News and Analysis (6/12/15)

The terrorist group Boko Haram’s suicide bombings in Maiduguri, Nigeria, have recently increased, now using women and girls to do the bombings…

• Women Are Dying In ‘Suicide’ Attacks in Nigeria as Boko Haram Steps Up Insurgency (Huffington Post)

…Meanwhile, President Buhari has set up a joint military force along with Nigeria’s neighboring countries to fight Boko Haram. Buhari, inaugurated only two weeks ago, has concentrated on this issue which has led to cracks within his own party, APC:

• Nigeria, Neighbors Forge Anti-Boko Haram Force (Reuters)

Human Rights Watch reports that they suspect that Raif Badawi will receive the next set of lashes on Friday. The Saudi regimes continues to violate human rights extensively, despite the criticism received from UN and others:

• Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi May Receive Second Set of Lashes on Friday (Guardian)

Abdelaziz Aouragh and Mona Eltahawy discuss the limitations and opportunities of sexuality that contemporary Muslim societies and Islamic texts present to us:

• The Real Sex Lives of Muslims (Think Progress)

“We need to recover the absolute values that make Abrahamic monotheism the humanising force it has been at its best”:

• Rabbi Lord Sacks: How to End the Wars of Hatred (Telegraph)

A 17-year-old in Virginia has supported Daesh via social medias as well as instructed on how to transfer money to the organization through the digital currency BitCoin:

• Virginia Teenager Pleads Guilty Over Facilitating Bitcoin Funds to Aid ISIS (Guardian)

This is the second time this tear Bahrain has stripped Shia Bahrainis of their citizenship under color of National security:

• Bahrain Convicts 57 over ‘Bombing Plot’ (BBC)

Rory McCarthy discusses Tunisia’s democracy and the future of the Islamist party Ennahda in Tunisia after they lost the general election last year.

• What Happens When Islamists Lose an Election? (Washington Post)

“A delegation representing a few Muslim groups … supported the suggestion made by the [Union Minister of State for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy Shripad Naik] that Namaz had eight yoga postures”:

• Muslim Groups Back Yoga Day,Catholics Unhappy (The Hindu)

With the help from students from University of Minnesota College of design, middle-school students who wear hijab design sports wear that will enable them to play basketball freely:

• Muslim Girls Design Their Own Culturally Appropriate Basketball Uniforms (Huffington Post)

Eva Forslund