Government & Politics

Security questions over Christmas market attack in Magdeburg The attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg has raised questions about public safety and intelligence gaps in Germany. Police have described the suspect as 'atypical,' while experts have also blamed social media.

(Deutsche Welle) German security forces faced a series of difficult questions at Saturday’s press conference in Magdeburg. Friday night’s attack, in which Talib A.*, a 50-year-old Saudi man, rammed a car into a crowd at a busy Christmas market in the Saxony-Anhalt […]

Demonstrations

AfD party calls for major rally after Germany’s Christmas market attack Leading right-wing figures in Europe have also weighed in, criticising the German authorities for failing to take stronger preventative action.

(Euronews) German far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is calling for a major rally following the attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg which left several people dead and hundreds injured. At a memorial site for the victims, AfD co-leader Tino […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

‘Insane’ Magdeburg Christmas market attack turns up heat on Germany’s politicians Reports that suspect was a refugee from Saudi Arabia who hated Muslims raise complicated questions during German election campaign.

(Politico) The German government is reeling from an attack on a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg that saw at least five people killed when a car apparently driven by an “Islamophobic” Saudi Arabian refugee plowed into Friday evening crowds. With […]

Government & Politics

Deadly Magdeburg Christmas market attack shakes Germany as election looms With voters going to the polls in February, the tragedy ramps up concerns about security.

(Politico) A driver plowed a car at high speed into crowds of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg, adding further tension to an election campaign already riven by a bitter debate over migration. Right-wing parties seized […]

Government & Politics

Italian court acquits Matteo Salvini in migrant ‘kidnapping’ case The far-right former interior minister prevented more than 140 migrants, including kids, from coming ashore in Italy.

(Politico) Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was acquitted Friday on kidnapping charges over his decision in 2019 to block a migrant rescue ship carrying more than 140 people from coming ashore in Italy. Salvini, who was serving as Italy’s interior minister […]

Government & Politics

Chikli: CAIR leader praised October 7 massacre, called Gaza ‘concentration camp’ Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli claimed that CAIR had ties to Hamas and was 'outrageously antisemtic.'

(Jerusalem Post) Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry Minister Amichai Chikli escalated his campaign against the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Thursday, exposing the organization’s alleged ties to Hamas and sharing a damning quote from its executive director, Nihad Awad, about […]

Academics & Education

Muslim school sues French politician for defamation The school administrators claim French officials are going all-out to rescind the state funding of the last Muslim school in France.

(Morocco World News) The Al-Kindi school group, a Muslim private school in Décines-Charpieu, a commune in the region of Lyon in south-eastern France, is suing a French MP for defamation after the politician accused the school of “denying history” and not teaching […]

Academics & Education

Failed judicial nominee Adeel Mangi lashes out at Democrats, predicts ‘tsunami of bigotry’ under Trump Mangi's nomination stalled after Free Beacon reports on his links to anti-Israel and anti-police groups

(Free Beacon) Biden judicial nominee Adeel Mangi, who came under fire over his links to anti-Israel and anti-police groups, lashed out at “dark money” forces and some Senate Democrats on Monday, his first remarks following the collapse of his nomination to serve […]

Crime

Dutch court to rule on legality of discussing Muslim Jew-hate 'Facts can never be a criminal offense,' said Deputy Prime Minister Mona Keijzer, who has appealed after being charged with incitement to intolerance in July.

(JNS) A Dutch court will need to determine if it’s illegal to discuss antisemitism in the context of Muslim culture, following an appeal by a deputy prime minister regarding hate crime allegations leveled against her. Mona Keijzer, who is also the minister […]

Academics & Education

After religious symbols law, Quebec eyes ban on public prayer: Where the province is headed on secularism Existing laws, jurisprudence appear to provide plenty of ammo for Quebec to address school controversies

(CBC) After the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government tabled its secularism bill, Premier François Legault recorded a video address that intended to reassure people who felt the proposed legislation was going too far. “I feel like saying ‘finally,’” the premier said in […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

US Islamophobia strategy doesn’t list Jewish groups, though CAIR advised Jew-hatred approach 'The strategy contains more than 100 executive branch actions and more than 100 calls to action to every sector of society,' per the White House.

(JNS) The White House’s first-ever “U.S. National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Anti-Arab Hate,” which the Biden administration announced on Thursday, runs for 67 pages. It features “more than 100 executive branch actions and more than 100 calls to action to every […]

Government & Politics

Europe’s Syrians shaken by debate over repatriation to their war-ravaged homeland For many Syrian refugees in Europe, joy at the fall of Assad has been tempered by immediate calls for them to go home.

(Politico) When Osama Sabsabi learned that opposition forces had captured the city of Homs, where he grew up, he did something that would have been unthinkable just days earlier: He booked a ticket home. “We, the Syrian people, are experiencing an indescribable […]

Academics & Education

MPs call for crackdown on student protest encampments, ban on display of terror symbols Many recommendations in the antisemitism and Islamophobia reports were rejected by Conservative, Bloc MPs

(CBC) In two reports on antisemitism and Islamophobia in Canada, Liberal and NDP MPs on the House of Commons justice committee said Ottawa should take steps to keep student protest encampments off university grounds, criminally ban the display of terrorist emblems and recognize […]

Government & Politics

MP speaks out against proposal to ban first cousin marriages Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed said first cousin marriage should not be stigmatised, but should be treated as a 'health awareness issue.'

(Sky News) An MP has spoken against calls to ban first cousin marriage in the UK, suggesting instead that advanced genetic screening is made available to prospective married couples. Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed said while “freedom of women must be protected at […]