Islam in Media Roundup | 3 February – 9 February 2020

International

Muslim Nations Reject Trump's Mideast Plan in Saudi Meeting

ABC News

Days after Gulf Arab states expressed their support for President Donald Trump’s efforts at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, representatives of Muslim-majority nations gathered in Saudi Arabia and rejected the White House’s plan as “biased.”
Read More

Why Muslim-Majority Countries Need Secular Citizenship and Law-Making

Open Democracy

Islam is neither an instrument of identity politics, nor an ideology offering political solutions.
Read More

Rethinking Secularism: Can Europe Integrate Its Muslims?

Open Democracy

A new understanding of secularism represents Europe’s best chance for finding a way forward.
Read More

How the Far Right Became Europe’s New Normal

The New York Times

It was a scandal when a far-right party entered government two decades ago. Now it’s just routine. What happened?
Read More

Comparing Trump to ISIS Bolsters Islamophobia and Obscures Colonial Violence

Truth Out

Islamized insults also exceptionalize Trump as an alien phenomenon, distancing him from the very society that produced him.
Read More

India

India’s New Laws Hurt Women Most of All

Foreign Policy

New Delhi wants people to prove their citizenship. But Indian women are the demographic least likely to possess paperwork.
Read More

China

Why Arbitrary, Secretive Detention of Over a Million Chinese Muslims Is Likely to Worsen Coronavirus Scare | Opinion

Newsweek

The Chinese government’s adoption of an authoritarian approach to the coronavirus outbreak, relying on a quarantine and press censorship, is not unlike its approach to Xinjiang. The authorities have both created the conditions for a potential health care disaster and made it almost impossible for anyone outside the region to know what is happening there.
Read More

New Zealand

Sonny Bill Williams Condemns China Over Uighur Muslim Treatment

Sky News

The top player says he’s “always been one to stand up, not just for myself, but for what I feel is right”.
Read More

Australia

The Nights Counts the Cost of Islamophobic Tabloids, Western Values and the 'War on Terror'

The Adelaide Review

Prolific UK playwright Henry Naylor has become an Adelaide Fringe staple in recent years with a string of taut, timely works. In his latest play, The Nights, Naylor returns his gaze to the Middle East along with a sharp look at the British press.
Read More

United Kingdom

Jewish And Muslim Groups Have Condemned A Tory MP For Attending A Conference With Far-Right Politicians In Italy

Buzzfeed

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said: “If the Conservative Party fails to discipline Mr Kawczynski, it runs the serious risk of the public assuming that they share his views on association with such people.”
Read More

It’s Not Just About Zakat in Muslim Giving

UK Fundraising

Despite some Muslims in the UK being from the poorest social and economic communities, Muslim giving to charitable causes in the UK is estimated at over £500 million to £1 billion annually, with over £100 million of that given in the 30 days of Ramadan alone.
Read More

Portugal

Muslims Want Right to Portuguese Nationality “Just Like Sephardic Jews”

Portugal Resident

The descendants to Muslims expelled from Portugal in 1496 want to be included in the amnesty that has seen hundreds of Sephardic Jews from all over the world reclaim their Portuguese nationality.
Read More

Bosnia

I Can Never Forget the Bosnian Genocide. But Others Are Trying to Rewrite History.

The Washington Post

Jessica Stern and Peter Handke are rewriting history about Bosnia. But I can’t forget.
Read More

Georgia

The World’s First Democratically Elected Muslim Woman Was From Georgia

The Muslim Vibe

Of course, many Muslim women have wielded vast political power, ruling entire empires (Sofieva herself was probably named after the great Safavid princess, poet and politician Peri-Khan Khanum), and some were likely elected in less formalized ways. But Sofieva’s case represents the first time a Muslim woman ran in a modern election – complete with ballot boxes, party lists and formal campaigns – and won.
Read More

Nigeria

Nigerians Shocked By Trump's New Immigration Restrictions

NPR

A Migration Policy Institute study shows first- and second-generation Nigerians are typically more educated and more likely to hold professional jobs than the general U.S. population. According to a New York Times report, experts say there could be wide-ranging economic effects following the travel ban.
Read More

Niger

Niger: Trump's Extended Ban on Muslims Causes a Stir

All Africa

Religious and church groups have condemned the decision by the United States (US) to expand a ban imposed on travelers from predominantly Muslim countries.
Read More

Egypt

Mostafa's Story: How an Egyptian Woman Finally Got Her Baby Boy

Middle East Eye

Rasha Mekky thought her future would be childless until she discovered an alternative to adoption that would be permissible in Islam.
Read More

United States

The Racism at the Heart of Trump’s ‘Travel Ban’

The New York Times

Adding Nigeria to the expanded list of excluded countries just makes it more obvious.
Read More

Trump's Travel Ban Is Islamophobic, Xenophobic Policy, Civil Rights Groups Say

Sojourners

President Donald Trump’s expansion of the travel ban to six additional countries has nothing to do with security reasons as the administration claimed and is rather built on Islamophobia and xenophobia, leaders of several civil rights groups said.
Read More

Two Utah Inmates Say Prison Is Denying Them Weekly Islamic Prayers

Deseret News

Tolton and Williams used the prison grievance process to request regular jumah but have been refused, the lawsuit says. The suit claims the prison is violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.
Read More

What U.S. Religious Liberty Means — Especially When It Comes To Islam

NPR

NPR’s Audie Cornish speaks with Asma Uddin about the state of religious liberty in the United States. Uddin is author of When Islam Is Not a Religion: Inside America’s Fight for Religious Freedom.
Read More

US Election 2020: The Arab and Muslim Vote May Be Decisive in Iowa

Middle East Eye

In a tight presidential race, Iowa’s Arab- and Muslim-American community could have major say on results.
Read More

US Election 2020: Some Muslims in Iowa Will Caucus in Their Own Mosques

Middle East Eye

Muslim Americans say caucusing at mosques will increase political engagement in the community.
Read More

At a Des Moines Mosque Satellite Caucus, Sanders Backed by Majority of Caucusgoers

Des Moines Register

Sanders gets backing from the majority of caucuses at Des Moines mosque.
Read More

'Seattle is Leading the Way': US City Passes Resolution Against India's CAA and NRC

Middle East Eye

Seattle becomes first US city to condemn India’s Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens, which have been denounced as ‘discriminatory’.
Read More

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!