Government & Politics

French migration policy ‘anything but lax,’ says interior minister ‘No president has done as much as Emmanuel Macron’ when it comes to being tough on asylum and migration, says Gérald Darmanin.

(Politico) The French government’s migration policy is “anything but lax,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said, adding that “no president has done as much as Emmanuel Macron” when it comes to being tough on asylum and migration. Speaking to Le Parisien, Darmanin said […]

Academics & Education

European imam school ‘not feasible,’ says Paris mosque rector Chems-Eddine Hafiz said Charles Michel’s proposal was a ‘noble idea’ but not viable.

(Politico) The rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris has described European Council President Charles Michel’s proposal to create a European imam training institute as “not feasible.” Visiting Austria earlier this week after the terror attack in Vienna, Michel suggested establishing an […]

Government & Politics

How Arabs and Muslims helped Biden win Michigan and the White House Election data shows increase in turnout in Arab and Muslim communities that overwhelmingly favoured Biden in the presidential race

(Middle East Eye) In one of his first decrees as president in 2017, Donald Trump signed an executive order banning travellers from several Arab, Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Less than four years later, Arab and Muslim communities in Michigan […]

Academics & Education

Germany’s imams seen as key in combating radicalization Imam training is in the spotlight of this year's German Islam Conference. In light of recent terror attacks, Germany's interior minister said a new training program for German-speaking imams was 'money well-spent.'

(Deutsche Welle) The latest spate of terror attacks in France and Austria will not hamper the cooperation between the government and Germany’s Muslim community, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Tuesday. “We won’t let terrorism and extremism derail us,” Seehofer said at […]

Academics & Education

Uphold religious symbol ban to spare children from being influenced by hijab, Quebec parents plead Court case against Quebec's Bill 21 hears from supporters of the law for the first time

(CBC) Several parents pleaded with a Quebec Superior Court judge on Monday to uphold the province’s religious symbols ban in order to shield their children from being exposed to the hijab, which they believe conveys a “pernicious” sexist message. The parents, all […]

Government & Politics

US ‘Muslim ban’ set to end ‘on day one’ of Biden presidency President-elect has pledged to immediately halt travel restrictions imposed by the Trump administration on more than a dozen nations.

(Al-Jazeera) On the first day of his presidency, president-elect Joe Biden intends to rescind Donald Trump’s travel bans on travellers from 13 countries, most either majority-Muslim or African nations. Shortly after taking office in 2017, Trump issued an executive order that banned […]

Government & Politics

Five states elect first-ever Muslim lawmakers, from Oklahoma to Delaware On Tuesday, voters in Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Oklahoma and Wisconsin all elected their state legislatures’ first-ever Muslim lawmakers.

(Religion News) Mauree Turner, a 27-year-old member of Oklahoma City’s Muslim community, became Muslim after learning about the faith from her father, who converted while incarcerated. Black and nonbinary, Turner is also a community organizer who’s long been involved in criminal justice […]

Academics & Education

Hijab a symbol of empowerment, not oppression, plaintiffs argue at trial of Quebec secularism law Sociologist testifies that most Muslim women aren't forced to wear the headscarf

(CBC) Plaintiffs challenging Quebec’s ban on religious symbols sought to dismantle, on Tuesday, one of the main arguments made by supporters of the law — that the hijab is a symbol of female oppression and undermines gender equality. The Laicity Act, which was passed […]