Genesis of the movement: protestation against the rising price of fuel and the government policy: Beginning first on the internet, the “gilets jaunes” movement (a reference to the yellow safety jackets which are used as symbol of the movement) protests against the rising price of gas and, more broadly, expresses dissatisfaction towards the Emmanuel Macron…
Revealed in November by L’Opinion , the announcement by President Emmanuel Macron, to reform the 1905 law of separation of Church and state is a turning point in his policy towards religions. Originally in favour of a reform of French Islam without any impact regarding the French law of 1905 on secularism [laïcité], Macron admitted…
In the coming weeks, a new instalment of Germany’s controversial Islam Conference (Deutsche Islam Konferenz, DIK) will take place under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The DIK functions as a discussion forum at which state-picked ‘Muslim representatives’ meet with high-level policy-makers in order to debate the place of Islam in German…
What is the meaning of the religious attire worn by some Muslim women? Are hijab and niqab hallmarks of the retrograde nature of Islam? Do they signal radicalisation and submission to male patriarchy – or self-determination and individual empowerment? These questions have been ceaselessly debated across Europe for years. In Germany, a new round of…
On 11 November, Somali-born Hassan Khalif Shire Ali – aged 30 – drove his burning utility vehicle down Bourke Street into the centre of Melbourne’s central business district. Filled with barbecue-style gas cylinders, Shire Ali’s vehicle later exploded near Bourke Street Mall, though police noted that the blast could have been far more deadly had…
