At the beginning of May, Germany’s most renowned living philosopher, Jürgen Habermas, was named the recipient of the United Arab Emirates’ Sheikh Zayed Book Award, making Habermas the cultural personality of the year. After initially accepting the award, Habermas swiftly reversed his decision and ultimately rejected the honour – along with the award’s cheque for EUR…
The event, run by the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, brought together Muslim and non-Muslim delegates from around the world to discuss the global issues of countering extremism and tackling Islamophobia.
The inclusion by the United Arab Emirates of some of the most respected Islamic organizations established within Nordic states and the UK on a list of groups – including al-Qaeda and the ISIL- suspected of having links to terrorism has triggered a wave of protest. In the UK, the Muslim Association of Britain expressed its “total and utter condemnation” at…
August 5, 2014 The Foreign Office has warned expatriates living in the United Arab Emirates they could face Sharia courts in divorce or child custody cases. UAE personal status law provides expatriates, even if they are not Muslim, with the right to have their case heard under the Islamic law. It comes after a British…
February 21, 2014 A fatwa issued by Gulf imams has ruled it is un-Islamic to promote or be involved in a one-way trip to the Red Planet. According to reports in the Khaleej Times, a fatwa committee under the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment in the UAE prohibits Muslims from being involved…
