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.

(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.

(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

(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 […]

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

(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 […]

Clerics & Preachers

Canadian imam calls Jews ‘brothers of monkeys and pigs’ B’nai Brith Canada asks police to investigate imam with a history of anti-Semitic and radical Islamic incitement.

(World Israel News) B’nai Brith Canada contacted police to investigate an Islamic religious leader in British Columbia for his latest incitement against Jews, the organization said [in] a statement Tuesday. Local imam Younus Kathrada in the provincial capital of Victoria posted a […]

Clerics & Preachers

‘The French government has no right’: CAIR slams Macron’s ‘ultimatum’ to Muslims Muslim-American civil rights group labels French president's order to establish 'National Council of Imams' under government parameters 'hypocritical and dangerous'

(Middle East Eye) The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned French President Emmanuel Macron’s “attempt to dictate the principles of the Islamic faith” to French Muslim leaders, and his demand they “falsely state that Islam is an ‘apolitical religion.’” Macron on Wednesday […]

Law Enforcement

The young Spanish woman who went from ‘fallera’ to jihadist Cristina B., whose social media pictures show her at Valencia’s Las Fallas festival or at sports competitions, was arrested last week for belonging to a terrorist organization

(El País) Up until January 2017, Cristina B. was like any other young woman in Cullera, a small town in the Spanish region of Valencia. On social media, the 24-year-old was seen dressed as a fallera, wearing an elaborate traditional dress used […]

Government & Politics

French migration policy ‘anything but lax,’ says interior minister ‘No president has done as much as Emmanuel Macron’ when it comes to being tough on asylum and migration, says Gérald Darmanin.

(Politico) The French government’s migration policy is “anything but lax,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said, adding that “no president has done as much as Emmanuel Macron” when it comes to being tough on asylum and migration. Speaking to Le Parisien, Darmanin said […]

Law Enforcement

Woman who planned on joining terrorists in Syria arrested in Spain She preached the most violent forms of terrorist ideology, showing her support for the recent beheading of a French teacher who showed cartoons of Prophet Muhammad

(Olive Press) A young woman who was planning to join jihadist terrorists in Syria has been arrested in Spain. Police say the woman — born and raised in Europe — had been rapidly radicalised and now wanted to join the so-called Islamic […]