Minaret of Freedom Weblog

The U.S. assertions that “it was ‘likely’ Abu Akleh was killed by unintentional Israeli fire,” angers Palestinians by dismissing Israeli intentions and angers Israelis for hinting that they are culpable in any way:

• Israel, Palestinians Privately Protested to U.S. over Statement on Abu Akleh Killing (Axios)

“News outlets reported the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy … and other foreigners faced ‘spying’ charges after visiting various forbidden zones in the country while the Guard was carrying out missile tests”:

• Iranian TV: Revolutionary Guard Accuses Diplomats of Spying (AP)

Tired of being called “foreigners,” speakers of local language are easy marks for BJP promises …

• ‘Natives’ vs Bengali-speaking ‘Miyas’: Why Assam Govt Has Named 5 Muslim Groups as Indigenous (The Print)

… despite the fact that not one of the almost 400 BJP ministers is Muslim:

• India Ruling Party Has No Muslim MP for the First Time in History (Aljazeera)

The EU has awarded candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova, less than 4 months after Ukraine applied, but six years after Bosnia’s application Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to wait:

• Bosnia’s Membership Bid Exposes the EU’s Muslim Bias (TRT World)

Zionists are accused of violating the “First do no harm” clause in the Hippocratic Oath:

• Israel Medical Association Aiding Torture of a Palestinians, Rights Group Says (Middle East Monitor)

Offering tax money “to combat discrimination against atheists” could “be viewed as an attempt by ‘a foreign power designed to shatter local religious and cultural relationships'” and is opposed by both CAIR and some Republicans:

• Muslim Group Challenges US Program for Promoting Atheism in Islamic Countries (Morocco World News)

After two years in which “Only a few thousand Saudi citizens and residents attended the annual pilgrimage” a million pilgrims are expected this year from around the world (half pre-Covid levels):

• Muslim Pilgrims Flock to Mecca for First Post-pandemic Haj (Reuters)

The South African council ruled homosexual activity to be against Islamic law but warned Muslims to “hate the sin not the sinner” …

• Muslim Judicial Council Issues ‘Short Fatwa’ Against Gays (Islam on Line)

… while “[a]ccording to a 2008 British WikiLeaks diplomatic cable, Iran has executed between 4,000 to 6,000 gays and lesbians since the nation’s Islamic revolution in 1979”:

• Iran Just Executed a Gay Man. He May Be the Third So Far This Year (LGBQT Nation)

“Terms that have become fashionable such as Islamism and non-violent extremism constitute in [the author’s] mind part of the vocabulary developed to force Muslims into a cultural straight jacket”:

• The Fate of Abraham: Why the West Is Wrong About Islam (New Books Network)

“[T]rucks laden with perishable fruits are stopped along the highway due to ‘security reasons’ … causing huge losses to the fruit industry”:

• Fruit Traders, Growers Decry Stoppage of Fruit Trucks on Kashmir Highway (Deccan Herald)

“Rights groups say Israel has a poor record investigating shootings of Palestinians by its troops”:

• Palestinians Give Bullet that Killed Al Jazeera Journalist to U.S. Forensic Experts (PBS)

The Muslim who murdered a tailor in Udaipur … to avenge an alleged insult to the Prophet, was described by a local [BJP] and [RSS] leader as a ‘dedicated worker of the BJP’ in a Facebook post less than two years ago”:

• As Photos Emerge of Udaipur Killer’s Links to BJP Leaders, Party Moves to Damage Control Mode (The Wire)

An undocumented laborer who worked for Israelis, sleeping in the fields, returning home to his family every week or two, fits Israel’s definition of a terrorist:

• The Death of a Palestinian Laborer, or as Israel Refers to Him: A Terrorist (Haaretz)

“[S]he was scheduled to travel to Paris from New Delhi on Saturday for a book launch and photography exhibition as one of the 10 winners of the Serendipity Arles Grant 2020”:

• Pulitzer Winner Kashmir Journalist Says Barred from Flying Abroad (Aljazeera)

Raiding “targeting populated Palestinian communities for arrests or searches. The practice, mostly carried out at nighttime, has become a routine under Israeli military regime” …

• Occupation Forces Detain 11 Palestinians in Ramallah (Wafa)

… as has demolishing residences …

• Israeli Occupation Forces Raid Masafer Yatta Community, Demolish a Residence Displacing 15 People (Wafa)

… and settler attacks that now have sent a 70-year-old man to the hospital …

• Jewish Settlers Brutally Assault Palestinian Elderly near Tulkarm (Palestine Chronicle)

… and medical neglect of detainees that has now claimed the life of a 68 year-old woman …

• Palestinians Accuse Israel Prison of Medical Neglect After Death of Elderly Detainee (Middle East Eye)

… and the murder of teenagers with a “death toll [of] 28 of Palestinians killed in Jenin by Israeli forces this year”:

• Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Teenager During Jenin Raid (Middle East Eye)

… yet a world horrified by Russian actions in the Ukraine pays no attention …

• Hypocrisy and Double Standards: The FIFA Message to Palestine, the World (Palestine Chronicle)

… rather, an NGO monitoring allegedly “neutral” social networks has documented 273 cases of “reference to occupation, violence and various other forms of injustices executed by Israeli authorities and forces” censored:

• Social Media Giants Suppressed Pro-Palestinian Content Hundreds of Times: NGO (New Arab)

In practice, “if you see something say something” is more like “if you see a Muslim or Arab going about their daily life, turn them in”:

• When ‘If You See Something, Say Something’ Goes Wrong: Unfounded Reports of Suspicious Activity Overwhelmingly Target Arabs, Muslims Doing Routine Activities, New Report Shows (CBS News)

Arrested on no charge whatsoever, tortured, beaten, “deprived of food and water, and prevented from praying” Asadullah Haroon Gul is released after fifteen years:

• Afghan National Freed from Guantanamo Bay After 15 Years (abc News)

“The suspension has been lifted unconditionally and with immediate effect,” but Israel succeeded in depriving the human rights groups of one year of EU funds:

• ‘Unfounded Allegations’: EU Resumes Funding of Palestinian NGOs (Aljazeera)

U.S. Senators express concern over allegations of persecution of Christians even as 21 Muslim children are rescued from kidnapping and forced conversion by “the Evangelical Church Winning All”:

• MURIC Demands Probe of 21 Muslim Kids Rescued from Plateau Church (Pulse)

When the Prophet (pbuh) was urged to inflict physical harm on a man who had insulted him, he refused, explaining, “‘If I were to do that, Allah will not forgive me on the day of [Judgment], even though I am his Messenger”:

• Muslim Women’s Forum Condemns Heinous Crime Committed in Udaipur (Siasat)

Sandeep complains that authorities want to ban factual films that contradict “films peddling [BJP] propaganda”:

• Malayali Filmmaker’s Work on Kashmir Restricted by YouTube on Indian Govt’s Request (The News Minute)

The destruction of a Palestinian cemetery in Jerusalem reminds Ilanma Hammerman of her mother’s birthplace in Poland “where even the remnants of ancestors’ headstones can no longer be found”:

• A Tale of Two Demolished Cemeteries, One Jewish and One Muslim (Haaretz)

A doubling in the rate “in executions has coincided with a series of nationwide protests over Iran’s economic collapse and the soaring price of basic food staples such as bread”:

• Executions in Iran Soar in Protest Crackdown (Arab News)

The resolution recognizing Israeli apartheid passed 28-3 and the vote to “designate a Nakba remembrance day within their calendars” was 31-0:

• US Presbyterian Church Declares Israel ‘Apartheid State’, Create Nakba Remembrance Day (New Arab)