“Moaning About Mosque Loudspeaker Not Blasphemy”: Indonesian Muslim Group
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s biggest Islamic organisation called for greater tolerance on Friday as it criticised a court that jailed a mother of four for blasphemy after complaining that a mosque in her neighborhood was too loud. The 44-year old ethnic Chinese Buddhist woman, named Meiliana, was found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison by a court […]
Indonesian Woman’s Jailing Over Mosque Noise Sparks Backlash
JAKARTA — Indonesia’s jailing of a woman for complaining about the volume of a mosque loudspeaker has sparked a wave of criticism, with a petition calling for her release gaining more than 100,000 supporters. Rights groups and the Muslim-majority country’s biggest religious organization slammed the 18-month blasphemy sentence handed out Tuesday to the defendant, an […]
As Africa Faces More Terrorism, Experts Point to Saudi-spread of Fundamentalist Islam
On June 5, Saudi Arabia and its allies, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of funding extremist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic State. In response, Qatar said it was the victim of a policy of “domination and control” by its larger neighbor and […]
Google reveals new plans to combat online extremist content
New York (dpa) – Google pledged to crack down on extremist content online Sunday as the internet giant unveiled a new four-pronged approach. The search engine will follow in the footsteps of online giant Facebook by deploying artificial intelligence to more quickly detect and review extremist content. For its YouTube platform, this will mean ramping […]
Recognizing World War II Muslims that sheltered fleeing Jews
WASHINGTON, April 27, 2017 – One of the little-known stories of the Holocaust is that of Muslims who risked their lives to save Jews from the Nazis. Fortunately, on this year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, more attention is being paid to this important record of bravery and idealism. At Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C.., Holocaust […]
Who exactly are ‘radical’ Muslims?
Indian Muslim woman Shagufta Sayyd prays in Mumbai, India. AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool The Trump administration has been using the phrase “radical Islam” when discussing the “war on terror.” From his inauguration address to remarks to military leaders, President Trump has been warning against “Islamic…
Politics, not theology, at root of Islamism, says French scholar
“Never in our recent history [has] the gap between the politically correct discourse about political Islam in France and in the Arab world been so profound,” said . A French political scientist, Arabist and senior researcher at the French Institute for Scientific…
Americans Have Double Standards On Religious Violence
Americans exhibit a double standard when it comes to religious violence, extending far greater benefit of the doubt that attackers claiming to be Christian aren’t really Christian than they do for attacks carried out in the name of Islam, a survey has indicated. Responding to a survey from the Public Religion Research Institute, released Thursday, […]
Religious Intolerance
Religious extremism is prevailing in the world today, especially in the Middle East, and the problem is that it is being associated with Islam because of ignorance and fanaticism. Is there a way out, and what can we do about our situation? What are the reasons behind the widespread ignorance and intolerance in…
Christmas message leads to death threats in Pakistan
A Christmas message calling for prayers for those charged under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws has led to death threats against the son of a provincial governor killed five years ago for criticizing the same laws. The case highlights the continuing influence in Pakistan of Muslim hardliners who praise violence in the name of defending Islam, despite […]