Qatar is currently hosting the 2022 FIFA (Fédération internationale de Football Association, meaning International Association Football Federation) World Cup, after successfully securing the bid in 2010. They are the first Middle Eastern (and Muslim) host of the tournament following FIFA’s appeal to take the World Cup to a region where football is both popular, and…
Germany is a nation crazy for football. As the country gears up for this year’s world cup in Russia, the national team’s coach, Joachim Löw, announced his preliminary squad on May 15, signalling the onset of the countdown to the tournament. Two footballers posing with President Erdoğan Yet the squad presentation was overshadowed by politics: On…
Recurring scrutiny of religious activities of the Gulf States The two main German domestic and foreign intelligence agencies (the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz and the Bundesnachrichtendienst) are accusing Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar of financing Salafi missionary activities in Germany. Practices scrutinised include the construction of mosques and educational centres, as well as the sending of…
Prime Minister Manuel Valls launched an appeal on February 16 for unity in order to combat “Islamo-fascism.” Following the deadly attacks in Copenhagen, Valls stated: “We must not give in to fear nor to division. But at the same time we must also deal with the problems: combating terrorism, mobilizing society in support of secularism,…
February 5, 2014 France’s Foreign Ministry has denied media reports that a French international school in Qatar has agreed to teach Islamic sharia law and separate boys and girls into different classrooms. A recent agreement between the Lycée Voltaire in Doha and French authorities does not involve changes to religion classes or dividing classes…
