Government & Politics

Government & Politics

Committee rules Foreign Minister Haavisto broke law, but shouldn’t be charged — Greens leave dissenting opinion Haavisto's actions in relation to Finnish citizens at the al-Hol camp in Syria are under the microscope.

December 9, 2020   

(Yle) Parliament’s Constitutional Law Committee says Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Green) broke the law in his efforts to repatriate Finnish citizens from the al-Hol camp in northern Syria — but he should not be prosecuted. At a press conference on Wednesday evening, […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

New French law may increase discrimination France's government is presenting a draft law to combat 'radical Islamism.' Critics say the measures are inefficient and will further stigmatize Muslims.

December 8, 2020   

(Deutsche Welle) Irfan Thakar and Omar Ahamad feel misunderstood as Muslims in France. They are members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Saint-Prix, a northern suburb of Paris. As the imam, the 30-year-old Thakar regularly leads the prayer at the Moubarak mosque, […]

Clerics & Preachers

Renowned imam calls on Muslims to engage with France Prominent Islamic scholar [Mohammed] Abu Zaid has urged Muslims in France to cooperate with the government. But he told DW that the authorities should also foster dialogue with the Muslim community.

December 5, 2020   

(Deutsche Welle) France’s latest steps in combating Islamist extremism at home have been closely monitored in Arab countries. The brutal killing of French teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown his pupils cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in class, prompted French President Emmanuel […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

HRW condemns France for shutting down anti-bias group ‘Whatever its intention, this measure risks further stigmatizing Muslims in France,’ says Human Rights Watch researcher

December 5, 2020   

(Anadolu) Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned Friday a decision by France to shut down a leading anti-discrimination group. The US-based rights advocacy NGO said the move threatens basic human rights and liberties including freedom of expression, association, religion and the principle of […]

Government & Politics

Sen. Cruz reintroduces act to designate Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group 'Since the founding of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Brotherhood-affiliated groups have consistently preached and incited hatred against Christians, Jews and other Muslims' — Sen. Jim Inhofe.

December 3, 2020   

(Jerusalem Post) Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) reintroduced the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act this week, his office announced on Wednesday. The act urges the US State Department to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). “I am proud to […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

French government shuts down anti-racist group Collective Against Islamophobia in France forced to close as government seeks continued crackdown on Muslim groups

December 2, 2020   

(Anadolu) French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Wednesday announced the dissolution of anti-racist group Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF). “In accordance with the instructions of the President of the Republic, the CCIF was dissolved in the Council of Ministers. For several […]

Government & Politics

Slovenia labels Hezbollah in its entirety as terrorist group It becomes the sixth European Union member after the Netherlands, Germany, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia to recognize the Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

November 30, 2020   

(JNS) Slovenia’s government announced on Monday that it “adopted a decision on treating the Hezbollah Group as a criminal and terrorist organization posing a threat to peace and security.” The government noted that “Hezbollah’s activities are intertwined with organized crime and the […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

‘Insulting beliefs far from freedom’: Turkish president Ideological fanaticism has gained more ground, Turkish president tells annual convention of Muslim American Society

November 28, 2020   

(Anadolu) Decrying rising Islamophobia in Western countries, the Turkish president said Saturday that insulting people’s beliefs has nothing to do with freedom. “You have been closely following the meanness in France towards the Prophet [Muhammad] under the label of ‘freedom of thought’,” […]

Crime

German minister wants ‘criminals’ expelled to Syria, despite asylum safeguards Interior Minister Horst Seehofer wants Germany's general ban on deportations to war-torn Syria weakened to return persons deemed criminal or dangerous. Rights groups accuse him of pandering to the far right.

November 27, 2020   

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s current general deportation stop to Syria should not be extended, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Friday, urging that individual case-by-case decisions be made “at least for criminals and those considered a threat.” In 2012, Germany passed a ban on […]

Clerics & Preachers

Danish minister’s comment on sex before marriage angers Muslims Mattias Tesfaye has suggested the Muslim community should support the ‘right’ to sex before marriage for Muslim women.

November 26, 2020   

(Al-Jazeera) A Danish minister has caused outrage among the Muslim minority for suggesting imams and community leaders should publicly support the “right” to have sex before marriage for women. Mattias Tesfaye, foreign affairs and integration minister, said in a Facebook post last […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Congress pays $850,000 to Muslim aides targeted in inquiry stoked by Trump The House resolved wrongful termination claims by five Pakistani-American technology workers whose case was twisted into a right-wing conspiracy theory pushed by President Trump.

November 25, 2020 and   

(NY Times) The House of Representatives quietly paid $850,000 this year to settle wrongful termination claims by five Pakistani-American technology specialists, after a set of routine workplace allegations against them morphed into fodder for right-wing conspiracy theories amplified by President Trump. Together, […]