslims?
The Daily BeastAs mayor of New York, Bloomberg oversaw one of the most chilling campaigns against religious liberty in modern American history—one that Trump has praised.
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What 'Hala' Rets Right And Wrong about Growing up Muslim in America
USA TodayAlthough “Hala” can most definitely be an accurate depiction of Muslim women living in America, it’s another oversimplified image of what a first-generation Muslim teen looks and behaves like.
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After Life: Muslim Deathcare in New Haven
Yale Daily NewsSecular regulations hinder Muslim burial practices in Connecticut.
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Watching The Report through Muslim Eyes
VoxHow new movie The Report fails victims of the CIA’s post-9/11 torture program.
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Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad’s Islamic State Problem
Lawfare BlogTrinidad has still yet to come to terms with this unenviable record, and there remains a widespread sense of incomprehension in the county that any of its nationals could have traded the paradise on their shores for a world of sectarian slaughter and chaos in Syria and Iraq
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India
Assam NRC a Tool to Render Muslims Stateless: US Panel on Religious Freedom
The Business StandardAssam has seen a huge influx from other places, particularly Bangladesh, since the early 20th century.
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Indian Muslims to Seek Review of Hindu Temple Site Ruling
Al JazeeraAn Indian Muslim group says Supreme Court judgement awarding Hindus control of a disputed religious site had ‘errors’.
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In Secular India, It's Getting Tougher to Be Muslim
CNNAll of this comes under the shadow of the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a self-proclaimed Hindu nationalist who has spoken out repeatedly against India’s secularism.
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Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's Muslims have Reason to Fear the New Rajapaksa Era
Al JazeeraThe anti-Muslim sentiments that helped him get elected are likely to shape Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s tenure as president.
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China
Muslims Detained in China Camps for Thinking ‘Unhealthy Thoughts’, Leaked Documents Reveal
The IndependentInternal Communist Party papers show how top officials – up to president Xi Jinping himself – describe Uighur resistance in terms like ‘virus’ or ‘cancer’ that needs to be ‘eradicated.’
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Indonesia
Surviving Indonesia’s Antigay Clampdown
The NationIndonesia has historically had a reputation for tolerance. Its 1945 Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, and the state’s secular ideology, Pancasila, encourages pluralism. The transgender community, known as waria, existed harmoniously in this Southeast Asian archipelago for hundreds of years. But the country is now in the grips of what Human Rights Watch describes as a government-driven moral panic that has targeted sexual and gender minorities and fueled fear in the community.
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Australia
Australian Muslims Share 'Terrifying' Stories of Islamophobia
SBS NewsMuslim women and girls are the most common targets of Islamophobic incidents in Australia, according to a new report.
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United Kingdom
British Muslims Can Swing the U.K. Election, but Only if They Get out and Vote
TimeIn December’s U.K. election, British Muslims represent a swing vote that few are paying attention to. The 2 million eligible Muslim voters in the U.K. have the ability to swing the result, one way or the other.
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I've Been Researching Islamophobia for Years – Don’t Let Anyone Tell You There Isn’t an Epidemic Within the Tory Party
The IndependentSadly, anti-Muslim sentiment is an effective campaign strategy across political campaigns in the west. Perhaps that’s why it’s so hard to get the Conservatives to take it seriously
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Germany
Muslims are Partners in Combating Anti-Semitism in Germany
Deutsche WelleAs anti-Semitism remains one of Germany’s most serious problems, one Berlin NGO is bringing Muslims and Jews together to fight discrimination through education. That means challenging mainstream German attitudes.
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Council Of Europe Awards Joint Havel Prize To Uyghur Activist Tohti, Balkan Youth Group
Radio Free Europe/Radio LibertyThe Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) says it has awarded the 2019 Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize jointly to Uyghur scholar and rights activist Ilham Tohti and the Balkan-based Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR).
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Bosnia
Who Should be Tackling Bosnia's Migrant Crisis?
Al JazeeraBosnia says it is struggling to cope with influx of people fleeing war and poverty and taking Balkan route to Europe.
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The Problem with the Bosnian Responses to Macron
Al JazeeraThe way Bosnians responded to Macron’s Islamophobic remarks about their country demonstrates their staunch Eurocentrism.
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Russia
Russia Repatriates 32 Children of Islamic State Members from Iraq
Los Angeles TimesRussia’s state TV on Tuesday showed footage of the children arriving at Zhukovsky airport outside Moscow. It said the children ranging from age 1 to 9 will undergo extensive medical checkups before relatives take them home.
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Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan Hosts Second Summit of World Religious Leaders in Baku
TRT WorldThe forum was organised by the Azerbaijan Caucasus Muslims Administration at the Baku Congress Centre.
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Sunni and Shia Muslims Pray Together in Azerbaijan's Heydar Mosque
TRT WorldThe divide between the two major denominations in Islam, Sunni and Shia, is prevalent, especially in the Middle East. But in Heydar Mosque in Azerbaijan, both Sunni and Shia Muslims come together every Friday for prayers.
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Iran
Using Iraq and Lebanon Uprisings to Attack Iran will Lead to Disaster
Middle East EyeIt is no secret that the current political structure in Iraq centres on a political majority based largely on Shia-inspired parties sensitive to neighbouring Iran, while in Lebanon, pro-Iranian Hezbollah is a major power broker. This represents a thorn in the side of the US, Israel and the Arab countries affiliated with them (Arab NATO).
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Lebanon
Why Lebanon Protesters Target Religion-Based Politics
BloombergDetractors say the system encourages patronage and nepotism, with politicians using public funds for their own benefit and inflating the public sector to appease their constituencies.
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Syria
A New 'Sesame Street' Show in Arabic Aims to Help Refugee Children
CNNSesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee have joined forces to help Syrian refugee children through educational learning programs, including the launch of a new “Sesame Street” show in Arabic.
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Israel/Palestine
For Years, My Life Was Al-Aqsa. Israel Took That from Me
Middle East EyeSince 2015, I have been slapped with consecutive expulsion orders, as Israel targets defenders of the Palestinian holy site.
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International Law Is Clear on One Point: Israel's Settlements Are Illegal
Middle East EyeDespite the US administration’s announcement to the contrary, there is no question as to the unlawfulness of Israel’s settler encroachment.
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Saudi Arabia
Will Feminism Be a Crime in Mohammed Bin Salman's Saudi Arabia?
Middle East EyeThis week, feminism in Saudi Arabia was declared to be a crime punishable by imprisonment and lashing. The Saudi state security agency’s video announcement defined feminism as an extremist position, imported from the West to assert that men and women have equal rights in economic, social and political matters.
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France Takes Aim at Saudi Over Failed West Africa Commitments
The New York TimesSaudi Arabia agreed in December 2017 to provide about 100 million euros ($110.7 million) to the G5 Sahel force, which is composed of the armies of Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad. But nearly three years after its launch, the G5 Sahel remains perennially underfunded and hobbled by poor coordination.
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Egypt
Pope Francis Receives Al Azhar’s Grand Imam in the Vatican to Achieve ‘Coexistence’
Egyptian StreetsPope Francis received on Friday in the Vatican the Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb of Al-Azhar of Egypt and his retinue to help achieve the objectives contained in the Document on the Human Brotherhood for World Peace and Common Living together, according to a statement by Al Azhar
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Egyptian Woman Fights Islamic Inheritance Laws
Al JazeeraCase involving Coptic Christian woman comes as calls for equal inheritance rights reverberate across the Arab world.
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Sudan
Can Sudan and South Sudan Find Friendship?
Deutsche WelleThe two countries have had a particularly acrimonious relationship – South Sudan split from Sudan in 2011 following decades of brutal civil war fought between Sudan’s government in the predominantly Muslim, Arabic-speaking north and primarily Christian rebels in the south.
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Senegal
France Returns Omar Tall's Sword to Senegal
BBCFrance has restored to Senegal a sabre that belonged to a 19th Century Islamic scholar and ruler. It is part of a commitment to return to its former West African colonies key items of their cultural heritage. The artefact originally belonged to the revered west African leader Omar Saidou Tall, who led an anti-colonial struggle against the French.
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Senegal Inaugurates Largest Mosque in West Africa
Al JazeeraA powerful religious group in Senegal has opened West Africa’s largest mosque at a cost of $50m. It adds to the considerable political and economic influence of the Mouride Brotherhood that is already felt in Senegalese life.
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Burkina Faso
UN Warns Burkina Faso Could Become 'Another Syria' as Violence Soars
The GuardianChildren bear the brunt as extremism and climate crisis drive almost 500,000 people from their homes.
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How West Africa’s Gold Rush is Funding Jihadists
The EconomistAlthough gold has long been mined in the region—Mali is thought to have been the world’s biggest producer of the precious metal in the 13th century—it has boomed in recent years with the discovery of shallow deposits that stretch from Sudan to Mauritania.
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Kenya
Muslim Women in Kenya Raise Butterflies to Aid Forests
Anadolu AgencyProject brings in around $1.9 million annually, according to UN’s Griet Ingrid Dierckxsens.
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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!