Afghanistan
Afghan Warlord’s Promotion Highlights The Bankruptcy Of America’S Longest War
Foreign PolicyPresident Ashraf Ghani promoted a notorious warlord as marshal to seal his power-sharing deal. Afghan promises are turning to dust.
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Algeria
Algeria Sees State Carrier's Losses From Coronavirus At $272 Million This Year
ReutersAlgeria, already under financial pressure after a fall in energy earnings, expects state carrier Air Algerie’s losses from the coronavirus pandemic to reach 35 billion dinars ($272 million) this year, the government said on Saturday.
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Burma/Myanmar
Myanmar Must End Its Internet Shutdown
The DiplomatMyanmar — already notorious for the world’s longest ongoing civil war — now owns the dubious distinction of having the world’s longest internet shutdown. And it’s threatening people’s lives.
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China
China Outmaneuvers The Muslim World
The DiplomatWhy have Muslim nations stayed silent about Chinese conduct in Xinjiang? Ever since China launched a broad campaign of repression against its Uyghur Muslim minority in the country’s western region of Xinjiang some four years ago, that question has been on the minds of policymakers and analysts alike.
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Egypt
As Seasonal Rains Fall, Dispute Over Nile Dam Rushes Toward A Reckoning
NY TimesAfter a decade of construction, the hydroelectric dam in Ethiopia, Africa’s largest, is nearly complete. But there’s still no agreement with Egypt, which calls the structure a national security threat.
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Ethiopia
Ethiopian Maids 'Dumped' In The Streets In Lebanon As Covid Hits
ReutersEthiopian mother Alemtsehay Nasir went to Lebanon dreaming that her maid’s job would let her earn money to make a better life for her young son. But she was fired when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and her employers dumped her on the streets.
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India
Minority Body Faults Police Role In Anti-Muslim Riots In Delhi
Al-JazeeraA government-appointed commission promoting the rights of India’s religious minorities said police failed to protect Muslims campaigning against a new citizenship law during violent riots in Delhi state this year.
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I'm Proud To Be An Indigenous Muslim Woman Descended From The Cameleers
SBSFor me it starts, with being unapologetically proud of being a Pakistani-Muslim Indigenous woman. It starts by sharing our stories and celebrating who we are.
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Delhi Police Affidavit Shows Muslims Bore Brunt Of Riots, Silent On Who Targeted Them And Why
The WireA Delhi Police affidavit giving the most detailed government account yet of the communal violence which shook the capital’s north-east district in February this year has provided for the first time an official break-up by religion of the victims.
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Indonesia
Police Officers Found Guilty In Acid Attack. But Doubts Remain.
NY TimesThe target of the 2017 attack, a corruption investigator in Indonesia who lost most of his sight, and supporters say officials have shown little interest in finding who was really behind it.
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Iraq
Our Role Is To Reduce Their Grief’
NY TimesNone of Iraq’s existing graveyards wanted the bodies of Covid-19 patients. So Shiite leaders created a burial ground for them that is also open to Sunnis and Christians.
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US Lauds Deal To Connect Iraq To Gcc Electric Grid
Middle East EyeWashington, Baghdad and six Arab Gulf states renew plans to dramatically increase Iraq’s electricity supply as it grapples with shortages
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Kurdistan
Kurdistan Region Of Iraq: Arabs Blocked From Returning
HRWThe Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is preventing about 1,200 Arab families from returning home to 5 villages more than 6 years after the area was retaken from the Islamic State (also known as ISIS), Human Rights Watch said today. KRG authorities have allowed Kurdish residents in neighboring villages, in the Rabia subdistrict, west of Dohuk, to return.
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Libya
U.S. Remains On The Sidelines In Libya’s Conflict As Russia Extends Its Reach
The Washington PostAn absence of U.S. leadership in Libya has allowed a dangerous international confrontation to deepen, analysts say, as a spiraling proxy war stokes threats to American economic and security interests and provides Russia a platform to expand its clout in the Mediterranean.
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Libya: GNA Fighters Head For Front As Battle For Sirte Looms
Al-JazeeraLibya’s internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) on Saturday moved fighters closer to Sirte, a gateway to Libya’s main oil terminals that the GNA says it plans to recapture from the eastern-based self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA).
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Macron’s Selective Indignation Over Libya
HRWIn recent days, President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly castigated Turkey for its “dangerous game” and “historical and criminal responsibility” in Libya, calling for an “end to foreign interference and unilateral acts by those who seek to gain an upper-hand in the war.” That Macron is only accusing Turkey– which supports the government recognized by the United Nations and, at least officially, by France itself– is perplexing, yet it reveals France’s ambiguities regarding Libya.
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Pakistan
Once Bullied, Pakistan's First Transgender Police Officer Now Shields Others From Abuse
The WireKarachi: After enduring death threats, transphobic slurs and sexual harassment in college, Pakistan’s first trans police officer Reem Sharif now shields other trans people from abuse.
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Pakistan Bows To Islamic Hard-Liners To Halt Hindu Temple Construction
Radio Free EuropeThe construction of the first Hindu temple complex in Islamabad was intended to be a powerful symbol of tolerance towards Pakistan’s largest non-Muslim religious minority.
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Syria
Syria Goes To The Polls As New Sanctions Hit War-Ravaged Economy
ReutersSyria held a parliamentary election on Sunday, gripped by a collapsing economy and new U.S. sanctions after President Bashar al-Assad clawed back control of most of the country.
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Sudan
U.K.
Government Policy Has Left Muslim Students Feeling Unable To Speak Up On Campus
The ConversationWhen he first arrived at his university campus, Tom found his roommate was Muslim. He had never met a Muslim and was concerned about living with one. As far as he knew, Islam was a violent religion and most Muslims had links to terrorism. However, spending time living with Ahmed he came to know his roommate, and through him he came to understand more about Islam. He discovered unexpected similarities in their lives, common values and shared goals to complete their studies, find jobs and be successful. In Tom’s words:
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Tunisia
Tunisian Woman Sentenced To Prison Over Joke Alluding To The Quran
NY TimesEmna Chargui, 27, said she didn’t want to offend anyone when she shared another Facebook user’s post about the coronavirus that mimicked Quranic iconography.
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Explained: Tunisia'S Political Crisis And What It Means For The Nascent Democracy
The WireTunisia’s government has collapsed less than five months after it was formed, plunging the North African democracy into apolitical crisis as it wrestles with economic troubles and social friction worsened by the global pandemic.
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Turkey
Erdogan Defies The West To Make Turkey A Regional Power
BloombergWhen President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reopens Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia for prayers next week, it will be the crowning symbol of his mission to reassert Turkey’s role as a Muslim power on the global stage. Yet Turkey’s rarely seemed more alone.
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Turkey’s Generation Z Turns Against Erdogan
Foreign PolicyTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s online address to students on June 26 was the latest sign that his efforts to shape Turkey’s young generation in his image have failed. Thousands of students joining the YouTube livestream disliked the video and used the comments section to criticize Erdogan and tell him that he wouldn’t get their vote.
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International
I Want People To Know That There's No Singular Way To Be A Muslim Woman'
GlamourAs Muslim women we are all different, yet everyone – from school-kids to the government and the media – seems to have an opinion on what we can and can’t do. Alongside regular microaggressions and systemic prejudice, there’s a never-ending parade of preconceived, predetermined expectations and judgements of what we can wear, where we can go, who we can love, and what ambitions we can have.
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Turkey, Israel And Iran Have Built Some Very Lethal Loitering Munitions
ForbesIn recent years, the armed forces of Turkey, Israel and Iran have produced an array of loitering munitions, often dubbed “suicide” or “kamikaze” drones, that could very soon revolutionize the way wars are fought in that extremely volatile part of the world.
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Israel’s Fauda vs Turkey’s Ertugrul: In India, The Battle Between Two Hit Tv Series Is More Than A Culture War
HaaretzBoosted by binge viewing during India’s coronavirus lockdown, two international TV series have won fanatic fans. Behind the small screen is a geopolitical drama starring Modi and Erdogan, Hindu nationalists and minority Muslims, with supporting roles for Pakistan, Kashmir and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
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Rep. John Lewis, Civil Rights Icon, Was A Powerful Voice Against War With Iraq
Business Insider“I rise to speak for peace,” Rep. John Lewis, the legendary Civil Rights activist from Georgia, said in October 2002. It was the eve of an invasion, in the aftermath of the worst terror attack in modern American history, and an immensely popular US president was pushing for war.
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Why The World Map Froze
AxiosThis week marks nine years since South Sudan was admitted to the United Nations, becoming the 193rd and most recent entrant into the club of internationally recognized countries.
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Prominent Muslim Leader Says Global Effort Needed To Promote ‘Compassionate Islam’
Catholic News AgencyThe leader of the largest independent Muslim organization in the world says that a resurgence of fundamentalist Islam threatens not only non-Muslim minorities, but feeds a cycle of retaliatory violence against Muslims.
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Islamic Civilization Reflected In Writing
Wall Street JournalThe National Library of Israel (NLI) in Jerusalem has set out to transcend political and religious divisions by putting more than 2,500 rare manuscripts and books from the Islamic world online. “Maktoub,” which means “written” in Arabic, will digitize works in Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Urdu dating from the 9th to the 20th centuries.
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Reclaiming The Path Of Moderation In Islam
National ReviewLast week, Islamists blocked the construction of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad, Pakistan. The project was meant to symbolize tolerance in an age of radicalism. Instead, controversy has turned it into an emblem of dogmatism in the Muslim world.
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