Calling the Faithful to Freedom!

Because data doesn’t support the Muslim ban, the administration elected to doctor it … Trump Administration Skews Terror Data to Justify Anti-Muslim Travel Ban (The Intercept) … “two new independent studies issued this week show that … the number of Americans killed by white supremacists in the U.S. last year was far higher than those killed…

“There are very few sellers in the community who are willing to work with us on the idea of building a mosque,” he said. “Several said the land is for sale, but not for us”: Carmel Homeowners Demand the City’s First Mosque Move, but Muslim Leaders Say It Can’t (Indystar.com) He “picked up the Koran…

“Hate crime reports and statistics don’t capture the full scope of hostility toward [American] Muslims.” Without religious liberty, “the law serves to maintain the second-class citizenship of Muslims”: In Trump’s America, ‘Acting Muslim’ Is More Dangerous than Ever (Washington Post) Despite his apology, Hoekstra’s assertion that he merely “mixed up countries” falsely implies that politicians…

“Until and unless the urban middle classes and the poor join in common cause—as they did in 1979—there will be no revolution”: What the Iran Protests Were Not (The Atlantic) “’Embarrassing performance from controversial ambassador,’ read a web headline at De Telegraaf, one of the country’s largest newspapers” … Trump’s Netherlands Ambassador Was Asked to Name…

“Eventually, colonised peoples bring to the fore a figure best suited to challenge the rotten values at the core of the society oppressing them. Ahed is well qualified for the task”: Ahed Tamimi’s Arrest Sheds a Disturbing Light on How Children Are Targeted by Israel (jonathancooke.net) From fake news of WMD in Iraq to suppression…

“Some critics feel Allam’s fatwa had little to do with the mechanics of cryptocurrency and even less correlation to Muslim ideology” and more to do with delivering “religious rulings that support the state”: Does Islamic Law Forbid Bitcoin? Egyptian Mufti Says Yes, But Many Disagree (International Business Times) When an informant told the FBI that…

“Afghan and Indian officials applauded Trump’s abrasive comments, but Pakistan’s foreign minister called them a political stunt for domestic consumption, while its foreign office summoned the U.S. ambassador in protest”: Trump Tweet Triggers Diplomacy Meetings in Pakistan (Christian Science Monitor) The causes for the Iranian protests are complex, but economic factors seem to be paramount;…

Cheered on by Israel’s intelligence minister, anti-government protesters continue demonstrations in Iran in defiance of a warning by the authorities of a tough crackdown … Ten People Killed in Iran Unrest on Sunday: State Television (Reuters) … but if they were instigated  by hardliners hoping to embarrass Rouhani they may  have quickly gotten out of control, taken…

In what “would be the country’s longest period of emergency rule since the 1970s era of strongman Ferdinand Marcos[, t]he militarization had displaced thousands of the indigenous Lumad people and some had been killed”: U.N. Says ‘Massive’ Rights Abuses in Southern Philippines Could Intensify Under Martial Law (Reuters) After Aboutaleb said that his struggle to…