January 26 2011 More imams and fewer Christian chaplains are to be hired for work in the Dutch prison system. A story in Trouw reveals an internal justice ministry document showing that 12 of the current 32 positions for non-religious posts providing advice to inmates are to be eliminated. At the same time, the number…
22 Oct 2010 In Germany, centres for Islamic studies are to be set up in three universities in order to train imams and religion teachers. Muslim associations like the Schuras, or associations of mosques, in northern Germany have been calling for years both for the introduction of Muslim religious education in schools and for the…
Two Saudi clerics have declared Muslim women are exempt from wearing full veils in France, which is planning to ban them, but added they should avoid visiting it as tourists. The comments, by Islamic jurisprudence scholar Mohamed al-Nujaimi and author and cleric Ayed al-Garni, come two weeks after French lawmakers passed a bill under which…
In a speech at Cairo University in Egypt, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble sought understanding for Germany’s integration policies. The speech came just ahead of the next German Islam conference in Berlin. In his Cairo speech, Schaeuble pointed out that there was legal equality for Muslims in Germany. The country’s three million Muslims have “the…
Several Islamic clerics will join police and youth workers in an innovative new scheme to deter and help Muslim youth from getting involved with gang activity. The imams – mostly Scottish born – will take to the streets, targeting youth believed to be on the edge of Asian gang culture. Their allies, including workers from…
