United Nations

Legal

Minnesotan will be sentenced for fighting for ISIS: ‘I joined a death cult’ As federal authorities stopped groups of Minnesotans from traveling to ISIS territory a decade ago, Abdelhamid Al-Madioum escaped detection. His survival and return home was no less astonishing.

April 27, 2024   

(Star Tribune) The Islamic State group’s territory was wasting away five years ago when a member from Minnesota desperately dug a trench around his young family’s tent to protect against airstrikes in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz. By then, Abdelhamid Al-Madioum […]

Government & Politics

Biden campaign refuses invitation to address US Muslim voter advocacy groups Muslim voters say the campaign's refusal to engage 'reveals the disconnect' between Biden and voters, as Muslims hear from third-party candidates

April 26, 2024   

(Middle East Eye) US President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign team refused an invitation to address a symposium regarding the voter engagement of more than one million Muslim Americans in the country, according to a coalition of more than two dozen Muslim civic […]

Government & Politics

Europe turning blind eye to Hamas and Hezbollah networks in its territory, experts say Analysts say terror groups operate largely unchecked, running charities, lobbying public opinion and recruiting supporters — and the legal means to stop them are scant

April 12, 2024   

(Times of Israel) A stash of weapons was found hidden under a pine tree in southern Bulgaria last week. The arms were linked to four suspected Hamas members arrested in Germany and the Netherlands in December on suspicion of preparing an attack […]

Demonstrations

Michigan Arab and Muslim leaders fuming after second Biden visit this year with no meeting President Joe Biden faces pushback and protest over his support for Israel amid its military action in Gaza.

March 14, 2024 , and   

(NBC) For the second time this year, President Joe Biden visited Michigan without any in-person meetings with members of its Arab American or Muslim communities as he faces protests at campaign events and at the ballot box over Israel’s military action in […]

Immigration

A new terror threat is emerging in Europe linked to Iran, Gaza war Security services are on edge as the Israel-Hamas conflict galvanizes new actors

March 12, 2024 and   

(Wall Street Journal) Authorities in Europe say they have foiled several terror plots, some involving suspects posing as refugees, raising alarm about a growing array of threats from extremists. In one previously unreported investigation last December, police in Austria and Bosnia arrested […]

Government & Politics

Muslim leaders meet in Toronto to declare support for Jews and combat antisemitism Over four hundred people packed into a midtown venue to hear speakers assembled by the non-profit Council of Muslims Against Antisemitism

March 5, 2024   

(National Post) A global network of Muslim thought leaders convened in Toronto on Sunday afternoon to discuss ways to combat antisemitism coming from within their community. Over 400 people packed into a midtown venue to hear speakers assembled by the non-profit Council […]

Government & Politics

Hamilton MPs not welcome for Ramadan if they don’t meet demands to help Gaza: Muslim groups A dozen Islamic and Muslim organizations in Hamilton and Niagara sign letter along with national groups

March 1, 2024   

(CBC) As the brutal and deadly war in Gaza nears its sixth month, Hamilton-area Muslim groups will break with tradition and not welcome members of Parliament into their mosques for Ramadan unless they call for an immediate ceasefire. More than a dozen local Islamic and […]

Government & Politics

The top Muslim state lawmaker in Michigan wants you to turn on Joe Biden Michigan Rep. Abraham Aiyash hopes to send the president a message in Tuesday’s primary: Cease-fire or bust.

February 26, 2024   

(Politico) In late October, the Democratic floor leader of the Michigan House of Representatives, Abraham Aiyash, stood in front of thousands gathered in downtown Detroit to denounce a man who is vying to win another four years in the Oval Office. He […]

Government & Politics

Muslim groups say MPs won’t be welcome in mosques until they call for Gaza ceasefire In letter to MPs, Muslim groups call for restoration of UNRWA funding, condemnation of Israeli 'war crimes'

February 22, 2024 and   

(CBC) With Ramadan just around the corner, a national Muslim organization and several local congregations are warning members of Parliament they won’t be welcome in their mosques until they call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, demand restoration of funding for the UN’s aid agency and […]

Government & Politics

In private remarks to Arab Americans, Biden aide expresses regrets on Gaza In a closed-door meeting, the aide offered some of the administration’s clearest notes of contrition for its response to the Gaza war, a sign of rising Democratic pressure on President Biden.

February 9, 2024 and   

(NY Times) In a closed-door meeting with Arab American leaders in Michigan this week, one of President Biden’s top foreign policy aides acknowledged mistakes in the administration’s response to the war in Gaza, saying he did not have “any confidence” that Israel’s […]

Academics & Education

Austria orders edits to school textbook that called Hamas a ‘resistance movement’ Officials step in over 'one-sided' and 'highly problematic' wording in geography book

January 31, 2024   

(National-UAE) An Austrian school textbook that described Hamas as a “resistance movement” has been rewritten under official orders. The geography book for secondary school pupils is being modified in light of the war in Gaza triggered by Hamas’s October 7 attack on […]

Government & Politics

Islamic group calling for Shariah law cancels Canadian event after U.K. declares it a terrorist entity The group’s statements are seen as starkly antisemitic, hawkish on eradicating Israel, and supporting elements of militant jihadi violence

January 24, 2024   

(National Post) The day after an Islamic organization was declared a terrorist group in Britain, the group’s Canadian branch cancelled a conference it was hosting this weekend that was calling for the resurrection of the Muslim caliphate and the imposition of Shariah […]

Crime

Court convicts first pro-Assad war crimes defendant in Netherlands While the Dutch have brought several Syrians to trial for crimes committed during their country’s civil war, previous defendants were all members of opposition forces.

January 22, 2024   

(Courthouse News) Dutch judges sentenced a former militia commander to 12 years in prison for complicity in torture and illegal detention on Monday, marking the first conviction of a pro-government Syrian defendant in the Netherlands. The 35-year-old, identified only as Mustafa A., […]

Law Enforcement

Cage director banned from entering Switzerland to address meeting at UN Muhammad Rabbani held overnight after being stopped at Geneva Airport in latest incident which he says is a consequence of France adding his name to a European no-entry database

December 13, 2023   

(Middle East Eye) Border authorities in Switzerland have stopped the director of a UK-based human rights group from entering the country to address a meeting at the United Nations office in Geneva “after a request from France.” Posting on social media on […]