Government & Politics

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.

(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 […]

Children & Teens

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

(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 […]

Demographics

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.

(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 […]

Government & Politics

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.

(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 […]

Government & Politics

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

(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 […]

Government & Politics

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?

(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 […]

Demonstrations

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'

(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, […]

Children & Teens

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

(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 […]

Government & Politics

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.

(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 […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

On the first day of Ramadan, Ilhan Omar introduces bill to condemn anti-Muslim hate The bill, first seen by HuffPost, honored the 51 Muslims killed in the terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand.

(HuffPost) Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is introducing a resolution on Thursday commemorating the anniversary of the terrorist attack in Christchurch, New Zealand, where 51 Muslims were killed in 2019, and condemning the rise of Islamophobia around the world. The bill, first seen […]

Government & Politics

Prevent review: Shawcross reforms risk ‘slide into authoritarianism,’ critics warn Coalition of civil society organisations, community leaders and rights groups urge the British government to withdraw Shawcross report

(Middle East Eye) The UK is facing a “slide into dangerous authoritarianism” if the government proceeds with the recommendations of a contentious review of Prevent, critics of the counter-terrorism strategy have warned. In a joint letter issued on Tuesday, a coalition of […]

Crime

Anti-Islamophobia rep Amira Elghawaby says in London, Ont., she’ll continue to call out discriminatory laws Elghawaby was in London, Ont., where Afzaal family members were killed, on 1st stop of community visits

(CBC) A few weeks after apologizing for comments in a 2019 opinion piece, Canada’s anti-Islamophobia representative began an official tour of communities with a stop in London, Ont., where a Muslim family was killed in June 2021 in what police describe as a […]