Fri 13 October 2020: After a hijab and face veil ban, Austria’s right wing government is set to introduce draconian measures against expressions of “political Islam.” Austria’s right-wing Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has announced a raft of new measures which would make “political Islam” a criminal offence. Kurz used Twitter to announce the new policy stating “In the […]
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Thu 12 November 2020: Thousands of mosques in Xinjiang have been damaged or destroyed in just three years, leaving fewer in the region than at any time since the Cultural Revolution, according to a report on Chinese oppression of Muslim minorities. The revelations are contained in an expansive data project by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), […]
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Tue 10 November 2020: Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan on Tuesday addressed the 20th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Heads of State (SCO-CHS) conference 2020 via video link. PM Imran Khan was invited to attend the SCO-CHS by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who chaired the online meeting. Leaders from all eight SCO member states […]
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Wed 11 November 2020: European Council president Charles Michel said Monday he supported creating a European institute to train imams, as he visited Austria to pay tribute to the victims of last week’s extremist attack in Vienna. “It is very important to be firm on this. I think, for example, that we should have a […]
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Tue 10 November 2020: The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Prophet’s Mosque has shared photos of the foreign pilgrims who have arrived in Medina and visited the mosque, reported by Youm7.com. They, along the domestic worshippers who regularly visit the mosque, are required to observe the health protocols, such as by wearing masks, […]
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Mon 09 November 2020: French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was in Egypt Sunday where he sought to ease tensions with the Arab world, after uproar surrounding the republication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. Le Drian met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, […]
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Mon 09 November 2020: A top UN expert has urged countries to repeal laws infringing on minorities’ rights to worship and hold beliefs, singling out Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Russia, and Moldova, among countries of concern. Ahmed Shaheed, the UN special investigator on religious freedom, warned in a report seen by the Associated Press on November […]
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Fri 06 November 2020: Saudi authorities have announced bans on names considered to violate Islamic Sharia law. The restrictions come amid Interior Ministry’s Civil Affairs Agency introducing new rules for registering names in the kingdom. According to Gulf News, names such as Abd Rasul (the Slave of the Messenger) will not be registered. The common girls […]
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Fri 06 November 2020: The first Friday prayer was held in the only mosque in Athens amid social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic. The decision to build a mosque in Athens was first made in 2006, with a budget of €887,000 ($1.04 million), but bureaucratic hurdles, protests by far-right groups, and legal challenges stalled […]
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Fri 06 November 2020: Egypt’s minister of higher education has arrested a university professor on charges of contempt of religion. His detention follows the circulation of a video online which captured a debate between Dr Mohamed Mahdaly, a professor of sociology in Alexandria, and several students. The argument is around the Qur’an’s teachings over incest […]
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