Jews and Muslims say Belgian animal cruelty law trammels religious freedom
Religion News ServiceJewish and Muslim communities in Belgium are seeking to overturn a recent ban on the ritual slaughter of animals that they say is really discrimination cloaked in an animal protection mantle.
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The Essential Black Muslim Reading List
Teen VogueWith this list of ten must-read titles, Vanessa Taylor shows that Black Muslims are not lost in history, even if their history has been disregarded.
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UK to ban Lebanon's 'terrorist' Hezbollah's political wing
Al JazeeraThe United Kingdom said it will add the political wing of Lebanon’s armed group Hezbollah to its list of banned “terrorist” organizations, despite the role it plays in the government and parliament.
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The U.S. denied tens of thousands of more visas in 2018 due to travel ban: data
Reuters The U.S. State Department refused more than 37,000 visa applications in 2018 due to the Trump administration’s travel ban, up from less than 1,000 the previous year when the ban had not fully taken effect, according to agency data released on Tuesday.
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Vaccine hesitancy is not a 'Muslim problem'
Al JazeeraJonathan Kennedy says the data shows that stereotypes about resistance to vaccine programs mask a much larger problem.
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China has put 1 million Muslims in concentration camps. MBS had nothing to say.
The Washington PostA Washington Post editor reminds us that the Saudi Crown Prince’s defense of China’s anti-Muslim policy should not come as a surprise, in light of the fact that authoritarianism, not religious solidarity is Riyadh’s priority.
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West Bank: Muslims saying access to holy sites restricted
Al JazeeraTwenty-five years after scores of Muslim worshipers were shot by an Israeli extremist at Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque, security forces continue to intimidate those seeking to access holy sites in the west bank.
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Arkansas high school students use art to learn Islamic faith
AP NewsStudents in an AP World History Class contributed to an exhibit displayed at the University of Arkansas, titled, Putting a Face on Islam.
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Turkey, Britain raise China's treatment of Uighurs at U.N. rights forum
ReutersTurkey and Britain voiced concern on Monday at China’s alleged mistreatment of Uighurs and other Muslims in its Xinjiang region, with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu calling on Beijing to protect freedom of religion and cultural identity.
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Is Egyptian parliament encouraging alcohol consumption?
Al-MonitorParliament’s decision to ease restrictions on the sale of alcohol has stirred controversy in a country where Shari’a is held up as a source of legislation.
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'They have punished the victims': Hebron struggles 25 years after Ibrahimi mosque massacre
Middle East EyeThe repercussions of the attack are still felt keenly by Palestinians in Hebron, who have seen their rights eroded and their formerly bustling city centre turn into a ghost town.
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Most Ferrero chocolates halal-certified, all factories to be halal ‘in two or three years’
Global Islamic Economy GatewayFamily-owned Italian chocolate company Ferrero has said that 33 of its products and 19 of its plants are already halal-certified, a number that is set to grow.
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Ex-Muslim rebels now governing volatile Philippine region
AP NewsFormer Muslim guerrillas are now governing poverty- and conflict-wracked Muslim autonomous region under a peace deal partly aimed at combating Islamic State group-aligned militants in the southern Philippines.
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Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib show Muslim women don't need saving
Al JazeeraThe two US congresswomen are shattering all kinds of damaging stereotypes about Muslim women, says Sahar Aziz.
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Boxing body approves religiously respectful women’s uniform
AP NewsThe international governing body for amateur boxing says it has approved new uniforms for female boxers to wear for religious reasons. In a statement, they said that “hijabs and full body form-fitting uniforms” have been designed “that do not compromise the competition and therefore the health of the boxers.”
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Cairo to set design standards for mosques
Al-MonitorEgypt’s Ministry of Religious Endowments announced on February 7th that it is unveiling a plan to standardize design of new mosques as part of the government’s efforts to modernize Egyptian cities.
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Israeli minister tours Al-Aqsa days after Palestinian arrests
Al JazeeraIsrael’s far-right Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel and a number of Jewish settlers forced their way into occupied East Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Tuesday, according to a Palestinian official.
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A hijab for Muslim runners? In France, that’s a scandal.
The Washington PostYet again, France has descended into histrionics over the prospect of what Muslim women might choose to wear.
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China urges 'objective' view of Xinjiang after Turkey criticism
ReutersCountries should take an “objective” view of Chinese policy in Xinjiang and stop saying the wrong thing, China’s government said on Wednesday, after Turkey and Britain voiced concern at China’s alleged mistreatment of Uighurs and other Muslims there.
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Dutch court rules against Muslim man who refused to shave beard for job
The GuardianA Dutch court has backed the suspension of a Muslim man’s benefits over his refusal on religious grounds to shave his beard while training for a job.
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Halal and ‘Organic’ Don’t Mix in EU Ruling
The Wall Street JournalA decision on Tuesday by the European Union’s top court expanded the body of EU case law restricting certain Muslim practices, as the continent’s Muslim population grows and compatibility with the bloc’s laws is increasingly tested.
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French sports store pulls hijab for women joggers over furor
ReutersA French sporting goods chain pulled a hijab for women joggers from its shelves after it came under fire from politicians and on social media.
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Jerusalem governor detained by Israeli forces as Al-Aqsa tensions escalate
Middle East EyeAdnan Ghaith, who was also detained by Israeli forces late last year, was arrested when police stormed his home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, according to the Palestine Prisoners Society.
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Meet the Muslim family who looks after a Jewish synagogue in India
National GeographicMuslims have been the caretakers of the Magen David Synagogue in Kolkata, India for generations.
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Why Does No One Care That China Is Ethnically Cleansing Uyghur Muslims?
ForwardThis editorial says that China’s policy of housing close to two million Muslims in concentration camps bears all the hallmarks of some of the 20th century’s worst racial atrocities.
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Somali sheikh leads a seven-year campaign to end female genital mutilation
Religion News ServiceWhen Sheikh Ibrahim Hassan returned to Somalia seven years ago after studying Islam in Yemen, he began a campaign to end the genital mutilation of his country’s young women.
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Why it’s OK for young Muslims to be radical
The GuardianRadical thought, Ali Nabil Ahmad reminds us, can be positive and progressive, it doesn’t have to mean joining a death cult.
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Muslim Immigrants Sue ICE for Getting in the Way of Religious Observance
The InterceptSomali immigrants detained in a Florida jail are taking legal action after their requests for religiously compliant meals, prayer rugs, access to the Qur’an, and the right to pray have been ignored.
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Court rejects state secrets claim in FBI mosque surveillance suit
PoliticoA federal appeals court has ruled that a judge was too deferential to the U.S. government’s national security claims when he dramatically scaled back a lawsuit charging the FBI with conducting illegal and unconstitutional surveillance at Southern California mosques.
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A Sports Hijab Has France Debating the Muslim Veil, Again
The New York TimesA French store dropped a plan to sell a hijab designed for runners after becoming embroiled in the country’s debate about what Muslim women wear.
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Tensions ramp up on Temple Mount ahead of Trump’s peace plan
Al-MonitorAn Israeli crackdown and the arrests of many Palestinian officials after they reopened part of the al-Aqsa compound which had been closed since 2003 comes on the eve of announcements about the Trump administration’s much-hyped plan for solving the conflict.
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Police chief slams Muslim fitness class death threats
BBC NewsRacist abuse heaped upon Bianca Jade, a trainer who set up a fitness class aimed at Muslim woman has been branded “utterly disgraceful” by a Nottinghamshire police chief.
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Border Patrol Fed Pork To Muslim Detainee For 6 Days
HuffPostA permit allowing Adnan Asif to stay with his American wife and work legally wasn’t enough to keep Adnan Asif Parveen from landing in detention.
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ISIS and Denial: We British Muslims Still Aren’t Facing Up to Islamist Radicalization
HaaretzShamima Begum, a British teenager, joined ISIS; now, she wants to come home. Can she, and other extremists, really be de-radicalized? Why do so many U.K. Muslims still respond to the threat of toxic homegrown Islamists with appeasement or denial?
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GOP's anti-Muslim display likening Rep. Omar to a terrorist rocks W. Virginia capitol
NBC NewsArguments broke out in the West Virginia statehouse on Friday after the state Republican Party allegedly set up an anti-Muslim display in the rotunda linking the 9/11 terror attacks to US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
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China’s expanding war on Islam: Now they’re coming for the Kazakhs.
The Washington PostChina isn’t limiting its anti-Muslim campaign to its own borders or citizens, now, many across the border in Kazakhstan are at risk from the conflict.
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He Needed a Job. China Gave Him One: Locking Up His Fellow Muslims.
The New York TimesChina’s vast detention of Muslims has required more and more police officers. And recruits are coming from the very ethnic groups that are being suppressed.
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Calls on Leaders to Denounce 'Blatant' Islamophobic Attacks on Ilhan Omar
NewsweekThe freshman Congresswoman condemned both a poster displayed at the West Virginia legislature falsely tying Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to the September 11 attacks, and the muted response from the West Virginia GOP.
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Israel bans senior Islamic clerk from entering Aqsa Mosque
AP NewsIsraeli police have banned several Islamic officials appointed by Jordan from entering a Jerusalem holy site following clashes between Palestinian worshippers and Israeli authorities in recent weeks.
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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!