In Bordeaux, Muslims fight radical Islam

Fouad Saanadi is preaching to the converted, but not the mainstream Muslim community he belongs to. In a discreet building near city hall, the Bordeaux imam meets with bewildered parents and fragile youngsters, some of whom have never set foot inside a mosque. Many come from troubled families and neighborhoods. Some are mentally unstable. He and…

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Islamic Secondary School in Rotterdam to Close

10 September 2013 Ibn Ghaldoun School, the Rotterdam secondary school which was the focus of an exam theft earlier this year, is to lose its government funding and close down. According to Sander Dekker, the Netherlands’ Junior Education Minister, the closure is based on a recommendation from school inspectors. The school has financial difficulties, and…

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Fired by NPR, Juan Williams Begins Bigger Role at Fox, Keeps up Criticism of Ex-employer

Juan Williams was fired Wednesday over comments he made on “The O’Reilly Factor.” “When I get on a plane,” he said, “I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”…

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Dutch Muslims Create Website for Critical Discussion

Members of the Islamic community in the Netherlands have started a website as a platform to provide critical discussion about Islam. The site, nieuwemoskee.nl (‘new mosque’), is created independent of government funding and is intended to stimulate public debate on Islam’s position in Dutch society, as well as to provide “a platform for critical voices…

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Opposition to mosque subsidies fails

An opposition movement against the Dutch cabinet’s support for mosques has failed. The Home Affairs Ministry and Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) assert that government subsidies for religious organizations are permissible on the basis that it fosters integration. The failed opposition bid was supported by the conservatives (VVD), Party for Freedom (PVV) and centre-left D66,…

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