Halima Aden becomes first model to wear a burkini in Sports Illustrated

Born in a Kenyan refugee camp, the Muslim Somali-American model returned to her birth country for historic photoshoot

Somali-American model Halima Aden has become the first Muslim model to appear in Sports Illustrated magazine wearing a hijab and burkini. She appeared in the swimsuit edition, out in May, wearing a number of different colourful burkinis.

The model told the BBC: “Young girls who wear a hijab should have women they look up to in any and every industry.

Don’t change yourself .. Change the GAME!! Ladies anything is possible!!! Being in Sports Illustrated is so much bigger than me. It’s sending a message to my community and the world that women of all different backgrounds, looks, upbringings... can stand together and be celebrated. Thank you so much @si_swimsuit & the entire team for giving me this incredible opportunity.

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2IR9Wea

'Mawanella was the start': small Sri Lankan town reels from bombing links

Local youths were radicalised by Mohammed Zahran Hashim, say faith leaders

It was crude stuff: young men armed with hammers, arriving on motorbikes in the middle of the night. At four sites in Mawanella, a central Sri Lankan town, they hacked at Buddhist statues, lopping off parts of their faces and hands.

In the aftermath of the desecration on 26 December 2018, police and local politicians were more concerned with defusing the anger of the Buddhist community and preventing religious riots of the kind that had rocked the nearby city of Digana eight months before.

Related: Sri Lanka attacks: president says civil war inquiries left country vulnerable

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2PwUEf4

'Love in the face of bigotry': woman takes smiling stand against Islamophobic protesters

Shaymaa Ismaa’eel says she wanted demonstrators in Washington to see ‘how happy I was to be me’

While attending an Islamic conference in Washington DC on Sunday, Shaymaa Ismaa’eel, a 24-year-old Muslim woman, passed by a group of angry protesters holding signs against Islam and shouting that she and her friends were going to hell. In response, she crouched in front of them and flashed a peace sign.

The resulting photo, posted on Instagram, has prompted an outpouring of support for Ismaa’eel.

Related: Footage of Italian boy who stood up to fascists goes viral

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

London Standard urged to move event from Brunei-owned Dorchester hotel

Venue subject of boycott over sultan’s policy of stoning people to death for gay sex

The London Evening Standard is facing calls to move an awards ceremony to be held at the Brunei-owned Dorchester hotel after the country imposed new laws punishing gay sex and adultery with death by stoning.

The newspaper, whose own celebrity columnist Rob Rinder urged readers to join a boycott of the luxury hotel, is due to hold its annual New Homes awards at the five-star Mayfair establishment next month.

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from Islam | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2W5JXCE