Minaret of Freedom Weblog

A van the Combined Joint Strike Force believed to be “carrying Isis fighters was targeted and hit in the airstrike … in what was later determined to be a hospital compound parking lot resulting in possible civilian casualties” …

• US Military Says Mosul Airstrike May Have Killed Civilians at Hospital (Guardian)

… Iraqi forces have taken around half of the eastern side of Mosul…, but have yet to enter the western side, where 2,000-year-old markets and narrow alleyways are likely to complicate any advance … [to the end the] self-styled caliphate” …

• Iraqi Forces Launch Second Phase of Mosul Offensive Against Islamic State (Reuters)

… but “[a]s the battle for Mosul drags on, Sunni and Shia leaders have not ironed out a timeframe for reaching an agreement” on a united future:

• Can a Divided Iraq Be Reconciled? (Al-Jazeera)

“Some people are like ‘she’s Jewish, why did you help her?’ ’m like everyone is equal. I treat everyone the same way”:

• Muslim Teen in NYC Chases Down Assailant of Orthodox Jewish Woman (Times of Israel)

“A prison service spokesperson confirmed the 35-year-old’s [hate crime perpetrator’s]  death … [but] declined to give any further details of the circumstances”:

• Bacon on Mosque Offender Dies in Prison (BBC)

“During her year in Egypt she observed that girls who converted to Islam by their own choice – French, Belgian, and others – dressed more strictly … than ethnic Egyptian Muslims, who … are more likely to adopt a Western” lifestyle:

• Muslim Beauty: How to stay a strict Muslim in a big city (Russia Beyond the Headlines)

The President would “appoint the government, retain ties with his party, propose budgets and declare states of emergency.” Changes would also extend his mandate and “set parliamentary and presidential elections on the same day”:

• Turkish Committee Clears Draft Expanding Erdogan’s Powers (AP / abc News)

“The ceasefire, in the waning days of U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration, was the first major international diplomatic initiative in the Middle East in decades not to involve the United States“:

• Syria Ceasefire, Backed by Russia and Turkey, Holds After Initial Clashes (Reuters)

“Al-Jazeera issued a statement later on Sunday denying the “fabricated charges” brought against Hussein and demanding his immediate release, adding that he was in Egypt on vacation and not for work”:

• Egypt Arrests Al-Jazeera Journalist over ‘Provoking Sedition’ (Guardian)

“Turkey denies that it blocks the internet, and has previously blamed outages on spikes in usage after major events. Technical experts at watchdog groups say the blackouts on social media are intentional”:

• Turkish Authorities Investigating 10,000 Social Media Users: ministry (Reuters)

“On Monday, she published a stinging article on the website in which she hit out at the armed groups that ‘act with impunity’ in Iraq“:

• Iraqi Journalist Kidnapped by Gunmen (Guardian)

At a time when Hindu vigilantes use the protection of cows as an excuse for persecuting Muslims, two young Muslim actually rescue an injured a cow:

• Muslim Youths Turn ‘Gau Rakshaks’ (India Times)

“The video has been widely shared on social media, with many comments praising the beauty of the music and the touching interfaith gesture”:

• Muslim Choir Girls Sing Arabic Christmas Carols in Touching Video from Beirut (Independent)

“The suspected Berlin attacker allegedly encouraged his nephew … to pledge allegiance to the ISIS terror group” and the nephew confessed to encrypted communication “to evade security surveillance using its encryption and secrecy”:

• Tunisia Arrests Nephew of Suspect in Berlin Attacks and Two Others (AP / abc News)

“[W]hen the Prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Medina, he did so because he, too, was seeking the freedom for himself and his followers to worship” — Prince Charles:

• As a Muslim, I Appreciated Prince Charles’s Recent Remarks (Independent)

“Reuters could not independently verify the government accounts as access for independent journalists to northern Rakhine has been prohibited since security forces locked down the area”:

• Myanmar Says Muslim with Links to Government Murdered in Troubled Rakhine (Reuters / RNS)

“Applause broke out in the 15-member Security Council’s chambers after the vote on the measure, which passed 14 to 0,” at the U.S. break with Israel’s denial of the settlements’ illegality …

• Rebuffing Israel, U.S. Allows Censure Over Settlements (NY Times)

… “Egypt withdrew its sponsorship after the country’s president spoke by phone with Trump, who got involved at Israel’s request. Friday’s resolution was sponsored by New Zealand, Malaysia, Venezuela and Senegal”:

• U.S. Declines to Veto U.N. Security Council Resolution for Israel to Stop Jewish Settlement Activity (Washington Post)

Under the NSEERS program, federal agents asked immigrants from 24 Muslim countries such questions as: “Do you eat halal meat? What was the last movie that you watched? When do you go to mosque? Which mosque do you go to?”:

• White House Moves to Block Creation of Muslim Registry (NPR)

“[W]e would welcome more opportunity for private schools, but if anybody’s going to tell us we’re not involved in that pool of opportunity, we’re going to have a problem with that” – Karen Keyworth:

• How Trump’s Education Department Could Actually Help Some Muslim Schools (Huffington Post)

Romania’s first female prime minister may be a little known Muslim economist”:

• Romania Could see First Female Muslim Prime Minister (Al-Jazeera)

The most oppressed religious minority in Pakistan are “Muslims who are assumed by some or majority to be Non-Muslims. In fact, literally everyone is potentially a member of this category in the eyes of some”:

• Why Minority Muslim Sects Are at Most Risk in Pakistan (Huffington Post)

Aung San Suu Kyi’s “government has responded to growing international alarm over the [Rohingya] crisis with a dogged information campaign aimed at batting back reports of military abuse”:

• Myanmar Muslim Killed After Speaking to Reporters: Headless body of Shu Nar Myar found after he spoke to media during rare government-guided tour of restive Rakhine state (Al-Jazeera)

“Within him is a great secret. They killed him, and buried the secret with him. I want the truth about my son — who was behind him, those who indoctrinated him” — mother of the slain terrorist:

• Berlin Attack Suspect Slain in Shootout with Italian Police (AP / Washington Post)

• German Authorities Confirm Manhunt for Tunisian Man Wanted over Berlin Attack (AP / abc News)

Jama tells the woman who inflicted several facial injuries upon her, “I don’t have any ill feelings towards you. I just want you to understand at the end of all this that we are all the same…. [W]e are fighting for the same rights”:

• ‘No Ill Feelings,’ Muslim Woman Assaulted in Applebee’s Tells Her Attacker in Court (Star-Tribune)

“I am very pleased that the tech companies have come out with a lot of solidarity. But unless we have the data brokers, who have the actual data, agree to the same kind of restraint, we’re going to have a problem”:

• Will Data Brokers Help Build a Muslim Registry? Brokers mine your online activity (abc 10)

Not content to praise Bridgette Wagner (whose website gratuitously accuses even the Minaret of Freedom Institute as a Muslim Brotherhood front!!!!), Flynn even “follows two individuals who use the hashtag #WhiteGenocide proudly”:

• Trump’s National Security Advisor’s Twitter Account Shows Extent of Anti-Muslim Beliefs (Southern Poverty Law Center)

“It’s a ludicrous claim, absolutely false. There’s no basis of truth in it whatsoever. And the secretary made that very clear in his discussions today with the foreign minister” — State Department spokesman John Kirby:

• Turkey Blames U.S.-Based Muslim Cleric for Russian Envoy’s Killing (Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty)

“The officers at HMP Nottingham are alleged to have targeted mostly black and Asian prisoners, but also extended the abuse to white converts to Islam and vulnerable drug addicts”:

• HMP Nottingham: Prison officers organised WhatsApp ‘fight club’ with Muslim inmates (International Business Times)

American weapons reported to be in Hezbollah hands as other powers take the lead in negotiating a Syrian peace:

• Hezbollah Using U.S. Weaponry in Syria: senior Israeli military officer (Reuters)
• ‘Moscow Declaration’ Lays Out Vision for Syrian Peace Deal, with US on Sidelines (Christian Science Monitor)

“Iraq’s Christian community has been persistently persecuted since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003”:

• Muslim Businessman Buys Giant Christmas Tree to Show Solidarity with Baghdad’s Christians (Independent)

King calls “very effective in stopping terrorism and they really should be a model for the country” the surveillance program that the NYPD “was forced to admit in court … had yielded exactly zero leads into criminal or terrorist activity“:

• Rep. Peter King Urges Donald Trump To Create A Federal Muslim Surveillance Program (Huffington Post)

Among the 142 pages of FBI documents on their surveillance is an expression of ironic “displeasure with an article … that the bureau was watching Ali” calling it “irresponsible journalism … with a total disregard for or lack of the true facts” …

• F.B.I. Monitored Muhammad Ali Connections to Nation of Islam (NY Times)

… but in South Africa, Nelson “Mandela kept a photograph of himself with Ali on his desk and his favourite book, in his later years, was an autographed copy of Ali’s biography”:

• Muhammad Ali Letter to Nelson Mandela Sold for £7,200 (BBC)

Observe how wrong the Western press can get a story, giving a bar where men only come to drink alcohol and gamble as an example of “Sharia law.” Wait–what?

• ‘This Isn’t Paris. It’s Only Men Here’ – Inside the French Muslim No-go Zones Where Women Aren’t Welcome (Telegraph)

“Spokespeople from Microsoft and IBM say that their companies would not help create a registry of Muslims in the United States” …

• Microsoft, IBM: We Won’t Help Build a Muslim Registry (The Hill)

One important holdout is Oracle, which declined “to comment when asked by BuzzFeed about a Muslim registry or whether it still works with the NSA” and whose CEO Trump yesterday appointed to his transition team:

• Apple, Google, and Uber Join List of Tech Companies Refusing to Build Muslim Registry (Verge)

“France came out on top of the ignorance table, guessing that 40% of people in France are Muslim. The actual number is just 8.3%”:

• Americans and Europeans Hugely Overestimate our Muslim Populations: Americans think 17% of the country is Muslim. Wherever did people get that (embarrassingly wrong) idea? (Fast Company)

New York’s mayor is concerned that the college students lie intended to hide the fact that “she’d actually been out drinking with friends” from her father may mean that “real victims will now be met with more skepticism”:

• De Blasio Says He’s ‘Really Angry’ About Muslim Teen’s Attack Tale (NY Post)

Taking “the debunking of the ‘official’ tale to a public and official level. Based on government documents from a Turkish court,” a Turkish MP refuted “the West’s long-running excited belief that Assad had ‘gassed his own people'”:

• The Syrian-Sarin ‘False Flag’ Lesson (Antiwar.com)

“Nearly nine out of ten Hindus in the United States and two out of every three Muslims were born outside the country…. With their relatively high levels of education, they qualify for higher paying positions”:

• Study Shows the U.S. Attracts an Elite Muslim and Hindu Population (NPR)

“While China’s constitution enshrines freedom of religious belief, authorities keep strict limits on it, recognising only five belief systems and seeking to control their messages”:

• Chinese Muslim Website Blocked After Xi Jinping Letter: Authors of letter to president challenging “crimes of totalitarian system” say website shut down after their petition (Al-Jazeera)

In America Church and State are separate; in France Religion in excluses from public life; in Germany “religions must organize themselves according to state standards … tailored toward the structures of the Christian religion”:

• Why Islam Gets Second-Class Status in Germany (NY Times)

“President Obama has cancelled some arms sales to Saudi Arabia because of the Saudis’ conduct in the war in Yemen. His administration said it was concerned over ‘flaws’ in the way air strikes are targeted”:

• Yemen: ‘I wanted to fly and escape bombing’ (BBC)

“Nearly 1,000 civilians and 26 wounded people have been evacuated in buses and ambulances from a besieged rebel-held enclave in the Syrian city of Aleppo”:

• Aleppo Syria Battle: Evacuation of rebel-held East (BBC)

“[E]ven though Iran-Russia squabbling interrupted what was supposed to be a final cease-fire, and images showed block after block of pulverized neighborhoods – punctuated by terrified citizens” pleading, “save Aleppo”:

• As Aleppo Falls, Russia and Iran See Mideast Influence Surge at US Expense (Christian Science Monitor)

After suspiciously vanishing for a day after reporting the incident the 18-year-old woman finally “she broke down and admitted that she had made the story up to cover for being out late with her friends”:

• Muslim Teenager Admits Making Up Story of New York Hate Crime as an Excuse for Why She Stayed Out Late (NY Daily News)

“Kulsuma Ali … praised the nurse who came forward to help her stricken husband, calling her a hero. And she said the person who attacked her husband was ‘shouting go back to Syria and things like that'”:

• Man Shouted ‘I Am Going to Kill a Muslim’, Says Wife of Forest Hill Victim (Guardian)

“In bold white letters, the hatemongering message blasted President Obama for firing Mattis “to please the Muslims” and that Trump will use his hawkish cabinet pick, Mattis, to commit mass genocide”:

• Former Florida Lawmaker Allen West Shares Meme that Trump Will ‘Exterminate Muslims’ with Secretary of Defense Pick (NY Daily News)

The letter “notes … the ‘deep tensions’ following the ‘arduous national election that have resulted in a ‘disturbing and dangerous pattern of hate crimes’…” that has had a “particular impact on Jewish, LGBTQ and Muslim communities”:

• Muslim NYPD Officers Ask for Meeting with Trump over Hate Crime Spike (Huffington Post)

“Tens of thousands of people are thought to be still living under siege there, with virtually no food or water” …

• Syria Conflict: Aleppo rebels reduced to small pocket after new losses (BBC)

… but the Syrian government’s boast that the city’s fall to the Syrian forces was supposed to be the “fatal blow to Daesh” that would “usher in the start of its defeat and retreat'” turns out to have been, at best, premature:

• ISIS Recapture of Palmyra: A fresh assault on heritage sites? (Christian Science Monitor)

“[T]he most effective weapon [is] the daily countering of IS’s and Al Qaeda’s brand of utopian mythology and misinterpretation of Islamic teachings – particularly among young disenfranchised Muslims willing to take up their call”:

• The ISIS Breakers: How moderate Muslims are countering extremism (Christian Science Monitor)

“You’re already black and a woman in America. Now, Muslim?” Thirty black women were asked “why they continue to practice despite all the negative press about Islam”:

• African American Muslim Women Share Stories at Book Reading (Press of Atlantic City)

It’s  “the biggest U.S.-Iran deal since the 1979 Islamic revolution”:

• Iran Signs $16.6 Bln Deal for 80 Boeing Planes, Report (Christian Science Monitor)

“[T]wo Palestinians held without charges by Israel are “between life and death” after 73 days on a hunger strike.” Although Israel suspended their detention last month, they “continued their hunger strike,” demanding unconditional release”:

• Palestinians on 73-Day Hunger Strike Said to Be Gravely Ill (AP / abc News)

“I … felt unwelcome in my homeland for the first time. It’s something I had never known before”:

• Reporter’s Notebook: What It Was Like as a Muslim to Cover the Election (NPR)

The senior pastor said that one of their security “team called the school because they felt the students appeared older than than traditional college age … [but that] the church intends “to rectify and resolve this misunderstanding … soon”:

• Police Contact College After Muslim Students Visit Church (Independent)

“‘[S]till shaken’ by the encounter … [, she] had a hard time wrapping her head around how ‘bold’ people are becoming in attacking Muslims”:

• The Country’s First Somali-American Lawmaker Says a Cab Driver Called Her ‘ISIS’  (Time)

“Muslim women lead the charge in advocating for the rights of minority groups and taking America to task for its ongoing failure to uphold its founding values of ‘life, liberty and justice for all'”:

• 17 Muslim American Women Who Made America Great in 2016 (Huffington Post)

They denied the Muslim boxer the honor in 1966, but today, “political stances shouldn’t obscure his athletic success, the editors say. In fact, some argue Ali’s strongly-held beliefs are an example for athletes today”:

• Why Ring Magazine Named Ali 1966 Fighter of Year – 50 Years After the Fact (Christian Science Monitor)

Lower courts rejected as false the girl’s assertion that “swimming in a burkini revealed the shape of her body” and the “constitutional court … further found there were ‘no binding rules in Islam’ to define appropriate clothing”:

• German Court Rules Muslim Girls Must Take Part in Swimming Lessons (Guardian)

For “Islam to flourish in this land, you have to find and create local clergy; you have to bring about a new generation of scholars who are fully Western and fully in sync with the tradition of Islam” — an imam trained in Medina and at Yale …

• An Idiot’s Guide to Islam in America: A memo to the president-elect about the people he fears (Foreign Policy)

… and over “300 American Muslim leaders are imploring Donald Trump to reject the anti-Muslim policies he touted during his presidential campaign, as well as” Islamophobic White House appointees:

• Muslim Leaders Call on Trump to Reject Anti-Muslim Administration Appointments (Yahoo)

Those who object to having a Muslim on the show whose views the other mainstream Muslims reject seem to have no objection to programs on which the only Muslim depicted holds repulsive outlier views:

• BBC Defends Extremist’s Presence on Muslim Reality Show (Guardian)

“If he becomes the next Dutch prime minister, Wilders has vowed to ban the Koran, close mosques and Islamic schools and stop immigration from Muslim countries”:

• Anti-Islam Dutch Politician Geert Wilders Found Guilty of Discrimination (Washington Post)

“[T]he legend of Pearl Harbor, re-used on 9-11, is responsible … for the permanent war mentality of the past 75 years, as well as for how World War II was escalated, prolonged, and completed”:

• 75 Years of Pearl Harbor Lies (Foreign Policy Journal)

“Elsokary, who regularly wears a hijab while on duty in Brooklyn, was praised for her heroism after she helped save a baby girl and an elderly man from a burning building in April 2014″ …

• Muslim NYPD Officer Threatened, Told ‘Go Back to Your Country’ (CNN)

… and just two days later:

• Muslim Transit Worker Shoved Down Stairs at Grand Central (Newser)

“If you’re looking for the true meaning of Christmas, you’ll find it at a Muslim-owned restaurant in London”:

• Muslim-Owned Restaurant Offers Free Christmas Dinners to the Elderly and Homeless: “No one eats alone on Christmas Day” (Huffington Post)

“[T]he civil rights chief for Attorney General Maura Healey, says that under state law, a community – in this case, the town of Dudley – can’t ‘prohibit, regulate, or restrict the use of land or structures for religious purposes’:

• Dudley, Mass., Warned over Vote on Proposed Muslim Cemetery (AP / CBS News)

Some Jewish leaders have joined Muslims in declaring, “The right to religious worship is God-given and not a matter of legislation”:

• Lawmakers Urge Dialogue Instead of Legislation (Jerusalem Post)

“The measure, which passed in a stormy Knesset session late on Monday, has been met with international condemnation, and has already strained relations within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing rightwing coalition“:

• Israel Votes to Authorise Illegal Settler Homes in Palestine (Guardian)

“Experts have pointed out that most perpetrators of mass violence in the United States are not Muslim, nor have any Syrian refugees been involved in violent attacks in the United States”:

• American Muslim Leaders to Trump: ‘Reconsider and Reject’ Your Bigoted Cabinet Nominees (Washington Post)

“The defendants’ names were not made public and Amnesty International criticized the proceedings as ‘a travesty of justice and a serious violation of human rights‘”:

• Saudi Court Sentences 15 to Death in Iran Spy Cell Trial (AP / abc News)

“Doctors Without Borders hospital in Yemen, which killed 19 people and forced the international group to pull out from northern Yemen”:

• Spokesman: Coalition Accidentally Bombed Yemen Hospital (AP / abc News)