Minaret of Freedom Weblog

European and US policymakers find Trump’s Iran policies counterproductive; keeping inside the Non-Proliferation Treaty would provide better safeguards on Iran’s nuclear program:

• France, UK, Germany ‘Regret’ US End to Three Iran Nuclear Waivers (Al-Jazeera)
• Who Are The Secret Puppet-Masters Behind Trump’s War on Iran? (Pressenza International)

A vessel was displayed “at a ceremony to introduce over 100 new boats to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp’s Navy” suggests US sanctions may be backfiring:

• Mystery Submarine May Reveal a Major New Capability for Iran (Forbes)

As the killing of Soleimani escalates tension between US and Iran in Iraq, frequency of raids on Isis went down and ISIS activities went up:

• How Tensions Between the U.S. and Iran Ended Up Strengthening ISIS (Foreign Policy)

Appointing a man who has called Islam a “babaric cult” and endorsed “the Chinese government’s crackdown on their Uighur Muslim minority” to a post involving defense of religious freedom abroad defies comprehension …

• USAID Faces Mounting Pressure to Remove Latest Trump Appointee With History of Islamophobic Remarks (The Intercept)

… while the employment of brutal Israeli tactics by American police gives Russia and Iran an opening to charge the U.S. with hypocrisy:

• The Knee-on-neck, Long a Staple of Israel’s Occupation of Palestine (TRT World)
• Iran Berates U.S. over Police Killing, Slams Racism (U.S. News)
• Authoritarian Governments Are Calling Out American Hypocrisy over Minneapolis (Slate)

The plan of Ahmadiyya community in Canada to build a cemetery to accommodate for its growing community receives some opposition over agricultural land concerns:

• Muslim Community Seeks to Build a Cemetery in Bradford (Newmarket Today)

When Mohammed Khaja who died of cardiac arrest was denied burial by six grave yards over COVID-19 concern, his body was laid to rest in Hindu cemetery:

• Denied Burial, Muslim Man Finds Place in Hindu Graveyard (Times of India)

India doubles down on its discrimination of the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir:

• BJP Conspiring to Allot Larger Share of Assembly Seats to Kashmir: Harsh Dev (Hindustan Times)
• No Relief For Kashmir Hotels Turned Quarantine Centres As Govt Holds Back Payment (Outlook)
• Call for Economic Support for Indian-administered Kashmir (Al-Jazeera)

“The appointment is just the latest in a series of Trump administration moves that are raising concerns it is undermining USAID’s ability to fulfill its mission”:

• New USAID Religious-freedom Adviser Has History of Anti-Islam Comments (Washington Post)

Raffia Arashad, who was appointed a Deputy District Judge on the Midlands Circuit last week cites the “Imposter Syndrome,” wondering if one is good enough, as “one of the things that holds women”:

• Muslim Woman Becomes First Hijab-Wearing Judge in UK (Metro.co.uk)

A British-Bangladesh Muslim entrepreneur was invited to perform prayer call at the heart of London’s financial district to “show appreciation of Muslim community and engage with it”:

• British-Muslim Entrepreneur ‘Felt So Privileged’ After Performing Call to Prayer in London’s Canary Wharf (Arab News)

When the Muslim social worker donated blood to a Hindu woman undergoing a Cesarean operation, he conveyed the message of Islam’s love and compassion for all humanity:

• The India We Love: Muslim Man Breaks Fast to Save a Hindu Woman and Her Child (Hindustan Times)

What others call Covid precautions (“washing hands regularly, covering one’s face and keeping a respectful distance from others,”) one Muslim comic call “Sharia law”:

• Muslim Comics Gather over Zoom to Celebrate Eid with Jokes and Joy (NPR)

Gulf states showed admirable transparency in dealing with Covid-19; but are they willing to “embrace transparency when it comes to policies designed to spark economic recovery and govern structural reform”?

• Will Gulf States Learn from Their Success in Handling the Pandemic? (Inside Arabia)

America’s Iran policies have unintended consequences:

• Iran Rejects US Cancellation of Nuclear Sanctions Waivers (VoA)
• Iran Changes Tack in Iraqi Politics After Mastermind’s Assassination (Reuters)
• Iran Guards Warn US After Receiving over 100 New Combat Vessels (NDTV)
• It’s US Foreign Policy that Gives Life to Iran-Venezuela Solidarity (TRT World)

India’s persecution of Muslims continues to grow:

• India’s Anti-Muslim Fake News Factories Are Following the Anti-Semitic Playbook (The Print)
• India Extends Jammu-Kashmir Internet Ban Until June 17 (Andalou Agency)
• Kashmir: Court Upholds Top Lawyer’s Detention (Andalou Agency)
• Impact of Divisive Politics on Kashmir (Jurist)

“The PA is competing with better-resourced communities worldwide that are less constrained in their access to funds”:

• Aussies Send Life Support to Palestinians (Courier-Sun)

“The Covid-19 pandemic has beautifully dispelled the taboo, the myth, the common practice ⁠— that women do not and cannot pray with men”:

• When Lockdown Eid Broke a Long-held Taboo in Muslim Homes (Indian Express)

“State enforced disruptions to internet access are problematic at all times and in the midst of a global pandemic, such restrictions are unconscionable”:

• What 300 Days of Internet Winter in Kashmir Tell Us About Erecting a Digital Wall (The Wire)

“Education promotes individual freedom, empowerment and yields important developmental benefits” but in Kashmir getting higher education is an unusually difficult challenge:

• Decisions of Kashmir University and Student Sufferings (Kashmir Observer)

Is the pigeon named Bond? Mohammad Bond?:

• Suspected ‘Spy’ Pigeon from Pakistan Carrying ‘Coded Message’ Captured in Jammu and Kashmir (Hindustan Times)

As tension mounts between the Chinese and Indian military over Kashmir …

• Ladakh Stand-off, Kashmir, Ammunition & Training — Agenda for Army Commanders’ Meet Tomorrow (The Print)

“Debt-laden Islamabad gets Beijing funds for joint venture opposed by Delhi”:

• China Ignores India over Dam Project in Pakistani Kashmir (Nikkei Asian Review)

“Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) has announced a black-band protest across the Union territory following the recent incidents in which doctors were allegedly manhandled, harassed and not allowed to reach hospitals”:

• Police Stop CMO on Way to Work in Kashmir’s Bandipora, Doctors to Hold Protest (Hindustan Times)

Rejecting the misconceptions of his Greek and Roman predecessors, Ibn Haytham’s innovative data-based understanding influenced later scientists including “Galileo Galilei, … Johannes Kepler and … Sir Isaac Newton”:

• How a 10th-century Muslim Physicist Discovered How Humans See (TRT World)

Pakistan’s president draws a parallel between Kashmir and the Palestinian struggle, saying: “the Israeli state is doing to the Palestinians what Nazis did in the 1930s and India has taken a leaf from the Israeli playbook”:

• ‘Kashmiris, Palestinians Need Unity of Purpose’ (Anadolu Agency)

The Vatican warns of consequences of annexation …

• Holy See Reaffirms Two-State Solution to Israeli-Palestine Problem (Vatican News)

… as Israeli supporters of a two-state solution warn annexation leads to violence:

• Abbas Says Security Cooperation Will End, Raising Stakes for Israeli Annexation (NY Times)

Palestinian Authority refuses to be a bridge for Arab-Israel normalized ties, saying, “UAE did not coordinate with the state of Palestine before sending the aid”

• Palestinian Authority Rejects UAE Aid Sent Via Israeli Airport (Bloomberg)

As Trump faces rising disapproval, his campaign turns to “Iran’s talk”:

• Trump Administration Says Iran Could Exit Syria Amid Pandemic (Foreign Policy)

Presuming the lawyer growing beard to be a Muslim, police felt justified beat up the man:

• Madhya Pradesh Police Beat Up Lawyer for Being ‘Muslim’  (The Hindu)

A scholar from Clear Lake Islamic Center reminds Muslims around the globe concerned about pandemic on congregational worship and Eid prayers,of real connection with God:

• Opinion: Social Distancing is a Part of Islam’s Rich Heritage (Houston Chronicle)

The church pastor participated in the service, saying, “Yes, yes, yes, because we have the same concerns and we want to learn from you. And it is beautiful to feel that way about each other”:

• Ramadan: German Church Opens Doors for Muslim Prayers (BBC)

“I’m not the priority of any country and this is how it is when it comes to being a Jerusalemite”:

• Thousands of Palestinians Stranded Abroad Urge for Repatriation (Al-Jazeera)

The virtual meeting joint statement of the four countries: they support the initiative of the UN Secretary-General of the ceasefire and call for a ceasefire throughout Afghanistan:

• Pakistan, China, Russia and Iran Join Hands for Afghan Truce (Express-Tribune)

A week after he protested the “growing tide of Islamophobia in India, … his house was raided by the Delhi Police, which also seized the mobile phone from which he put out his social media posts”:

• Scholar, Editor and Now Sedition-accused: Delhi Minorities Panel Chief Zafarul-Islam Khan (The Print)

“India’s recent move to open up Jammu & Kashmir for settlement by outsiders is fuelling fears of another ‘Palestine in the making’ among its Muslim majority residents” …

• India’s New Domicile Law for Jammu & Kashmir Is Making Residents Anxious (Quartz)

… while another rebel leader’s death sparks more demonstrations:

• India Troops Kill Top Kashmir Rebel, Aide in Srinagar Gun Battle (Al-Jazeera)

“The arson attack killed 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh. His mother, Riham, and father, Saad, later died of their wounds. Ali’s four-year-old brother Ahmad survived with burns on his body”:

• Jewish Settler Convicted in Arson Attack that Killed Palestinians (Al-Jazeera)

Palestinians end agreements with Israel; will Jordan support them?

• Palestine abolishes All Agreements with Israel, U.S. to Protest Against West Bank Annexation (Xinhaunet)
• Jordan, Palestine Ponder Joint Suspension of Israel Agreements (Arab News)

Muslims arrive at different conclusions on how to celebrate Eid as coronavirus begins to ebb:

• Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque to Reopen After Muslim Holiday (Daily Independent)
• Coronavirus: Muslim Council Urges People to Avoid Communal Eid Celebrations (BBC)
• Senegal’s Opening Mosques During Pandemic Divides Muslim Community (VOA News)

UNRWA said it is confronted with greater need due to increase in number of registered Palestinian refugees:

• India Provides US$ 2 Million to UNRWA for the Welfare of Palestine Refugees (ReliefWeb)

“Iran denied involvement in the failed April 24 hacking” that Israel says justified its “major cyberattack on an Iranian port that caused transport chaos for days after crashing the facility’s computer system”:

• Israel Cyberattack Caused ‘Total Disarray’ at Iran Port: Report (Al-Jazeera)

US Navy draws a red line in the sea, at 100 meters:

• US Navy Issues New Guidelines After Close Iran Encounters (AP / WTOP)

“The Nakba doesn’t represent a historical event but a continuing process that began in the 1880s …” depicting the theft of Palestinian land as an ongoing but reversible process:

• Nakba Day: For Palestinians, Not Just an Historical Event (Al-Jazeera)

“If the United States, just like pirates, intends to create insecurity on international waterways, it would be taking a dangerous risk, and that will certainly not go without repercussion” –Iran’s Nour news agency:

• Iran MediaWwarn US Against Any Move on Fuel Shipment to Venezuela (Al-Jazeera)

Cyber-enterprises are being destroyed by India’s repression …

• Ecommerce Softens Lockdown Everywhere Else but Kashmir Entrepreneurs Suffer Without 4G (Deccan Chronicle)

… but heroic women fight politics, pollution, and the coronavirus to ensure an “uninterrupted vegetable supply in Srinagar”:

• Dal Lake’s ‘Wonder Women’ Playing Crisis-Managers in Lockdown (Kashmir Observer)

“Encouraged by a government eager to privatize state-owned firms, average people now have access to the market and can trade shares, earning returns they’d never see in a savings account or a certificate of deposit”:

• Iran Stock Market Booms, but Analysts Fear a Growing Bubble (AP / WTOP)

Palestinian authority welcomes the Arab and EU position against West Bank annexation; urges for action to stop Netanyahu/Trump plan:

• Saudi Stance on Palestine Issue Hailed by Top Official (Arab News)

Knowing the risk of escalation, will the GCC attempt to prevent a US-Iran war:

• Opinion: Gulf Partners Can No Longer Afford to Stay the Course with U.S. Iran Policy (NPR / WAMU)

Muslim community of Pengkalan, Malaysia, carry out charitable activities while observing social distancing:

• Some Cheer for Muslim Families (The Star)

“Hate rhetoric in politics, media, and online forums have targeted Muslims and, many believe has put them squarely at risk.”:

• ‘I Thought We Were Going to Die.’ Muslim Woman Recounts SUV Attack in Nutley (North Jersey)

Muslims in Europe struggle to hold traditional burials:

• Muslim Burials in Europe Strained by Virus Lockdowns Abroad (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

One of “the 12 million people who had been displaced and forced to leave their homes overnight,” Mammo’s story demonstrates the malicious use of political borders to deny people their right to return home:

• ‘Why Can’t a Muslim Woman Choose India as Her Home?’ (The Wire)

As Palestinian seek to commemorate the nakba, that catastrophe of their lost homeland, amidst the Covid-19 crisis …

• Palestinians Mark 72 years of the Nakba (TRT World)
• Palestinians Look to a Digital Future to Connect With Their Past (Reuters)

… Iran’s bill to establish an embassy in Jerusalem emphasizes that the “historical and integrated land of Palestine belongs to the original Palestinian people, including Muslims, Christian, and Jews” …

• Iran Progresses Anti-Israel Bill, Plans to Establish Embassy in Jerusalem (Jerusalem Post)

… whereas the 19th century Zionist slogan of “a land without people for people without land” ignored the fact that 88% of the population were not Jews” …

• Palestinians Pay the Price for Israel’s Slavery to the Memory of the Holocaust (Haaretz)

… and now as the EU warns against advancing West Bank annexation, some say Pompeo may urge caution:

• On Annexation, a Green Light Turns Yellow, Pompeo’s Visit to Israel Signals (NY Times)

Trump’s economic pressure on Iran could backfire on US goals:

• Was Leaving the Iran Deal a Good Idea? (GZERO)
• Iran’s Stock Market: Growth in the Midst of a Recession? (Atlantic Council)

“With all five local mosques in the region closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, local congregants have had to find other ways to honor the holiday”:

• Muslim Community Marking Ramadan with Weekly Food Drives (The Monitor)

“A right-wing lawmaker in Italy was reprimanded Wednesday after he called a young Italian woman who converted to Islam while being held hostage in Somalia a ‘neo-terrorist'”:

• Bigotry Mars Return of Italy Hostage Who Converted to Islam (AP)

Hackers strike …

Group Hacks Telangana Govt Website to Protest Jammu & Kashmir Curbs (Indian Express)

… as India refuses to letup on oppression during the pandemic:

• Supreme Court Verdict on 4G in Jammu and Kashmir Undermines the Rule of Law (The Wire)
• Soldiers Kill Man in Kashmir, Triggering Anti-India Clashes (Al-Jazeera)
• Kashmir: Family of Civilian Killed in CRPF Firing Says He Was ‘Murdered Without Any Provocation’ (Scroll)

The University of Michigan partnered with ACCESS to conduct a community health outreach for Muslims fasting Ramadan using culturally specific message:

• Program Aims to Help the Muslim Community Quit Smoking During Ramadan (Michigan Medicine)

Thinking like a state: Fined if you do (cover for religious reasons) and fined if you don’t (cover because the government orders it):

• France Mandates Masks to Control the Coronavirus. Burqas Remain Banned (Washington Post)

On the importance of highlighting “stories of Muslim contribution [to the fight against fascism] to break the far-right myth that Islam is foreign to the European countries and elsewhere”:

• Muslim Contributions to the Soviet And Allied Victory over Nazi Germany (TRT World)

The dictator gives himself and security agencies even more powers on the pretext of preventing the spread of covid-19:

• As Coronavirus Spreads in Egypt, Sissi Sees Opportunity to Tighten His Grip (Washington Post)

On a formal technicality, the ICC rejects Australia request made at Israel’s behest over a jurisdictional technicality, having ruled that on substance there is sufficient evidence of war crimes in the West Bank:

• Australian Government Tells ICC It Should Not Investigate Alleged War Crimes in Palestine (The Guardian)

Walid Fitaihi modernized the Saudi medical system; now “he and seven members of his family, all U.S. citizens, are banned from leaving Saudi Arabia, and their Saudi assets are frozen”:

• A Lesson from a Saudi Doctor (Washington Post)

Dr. Abdul Pathan of Williamsburg Islamic Center delineates the Islamic universal guidelines during difficult times like the corona virus:

• The Teaching of Islam in Times of Crisis (NorthcentralPA)

With the threat the coronavirus poses to prisoners’ lives, an Iranian spokesman hopes “the U.S. government will eventually prefer lives to politics,” but a US spokesman denies any offer has been made:

• Iran Seeks Unconditional Talks on Prisoner Swap (Newsclicks)

“Since 9/11 educators report that the topic of Islam has been difficult to teach [due in part to] their unfamiliarity with the Islamic faith and unfamiliarity with the legalities involved with teaching about religion”:

• Challenging Islamophobia in Public Schools (IRD Project)

An Iraqi regional officer observes that US and Saudi officials “think they’ve got their man. They’re celebrating. When will they ever understand Iraq?”

• Can Iraq’s New PM, and the Region, Escape Suleimani’s Long Shadow? (The Guardian)

The clock may be running out on tolerance of anti-Muslim bigotry …

• Scottsdale Community College Apologizes After ‘Inappropriate’ Questions About Islam Surface on Quiz (azcentral)
• Are The Arab Perceptions About India Changing? (Kashmir Observer)
• First Arab World, Now Canada Saying Enough is Enough to Muslim-Hating Overseas Indians (The Print)

… except in India:

• Indians Must Stop Spreading Anti-Muslim Fake News on WhatsApp (Nikkei Asian Review)
• Hindutva’s Extremist Twitterati Now Target Modi for Muslim Appeasement (The Hindu)

Not content to throw those who resist the occupation into prison, Israel now aims to starve their families …

• Palestinians Say They Will Defy Israeli Order in Prisoner Payments Dispute (Reuters)

… while the West Bank village of Kufr Aqab, within the Israeli-drawn municipal boundary and cut off from Palestinian Authority control. local volunteers enforce the COVID-19 quarantine:

• Palestinians Fear a Coronavirus Outbreak in Jerusalem’s ‘No Man’s Land’ (LA Times)

Palestine’s justice minister says the US recognition of the occupier’s sovereignty over occupied land is a war crime:

• Palestine Says to Sue U.S. for Supporting Israel’s Plans to Annex Palestinian lands (Xinhua)

Twenty Muslim organizations from Irving continue a thirteen year tradition of hosting iftar dinner ceremony by honoring first responders in a virtual ceremony while volunteers deliver dinner:

• Irving’s Muslim Community Distributing 1,500 Meals to Medical, School and Police Staff (Dallas Morning News)

As India’s repression in Kashmir continues …

• Kashmir Police Bury Slain Rebels, Won’t Hand over Bodies (Al-Jazeera)
• Kashmir Clashes Continue for Third Day over Killing of Top Rebel (Al-Jazeera)

… some Indians suffering from the COVID-19 lockdown are acquiring a empathy for the besieged Kashmiris:

• Is Pandemic Changing Perceptions About Political Lockdown in Kashmir? (Kashmir Observer)

“Based on the accounts of survivors and the marks on the bodies of the victims, they were first lashed with wire cables by the Iranian border guards and then forced at gunpoint to jump into the river”:

• Bodies of ‘Beaten and Tortured’ Afghans Recovered at Iran Border (Al-Jazeera)

“Instead of prosecuting those who exercised their right to free expression and peaceful assembly, the … authorities should conduct a transparent investigation … to find out exactly what happened in this tragedy”:

• Iran: Prosecutions for Protests About Plane-Downing (Human Rights Watch)

Protesting forced cremation, the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama argues “that more than 180 countries in line with the guidelines of the World Health Organisation have allowed burials for Muslims who die of COVID-19”:

• Sri Lankan Muslims Urge Govt For Burial For COVID-19 Victims (Kashmir Observer)

Rejecting the Constitution’s limitation of war making power to Congress, Trump denies his “constitutional authority to use military force [is] limited to defending the United States and its forces against imminent attack”:

• Trump Vetoes Measure to Restrain His Actions Against Iran, Calls It ‘Insulting’ to the Presidency (NBC News)

Iran starts exporting home-produced COVID-19 diagnostic kits that can accurately identify if someone was exposed to the COVID-19 to the West …

• Iran Says It Sent First Exports of Antibody Test Kits to Germany (Bloomberg)

… even as Pompeo hopes UNSC will renew the expiring arms embargo on Iran despite the likelihood of a Russian or Chinese veto and the failure of the policy, which is exacerbated by the Covid crisis:

• Hundreds of Lawmakers Urge Pompeo to Take ‘Increased Diplomatic Action’ to Renew Iran Arms Embargo (The Hill)
• Trump and Pompeo May Finally Succeed in Destroying the Iran Deal, but that Won’t Get Them Success with Iran (Business Insider)
• The Covid-19 Crisis Could Strengthen Iran’s ‘Invisible Government’ (Washington Post)

Iran’s ministry of Industry issues license for bitcoin mining farm with 600 miners that will offer services in the Middle East:

• Iran Licenses $7.3 Million Bitcoin Mining Enterprise, Move Aimed at Easing U.S. Sanctions (Bitcoin News)

Palestinians call Israeli attempt to control the Hebron mosque “a violation of existing agreements and UNESCO resolutions … carried out with the support and encouragement of the US administration” …

• Palestinians Reject Israeli Attempts to Control Hebron Mosque (Arab News)

… but then, “the Palestine-Israel war was never one between two national movements contesting equally over the same land but was always a “settler colonial conquest” by Europe-based Zionists”:

• The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine by Rashid Khalidi Review – Conquest and Resistance (The Guardian)

Abu al Qasim al Zahrawi, pioneer of modern surgery and the first compiler of illustrated medical encyclopedia, whose books were used in European universities for over five centuries, “is not given enough credit”:

• How a 10th-Century Muslim Surgeon Revolutionised Surgical Procedures (TRT World)

“In Indian-occupied Kashmir, there is one soldier for every nine people but only one ventilator for every 71,000 people, and one doctor for every 3,900 people” …

• India Uses Coronavirus Pandemic to Exploit Human Rights in Kashmir (The Conversation)

… and new demonstrations have broken out after Indian troops kill a “popular mathematics teacher” turned rebel leader:

• Top Kashmir Rebel Leader Killed as India Claims Major Success (The Diplomat)

“Boats full of Muslim minority Rohingya refugees are being pushed back by Malaysia, in part, the government says, over fears of the coronavirus virus”:

• COVID-19 Pandemic Further Alienates Muslim Minority Rohingya (NPR)

Immigration hardliner Ken Cuccinelli denies Iran’s claims that a deal is in the works for the release of Michael White in Iran and claims the U.S. has been trying to deport Sirous Asgari “for months”:

• US Eyes Deal to Free American in Iran (Progressive Farmer)

To maintain the sense of community and charity of the month of Ramadan during stay-at-home order, the Muslim community of Greater Rockford is offering daily hot meal for iftar regardless of faith:

• Rockford Muslim Association Provides Food During Pandemic (Rockford Register Star)