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Thursday, 28 February 2019

Alabama executes a Muslim and extinguishes religious rights

Alabama executes a Muslim and extinguishes religious rights

The execution on February 7 of a Muslim on Alabama’s death row raises a number of legal and cultural questions about the religious rights of those condemned to death. The case involved Domineque Ray, who converted to Islam in prison after being sentenced to death for slaying a 15-year-old girl in 1995. His case drew national attention because prison officials refused to allow his spiritual adviser, an imam, into the death chamber for the execution itself. Ray was given the choice—use the prison’s Christian chaplain or face execution alone.

When Ray realized that the prison was not going to allow his adviser to accompany him at death, he petitioned the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama for a stay of execution. The court denied his request and upheld the prison’s decision to refuse his adviser into the execution chamber, which Ray claimed violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Person Act and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Ray appealed the District Court verdict to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which granted a stay on February 6 to resolve Ray’s religious claims.

The next day, however, the Supreme Court of the United States granted a last-minute application to allow the state to move forward with Ray’s execution. This decision did not speak to the merits of Ray’s religious claims, but instead was a finding that Ray had not met the relevant filing deadline. A bare majority of the court voted to let his execution move forward—such that the state would kill Ray that very evening. A four-member dissent, led by Justice Elena Kagan, expressed dismay since Ray acted within five days of learning that the prison refused to let his adviser accompany him in the death chamber. Justice Kagan chastised the majority for deciding the issue with little briefing and no argument, “just so the State can meet its preferred execution date.”

Quoting Court precedent, the dissent underscored the legal issue surrounding Ray’s Establishment Clause claim and argued that one religious denomination cannot be officially preferred over another: “But the State’s policy does just that. Under that policy, a Christian prisoner may have a minister of his own faith accompany him into the execution chamber to say his last rites. But if an inmate practices a different religion—whether Islam, Judaism, or any other–he may not die with a minister of his own faith by his side.”

Justice Kagan noted that the state failed to show how the prison’s policy is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest. She questioned pointedly whether disallowing Ray’s adviser would result in a security risk, and noted that the State offered no evidence to show that its prohibition on outside advisers was necessary to achieve the prison’s interest in security. She asks, “Why couldn’t Ray’s imam receive whatever training in execution protocol the Christian Chaplain received? The State has no answer. Why wouldn’t it be sufficient for the imam to pledge, under penalty of contempt, that he will not interfere with the State’s ability to perform the execution? The State doesn’t say. … That is not enough to support a denominational preference.”

Of course, the Majority doesn’t argue against these points since it ruled only that Ray missed the relevant deadline for seeking relief. What then, one might wonder, was this ruling really about? As one lawyer with the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty has claimed, the decision carried with it no discrimination toward Muslims since the same conservative justices had ruled in favor of religious liberty in other Muslim cases. So, despite criticism like a ThinkProgress article that described the decision as a “truly shocking attack on Muslims,” such criticism may miss the mark.

Since the Majority decision itself is quite short, it is hard to tell for sure what is motivating the Justices. The article above notes that some commentators think the decision has more to do with the Court’s frustration with anti-death penalty advocates who, in the view of many Conservatives, bring last-minute claims to try to postpone executions. Although this explanation might not be savory, it suggests a non-discriminatory rationale to send a message to death penalty activists and advocates, a warning against eleventh-hour strategies to derail executions. More ominously, the decision has been characterized as the work of a conservative majority, who “will stop at nothing to preserve the death penalty.” From this perspective, the decision has little to do with the fact that he is Muslim at all.

Given what we know about the case, it may be more prudent to think that a little of both may be going on. Without doubt, this case may be about antipathy toward last-minute antics by lawyers and advocacy groups, but it hardly means there is no religious bias guiding some in the judiciary. In fact, it is no stretch to imagine how disdain for such activists can hide disdain for Muslims. When this case is boiled down to its essence, a conservative group of Justices floundered on the opportunity to denounce religious discrimination and uphold religious rights. The Court instead let an arguable, if not bogus, timing issue reinforce a discriminatory prison policy; at worst it outright ignores Justice Kagan’s startling contention that “Ray has put forward a powerful claim that his religious rights will be violated at the moment the State puts him to death.”

While it may be more accurate to say that his religious rights were violated prior to execution, the point is clear—his religious claims should have been adjudicated first because they might have resulted in a different outcome that bears directly on the execution itself. The Court’s decision, then, despite its innocuous grounding in procedure, allowed Alabama to proceed with a killing whose optics suggest religious persecution more than protection of religious liberty.

>Featured image courtesy of Flickr/Thomas Hawk.

The post Alabama executes a Muslim and extinguishes religious rights appeared first on The Islamic Monthly.



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Wednesday, 27 February 2019

Why it’s OK for young Muslims to be radical | Ali Ahmad

Radical thought can be positive and progressive, it doesn’t have to mean joining a death cult

The legal and moral conundrums posed by the return (or not) of British jihadis following the collapse of the Islamic State “caliphate” has triggered renewed anxiety about the place of Muslim youth in western society. The home secretary, Sajid Javid’s populist bid to strip Shamima Begum of citizenship has heightened the pitch of an emotive debate. But little has changed in Britain’s approach to counter-terrorism, soon to undergo independent review following years of heavy criticism.

The Prevent strategy places entire communities under suspicion without necessarily being effective. European equivalents have fared similarly. A €2.5m French deradicalisation boot camp in the Loire valley asked participants to sing the national anthem, eat non-halal food and learn “Republican values” without rehabilitating a single individual.

The ummah, or 'community of believers', attunes many young British Muslims to suffering and injustice in other countries

Related: One man’s (very polite) fight against media Islamophobia

Related: I’m proud to be young, British and Muslim. Why should I change my name? | Iman Amrani

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from Islam | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2T65Kwo

Netherlands cuts Muslim man's benefits for refusing to shave beard

Dutch court backs suspension after man told he had to be clean shaven to train as asbestos removal officer

A Dutch court has backed the suspension of a Muslim man’s benefits over his refusal on religious grounds to shave his beard while on training for a job.

The unnamed man had been offered a job as an asbestos removal officer but was subsequently told he would need to be clean shaven in order to undergo the training course.

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from Islam | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Tn4nJ6

Tuesday, 26 February 2019

Decathlon drops French sports hijab after politicians threaten boycott

Retailer faced outrage from some of Macron’s ministers against Muslim head-coverings

The French sports store Decathlon has cancelled a plan to put a sports hijab on the market in France after several politicians, including some from Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party, called for a boycott.

The retailer’s plain, lightweight running headscarf, which covers the hair but not the face, is already on sale in Morocco and was to be extended to France and worldwide. But after a social media storm and outrage from some politicians against Muslim head coverings, the company backtracked and said the garment would not go on sale “at the present time” in France.

Le sport émancipe. Il ne soumet pas. Mon choix de femme et de citoyenne sera de ne plus faire confiance à une marque qui rompt avec nos valeurs.
Ceux qui tolèrent les femmes dans l'espace public uniquement quand elles se cachent ne sont pas des amoureux de la liberté.#Decathlon

Notre service client a reçu plus de 500 appels et mails depuis ce matin. Nos équipes dans nos magasins ont été insultées et menacées, parfois physiquement.
Pour vous donner une idée, voici le type de messages qu’on reçoit : pic.twitter.com/4ZjkRlgm2U

Related: Sadness, anger and fear: how Nice is responding to the burkini ban

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from Islam | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2IBNkio

Monday, 25 February 2019

Dua for Relief from Debt and Loans

Here is a Dua for Relief from Debt and Loans. Al-Tabaraani narrated in al-Mu’jam al-Sagheer that Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to Mu’aadh (may Allaah be pleased with him): “Shall I not teach you a du’aa’ which you […]

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Saturday, 23 February 2019

China says 'preventive' work in Xinjiang detention camps should be applauded

Government steps up outreach to foreign envoys, explaining its achievements in the region home to Muslim minorities

China’s counter-terrorism and de-radicalisation efforts in its far western region of Xinjiang should be applauded for creating a new method of tackling the problem, a senior diplomat told foreign envoys last week.

China is stepping up its diplomatic outreach over controversial detention camps in the heavily Muslim region, inviting more foreign diplomats to visit as it seeks to head off criticism from Muslim-majority nations and at the United Nations.

Related: Families of missing Uighurs call for 'proof of life' videos from Chinese government

Related: 'If you enter a camp, you never come out': inside China's war on Islam

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from Islam | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2BQ4TFP

 I wonder how the sahaba

Friday, 22 February 2019

'I didn’t get here by being polite': ABC's Sami Shah on free speech in Australia

Comedian and breakfast radio host demands the right to be offensive but concedes some lines shouldn’t be crossed

On his summer holidays from his job as co-host of the ABC’s breakfast radio show in Melbourne, Sami Shah got to work. He’s making a Radio National series on freedom of speech in Australia, called Shut Up, for which he has interviewed everyone from conservative journalist Andrew Bolt to lawyer Nyadol Nyuon. He’s finishing off a Melbourne Comedy festival show. He writes micro stories on Medium. He’s chipping away at a novel.

“I’ve never done one thing at one time,” he says over coffee in his inner-city home. “I get bored quickly otherwise.

Related: For Australia to prosper, free speech must be extended to all of us | Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Related: Sami Shah on Islam, Australia and being a 'serial blasphemer'

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from Islam | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2E82Cpy

Thursday, 21 February 2019

Fears for Uighur comedian missing amid crackdown on cultural figures

Arslan Mijit Hidayat worked for a government arts troupe for 30 years, but his family fear he has been taken into a re-education camp

Arslan Mijit Hidayat says there is not a single Uighur who has not heard of his father-in-law, Adil Mijit. “We have a saying in the Uighur language ‘From seven to 70’ and anyone between these ages would know him,” said Hidayat, 31, who was born in Sydney to Uighur parents. “He’s A-list. When you think comedy, you think him.”

Mijit, 55, spent 30 years performing in plays and operas for a government arts troupe in Xinjiang, the far-western Chinese territory home to some 12 million Uighurs. Hidayat compares him to Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey and Australian comedian Carl Barron.

Related: Families of missing Uighurs call for 'proof of life' videos from Chinese government

Related: China releases video of Uighur poet said to have died in custody

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from Islam | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2txPuW8

Tuesday, 19 February 2019

Monday, 18 February 2019

'A free pass for mobs to kill': India urged to stem cow vigilante violence

Human Rights Watch blames police inertia and government failures for lack of justice for those affected

Hindu cow vigilante groups in India are escaping punishment for lynchings because of police inertia and complicity by local officials, leaving the family of those affected without justice, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch.

The report urges the government to prosecute mob violence by cow protection groups that have targeted Muslims, Dalits and other minorities in the five years since the BJP came to power.

Related: Indian ‘cow protectors’ jailed for life over murder of Muslim man

Related: On patrol with the Hindu vigilantes who would kill to protect India's cows

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2GwtWBv

Hoda Muthana wants to help US deradicalise others, says lawyer

Woman who fled Isis after being vocal proponent ‘could be useful to protect others’

The lawyer for Hoda Muthana, the US woman who fled Islamic State and now wants to return home, has called for her to be a voice of a deradicalisation programme that dissuades others from joining the terror group and counters online manipulation.

Hassan Shibly, an attorney who has represent Hoda’s family in the four years since she left her home in Alabama for Syria, says Muthana, 24, is prepared to face the US justice system.

Related: Hoda Muthana 'deeply regrets' joining Isis and wants to return home

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2IzfVoL

Reporter Jason Rezaian on 544 days in Iranian jail: ‘They never touched me – but I was tortured’

The Iranian-American Washington Post journalist reveals the psychological scars his 2014 imprisonment left him with

Three years after being released from an Iranian prison, Jason Rezaian can still not quite shake off a recurring bad dream. It no longer dogs him several times a week as it did in the early days after his release, but it still revisits him, often after he has been retelling his tale. And it never changes.

“It’s not a nightmare of somebody beating me and trying to chase me down,” says Rezaian, a Washington Post journalist now back in his newspaper’s home town. “It is: you were supposed to get out and you didn’t. There was this moment you were supposed to be released and for whatever reason, that didn’t happen.”

The Iranian people have seen through authoritarianism. They want to be integrated into the world

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2T22n95

Islamist extremism 'is a chronic and pernicious' issue in UK

Counter-extremism chief makes comments as debate continues over Shamima Begum

Islamist extremism is a “chronic and pernicious” issue that has persisted in the UK for decades with hundreds of young Muslims leaving the country to fight for Isis, according to the lead commissioner for countering extremism.

The comments from Sara Khan came as debate continues about whether Shamima Begum, 19, a teenager who travelled to Syria to join Islamic State, should be allowed to return to Britain.

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from Islam | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/18/islamist-extremism-in-uk-shamima-begum

Sunday, 17 February 2019

Third of Britons believe Islam threatens British way of life, says report

Anti-Muslim prejudice replacing immigration as key driver of far-right growth

More than a third of people in the UK think that Islam is a threat to the British way of life, according to a report by the anti-fascist group Hope not Hate.

The organisation’s annual “State of Hate” report, which will be launched on Monday, argues that anti-Muslim prejudice has replaced immigration as the key driver of far right growth.

Related: Many people in mostly Christian countries believe values clash with Islam – poll

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2Gsl4gt

Assalamu'laikum Sir,how to

Assalamu'laikum Sir,
how to save my favourite reciter and play continuously?


from Alim.org Recent Comments Feed http://bit.ly/2N9GNdn

Wednesday, 13 February 2019

Forty years for a mosque killer, when murderers of white victims get 75? | Emer O’Toole

Canadian justice is rightly in the dock over inconsistencies involving the race or religion of victims

Two years ago Alexandre Bissonnette walked into a Quebec City mosque and opened fire on men at prayer, killing six, injuring 19 and ensuring that 17 children would grow up without their fathers. Known to Quebec feminist and refugee support groups as an internet troll, Bissonnette’s search history suggested he had been influenced by racist, misogynistic shooters such as Dylann Roof, Elliot Rodger and Marc Lépine. After the attack Bissonnette told a social worker he regretted not having killed more people.

In court, he pleaded guilty and expressed remorse. Last Friday, in an unusual judgment, Bissonnette was sentenced to life in prison, with 40 years before he is eligible for parole.

Related: Canada mosque mass murderer sentenced to life term

Related: 'Pure evil': Toronto serial killer given eight life sentences

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2E85Daw

Monday, 11 February 2019

All schools should encourage respect and LGBT acceptance | Letters

56 members or leaders of religion and belief groups, educationists, campaigners and school leaders warn the Department for Education against any dilution of LGBT advice in the independent school standards

As members or leaders of religion and belief groups, educationists, campaigners and school leaders, we are concerned by reports that the Department for Education is planning to dilute the advice it publishes on the independent school standards, to no longer stipulate that all independent schools must teach respect for LGBT people. This poses a significant safeguarding risk to LGBT young people, who are still subject to significant levels of homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying.

Research shows that 45% of LGBT pupils are subject to bullying because of their identity, and the majority hear discriminatory language in school. Challenging LGBT discrimination in school lessons and in everyday school life is fundamental to fostering equality at school and in wider society. This teaching should take place at both primary and secondary level, to stem the development of anti-LGBT prejudice and to support LGBT people in the school community.

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2RU3Z0b

Sunday, 10 February 2019

'I have never been abused' says detained Uighur Abdurehim Heyit – video

'I am in good health and have never been abused,' Uighur musician Abdurehim Heyit says in a video message released by Chinese state media. The musician was rumoured to have died on the weekend which prompted Turkey to put out a statement condemning the mass detention of Uighurs in China's far-western region of Xinjiang. China then released a video message from Heyit saying he was in good health and in the custody of authorities after 'allegedly violating national laws'. His body language and choice of words seem to suggest he is under duress. Heyit was sentenced to eight years in prison for one of his songs

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2SMKT0a

Revealed: 17 Australian residents believed detained in China's Uighur crackdown

Exclusive: Activists urge embassy to ‘tell us if they’re alive or dead’ amid claims of inaction by Canberra

Seventeen Australian residents are believed to be under house arrest, in prison or detained in China’s secretive “re-education” centres in Xinjiang, the Guardian can reveal.

The 17 cases – 15 Australian permanent residents and two on spouse visas – have been collected by Nurgul Sawut, an advocate for Uighurs in Australia, through interviews with their family members.

Related: 'If you enter a camp, you never come out': inside China's war on Islam

Tell us if they’re alive or dead

Related: 'A community in unbelievable pain': the terror and sorrow of Australia's Uighurs

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2DqfQ0M

To the Mountains by Abdullah Anas and Tam Hussein – review

Despite his partiality, Abdullah Anas offers some useful insights into al-Qaida’s roots

Where should we start if we are to tell the story of the violent Islamist extremism that still threatens us today? The question is an important one and its answer has significance that goes well beyond chronology.

Some commentators in the west, usually to the right of the political spectrum, will start in the 7th century AD with the life and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad or with the first texts of Islam. The implication is obvious: that there is something inherent in the Islamic faith that engenders or at least encourages violence.

He makes clear that the CIA had no role in directly training, funding or equipping this tiny force

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2MYr1SC

Wednesday, 6 February 2019

Hope on racial prejudice, despite the Liam Neeson claims | Letters

Readers respond to the controversial comments made by the actor

I agree wholeheartedly with every word Gary Younge has used to so eloquently express his views on the Liam Neeson confession (Journal, 6 February). However, he should not despair. Things are slowly changing, and I’m sure fewer people today are harbouring abominable secret thoughts of the kind Mr Neeson owned up to.

I speak from experience. Two years ago a man followed my daughter off a late night bus and attempted to rape her, and then ferociously attacked her with a large knife. She very nearly died from her multiple stab wounds.

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2TBORGq

Tuesday, 5 February 2019

'I am blessed': UAE’s expatriate workers marvel at mass with the pope

Show of public Christian worship considered largest ever seen on the Arabian peninsula

Marivic Sorita’s eyes filled with tears as she spoke of her daughters back in the Philippines. She has seen them only three times in the 11 years she has worked as a housemaid in Abu Dhabi. Her eldest, now 21, had recently completed her studies “thanks to the sacrifice” Sorita has made by the separation, sending almost all her salary back home.

Maybe one day, when her 14-year-old daughter has also finished her studies, Sorita will be able to go back to Manila and be reunited with her family. But for now, she was enjoying a rare day off work for what she described as a “very, very special” occasion.

Related: The pope makes first ever visit to an Arab state – in pictures

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2UHlUJ7

Monday, 4 February 2019

Pope and grand imam sign historic pledge of fraternity in UAE

In first papal visit to Arabian peninsula, Francis calls for end to wars in Middle East

The pope and the grand imam of Al-Azhar have signed a historic declaration of fraternity, calling for peace between nations, religions and races, in front of a global audience of religious leaders from Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other faiths.

Pope Francis, the leader of the world’s Catholics, and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the head of Sunni Islam’s most prestigious seat of learning, arrived at the ceremony in Abu Dhabi hand-in-hand in a symbol of interfaith brotherhood.

Related: Many people in mostly Christian countries believe values clash with Islam – poll

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2D5cu2W

Faith should be no barrier to schools teaching respect for LGBT rights | Masuma Rahim

Some parents may not be happy about it, but programmes like No Outsiders are important and should be expanded

Recently we’ve seen several clashes between local communities and education leaders over the application of the Equality Act in Britain’s schools. Shraga Stern, the Orthodox Jewish activist, warned earlier this year that Haredi Jews would “leave the UK” if faiths schools were forced to teach children about same-sex relationships and gender reassignment. And last month, the headteacher of a school in Birmingham was petitioned to do away with a pilot programme called No Outsiders, which is centred around inclusion and diversity as part of sex and relationship education. Although the programme addresses issues as broad as gender, race, ageism, faith and disability, the spotlight has, inevitably, fallen on the teaching of LGBT identities.

Children will naturally have questions … but it is dangerous to assume they will all be able to ask their parents

Related: School defends LGBT lessons after religious parents complain

Related: Sex education rules could force Haredi Jews into home schooling

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2TtYNl9

Tory MPs back rightwing youth group Turning Point UK

Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel tweet support for offshoot of US group accused of anti-Islam views

A number of Conservative MPs have praised the work of a new UK rightwing youth pressure group that is said to have links to far-right conspiracy theorists, and has in the US been accused of anti-Islam views and connections to racism.

On Sunday, MPs including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel tweeted supportive messages for Turning Point UK, the offshoot of a controversial organisation established in the US.

Chelsea night @GTSFarmer @PrisonPlanet @DanJukes17 pic.twitter.com/IyRxDzq4Rf

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2MMX0Fi

Monday Morning Haiku – Badr

 
 
 
 
 

The full moon called me from sleep
Face dripping water
Quietly chewing on dates

 
 
 
 
 


 

The post Monday Morning Haiku – Badr appeared first on SeekersHub: The Compass Blog.



from SeekersHub: The Compass Blog http://bit.ly/2WE6G9z

Sunday, 3 February 2019

High-profile Muslims have a right not to expect an inquisition | Nesrine Malik

Attacks on a young US congresswoman, Ilhan Omar, show Muslims are expected to prove their liberal credentials

There is an interrogation that begins whenever a Muslim assumes any role in the public eye, a sort of Muslim inquisition. One can be a writer or a politician or a chef, and be asked questions that have nothing whatsoever to do with the matter at hand. Do you think homosexuality is a sin? What do you think of underage marriage? Do you think Israel has the right to exist? These questions are also asked in spurious surveys commissioned in the hope of generating headlines that suggest the majority of Muslims are violently homophobic, or conform to whatever latest trope is doing the rounds.

In the US, this persistent questioning continues despite the fact that Muslims are growing more liberal (specifically, more accepting of homosexuality than their white evangelical Christian counterparts) while simultaneously suffering increased levels of discrimination. But in the inquisition it’s the questions, not the answers, that are truly revealing.

All Omar had done to deserve this outrageous association was to express opinions on Israel

Related: Muslims demand full legal protection from Islamophobia

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2SkMCKd

Many people in mostly Christian countries believe values clash with Islam – poll

Almost one-third in UK see rift, finds survey ahead of pope’s visit to Arabian peninsula

Large numbers of people in Christian-majority countries in the west see a fundamental clash between Islam and the values of their nation, according to a survey.

However, significantly fewer people in the Middle East and North Africa view Christianity in the same way.

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2G4O7Gs

The Guardian view on the pope in the Gulf: an important signal | Editorial

As the first leader of the Catholic church to visit the Arabian peninsula, Francis knows his contact with Muslims will be as important as the mass he hosts for the Christian minority

Pope Francis’s visit to the United Arab Emirates this week will be greeted enthusiastically. Some 120,000 people are expected to turn out for his mass in a sports stadium in Abu Dhabi – as many as turned out in Dublin when he travelled to historically Catholic Ireland last year. The first visit by a pontiff to the Arabian peninsula, the birthplace of Islam, highlights the complications of the religious situation in the Middle East, and more widely the issues of Christian-Muslim relations.

There may be as many as 2 million Christians in the Middle East today. Despite nearly 16 years of war and sometimes brutal persecution in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq, many remain in the lands that were the cradle of Christianity. In part this is because it is still made as hard as possible for them to leave the region. The Christians of Iraq have largely been driven from their homes by persecution, as have some of the Christians of Syria, where a number have taken the side of the Assad dictatorship. But they have ended up in refugee camps rather than reaching notionally Christian Europe.

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2D3Z4nU