To Indonesian eyes, there does not seem to be anything special about the photos of soaring minarets and people praying in mosques currently on display in an auditorium in Paramadina University in South Jakarta. Indeed, they seem an everyday thing, much like what you’d see on any ordinary Friday or Islamic holiday. But the 60-odd…
While France is a model of centralized law, its Alsace- Moselle region differs, especially on the question of religion and politics. The region has German in 1905 when the French passed legislation separating church and state; today the local government continues to provide a wide variety of subsidies and even religious education in public schools….
A faith pilgrimage to Mecca provided the inspiration for a Pudsey student to design a revolutionary mosque and cultural centre. Shahid Nawaz, 30, said the mosque would welcome members of all communities and educate people about Islamic culture. Nawaz is studying a postgraduate diploma in architecture at Leeds Metropolitan University. As part of his course…
A far-right party in the Austrian state of Carinthia, led by the notorious right-wing politician Jorg Haider, is trying to ban the construction of mosques and minarets. They’ve presented a draft law designed to prohibit “unusual” buildings that don’t fit in with traditional architecture. In the latest anti-Islam initiative by right-wing politicians in Austria, the…
Protests and demonstrations against the erection of new mosques throughout Europe are serving as catalysts for greater tensions at hand. Dissenters cite mosques as working against integration with religious-only instruction, while others cite mosques as a visible symbol of wanting to exist in the greater social surroundings. Others are merely angry over the visible display…
