400 years after King Philip III signed an order to expel 300,000 Moriscos – or part-Muslims who had converted from Islam to Christianity, some Muslim writers, Spanish and Moroccan campaigners are asking Madrid to apologize for the wrongs committed during the 17th century. The anniversary highlights the uneasy relationship that still exists between modern-day Spanish…
Al-Qaeda’s North Africa branch claimed yesterday it is holding hostage a senior UN peace envoy, his aide and four tourists kidnapped in the Sahara Desert. United Nations special envoy for Niger, Robert Fowler, and his aide Louis Guay, both Canadian diplomats, were kidnapped Dec. 14 in the southern Sahara country. Four tourists, including two Swiss,…
Robert Fowler and Louis Guay, two Canadian diplomats kidnapped in December in the West African nation of Niger, appear to be held by al-Qaeda in a newly-released video. The existence of the video was revealed in Mali. It appears to confirm that Fowler and Guay were taken across the border to Mali after being abducted…
The self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks went on trial in absentia in Paris for allegedly ordering a deadly Tunisian synagogue bombing less than a year after the assault on New York and Washington. The proceedings are expected to highlight the reach and complexity of al-Qaida-linked networks in North Africa, although they are unlikely…
In response to the latest vandal attacks on hundreds of Muslim graves in a military cemetery in northern France, French Muslims demanded a new day of remembrance for France’s Muslim war dead. The Rally of French Muslims (RMF) issued a statement that it “firmly and tirelessly condemns these cowardly and despicable acts.” Approximately 500 of…
