Human Rights

Legal move against minaret ban thrown out

The European Court of Human Rights has rejected two appeals against a ban on the construction of new minarets in Switzerland.Judges ruled that the plaintiffs – three Muslim organisations and a private citizen – were not victims of an alleged human rights violation. The Strasbourg-based court on Friday announced that […]

Your rape culture is not my religion

That reporting a rape is an arduous ordeal is a truth that resounds globally. When braving for police investigations, enumerating the ordeal in court and damaging stereotypical media representations become a norm then the argument for a pellucid approach becomes preemptory. In 2006, a much-heated debate on the Hudood Laws […]

Justice only for Arabs?

By AIJAZ ZAKA SYED | ARAB NEWS Justice for the Libyans is welcome. What about the victims of war crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan though? Serves him right. That was my instant reaction to the International Criminal Court’s warrant for Muammar Qaddafi. The whole country has been on fire […]

Egypt protesters demand ‘civil marriage’

CAIRO (AFP) – Dozens of Egyptians protested on Thursday to demand the introduction of civil marriages, in order to be able to divorce or remarry. Protesters – Coptic Christians as well as Muslims – want the next parliament elected in September to adopt a law to allow civil marriages. Currently, Egyptians follow […]

Welcome to Palestine Campaign Set For Friday

“We strongly stress that we campaign for a just peace and for the freedom and security of both the Palestinian and the Israeli people” Bethlehem – PNN – As nearly 600 international activists from all walks of life gear up for Friday’s “Welcome to Palestine” campaign, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin […]

‘Crimes against humanity’ claims in Syria

Human rights group accuses Damascus over May siege of Talkalakh, while up to 22 reported killed in crackdown in Hama. Syria has drawn strong condemnation for its deadly crackdown on protesters in the central city of Hama, with human rights campaigners hinting at the possibility of the country’s leaders being […]

Welcome to Palestine – if you can get in

Israel’s threat to deny visitor’s entry to Palestine is as disturbing as it is shocking. Our protest will be a civil society tsunami Palestinians have globally touted an array of rights that Israel systematically denies. There is the right of return, the right of freedom of movement, the right to […]

Daughters, a matter of pride

By ARAB NEWS Bringing up children with proper care is the primary duty of Muslim parents. Parents should not distinguish in a discriminatory manner between their male and female children when bringing them up. However, the fact remains that girls in many Muslim communities are the victims of their parents’ […]

Indonesia’s religious freedom must be for all: Religious Freedom in Indonesia: The Case of the Ahmadiyya

In ‘Indonesia’s Religious Freedom Must Be For All,’ Bernhard Platzdasch of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore, writes that a clampdown on the Islamic Ahmadiyah sect brings into focus the larger context of religious freedom and tolerance in today’s Indonesia. Indonesia has since independence proclaimed itself a religiously […]