In post 9/11 America the construction of new mosques in the US has sometimes sparked controversy and even confrontation. Is that why some new Muslim houses of worship are being built without the most recognisable features of Islamic architecture – minarets and domes? The National Islamic Center in Washington DC is an imposing building with…
18.05.2011 On Tuesday night, someone spray-painted inflammatory anti-Muslim graffiti on a mosque in Dresden. While the perpetrators are unknown, the police suspect a politically motivated offense. Due to its construction and the lack of a minaret, the mosque cannot easily be identified as a place of worship. It has been the first attack of this…
6 February 2011 In a recent interview, the Swiss Minister of Justice Simonetta Sommaruga has stated that the debate on immigration and integration in Switzerland needs to move beyond slogans such as “Foreigners Out!” or “Foreigners In!” Swiss citizens need to have a more engaged interest in politics, and not simply resort to “symbolic” initiatives,…
North America’s most northern minaret opens (after an epic 2,800-mile journey) The most northern mosque in North America officially opened yesterday in Inuvik, in Canada’s Northwest Territories, where there is a growing Muslim population. The opening marks the end of an arduous journey that saw the building travel over rivers – atop barges – and…
November 29, 2010 Precisely one year following the Swiss referendum banning minarets in 2009, the Swiss Islamic Central Council (IZRS) has announced that it wishes to hold another national referendum in order to remove the minaret ban from the constitution. No other Muslim organizations were consulted with regard to this plan, which had been kept…
