A proposal by several Muslim organizations in Belgium has been made to allow Muslims to take religious vacation days. Under the proposal, a Muslim employee would be allowed to choose from a number of holidays to take throughout the year. The proposal came from distress during the past Eid holiday, in which many Muslim works…
In cities all over Europe, mayors are fretting about the coming religious festivities. No, not just Christmas lights. They want to ensure hygiene and order in the slaughter of sheep for the feast of Eid al-Adha on December 8th. This remembers the readiness of Abraham—the patriarch revered by all three monotheistic faiths—to sacrifice his son….
The Islamic Cultural Center in Rome, also called the Rome Grand Mosque, faces desertion and abandonment although it is the biggest mosque in Italy. Despite the fact that the mosque’s large prayer hall can accommodate some 5,000 people, it remains empty except for Friday prayers and Eid celebrations. The keeper of the mosque, Ya ‘quob…
Rap group “Psy 4 de la Rime,” one of the most popular in France, is hosting Marseille’s Eid festival. Organized by the Secular Association of Muslim Families (L’association laïque Union des familles musulmanes or UFM), festivities will begin November 28 with Algerian poet and dramatist, Kateb Yacine. Soprano, leader of the Psy 4 group explains,…
The Brigitte Bardot Foundation impeded a training meeting that was to take place in Grenoble to explain the proper ritual sacrifice of lamb for Eid al-Adha. According to the foundation, such meeting encouraged “secretive slaughters,” and the Minister of the Interior Michèle Alliot-Marie intervened so that the municipality would not allow the group to meet…
