Islam in Media Roundup | 13 April – 19 April 2020

International

Coronavirus and Islam: How Muslims Can Come to Terms With the Pandemic

Middle East Eye

As COVID-19 continues to spread, policymakers in Muslim-majority countries should look to Islam.
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The Coronavirus Is Empowering Islamophobes — but Exposing the Idiocy of Islamophobia

The Intercept

If Anti-sentiment is the world’s oldest hatred, perhaps Islamophobia is the world’s weirdest.
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Islamophobia Has No Place in the Fight Against COVID-19

Truth Out

We must reject both overt and subtle messaging linking COVID-19 to Islam.
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Viral Authoritarianism: Testing the Limits of Democracy

Reporting Democracy

As history has shown time and again, there is no better moment than an emergency for aspiring strongmen to consolidate power.
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Rise in Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes as Islam Wrongly Blamed for Coronavirus

Newsweek

There has been a rise in online anti-Muslim hate crimes during the coronavirus pandemic and many Muslims are fearful things could get worse in the run-up to Ramadan, an independent monitoring group has said.
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Love Your Neighbour: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity Come Together Over COVID-19

World Economic Forum

Faith leaders from Christianity, Judaism and Islam support government efforts to control the coronavirus. Young men and women of faith can supply their digital know-how to build good communication during the crisis. Discussions are taking place about how the three religions can collaborate on charitable initiatives.
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Nigeria

Sultan Felicitates With Christians at Easter

Daily Trust

The President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, on behalf of the Nigerian Muslim faithful, yesterday felicitated with the entire Nigerian Christians at Easter.
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Nigerian Christian and Muslim Communities Unite to Combat COVID-19

National Catholic Reporter

The Christian and Muslim communities in Nigeria are collaborating to respond and combat the growing coronavirus pandemic in the country in what has been described as a show of love and unity. The relationship between the two religious groups and their adherents in the country has been marred with tension and violence but the leaders are putting their differences aside to unite for a common cause.
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United States

Coronavirus: NYC Muslims Struggle to Hold Traditional Burials

Al Jazeera

From rising costs to social distancing limits, traditional Islamic funeral practices have been upended by Coronavirus.
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Top Muslim Political Group Backs Biden

Politico

The nation’s biggest Muslim political action committee is a Bernie Sanders rally.
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Frasat Ahmad: Celebrating Easter During COVID-19 — a Muslim Perspective

Trib Live

A tremor of worry has fallen upon Christian America. With 90% of Americans under stay-at-home orders and only one-fifth of religious Americans still attending worship services, many Christians are left wondering, “How will I celebrate Easter this year?” Even President Trump sought to dull the effects of this tremor, considering last weekend to allow churches to open for Easter “with great separation.”
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Beyond Bernie: Where Do American Muslim Voters Go From Here?

Religion and Politics

Last week, Senator Bernie Sanders ended his presidential campaign, making former Vice President Joe Biden the presumptive Democratic nominee. Sanders had suffered a string of losses in recent contests before the novel coronavirus pandemic upended American life and politics as we know them.
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Black Muslims in the US Fear They Could Be 'Disproportionately Impacted' by Coronavirus

Middle East Eye

The community is often rendered invisible within the larger Black and Muslim populations.
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US Rights Group Slams Republican Candidate's Anti-Islam Remarks

Middle East Eye

CAIR calls on the Republican Party to disavow Rick Phillips after the congressional candidate said only forms of Christianity should be protected.
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Coronavirus: US Muslims Pitch into Help Frontline Health Workers

Middle East Eye

Muslims across America are taking up needle and thread to make masks and face protectors for health workers in need.
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Our Muslim Health Forum Was Zoombombed. I Still Believe in the Good of Humanity.

America The Jesuit Review

I was running late for an online webinar I registered for a week ago—some bad habits stick with us as we even in the virtual world. Organized by a Muslim public health organization, it was a forum on mental and physical wellness in the COVID-19 era through the lens of the Islamic faith.
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Muslim Prisoner’s Lawsuit Claiming Pork Hidden in Meals Revived

Bloomberg Business

Plaintiff claims Muslim inmates deceptively fed pork 12 times. Could have RFRA, Bivens claims.
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India

India Hospital Segregates Muslim and Hindu Coronavirus Patients

Al Jazeera

Government hospital in Gujarat state separates patients on religious lines, triggering accusations of ‘apartheid’.
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Indian Hospital Accused of Segregating Hindu and Muslim Coronavirus Patients

Middle East Eye

State-run Ahmedabad Civil Hospital has allegedly begun segregating patients according to their faith, Indian Express reports.
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India Charges Muslim Leader With Culpable Homicide for Coronavirus Surge

Reuters

India has brought charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the chief of a Muslim seminary for holding a gathering last month that authorities say led to a big jump in coronavirus infections, police said on Thursday.
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The Most Dangerous Place for a Muslim During the COVID-19 Pandemic Is India

Inside Arabia

The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a pretext to continue what the recent anti-Muslim pogrom in New Delhi started, a militant Hindu nationalistic vilification of the country’s Muslim minority.
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Sri Lanka

Remembering the Easter Sunday Victims in the Shadow of COVID-19

Fair Observer

Sri Lankans are still reeling from the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, and the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating the situation.
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The Easter Bombings in Sri Lanka – a Reflection One Year After

Open Democracy

What we owe the victims of Easter 2019 is an end to elitist power politics and governance that is rooted in the diversity of its people.
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Sri Lanka Makes Cremations Compulsory for Coronavirus Deaths

Al Jazeera

Muslim communities, rights groups angered by government decision announced on Sunday.
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Sri Lanka Ignores Muslim Protests, Forces Cremation for Coronavirus Victims

TRT World

The World Health Organization says either cremation or burial are appropriate means to deal with victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Sri Lanka insists on only one.
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Indonesia

How Saudi Arabia's Religious Project Transformed Indonesia

The Guardian

The world’s largest Muslim-majority country was long considered a tolerant place. But thanks to Saudi money and influence, it has taken a sharply conservative turn.
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Singapore

More Than 9,100 People Join Muslim Virtual Prayer Session

The Straits Times

Around 9,100 people joined a Muslim virtual prayer session on Thursday night (April 16) that was streamed live on Facebook in Arabic, English, Malay and Tamil.
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Bangladesh

Bangladesh Rescues Hundreds of Rohingya Adrift at Sea; 24 Dead

Al Jazeera

Coastguard says the boat had been at sea for about two months after failing to reach Malaysia.
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COVID-19 Will Decimate the Rohingya Refugee Camps

Dhaka Tribune

They are defenseless against this pandemic.
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Why the Pandemic Is the Right Time to Issue an Atrocity Determination for Rohingya

Forbes

Upwards of 900,000 Burmese Rohingya live in the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The situation there was already dire. Then, on March 24, the city registered its first case of COVID-19. An epidemic in Cox’s Bazar could be catastrophic.
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View: Islam’s Contribution to Agriculture

The Economic Times

From the 8th to the 15th century, the ‘Islamic corridor’ between Europe and Asia improved agricultural practices across Spain, North Africa, and South Asia.
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Pakistan

Pakistanis Gather for Friday Prayers Defying Coronavirus Advisory

Aljazeera

With no consensus between religious leaders and authorities, congregational prayers are held at some mosques.
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Pakistan Relaxes Coronavirus Restrictions for Some Key Industries

Aljazeera

Some curbs on cement, e-commerce, fertilizer, chemical, and glass manufacturing lifted to stem economic fallout.
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Saudi Arabia

Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia Maintains Group Prayer Suspension for Ramadan

Middle East Eye

As Covid-19 continues to spread in the kingdom, prayers will continue to take place at home, not in mosques.
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The Coronavirus Threatens Saudi Arabia’s Global Ambitions

Foreign Affairs

Today, the kingdom’s two holy cities, Mecca and Medina—which give the Saudi king his royal title, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques—are on total lockdown. Even Saudi citizens are banned from visiting as pilgrims. Saudi authorities will likely cancel the hajj, which is set for late July this year, for the first time in over two centuries.
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Israel/Palestine

A Muslim Family Opens the Doors to One of Christianity's Holiest Sites, but This Easter It's Been Closed by Coronavirus

ABC News

For Christians of all denominations, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is one of the world’s most sacred sites, and yet each morning it’s opened by a Palestinian Muslim man.
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'Painful': Al-Aqsa Closed for Ramadan Over Coronavirus

Al Jazeera

Jerusalem Islamic Waqf makes ‘painful’ decision to close the sacred site to worshippers during the holy month.
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Turkey

How Istanbul Won Back Its Crown as Heart of the Muslim World

The Guardian

While Turkey stands accused of domestic repression, its largest city is increasingly seen as a beacon for the persecuted.
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United Kingdom

UK Muslims Are Stepping in to Help Amid the Coronavirus Crisis

Al Jazeera

From making PPE and delivering food to donating sanitizer and setting up temporary morgues, UK Muslims are mobilizing.
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The UK Needs Its Minorities Now More Than Ever

Al Jazeera

The Muslim community has more than stepped up during the coronavirus crisis, but still receives far-right abuse.
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Easter, Passover, Ramadan … Festivals Test the Faithful’s Resolve Over Lock down

The Guardian

Anglican vicars are not the only spiritual guides fighting curbs imposed on worship, with many flouting their government’s rules as more people seek solace in religion.
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Anger as Right-Wing UK Voices Suggest Ramadan Virus Spread

Al Jazeera

Scapegoating narratives may pose additional dangers to public health, warn experts.
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The Scottish Muslim Couple Winning Hearts Amid Coronavirus Crisis

Al Jazeera

Grocery shop owners in Falkirk donate PPE to health workers, food to the elderly and even Easter eggs to local children.
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Belgium

Muslim Executive Announces Measures for Ramadan Under Lockdown

The Brussels Times

The Islamic fasting period of Ramadan begins this year in little over one week, on 24 April, and the Muslim Executive, the body that officially represents the country’s Muslims, has been preparing rules adapted for the special circumstances of nationwide confinement.
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Bosnia

Head of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina Extended Congratulations for Easter

Sarajevo Times

The head of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Husein Kavazovic, extended congratulations to the Archbishop of Vrhbosna, Cardinal Vinko Puljic, on the occasion of the greatest Christian holiday of Easter.
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AP Photos: Pandemic Meets Religious Holidays in Sarajevo

Beaumont Enterprise

Sarajevo, a religious melting pot throughout its more than five-centuries-long history, would normally be teeming with life this April. Instead, along with the rest of Bosnia and most of the world, it is under lockdown to try to bring the new coronavirus under control.
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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!