Islam in Media Roundup | 16 December – 22 December

India

India Builds Detention Camps for up to 1.9m People ‘Stripped of Citizenship’ in Assam

Independent

Ten centres ‘planned’ across northeastern state after national register published.
Read More

India's Citizenship Law Triggers Mass Protests and Violence as Modi Calls for Peace

NPR

Tens of thousands of protesters marched on college campuses across India on Monday, saying a new citizenship law is unconstitutional because it treats Muslims differently from Hindus, Buddhists and other religious groups.
Read More

There’s Finally a Backlash to Narendra Modi’s Islamophobia

Slate

The most significant—and horrifying—accomplishment of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s five years in power has been the mass normalization and institutionalization of Islamophobia on a level hitherto unseen.
Read More

Why the State Dept. has Largely Been Muted on India’s Moves Against Muslims

New York Times

The contrast over U.S. demands to protect Chinese Uighurs and Myanmar’s Rohingya will be an undercurrent in high-level meetings with India this week.
Read More

In Hindu-Nationalist India, Muslims Risk Being Branded Infiltrators in Their own Country

CNN

Fears are growing among India’s 200 million Muslims that they could soon be classified as illegal immigrants under new, far-reaching government proposals.
Read More

There Are No Islamic Restrictions on Women’s Entry to Mosques

Indian Express

Writer and historian Rana Safvi has publicly spoken about and posted on social media her accounts of praying in mosques across the country, from Kashmir to Kolata, Sonepat to Shimla, Bijapur to Barielly.
Read More

Pakistan

Malala Yousafzai on Education, Islamophobia, and the New Wave of Youth Activism

Teen Vogue

At the age of 11, Malala Yousafzai took to blogging for the BBC about living in the Swat Valley region of Pakistan, under occupation by the militant group the Taliban. Her chronicles of her day to day were shot through with comments about her fears of going to school and living with the constant threat of violence.
Read More

Pakistan Sentences Muslim Professor to Death for Anti-Islamic ‘Blasphemy’

Fox News

Junaid Hafeez was arrested in 2013 for allegedly displaying blasphemous content while a visiting university lecturer in the city of Multan. After his arrest, prosecutors claimed investigators retrieved anti-religious material from Hafeez’s laptop.
Read More

China

How China Is Using Fashion to Erase Uighur Identity

Middle East Eye

In Xinjiang, authorities are trying to push women away from Islamic dress and towards ‘modern’ fashion.
Read More

People Are Pressuring the Olympic Committee to Help Shut Down China's Uyghur Camps

Vice

“No Rights. No Games.” is using the 2022 Olympics to place pressure on the Chinese government to end its persecution of Uyghur Muslims.
Read More

Myanmar

Police Warn Rohingya Muslims to Stay Silent as CAA Protests Roil India

Huffington Post

Described as the world’s most persecuted minority, India’s Rohingya refugees are fearful of speaking out against India’s controversial new citizenship law which specifically excludes them.
Read More

Malaysia

Islamic Summit Opens in Kuala Lumpur

Voice of America

Saudi Arabia is one of a handful of Muslim nations not in attendance at a four-day conference in Kuala Lumpur aimed at addressing some of the Islamic world’s thorniest issues. The conference, dubbed the Kuala Lumpur Summit, was organized by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Read More

Muslims Urged to Boycott Chinese Products over Uighur 'Abuses'

Al Jazeera

At summit in Malaysia, influential preacher says leaders from Muslim world should exert more pressure on Beijing.
Read More

Indonesia

How Arabization Changed Islam in Asia

Asia Times

Over the past few decades, a process of Arabization has influenced the practice of Islam in Asia, spreading a more devout and less tolerant creed that nurtures fundamentalism and militancy.
Read More

Nigeria

The Distorted Narratives about Islamic Schools Deflect from Ugly Truths about Nigerian Society

Quartz

In this environment, every Nigerian becomes an expert and has a strong opinion. But the debate doesn’t include the very people involved in the system who struggle to make a claim for alternative narratives.
Read More

Sudan

The Year That Changed Sudan Began with a Matchstick

Middle East Eye

On 19 December 2018, a protest and a fire radically changed the course of Sudan’s history.
Read More

Syria

Russia, China Have 'Blood on Their Hands' After Veto of Syria Aid, Pompeo Says

Middle East Eye

UN resolution fails as tens of thousands of civilians flee Idlib region amid bombardments by Assad’s Russian-backed government.
Read More

United Kingdom

Islamophobia Is Boris Johnson’s Problem Now

Foreign Policy

The U.K. Labour Party’s abject failure to address anti-Semitism has garnered headlines, but hatred of Muslims is even more rampant in Britain—and the prime minister and his party have contributed to making it socially acceptable.
Read More

Record Number of Muslims Enter British Parliament

TRT World

Despite rising anti-Muslim sentiment, the 2019 election saw the highest number of Muslim candidates ever enter parliament.
Read More

Muslim Doctor Invents Disposable Headscarves for UK Hospital

NY Post

A Derby, England hospital has become the first in the UK to make sterile hijabs available to employees. The disposable headscarves were introduced by a medical resident who came up with the idea while in training.
Read More

Conservative Victory Makes British Muslims Fearful, Says Advocacy Group

Middle East Eye

Muslim Council of Britain urges Boris Johnson to assure community of its place in the country.
Read More

France

Will a United Front Against the Far-Right Transform French Politics?

Middle East Eye

Taking down Macron’s government is far more likely to be achieved if protesters join forces with migrants, people of colour and Muslims.
Read More

Germany

FC Cologne Pull Out of Deal to Run Football Academy in China

The Guardian

FC Cologne are pulling out of a deal to run a football academy in China, with a member of the club council saying they should not support “such a totalitarian and brutal dictatorship.”
Read More

Sweden

The People Heartened by Peter Handke’s Nobel Prize Are Genocide Deniers

The Guardian

The Swedish Academy’s defence of its controversial award only serves to fuel the rise of far-right extremism.
Read More

Bosnia

Ex-Islamic State Fighters, Women and Children Return to Bosnia from Syria

Reuters

A group of 25 former Islamic State fighters, women and children, some of them orphaned, returned to Bosnia on Thursday, the prosecutor’s office and the security ministry said.
Read More

United States

Michael Bloomberg’s Surveillance of Muslims Sets Dangerous Precedent for His Presidential Run

Huffington Post

“How would he distinguish himself from Trump if he has some of these similar leanings?” one Muslim New Yorker wanted to know.
Read More

Trump Impeachment: Here's What Arab and Muslim Americans Say about it

Middle East Eye

Some activists say focus should be on 2020 elections. Others insist impeachment is necessary to hold Trump accountable.
Read More

Messiah: Netflix Trailer 'Reveals Spoiler' to Muslim Viewers

BBC

The show centres on a Christ-like man who performs miracles around the world. But the character’s name is a huge nod to Dajjal, a false prophet in Islamic theology comparable to the Antichrist.
Read More

Muslim, Jewish Women Come Together to Promote Tolerance, Understanding

Daily Herald

“It is astounding how similar our religious traditions are … the stories, the challenges we share, the same goals and values we have for our families,” Khan said. “When you talk about Abrahamic faiths, you truly understand where that term comes from.”
Read More

Commentary: How a Muslim American Embraces the Holiday Season

San Diego Tribune

Respecting traditions of others helps build bridges.
Read More

New Zealand

Making Safe Spaces for Muslim Women to Play

Newsroom New Zealand

Women and girls in New Zealand’s Muslim community want to play sport and be active, but a new study has found they face significant barriers to play.
Read More

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!