News and Analysis (2/9/21)

The police defend the arrest of an Indian-Muslim comedian for comments he did not make and a high court judge denies him and the event organizers and a personal friend bail demonstrating the BJP threat to freedom of speech:

• As Munawar Faruqui Case Shows, Questioning BJP’s Hindutva Project While Muslim Can Land You in Jail (Scroll.in)

Across Europe, political parties are demonstrating, once again, that election victories are most easily obtained on the backs of Muslim populations …

• How the Netherlands Is Curbing the Civil Liberties of Its Muslim Population (Middle East Eye)

… and as right-wing populism gets increasingly popular in Europe, Islamaphobic attacks have increased as well in places such as Germany:

• Over 900 Anti-Muslim Attacks Recorded in Germany in 2020 (Daily Sabah)

Muslim teenager was wrongfully shot by Kashmiri government forces and as the father went to seek for body, he was arrested and charged using India’s restrictive anti-terror law:

• Kashmir Man Seeking Son’s Body Charged Under Anti-Terror Law (Star Tribune)

Canadian Baha’is protest Iranian seizure of private property “on the basis of what the court called the religious belief of the ‘perverse sect of Bahá’ísm’“:

• Canadians Object to Iran’s Seizures of Baha’i Lands (Radio Canada International)

A woman who was married against her will is told by the court that she must divorce her current husband before marrying another man, although the law would place no condition on a man in her situation: 

• Unlike Men, Muslim Women Should Take Divorce for Second Marriage: Punjab and Haryana High Court (Zee News)

Meeting with the US envoy to Yemen, Iran’s FM discusses regional developments and criticizes Saudi Arabian involvement for worsening situations in the area:

• Iran’s Zarif Meets UN Envoy for Talks on Yemen Conflict (Anadolu Agency)

Iran’s intelligence minister says Biden’s refusal to reverse Trump’s abandonment of the JCPOA may force them to pursue nuclear weapons:

• Iran’s Spy Chief Says Tehran Could Seek Nuclear Arms if ‘Cornered’ by West (Reuters)

Pakistanis are pushing President Biden to voice his concern regarding the crisis in Kashmir, the same way he “pleaded the case of Bosnia … in 1995”:

• ‘Kashmir Situation Not Different Than of Bosnia in 1995’ (The News)

Prior to Biden’s term, Pompeo designated Yemeni Houthis as a terrorist group, but the current administration has returned to restoring humanitarian aid in the region during the civil war: 

• Biden Cancels Houthi Terror Designation, Restoring Yemen Aid (The Guardian)

Johaer Jilani