Tag Archives: Islam

The Washington Post reports: Democrats want to change a rule banning House members from wearing hats on the chamber floor to accommodate the first Muslim women to ever be elected to Congress — one of whom wears a headscarf. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democrat Rep. Jim McGovern, and congresswoman-elect Ilhan Omar of Minnesota are the co-authors of the proposal, …

The Malay Mail reports: Opposition leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed concerns about efforts needed to stem lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activities in the country, saying a recent earthquake in Indonesia was caused by such behaviour. Speaking at the Dewan Rakyat today during Question Time, Ahmad Zahid said he was worried that Malaysia might similarly incur the wrath of …

Agence France-Presse reports: A gay couple was publicly whipped in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province on Friday (July 13), despite an earlier pledge by officials to stop the punishment after it drew international criticism. The two men were flogged more than 80 times each for having gay sex, which is outlawed under local Islamic law, as a jeering crowd hurled abuse …

Politico reports: President Donald Trump will host an iftar dinner at the White House next week to recognize the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to a White House official, a departure from last year’s decision not to host the traditional post-sundown meal. The iftar dinner is scheduled for Wednesday. The White House official declined to provide a list of …

Just in from the White House press office: With the rising of tonight’s moon, I send my greetings and best wishes to all Muslims observing Ramadan in the United States and around the world. During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims commemorate the revelation of the Quran to the prophet Muhammad through fellowship and prayer. Many observe this holy time …

The Hill reports: The conservative website Breitbart News deleted a tweet on Sunday night that suggested Muslims will bring an end to the Super Bowl if they gain control of the United States. The tweet was in the form of a discussion between a child who asks what the Super Bowl was, and a grandparent explaining why it was done …

The Associated Press reports: Riding a tsunami of moral conservatism and anti-gay prejudice, Indonesia’s Islamic political parties appear on the cusp of a major victory: outlawing all sex outside marriage. Revisions to Indonesia’s criminal code being considered by Parliament would allow prison sentences of up to five years for sex between unmarried people. Those changes would also criminalize gay sex, …

The Independent reports: The Committee on Religion in the Egyptian Parliament has disclosed plans to pass into law a bill that makes atheism a criminal offence in the North African nation. Current Egyptian law says atheists can be prosecuted for expressing their disbelief in public but the committee’s proposal would go further and criminalise disbelief itself. It would be recalled …

The Associated Press reports: A man convicted of leading an Islamic State-inspired plot to behead a conservative blogger who upset Muslims when she organized a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest was sentenced Tuesday to 28 years in prison. David Wright, who’s 28 years old, was sentenced by a judge in Boston’s federal courthouse two months after jurors found him guilty of …

The Associated Press reports: Indonesia’s top court on Thursday ruled against petitioners seeking to make gay sex and sex outside marriage illegal in a victory for the country’s besieged LGBT minority. The 5-to-4 decision by the nine-judge panel of the Constitutional Court rejected the arguments of a conservative group, the Family Love Alliance, which believes Indonesia is being swamped by …

USA Today reports: Saudi Arabia on Monday said it would lift the kingdom’s decades-long ban on movie theaters, part of reforms by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The government passed a resolution paving the way for licenses to be granted to commercial movie theaters for the first time in 35 years. They could open in March. The conservative kingdom shut …

After a flurry of confused and contradictory reports, it appears that the attack in lower Manhattan was indeed Islamic terrorism. At least six people were killed Tuesday afternoon when a speeding Home Depot truck plowed along a Lower Manhattan bike path, running down helpless riders from behind, sources said. Eyewitnesses told police the driver yelled “Allahu Akbar!” — Arabic for …

The Washington Post reports: This week, a government journal in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan announced that the country’s interior ministry had compiled a registry of “proven” gays and lesbians. The list named 319 men and 48 women, whom Tajik federal prosecutors identified in operations they called “Morality” and “Purge.” A purge — likely in the form of mass …

The Associated Press reports: Saudi Arabia says it will allow women to drive for the first time in the ultra-conservative kingdom. The kingdom, which announced the change on Tuesday, was the only the country in the world to bar women from driving and for years had garnered negative publicity internationally for detaining women who defied the ban. Women’s rights activists …

Vice reports: A woman showed up at a meet and greet with NDP leadership candidate Jagmeet Singh to demand that the Sikh politician stop implementing Sharia law. To be completely clear, just so we all know for the rest of this article, Sikhism and Islam are two different religions. The event took place at the Professor’s Lake Community Centre in …

Just in from the Public Religion Research Institute: The American religious landscape is undergoing a dramatic transformation. White Christians, once the dominant religious group in the U.S., now account for fewer than half of all adults living in the country. Today, fewer than half of all states are majority white Christian. As recently as 2007, 39 states had majority white …

The Pioneer Press reports: The first thing to understand about President Donald Trump, former Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann said Wednesday, is that the billionaire president is a normal person. “He is quite honestly one of the most regular guys you would ever meet,” said Bachmann, an adviser to Trump on faith issues who prayed over the president in the Oval …

The Daily Beast reports: Donald Trump is Tinder for bigots. His campaign and presidency has helped countless bigots hook up with each other, and we will see another example of that this Saturday with anti-Muslim rallies scheduled in nearly 30 locations across America. These rallies are organized by ACT for America!, an organization founded by Hanah Kahwagi, who goes by …

The BBC reports: The Malaysian government is encouraging young people to make videos about “preventing” homosexuality by offering cash prizes. A competition launched on the health ministry’s website offers up to $1,000 (£780) for the best videos tackling “gender confusion”. The entries should explore prevention and control; issues and consequences; and how to get help, said the site. It is …

Last night veteran newsman Dan Rather called on Trump to publicly recognize the two Oregon men who were stabbed to death by a white supremacist after they stepped in to defend two Muslim girls from his screaming tirade. Rather writes: Dear President Trump, Their names were Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and Ricky John Best. One was a recent college graduate. The …