Muhammad and Allah

Academics & Education

France: No Samuel Paty school after backlash over name change A French town won't rename a school after Samuel Paty — who was slain by an Islamist extremist — following backlash from teachers and parents. The move marks a sign of deeper divisions in French society.

February 8, 2021   

(Deutsche Welle) No one at the school “The Eucalypts” in the village of Ollioules, near the Mediterranean coast in southern France, wants to talk to the media anymore. Sandra Olivier, maths teacher and member of the teachers’ union SNES-FSU, turned down DW’s […]

Academics & Education

French mosque accused of radicalism to reopen earlier Pantin mosque was closed for six months in October for disseminating video criticizing history teacher before his murder

February 2, 2021   

(Anadolu) The Grand Mosque of Pantin near Paris, closed as part of a crackdown against radical Muslims by the French government in the aftermath of history teacher Samuel Paty’s assassination, will soon be reopened, the interior minister announced Monday. The mosque was […]

Academics & Education

Teaching assistant at Johns Hopkins threatened to fail pro-Israel students While the university has not issued a formal statement on the incident, Sunil Kumar, from the university’s provost office, said in an email to StandWithUs that it is 'aware of the incident.'

January 6, 2021   

(JNS) Anti-Semitism watchdog groups are raising alarm over a graduate student and teaching assistant at Johns Hopkins University who threatened to fail pro-Israel students, while also making disparaging remarks about Israelis and white people. “We find it alarming that a teaching assistant […]

Legal

‘Unacceptable risk’: Terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika will stay jailed despite finishing sentence A convicted terrorist who plotted terrifying attacks on major Aussie targets will not be let out of jail despite finishing his sentence.

December 24, 2020   

(NCA NewsWire) A convicted terrorist will stay behind bars despite finishing his sentence after a judge agreed he was an “unacceptable risk” to the community. Victorian Supreme Court Justice Andrew Tinney ruled on Christmas Eve that Abdul Nacer Benbrika will spend a […]

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 […]