17 September – 23 September – Islam in Media Roundup

A London-based group of Muslim feminists, the Inclusive Mosque Initiative, has launched a series of seminars aimed at curbing Islamophobia and reclaiming Islam’s feminist history.
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Most Western Europeans favor at least some restrictions on Muslim women’s religious clothing

A median of 25% of people across European countries polled by Pew think that women should not be allowed to wear religious clothing, and at the other end that they should be allowed to wear any religious clothing. Portugal emerges as the country most tolerant of Muslim women’s dress. 
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Two Muslim Women are Headed for Congress

Rashida Tlaib, from the 13th district of Michigan, and Ilhan Omar, from the 5th district of Minnesota, are Democratic candidates expected to win seats in Congress this November.
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Federal DHS grants on extremism concern Muslims in Michigan

Criticisms emerge as the Department of Homeland Security gives a $500,000 grant to the National Governors Association, highlighting continued concerns over the targeting of Muslims communities by CVE programs.
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Shows like Bodyguard perpetuate Muslim stereotypes. We created the Riz Test to show how dire representation is

Actor Riz Ahmed has inspired a new show which assesses the representation of Muslims in TV and film based on five criteria.
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Why China is Brutally Suppressing Muslims

The repression of the Turkic Uighur Muslim community in western China—including the reported internment of up to a million people in secret camps—is a key part of Beijing’s new imperial policy. Only by understanding the dynamics of Chinese empire can one grasp this brutal campaign.
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China's Forgotten Legacy of Islam

Islam has been an important part of Chinese culture since it arrived there in the late seventh century. Muslim scholars have enriched and interacted positively with China’s other spiritual traditions, and a better understanding of this history is imperative.
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Iraq Shi'ite paramilitary leader al-Amiri withdraws candidacy for PM

Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Badr Organization, a group of Iran-linked Shi’ite militia groups, has stepped aside from the race for Prime Minister in order to help his country form a government.
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‘Forced conversions’ of Hindu women to Islam in Pakistan: another perspective

A researcher examines cases of the forced conversion of Pakistani Hindu girls to Islam, and finds that the phenomenon is motivated by more than religious zeal.
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Malaysia to open bond, sukuk market to retail buyers next month

Malaysia’s Securities Commission said Wednesday that the world’s largest market for Islamic bonds would seek to ease the purchase of bonds by domestic retail investors. The new measures will take effect 11 October.
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Police break up Muslim gatherings in Indian-held Kashmir

Fearing anti-India protests, police used tear gas to disperse religious processions celebrating the holy month of Muharram.
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India prescribes punishments in bid to stamp out instant Muslim divorce

In an effort to appeal to Muslim women ahead of the upcoming elections, the ruling BJP has introduced measures to make “triple talaq” divorce punishable by up to three years in prison.
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How an ancient Islamic holiday became uniquely Caribbean

In a holiday known locally as Hosay, Muslims in Trinidad commemorate Ashura, the martyrdom of Hussein, with colorful floats and a carnival atmosphere.
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Amnesty decries Houthi prosecution of Bahais in Yemen

Amnesty International has condemned the prosecution of twenty-four Yemeni Bahais by a Houthi rebel group. Charged with espionage, there are concerns that the group may face the death penalty.
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Al-Azhar includes women in public discussion of harassment, rights

The official newspaper of Egypt’s Al-Azhar Al-Sharif has published a front page photo of several women, some of whom are unveiled, discussing harassment. Editor Ahmed Al-Sawi said the paper wanted to make a strong anti-harassment statement with the photo.
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Egypt's televangelists tailor their message: See no evil and life will be good

Contributor Rania Al Malky compares the careers of preachers Amr Khaled and Moez Masoud, and finds a disturbing similarity.
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Yom Kippur and Ashoura: Are Muslims observing a Jewish holiday?

Professor Hamid Dabashi explores the Judeo-Islamic roots of the two coinciding holidays this month, and warns that the politicized strains of both faiths seek to separate them.
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China Has Chosen Cultural Genocide in Xinjiang—For Now

China is commiting crimes against humanity, and has committed itself to the complex and costly process of destroying a people culturally without killing them.
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San Francisco show celebrates diversity of Muslim fashion

San Francisco’s de Young museum has a new exhibition of clothing and photographs celebrating the diversity of Islamic dress.
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Can Islamist moderates remake the politics of the Muslim world?

Islamists in Jordan, Tunisia and Malaysia are modernizing and moderating their message in an effort to gain popular appeal.
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Internet Sleuths Are Hunting for China’s Secret Internment Camps for Muslims

China’s efforts to indoctrinate Chinese Muslims are secretive, isolated, and very high tech, but citizens and scholars are using the simplest of technology to track down and expose them.
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Millions of Shi'ites express suffering in Ashura ritual in Iraq

Shi’ite Muslims gathered in Kerbala, Iraq, to commemorate and mourn the martyrdom of Imam Hussein. 
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Partition in Kosovo Will Lead to Disaster

Proposed land swaps in Kosovo are more likely to bring back the perils of regional disintegration than their desired outcome, peace.
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'Isis will be looking for targets': guns and fear mark Afghan Ashura

Shi’ite Muslims in Afghanistan are taking precautions against attacks by Sunni extremists by arming themselves as they prepare to commemorate Ashura.
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TV review: 14 & Muslim is a charming profile of three teens

A new documentary which will soon air in Canada follows the lives of three Muslim teens as they graduate from Toronto’s Islamic Foundation School and enter integrated high school environments.
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Saudi Arabia bars 600,000 Palestinians from Hajj and Umrah with passport ban

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has told travel and tourism agencies in Jordan and Palestine that pilgrimage visas will no longer be issued to Palestinians with temporary Jordanian travel documents.
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Shi'ite Muslims mark Ashura amid tight security

Fears of sectarian attacks have lead to heightened security as Shi’ite Muslims around the world mourn Imam Hussein.
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Iranian singer's 'sickening' anti-Islam post embarrasses hard-liners

Singer Amir Tataloo, who has four million followers on Instagram, posted graphically worded lines against Shi’ite Islam and Shi’ites, triggering a backlash from conservatives and clerics in the Islamic Republic.
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The Ohio Muslim groups standing up for their embattled community

Muslim community and advocacy groups in Columbus, Ohio, are challenging issues like domestic violence and parental abuse amid an increasingly difficult environment for immigrants.
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Muslim-American can sue over 'no-fly list': U.S. appeals court

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has revived a lawsuit against the FBI by a man kept on a no fly list for six years in an effort to coerce him into acting as an informant.
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Opposition Is Growing in Denmark Against an 'Anti-Muslim' Plan to Make New Citizens Shake Hands

Denmark’s ruling right wing coalition has proposed legislation that would make handshakes a mandatory part of the ceremony for new citizens; the measure, understood to target conservative Muslims, is becoming increasingly unpopular.
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Google Workers Discussed Tweaking Search Function to Counter Travel Ban

Google says that in January 2017, workers discussed, but never implemented, ways to tweak the company’s search algorithm in opposition to the  Trump administration’s travel ban.
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China treats Uighur kids as ‘orphans’ after parents seized

China is sending the children of the Muslims detained in prisons and indoctrination camps to orphanages and boarding schools with barbed-wire fences.
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Iranians lash out at preferential treatment of pilgrims

Iran has increased visa fees for leisure travel as part of it’s austerity plan while allowing religious pilgrims to pay significantly lower rates, sparking criticism from across society.
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The Maldives: The rise and fall of a Muslim democracy

Voters in the Maldives have only bad options in the upcoming election, and whether or not the rule of President Abdulla Yameen continues, the country is moving away from democracy.
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Pakistan criticises China over treatment of ethnic Muslims

Pakistan’s Minister for Religious Affairs has issued one of the first formal criticisms from a majority Muslim country  of China’s policy toward ethnic Muslims in Xinjiang, asking the Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan to “promote religious harmony by practicing patience.”
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Mandatory hijab hunger strike enters 50th day

Dr. Farhad Meysami, an activist arrested in July for encouraging opposition to Iran’s law mandating the hijab, marked the fiftieth day of his hunger strike on Thursday.
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