State senators advance controversial ‘anti-Sharia’ bill

TALLAHASSEE—A controversial measure dubbed an “anti-Sharia bill” advanced out of the Florida Senate on a 24-14 vote Monday. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, touted SB 286 as “an American bill.” It would restrict judges from considering foreign law in matters of divorce, alimony, child support and custody. Under the language of the bill, an order of…

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“A Mosque in the neighbourhood.”Conflict, public space and urban integration of Muslim mosques in Catalonia.

The author examines 25 conflicts in Catalonia between 1997 and 2008 related to the opening of Muslim places of worship. He presents and analyzes the different positions of participants involved in the conflicts (political actors, community members, and social representatives) and their evolution over time. For the author, these conflicts take place when Muslim communities…

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Secularisation & Secularism

Secularisation – the process of a dividing the realms of politics and religion – has been influencing national and worldly affairs for several hundred years. The idea of the desirability of such a division – secularism – is nowadays a given backdrop for public policy issues regarding education, family, gender, media, migration, personal integrity and…

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National Post Editor Bemoans Lack of Public Policy Discussion in Recent Canadian Elections

J.L. Granatstein of the National Post daily newspaper bemoans the lack of discussion on public policy – particularly related to international relationships and the country’s stringent anti-terrorism laws – by leaders in the recent Canadian elections. Granatstein claims that compared to American presidential candidates, Canadian candidates said little about their genuine plans on these issues,…

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Senators seek rights protections in FBI probes

Three Democratic senators are seeking “bare-minimum” civil rights protection for those Americans who might be targeted in FBI security investigations, even without evidence of wrongdoing. Senators Dick Durban, Russ Feingold, and Edward Kennedy made demands on the measures in a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, saying that the new policies could allow surveillance of…

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