Minaret of Freedom Weblog

As the Eid approaches, The IDF and the settlers continue their reign of violence:

• Israeli Forces Raid Al-Aqsa Mosque, over 40 Palestinians Injured (Aljazeera)
• Deadly West Bank Attacks Follow Israeli Raid on Al-Aqsa (Aljazeera)
• Israeli Forces Raid Homes, Detain Seven Palestinians in Salfit, Attack Residents (WAFA)

Despite the absurdity of the excuse that the beach was exclusively used by militants, the Court refuses investigation into the death of pre-teens playing football:

• Israeli Supreme Court Rejects New Probe into Killing of Boys on Gaza Beach (Palestine Chronicle)
• Palestinians Slam Israeli Rejection of Appeal over Gaza Killings (Aljazeera)

Ahmad and his friends refuse to allow the Israeli wall prevent their religious observance:

• Over the Wall: One Palestinian’s Journey to Al-Aqsa Mosque (Aljazeera)

A women’s group is demanding that “demanded that the photos be replaced by the use of biometric information, such as fingerprints”:

• Group of Bangladeshi Muslim Women Demands End to ID Photo Requirement (VOA)

The complaint alleging “war crimes against journalists … could lead to a formal investigation and prosecution”:

• Palestine: ICC Case Filed over Systematic Targeting of Palestinian Journalists (International Federation of Journalists)

“Israel remains America’s favorite first amendment blindspot” — The Harvard Crimson Editorial Board …

• In Support of Boycott, Divest, Sanction and a Free Palestine (Harvard Crimson)

… and Germany’s re-entry point to suppression of speech

• Germany: Berlin temporarily bans pro-Palestine protests citing ‘public interest’ (Middle East Eye)

A mosque that “appeals to women who are dissatisfied with mainstream American mosques and eager to take on more central roles in their religious development”:

• American Muslim Women are Finding a Unique Religious Space at a Women-only Mosque in Los Angeles (AP / Bangor Daily News)

Iran blames the move on “the lack of attention shown by the International Atomic Energy Agency for Israeli ‘vicious operations’ against Iran’s nuclear facilities”:

• Iran: ‘Terrorist Attacks’ on Nuclear Facilities Behind Move of Centrifuge Machines (Reuters)

“Israel has had six months to substantiate its accusations and it has failed to deliver”:

• Israel/Palestine: UN Experts Call on Governments to Resume Funding for Six Palestinian CSOs Designated by Israel as ‘Terrorist Organisations’ (UN)

Why should Muslim and Christian Dalits be denied constitutional protection granted to Buddhist and Sikh dalits?

• The Case for Extending Constitutional Protections to Muslim and Christian Dalits (Indian Express)

His complains that “in the absence of any member of his family or a lawyer” the boy is sleepless from “long interrogation after midnight”:

• Palestinians Demonstrate Outside Ofer Prison to Protest Trial of 14-Year-Old Boy (Palestine Chronicle)

“Nearly three-quarters of registered Muslim Americans voted in 2020, according to a new report”:

• Muslim Voter Turnout Grew in 2020 (Politico)

The dossier “reminded her of growing up in East Germany (GDR) before the fall of the Berlin Wall during which both she and her mother were interrogated”:

• Is Germany Paying for the Surveillance of Palestinians and Their Supporters? (Middle East Eye)

“There are currently 579 Palestinians in administrative detention”:

• Number of Palestinians in Detention Without Trial in Israel Hits 5-year High (Haaretz)

“She’s keeping the peace while keeping her faith, stripping away stereotypes, hoping her story will help us all understand what we’ve never seen a little better”:

• Keeping the Peace While Keeping Her Faith, Muslim Officer Breaking Barriers (WGN)

“The emerging patchwork of laws and policies codifying the IHRA definition may produce a second dispossession—of the right to speak about Israel’s violence at all”:

• Three States Push to Curb Pro-Palestine Activism (Jewish Currents)

“Boxing fans see Tina Rahimi in her hijab and assume she’s an easybeat. It’s proving a dangerous assumption”:

• Australia’s First Muslim Female Boxer to Compete at Commonwealth Games (Women’s Agenda)

In a rare change of pace the AP covers a 19-year-old’s death at the hands of the Israeli bureaucracy, but neglects to mention that her tragedy is just one of thousands:

• Associated Press Caught Whitewashing a Palestinian Toddler’s Death (Israel-Palestine News)

Implying that raping Muslim women is a religious obligation, Das told the media “I have no guilt for what I said”:

• ‘Ready to Go to…’: Bajrang Muni Das, Who Gave Rape Threats to Muslim Women, After Getting Bail (Hindustan Times)

A feminist social activist and educational reformer has become a Muslim and founded the Women’s Liberation Party to “break … stereotypes and change the status of women in Tamil Nadu”:

• Tamil Motivational Speaker Sabarimala Converts to Islam After Reading Quran (Siasat Daily)

As one man repeatedly hurled “racially abusive terms” at the English frontline paramedic, no one in the workplace objected and “others joined in”:

• Muslim Paramedic Says Islamophobia Faced Whilst Saving Lives Can ‘Happen Every Day’ (Birmingham Mail)

Notwithstanding communal clashes, there are Indian Muslims using Ramadan as a time to help their Hindu neighbors:

• UP: Muslim Family Offers Home for Hindu Girl’s Marriage (Indian Express)
• Mysuru: Amid Ramadan, Muslim Neighbours Carry Out Last Rites of Hindu Woman (Hindustan Times)

Another sign of deteriorating Iranian-Taliban relations:

• Iran Closes Afghan Border Crossing After Skirmishes with Taliban (Middle East Monitor)

Israeli violence continues:

• Clashes Between Israeli Police and Palestinians Continue at the Al-Aqsa Mosque (NPR)
• Palestinian Wounded at Al-Aqsa Compound Slips into Coma (Aljazeera)
• Settler Shoots and Wounds 3 Palestinians near Hebron – Report (Times of Israel)

“Police also fired rubber bullets from a close range at a group of journalists documenting the clashes, the witnesses said,” shooting one photographer “in the throat”:

• Al-Aqsa: At Least 75 Palestinians Injured as Israel Storms Mosque (New Arab)

In France, “laicité” poses the greatest threat to “Liberté, égalité, fraternité”:

• A Vitriolic Election Campaign Marked by Anti-Islam Narratives Has Left Many French Muslims Feeling Marginalized (CNN)

An organizer pushed back on the attempt to conflate the anti-apartheid event with antisemitism by pointing out their Jewish members and Jewish speakers”:

• Palestine Solidarity Committee Hosts Annual Israeli Apartheid Week, Drawing Backlash from Harvard Hillel (The Crimson)

“Authorities have defended the demolitions by … claiming the [destroyed] houses and shops were built illegally on public land. But [victims] say only Muslim homes have been targeted”:

• His House Was Demolished Because He Is Muslim, He Says (CNN)

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor warns that Deutsche Welle’s firing of Muslim journalists “will only open the door wide to spreading the purge throughout Germany’s media:

• Anti-Muslim Racism in German Media Organisations, Explained (TRT World)

India, which occupies more of Jammu and Kashmir than Pakistan, dares to call Omar’s visit to the Pakistani part a violation of India’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty”:

• US Congresswoman Visits Pakistani Part of Disputed Kashmir, Draws India’s Ire (Reuters)

The U.N. Special Rapporteur says there is no comparable situation in the world today:

• The International Human Rights Community and Israeli Crimes of Apartheid (Arab Center)

“The Holy Quran has over 1,100 verses touching upon the creation of the universe, the alignment of the stars and other [astronomical] ideas”:

• Al Battani: the 9th-century Muslim Star of Astronomy (TRT World)

There is “a shift in the dynamics of militancy in the West Bank, as armed factions play less of a role and individual grievances trump ideology”:

• Palestinian Lone Attackers Trump Factions: Analysts (Al-Monitor)

As many predicted, the Israeli attacks on Muslim worshippers has provoked a rocket attack from Gaza which has given Israel an excuse to pound Gaza with airstrikes:

• Confrontation in Gaza: New Missile Attacks from Israel on Palestine (as)

The State Investigation Agency has threatened the author of a 2011 opinion piece favoring Kashmiri independence with “up to seven years imprisonment”:

• Indian Authorities Raid The Kashmir Walla, Arrest Contributor over 2011 Article (Committee to Protect Journalists)

“The United States has cautioned that it would step up pressure on countries that fail to sanction Russia but has yet to single out Israel”:

• Israel’s Ukraine Conundrum May Have Implications for Gulf States (Middle East Soccer / Substack)

Such rulings are rare in a land where “judges and courts have often delayed decisions in lynching cases out of fear of retribution”:

• Lynching of Sri Lankan Manager by Pakistani Mob Was Anti-Islam, Court Says (Reuters)

An RSS supporter declaims, “They are only leaving the villages right now, there will soon be a day when they leave the nation. … We will now kill them”:

• Inspired by ‘Kashmir Files’, Hindutva Workers Threaten to Remove Muslims From Roorkee Village (The Wire)

One scene in the new movie “offers a philosophical dialogue of rare and giddy delight—about law and obedience and their effect on the inner life”:

• “Hit the Road,” Reviewed: A Mysterious and Thrilling Revelation from Iran (New Yorker)

“Besides the spiritual deprivation, the closure severely dented the country’s gross domestic product and pinched traders … who depended on the pilgrims”:

• As COVID-19 Shutdown Lifts, Mecca’s Pilgrims Bring Islam’s Holiest City Back to Life (Religion News Service)

Prisoners include 530 held without charge or trial, 160 children, 32 women, 549 serving life sentences, and 499 are serving a sentence exceeding 20 years”:

• Infographic: How Many Palestinians Are Imprisoned by Israel? (Aljazeera)

“Any use of subsidized electricity intended for households, industrial, agricultural, and commercial subscribers for mining cryptocurrency is prohibited”:

• New Penalties for Illegal Cryptocurrency Mining in Iran (Bitcoin.com)

Is Israel seeking to provoke another war on Gaza, as it did last year?

• Raid on Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque Raises Fear of New Conflict (Aljazeera / MSN)
• Israel Killed Five Times as Many Palestinians in 2022 than It Killed in the Same Period in 2021 (Reliefweb)

Hussain “plans on implementing the Marrakesh Declaration, which … includes seeking to end the use of blasphemy laws, apostasy laws”:

• First Muslim Religious Freedom Ambassador Lays Out US Agenda (abc News)

The BJP has adopted the Israeli tactic of punishing the families of individuals accused of throwing stones:

• Muslim Community to Move High Court Against BJP Govt.’s ‘Selective’ Demolition Drive Post-violence in Khargon (The Hindu)

A truce and the resignation of Yemen’s “remote and ineffective president” provide cautious cause for hope:

• A Ramadan Truce in Yemen Offers Civilians Respite, but No Certainty (Washington Post)

A 14 year old boy and a blind mother of six are among the victims of Israeli raids:

• Palestine Death Toll Rises to Five in Israeli-occupied West Bank (Aljazeera)

“Trump officials regularly shielded bin Salman and others from justifiable condemnation for their involvement in the Khashoggi murder and the destructive war in Yemen, despite bipartisan rebuke over both”:

• Jared Kushner’s Private Equity Firm Receives a $2 Billion Investment from a Fund Led by the Saudi Crown Prince (National Interest)

The site of “the ancient city of Anthedon, Gaza’s first known seaport, inhabited from 800 BCE to 1100 CE … features Greek, Roman, Hellenistic, Byzantine, and early Islamic building and antiquities”:

• Forensic Architecture Finds Israeli Occupation Is Destroying Major Palestinian Archeological Site (Hyperallergic)

“With another runoff between Macron and Le Pen looming, France’s obsession with Islam continues to disenfranchise voters and undermine the true separation of church and state”:

• The French Culture War over Islam Shows No Sign of Abating (Aljazeera)

Renowned for his “work on civil society, nationalism, authoritarianism, and democracy,” Bishara has written a “paradigm-shifting … new book … pumps fresh blood into the history-political literature on Palestine“:

• Azmi Bishara’s Palestine Matters of Truth and Justice: An Unflinching Account of the Palestinian Quest for Equality and Freedom (New Arab)

“[T]he reclusive Taliban leader, who carries the religious title of ‘Commander of the Faithful,’ has ignored repeated calls — even from many Afghan Islamic clerics — to reconsider his decision”:

• Muslim Scholars, Activists: Taliban Ban on Girls’ Education Not Justified (VoA)

“Three years after trade was halted across the ‘Line of Control’ between India and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the impact is being felt by thousands of villagers in remote areas who had depended on free trade”:

• Kashmir: Businesses Call for Reopening Cross-border Trade with Pakistan (Deutsche Welle)

The core issues have been resolved, but Biden prefers to let Iran go nuclear rather than abandoning a peripheral Trump policy:

• Iran, the US, and the Nuclear Deal: Biden’s Chance to Remove Trump’s Poison Pill (European Council on Foreign Affairs)
• US Official: Biden Won’t Remove Iran’s IRGC from Terror Blacklist to Save Nuclear Deal (CBN)

Critics of the American invasion of Iraq warned that it would lead to Iran “extending its influence over Baghdad.” A award-winning Lebanese journalist’s new book explains precisely how this came to pass:

• ‘Militia State’ Book Review: Immaculately Researched Account of Iran’s Influence on Iraq (The National)

A Palestinian from Jerusalem finds himself “living in a surveillance society, not that different from the dystopian science fiction books and films” …

• Under Israeli Surveillance: Living in Dystopia, in Palestine (Aljazeera)

.. while the Israel continues its frequently fatal rampage of violence:

• Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian in Nablus as Raids Continue (Aljazeera)
• Israeli Forces Injure Three Palestinians at a Tulkarm University Campus, One Shot in the Head (WAFA)

Feminism “struggles for a woman’s right to be whatever she wants, but if she decides to be Muslim and wears her (Islamic) garments, she’s put aside and oppressed by those (feminist) women”:

• Muslim Women in Latin America Becoming Online Influencers (Arab News)

“[P]olicemen severely thrashed the women present in the house and took all the valuables. There were no male members present at that time”:

• Khargone: Cops Beat Up 70-yr-old Muslim Woman After Barging into Her House (Siasat)

The National Commission of Women sought the priest’s arrest after his his arrest “after he made his shocking threats at a religious procession in presence of the police”:

• UP Hatemonger Threatened Muslim Women With Rape, Arrested After 11 Days (NDTV)

“The CRA alleges that MAC activities, such religious Eid celebrations, are not religious but rather social. Imagine an audit concluding that a Christian charity could not hold a Christmas party”:

• Muslim Association of Canada launches Charter Challenge to Stand Up Against Islamophobia in Canada Revenue Agency Practices and Audit (NW / Yahoo)

It is not the imams, but “the administrators and executive leadership, all of them male, that created obstacles and were the most resistant to change”:

• Despite No Lockdown, Muslim Women Continue to Be Locked Out from Mosques this Ramadan (New Arab)

The unarmed widowed mother of six was among those killed in the wake of Bennett’s grant of “full freedom of action” to the IDF …

• Israeli Forces Kill Four Palestinians in 24 Hours as West Bank Violence Surges (Middle East Eye)

… provoking a Palestinian general strike:

• Bethlehem Stages General Strike in Mourning of Four Palestinians Killed by Israeli Forces (Quds News Network)

Imran Khan’s ploy to avoid a no-confidence vote failed, but he is already planning a comeback:

• Imran Khan Has Been Ousted as Pakistan’s Prime Minister (NPR)
• Imran Khan Supporters Point Finger over Downfall (BBC)
• Khan Lawmakers Quit en Masse as Pakistan Parliament Elects Sharif PM (Reuters)

The double standard of suspending Russia raises questions about other human rights violators on the HRC; not just China, but the UAE, and Saudi Arabia:

• Applying Double Standards in Ukraine Is a Risky Business (Middle East Soccer / Substack)

A seven year old video of the Islamic State teaching children how to use weapons is falsely used as evidence that Indian madrassas are recruiting children for a rebellion:

• No, This Video Of Muslim Children Being Trained To Use Guns Is Not From Indian Madrasas (The Logical Indian)

Israel accuses Palestinians of vandalizing a tomb in which some believe the prophet Yusuf (Joseph) is buried:

• Palestinians Attack Biblical Figure Joseph’s Tomb in West Bank (BBC)

Wallajah “serves as a pointed example of how decades of war, diplomatic agreements, Israeli settlement-building, laws and regulations have carved up the West Bank and whittled away at territory under Palestinian control”:

• In a Village Divided, Palestinians See Their Hold on Territory Eroding (Indian Express)

Human Rights Watch says Kuwait’s deportation of the Muslim Brotherhood members Egypt has  branded as “terrorists” was a violation of “Kuwait’s obligations under international law”:

• Egypt: Imprisonments for 14 Muslim Brotherhood Leaders (Middle East Monitor)

According to media reports, “police officials present at the site did not intervene to” stop the assault:

• Carts Overturned, Muslim Fruit Sellers Assaulted Outside Hanuman Temple in Karnataka (India Today)

The Badi Sangat Ashram priest bragged that for each Hindu girl “duped” into “love jihad” he would “abduct [ten Muslim girls] in broad daylight”:

• Mahant Bajrang Muni Udasin, Who Repeatedly Called for Rape of Muslim Women, Is a Serial Offender (The Wire)

“Everyone was saying we support you and they are holding their signs of support and encouragement. I could have cried at the protest, it was just so much” — Muslim girl whose teacher called her a liar for claiming that she needed to pray at a certain time:

• Hundreds of UTHS Students Protest After Alleged Exchange Between Muslim Student and Teacher (KWQC)

Investigators say that dozens of apps including Al-Moazin and Qibla Compass used “the most privacy-invasive software development kit they had seen in six years of examining mobile apps”:

• Google Removes Muslim Prayer Apps Containing Hidden Software, Report Says (Middle East Eye)

“To truly achieve equity, we must meet the needs of our diverse population and also respect their major holidays” — Gwinnett school board chair Tarece Johnson:

• Students Petition Georgia School District for Muslim Holiday (U.S. News)

The Charter of Makkah, “written, studied, edited and approved by over a thousand Muslim scholars from almost every sect of Islam” expresses “pan-Islamic … principles which support and promote anti-extremism, religious and cultural diversity”:

• Former Saudi Justice Minister, Head of Muslim World League Wants Interfaith Peace ‘Through Real World Action’ (Fox News)

In Israel, journalism is a crime:

• Israel Charges Palestinian Journalists with Incitement — for Doing Their Jobs (The Intercept)

As Iran increases its cooperation with IAEA,  the U.S. and Israel must decide whether they more concerned about preventing an Iranian nuke or punishing Iranians:

• Iran Moves Machines for Making Centrifuge Parts to Natanz -UN Nuclear Watchdog (Reuters / Yahoo)
• Iran Nuclear Chief Says Tehran Has Given IAEA Documents on Outstanding Issues (Reuters)
• The Potential Side Benefits of a Revived JCPOA for Middle East Stability (Atlantic Council)
• The Little Iran Nuclear Deal that Couldn’t (Foreign Policy)
• For Israel, New Iran Deal Perhaps Better than No Deal at All (Al-Monitor)
• Will Political Uncertainty in Israel Lead to Iran Conflict? – Analysis (Jerusalem Post)

McGill University accelerates its repression of student speech by threatening to terminate the status of a student group that opposes Israeli apartheid:

• McGill Threatens to Sanction Student Union over Pro-Palestine Policy (Global News)

The order to allow fasters to leave work an hour early was withdrawn “after objections from the civic agency’s vice-chairman and BJP leader Satish Upadhyay who told officials that the relaxation on grounds of religion was ‘unsecular'”:

• NDMC Allowed Muslim Employees Leave Early During Ramzan, Scraps Order in 24 Hrs (Hindustan Times)

“Last year, Israeli soldiers stormed the Aqsa, kicking out worshipers, throwing tear gas, and committing acts of violence; these events at the Aqsa during Ramadan led to a violent war in Gaza”:

• During Ramadan, Israel Seems to Relish Attacking Palestinians (Jacobin)

How symbol of pious modesty has “been coopted into a political symbol”:

• Muslim Women and the Politics of the Headscarf (JSTOR)

“The move ‘intends to prevent Ghaith from being in touch with Palestinian officials’, the Palestinian Wafa news agency said”:

• Israel Extends Palestinian Governor of Jerusalem’s West Bank Ban (New Arab)

Zelensky says that an “[a]bsolutely liberal, European” Ukraine has become impossible, and that he will “will not be surprised if we have representatives of the Armed Forces or the National Guard in cinemas, supermarkets, and people with weapons” :

• Russia-Ukraine War: Zelensky Says ‘Big Israel’ a Model for Post-war Ukraine (Middle East Eye)