Government & Politics – Page 55

Tory councillor previously accused of ‘abhorrent antisemitism’ welcomed at Downing St Exclusive: Party chairman Greg Hands invites councillor Ishfaq Hussain, who was also pictured recently with prime minister Rishi Sunak, to Number 10

April 13, 2023 Lee Harpin

(Jewish News) A Conservative councillor, previously suspended for social media posts that were branded “abhorrent and antisemitic” by the Jewish Leadership Council, has been invited to an event at Downing Street by party chairman Greg Hands. Councillor Ishfaq Hussain, who once posted the […]

Minneapolis City Council passes ordinance allowing public broadcast of Islamic call to prayer five times a day

April 13, 2023 Hibah Ansari

(Sahan Journal) The Minneapolis City Council unanimously voted Thursday morning to pass an ordinance allowing the public broadcast of the Islamic call to prayer five times a day year-round. Mosques were previously allowed to broadcast the adhan, or Islamic call to prayer, […]

Arlington Republican lawmaker criticized for Ramadan vote apologizes for comments

April 12, 2023 Eleanor Dearman

(Star-Telegram) An Arlington Republican who faced backlash after voting against a resolution celebrating the Muslim holy month of Ramadan says he has since met with Arlington’s mayor and members of the Muslim community and apologized. State Rep. Tony Tinderholt last month posted […]

ISS: 26 individuals with terror links have pursued Estonian e-residency

April 12, 2023 Unlisted Author

(ERR) Individuals involved in terrorist activities including those with links to groups such as Al-Qaeda, Daesh, Hezbollah, the Taliban and the Muslim Brotherhood have become increasingly interested in Estonia’s e-residency program, the Internal Security Service (ISS) reports. The ISS, also known by […]

Suella Braverman rhetoric fuels racism, claims Tory peer

April 12, 2023 Sam Francis

(BBC) Tory peer Baroness Warsi has warned that what she describes as Suella Braverman’s “racist rhetoric” is putting British Asian families at risk. The peer, the UK’s first South Asian cabinet minister, claimed the home secretary’s comments on small boats and grooming […]

Italy declares state of emergency as migrant numbers surge

April 11, 2023 Frances D'Emilio

(AP) Italy’s right-wing government on Tuesday declared a six-month national state of emergency to help it cope with a surge in migrants arriving on the country’s southern shores. State TV said a special commissioner was expected to be named. Initial funding of […]

Muslim groups promise to monitor Quebec ban on school prayer spaces

April 11, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Canadian Press) Muslim groups are speaking out against the Quebec government’s intention to ban prayer spaces in public schools, saying they will monitor how the Education Department enforces its new rules. In response to reports that at least two Montreal-area schools had […]

Muslim groups urge Suella Braverman to withdraw ‘irresponsible and divisive’ grooming gang comments A Home Office-commissioned study in 2020 found that group-based child sexual exploitation offenders are most commonly white.

April 11, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Sky News) Suella Braverman has been urged to withdraw “divisive” comments around child sexual exploitation (CSE) by dozens of medical bodies, businesses and Muslim community organisations, Sky News can reveal. A number of Muslim organisations across the country have written to Rishi […]

German protesters call for ‘death to Israel’ and ‘death to Jews’ in Berlin The reportedly antisemitic march unfolded in two Berlin neighborhoods with large Muslim presence, Kreuzberg and Neukölln, and centered on the current controversy on the Temple Mount.

April 10, 2023 Benjamin Weinthal

(Jerusalem Post) Israel’s Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor slammed a rally of mainly five hundred German Muslims who on Saturday blasted calls for the obliteration of Israel and Jews in Berlin. Prosor wrote on Twitter in German: “These idiots abuse Germany’s freedoms […]

Migrant crisis: Just 215 asylum seekers who crossed English Channel in 2022 removed from UK Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman have been told to 'get a grip'

April 9, 2023 Dan Falvey

(GB News) Just 215 migrants who crossed the English Channel in small boats last year have been removed from the UK, according to stark government figures. The small number comes from a year when record numbers made the perilous journey, with 45,728 […]

The adhan, five times a day: Minneapolis City Council poised to vote on allowing a full daily set of Muslim prayer calls year-round Minneapolis has limited the broadcast of the Islamic call to prayer to three or four times a day. The City Council will vote next week on a proposal to expand that to five times a day.

April 7, 2023 Noor Adwan

(Sahan Journal) Minneapolis mosques would be able to broadcast the adhan — the Islamic call to prayer — five times a day under a proposed ordinance unanimously approved March 29 by the City Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee. The resolution would […]

Extremist Virginia school board member to retire, citing scrutiny following Youngkin’s election

April 6, 2023 Luke Rosiak

(Daily Wire) The most radical member of the most radical school board in Virginia, Fairfax County’s Abrar Omeish, has declined to run for reelection, citing the toll of investigations into the school system. Omeish voted against a resolution honoring the victims of […]

Britain can impose entry ban on Lisa Smith — UK court

April 6, 2023 Unlisted Author

(RTÉ) The British government has won an appeal against a tribunal’s conclusion that a UK entry ban could not be imposed on an Irish former soldier convicted of membership of the so-called Islamic State (IS) terror group. Lisa Smith, 41, [a] former […]

Lithuania seeks compensation from Belarus for migrant crisis

April 6, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AP) Lithuania is seeking up to 120 million euros in compensation from Belarus, accusing its eastern neighbor of orchestrating the immigration of thousands of people, mainly from Africa and the Middle East. Since 2021, when the European Union imposed sanctions on Belarus […]

Only ‘silent’ praying allowed in Quebec schools as province moves to ban prayer rooms

April 5, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Canadian Press) Quebec’s education minister said Wednesday it will soon be forbidden to have prayer rooms in the province’s public schools. Bernard Drainville told reporters in Quebec City he has learned of at least two Montreal-area schools that have permitted students to […]

Home Office confirms plan to house asylum seekers in giant barge in Dorset The plan has proved controversial after the local MP and council raised concerns the area is inappropriate for hundreds of asylum seekers to be placed. But the government has said it needs to move them out of expensive hotels.

April 5, 2023 Alix Culbertson and Faye Brown

(Sky News) A giant vessel docked off the Dorset coast will be used to hold hundreds of asylum seekers, the Home Office has confirmed, despite legal threats from local Tories. The barge, called the Bibby Stockholm, will be berthed in Portland Port […]

‘Self-censorship’: Flemish leader criticises Brussels Ramadan-friendly culture label

April 5, 2023 Maïthé Chini

(Brussels Times) Some 20 Brussels cultural institutions have launched a “Ramadan-friendly” label, which allows spectators to break their fast during the show and gives a warning if the performance includes violence, nudity or music. Flemish Minister-President and Cultural Minister Jan Jambon, however, […]

Repatriation of Canadian women and children detained in Syrian camps underway, says lawyer Government has not yet confirmed repatriation has started or said how many are returning

April 5, 2023 Ashley Burke

(CBC) Multiple Canadian women and their children are on their way back to Canada after spending years held in camps for ISIS suspects and their families in northeastern Syria, according to their lawyer. Ottawa lawyer Lawrence Greenspon told CBC News that some of his clients […]

French minister under fire over anti-extremism fund

April 5, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AFP) French junior minister Marlene Schiappa, who made headlines this week for a clothed Playboy photoshoot, is at the centre of accusations of alleged misuse of cash from an anti-radicalism fund set up after the beheading of a teacher. Schiappa, whose ministerial […]

Advocacy group seeks Middle Eastern, North African category included in Census, other federal forms Advocates believe adding a MENA category will make a difference in schools, health care and more accurate data collection.

April 3, 2023 Nargis Rahman

(WDET) The National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) is working to get the Middle Eastern and North African designation added to the federal Office of Management and Budget. NNAAC is an advocacy arm of Arab Community Center for Economic and Social […]

Muslim charity alleges systemic bias in bid to halt revenue agency’s ‘tainted’ audit

April 3, 2023 Jim Bronskill

(Canadian Press) A grassroots Muslim charity is pointing to internal Canada Revenue Agency documents in a bid to persuade an Ontario court that a long-running federal audit is fundamentally tainted by systemic bias and Islamophobia. The Muslim Association of Canada wants the […]

Rishi Sunak criticises political correctness over grooming gangs

April 3, 2023 Jemma Crew and Tom Symonds

(BBC) Victims of grooming gangs have been ignored because of political correctness, Rishi Sunak said as he set out plans for a police taskforce. Specialist officers supported by the National Crime Agency will be sent to help forces with their investigations, the […]

Six Canadian children to return from Syrian detention without their mother: advocates

April 2, 2023 Jim Bronskill

(Canadian Press) Six Canadian children are set to leave a Syrian prison camp and fly to Canada without their mother who cannot come with them because federal officials have not completed her security assessment, advocates for the family say. The federal government […]

Greece’s PM makes border wall extension an election pledge

March 31, 2023 Costas Kantouris and Derek Gatopoulos

(AP) Greece’s prime minister promised Friday to extend an existing wall across all of the country’s land border with Turkey as he campaigned for the country’s general election. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who called the May 21 election earlier this week, presided […]

Türkiye strongly condemns repeated attack on Muslim holy book, Turkish flag in Denmark Turkish Foreign Ministry summons Danish envoy to Ankara and protests the 'vile attack'

March 31, 2023 Merve Aydogan

(Anadolu) Türkiye on Friday strongly condemned the recurrence of a “vile attack” on the Muslim holy book, the Quran, and a Turkish flag in Denmark. “We condemn in the strongest terms that the hate crime committed in Denmark on 24 March against […]

Manchester Arena attack: MI5 ‘negligence’ claim over bombing

March 31, 2023 Richard Watson

(BBC) MI5’s failure to prevent the Manchester Arena attack centred on a mistake so serious that it could be seen as negligent, the BBC has been told. The security agency apologised in March for not preventing the suicide bombing by Salman Abedi, […]

Terrorist plot suspects were planning to assassinate Bart De Wever

March 31, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Brussels Times) Individuals arrested earlier this week as part of a terror investigation reportedly were planning on assassinating the Mayor of Antwerp Bart De Wever and police officers. Eight people were arrested on Monday night in Brussels, Antwerp and Eupen as part of an […]

National security watchdog wants terror laws overhauled

March 30, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AAP) Terrorists left to rot in Australian jails long after their prison sentences expire could soon be offered a major reprieve. The national security watchdog has recommended the government scrap the power to detain terrorists on so-called continuing detention orders. The orders […]

Mitsotakis says Evros fence will be finished ‘with or without’ EU funds

March 30, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Kathimerini) Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday a fence being constructed at Greece’s northeastern border region of Evros will be completed “with or without European money.” “Tomorrow I will be in Evros and I will have the opportunity to sign the […]

Non-profit organizations call on government to protect Muslim charities

March 30, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Canadian Press) Several members of the non-profit sector, including the United Way and Imagine Canada, are calling on the federal government to take immediate steps to shield Muslim-led charities from potentially discriminatory federal audits. More than a dozen organizations issued a statement […]

UK ‘urged to boost monitoring of Islamic schools’ in new report

March 30, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Arab News) Britain should do more to monitor Islamic groups and schools, crack down on forced marriages and help people to leave oppressive religious groups, a government consultation is reported to recommend. The report, to be released within weeks, is set to […]

Danish government split over repatriation of women and children from Syria

March 29, 2023 Michael Barrett

(Local) Only one of the three parties in Denmark’s coalition government has stated it wants to repatriate women with national connections to Denmark from Kurdish-run prison camps in Syria. The Moderate party, one of the junior parties in the coalition, wants Danish […]

Iranian embassy denies anti-Semitic attack plot in Greece

March 29, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Iran’s embassy in Greece on Wednesday denied any connection to an alleged plot for anti-Semitic attacks in Athens using Pakistanis of Iranian origin. “The embassy of the Republic of Iran strongly denies the rumours spread by Zionist sources and their baseless […]

Anti-Israel nonprofit continues to sabotage efforts to pass antisemitism definition into Georgia law

March 29, 2023 Kate Anderson

(Daily Caller) The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a nonprofit known for its anti-Israel rhetoric and ties to terrorist groups, has been actively working to prevent the Georgia legislature from passing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. CAIR campaigned […]

CAIR-MN, religious leaders support noise ordinance change to allow Islamic call to prayer in Minneapolis Dozens showed up to testify to allow the Islamic call to prayer to be broadcast from loudspeakers for all five daily prayers.

March 29, 2023 Charmaine Nero

(KARE) It was standing room only, as dozens of people packed inside Minneapolis City Council chambers. “I want to thank Councilmember Aisha Chughtai and the two other Muslim councilmembers,” said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on […]

RCMP interviewing Canadians held in detention camps in Syria: sources

March 29, 2023 Judy Trinh

(CTV) CTV News has learned RCMP officers are currently in northeast Syria, attempting to interview Canadians held in the Al-Roj detention camp ahead of their repatriation to Canada. The three Mounties have so far sought interviews with only Canadian women. In January, […]

Berlin to allow Muslim teachers to wear headscarves Authorities in German state of Berlin end discriminatory practice, comply with court rulings against blanket ban

March 29, 2023 Ayhan Simsek

(Anadolu) The German state of Berlin will allow Muslim teachers to wear headscarves, authorities confirmed on Wednesday. Headscarves and wearing of religious symbols by teachers will be allowed in general and can only be restricted in individual cases if it poses a […]

Islamic finance working group announced at ‘Great British Iftar’ Business and trade minister unveils support for British businesses seeking to export to new markets

March 28, 2023 Soraya Ebrahimi

(National-UAE) UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch and Minister for Investment Lord Dominic Johnson have announced the launch of a working group on Islamic finance at the Great British Iftar at Lancaster House in London. The working group […]

Norway says repatriating sisters and children from Syria

March 28, 2023 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Norway said Tuesday it was repatriating from Syria two sisters who went there as teenagers as well as their three children, citing abysmal conditions in the refugee camp where they were housed. “The living conditions in the camps are extremely bad […]

Tlaib bodied by Twitter over ‘lies’ that teenage brawl was Israeli soldiers attacking Palestinians Michigan Democrat once again under fire for comments about Israel

March 27, 2023 Houston Keene

(Fox) Far-left Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a progressive “Squad” Democrat, got bodied by Twitter for her “lies” that a brawl between Palestinian teenagers in Jerusalem was actually the “violent apartheid government of Israel” targeting Palestinians with the military. Tlaib, one of the […]

UK ‘passing buck’ on British ISIS terrorists, Lord Lamont says Foreign camps could be a breeding ground for terrorists of tomorrow, Tory peer says

March 27, 2023 Soraya Ebrahimi

(National-UAE) Leaving British ISIS suspects in refugee camps and stripping them of their citizenship rather than taking them back to the UK for trial could create a “breeding ground of terrorists tomorrow,” Conservative former chancellor Lord Norman Lamont has warned. Lord Lamont […]

Scotland to get 1st Muslim leader as SNP elects Humza Yousaf

March 27, 2023 Jill Lawless

(AP) Scotland’s governing party elected Humza Yousaf as its new leader on Monday, making him the first person of color and the first Muslim to lead the country of 5.5 million people. Yousaf narrowly defeated rival Kate Forbes after a bruising five-week […]

Ottawa asks court to dismiss ruling directing it to repatriate 4 men detained in Syria Is the Canadian government under a legal obligation to repatriate four men detained?

March 27, 2023 Ashley Burke

(CBC) The federal government says the Federal Court of Appeal should dismiss a high-profile ruling ordering Canada to bring home four Canadian men detained in northeastern Syrian prisons for suspected ISIS members. Government lawyers told a Toronto court that the Federal Court […]

Watchdog couldn’t probe charity bias allegations ‘deeply enough’ due to lack of info

March 27, 2023 Jim Bronskill

(Canadian Press) The federal taxpayers’ ombudsperson is recommending better unconscious bias training for employees of the Canada Revenue Agency’s charities directorate. In a report Monday on the fairness of the audit process for registered charities, François Boileau said the training should be […]

Türkiye strongly condemns attack on Muslim holy book, Turkish flag in Denmark Turkish Foreign Ministry urges Danish authorities to take action against perpetrators of 'hate crime'

March 25, 2023 Merve Aydogan

(Anadolu) Türkiye on Saturday strongly condemned a “vile attack” on the Muslim holy book, the Quran, and a Turkish flag in Denmark. Denouncing the late Friday incident as a “hate crime,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said: “Giving permission to this heinous act, […]

NYC offers free halal iftar meals for Ramadan, Comptroller Lander says

March 24, 2023 Chau Lam

(Gothamist) Muslim New Yorkers facing food insecurity during Ramadan will be able to pick up free iftar meals at designated locations starting today. Muslim families in need can pick up the traditional halal meals at certain grab-and-go sites in all five boroughs, […]

Europe risks migrant surge without aid to Tunisia, Italy PM warns

March 24, 2023 Gianluca Semeraro

(Reuters) Europe risks seeing a huge wave of migrants arriving on its shores from North Africa if financial stability in Tunisia is not safeguarded, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday. Tunisia has been gripped by political upheavals since July 2021, […]

CAIR-TX condemns State Rep. Tinderholt’s statement on Ramadan resolution

March 23, 2023 Alex Keller

(KTVT) The state chapter of a national civil rights organization criticized a Texas legislator’s statement on a resolution celebrating Ramadan, calling his words “Islamophobic.” On March 23, the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Texas chapter (CAIR-TX) denounced a statement made by State Rep. […]

Mothers in Syrian detention camps given ‘cruel’ choice to keep children or send them to Canada: advocates Repatriation coming any day for 29 Canadians. Government won’t say if 4 non-Canadian moms coming, too

March 23, 2023 Meghan Grant

(CBC) More than two dozen women and children held in northeastern Syrian detention camps are due to arrive on Canadian soil any day, but the fate of 10 of those children is unknown after their mothers were given the “cruel” choice of […]

North Texas state representative votes against celebration of Ramadan on House floor State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, a Republican whose district covers Arlington and other parts of Tarrant County, issued a statement on his vote.

March 22, 2023 Alex Cruz

(WFAA) A North Texas Republican state representative has said he voted against a resolution that was made in celebration of the holy month of Ramadan on the House floor as the legislative session continues. State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, whose district covers Arlington […]