[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.]
Why the media needs to be more responsible for how it links Islam and Islamist terrorism
The Conversation
The media has an ethical obligation to stop presenting an inaccurate picture of Islam, and must differentiate between Islam and Islamism, according to two scholars at Griffith University.
Diyanet flexes its muscles to back Erdogan’s soft power in Syria
Al Monitor
Turkey’s Religious Affairs directorate, labelled “Erdogan’s biggest echo chamber” by critics, has released a report both emphasizing the country’s efforts to help rebuild Syria and listing Turkey as the world’s number one provider of humanitarian aid.
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What is Tashkent’s Tolerance for Conservative Islam?
The Diplomat
Uzbekistan is very proud of its Muslim heritage, but as the current administration steps up its support of free speech, it seeks protect the secular state against conservative Islamist ideas.
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Al Baraka launches Islamic digital bank in Germany
Reuters
Bahrain’s Al Baraka Banking Group has announced it will offer interest free banking products and services digitally. Beginning in Germany, the company hopes to expand services across Europe.
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Saudi woman barred from marrying 'musical' suitor
Al Monitor
A woman from one of Saudi Arabia’s most conservative regions has been denied in her efforts to marry a man who plays a musical instrument, after two courts agreed with her family that he was “religiously unfit.”
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Afghan council seeks Pakistani cleric’s help to end war
AP
The influential head of the Haqqania Seminary where many Taliban figures studied has been asked to mediate in talks between Kabul and the militant group.
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China mounts publicity campaign to counter criticism on Xinjiang
Reuters
China is fighting back against international criticism stemming from its treatment of the Muslim community in Xinjiang.
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Bosnian Firms Eye Booming Appetite for Halal Food
Balkan Insight
The ever-growing demand for halal food is not lost on Bosnia, which seeks to become a major exporter within the Balkans, and around the world.
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French police raid Muslim association in 'counter-terror' probe
Al JazeeraAround two hundred police officers targeted Centre Zahra Muslim Association in the Grande-Synthe near the port city of Dunkirk, questioning eleven of its members and arresting three as part of a counter-terrorism operation.
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China: 'Arabic-sounding' river renamed to curb Islamic influence
Al Jazeera
Attempting to reduce “Islamic influence” in China, authorities renamed one of their “Arabic sounding” rivers from Aiyi to Diannong, claiming the name “Aiyi” sounds like Aisha, one of the Prophet Muhammad’s wives.
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Girl’s racist poem sparks row in southwestern Germany
BBC
Fourteen-year-old Ida Marie Muller, daughter of the far-right Alternative for Germany leader Nicole Hochst, sparked a backlash after delivering a racist poem in front of one hundred spectators. Her poem received loud applause, but she was disqualified from the competition.
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Tory London mayoral pick under fire for remarks about Muslims and Hindus
The Guardian
Shaun Bailey, the Conservative candidate to succeed Sadiq Khan as Mayor of London, is a longtime critic of multiculturalism. He suggested that the influence of Muslim and Hindu festivals is increasingly problematic, claiming that British children know more about Diwali than Christmas.
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India to begin deportations of Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar
AP
The Indian government plans to deport members of the Rohingya Muslim community back to Myanmar as part of a larger campaign against illegal immigration.
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US-bound Ahmadi leader models a different kind of Islamic caliphate
Religion News Service
Mirza Masroor Ahmad, caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, will visit the United States beginning 15 October. He has focused the Ahmadiyya community on self-reformation and anti-extremism, warning that society is moving rapidly toward a dangerous fate due to increasing injustice and immorality.
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Muslim Council of Britain to train women to run mosques
The Guardian
In an effort to increase diversity and involvement, the United Kingdom’s leading Muslim organization has launched a six-month program to train women for leadership roles in the community.
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China Is Treating Muslims Like Drug Addicts
Foreign Policy
The United Nations has joined other international human rights groups in calling on China to end the internment of Muslims. The camps are modelled on facilities for drug offenders and amid tight surveillance, Islam is being treated like an addiction to be “cured.”
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Controversy over Wheaton professor’s hijab captures evangelical rift in new film
Religion News Service
The documentary Same God, which premiered last month, tells the story of Wheaton College Professor Larycia Hawkins, who lost her job at the Christian institution after wearing a hijab to show her students that Muslims and Christians worship the same God.
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India criticised for deporting seven Rohingya men to Myanmar
Al Jazeera
India has deported the first group of Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar, raising fears of further repatriations.
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New premier, same old story: Québec’s longtime anti-niqab efforts
The Conversation
Shortly after his victory, hailed as the most important election in fifty years, premier-elect François Legault announced his intention to ban public display of (Islamic) religious symbols.
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Madrassas a place of prayer and peace for Rohingya kids
AFP
In the absence of formal schools, madrassas in Rohingya refugee camps provide the only education available to thousands of school-age children and preserve the Rohingya language and culture.
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