As long as mosques are used as places of worship, Italy’s Muslims should have the right to build more mosques, said Monsignor Gianfranco Ravasi, Vatican Cultural Council chief. “If (the mosque) becomes something different, civil society has a right to intervene. Here we are talking about a western society that distinguishes between religious and political…
Europe’s right-wing populists want to build a united front to battle what they call the continent’s creeping Islamization at a conference set to take place in Cologne this weekend. Powerless to stop the event, local officials are anticipating the arrival of thousands of counterprotesters. Cologne’s Heumarkt, a cobblestone square in the city’s Old Town, is…
Potsdam, Germany – An Iranian writer in exile Monday described a Satanic Verses stage play and the anti-Islam short movie Fitna as “pure provocation” towards Muslims which played into the hands of fundamentalists. Speaking on Deutschlandradio Kultur, a national public radio channel, writer Bahman Nirumand described the two productions as “psychological warfare” under the mantle…
France’s Muslim minority, the largest in Europe, is becoming more observant, a new survey by the polling group IFOP said. Religiosity indicators such as following daily prayers, visiting mosques, and fasting Ramadan seemed to be increasing in Muslims partaking in the tenants. The rise appears to reflect a reaction to the discrimination felt by Muslims…
