French minister of Diversity and Equal Opportunities Yazid Sabeg has reopened debate on whether France should officially collect ethnic-origin statistics. Should Nicholas Sarkozy agree with Sabeg’s initiative, debate in the Republic is assured among both the Right and the Left. Many opponents have argued that such statistics create divisions among the population and highlight difference….
French specialist of religion and Islam, Bruno Étienne has passed away in Aix-en-Provence, France. In 1980 Étienne became director of the CNRS (National Centre of Scientific Research), holding the chair in the Muslim World and became Professor at the Institute of Political Studies in Aix-en-Provence. In 1985 he founded “Observatoire du fait religieux” (Observatory of…
Italy stated that it was pulling out of a UN conference on racism, a blow seen by many Western governments as marred by Muslim attempts to attack Israel and shield Islam from criticism. Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini also decided to postpone a trip to Iran in protest over remarks by Tehran’s leadership against Israel…
