The positions of ultra-conservative Christian and Islamic Salafism supporters are almost identical on cultural, social and legal issues, such as their position on private and public freedoms. That often starts with women’s freedoms.
Tag: muslims
Hamas attack on Oct. 7 created a deep rift in the confidence of Israel’s citizens, in their country’s security, military and moral superiority. The Zionist project may never recover.
Sunnis were historically resistant to have this sacred text translated from Arabic — but especially into Persian, the language of a nation sometimes viewed as reluctantly Muslim. What does that mean today under the Sharia law of the Islamic Republic.
Shish kebab is the heart of Turkish cuisine. Similar ways of cooking meat exist throughout the world, with differing methods in the East and the West, but Turkey’s classic recipe is what makes culinary expert Oğul Türkkan remember his childhood.
This is a debate that must challenge those in our region who benefit from the perpetuation of the male culture of violence.
Less than a week after being sworn in for the sixth time as Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu was defied by a highly charged visit his far-right coalition ally, Itamar Ben-Gvir, made to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, that has enflamed the entire Muslim world. Netanyahu has a choice to make.
Turkey is home to the largest Uyghur diaspora in the world. The Muslim minority group, which is persecuted in China, sees the Turks as “cousins”. But as the country’s economy grows increasingly dependent on Beijing, Erdogan is holding his tongue about human rights abuses — and he is not alone.
In Belize, San Pedro’s Muslim community revolves around the Harmouches, a Lebanese family who immigrated in the 1980s and whose hardware business is at the heart of the town.
Nathuram Godse, author of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in 1948, is the object of a quasi-religious cult among Hindu extremists. In the Maharashtra state, his great-nephew is spreading his message.
A marginalized Muslim community wants to convert an old slaughterhouse into a multi-purpose housing and events space. But don’t call it a mosque.
PARIS — A long line stretched in front of Hall 2 of the Bourget Exhibition Center on the outskirts of the French capital last Saturday afternoon, ahead of an annual three-day conference by the Union of Islamic Organizations of France. Fliers announced the topic of the upcoming roundtable: “Eleven candidates in the presidential election, who […]
-Analysis- Looking at some of the world’s intractable problems today, we often wish that governments had done things differently in the past. In the future, we may be looking back with similar regret at what’s happening now with the Rohingya in Myanmar, whose plight could develop into a lasting problem for the Southeast Asian nation, […]
Many young Muslim women in the West have a modern lifestyle, yet want to be a virgin on their wedding day. But what if they aren’t? One woman’s story from Germany.
-OpEd- BERLIN — The ministers of the interior of Germany’s 16 federal states have presented their plan against terrorism. Among them, the abolition of the dual citizenship and a public ban on wearing the burqa. As far as is known, no dual citizenship holder has committed a crime of a terrorist nature. The number of […]
Both private and public French organizations are trying to strike the right balance between respecting beliefs among Muslim employees and keeping company welfare in mind.
It’s been two decades since the flight of many Kashmiri Hindus after an insurgency targeted them. Now even Kashmir Muslims want them to return.
KATARAGAMA — A full moon is shining over the traditional Pooja celebrations here in southwest Sri Lanka. By the light of candles, people offer flowers, fruit and incense. Above waves the Sri Lankan flag, with a leaf in each of its corners to represent the four religions on the island nation: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. But this idyllic setting in Kataragama is deceiving. The peaceful coexistence between religions in the country came crashing down last June 15 when hundreds of anti-Muslim Buddhists, led by a dozen monks from the extremist organization Bodu Bala Sena, stormed into Dharga Town, a […]
RAS BAALBEK — There’s a 140-kilometer strip of land on top of the mountains just north of Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley that marks the border with Syria. It’s here that ISIS has dug in, appropriating a remote corner of Lebanon where the terror group has accumulated militants, resources and hostages to gear up for an impending […]
The attacks in Paris last week put us face-to-face with the fact that our neighbors may live their lives in ways that make no sense to us. How do we keep this from spiraling toward hatred?
ISTANBUL — Instead of discussing the Paris massacres and the ties between Islam and terrorism, Turkey has instead been focused on “Islamophobia.” Someone not following the news could mistakenly believe, based on the debate here, that there had been a violent attack against Muslims in France instead of a jihadist terrorist attack against journalists, Jews […]
In the end, it has nothing to do with God. From biblical times to crusades and jihad, self-proclaimed “holy wars” are actually driven by power, territory and economic interests.
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‘Saving Seats’ in Saudi’s Grand Mosque
An unofficial market of “seat saving” is reportedly making waves in Saudi Arabia: female faithful are paying good money to women who can save them spots for prayer at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca. The “seat savers” technique is to use clothing, purses, and even their own children to save seats […]
”The goal of the fundamentalists is to force us to leave Bangladesh and go to India,” says one activist for the rights of religious minorities.
BERLIN — Ritual circumcision for Muslim and Jewish boys remains legal in Germany. Germany’s legislative body, the Bundestag, decided as much last year in what was a win for the country’s religious minorities. But Muslim girls must participate in co-ed swim classes, according to a recent decision by Germany’s highest court on such matters — […]
A Muslim-American writer recounts the days after the Boston Marathon attack. No doubt, parents in the UK are having similar conversations right now.
AL JAZEERA (Qatar), REUTERS, ASSOCIATED PRESS Worldcrunch SITTWE – Rescuers were searching for survivors Tuesday after a boat carrying up to 200 Rohingya Muslims capsized off the western Burmese coast. Many are feared drowned among the oft-persecuted minority, who were being evacuated late Monday from low-lying regions of Burma (also referred to as Myanmar) ahead […]
-Essay- CAIRO – Copts are being persecuted in Egypt. So, what’s new about that? This has been the norm in our “beloved homeland” since at least the 1970s. But in fact, there is something new: sectarianism against Copts and many other minorities — including Shias, Bahais, and Bedouins — intensified after the beginning of the […]
AFP, BBC, IRRAWADDY (Burma), REUTERS Worldcrunch MEIKTILA– Burmese sectarian violence has turned deadly, as angry mobs rioted in the streets and at least five people have been reported killed in the central city of Meiktila. The BBC cites a death toll of 20 by Friday morning, though the Myanmar government has only confirmed five fatalities […]
Last March’s killings at a Jewish elementary school in Toulouse shocked many, but French Jews have been feeling less secure for years. Some leave, though security isn’t the only reason.
GULF NEWS (UAE), THE INDEPENDENT (BANGLADESH), BBC (UK), AP, AFP Worldcrunch DHAKA – On Tuesday, a Bangladesh war crimes tribunal sentenced Abdul Quader Molla, a leader of the country’s main Islamic party, to a life sentence for crimes against humanity during the independence war against Pakistan in 1971. In anticipation of the verdict, violent riots […]
TAWASOL, (Saudi Arabia), AL-ARABIYA (UAE), AL MOHEET (Egypt) Worldcrunch RIYADH – A Saudi cleric says babies and young girls should be covered from head to toe as a way of protecting them from sexual abuse. Sheikh Abdullah Mohamed Daoud made his statement on the al-Madj satellite station in October last year, but the video was […]
AL JAZEERA, BBC, LAHORE TIMES (Pakistan) Worldcrunch KARACHI/QUETTA/SWAT– Pakistan has declared three days of mourning after a string of bombings killed more than 100 people, while nine others died in separate shootings. Photo: CIA via Wikipedia In the northwest city of Quetta, a suicide bomber entered a snooker club on Thursday that was close to […]
GRENOBLE – Since she joined as staff at the Dojo Grenoblois — the judo and ju-jitsu club located in the heart of the housing projects of Villeneuve, south of Grenoble — Laëtitia Cardaci has gotten used to locking the door of the room where she gives her class in Japanese taïso exercise. For this bubbly, […]
AFP, ASIANEWS, IRRAWADDY (Burma), REUTERS, AL JAZEERA (Qatar), Worldcrunch A crisis is building in western Burma where one of the world’s largest groups of stateless people, the Muslim Rohingya, are being burned out of their villages by Buddhist Burmese nationalists. Since Sunday, several people have been killed and hundreds of homes have been burned. Thousands […]
CHIRANG – “Around 50 of them came and opened fire on our village.” Rebayal Ali still seems stunned, his eyes glazed over. His vest clings to his skinny torso because of the humidity, as the Muslim farmer tells Le Monde of his night of terror. It was July 23 in his village in Assam, a […]