France welcomes first Libyan refugees

France will welcome the first refugees from Libya by the High Commissioner on Refugees, announced Pascal Brice, General Director of the French Office for the Protection of Refugee and Stateless Persons (OFPRA). According to the interior ministry, they are set to arrive by the end of January. The HCR presented OFPRA with a list of…

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After ultra-nationalist independence day march, German religious leaders look to Poland with anxiety

Saturday, 11 November, marked the 99th anniversary of Polish independence. After successive partitions had awarded ever greater chunks of Polish territory to Russia, Austria, and Prussia; Poland ceased to exist as a political entity in 1795, to re-emerge as an independent state only in 1918. Independence day parade calls for white Europe To commemorate the…

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Political Polarization, 1994-2017

Pew Research Center’s latest instalment of their ongoing “Political Polarization” survey reveals sharp shifts in political values among Democrats and Republicans.  In particular, views about Islam and violence as approached by Democrats and Republicans has steadily widened over the past few years as a growing share of Democrats, 69%, do not believe that Islam encourages…

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Austrian elections pave way for populist government, making Muslims apprehensive

The elections to the National Council, the lower house of the Austrian Parliament on October 15, have marked a firm shift to the right in Austrian politics, particularly on matters of immigration, integration, and Islam. Sebastian Kurz headed for an ÖVP-FPÖ coalition After an electoral campaign dominated by at times vicious diatribes against Muslims and…

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German Muslims’ react to election results, rise of far-right AfD party

Germany has gone to the polls – and the results have thoroughly shaken the country’s political scene. The impression, prevailing at times in sections of the liberal international media, of Germany as a beacon of stability in a Western world marred by the rise of populism had for a long time been a faulty one….

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