Academics & Education

School banned prayer against backdrop of ‘violence and intimidation,’ headteacher claims Michaela Community School in Brent, north London, is facing a legal challenge from a Muslim student who claims its approach to prayer is discriminatory and 'uniquely' affects her faith.

(Sky News) A school decided to introduce a “prayer ban” for pupils against a “backdrop of events including violence, intimidation and appalling racial harassment” of teachers, its founder has said. Michaela Community School in Brent, north London, which was previously dubbed Britain’s […]

Christians

Germany seeks Cologne Cathedral attack suspect’s deportation Authorities are seeking to expel the 25-year-old arrested on suspicion of planning a New Year's Eve attack on the historic cathedral. The Tajik national was arrested along with three others, but they were later released.

(Deutsche Welle) German police said Saturday that they are pressing forward with deportation proceedings for a young man accused of planning a New Year’s Eve terror attack on Cologne Cathedral. The Dortmund District Court had granted a deportation warrant for the 25-year-old […]

News: North America

Marriott no longer hosting Muslim Federation event in South Florida The group called the cancellation 'a tragic result of fear and misinformation' and 'a sad day when Muslim Americans were prevented to assemble in some neighborhoods, leaving a stain on our collective conscience.'

(JNS) After the Middle East Forum charged that the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Coral Springs Hotel & Convention Center was to host a Jan. 12-13 event of the “region’s most extreme alliance of Islamist organizations,” the hotel canceled its contract with the South […]

Law Enforcement

German court upholds ban on PKK symbols, pictures of its ringleader Regional court rules banning public display of images of Abdullah Ocalan, head of PKK terrorist group, is in line with laws, regulations

(Anadolu) Banning images of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed head of the PKK terrorist group, is in line with laws and regulations, a German regional court ruled on Monday. The Higher Administrative Court in North Rhine-Westphalia turned down a complaint filed by a […]

Christians

Cologne Cathedral attack: Austria issues warrant for suspect Austrian authorities want to speak to a man being held in connection with a year-end terrorist plot targeting Cologne Cathedral.

(Deutsche Welle) Austrian authorities have issued a European arrest warrant for a suspect detained in Germany over an alleged plot to attack the historic cathedral in Cologne, German police said on Sunday. On Christmas Eve, a 30-year-old Tajik national was held in the city of Wesel, […]

Clerics & Preachers

In sermon, Australian imam says Jews are ‘bloodthirsty, treacherous monsters’ Referencing Oct. 7 attacks, Ahmad Zoud of Sydney celebrates how ‘those cowards collapsed in the face of the attacks by the mujahideen, and ran away from them like rats’

(Times of Israel) Recordings of a recent Friday sermon at the Masjid as-Sunnah Lakemba Mosque in Sydney, Australia, show Imam Ahmad Zoud making antisemitic comments, saying Jews are bloodthirsty, treacherous “monsters.” The December 22 sermon, broadcast live on the mosque’s Facebook page, […]

Christians

Police ramp up security at Cologne Cathedral for New Year’s German authorities are on high alert following a warning about a possible attack on the Cologne Cathedral on New Year's Eve.

(Deutsche Welle) Authorities in the German city of Cologne have increased security measures around its cathedral ahead of New Year’s Eve. Police officers armed with submachine guns were being deployed to protect people planning to ring in the new year near the […]

Demonstrations

Police in Berlin ban pro-Palestinian New Year rally Authorities in Berlin have said the planned pro-Palestinian rally would carry a risk of 'crimes,' including displays of antisemitism and glorification of violence.

(Deutsche Welle) Berlin police announced on Saturday that a pro-Palestinian rally scheduled for New Year’s Eve in Berlin’s Neukölln district should not take place. Officials said the decision had been taken because of an imminent danger “that the gathering will result in […]

Christians

Germany: Man detained over Cologne Cathedral threat Police said a 30-year-old man would be detained until 7 January. German police had received an alert that a group may be planning an attack on the Cologne Cathedral on New Year's Eve.

(Deutsche Welle) German police said on Tuesday they had detained a man in connection with a dangerous threat at the iconic Cologne Cathedral in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Police announced the arrest of five men after searching an apartment in Wesel, some […]

Legal

Man jailed for spying on Iran International TV channel in London to help terror plotters Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev told the jury at his Old Bailey trial he 'quite simply liked' the buildings and architecture surrounding the west London headquarters of the Iranian television channel.

(Sky News) A Chechen-born man has been jailed after being found guilty of spying on a London-based dissident Iranian TV station to help terror plotters. Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, 31, was accused of conducting surveillance on the west London headquarters of Iran International as […]

Legal

Germany charges 2 Syrians with war crimes over IS ties Authorities accuse the two Syrians in German custody of membership in a terrorist group and having committed war crimes in Damascus a decade ago.

(Deutsche Welle) German prosecutors have charged two Syrian men with war crimes they are accused of having committed some 10 years ago in the Syrian capital Damascus, as part of the so-called Islamic State militant group. In line with German privacy rules, the […]

Crime

Germany braces for potential New Year’s Eve riots Police have stepped up preparations to deal with violence against them and emergency service staff on New Year's Eve. There are worries that the situation in the Middle East could worsen the problem.

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she fears a repeat of New Year rioting and attacks on emergency services in Berlin and other cities. “I’m worried that New Year’s Eve could once again be a day on which we are forced […]

Legal

Man guilty of spying on London-based TV channel Iran International to help terror plotters Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev was accused of conducting surveillance on a media company that was critical of Iran. Asked why he had taken an interest in the building he told the court he was 'in wonder at the architecture.'

(Sky News) A Chechen-born man has been found guilty of spying on a London-based dissident Iranian TV station to help terror plotters. Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, 31, was accused of conducting surveillance on the west London headquarters of Iran International as part of a […]

Law Enforcement

German police raid pro-Palestinian feminist group The raids were part of a probe into allegations that members of the group Zora were using emblems of the PFLP, which Israel, the EU and the US have designated a terrorist organization.

(Deutsche Welle) Police in Berlin, Germany’s capital, conducted on Wednesday a raid targeting members of a pro-Palestinian, left-wing feminist group, German media reported. The Zora group is accused of backing the radical, left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The European […]