Islam

US Appoints Envoy to Muslim World

June 26, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC New

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8122026.stm

The US State Department has appointed its first Special Representative to Muslim Communities.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Farah Pandith would play a leading role in US efforts to "engage Muslims around the world".

She said Ms Pandith, who was born in Indian-administered Kashmir, would bring years of experience to the role.

The...

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UK Muslims Split On Taliban Fight

June 25, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8119273.stm

A survey of British Muslim opinion for the BBC has revealed significant divisions over the conflict with the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Three-quarters of those surveyed said it was wrong for the West to intervene militarily in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

At the same time, a similar number (78%) said they opposed Taliban attacks against Nato...

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"When Muslims Saved Jews," a Commentary by Eboo Patel

June 25, 2009

Author: Eboo Patel

Source: The Washington Post

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/eboo_patel/2009/06/besa_world_war_ii_re-told.html

"As Muslims we welcomed them all. We welcomed them with bread, salt, and our hearts."

We hear many accounts of what happened during the Holocaust. The atrocities committed; the times and places in which unspeakable acts against humankind occurred; the millions of...

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ACLU Sues Federal Government Over Limits On Muslim Prayers In Special Prison Unit

June 24, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Syracuse.com

Wire Service: AP

Two Muslim inmates held in a special unit at the U.S. prison in Terre Haute say they aren't allowed to pray in groups as often as their religion requires and have asked a federal judge to ease limitations on worship imposed by the Bureau of Prisons.

The prison in western Indiana houses several high-security inmates, including American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh, who is serving a 20-year sentence...

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Study Shows More Muslims In Germany Than Thought

June 24, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Syracuse.com

Wire Service: AP

A government survey has found that there may be some one million more Muslims living in Germany than previously thought, meaning that they make up about 5 percent of the total population.

Germany has conducted no general census since reunification in 1990 and West Germany last conducted one in 1987. However, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees had previously estimated that the Muslim population was...

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New York City Council Majority Demands End to MTA's "Turban-Branding" Policy

June 23, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The Sikh Coalition

http://www.sikhcoalition.org/advisories/TurbanBrandingPressConference.htm

On Tuesday, a majority of the New York City Council called on the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) to end a policy requiring Sikh workers to brand their turbans with the MTA logo. 27 of the Council's 51 members sent a letter to Howard Roberts, president of MTA New York City Transit, charging that the...

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France Sets Up Burka Commission

June 23, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8114590.stm

France is to set up a commission to study the extent of burka-wearing in the country, after President Nicolas Sarkozy said the veils reduced dignity.

He said the burka - a garment worn by Muslims that covers the body from head to toe - "deprived women of identity".

The French National Assembly has appointed 32 lawmakers on a fact-finding mission to look...

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Muslim Minority Suffers Under Harsh Myanmar Rule

June 22, 2009

Author: Michael Sullivan

Source: Southern California Public Radio

http://www.scpr.org/news/2009/06/22/muslim-minority-suffers-under-harsh-myanmar-rule/

Myanmar is a place of misery for many of its citizens. Political dissent isn't tolerated by the repressive, often brutal military rulers. And neither, it seems, is the country's ethnic Muslim minority, known as the Rohingya. NPR's Michael Sullivan visited the country...

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Sarkozy Backs Drive to Eliminate the Burqa

June 22, 2009

Author: Doreen Carvajal

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/world/europe/23france.html

President Nicolas Sarkozy addressed Parliament on Monday, laying out a vision of France that included a withering critique of burqas as an unacceptable symbol of “enslavement.”

Speaking at the Palace of Versailles, Mr. Sarkozy confronted one of the most hotly debated social issues in France, saying there was...

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