[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating about Islam and reflects a wide variety of opinions and approaches. It does not reflect the views of the Critical Currents in Islam page or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to cci@jadaliyya.com by Saturday night of every week.]
Is the FBI Spying on Muslims? Court Decides Bureau Doesn't Have to Reveal Surveillance of Muslim Americans
Newsweek
A federal appeals court overturned a lower court’s ruling that would have compelled the FBI to release documents describing the agency’s spying on the Muslim population.
No longer the voice of the Arabs: The rise and fall of Egyptian Arabic
The Economist
The once ascendant Egyptian dialect of Arabic has lost ground to the rising popularity of other dialects in Middle Eastern media.
‘Bilal’ review: Ancient story of a real-life Muslim hero is pretty but feels like theology class
Washington Post
Jane Horwitz reviews the $30 million dollar animated biography of Bilal, a companion of the Prophet. The picture is the first animated CGI project produced in Dubai.
Senior AfD Member Vows To Ban Islam Across Europe, Starting From Istanbul’s Bosporus
Daily Sabah
To ‘live their lives freely,’ A senior member of the anti-Islam, right-wing AfD vowed that once the party comes to power, they would ban Islam starting from the Bosphorus in Istanbul- where the continent begins.
‘Halal’ Internet Means More Control In Iran After Unrest
AP News
Iranian authorities are continuing their work on their National Internet Network in the aftermath of protests, aiming to balance modern Internet access with the state’s Islamic principles.
H&M Recall a Range of Socks After Pattern Appears to Resemble the Word Allah Written in Arabic Upside-Down
The Independent UK
According to a company spokesperson, the pattern, meant to represent a Lego figurine, unintentionally resembled Allah when held upside-down.
Why The Trump Administration Is Trying To Make Muslim Immigrants Seem Dangerous
Washington Post
Despite clear evidence and the complex delicacies of terrorism and bigotry, the Trump Administration is continuing to push the narrative that immigrants, particularly Muslims, are incompatible and dangerous to American society.
EXCLUSIVE: US Pastor Who Led Prayers at Trump's Inauguration Says the West is At War With Muslims As He Warns Freedom of Speech Is At Risk Following Campaign To Ban Him From The UK
Daily Mail
U.S. based Pastor Franklin Graham, in a controversial statement, claims that ‘the West is at war with Islam as a whole,’ among other Islamophobic remarks, in a problematic response to seeing a proposal to ban him from the U.K.
US Census Fails to Add MENA Category: Arabs to Remain 'White' in Count
Middle East Eye
The U.S. government has not added a MENA designation in the Census, meaning that people from the region will continue to be demographically categorized as ‘white.’
Malaysia’s Top Court Annuls Unilateral Conversions of Minors
AP News
Malaysia’s top court decreed that both parents must consent to the religious conversion of a minor, ruling unanimously in favor of a Hindu woman whose ex-husband converted their three children to Islam without telling her.
Many Muslim Refugees Will Face Additional Scrutiny Under Trump Plan
NY Times
The Trump Administration said it is resuming the admission of refugees from eleven countries with additional screening that it said will increase security but which refugee groups say will make it harder for Muslims to find safe haven in the U.S.
Afghan Clerical Council Condemns Wave of Deadly Attacks
AP News
About one hundred Afghan clerics gathered to condemn the attacks for targeting the innocent, but refused to discuss the revival of Islamic militants in Afghanistan.
Indian Muslim Cleric Says Women Watching Soccer Un-Islamic
AP News
A senior cleric at an influential Islamic seminary in northern India has issued a religious decree saying that Muslim women should not watch men playing soccer, citing moral reasons.
Linda Sarsour: Trump’s Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Helps Unite America Against Him
Time
Speaking on the events from the Presidency over the past year, Women’s March co-chair Linda Sarsour says the divisive rhetoric of President Trump’s has provided the necessary platform for Americans to unite to against him.
Oxford Islamic Academic In Custody In France On Rape Accusations
Reuters
Prominent academic Tariq Ramadan, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of Oxford, has been taken into custody by French police following accusations of rape, a judicial source said.
Indonesia's Conservative Aceh Orders Headscarves For Muslim Flight Attendants
AP News
The only province to implement Islamic law, authorities in Aceh, Indonesia order that female flight attendants wear headscarves when flying in.
Accused Philly Cop Shooter Said He 'thought about Allah' As He Pulled Trigger
Philadelphia Inquirer
Looking to close a case on a Philadelphia policeman’s shooting, investigators are questions the authenticity of the officers claim of Islamist religious motivation.
Ghana Sisters Blending style, tradition for Muslim women
AP News
Looking to find a balance between vibrant, west-African fashion and Islamic dress code, two sisters in Ghana are creating Islamic-friendly fashion from the locally produced fabrics that are wildly popular across West Africa.
German Nationalist, Muslim Convert: Politician is both
AP News
Addressing the media over the news of his conversion, member of the right-wing German AfD Arthur Wagner says he is ‘deadly serious’ over ‘creating a consensus between German Islam and conservative Germans.’
Hijabs Held Aloft As Iranian Women Protest Compulsory Cover-Up
Reuters
Fighting the ideology behind the compulsory hijab, Iranian women, lead by activist Masih Alinejad, are holding their hijabs aloft across social media.
Why Thomas Jefferson Owned a Qur’an
Smithsonian Magazine
The presence of a Qur’an translation in Thomas Jefferson’s library is only part of a much larger Islamic and Muslim presence in the United States’ early history.
Hijab: Denial of Right To Hijab Is War Against Islam – Al-Muminaat
Vanguard
Addressing journalists at a press conference to commemorate the World Hijab Day at its headquarters, leader of Al-Muminaat warned that various incidences of discriminations, denials, persecutions, profiling, harassments in public institutions of wearing the Hijab must stop forthwith.
This Is What Life Is Like Under Sharia Law
Vice
Travelling to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, where Sharia police roam the streets to punish and report people drinking or gambling, Vice News investigates the nature of Sharia and society, and connections to terrorism.
Man convicted of murder over van attack on Muslims in London
Washington Post
Saying ‘I want to kill more Muslims,’ a man who steeped himself in far-right, anti-Muslim ideas before driving a van into a crowd of worshippers near a north London mosque was convicted Thursday of murder and attempted murder.
'Brainwashed' children of Islamist fighters worry Germany: spy chief
Reuters
Germany’s domestic intelligence chief wants the government to review laws restricting the surveillance of minors to guard against the children of Islamist fighters returning to the country as “sleeper agents” who could carry out attacks.
How Muslim Women Use Fashion To Exert Political Influence
The Atlantic
Muslim women can use their dress both to signify piety or religiosity and as a political statement, according to a scholar on religious garb in Iran, Turkey, and Indonesia.
Sharia marriages should be registered under UK law, says independent review
The Independent
In light of many women having suffered under the incongruity of having their Sharia marriages officially recognized, Muslims should undergo a civil marriage as well as a religious ceremony to make sure women are protected under the law, an independent review of Sharia councils has said.
Dave Eggers’ The Monk of Mokha: A Portal Into America’s Love Affair With Qahwa
The Islamic Monthly
A review of Dave Eggers’ new non-fiction book, and Pultizer Prize finalist, on the history of coffee and Mokhtar Alkhanshali’s coffee business in Yemen.
Muslim Women Are Trending, but Some of Us Are Still Invisible
Rewire
Muslim women in the public eye do not match the broad diversity of Muslim women, a population with a diversity in ethnicity, dress, and piety.
The Sufi-Salafi Rift
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Salafist attacks on Libyan Sufis have increased in recent months, driven by socio-economic, political, and doctrinal differences.
Trump nominee for U.N. migration post called Muslims violent, Christians top priority
Washington Post
Ken Isaacs, the administration’s nominee for director general of the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration, or IOM, has made controversial Islamophobic remarks on social media accounts and has shown a history of climate change denial.