The year 2006 saw much debate over Islam and multiculturalism in England. From the global row over cartoons of the prophet Mohammad in a Danish newspaper, to the public British debate over the veil, Islam and its role in European society was constantly making British headlines. So where are we heading in 2007? Jack Straw…
Andalusian Muslims requested permission from Pope Benedict XVI to pray in the mosque-cathedral of Cordoba. Taking as an example the image of the pope praying in the Blue Mosque next to the Grand Mufti of Istanbul during his trip to Turkey, the Islamic Congress of Spain wrote to the Holy Father to ask him if…
A month after the removal of six imams from a U.S. Airways flight spurred accusations of harassment, the federal government has given airport security trainers cultural awareness training about the Islamic pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. This year, an estimated 16,000 American Muslims are making the annual pilgrimage, called the hajj – including several hundred from…
Over 25,000 pilgrims leaving from France obtained visas from the Saudi authorities in 2006. Like every year, several hundred were victims of unscrupulous travel agencies. The French march towards the hajj continues to suffer from a lack of regulation.
A Spanish Muslim group has asked Pope Benedict XVI for permission to worship alongside Christians in the Great Mosque of Cordoba, turned into a cathedral in the 13th century. They sent a letter on Christmas to the Pope’s Spanish representative, asking that the building be opened for prayer by all religions as a model of…
