News and Analysis (10/1/15)

“Iran has led a chorus of international criticism directed at Saudi Arabia’s response to the incident, saying its diplomats were not given access to victims until days after the stampede. That criticism was also levied by Indonesia”:

• Hajj Crush: Iran Death Toll Rises to 464 (Guardian)

A “spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted on Thursday that Russia’s airstrikes in Syria are targeting not only Islamic State militants but also other groups” but “Russian ambassador to France Alexander Orlov insisted that … Russian officials warned the Americans ‘via confidential channels; of where they planned to strike”:

• Russia Says It Targets Not Just IS in Syria (AP / abc News)

“Since the prime minister, Narendra Modi – a Hindu nationalist – took office last year, hardline Hindus have been demanding that India bans beef sales, a key industry for many within India’s poor, minority Muslim community”:

• Hindu Mob Kills Muslim Man After Rumours He Was Eating Beef (Guardian)

“The lawsuit alleges that Des Plaines, a city of about 60,000 people northwest of Chicago, sought to impose parking and other zoning criteria on the center that had never been imposed on non-Islamic groups”:

• US Alleges Chicago Suburb Discriminated Against Muslim Group (AP / abc News)

Despite commutation for the charge of insultinh the Prophet (pbuh), Arabi will not be coming out of prison time any time soon, as he is also serving a separate seven-and-a-half-year sentence for allegedly insulting the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alongside similar charges”:

• Iranian Death Sentence Commuted to Two Years’ Theology Study (Guardian)

One poll claims 72% in North Carolina agree with the statement “A Muslim should not be allowed to be President of the United States”:

• New Poll Finds Anti-Muslim Sentiment Frighteningly High (NY Times)

“Abbas on Wednesday called for the international community to recognise Palestine as a state under occupation in the same way that countries were occupied in the second world war” and “accused Israel of risking turning a political conflict into a religious one”:

• Mahmoud Abbas: Palestinians ‘No Longer Bound’ by Oslo Accords with Israel (Guardian)

“There are more than 1.6 billion Muslim consumers worldwide, with a buying power large enough to be attractive to both luxury and affordable fashion brands. The Muslim consumer base is expected to increase to nearly 3 billion by 2050” …

• H&M Muslim Ad Campaign With Hijab Model Signals Future Diversity In Fashion Advertisements, Analysts Say (International Business Times)

… Some people say modeling conflicts with traditional Islamic beliefs. Idrissi disagrees…. ‘[T]here’s nothing that says there is anything against it. In our religion, anything that’s not stated as forbidden is permissible” …

• H&M’s Latest Look: Hijab-wearing Muslim Model Stirs Debate (CNN International)

… “There is a growing market for what I broadly call ‘modest fashion’” — Reina Lewis, author of the forthcoming book “Muslim Fashion: Contemporary Style Cultures” and a professor of cultural studies at the London College of Fashion at the University of Arts London:

• Muslim Fashion Market Poised To Skyrocket As Retailers Like Uniqlo Embrace ‘Modest’ Lines (International Business Times)

“Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq drove the Islamic State group from more than 140 sq. kilometers (54 sq. miles) of territory near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk and cleared part of a major highway Wednesday”:

• Iraqi Kurds Drive Islamic State out of Villages (AP /  abc News)

ImadadDean