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NEWS ABOUT: Islam

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Ancient Ritual Blends Faith, Technology

Muslim holy month starts on sighting of crescent moon

(Newser) - Telescopes are tilted skyward throughout the Muslim world tonight, hunting for the first glimpse of a crescent moon that signals the start of Ramadan. In an age-old mix of science and religion, astronomers and clerics gather each year to monitor the moon and announce the beginning of Islam’s holiest... More »

Hey Saudis, Let the Women Play!

Time for the IOC to enforce it's no discrimination rule

(Newser) - The most beautiful sight in the Olympics' opening ceremony came when Egypt’s 26 female competitors strode into the stadium, writes Mona Eltahawy, an Egyptian Muslim, in the Washington Post. Women also carried flags for Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, filling Eltahawy with pride. And then came Saudi Arabia—... More »

US Publisher Yanks Novel on Mohammed

Random House feared violence over work on prophet's child bride

(Newser) - Random House has pulled a book about the life of Mohammed due to be published this week, Reuters reports. The company feared that The Jewel of  Medina, a historical novel and love story about Mohammed and Aisha—a child bride who was engaged to the prophet when she was 6—... More »

Turkey Dodges Political Crisis

Top court votes not to disband Islamic ruling party

(Newser) - A major constitutional showdown in Turkey was narrowly averted yesterday when the nation's top court voted not to ban the ruling Islamic AKP party, which attorneys had argued is illegally attempting to dismantle Turkey's secular democracy. A judge described the razor-thin 6-5 vote as "a serious warning" to the... More »

'Radical' Muslim Woman Can't be French Citizen

Officials say religion doesn't jell with French values like sex equality

(Newser) - France has rejected a Muslim woman’s application for citizenship because her “radical practice of her religion” doesn’t fit French values, especially in terms of gender equality, the Guardian reports. Faiza M., who wears a burqa, speaks French and lives in Paris with a French national husband and... More »

The (Middle) Name Is Hussein

More Obama fans adopt his name, angry that foes use it as a 'cuss word'

(Newser) - A growing group of Barack Obama fans are adopting his middle name, even as conservative pundits use it to label him a Muslim or terrorist, the New York Times reports. The trend of using "Hussein" has picked up speed since February and exists mostly online, in blogs and on... More »

Religious Tensions Follow India Bombings

Sufis feel threatened by rising rival factions

(Newser) - A sign on a mosque door in India warns outsiders—that is, members of conservative Muslim sects—to keep out. “These are dangerous times,” one mosque member told the Washington Post. “We cannot trust anybody.” Such is the climate in India, where moderate Muslims feel besieged... More »

Candidates Exploit Muslim-Jewish Divide

McCain and Obama insulting Muslims to gain favor with Jewish voters

(Newser) - The presidential candidates are ignoring—even insulting—American Muslims in the hope of grabbing the Jewish vote, write Salam Al-Marayati and Steven B. Jacobs in the Los Angles Times. McCain and Obama have on several occasions snubbed Muslims, who seem to be the victims of modern McCarthyism—just substitute terrorism... More »

Turkey's PM Could Fall Over Headscarves

Attack by 'extreme' secular judges will hopefully fall short

(Newser) - Turkey's secular judges want to oust the ruling party for its moderate, and popular, stance on religion freedoms, Mustafa Akyol writes in the American. On paper, the judiciary seeks to punish the incumbent AKP party for crimes such as nepotism and corruption. In reality, Akyol writes, the AKP's support for... More »

Bush Apologizes for Koran Target Practice

But Iraq is calling for a trial for shoot-'em-up soldier

(Newser) - President Bush yesterday called Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to personally apologize for the use of a Koran in target practice by a US military sniper. Maliki told Bush the incident was humiliating for Muslims and indicated the apology may not be enough, Reuters reports. The soldier who shot up... More »

Apology for Shooting Koran Doesn't Close Case

Used Muslim Holy text for target practice

(Newser) - The US military's swift disciplining of an Army sniper who used a Koran for target practice reflects growing awareness of the need to forge bonds with the Sunni Arabs, whose cooperation is crucial to peace in Iraq, the LA Times reports. But apologies and discipline aren't enough for an influential... More »

Gallup Asks What Muslims Really Think

Most admire the West for technology and human rights

(Newser) - What do the world’s Muslims really think? In an astonishing 6-year study, Gallup interviewed 1 billion of them to find out. The vast majority support democracy, political freedoms, and women’s rights, the Christian Science Monitor reports:
  • Most said they admire the West for its technology, hard work, and
... More »

Time to Grill McCain! A 10-Point Plan

Where the Republican is most vulnerable

(Newser) - It’s heading for general election time, and Adam Reilly of the Boston Phoenix wants the press to wake up and start laying in to McCain. Here’s how:
  • The economy. McCain reportedly said he “doesn’t really understand economics” in January. Has he boned up since then?
  • Islam.
... More »

McCain May Pray For Pastors to Zip It

Hagee not talking, but another high-profile preacher may be in news soon

(Newser) - John McCain may be heading for his own preacher problems, but at least one of his problematic pastors is clamming up for now, Newsweek reports. John Hagee, who called Hurricane Katrina “the judgment of God,” and Catholicism a “false cult system,” recently answered a request for... More »

Turkey Rounds Up Experts to Revise Islam

Reformers hope work will wrench religion from extremists

(Newser) - Ankara has gathered a team of experts to parse through Muhammad's words and deeds and decode them for modern-day Muslims, McClatchy Newspapers reports. Their planned 5-volume set will point out anachronisms—no, Muslims need not brush their teeth with a twig—and will likely remove lines about women being bad... More »

Mecca Time Plugged for World Standard

Muslim scholars say British-imposed GMT due for a change

(Newser) - A group of Muslim scholars wants Mecca time to replace Greenwich Mean Time as the world's default setting, the BBC reports. As Islam’s holiest city lies in perfect longitudinal alignment to magnetic north, scientists told a Qatar conference that Mecca was the “true” center of the earth. GMT,... More »

Guardian System Has Saudi Women 'Perpetual Minors'

Doing almost anything requires male consent in kingdom, report finds

(Newser) - Women in Saudi Arabia need to gain a male guardian’s consent to do almost anything, living as “perpetual minors,” the Telegraph reports. Research by Human Rights Watch found that male permission is needed to go to a doctor, travel, and even get dressed. In addition, strict segregation... More »

Bardot On Trial, Once Again, Over Racism

'60s sex kitten, oft-convicted, says rant was in defense of animals, not anti-Islam

(Newser) - Brigitte Bardot is on trial for racism—again. The 1960s French sex symbol, now 73, is a stridently anti-immigrant and seemingly anti-Muslim politician, Time reports. Bardot is on trial for “inciting racial hatred,” a charge she’s been convicted of four times. The current case involves a letter... More »

Saudi Trashes Bible in Reply to Dutch Pol's Film

'Schism' echoes premise of Wilders' anti-Islam 'Fitna'

(Newser) - A Saudi Arabian blogger has released his response to the anti-Islamic film Fitna, attacking the Bible in Schism much as the Dutch effort savaged the Koran, Der Spiegel reports. “Schism” places images of war alongside the Bible. “It is easy to take parts of any Holy (sic) book... More »

Muslims Outnumber Catholics: Vatican

Islam is world's biggest religion with 1.3B members

(Newser) - Islam has topped Roman Catholicism as the world's biggest religion for the first time, the Vatican said today. About 1.1 billion people are still Catholic, but Muslims have pulled ahead with 1.3 billion members. “For the first time in history we are no longer at the top:... More »

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