Posts tagged Islam
In Time For #RedWednesday, New Report Details Christian Persecution In Europe

(ANALYSIS) In 2023, 2,444 anti-Christian hate crimes were documented in 35 European countries. This included 232 personal attacks, such as harassment, threats and physical violence. At least 2,000 Christian places of worship were damaged. Attacks took place throughout the continent, including Germany, the United Kingdom and especially France.

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Mediha: A Yazidi Survivor Fights For A New Life After Enslavement

(ANALYSIS) Now, thanks to a brave young Yazidi woman, Mediha Ibrahim Alhamad, the struggle to reestablish life after years of enslavement is brought to the surface, with a documentary from director Hasan Oswald and executive producer Emma Thompson.

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How Islam And Redemption Transformed Boxer Mike Tyson’s Life

Despite his success, boxer Mike Tyson was plagued by demons. Emotional pain and a violent temper led to a series of personal and professional breakdowns. In 1992, he was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison. It was during those years that Tyson encountered the Islamic faith. It would take years before he would eventually find redemption.

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Israelis And Arabs Battle For Influence In Trump’s Second Term

As President-elect Donald Trump huddles with his transition team to shape his new cabinet, several influential figures who played a key role in his campaign’s outreach to Arab American voters in Michigan are pushing for him to adopt a more favorable stance toward Palestinians in a post-war effort for regional peace.

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The Death Of A Muslim Cleric Again Raises Questions About Erdogan’s Rule

Fethullah Gulen was an Islamic cleric who had built a powerful global movement — but eventually found himself exiled in the U.S. and caught up in accusations that he had orchestrated a military coup against Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan. 

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Behind Alarmist Portrayals of Rising Islamism In Bangladesh

(ANALYSIS) If you tune into mainstream media, especially in India, you might find yourself asking, “What the heck is going on in Bangladesh?” With that same question in mind, we left Delhi for Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. However, our six-day journey through Dhaka and Dinajpur left us feeling more hopeful than fearful about Bangladesh’s future.

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As Militants Kill Christians, Pastor Risks His Life To Evangelize Nigerians

Pastor Eli Abdullah Tinau lives in the charred room that remains of his home after an attack by militant Fulani Muslims, an increasingly violent group accused of killing thousands of Christians in Nigeria. But Tinau, a Fulani Christian who converted from Islam, is committed to sharing the Gospel with Fulani Muslims as a missionary and pastor of Evangelical Church Winning All in Nkiendoro, about 60 miles from Jos in the Bassa Local Government Area.

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Dutch Woman Faces Trial For Involvement In Crimes Against Yazidis

(ANALYSIS) Earlier this month, a trial of a Dutch member of Daesh, also known as the Islamic State group, began in The Hague, Netherlands. The Dutch national, known as Hasna A., is being tried for crimes against Yazidi women, representing a pivotal moment in the global fight for justice and accountability.

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Cosmic Comics: 3 Graphic Novels Highlighting Faith That Are Worth A Read

(ANALYSIS) In the company of endless superhero comics and Japanese pirate manga lives a delightfully sizable population of religious graphic novels. This is fitting, as perhaps the oldest comics are religious. Regardless of intention, what do ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics read like if not a comic strip? Here’s a look at three stories that touch upon faith.

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European Court Of Justice: Gender And Nationality Sufficient To Grant Afghan Women Asylum

(ANALYSIS) On Oct. 4, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that gender and nationality alone are sufficient for a country to grant asylum to Afghan women. The case concerned Afghan women who were seeking international protection in Austria, and their asylum applications were rejected in 2015 and 2020.

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Watermelons And Dog Tags: Guide To The Symbols Of The Israel-Hamas War

The Israel-Hamas war has dominated public debate, influenced elections and seeped into every aspect of life for a year. And people have learned to succinctly display their position through various visual cues, whether on T-shirts or placards held at marches. Not all of these are new. The keffiyeh and Palestinian flag have long been mainstays in protests, as have the Star of David and Israel’s colors. Over the past year, however, new symbols have also emerged to show solidarity.

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Taliban’s New ‘Vice And Virtue’ Law Erases Women

(ANALYSIS) Afghanistan’s new “vice and viture” law seeks to completely silence women in public. They are prohibited from speaking, singing or praying aloud. The law also attempts to literally erase them from view, ordering women to cover every part of their body and face in public.

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At Kibbutz Hardest Hit On Oct. 7, A Debate Over How To Rebuild

Israel’s plan to rebuild is focused on returning residents to the Gaza border region, so one group has been trying to fundraise $25 million for the move together to a new location, a plan that relies on American Jewish donors who have so far been wary of funding an unconventional project that some other Nir Oz residents have denounced as a betrayal.

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To Be An Israeli Jew Means Living With Danger Every Day

(OPINION) When I moved to Israel, I couldn’t have foreseen the horror that would unfold less than two months later, when Hamas terrorists stormed the southern border, massacred 1,200 citizens, and took 251 others hostage on Oct. 7. In all the years I spent dreaming of my aliyah — the return to the homeland described in Jewish texts — I never accounted for the country being thrust into national disarray. 

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Meryl Streep Says A Female Cat In Kabul ‘Has More Freedom Than A Woman’

(ANALYSIS) On Sept. 23, 2024, when speaking at a side event on “The Inclusion of Women in the Future of Afghanistan” at the U.N. General Assembly, Oscar-winning actress and activist Meryl Streep addressed the dire situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. As she noted, “Today in Kabul a female cat has more freedom than a woman.”

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Is The IDF Committing Terrorist Acts Against Hezbollah?

(OPINION) There is a Talmudic dictum that states, “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.” This is part of a discussion of the laws of self-defense, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited it with reference to the targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

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Growing Number Of Single Women In Islamic Nations Freezing Their Eggs

Over the last five years, a growing number of single Muslim women in their mid-30s in Islamic countries — including the UAE, Qatar and Egypt, among others — have been choosing to freeze their eggs to ensure motherhood later in life. It was previously not seen as an option in these countries — owing primarily to cultural beliefs and religious restrictions.

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In The World’s Largest Muslim Nation, A Church Is ‘Still Thankful To God’

At 4:44 a.m., the calls to prayer begin. They come from everywhere, it seems, reminding me that I’m in the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. There’s at least one mosque in every direction from the home of Daniel Setiabudu, the Christian minister who’s graciously taken me in for a couple of nights.

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Paging Hezbollah: Understanding Israel’s Attack On Lebanon And Syria

(OPINION) Can you imagine the level of physical and psychological trauma throughout Lebanon and parts of Syria as thousands of Hezbollah pagers exploded, leaving many Islamic militants injured, hundreds of them critically, and several of them dead? It sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie more than real life, especially at the scale on which it occurred.

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Majority Of US Indian Muslims Suffer Bigotry From Hindu Nationalists

A new report finds that a majority of Indian American Muslims living in the United States said they have experienced discrimination due to the rise of Hindu nationalism, an ideology that has fostered “an environment of intolerance” in and outside of India. The survey revealed the trend, tying it to the ideology of Hindu nationalism among Indian immigrants. 

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