Islam in Media Roundup | 2 December – 8 December

Egypt

Authorities Remove and Ban Ten Muslim Brotherhood’s Preachers from Mosques

The Arab Weekly

The Ministry of Islamic Endowments, which is responsible for organising the work of tens of thousands of mosques across Egypt, recently sacked ten preachers for belonging to the Brotherhood, the movement of late Islamist President Muhammad Morsi.
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Israel/Palestine

Facing Years of Repression, Palestinians Continue to Flee Gaza

Al-Araby

Palestinians in Gaza have been living under a blockade since 2007, and with fifty percent of the population under 18, many in the Gaza Strip have grown up with a memory only of Hamas rule and war with Israel.
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Revealed: Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib Targeted in Far-Right Fake News Operation

The Guardian

Israeli-based group uses Facebook to spread disinformation to more than a million followers around the world, singling out Muslim US congresswomen.
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Syria

Women Under Isil: The Wives

Al Jazeera

Women married to ISIL fighters share accounts of being made to watch executions and strap explosives to other women.
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America’s Anti-Islamic State Volunteers

Lawfare Blog

At least 72 Americans have made the journey to Syria or Iraq to join the Islamic State, but an even greater number of Americans made the same journey to fight against the Islamic State. They were moved by ideological convictions or moral outrage at the atrocities committed by the Islamic State, and by personal desires for fulfillment or adventure.
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Iran

Iran Leader Calls for ‘Islamic Mercy’ After Bloody Crackdown

Washington Post

Iran’s supreme leader called Wednesday for those detained in recent gasoline price protests to be treated with “Islamic mercy” even after authorities acknowledged government forces shot and killed demonstrators nationwide in unrest that reportedly killed over 200 people.
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Libya

Refugees in Libya Hoped for Help From the UN. Instead, They Were Abandoned

Haaretz

After being let out of prison, some 450 people sought sanctuary at a UNHCR facility in Tripoli, only to learn that the agency doesn’t have the resources – and reportedly is trying to starve the migrants out.
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Algeria

European Parliament Denounces Religious Freedom Violations in Algeria

Evangelical Focus

The EU adopted a resolution which calls “for an end to violations against the freedom of Christians and other religious minorities to worship.”
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Morocco

Morocco: Landmark Proposals on Individual Freedoms

Human Rights Watch

The Moroccan parliament should adopt the groundbreaking proposals made by a government-appointed body to enshrine individual freedoms, Human Rights Watch said today. In a memorandum published on October 28, 2019, the National Human Rights Council (also known by its French acronym, CNDH) recommended decriminalizing consensual sex between nonmarried adults and granting more religious freedoms.
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Women's Rugby in Morocco – a Photo Essay

The Guardian

For these women, rugby is a declaration of independence and a source of empowerment. The nature of the sport encourages the players to be a dominating presence. In each game there is much more at stake than winning against the opposing team; the real victory is to claim back self-confidence, personal freedom and a primary role within Islamic society.
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Mozambique

Fear, Hunger, and Mystery Killers Stalk Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado

The New Humanitarian

A series of attacks in recent weeks blamed on the extremist group known as Ansar al-Sunnah has left dozens dead and villages empty. Residents describe it as some of the worst violence since a poorly understood insurgency began in this gas-rich region more than two years ago.
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United States 

The Attacks on Ilhan Omar Reveal a Disturbing Truth About Racism in America

Vox

A Muslim, a black woman, and a refugee, Ilhan Omar faces Islamophobia, racism, misogyny, and anti-immigration strains in American culture.
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The Insidious Islamophobia I Experience as a White, Blond Muslim — and How I Combat It

NBC News

People assume I’m one of them, safely in the club, and insult Muslims in front of me — not realizing the community they’re insulting is mine, too.
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New Muslim-Based Sorority AIMS to Educate and Empower WSU Community

The Sunflower

Five years after Mu Delta Alpha was first introduced at the University of Texas at Dallas, the Muslim-based sorority has arrived at Wichita State.
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American Muslims to Democrats: 'Palestine Is a Foreign Policy Priority'

Middle East Eye

The American Muslims for Palestine convention was bigger than ever, with participants looking to build momentum with Democrats.
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Frank Wuco, an Anti-Muslim and Anti-LGBTQ Pundit, Is Now a Senior State Department Adviser

Media Matters

When he was a right-wing pundit, senior State Department adviser Frank Wuco claimed that Muslims “by-and-large” will “subjugate and humiliate non-Muslim members of their societies” and that their core faith purportedly instructs them that they can’t “coexist peacefully with other religions.”
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Growing Number of U.S. Latinos Leaving Catholic Church for Islam

Patheos

About 8 percent of all Muslim Americans adults are Latino, according to a 2017 report from the Pew Research Center, increasing by about a third from 2011.
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George Bush, Barack Obama, and the CIA Torture Cover-Up

The Intercept

No story in recent U.S. history illustrates the brutal fallacy of American exceptionalism than the CIA torture program and its cover-up.
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Muhammad Makes List of Top 10 Baby Names in the U.S. for First Time

San Francisco Gate

Almost all of last year’s top-10 darlings are still favorites this year, with a few exceptions. Revealing a rise in Arabic names, Muhammad and Aaliyah made the top 10 for the first time, replacing Mason and Layla. Muhammad is considered the most popular name in the world.
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As a School Shooting Unfolded, a Teen Opened Her Mosque Doors to Shelter Fleeing Students

CNN

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s Oshkosh chapter mosque is across the street from Oshkosh West High School, where police said a 16-year-old student stabbed an officer with an “edged weapon” before being shot by the officer.
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Ex-Infowars Staffer: We Made Up Shariah Law Threat Stories

The Daily Beast

The former Infowars video editor said that he made up lies about Islamberg, a Muslim community north of New York City, and accused it of harboring terrorists.
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Canada

Bill 21: Group Launches Brochure to Inform Muslim Women of Their Rights

Montreal Gazette

Justice Femme and several other human rights groups have collaborated to produce the pamphlet.
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Indonesia

Muslim Bloc’s Protest in Indonesia Draws over 12,000 Amid Tight Security

Free Malaysia Today

Thousands of Indonesian Muslims from conservative groups held a peaceful rally in central Jakarta on Monday, with a spokesman for one of the organisers calling for unity after a spike in religious tension followed elections last April.
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Malaysia

Six Muslim Men Sentenced to Jail, Fine for Going to Waterfall Instead of Friday Prayers

Malay Mail

In what is possibly the first case in the country, six male Muslims, including three teenagers, were sentenced to a month in jail and fined over RM2,000 for skipping out on Friday prayers last August 23.
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India

The 'Israel Model': The Fragile Paradise of Kashmir Faces an Existential Threat

Middle East Eye

India’s Hindu nationalists have learnt from their allies in Israel. The results can be seen in Kashmir.
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India Is Escalating Kashmir Conflict by Painting It as Terrorism

Open Democracy

The greatest threat to Indian security is communal violence, not terrorism.
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Blood and Soil in Narendra Modi’s India

The New Yorker

The Prime Minister’s Hindu-nationalist government has cast two hundred million Muslims as internal enemies.
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Pondering Their Future in Their Own Homeland: Muslims Fearful in a Hate Filled India

Al-Araby

Muslims are being demonised, alienated, and attacked in India like never before. Violence against the country’s biggest minority has dramatically increased since the right-wing Modi government took power in 2014.
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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Extends Nationwide Curfew After Anti-Muslim Riots

Stock Daily Dish

A Muslim man was stabbed to death while rioters torched Muslim-owned shops and vandalised mosques during Monday‘s attacks. Police have arrested 60 people, including the leader of a far-right Buddhist group.
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Bangladesh

Nearly Half a Million Rohingya Kids Blocked from Schooling by Bangladesh

The Sydney Morning Herald

The report, Are We Not Human?, finds the Bangladeshi government is stopping aid groups from teaching Rohingya children – the majority of whom have been living in refugee camps since August 2017 – the Bengali language and Bangladesh’s school curriculum. Myanmar has also refused to recognise or accredit the use of its curriculum in the camps.
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China

Anger in China as US House Passes Uighur Crackdown Bill

Al Jazeera

Beijing ‘resolutely opposes’ resolution, which among others seeks to sanction Communist Party leader in Xinjiang.
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Beijing’s Attack on Uighurs Isn’t Counterterrorism

Share America

The Chinese government insists its detention and re-education of Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities is part of legitimate counterterrorism operations.Overwhelming evidence shows that is not true.
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Meet the Trump Supporters of China

OZY

Growing up in the volatile Xinjiang province, Liu Jì was taught that the Han were wealthier than the region’s Muslim Uighur minority because they were more industrious workers. Like many Han, Liu resented the Uighurs and blamed them for violence and rioting.
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Australia

Islamophobic Attacks Mostly Happen in Public. Here’s What You Can Do If You See It or Experience It

The Conversation

Alarmingly, most Islamophobic attacks occurred in public, and yet only 14% of bystanders got involved or intervened. And of those, only one in three defended the victim. The majority of witnesses simply passed by without paying attention.
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New Zealand

New Gun Laws Should Not Be Linked to Christchurch Mosque Attacks - Muslim Group

Radio New Zealand

The Islamic Womens’ National Council wants the proposed second tranche of new gun legislation to stand or fall on its own merits without using the Christchurch attacks to justify it.
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United Kingdom

Institutional Racism Has Become a Key Election Issue

Byline Times

When it comes to allowing the poison of Islamophobia to take root in our society, in many ways, the Conservative Party seems to be supplying the fertiliser.
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Given Britain’s History It’s No Surprise That Racism Still Infects Our Politics

The Guardian

Our nation was built on slavery and colonialism, the legacy of which lives on in the Windrush scandal. Yet some people believe we’re a ‘beacon of tolerance.
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A Tory Victory Would Be a Disaster for British Muslims

Middle East Eye

Boris Johnson’s government has put racism and Islamophobia at the heart of its election campaign.
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Green Party accused of 'Muslim-bashing' after co-leader says he would ban halal slaughter

Birmingham Live

Birmingham candidate Khalid Mahmood (Lab), who is defending the seat of Perry Barr, said: “This is nothing to do with the green agenda. This is purely to do with scapegoating the Muslim community.
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Russia

Chechnya’s Dancing Strongman Extends Deadly Reach

Asia Times

Ramzan Kadyrov is exerting influence over Chechens in Europe and the Middle East to strengthen his rule, legitimacy and political heft.
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Bosnia

'People Are Not Animals'; Stranded Migrants Freeze in Bosnian Forest

Reuters

Hundreds of migrants and refugees stuck in a makeshift camp in a Bosnian forest are struggling to survive in subzero temperatures as snow weighs down on their tents, spurring fears that some may die unless they are resettled soon.
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Germany

Eastern Europe, Embrace your Heritage!

Zenith Magazine

Fearing supposed ethnic replacement and Islamisation, the German Right looks longingly towards Russia. What kind of ahistorical myopia is that?
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Germany's Far-Right AFD Picks New Leaders Amid Protests

Al Jazeera

Tino Chrupalla, a legislator from Saxony, will lead Germany’s largest opposition party with Joerg Meuthen.
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Austria

How the Center-Right Co-Opts the Far-Right in Austria

Brookings

The Austrian case is instructive because the governing People’s Party (ÖVP) under the leadership of 33-year-old Sebastian Kurz has started co-opting the anti-Muslim (and anti-immigration) agenda of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ).
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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!