Minaret of Freedom Weblog

“A politician would have to be blind not to understand that this is a particularly nasty far-right organization that is in trouble with the law, electoral authorities, and reviled by 99 percent of the population”:

• Trump’s Retweets Elevate a Tiny Fringe Group of Anti-Muslim Activists in Britain (Washington Post)

After an anti-Muslim krystallnacht, “Warsaw police say they are searching for attackers who have smashed windows in the city’s Muslim cultural center“:

• Poland Probes Mosque Attack, Far-right ‘Gallows’ Protest (AP / Washington Post)

Many women said “Islam is ‘very’ important to them … and also felt that young women should have more freedoms than they now do, and also a stronger voice in their communities and in local and national government”:

• Young Southeast Asian Muslim Women Are More Religious Yet More Progressive, Study Finds (Forbes)

MbS’s concept of a tolerant Islam is very counter-intuitive:

• Saudi Arabia Bans Selfies, Photos and Videos at Islam’s Holiest Sites (Geo TV)

Turkey’s rubber-stamp religious authority declares anything “not under the state’s audit and surveillance” against the Islam, even though the Qur’an says Allah hears and knows all things:

• Bitcoin ‘Not Compatible with Islam’, Turkey’s Religious Authorities Say (Euronews)

The founder of the Hip Hop dance trio “We’re Muslim, Don’t Panic” says, “I can still practice my faith and be a powerful woman because inherently we’re given that in our faith tradition. We are given that power”:

• Amirah Sackett: Muslim As I Wanna Be (Hawaii Public Radio)

To be seen as normal Israel must either abandon racism or convince the rest of the world racism is normal. Its opposition to the BDS movement demonstrates its preference for the latter option:

• Where Is Zionism Taking Us? – An Analysis (To the Point Analysis)

“Even if all migration into Europe were to immediately and permanently stop … the Muslim population of Europe still would be expected to rise from the current level of 4.9% to 7.4% by the year 2050”:

• Europe’s Growing Muslim Population (Pew Forum)

“Sufism has shaped literature and art for centuries…. In modern times, the predominant view of Sufi Islam is one of ‘love, peace, tolerance,'” but some “fundamentalists see the reverence for saints … as a form of idolatry”:

• Who Are Sufi Muslims and Why Do Some Extremists Hate Them? (NY Times)

“A global network of anti-Muslim activists is using Twitter bots, fake news and the manipulation of images to influence political discourse, new analysis reveals”:

• Anti-Muslim Online Surges Driven by Fake Accounts (Guardian)

“Marwan … worries that some mosque members, with no imam to guide them, could soon turn elsewhere for direction, with possibly radical consequences”:

• America is Running Out of Muslim Clerics. That’s Dangerous (Politico)

“Critics say the coalition could become a means for Saudi Arabia to implement an even more assertive foreign policy by winning the backing of poorer African and Asian nations with offers of financial and military aid”:

• Saudis Host First Muslim Anti-terror Summit – but Without Qatar, Iran (France24)

“[D]elayed response is not considered best practice in dealing with bullying”:

• San Jose: Muslim Teacher Wearing Head Scarf Repeatedly Bullied by Students (Mercury-News)

“The pressure campaign has shown some signs of success. After an earlier delay, Zeid’s office said the release of the ‘report’ has been pushed back again, from December to early next year”:

• Israel Races to Head Off UN Settlement ‘Blacklist’ (AP / enews)

“Muslim scholars agreed on five main objectives to be considered the Sharia’s high objectives…: the preservation of the self; … of reason; .. of the religion; … of property; and … of lineage”:

• Forbidden Acts: Islam vs. Terrorism (Egypt Today)

“Earlier, Muslims were stereotyped… [N]ow, with Hindutva rising, there is pressure for Muslims to remove markers that are visually distinct”:

• Opinion: It’s Becoming Increasingly Dangerous in Uttar Pradesh to Even Look Muslim (Scroll.in)

Muslim feminists protest treating violence against women “if we were only legitimate to denounce the violence by Muslims. As if the violence we suffer only comes from Muslims…. News flash: this is not the case!”:

• France’s Weinstein Scandal Is also About Islam (Washington Post)

“[M]edical units have now been installed in the Ritz-Carlton hotel where the beatings have taken place … to prevent torture victims from being taken to hospital” …

• Saudi Torture Victims Include Former King’s Son (Middle East Eye)

… while in an act of stupefying supreme act of hypocrisy the man who invaded Yemen declares that appeasement doesn’t work as an argument why the world and the region should appease him:

• Saudi Crown Prince Speaks on Anti-corruption Drive, Islam, Women’s Rights and ‘New Hitler’ (Al-Arabiyya)

… and “a former senior Israeli military figure speaking in London … report that … senior Saudi princes … said to him words to the effect that, ‘you are not our enemy any more'”:

• Israel and Saudi Arabia: What’s Shaping the Covert ‘Alliance’ (BBC)

The suspension of his resignation “lends weight to the theory that Hariri was forced to resign,” but the Lebanese know that “they lack the military and political might to hold foreign powers at bay”:

• Lebanese PM Saad Hariri’s Suspended Resignation Is Only Cosmetic (Guardian)

“The climate for this type of attack is made possible by the pernicious influence of Sri Lankan hard-line Buddhist groups such as Bodu Bala Sena”:

• Fake News Sparks Buddhist and Muslim Extremists Clash in Sri Lanka—Is This Asia’s Next Conflict? (Newsweek)

“The idea that Burma will now welcome them back to their smoldering villages with open arms is laughable” — Bill Frelick, refugee rights director at Human Rights Watch:

• Rights Groups Say Outside Monitors Needed for Rohingya Return to Myanmar (Reuters)

A focus on “employment, career and material advancement” yields a “deficit of criticality in education … [and an] inability to cope creatively with ambiguity, the predisposition to seek black and white answers”:

• Education, Islam and Criticality (Open Democracy)

The 1753 Marriage Act “limited ceremonies to registered buildings, … [with notable exceptions “for Quakers and Jewish people, … but today renders hundreds of thousands of women outside the protection of our courts”:

• British Law Must Recognise Muslim Marriage Ceremonies (Guardian)

The group seeks to address “polygamy, nikah halala, minimum age for marriage etc.” with “new legislation which is comprehensive and is as per the Quran as well as the Constitution”:

• Triple Talaq: Amending IPC Not Enough, Need New Muslim Law, Say Activists (Indian Express)

“Abdul-Jabbar recounts the tremulous time surrounding his decision to change his name from Lew Alcindor to Kareem-Abdul Jabbar, which means ‘noble servant of [the Most Compelling],’ after” converting to Islam:

• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the Painful Public Backlash to His Islam Conversion (Entertainment Weekly)

“Rabita had closely analyzed Islamic State videos and found they sometimes used quite unreligious bait to entice youths to join their jihad”:

• Morocco Goes Digital to Counter Radical Islam Online (RNS)

“For a man whose role involves assessing security threats, Wuco has been quick to conclude—sometimes falsely—that attacks were perpetrated by Muslims”:

• DHS Official Who Made Islamophobic Comments Resigns. Another Remains in a Senior Role (Mother Jones)

“Once a ceasefire is seen to be working, … talks … should find a workable solution for the return of refugees, and the final phase should be to work toward a long-term solution based on poverty alleviation”:

• China Lays Out a Plan to Resolve Rohingya Muslim Refugee Crisis in Myanmar (Business Insider)

“While Tariq Ramadan’s accusers deserve justice and the scholar must be allowed to defend himself, … Muslim women … have every right… in this moment of opportunity to expose patriarchy’s crimes”:

• Muslim Women, Caught Between Islamophobes and ‘Our Men’ (NY Times)

“Kamala is neither completely devoted to her faith nor rebelling against it. She, like a lot of Muslims, is somewhere in the middle. Her race and religion are subtle facets of a rich and confusing life”:

• This Looks Like a Job for…The Muslim Mystique Finale: People Are Hard (University of Washington Daily)

They’re identical twins, except that one is a liberal transgender practicing Muslim and the other an agnostic conservative sympathizer:

• Black, Muslim and Transgender (Post Bulletin)

“[Whether they] are indeed Turkish nationals as they claim or Chinese nationals as China claims, the fact that they are ethnic Uyghur is enough for them to face persecution and harsh punishment”:

• China Urges Thailand to Find Muslim Uighurs Quickly After Dramatic Cell Break (Reuters / US News)

“Our adaptability starts with an understanding of Islam that is open and flexible…. We also changed our stances regarding women’s rights…. The future is freedom…. Islam stands for freedom and justice”:

• How Tunisia’s Ennahda Found Its Path Between Islam and Democracy (TRT World)

A professed anti-corruption crackdown turns out to be a shakedown:

• Saudi Arabia Swapping Assets for Freedom of Some Held in Graft Purge: Sources (Reuters)

“As strange as this sounds, the cable shows how Israel is becoming the unlikely leader of the Sunni world” — Jeff Halper, Israeli analyst:

• Israel Instructs Diplomats to Support Saudis: Cable (Al-Jazeera)

For years “sexual violence has been a routine part of the methods Israeli intelligence agencies have used against Palestinians,” so it is appropriate that Harvey Weinstein used Israeli agents to intimidate his victims:

• Harvey Weinstein Used Israeli Spies in Effort to Silence Victims (If American Knew)

Christians unite to oppose Israeli attempt to quash freedom of speech:

• 20 Christian Leaders Representing 17 National Organizations Send Open Letter to Congress, Opposing Anti-BDS Legislation (If Americas Knew)

The director “agreed to delete offending scenes from the film following” an attack” by Hindu extremists whose spokesman now threatens to “cut the nose” of the film’s star for saying “protests would not stop the … release”:

• Indian Film Padmavati Sparks Protests over ‘Hindu-Muslim Romance’ (Guardian)

“[T]he ‘Muslim who acts like us’ continues to be a lazy, one-dimensional response to islamophobia in all kinds of media that attempts to be ‘progressive’”:

• Master of None Has a Muslim Women Problem (Varsity)

KSM has found a twofer, telling believers he is supporting hadith studies while telling Western governments he is fighting terrorism:

• What It Takes to Make Saudi Islam ‘Moderate’ (The Atlantic)

“Canadians seem to be souring on the idea of freedom of religion as only 55% of those responding said they believe it makes the country better—14% said it made it worse and the rest said no impact”:

• Nearly Half of Canadians Have Negative Feelings Towards Islam: Poll (Vice)

As foreseen by German intelligence, Saudi Arabia has adopted a reckless interventionist foreign policy …

• The Reverse Midas Touch of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Is Turning the Middle East to Dust (The Intercept)

… and the Saudi-led coalition “faced widespread international criticism over the closure, with the UN and over 20 aid groups saying it could bring millions of people closer to ‘starvation and death'”:

• As Saudis Reopen Borders with Yemen, Rebels Promise Retaliation (Christian Science Monitor)

Muslims are less “than 0.02 percent of the total population,” yet the  SPD became the third most powerful party in parliament with no “discernable policy other than to drive Islam completely out of the Czech Republic”:

• Czech Republic’s Tiny Muslim Community Subject to Hate (Al-Jazeera)

“A Greek court has sentenced two Muslim clerics to seven months in prison after they led prayers at a funeral service” on the charge of “usurping authority” for not using a state-appointed preacher:

• Greece: Muslim Clerics Convicted After Funeral Spat (AP / WTHR)

In less than 30 years, the “fertility rate across all 49 Muslim-majority countries fell from 4.3 [to 2.9] children per woman” while some Western European countries nearly a century to transition from” 6 per woman to 3:

• The Muslim Overpopulation Myth that Just Won’t Die (The Atlantic)

This year “the largest annual religious pilgrimage on earth, …  ​held special resonance, as ISIS in Iraq has been all but defeated in recent months by Iraqi security forces – supported by Iran-backed Shiite militias”:

• Why Shiite Pilgrimage to Karbala Had Special Meaning This Year (Christian Science Monitor)

As “a Muslim girl involved in the sport of fencing, there were people who made me feel like I didn’t belong. For all those people who didn’t believe in me, this Barbie doll is for you“:

• Ibtihaj Muhammad, Muslim U.S. Olympian, Inspires Hijabi Barbie Doll (Huffington Post)

“Dressed as a priest, a member of the extremist group Pegida planted a wooden cross on the site of a new mosque in the Dutch municipality Enschede … and then proceeded to rub the cross with pig’s blood”:

• Mosque Attacked With Pig’s Blood by Far Right Anti-Islam Group Pegida (Newsweek)

Ballooning participation in the “annual far-right marches to celebrate Polish independence … [coincides with the] stripping away [of] Polish democratic institutions … since the most recent [2015] general election”:

• White Nationalist and Anti-Muslim Sentiment Prevail at Poland’s Independence Day March (SPLC)

“I await the return of PM Hariri to Beirut so we can decide on the situation of the government – if he wants to resign or rescind his resignation” — Lebanese President Michel Aoun:

• Lebanon’s Hariri to Fly to Paris Within 48 Hours: Source Close to Hariri (Reuters)

“Some senior figures detained in last [week]’s purge in Saudi Arabia were beaten and tortured so badly during their arrest or subsequent interrogations that they required hospital treatment”:

• Senior Saudi Figures Tortured and Beaten in Purge (Middle East Eye)

“[A]l-Hariri warned on Sunday Lebanon was at risk of Gulf Arab sanctions … and said he would return to Lebanon within days to affirm he had resigned as the country’s prime minister”:

• Hariri Warns Lebanon Faces Arab Sanctions Risk, to Return in Days (Reuters)

Teary-eyed after the father’s gesture, [the judge] called for a break.” Later, members of the perpetrator’s and victim’s “families, sobbing, joined the pair for a group hug. The courtroom audience watched, transfixed”:

• Why This Father Hugged the Man Who Helped Kill His Son (Washington Post)

A New Jersey minister is impressed by young Muslim students at al-Ghazaly High School who respond to hateful comments with education:

• Muslim Students Fight Hate with Facts (nj.com)

“Following their release to freedom though, many hostages like McGowan or Coleman and Boyle retain the religious views they developed while in captivity”:

• Why People Held Captive by Terrorist Groups Sometimes Convert to Islam (Business Insider)

“The stories of the 2.5 million Muslims who traveled to Europe to fight for the allies during the first world war are finally being told”:

• The Forgotten Muslim Heroes Who Fought for Britain in the Trenches (Guardian)

“People would say ‘Oh, it must be hard for you to live in Indonesia [as a Muslim woman],’ and I would reply ‘we may not have Disneyland but we’re fine.’ Indonesia is not that bad, it looks bad only on Twitter”:

• Sex, Pork and Jihad: Heard the One About Indonesia’s Hijab-wearing Muslim Comic? (South China Morning Post)

The dairy farmer  allegedly “was thrashed and shot dead by a crowd of cow vigilantes when he was transporting four cows to his native village”:

• Muslim Man Killed by Cow Vigilantes: Family (The Hindu)

A ten year sentence for violating general orders, drunk and disorderly conduct, making false statements and abuse that led to a suicide:

• Military Jury Sentences Former Marine Drill Instructor to 10 Years in Prison for Targeting Muslim Recruits (Washington Post)
• US Marine Trainer Guilty of Abusing Muslim Recruits (Al-Jazeera)

“France became the first Western country to indicate that Saudi Arabia was holding Mr. Hariri against his will, saying it wished for him to have “all his freedom of movement and be fully able to play the essential role that is his in Lebanon”:

• Hezbollah Leader Says Saudi Arabia Has Declared War on Lebanon (Christian Science Monitor)

After the 9/11 terror attacks, “Grammy-winning songwriter and Muslim activist Ani Zonneveld … came to the conclusion that … [much] of what were taught to us completely contradict what the Koran says”:

• Muslim Activist to Speak at Hingham Monastery (Boston Globe)

The “dispute … reflects nationwide problems with mosque shortages”:

• Tensions as Paris Suburb Tries to Stop Muslim Street Prayers (abc News)

“Christians and Muslims believe that freedom of conscience and religion are the most important human rights and, ‘therefore, our collective duty demands that we respect, preserve and promote such rights'”:

• Religious Freedom Must Be Protected, Says Catholic-Muslim Dialogue (Catholic News Service)

She converted to Islam while serving in the U.S. military and then returned to a country to be denied the rights for which she fought — but she continues to fight for them:

• Muslim-American Veteran, Raised in Tacoma, Defends Her Faith and Her Country (Seattle Times)

“Muhammad bin Salman is he resembles President Trump” — David Ottoway; “Saudi defense and security in the hands of one individual” – Gerald Feierstein;”One-man rule is always bad” – Jamal Khashoggi:

• Saudi Arabia’s Game of Thrones (Wilson Center)

“[M]any human rights activists and liberal journalists were recently arrested. It is not yet clear what model of governance the crown prince really seeks”:

• The Budding Saudi Revolution (Christian Science Monitor)

Does Hariri’s resignation signal that the Trump administration has pressured the Saudis to spoil Lebanon’s “compromise with Hezbollah … which over the past 12 months has brought some rare stability to Lebanon?

• Hariri’s Shock Resignation: What Saudis Gain, and Lebanon Could Lose (Christian Science Monitor)

The Revolutionary Guard “often benefited financially from the sanctions regime” and since the nuclear agreement have made arrests perceived to undermine both Rouhani and any improvement in relations with the West:

• Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Prisoner Caught in Iran Power Struggle (BBC)

“In Russia’s prisons one Muslim prisoner of conscience has recently been tortured, and Muslims and Jehovah’s Witnesses have both been denied literature”:

• RUSSIA: Muslim Prisoner of Conscience Tortured (Forum 18)

Dialogue is like “dating … on the first date, you dress up and are on your best behavior. [You initially] … focus on commonalities…. But … as trust develops, [you] can begin to speak more authentically to one another”:

• Christian-Muslim Dialogue Depends upon Knowledge and Trust (Crux)

“When a bearded man with a foreign-sounding name allegedly says ‘Allahu Akbar‘ before killing 8 people, … [it’s called] terrorism. But [not] when a white man shoots over 500 people”:

• The ‘Allahu Akbar’ Double Standard of Terrorism (Bridge)

A “new court ruling is opening the door for legal practice of previously illegal faiths”:

• Indonesian Court Rules in Favor of Religious Freedom (Christian Science Monitor)

“I got clear indications that the intention is to keep the United States compliant with the agreement” — EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini:

• U.S. Lawmakers Aim to Comply with Iran Nuclear Deal: EU (Reuters)