The cabinet on Friday voted to ban burkas and other face-covering garments from public places. Once the legislation has passed through parliament, the Netherlands will become the third country in Europe to ban the Islamic garment, after France and Belgium. The ban will apply to people wearing balaclavas and full-frontal […]
The New York Police Department is facing intense scrutiny following revelations Monday that afilm about the threat of radical Islam was screened to nearly 1,500 officers during training. Critics of the 2008 documentary “The Third Jihad” have denounced it as “anti-Islam“ and ”hate-filled.” The Council on American-Islamic Relations called it […]
This morning’s papers are dominated by two events: skater Sven Kramer takes his fifth European title and the queen donned a headscarf to visit a mosque in Abu Dhabi and – predictably – raised the ire of far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders. All of this morning’s papers (except nrc.next) lead with a […]
Courtesy: The Daily Telegraph: “The eurozone is a slow-motion train wreck,” Mr Roubini said. “Countries – and not just Greece – are insolvent. I think Greece will leave the eurozone […]
Even more trade and even better relations; that is what Queen Beatrix’s state visit to the United Arab Emirates is intended to achieve. Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Maxime Verhagen made this clear during a meeting with CEOs of Dutch and UAE businesses on the second day of the Queen’s visit. […]
The burqa ban passed by the cabinet today is drawing mostly negative reactions, both among Muslim organisations and political parties. A large Turkish interest group, IOT, says the government hasn’t considered the ban’s consequences. “Women who currently only venture outside, or are allowed to go outside, wearing a burqa, will […]
The Jakarta Post Rights activists and religious leaders have urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to dismiss Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali for his frequent statements that could fuel persecution against minority groups in the country. “Suryadharma doesn’t deserve the post because he has encouraged discrimination against Shiite by saying that […]
Atheism does not violate Pancasila. All Indonesians may consciously and rationally choose their own beliefs. The country’s very foundation protects their right to do so.’ Alexander Aan, a civil servant […]
Press TV: The Saturday protest, organized by the leftist New Nationalist Alliance (Bayan), was staged to denounce the ongoing negotiations between Manila and Washington to deploy more US troops and […]
In Arab countries around the Middle East, the Christian population is decreasing. In Pakistan, Shiites and Sunni engage in bloody battles, and the Ahmadiyya are not even allowed to call themselves Muslims. The one country in which members of religious minorities enjoy respect of their rights and care for their […]
Credit: Washington Post Religious leaders have been in the forefront of the movement for abortion rights for more than fifty years, advocating for women to be able to make their own moral decisions. Leaders of all faiths should offer their counsel compassionately, competently, and justly to individuals and to families. […]
Cret: Newyork Times: IN New York and a growing number of American cities, diners are encountering sanitary grades in restaurants’ windows — A, B or C. That system is an example of helpful disclosure, researchers say: information that is simple and comprehensible, important to recipients and easily acted upon. I […]
Source: Asia Times. A report by a Washington think-tank focuses on the pros and cons of a “long game” between the United States and Iran, centered on sanctions, arms control and regime change. The authors argue – not necessarily on a sound basis – that time will give Tehran the […]
Credit: Asia Times By Pepe Escobar If the sorry parade of European poodles – or what analyst Chris Floyd delightfully dubbed Europuppies – had any understanding of Persian culture, they would have known that blowback for their declaration of economic war in the form of an Iranian oil embargo would […]
A newly elected Islamist deputy was scolded on Monday for adding a religious reference to the swearing-in oath at the opening session of Egypt’s first post-revolution parliament. The deputies started to be sworn in one by one, pledging to “preserve the safety of the nation and the interests of people […]
By HASHEM KALANTARI AND ROBIN POMEROY | REUTERS on ARABNEWS TEHRAN: A law to be debated in Iran’s parliament on Sunday may halt oil exports to the European Union as early as next week, foiling an EU plan to phase in an oil embargo gradually to help its struggling economies […]
By ARAB NEWS LONDON: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne, opened the exhibition of “Haj: Journey to the Heart of Islam” in London’s British […]
By REUTERS ARABBEWS DAVOS: Leaders of the Arab Spring sought to assure the world’s elite in Davos that the rise of political Islam is not a threat to democracy, and pleaded for help creating jobs and satisfying the hunger of their people for a better life. Politicians, activists and entrepreneurs […]