Apart from male dominance and the average age being 49, the new Bundestag has only few migrant delegates. Of the 622 members of parliament only 15 have a migratory background (11 in the 2005 elections). None of them are from Eastern Europe, but most of them have a Turkish or Iranian family background.
Fatima Hssini, who was expelled from a Spanish courtroom last month when she refused to lift her burka, has testified with her veil raised and her back to the public audience. Speaking to journalists as she arrived to give her testimony Monday morning, Hssini said the controversy which arose after the interview last week was…
Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen says women who will not remove their burkas in order to get work should not receive welfare. Telegraaf reports that national politicians, including representatives from the CDA and PvDA parties, support this proposal. In 2006 Diemen local council attempted to introduce such a ban on benefits, but the decision was reversed…
Islamic finance is sparking a heated debate in France. “We must not allow principles of Shari`ah law, or the ethics of the Qur`an to be introduced into French law,” said Socialist MP Henri Emmanuelli. The parliament recently approved a number of adjustments to the banking laws to allow sukuk [Islamic bonds] to be issued for…
Nearly 3,000 people gathered on the west lawn of the Capitol on Friday for a mass Muslim prayer service that was part religion and part pep rally for the beleaguered U.S. Muslim community. The service comes as the Muslim community has been rocked by verbal attacks from conservative Christians that have grown stronger since the…
