Clerics & Preachers

Ecquevilly: The ‘quiet Salafist’ town resisting French integration While there are signs of hope in this commune west of Paris, a radical preacher’s influence lingers

(National-UAE) Barely 30 kilometres from the renowned Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, France’s perpetual search for harmonious relations with its post-colonial Muslim population has its own reflection in the troubled recent history of one small town. On first encounter, […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Muslim group sues Troy over mosque denial

(Detroit News) The city of Troy discriminated against a Muslim community group by rejecting plans to build an Islamic center, according to a federal court lawsuit filed Thursday. The nonprofit Adam Community Center sued the city council, planning commission and members of […]

Clerics & Preachers

Florida imam: Palestine must be liberated, even at cost of millions of martyrs Hasan Sabri says ‘Palestine in its entirety is Islamic land, and there is no difference between what was occupied in 1948 and 1967’

(Times of Israel) During a recent sermon at the Islamic Center of South Florida, an imam called for the “liberation” of Palestine, even at the cost of tens of millions of Muslim lives. “If a land is occupied or plundered, it should […]

Clerics & Preachers

Organization tied to Holy Land terror case supports vigil after synagogue shooting The United States designated HLF as a terror group in 2001 and became defunct. The case resulted in 108 guilty verdicts; years later, five of its leaders were convicted and sentenced to decades in prison.

(JNS) An organization whose imam was president of a group that was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terror case supported a vigil on Monday, hosted by Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, in the aftermath of a gunman shooting and killing 11 Jews […]

Children & Teens

He counseled a teen for years, but she says he was grooming her for sex A young woman filed a lawsuit and a police report accusing a Texas imam of sexual misconduct. Those who know her say it’s a landmark moment for Muslims saying #MeToo.

(BuzzFeed) Late at night on Dec. 5, 2016, the respected imam of one of the biggest mosques in Texas allegedly invited an 18-year-old to a prepaid room at the Motel 6 in Grand Prairie. The young woman, identified as Jane Doe in […]

Mosques

Mosques in Germany: Statistics hard to come by In a country that diligently makes note of its statistics, it may seem rather puzzling that no one knows the exact number of mosques in Germany. Differing laws and a lack of top-down organizing are largely to blame.

(Deutsche Welle) Exactly how many mosque buildings, and how many mosque associations, are there in Germany? No one in the country knows for sure. Ever since the opening of a Turkish state-financed mosque in Cologne, Islamic houses of prayer have been a […]

Government & Politics

Open Day at the mosque: ‘Everyone must contribute’ The Cologne Central Mosque has been making headlines recently, and the effects have not all been negative. On the contrary: An especially large number of curious, non-Muslim visitors attended this year's mosque Open Day.

(Deutsche Welle) “If not now, then when?” thought Dana and Julia. The two young women have travelled from their hometown of Olpe to the Central Mosque in Cologne, not despite but precisely because of the negative headlines surrounding its opening by the […]

Government & Politics

Turkish far-right Erdogan greetings cause concern in Germany The Turkish president's opening of Germany's largest mosque and use of hand gestures associated with extremists have led to German politicians' concerns about the role of the DITIB association.

(Deutsche Welle) Politicians in Germany expressed concern Monday about the use of Turkish ultra-nationalist symbols during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent state visit. Erdogan supporters welcomed him with the Grey Wolves (Bozkurt) hand sign when he arrived in Cologne to open Germany’s largest mosque […]

Clerics & Preachers

Erdogan in Germany: What you need to know about DITIB mosque association Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is opening a new central mosque in Cologne. DITIB, a controversial Turkish-Islamic umbrella group, provides the financing and imams. But what is DITIB?

(Deutsche Welle) The Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) is the largest umbrella organization of mosques in Germany. DITIB manages about 900 mosques in the country, including the central mosque in Cologne, and has about 800,000 members throughout Germany. Its ties to […]

Government & Politics

Italy’s Muslims uneasy after election of far-right government Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has threatened to shut mosques and said Islam is 'incompatible with the constitution.'

(Al-Jazeera) On Friday after midday, on a tree-lined residential street in southeastern Rome, people speak an assortment of languages and dialects, from north African Arabic to the local Roman slang. The bottom floor of a peeling post-war building hosts a “prayer home.” […]