Animals

Ban on religious animal slaughter fought at EU high court Belgium has joined Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Slovenia in not allowing for any religious exemptions to EU slaughter regulations.

(Courthouse News) Religious groups argued their case against a Belgian law banning ritual animal slaughter before the European Union’s highest court on Wednesday, while Belgium denied the law infringes on religious freedom. The law, which requires that animals be stunned before being […]

Animals

Jewish and Muslim leaders unite ahead of hearing into Belgian kosher-halal ban Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt and Shiekh Dr Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa issue joint statement saying it would not be justified to stop faiths practicing religious slaughter

(Jewish News) Senior Jewish and Muslim leaders this week issued a joint plea ahead of a European Court of Justice hearing into the legality of a Belgian ban on religious slaughter. Standing together on the issue were Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president […]

Demonstrations

Police surveillance concerns US Muslims amid BLM protest crackdown With coronavirus hitting the US hard, there are growing fears community groups will have to resort to funding provided by surveillance programmes

(Middle East Eye) The killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis triggered the largest protests over systemic racism and police brutality the United States has seen in more than a generation. Black Lives Matter protests swiftly spread to more […]

Children & Teens

Female genital mutilation: Report shows 68,000 victims in Germany A report estimates that the number of victims of female genital mutilation in Germany has increased by 44% since 2017, and nearly 15,000 girls may be at risk. The minister responsible linked the increase to migration.

(Deutsche Welle) The amount of women and girls in Germany who have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM) has increased to 68,000, the families minister announced Thursday. The increase, up 44% from the last estimated total calculated in 2017, was attributed to greater […]

Government & Politics

Parties push to ban calls to prayer in Denmark Venstre politicians say calls to prayer in public places are ‘very disruptive’ in Denmark, but a ban could go against the Constitution

(Copenhagen Post) Several political parties are urging the government to investigate the possibility of banning calls to prayer such as those heard from mosques, arguing that they are “very disruptive.” Venstre, Dansk Folkeparti, Konservative and Nye Borgerlige are presenting a resolution regarding […]