France to block Muslim street prayers in Paris suburb

French authorities will stop Muslims from praying in a street north of Paris, said Interior Minister Gerard Collomb , after a series of protests by lawmakers and locals over what they view as an unacceptable use of public space. “They will not have prayers on the street, we will prevent street praying,” he said. Prayers…

Share Button
Read More

Charlie Hebdo gets new threats over cartoon on accused Islamic scholar

The Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation on Monday of death threats against the satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo, over a cartoon of the Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan, who faces rape allegations. The investigation was opened against “written death threats” and “public praise for a terrorist act,” The magazine depicted Ramadan with with an explicit…

Share Button
Read More

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…

Share Button
Read More

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…

Share Button
Read More

Returnees, unaccounted combatants, child jihadists: Germany struggles with the ‘foreign fighter’ phenomenon

Ever since the Islamic State group began to lose the territories it had so spectacularly conquered during 2013 and 2014, analysts and policy-makers in the West have warned of potential large-scale return movements of so-called ‘foreign fighters’. 40,000 ‘foreign fighters’ Although the term ‘foreign fighter’ is vacuous with respect to international law, it still permeates…

Share Button
Read More