Islam in Media Roundup | 13 January – 19 January

India

India: Why Modi's Plan Against Muslims Is Coming Unstuck

India: Why Modi's Plan Against Muslims Is Coming Unstuck

Al Araby

The question now, is whether, even under the BJP, India can remain a secular country respecting all religions equally, which was envisaged by the fathers of Indian independence, or whether it is on the brink of becoming the “Hindu Pakistan” which Nehru adamantly rejected.
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Modi is Resurrecting the Most Horrifying Episode of His Career to Crush Dissent

Modi is Resurrecting the Most Horrifying Episode of His Career to Crush Dissent

The Week

When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to bring his Gujarat Model to the rest of the country, everyone thought he meant the pro-growth reforms that had allegedly done wonders for the economy of his home state.
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I Have Been Made to Feel That If I am a Muslim, I am Not Indian Enough

I Have Been Made to Feel That If I am a Muslim, I am Not Indian Enough

Youth Ki Awaaz

The Muslims population makes up approximately 14% of the Indian population. Back in 1947, this population had the option to move to Pakistan and live with their own community.
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Exclusive: India Plans Cuts to Imports From Malaysia, Turkey in Kashmir Row

Exclusive: India Plans Cuts to Imports From Malaysia, Turkey in Kashmir Row

Reuters India

India is planning to cut some imports from Turkey and widen curbs on palm oil from Malaysia to oil, gas and other products, government officials said, targeting the two Muslim-majority countries for their criticism of India’s policy towards Kashmir.
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 In Kashmir, a Family's Harrowing Quest to Prove Their Son's Death

In Kashmir, a Family's Harrowing Quest to Prove Their Son's Death

Al Jazeera

After four months of denial, Kashmiri police finally admitted that Osaib’s death had been the first in the wake of the abrogation of Article 370 of the constitution that had granted special status to the Muslim-majority region.
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'Women Don’t Give Up.' Why Female Protesters Are at the Forefront of India's Resistance Movement

'Women Don’t Give Up.' Why Female Protesters Are at the Forefront of India's Resistance Movement

Time

In Shaheen Bagh, a working-class, majority-Muslim neighborhood, the protests began with a small, peaceful sit-in and candlelit vigil by local women, including Ara.
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China

'Existential Threat': Report Warns on China Risk to Human Rights

'Existential Threat': Report Warns on China Risk to Human Rights

Al Jazeera

Human Rights Watch report highlights abuses against Uighur minorities, activists in Hong Kong and warns of global risks.
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China's Attempt to Change the Quran

China's Attempt to Change the Quran

Daily Sabah

Foundational texts of religions should “reflect socialist values” and should be rewritten so that they do not contain any content that goes against the beliefs of the Communist Party, the committee concluded. Hence, some paragraphs of religious texts would be amended or re-translated. 
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Bangladesh

Muslims Pray for Peace in Islamic Congregation in Bangladesh

Muslims Pray for Peace in Islamic Congregation in Bangladesh

Arab News

The Biswa Ijtema, or World Congregation of Muslims, is one of the largest gatherings of Muslim devotees. It is held on the sandy banks of the River Turag at Tongi, just north of Dhaka.
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Bangladesh Says Once-Submerged Island Ready for Rohingya

Bangladesh Says Once-Submerged Island Ready for Rohingya

AP

An island in Bangladesh that was regularly submerged during monsoon seasons is ready to house 100,000 Rohingya refugees, but no date has been announced to begin relocating people from crowded and squalid camps on the country’s border with Myanmar, officials said Thursday.
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Bangladesh Fears Rohingya-Like Crisis Over India Citizenship Law

Bangladesh Fears Rohingya-Like Crisis Over India Citizenship Law

Nikkei Asian Review

Tensions mount as many Indian Muslims fear detention or deportation.
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Myanmar

Myanmar Has Blazed a Path to Democracy Without Rights

Myanmar Has Blazed a Path to Democracy Without Rights

Foreign Policy

Aung San Suu Kyi’s persecution of the Rohingya paved the way for Modi.
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Myanmar to Release Its Rohingya Crackdown Investigation Results

Myanmar to Release Its Rohingya Crackdown Investigation Results

Al Jazeera

Independent Commission of Enquiry is probing 2017 crackdown that led Rohingya to flee and UN has said was genocide.
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Thailand

Thailand asks Malaysia to help Find Dozens of Rohingya Escapees

Thailand asks Malaysia to help Find Dozens of Rohingya Escapees

Sydney Morning Herald

Nineteen Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar escaped from the detention centre in Thailand’s southern Songkhla province, around 5 kilometres from the Thai-Malaysian border, early on Wednesday, using a piece of cloth to climb down from a third floor window, police said.
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Tajikistan

Imams, Politicians, Professors: Dozens Of Muslim Brotherhood Suspects Detained In Tajikistan

Imams, Politicians, Professors: Dozens Of Muslim Brotherhood Suspects Detained In Tajikistan

Radio Free Europe

Authorities in Tajikistan have been silent about reports of the detention of at least 27 suspected followers of the banned Muslim Brotherhood movement in several different regions of the country in recent days.
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Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia: Unrelenting Repression

Saudi Arabia: Unrelenting Repression

Human Rights Watch

Positive Reforms for Women Tainted by Ongoing Arrests of Activists, Dissidents.
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Saudi Arabia Executed 184 People in 2019: Rights Group

Saudi Arabia Executed 184 People in 2019: Rights Group

Al Jazeera

Human rights group Reprieve calls the kingdom a ‘pariah state’ and questions why it is hosting this year’s G20 summit.
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Saudi Arabia’s Child Marriage Ban a Leap Forward

Saudi Arabia’s Child Marriage Ban a Leap Forward

Arab News

The decision by the Ministry of Justice was the latest in a string of moves to improve the rights of women in the country. Earlier last year, the government banned marriages for children under the age of 15. Prior to that decision, there was no age limits on marriage for boys or girls.
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Iraq

Sadr Calls for 'Million-Man March' Against Us Presence in Iraq

Sadr Calls for 'Million-Man March' Against Us Presence in Iraq

Al Jazeera

Shia cleric and political leader calls on Iraqis to unite for ‘peaceful march’ against presence of US troops.
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Iran

Journalist on Significance of Khamenei Leading Friday Prayers

Journalist on Significance of Khamenei Leading Friday Prayers

CNN

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time in eight years, amid public fury over the military’s shooting down of a passenger jet and sky-high tensions with the US.
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Turkey

Turkey Edges Toward Islamic Law With New Finance Rules

Turkey Edges Toward Islamic Law With New Finance Rules

Al-Monitor

The Turkish government set out Islamic directives to regulate inspections on interest-free finance. Independent auditing firms will have to obey Islamic rules and established Islamic practices while inspecting the interest-free financial institutions.
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Newspaper Helps Keep Turkey’s Bosniak Diaspora Alive

Newspaper Helps Keep Turkey’s Bosniak Diaspora Alive

Balkan Insight

Huseyin Agovic and his friends in Istanbul’s so-called ‘Bosniak ghetto’ publish Turkey’s only Bosniak diaspora newspaper – so helping to preserve its identity and the connections between Bosnia, Sandzak and Turkey.
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Kosovo

Kosovo Govt Allocates €250,000 to Fight against ISIS

Kosovo Govt Allocates €250,000 to Fight against ISIS

Balkan Insight

The outgoing government of Kosovo under Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj on Friday allocated 250,000 euros to the Global Coalition against ISIS. The payment was described as an obligation for Kosovo in its role as part of the world organisation.
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Kosovo Commemorates Massacre that Prompted NATO Bombing

Kosovo Commemorates Massacre that Prompted NATO Bombing

Balkan Insight

Kosovo is commemorating a massacre on January 15, 1999 in the village of Recak/Racak, which eventually led to NATO intervening to make Serbian forces end their military campaign.
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Albania

Albania Becomes a Frontline in the Proxy Battle Between Iran and the US

Albania Becomes a Frontline in the Proxy Battle Between Iran and the US

TRT World

By hosting the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) on behalf of the US, despite the group being labelled a terrorist organisation by Iran, Albania has drawn the ire of Supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
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Denmark

Denmark's 'Ghetto Plan' and the Communities it Targets

Denmark's 'Ghetto Plan' and the Communities it Targets

Al Jazeera

Residents of largely Muslim neighbourhoods face increased penalties for crimes and ‘Danish values’ lessons for children.
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United Kingdom

Britain Has Left Islamophobia to Fester – I’ve Never Seen it This Bad in My Life

Britain Has Left Islamophobia to Fester – I’ve Never Seen it This Bad in My Life

The Independent

According to recent polls by Hope Not Hate, 60 per cent of Tory members believe Islam “is generally a threat to western civilisation”, 40 per cent want to limit Britain’s Muslim population and 42 per cent believe “having people from a wide variety of racial and cultural backgrounds” has damaged British society.
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Opinion: Why Muslims Must Join the Labour Party to Vote in the Upcoming Leadership Election

Opinion: Why Muslims Must Join the Labour Party to Vote in the Upcoming Leadership Election

The Muslim Vibe

The Labour leadership election will be taking place shortly. It is imperative that we come out and support a candidate that will be both effective and support the socialist (is this now a dirty word?) agenda.
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Terror Police Recall Guidance Listing ‘Standard Muslim Beliefs’ as Signs of Extremism

Terror Police Recall Guidance Listing ‘Standard Muslim Beliefs’ as Signs of Extremism

Metro UK

Counter terror police are recalling official guidance which suggested that ‘Muslims who believe they are oppressed’ could be a sign of extremism.
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Take It From Britain's Muslims, It's Not Extinction Rebellion That's the Problem, It's Prevent

Take It From Britain's Muslims, It's Not Extinction Rebellion That's the Problem, It's Prevent

Al Araby

You could be forgiven for thinking the UK’s counter-terrorism scheme, ‘Prevent’, is relatively new, after it recently came under widespread criticism for putting the climate emergency campaign group, Extinction Rebellion (XR), on a list of extremist ideologies that should be reported to the police.
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Kenya

A Year After DusitD2 Attack, Grief and Pain Still Linger

A Year After DusitD2 Attack, Grief and Pain Still Linger

Al Jazeera

Survivors struggle to move past trauma of al-Shabab siege on hotel and office complex in Nairobi that killed 21 people.
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Sudan

Women in Sudan Challenge Religious Beliefs While Pursuing Soccer Dreams

Women in Sudan Challenge Religious Beliefs While Pursuing Soccer Dreams

New York Post

All her life, Elham Balatone wanted to play soccer — like her brothers, like the boys on her street. But in the Sudan where she grew up, women could be flogged for wearing pants, let alone soccer shorts. She heard all the reasons why she had to give up her dream. It’s a Muslim country; the uniform is inappropriate; the sport was meant for men.
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United States

‘Muslim’ Is Not an Insult

‘Muslim’ Is Not an Insult

The Atlantic

The president’s recent tweet was personal for me.
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Trump Retweeted Pelosi in Muslim Garb. The White House Made It Worse.

Trump Retweeted Pelosi in Muslim Garb. The White House Made It Worse.

The Washington Post

After President Trump retweeted a doctored image of Democratic leaders dressed in Islamic garb, the White House offered a curious justification: Trump retweeted that image to send the message that Democrats are on the side of terrorists. This was apparently intended as a defense.
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Donald Trump Loves the Iranian People So Much He’s Banned Them From the U.S.

Donald Trump Loves the Iranian People So Much He’s Banned Them From the U.S.

The Daily Beast

Iran, a nation of over 80 million, is the largest in terms of population of the five Muslim majority countries on Trump’s Muslim ban (aka “travel ban”) that was upheld by the Supreme Court’s five conservatives in December 2017.
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Texas' Misguided Decision on Refugees is State-Sponsored Islamophobia

Texas' Misguided Decision on Refugees is State-Sponsored Islamophobia

Religion News

Texas always seems to lead the way in hate — quite literally: we account for 10% of the country’s hate groups, many of them spurred by Islamophobia. Since 2016, Texas has led the country in arson attacks on mosques, where armed white supremacists regularly show up to protest.
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Dallas Billboard Seeks to Spark Conversation about Islam

Dallas Billboard Seeks to Spark Conversation about Islam

Kera News

A billboard up this month in Dallas is designed to encourage dialogue on the fundamental teachings of Islam.
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To This Man, Islamic State’s Ideology ‘Just Made Sense.’ Now, he Rejects Extremism

To This Man, Islamic State’s Ideology ‘Just Made Sense.’ Now, he Rejects Extremism

LA Times

Looking back on his time in custody, Rabbani now sees that kindness and education as the keys to what friends, family and law enforcement say was an unexpected transformation — a change that ultimately helped deepen and enrich his identity as an American Muslim.
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‘A Long Time Coming’: These Muslims Are Bringing Sex Abuse by Sheikhs out of the Shadows

‘A Long Time Coming’: These Muslims Are Bringing Sex Abuse by Sheikhs out of the Shadows

Religion News

Over the past two to three years, scholars and advocates say, North American Muslims have risen up in an unprecedented movement to openly confront sexual and spiritual abuse perpetrated by Muslim religious leaders.
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How a Jewish New Yorker Documented Muslim Life Under Trump

How a Jewish New Yorker Documented Muslim Life Under Trump

Forward

In his new documentary “American Muslim,” filmmaker Adam Zucker, takes an intimate look at the diverse and lively Muslim communities in New York City.
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'Close Guantanamo': Protesters Rally in Washington on Anniversary of Prison Opening

'Close Guantanamo': Protesters Rally in Washington on Anniversary of Prison Opening

Middle East Eye

Demonstrators assemble at White House, then hold mock funeral at Trump International Hotel for those who died in prison.
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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!