The role of Iraq’s influential Shiite clerics is changing. Here’s how.
The Washington PostThe ascendancy politician-preachers like militia leader Qais al-Khazali raises questions about the role of the Shiite religious establishment in contemporary Iraqi politics.
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Rights campaigners seek U.N. probe on China's Xinjiang camps
ReutersHuman Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other groups have called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to send a fact-finding mission to China. Beijing, which faces growing international concern over its “de-radicalization” program for Muslims in its far western province, said t would welcome U.N. officials if they avoided “interfering in domestic matters”.
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Many people in mostly Christian countries believe values clash with Islam – poll
The GuardianLarge numbers of people in Christian-majority countries in the west see a fundamental clash between Islam and the values of their nation, according to a survey. This opinion is less prevalent among residents of the Middle East and North Africa.
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Life under ISIS-led these Muslims to Christianity
NBC News“If heaven is made for ISIS and their belief,” said one convert, “I would choose hell for myself instead of being again with them in the same place, even if it’s paradise.”
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High-profile Muslims have a right not to expect an inquisition
The GuardianCongresswoman Ilhan Omar was linked to an anti-Semitic voicemail that came to the office of one of her peers. All Omar had done to deserve this outrageous association, argues Nesrine Malik, was to express opinions on Israel.
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Al-Azhar's Imam calls on Muslims in the Middle East to 'embrace' Christians
Reuters“Continue to embrace your brothers the Christian citizens everywhere, for they are our partners in our nation,”Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb urged Muslims, “You are part of this nation.” He told Christians, “You are citizens, you are not a minority. You are citizens with full rights and responsibilities.”
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‘I Wanted a Steak Burrito’: Halal Restaurants Put Mexican on Menu to Sate Expanding Palates
The Wall Street JournalAs a fan of Mexican food, Abul Hashem has often found himself frustrated that many popular menu items at restaurants specializing in the cuisine were off-limits. The reason? Mr. Hashem, a 35-year-old Brooklyn resident who was born in Bangladesh, adheres to the dietary laws of his Muslim faith.
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Dutch former anti-Muslim politician converts to Islam
PoliticoA former member of Geert Wilders’ far-right Dutch party announced Monday that he has converted to Islam. Joram van Klaveren is the second ex-PVV politician to convert. His change of heart came while doing research for a new book.
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'The Guest' gets cold shoulder from Egyptian Islamic scholars
Al-MonitorSome clerics are calling for the award-winning 2018 film El Deif, in which the suitor his daughter brings to dinner turns out to be her father’s worst nightmare, to be banned on the grounds that it misrepresents Islam.
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Why is Nigeria cracking down on peaceful religious protests?
The Washington PostThe Nigerian government appears to be taking a hard line on religious opposition — though not against the usual suspects. Even as the Boko Haram insurgency persists in the north, peaceful demonstrations by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) sparked a recent round of state repression.
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'Space to coexist': Inside South Africa's LGBT-friendly mosque
ReutersNeatly laid out and facing Mecca, it is the colorful prayer mats arranged in a rainbow pattern that offer the first clue that the Masjid Ul-Imam mosque in Cape Town, South Africa, is not a typical place of worship.
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Ankara imam offers Turkey’s only English sermons
Al-MonitorProfessor Mehmet Akif Koc has been delivering Friday sermons in English at the Hasan Tanik Mosque in Ankara’s Embassy district for the past five years.
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Pope and grand imam sign historic pledge of fraternity in UAE
The GuardianPope Francis and al-Azhar’s Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb have signed a historic declaration of fraternity, calling for peace between nations, religions and races, in front of a global audience of religious leaders from Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other faiths.
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‘I Had No Options’: The Rohingya Man Who Smuggled Himself
The AtlanticMyanmar has pushed out Rohingya Muslims for decades. One of them chose to flee within his own country.
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Indonesia’s Opposition Takes Up the Uighur Cause
Foreign PolicyThe detention of a million or more Uighurs has made headlines around the world, but the liberal media in Indonesia has given the issue very soft treatment. That’s partially because of a deliberate propaganda effort by China to target Indonesian journalists—and partially because of domestic politics in the world’s largest Muslim nation.
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From Celebrated to Vilified, House’s Muslim Women Absorb Blows Over Israel
The New York TimesRepresentatives Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota are uncompromising in their criticism of Israel, and this has led to Congress’ first two Muslim women becoming two of the most embattled members of the new class.
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‘We’re not the enemy’: Muslim fans respond to Chicago Cubs patriarch’s emails
Religion News ServiceLeaked Islamophobic emails from the Chicago Cubs’ billionaire owner Joe Ricketts have lead Muslim fans to explore ways bring their religion to the ballpark to show how wrong his jokes and conspiracy theories were.
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Pope hopes his Arabian trip will help Islam-Christian relations
ReutersPope Francis said on Wednesday he hoped his historic trip to the Arabian peninsula will help dispel the notion of an inevitable clash of civilizations between Christianity and Islam.
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West Ham and police investigate alleged Islamophobic abuse of Mohamed Salah
The GuardianLondon’s Metropolitan Police and West Ham United Football Club are investigating a video in which a supporter can be heard aiming Islamophobic abuse at Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah at the London Stadium on Monday night. Salah’s Muslim teammate Sadio Mane scored Liverpool’s goal in the 1-1 draw.
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Top Iraqi cleric rejects Trump's plan for US troops in Iraq
AP NewsGrand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said Iraq “rejects being a launching pad for harming any other country,” his country aspires to have “good and balanced relations” with all of its neighbors “based on mutual interests and without intervention in internal affairs.” he said during a meeting with a U.N. envoy in Najaf.
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What is Islamic dispute resolution and why is it controversial in Australia?
The Conversation“Islamic dispute resolution involves resolving disputes without going to court and is similar to alternative dispute resolution, or ADR.”
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Nikahnama wants to bring back a lost Islamic marriage tradition
Religion News Service“I wanted to create a project that makes being Muslim a more beautiful experience,” says Nushmia Khan, who is bringing back beautifully stylized marriage contracts.
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Muslim Voters Brave Terrorism Threats in Southern Philippines
The Wall Street JournalDozens of poor towns in the southern Philippines voted Wednesday on whether to join a new self-governing Muslim region in a test of a fragile peace process that has come under attack from suicide bombers linked to Islamic State.
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She Fled China’s Camps—but She’s Still Not Free
Foreign PolicySayragul Sauytbay, the only person to have worked inside an internment camp in Xinjiang and spoken publicly about it, now faces an uncertain future in Kazakhstan.
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Alabama executes Muslim inmate who wanted imam present
AP NewsA Muslim inmate who filed a legal challenge because Alabama wouldn’t let his Imam be present in the execution chamber was put to death Thursday after the Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 decision.
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The Islamic Revolution Succeeded, Iran Not So Much
HaaretzThe revolution’s success still nourishes the dreams of Sunni movements as well, but ‘Shi’ite flexibility’ went by the wayside, and many Iranians feel their country is imprisoned in an Arab and Muslim circle of hostility.
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Quebec City mosque shooter sentenced to at least 40 years in prison
CBCAlexandre Bissonnette, who pleaded guilty to killing six men at a Quebec City mosque two years ago, will be allowed to ask for parole at the age of 67, a judge decided Friday.
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Pope Francis just made history by visiting the Arabian Peninsula. But was he a pawn?
The Washington PostDalla Hatuqa suggests that the famously humble and open pope may have allowed himself to be a pawn as his Gulf interlocutors use him to bolster their facade as a tolerant, liberal society while suppressing diversity and freedom and waging war in Yemen.
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'Shame for humanity': Turkey urges China to close Uighur camps
Al JazeeraTurkey’s foreign ministry has condemned China’s detention of over a million Uighur Muslims and asked it to close the “concentration camps.”
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Uighurs fled persecution in China. Now Beijing’s harassment has followed them to Australia.
The Washington PostOn Friday, Uighurs across Australia rallied in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide to highlight the plight of their communities in China, but also to protest against their treatment by Beijing abroad.
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Aasia Bibi can't leave Pakistan despite acquittal
Al JazeeraA Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after spending eight years on death row in Pakistan has been transferred from a secret location near the capital to another in Karachi, but is still unable to leave the country to join her daughters in Canada, a friend said on Saturday.
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Is Religious Freedom for Christians Only?
The New York TimesDomineque Hakim Marcelle Ray wanted an imam by his side when he was executed. The Supreme Court said no.
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Pope Francis and Grand Imam unveil two additions to Louvre collection, including famous Blue Quran manuscript
The NationalPope Francis and Dr Ahmed Al Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, have unveiled two works of art, both of which will be displayed at Louvre Abu Dhabi.
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When the Camera Was a Weapon of Imperialism. (And When It Still Is.)
The New York TimesWhen we speak of ‘shooting’ with a camera, we are acknowledging the kinship of photography and violence, writes Teju Cole.
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Pope in UAE: Reject wars in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Libya
Al JazeeraIn the first-ever visit to the Arabian Peninsula by a Catholic pontiff, Pope Francis said, ‘No violence can be justified in the name of religion.’
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The battle to build a mosque in Athens
Financial TimesThe city has about 250,000 Muslims – but no official place for them to worship. Madeline Speed asks why.
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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!