Tag Archives: Islam

Melania Declines To Wear Headscarf Despite Trump’s Attack On Michelle Obama For Doing The Same

ABC News reports: First lady Melania Trump stepped off Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport Saturday morning without a head scarf — following the example of her predecessor, Michelle Obama — and potentially creating a stir in this conservative Islamic country. Women here, including visitors and foreign dignitaries, are expected to be fully covered in public, including their …

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State Department Denies Visas For Chechen Gay Men Fleeing Wave Of Kidnappings, Torture, And Murders

J. Lester Feder reports at Buzzfeed: The United States has declined visas to gay Chechens fleeing a wave of kidnappings, torture, and disappearances in the semi-autonomous Russian region, according to the organization Russia LGBT Network. A group of around 40 Chechens are now in hiding in other parts of Russia, Russia LGBT Network spokesperson Svetlana Zakharova told BuzzFeed News, and …

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RUSSIA: St. Petersburg Police Arrest Activists At May Day Protest Against Chechen Persecution Of Gay Men

The Independent reports: Russian police have detained LGBT activists attempting to raise awareness about the persecution of gay men in Chechnya. The demonstration was held during a May Day march in St Petersburg, with a group of around 10 protesters arrested near the Anichkov Palace in the centre of Russia’s second city. Images shared on Twitter showed activists lying on …

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Marco Rubio Blasts Chechnya’s Violent Crusade Against Gay Men, Calls On US Government To Act [VIDEO]

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) denounced on the Senate floor Monday the ongoing reports of anti-gay arrests and detention in Chechnya, blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for allowing them to happen. Rubio, who previously denounced the alleged atrocities on Twitter, called on the U.S. government to “do more to ensure that all people are …

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REPORT: Gay British MP Claims Chechnya’s President Has Vowed To Eliminate All Gay Men By Ramadan

Even though gays don’t exist there? Gay Star News reports: Chechnya’s president has vowed to ‘eliminate’ all gay men by the end of May. Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic, threatened to rid the area of homosexuality ‘by Ramadan’. Ramadan, Islam’s holy month, begins on 26 May this year. Speaking to Gay Star News, a Foreign and Commonwealth Office …

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MALAYSIA: Government Backs Ex-Gay Torture [VIDEO]

The Independent reports: Malaysia’s Government has endorsed gay conversion therapy after federal authorities claimed sexual orientation can be changed with extensive training. A video produced by the country’s family, social and development department explains how Muslims can change their approach to the LGBT community so that it does not promote hate against a minority, but the video has sparked anger …

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Kyrgyzstan Voters Ban Same-Sex Marriage

Radio Free Europe reports: Kyrgyz election officials said voters have overwhelmingly backed amending the constitution to ban same-sex marriage and shift some presidential powers to the prime minister. The two questions were among a package of 26 proposed amendments that voters in the mostly Muslim former Soviet republic were being asked to approve with a simple “yes-or-no” vote on December …

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INDONESIA: Human Rights Groups Object After Police Raid Gay Party With Help From Islamic Activists

The Jakarta Post reports: Along with a group of hard-liners, the Pancoran Police arrested 13 men on Saturday night at an apartment block in South Jakarta for allegedly holding “a sex party”. Despite no strong evidence that the men had committed any crime, around 50 members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) barged into an apartment in the Kalibata City …

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Priebus: We Won’t Have A Registry Based On Religion But I Won’t Rule Out A Muslim Registry [VIDEO]

NBC News reports: Incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press” that President-elect Donald Trump’s team is not planning to create a Muslim registry, but would not rule anything out. “Look I’m not going to rule out anything,” Priebus said. “We’re not going to have a registry based on a religion. But what …

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Anti-Defamation League CEO: If Trump Creates A Muslim Database, This Proud Jew Will Register For It

Haaretz reports: Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, pledged to register as a Muslim on the national database that President-elect Donald Trump vowed to create during his campaign. Greenblatt made the vow in his opening remarks at the ADL’s Never Is Now conference on anti-Semitism, held Thursday and Friday in midtown Manhattan. It came the day after a spokesman …

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Muslim Ban Vanishes From Trump’s Website

The Telegraph reports: A statement calling for a ban on Muslims entering the United States has been removed from Donald Trump’s campaign website. The Trump team appears to have removed the statement, in which Mr Trump said on December 7, 2015: “Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our …

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Jordanian Air: Fly To America Now, Just In Case

NBC News reports: As the world waited Tuesday for Americans to choose their new president, a Middle East airline launched an advertising campaign that took a swipe at Donald Trump’s original plan to ban Muslims from the USA. Royal Jordanian Airlines posted a promotion on social media urging customers: “Just in case he wins… travel to the U.S. while you’re …

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INDONESIA: Islamic Activists Urge Constitutional Court To Criminalize Homosexuality And Fornication

J. Lester Feder reports at Buzzfeed: A group of academics and activists urged the Constitutional Court of Indonesia to criminalize fornication and homosexuality on Tuesday in the latest hearing of a lawsuit that began earlier this year. The suit, which has been brought by 12 academics and activists, has already had several hearings, but captured international attention earlier this month …

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Christian Church Announces Plan To Launch Drone Strikes To Drop Thousands Of Bibles On Muslims

And thus it was foretold that the Holy Word would rain from the heavens in tiny electronic form. The Washington Post reports: The apparent logic of the Swedish church Livets Ord, or “Word of Life,” is that by using a tactic that simulates the airstrikes that have traumatized a region, they will bring light and love and maybe convert some …

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Trump Calls for Profiling American Muslims [VIDEO]

Mediaite reports: As the Orlando Shooting keeps the political debate glued to Islamic terror, Donald Trump suggested that racial profiling is a necessary surveillance measure to prevent mass shootings in the future. Speaking with John Dickerson on Face the Nation, Trump fielded questions regarding how the shooter was able to purchase his weapons under current gun laws despite his personal …

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TURKEY: Istanbul Police Attack Pride Parade Marchers With Tear Gas And Rubber Bullets [VIDEO]

Last year it was batons and water cannons. This year it was tear gas and rubber bullets. The Guardian reports: Riot police have fired teargas and rubber pellets to disperse an LBGT march in Istanbul that had been banned after ultranationalists said “degenerates” could not demonstrate. Hundreds of riot police cordoned off Taksim Square in the heart of the city …

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TURKEY: Government Bans Istanbul Pride

J. Lester Feder reports at Buzzfeed: The governor of Istanbul announced Friday that pride events scheduled to begin on Sunday have been banned. “The organization of a meeting and demonstration march on the mentioned dates will not be allowed by our governorate for the safety of our citizens, first and foremost the participants’, and for public order,” said a press …

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Father Of Orlando Terrorist: He Should Have Left Punishing Those Homosexuals To God Himself [VIDEO]

From the Washington Post: The father of the gunman in the Orlando nightclub shooting said early Monday his son shouldn’t have carried out the massacre because “God himself will punish those involved in homosexuality.” In a video posted to Facebook shortly after midnight, Seddique Mateen, who lives in Florida, called the shooting “tragic” but said his son, Omar Mateen, was …

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Trump Wants To Attend Muhammad Ali’s Funeral

Hypocrisy alert: Presidential candidate Donald Trump has inquired about Friday’s memorial service for boxing legend Muhammad Ali, indicating that he wants to attend, according to a volunteer with funeral organizers. Trump was a longtime friend of the boxer but has also been outspoken in wanting to ban Muslims from traveling to the U.S. — and Ali was a Muslim. When …

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UNITED NATIONS: Egypt-Led Muslim States Block LGBT Groups From Attending Meeting On HIV/AIDS

Reuters reports: A group of 51 Muslim states has blocked 11 gay and transgender organizations from attending a high-level meeting at the United Nations next month on ending AIDS, sparking a protest by the United States, Canada and the European Union. Egypt wrote to the president of the 193-member General Assembly on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to …

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