‘Halal Homes’ Discussion n the Netherlands

25 November 2012 Dutch newspaper Parool last week covered designs for Amsterdam apartments by the  Eigen Hard housing corporation which accommodate the needs of some Muslim families. The apartments feature cupboards for shoe storage, additional water taps for ritual cleansing, and dividing doors around the kitchen. The paper described the apartments as ‘halal homes’, but…

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Three Men Arrested for ‘Armed Jihad’

30 November 2012 Rotterdam police arrested three Muslim men planning to travel to Syria to engage in ‘armed jihad’. The men’s homes contained weapons, farewell letters, and packed rucksacks. Aged 22, 23, and 33, the men have not been involved in any previous investigations in the Netherlands.

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The location of a mosque affects local politics in Portugalete

15 August 2012 The possibility that a mosque will open its doors in an inhabited house in Portugalete has shaken the daily life of the local City Hall. The Mayor, the Socialist Mikel Torres, yesterday accused the Popular Party of “lying” and generate “social alarm” by reporting  that “many residents will find themselves arriving from…

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Torrejon, Spain: Divided by a Mosque

01 July 2012 The Islamic community in Torrejon, with about 200 members, has been installed for more than a decade in a central garage two blocks away from the Plaza Mayor. They have purchased land and they have the architectural plans for the facade of its new building composed of two floors and a small…

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Sharia-compliant mortgage lender in receivership

The Toronto Star – October 18, 2011 UM Financial Inc., a Toronto-based firm that offered sharia-compliant mortgages to Muslims, has gone into receivership leaving more than 173 people fearful they may lose their homes. UM Financial was one of the first companies in Canada to offer so-called Islamic financing to Muslims who believe that sharia,…

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