Following an agreement reached between the justice minister, Claudia Bandion-Ortner and the president of the Islamic Religious Community, Anas Schakfeh, Muslim chaplains in prisons are to be standardized across the country. At around 1300 Muslim inmates, Islam has come to represent the second largest religion in Austrian penal institutions. Earlier religious services had been the…
With their European culture and Islamic faith, Bosnian Muslims want to act as a bridge between East and West but instead feel rejected. There are times when Aida Begic gets on a plane and the looks she receives from other passengers remind her of people’s fears and misunderstandings about Islam. A well-known Bosnian movie director,…
Trouw reports on an announcement by the UMC Utrecht that it will offer special services for Turkish and Moroccan girls and young women who have experienced sexual attacks. According to the National Psycho-Trauma Center for Children and Youth, these girls rarely seek professional help. None of the 250 assaulted and raped girls between 13-15 years…
The municipality of Utrecht plans to open two information counters in the Omar al Farouk mosque – one each for men and women. The information counters would allow visitors to ask questions about work, education, community activities and neighborhood plans. The experimental project is part of plans to help the Vogerlaar neighborhood of Overbecht, a…
The imam at the Al Badr mosque in Meaux (Seine-et-Marne) is under investigation for performing religious marriage ceremonies prior to the civil ceremonies, and for the falsely collecting unemployment assistance. Nourdine Mamoun, of French nationality, has been charged with undertaking eight illegal marriages between January 2006 and December 2007 and for unjustly receiving monthly social…
