Court case limiting ‘lockdown’ restrictions on religious services receives feeble echo in Germany

Internationally, a case at the Federal Constitutional Court surrounding German authorities’ ability to prohibit Friday prayers in the context of the Covid-19 outbreak has caused a bit of a stir. At issue is the question as to whether public authorities have the legal right to ban Friday prayers and other religious services during the so-called…

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Founder of ‘liberal’ mosque in Berlin sparks ridicule with comments on the hijab

Seyran Ateş, controversial founder of an avowedly ‘liberal’, gender-equal mosque in Berlin at which she serves as female Imam, has been faced with disbelief at her most recent comments on the Muslim headscarf. Women’s rights lawyer turned to the religious field Ateş made a name for herself in the 1990s as a lawyer defending women’s…

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Jewish scholar prosecuted for anti-Muslim remarks in France

One of the world’s leading historians on the Jewish communities in Arab countries is being prosecuted in France for alleged hate speech against Muslims. The Morocco-born French-Jewish scholar Georges Bensoussan, 64, is due to appear before a Paris criminal court over a complaint filed against him for incitement to racial hatred by the Collective Against Islamophobia…

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Sarkozy wants special jails, courts for terrorism suspects

Paris was once again put on high alert last Sunday after a car loaded with gas cylinders was found near Notre Dame cathedral in an incident that could have been an attack on a Paris railway station. Security is a key topic in the presidential elections in 2017, as more than 230 people have been killed…

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Founder of group ‘Muslims for Progressive Values’ discusses homopobia in the Islamic community

In response to the Orlando shooting, a group called Muslims for Progressive Values is calling on mosques to come out against homophobia and violence against the LGBT community. Ani Zonneveld is the founder and president of the organization. She talked about the issue of homophobia in the Islamic community. For more information, go to the…

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