[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.]
Politics
Moroccan Islamist groups reject normalizing ties with Israel (12 December 2020)
Morocco’s main Islamist groups rejected Rabat’s plan to normalize ties with Israel following a deal brokered by the United States.
Islamic State train attacker thwarted by three California men is convicted (18 December 2020)
A French court has convicted an Islamic State operative in a 2015 train attack that was foiled by three fast-acting young California men.
Widow of Islamic State gunman is convicted in Charlie Hebdo, kosher market attacks (16 December 2020)
The widow of an Islamic State gunman and a man described as his logistician were convicted of terrorism charges and sentenced to 30 years in prison in the trial of 14 people linked to the January 2015 attacks against the newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket.
Pakistan coal miners kidnapped and killed in IS attack (03 January 2021)
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the killing of 11 coal miners in the western Pakistani province of Balochistan.
Indonesia Disbands Radical Islamic Group Over Charges of Violence(30 December 2020)
The government dissolved the Islamic Defenders Front over charges that its members committed terrorism. Its leader is already under arrest.
An Embattled Public Servant in a Fractured France(01 January 2021)
Nicolas Cadène sees the failings of France’s secular model even as he upholds it.
France Takes On Islamist Extremism With New Bill(09 December 2020)
The French government says draft legislation aimed at combating the extremist ideology that has taken many lives on French soil in recent years is a “law of freedom” necessary for peaceful coexistence.
Once a Slogan of Unity, ‘Je Suis Charlie’ Now Divides France(19 December 2020)
After the 2015 terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo, “I am Charlie” became a unifying slogan of free speech. Now it fuels divisions in an increasingly polarized country.
I.C.C. Won’t Investigate China’s Detention of Muslims (15 December 2020)
The International Criminal Court’s decision angered rights activists, who had lobbied it to investigate Beijing’s repressive policies against Uighurs.
Pakistan regional gov’t to fund construction of destroyed temple (01 January 2021)
Dozens of people arrested, including a local Islamic leader, after a Muslim mob destroyed a temple in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The royal commission report on the Christchurch atrocity is a beginning, not an end (09 December 2020)
France Unveils Draft Law to Fight Islamist Radicalism (09 December 2020)
The proposed legislation targets home schools, mosques or associations that promulgate an ideology running counter to French values.
Why Muslims in the US face a crisis of leadership(08 December 2020)
An opinion piece by Dr. Hafsa Kanjwal assistant professor in South Asian history at Lafayette College. Dr. Kanjwal claims some Muslim American groups have turned into agents of oppression, and suggests that they are providing cover for harmful and destructive policies towards communities in the US.
Women, Gender & Sexuality
Nearly 1,000 Pakistani girls ‘forcibly converted to Islam’ each year, says charity (29 December 2020)
Rights groups say youngsters are targeted after being abducted or tricked.
Thai women gold panners find bright spot in COVID-ravaged economy (30 December 2020)
Many Muslim women from the south of Thailand who used to sell vegetables and food to tourists have turned to panning as gold prices near an all-time high.
Young Muslim women are leading environmental movements grounded in their beliefs (22 December 2020)
An opinion piece by Memona Hossain on how Muslim women are “transcending boundaries” to create spaces of activism and being more eco-concious.
Islamophobia
2020 Marked by Rising Anti-Muslim Rhetoric(Date unknown)
A video by TRT World on the rising rhetoric against Muslims globally.
‘Will they let us live?’ Inside Xinjiang, survivors of China’s internment camps speak (17 December 2020)
The Times met with Uighurs — they are predominately Muslim — who spoke of their imprisonment, fear and life in the region.
Justices rule Muslim men can sue FBI agents over no-fly list (10 December 2020)
A unanimous Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Muslim men who were placed on the government’s no-fly list because they refused to serve as FBI informants can seek to hold federal agents financially liable.
Report finds security lapses ahead of New Zealand mosque shootings (08 December 2020)
The report says New Zealand’s intelligence agencies were far too focused on the threat posed by Islamic extremism, which came at the expense of confronting other threats such as white supremacism.
Indian State Ruled by Modi’s Party Bans Islamic Schools (30 December 2020)
More than 700 madrasas in Assam will be shut by April, the state’s education minister said. Opposition politicians called the move an attack on Muslims.
The Labour Party has a problem with Islamophobia and needs to tackle it head on (14 December 2020)
An opinion piece by Taj Ali, a freelance writer and political activist based in the UK, on the alleged islamophobia in the Labour Party.
US demands release of Uighur doctor sentenced to 20 years’ jail (31 December 2020)
The US called for the release of a Uighur Muslim medical doctor whose relatives say was sentenced to 20 years in jail in China because of family members’ human rights activism in the United States.
China uses tourism to smother Xinjiang’s culture (02 January 2021)
In recent years China has worked to stamp out any hint of religious fervour in Xinjiang, as almost a million of the region’s ethnic-Uyghurs have been accused of radical Islamic thinking and sent to re-education camps.
Austrian Constitutional Court Overturns Headscarf Ban in Schools(11 December 2020)
The legislation was introduced by the ruling conservatives in Austria, and had only been referred to as 'religious clothing that is associated with a covering of the head,' but the court found that it was clearly aimed at Muslim headscarves.
Religious Thought & Practice
Halal Debate: What Experts Say About The Covid-19 Vaccine (21 December 2020)
Experts say that concerns about religious permissibility, speed of development as well as conspiracy theories need to be contextualised and taken seriously.
Pakistani film explores social media's role in anger over blasphemy (09 December 2020)
The creator of an animated film on blasphemy in Pakistan is hoping it will prompt discussion on tolerance at a time that rights advocates say hate speech on social media is increasingly triggering violence.
No shame in dealing with matters of the mind (28 December 2020)
In a year of strained mental health, Arab countries are doubling down on efforts to support care and break the stigma associated with such conditions.
COVID-19
Muslim charities feed lorry drivers stranded at UK border crossing (29 December 2020)
A number of Muslim charities have provided thousands of hot meals to lorry drivers stuck at the UK's Dover ferry crossing after France closed its borders to UK traffic following the emergence in the UK of a new strain of Covid-19.
Covid-19: Scholars say having vaccine is religious duty for Egyptians (16 December 2020)
The arrival of the first shipment of the vaccine from China has raised religious, political and public debate in the country.
In Pictures: Struggling to bury COVID victims in northern Iran (24 December 2020)
How Covid-19 Muslim-Iranian victims are being buried in northern Iran, as the virus ripples across the country.
Concern Among Muslims Over Pork-derived Gelatin in COVID-19 Vaccine (20 December 2020)
The stabilizer, meant to ensure vaccines remain safe and effective during storage and transport, presents a challenge for vaccination campaigns in some communities.
Business
Islamic fintech Wahed Invest to buy UK digital banking app Niyah (17 December 2020)
Wahed Inc, a U.S.-based Islamic-finance fintech startup backed by Saudi Aramco, will acquire Niyah Ltd, a British company that runs a digital banking app designed for the Muslim community.
Culture
Archaeologists discover ancient Islamic necropolis in northern Spain (01 December 2020)
Construction workers in Spain have made an unexpected find that archaeologists say could help them better understand the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsular.
