Month: January 2023

Crime

Germany debates tougher deportation rules A deadly knife attack on a German regional train has triggered a debate on deportation laws and their application. The suspect, a Palestinian, was living in Germany despite his criminal record.

January 31, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) Two weeks ago, a knife attack shook Germany when a man traveling on a regional train headed for Hamburg randomly stabbed passengers, killing two of them. The alleged perpetrator, 33-year-old Ibrahim A.*, was known to the police, as he had multiple prior convictions […]

Clothing

Does the EU have hijab bans? As women around the world mark World Hijab Day, people are calling on the European Union to create safer spaces for conversations about the Muslim headscarf.

January 31, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) Across the European Union, the headscarves worn by some Muslim women have been hotly contested for years. Some nations claim hijab bans would tackle religious oppression and terrorism, while others argue bans would discriminate against women’s rights and hamper integration. Some EU countries have already imposed […]

Demonstrations

Police: Nato protesters planned, then decided against, Koran burning at Helsinki demo After learning about the plans on social media, police told organisers before the demonstration that burning such a book would be illegal.

January 31, 2023   

(Yle) Some protesters planned to burn a Koran at an anti-Nato demonstration held in Helsink[i] last week, but then reconsidered after learning it would be against the law, according to city police. The Helsinki Police Department’s chief inspector, Heikki Porola, told Yle […]

Clothing

Justin Trudeau stands by appointee Amira Elghawaby, says she will continue fight against Islamophobia Quebec government wants federal representative to combat Islamophobia to resign, just days into her new job

January 30, 2023   

(CBC) The Quebec government is calling on the federal government to withdraw its support of Amira Elghawaby, the new representative to combat Islamophobia, only four days after she was first appointed. This comes a day after her attendance at the sixth commemoration […]

Context

Rep. Ilhan Omar pressed on old comments: ‘Wasn’t aware’ there were ‘tropes about Jews and money’ Omar told CNN's Dana Bash that she's learned 'a lot' about antisemitic tropes

January 29, 2023   

(Fox) Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said Sunday during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” that she “wasn’t aware” there were “tropes about Jews and money” in response to questions about previous antisemitic comments. CNN’s Dana Bash asked Omar what she […]

Law Enforcement

Jihadist arrested in Girona planned to machine-gun tourists on Benidorm beaches A jihadist arrested in Girona had planned to, among other things, machine-gun tourists on the Costa Blanca beaches of Benidorm.

January 27, 2023   

(Euro Weekly) As reported by Spain’s Ministry of the Interior today, Friday, January 27, a jihadist arrested in the city of Girona last Wednesday, [January] 25, intended to carry out a massive machine-gunning of tourists in the Benidorm beaches. Fath Allah Benhachem […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Trudeau announces Amira Elghawaby as Canada’s first representative to combat Islamophobia 'No one in our country should experience hatred because of their faith,' Trudeau says

January 26, 2023   

(CBC) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the appointment of a special representative on combating Islamophobia that will advise the federal government on how to better fight discrimination against the Muslim community. Human rights activist Amira Elghawaby will be responsible for serving “as […]

Clerics & Preachers

Cleric is convicted in New York of supporting ISIS while in Jamaica Abdullah el-Faisal, a Jamaican who was an outspoken supporter of the Islamic State, was the first person to face trial under New York State terror laws passed after Sept. 11.

January 26, 2023   

(NY Times) For years, Abdullah el-Faisal, a Jamaican-born cleric, promoted an extreme form of Islam that advocated killing nonbelievers. In Britain, his incitements sent him to prison in 2003. He was kicked out of Kenya in 2010. At home in Jamaica, he […]

Health & Medicine

Man charged with terrorism offences after incident at Leeds St James’s Hospital maternity unit Mohammad Farooq has been charged with engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism and with explosives and firearms offences following the incident at St James's Hospital.

January 26, 2023   

(Sky News) A man has been charged under the Terrorism Act following an incident at a hospital’s maternity wing in Leeds. Mohammad Farooq, 27, of Roundhay, Leeds, was charged with engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism and with explosives […]

Government & Politics

US Muslim rights group calls on Biden to suspend use of ‘terror’ watchlist No-fly list leak reveals more than one million entries, mostly comprised of Muslim and Arab names, according to rights group

January 25, 2023   

(Middle East Eye) Following a massive leak of the US government’s no-fly list, a leading Muslim rights group is calling on the Biden administration to stop the use of the “terrorist” watchlist the government has been utilising for decades, saying that the […]

Law Enforcement

Germany: 2 killed, several injured in train knife attack Two people have been killed and seven wounded in a knife attack on a train in Germany. The attack took place in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein that borders Denmark. A young man is in police custody.

January 25, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) A man with a knife killed two people and wounded seven more on a regional train running from Kiel to Hamburg on Wednesday. A suspect was arrested at a small train station in the town of Brokstedt soon after the […]

Demonstrations

Muslim-American group urges Swedish government to condemn Quran burning Prime minister’s statement does not clearly convey that government 'unequivocally rejects Islamophobia as a form of hate and bigotry,' says CAIR

January 25, 2023   

(Anadolu) The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on the Swedish government Tuesday to condemn the recent burning of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm. ”While CAIR does not hold the government of Sweden responsible for […]

Government & Politics

Dems mobilize to defend Omar in face of GOP defections McCarthy plans to hold a House vote to remove her from the Foreign Affairs panel, but it’s unclear that he’ll have enough support in his conference.

January 24, 2023 and   

(Politico) House Republicans are already facing defections over a leadership push to oust Rep. Ilhan Omar from her committees. Democrats plan to make the vote even more painful. The Minnesota Democrat and her caucus allies have begun to mount a robust defense […]

Academics & Education

Hamline U. faculty call on President Miller to step down over Islamophobia controversy Hamline’s full-time faculty say the dismissal of an adjunct professor has harmed the university’s reputation.

January 24, 2023   

(Pioneer Press) Hamline University’s full-time faculty on Tuesday asked President Fayneese Miller to resign over her administration’s handling of a Muslim student’s complaint about an adjunct professor who showed ancient art in class that depicted the Prophet Muhammad. Various Hamline administrators have […]