United States
‘Let My Building Burn’: Muslim Restaurant Owner Shows Solidarity with Minneapolis Protesters
The Muslim Vibe“Life is more valuable than anything else…We can rebuild a building. But we cannot give this man back to his family.”
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Black Pain Is Ours: Minneapolis Somali Community Rallies Over Floyd Killing
Middle East EyeSomali community, being both Muslim and Black, plays unique role within protest movement.
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Arab-Black Relations: Floyd Tragedy Highlights Ties and Tensions
Middle East EyeDebate emerges about responsibilities of Arab American-owned businesses in mostly Black neighbourhoods.
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Op-Ed: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Don’t Understand the Protests? What You’re Seeing Is People Pushed to the Edge
LA TimesRacism in America is like dust in the air. It seems invisible-even if you’re choking on it-until you let the sun in…As long as we keep shining that light, we have a chance of cleaning it wherever it lands.
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For The Fourth Year Running, Black Muslims Are Sharing Photos Of Themselves Celebrating Eid With #BlackoutEid
BuzzFeed“Happy quarantEid or whatever.”
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It’s Time for the US to Rethink Huntington’s Philosophy: Part II
PRI's The WorldMonolithic civilizations don’t exist. … Not in any analytically meaningful way. When they’re not dressed up in the finery of social science, the word we usually use for dramatic generalizations about people based on ethnicity is “racism.”
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Questions Remain after US Cop Kills Muslim Man who 'Threw Rocks'
Al JazeeraCommunity searches for answers after a sheriff’s deputy killed Yassin Mohamed in the US state of Georgia earlier this month.
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Shots Fired At Indianapolis Mosque
wfyi IndianapolisA handful of worshippers were inside the mosque following a sunset prayer on Eid al-Fitr, a holy day celebrated by Muslims worldwide to mark the end of Ramadan. The mosque would ordinarily be packed with worshippers at the time of the shooting, but restrictions in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus prevented a larger gathering.
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New USAID Adviser Sparks Furor Over Past Anti-Islam Comments
ABCMuslim American groups and the Anti-Defamation League are decrying the U.S. Agency for International Development’s hiring of a religious freedom adviser who has reportedly made past anti-Islam comments.
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Some U.S. Prisons Denied Fasting For Muslims During Ramadan
Muslim CoAuthorities announce the building of the first-ever Islamic Research Center in capital Addis Ababa.
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Ethiopia
Early African Muslims Had a Halal -- and Cosmopolitan Diet -- Discovery of Thousands of Ancient Animal Bones Shows
Phys.orgHalal butchery practices became common when Islam spread through Ethiopia as vibrant communities developed because of the import and export of products around the Red Sea, and to Egypt, India, and the Arabian Peninsula, archaeologists have found.
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Ethiopia: No Mass Eid Prayers but Festive Spirit Alive
Anadolu News AgencyAuthorities announce the building of the first-ever Islamic Research Center in capital Addis Ababa.
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Sudan
Coronavirus: Sudan’s Economy and Pandemic Threaten Revolutionary Gains
The Africa ReportIt is just over a year since Sudanese revolutionaries ousted Field Marshal Omar al-Bashir, who had presided over a military-backed Islamist regime for 30 years.
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Tanzania
Tanzania Says Virus Defeated Through Prayer, but Fears Grow
The Times of IsraelCountry has not reported a new case in three weeks, but critics have been arrested, top health officials fired and citizens discouraged from going to hospitals.
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Morocco
The World's First, and Still-Operating, University Is in Morocco
TRT WorldNot Oxford or Bologna, but al-Qarawiyyin is the world’s first university. Still functioning today in the Moroccan city of Fes, it was a place bursting with knowledge and multiculturalism even as early as the 9th century.
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Algeria
Death of Algerian Girl, 10, in 'Faith Healing' Ceremony Sparks Outcry
The GuardianA 28-year-old man has been arrested over the death of the girl, who showed signs of ‘blows and burns.’
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Tunisia
Tunisia to Reopen Mosques, Cafes After Nearly 3 Months
Anadolu News AgencyRestrictions on long distance travel to continue, while universities to restart education as of June 8.
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Bangladesh
15,000 Rohingya Under Quarantine as Coronavirus Cases Rise
Al JazeeraThree sections of camps in Bangladesh blocked off by authorities after confirmed infections among refugees hit 29.
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India
When Lockdown Eid Broke a Long-Held Taboo in Muslim Homes
Indian ExpressThe Covid-19 pandemic has beautifully dispelled the taboo, the myth, the common practice — that women do not and cannot pray with men.
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Malaysia
Malaysian Wins Landmark Right to Challenge Muslim Gay Sex Ban
ReutersLGBT+ rights groups say Islamic laws have been increasingly used to target the country’s gay community, with a rise in arrests and punishments ranging from caning to jailing.
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China
Cultural Genocide: China Continues to Destroy Uyghur Mosques and Islamic Symbols
The Muslim VibeChina has now partially destroyed and removed the historical Islamic scriptural plaque at the entrance of the Id Kah mosque in the city of Kashgar, as well as the star-and-crescent symbols at the top of the mosque. Id Kah is the largest and oldest mosque in Xinjiang, with Uyghurs regarding this mosque as an important symbol of faith and historical importance.
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Why Maltreatment of Nigerians in China May Not End Soon
The ConversationRacism against Nigerians – and other Africans – is not new in China. Africa-China history is marked by solidarity, but also dented by old and new racism. Nothing at this moment suggests that the current situation will drastically change.
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Afghanistan
Clashing Assessments of Links Between Taliban and Islamic State Point to Problems for Afghanistan’s Peace Process
The Washington PostThe theory is unproven, but it highlights deep mistrust at a critical point in the peace process.
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Iran
Iran's Mosques to Resume Daily Prayers as Lockdown Eases
ReutersIran, hit by the deadliest outbreak of the virus, began to loosen restrictions on human interaction in April.
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‘Honor Killing’ Of 14-Year-Old Romina Ashrafi Sparks Outrage Across Iran
Muslim CoIranian President Hassan Rouhani has announced new legislation to end this practice.
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Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia to Allow Mosques to Open for Friday Prayers
Al JazeeraAuthorities have announced three phases of easing coronavirus restrictions, culminating in curfew ending on June 21.
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Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia Reopens 90,000 Mosques as Lockdown Eased
Middle East EyeThe Gulf kingdom has so far reported 83,384 cases of coronavirus and 480 deaths.
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Saudi Propaganda Is Demonising Islam and the Palestinian Cause
Middle East EyeThe Saudi government’s oppressive efforts to control the narrative have destroyed the state’s legitimacy, both politically and morally.
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Syria
Tomb of Umayyad Caliph exhumed by Militias in Syria
Middle East MonitorMilitias fighting alongside the Syrian regime of President Bashar Al-Assad destroyed and desecrated the grave of the eighth Umayyad Caliph Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz yesterday, located in the north-west province of Idlib.
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Israel/Palestine
Israel Occupation Arrests Al-Aqsa Mosque Cleric
Middle East MonitorThe Israeli forces arrested Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, president of the Supreme Islamic Council and cleric of Al-Aqsa Mosque, after storming his house in occupied Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Information Centre (PIC). The occupation forces have stormed Sheikh Sabri’s house several times and removed him from Al-Aqsa under the pretext of inciting citizens to pray in the mosque.
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Coronavirus: Thousands Pray at Al-Aqsa After More Than Two Months
Middle East EyeIsraeli police arrest dozens of Palestinians after settlers entered the compound later in the morning.
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Turkey
Coronavirus: How Turkey Took Control of COVID-19 Emergency
BBCCovid-19 came late to Turkey – on 11 March – but soon signed every corner of the country. Within a month all 81 provinces had been affected.
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North Macedonia
North Macedonia’s Islamic Community Shows Stormy Leader the Door
Balkan InsightNorth Macedonia’s Islamic Religious Community, IVZ, has terminated the services of its long-standing leader, who often grabbed the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
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United Kingdom
Tory Party Becoming a Breeding Ground for Islamophobia
Arab NewsPreoccupied with the current pandemic, policymakers and the media alike took little notice of this month’s decision by the Equality and Human Rights Commission not to conduct an inquiry into allegations of Islamophobia within Britain’s ruling Conservative Party.
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Muslim Woman Becomes UK's First Hijab-Wearing Judge
Al ArabyA Muslim woman has become the first judge in the UK to wear the hijab, after she was appointed as a deputy district judge on the Midlands circuit last week, British media reported on Tuesday. Raffia Arshad, 40, who grew up in Yorkshire, north England, had been practicing law as a barrister while wearing the Islamic headscarf prior to her promotion.
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Coronavirus: Bodies Held in Mosque Awaiting Repatriation
BBCThe bodies of 18 Turkish Cypriots who are due to be repatriated to their homeland are still being held in a London mosque weeks after their deaths.
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Germany
International
COVID-19: Mosques In Iran To Resume Daily Prayers; Uzbekistan Starts Lifting Some Restrictions
Radio Free EuropeUzbekistan’s government has extended its coronavirus lockdown until June 15, but authorities say they are starting to lift restrictions in some parts of the country “depending on the epidemiological situation.”
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Coronavirus: Famous Mosques Reopen in Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem
BBCSome of the most important sites in Islam have reopened two months after the coronavirus pandemic forced them to shut, allowing worshippers to enter under strict guidelines.
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Islamic Scholars, NGOs Call for Makkah, Madinah to Be Placed Under International Control
Middle East MonitorA non-governmental organisation named the International Commission to Monitor Saudi Administration of the Two Holy Mosques – otherwise known as Al Haramain Watch – has launched an campaign and petition to establish an international administration to manage the affairs of the two holy mosques of Makkah and Madinah.
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Muslim Comics Gather Over Zoom To Celebrate Eid With Jokes And Joy
NPRThe goal was to give Muslims around the world some comic relief as they do the unprecedented: celebrate Ramadan and Eid in isolation at home, with fewer family members and friends than usual because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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For Gen Z Muslims, Gigi And Zayn Are More Than A Hollywood Power Couple
ElleThe internet was lighting up with a glimmer of good news: Young Hollywood’s foremost power couple of Muslim origin was about to have a baby.
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Aboubakar Soumahoro, the Ivorian Trade Unionist Shaking up Italy
The Africa ReportA former farm worker, the Ivorian/Italian trade unionist has become a leading figure in Italy to such an extent that the media portrays him as the country’s “new left-wing star.”
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Opinion: Social Distancing Is a Part of Islam’s Rich Heritage
The Houston ChronicleIn conclusion, the pandemic will certainly test our faiths. We must take the time to reflect on our relationship with our loved ones, to recognize the triviality of material wealth relative to our health and well-being, and to reconnect with nature and God.
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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!