India’s BJP leaders acquitted in Babri mosque demolition case

Court clears 32 men of inciting clashes that led to destruction of site by Hindu rioters in 1992

A special court has acquitted all senior figures in India’s ruling party of their role in the demolition of the Babri mosque by Hindu rioters, in a further court victory for the Hindu nationalist government over the bitterly disputed holy site.

All 32 men, including the former deputy prime minister LK Advani, three leaders from the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) and a sitting BJP politician, were cleared of inciting the violence in 1992 that led to a 16th-century mosque in the city of Ayodhya being torn down by an armed Hindu nationalist mob.

Related: Ayodhya: Modi hails 'dawn of new era' as work on controversial temple begins

Continue reading...

from Islam | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3l1xkEU

Uighurs could be allowed to seek genocide ruling against China in UK

Exclusive: MPs and peers aim to grant minorities in China the right to petition British courts

Uighurs and other Muslim minorities would be given the right to petition a UK high court judge to declare that genocide is taking place in China, requiring the UK government to curtail trade ties with Beijing, under proposals brought by MPs and peers.

The cross-party parliamentary revolt is causing deep concern in government, where there are fears that judges and human rights campaigners could be empowered to throw UK-China trade relations into turmoil.

Continue reading...

from Islam | The Guardian https://ift.tt/34bxtyq

There's a social pandemic poisoning Europe: hatred of Muslims | Patrycja Sasnal and Yasemin El Menouar

If anti-Muslim prejudice is not targeted, steps to counter racism in Europe in the wake of BLM protests will be meaningless

Rarely does the EU act so swiftly. Less than four months since the killing of George Floyd in police custody and the Black Lives Matter campaign that spilled into Europe and galvanised continent-wide protests, the EU is appointing its first ever anti-racism coordinator. This brilliant idea will make little sense, however, if anti-Muslim hatred is not part of their portfolio. Because instead of building a “truly anti-racist union”, as the president of the European commission, Ursula von der Leyen, would wish, we have so far built an anti-Muslim one.

Prejudice against Muslims exists in every corner of Europe. Not only do we collectively devalue and discriminate against Europeans who follow Islam, but the incidence of violence against Muslims is increasing.

Continue reading...

from Islam | The Guardian https://ift.tt/339F816

Yusuf Cat Stevens on Islam, the fatwa and playing guitar again

The singer-songwriter tells Desert Island Discs about walking away from his fans, and the difficulties of following a spiritual path

The singer-songwriter now known as Yusuf Cat Stevens has spoken of the pain of his decision to leave music behind in 1977, when he first converted to Islam, and of the difficulty of being used as a representative of an entire faith.

“It was a hard tug. I felt a responsibility to my fans, but I would have been a hypocrite. I needed to get real. So I stopped singing and started taking action with what I now believed,” he said. The singer, who first performed as Cat Stevens, adopted the name Yusuf Islam when he changed faith. He now uses both first names.

Related: Yusuf Islam AKA Cat Stevens to lead BBC Ramadan series

Continue reading...

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