Tag Archives: Muslim

REUBEN ABATI: Donald Trump and the Muslim world.

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I am not a fan of Donald Trump, the incumbent President of the United States. I didn’t stand with him. I stood with her- Hillary Clinton- in the last US Presidential election. No other election in recent American history has been more international in terms of interest and emotional involvement. Trump’s election even divided the Nigerian middle class. Majority of Christians in Nigeria stood with Donald Trump. They liked his anti-Muslim rhetoric, and in a country where religion is such a volatile subject and the Christian community feels as if it is under siege from radical Islamic extremism, it was easy for a category of Nigerians to see Trump’s politics being in sync with their own fears and expectations.

Pro-secessionist, Biafran and Christian protesters in the South East also supported Trump. On his Inauguration Day, they organized a rally, some of them were killed, in the process, by Nigerian security agents. It is always so easy to read American politics into every other politics globally because of America’s status as a superior power and the global dominance of its culture. Many Nigerians who opposed Hillary Clinton of the Democratic Party also did so, for example, for partisan reasons, because they felt the Democratic administration of President Barrack Obama was responsible in many ways for the outcome of the 2015 Presidential election in Nigeria. They wanted a pound of flesh – they wanted the Democrats out of the White House, the same way the PDP exited Aso Villa. The funny thing is that Nigerians who do not hold American citizenship, were not in a position to vote in the US election, but this didn’t deter us from weeping more than the Americans. In my case, I opposed Trump because I consider him a vile, navel-gazing, crude, child-like nativist, whose Presidency could pose a threat to the free world.

I have been proven right. The United States is in trouble because of Donald Trump. In less than two weeks in office, President Trump has signed executive orders, which amount to an assault on the liberal international order. America is great because it became the dreamland and the symbol of freedom, prosperity and fulfillment for persons and families across the world. It is great because it became the melting pot for global genius, the preferred destination for generations of talented persons in all fields of human endeavour. America is great because its diversity and multiculturalism became pillars of its exceptionalism.

Donald Trump, on twitter where he spends his waking hours, and on the podium, where he rants, says his ambition is to “Make America Great Again” (#MAGA), but it is beginning to look as if Trump will end up making America small. The Executive Orders which he has signed so far, are intended to upturn America’s foreign policy in the last 50 years, isolate the country from the rest of the world and turn it into an island. America appears destined to become a pariah state for the next four years. With Trump, America now sees the rest of the world as an ocean of enemies, with this persecution complex dressed up as national interest.

The most pernicious of the Executive Orders is Trump’s suspension of the US refugee programme for four months and the entry ban for 90 days imposed on nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Is the action legal? Section 212(f) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (1952) empowers the President to restrict immigration access to the United States: “Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants and non-immigrants or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.” The sentiment behind this legal provision is protectionism, which is ironic in a country of immigrants.

This is Donald Trump keeping his campaign promise to protect America for Americans and review immigration policies. Is this new? No. Over the years, America has always tried to control the influx of immigrants. This was the case even under President Barack Obama. Trump reminds us of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act which turned back the Chinese, and a similar law in 1924, which targeted Asian and African immigrants, both of which were corrected by the Immigration Act of 1965, which forbids discrimination on the basis of national origin, ancestry and race. The only problem is that Trump’s approach is crazy, a case of policy mixed with bigotry and narcissism, and an unconstitutional gambit which violates the First Amendment, hidden under the banner of “protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry.” Given the contradictions between the 1952 and 1965 Acts and the First Amendment, Trump’s actions are perhaps better tested in the court of law.

He wants to build a wall at the Mexican border. This has already caused a rift with Mexico. He is also holding radical Islam responsible for security breaches in the United States, and this is certainly because foreign-born Muslims have been responsible for many acts of terror in the US: the 9/11, the Boston bombing, the Nigerian underwear bomber; across Europe, radical Islamic extremism has also proven to be a problem. Trump’s solution is to demonize Muslim-majority countries and arrive at the simple solution that the best way to protect America is to shut out the Muslims. He insists that “This is not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order.” I don’t believe him.

The chosen seven countries that have been shut out have not in any way been responsible for most of the acts of terror in the US in recent times. Trump leaves out Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and other Muslim-majority countries, but the kind of chaos that has been generated makes every Muslim going to the United States vulnerable. You don’t have to be from the seven targeted countries, once you bear a Muslim name, you could be subjected to greater scrutiny by Customs and Border Protection Officers. Some of the people who have been harassed at the borders since last Friday when the Executive Order was passed are American citizens with dual nationality.

While Donald Trump is proposing greater vetting and scrutiny of the influx of Muslims, and refugees, he is nevertheless willing to allow more Christians into the United States. This is the message that comes across: Christians are welcome. Muslims should be carefully scrutinized before they are allowed in. In other words, Christians are better than Muslims. This may sound like an over-simplification, but that is just how it is. President Trump is likely to make the United States more unpopular in the Muslim world, damage established friendships and promote a culture of hate that has proven a threat to American foreign relations in parts of the world.

American liberals are justifiably upset and angry. President Trump’s policy moves and rhetoric depart from the America they have known for the past 50 years. But right now, America is so divided, nobody can comfortably sit on the fence, and that is why public opinion is so viciously divided too. Trump addresses the fears of those Americans who, like him, don’t want more immigrants and asylum seekers. This is the ultimate rise of American xenophobia and an attempt to turn that country into “a camp of saints.” But there are limits to nativism as seen in Jean Raspail’s novel, The Camp of the Saints (1973) and The Slums of Aspects: Immigrants vs. The Environment (2011) by Lisa Park and David Pellow.

But no matter the tone of global outrage, Donald Trump obviously doesn’t give a damn. Mexico has cancelled a meeting with Trump, a protest calling for signatures to prevent his proposed state visit to the UK has attracted over a million signatures, Iran is threatening reciprocal action, the entire Muslim world is outraged and inside America, California is threatening to secede because of Trump! And Trump? He wants to be President of the United States, not President of the world. He wants to serve the American people who voted him into power, not some immigrants coming from the slums of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Across the world, there are millions who look up to the United States as the land of freedom. Trump is saying America is no longer ready to be the world’s Atlas nation. It is not just immigration that will be affected: trade, aid, military relations as well. This has created a regime of fear among many who depend on the United States.

There are millions of Africans living in the United States, particularly Nigerians. They don’t all have the papers granting them the right of stay. There are asylum seekers, refugees and many who are still processing their residency papers. An American for Americans only policy is likely to place them at the risk of rejection and eventual deportation. When you talk to some of them, you can actually sense panic, fear, despair. They panic because America has become their adopted home. It is their place of work, their source of hope, and the best place in the world where they are happiest.

They panic because their original homeland offers them little hope. They don’t want to return to a Nigeria where there is no regular power supply, employment opportunities, good roads, communications or transportation system. Living in America confers a special status on them among friends, family members and the community at home. There are others who are already naturalized Americans, and who may have nothing to fear, and there are those Nigerians who have helped to build America with their talents and intellect, and who don’t really care on what side of the bed Donald Trump is likely to wake up tomorrow morning.

Then you have the big crowd of I-must-go-to-America-by-force set of Nigerians who are daily trooping to the American embassy in search of visa. Since the Executive Order by President Trump, that crowd has not been smiling at all. I know many of our compatriots who have suddenly become experts in analyzing American immigration rules. Nigeria is not one of the seven countries on the Trump list and the review and restriction are supposed to last for 120 days, but long-time US visa applicants in Nigeria believe that what a typical American immigration officer has actually been looking for is a President like Trump. An inconsolable applicant tells me he is no longer sure he will ever get a visa to the United States.

I assured him that the world will always need America and America will always need the world. Isolationism discounts the ideal of an interconnected global order. President Donald Trump’s success will be determined in the long run not by the arrows he shoots in the international arena from North Korea, to China, to Mexico and Somalia, but how well he fulfills the promise to make America greater than he met it. If they don’t want you to stay in America, come home, please. Stay at home, e go better… or go to Canada or Taiwan.

Donald Trump set to ban 7 predominantly Islamic nations from the US.

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President Donald Trump is about to sign executive orders that include a temporary ban on most refugees and a suspension of visas for citizens of seven predominant Islamic countries, including three from Africa.

The countries to be affected by the ban are Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Responding to the spate of attacks across the world, Trump had vowed, in the buildup to the US presidential election, to temporarily ban all Muslims from entering the US until he figured out “what the hell was going on”.

Although the comment created uproar, some Republicans and his allies defended the ban, insisting that the measure was about Americans’ “safety” and not about discriminating against religion.

Trump is also expected to target legal immigrants as early as this week, White House officials said, by halting a decades-old programme that grants refuge to the world’s most vulnerable people.

The refugee policy under consideration would halt admissions from Syria.

Trump had earlier hinted of his plan to embark on the measures.

“Big day planned on NATIONAL SECURITY tomorrow. Among many other things, we will build the wall!” he wrote on Twitter late Tuesday.

According to Reuters, the order is expected to ban, for several months, the entry of refugees into the United States — except for religious minorities escaping persecution — until more aggressive vetting is in place.

The border security measures probably include directing the construction of a border wall with Mexico and other actions to cut the number of illegal immigrants living in the United States.

The agency quoted sources as saying the first of the orders would be signed on Wednesday.

“With Trump considering measures to tighten border security, he could turn his attention to the refugee issue later this week,” Reuters said in its report.

Stephen Legomsky, who was chief counsel at US Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Obama administration, said the president had the authority to limit refugee admissions and the issuance of visas to specific countries if the administration determined it was in the public’s interest.

“From a legal standpoint, it would be exactly within his legal rights,” said Legomsky, a professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.

“But from a policy standpoint, it would be terrible idea because there is such an urgent humanitarian need right now for refugees.”

Indonesia’s Christian governor goes on trial for ‘blasphemy’

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The Christian governor of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, went on trial on Tuesday to face charges of blasphemy over remarks perceived as insulting to Muslims.

The trial of the governor, Basuki Purnama, followed a wave of protests by conservative Muslims demanding his prosecution.

According to the indictment read out by prosecutors, Mr. Purnama is accused of “publicly expressing hostility to, abusing and disparaging’’ a religion, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

Security was tight for the trial at the North Jakarta district court and hundreds of conservative Muslims dressed in white gathered outside to demand Mr. Purnama be jailed.

Mr. Purnama said “I understand the charges but I don’t understand why I’m being accused of blasphemy,’’ after prosecutors read out the indictment.

Mr. Purnama said as a Christian politician running for office in a Muslim-majority country, he had been unfairly attacked by political opponents because of his faith.

Mr. Purnama said in tears “They abuse holy verses to achieve their political goals, because they can’t compete in terms of programmes and personal integrity’’.

Under Indonesian law, a defendant does not have to enter a plea at the start of a trial.

The blasphemy allegations stem from remarks made by Mr. Purnama in September, when he said his opponents had used a verse from the Koran to deceive voters.

At a gathering with residents, he said they did not have to vote for him in the upcoming February 15 gubernatorial election if they were afraid of going to hell because they “have been lied to using Surah Al-Maidah verse 51’’.

Some Muslims interpret the Koranic text in question as prohibiting them from electing non-Muslims as their leaders, although other Muslims disagree that Purnama’s remarks were blasphemous.

Mr. Purnama has repeatedly apologised, saying his comments meant that politicians misinterpreted the Koranic verse.

Tensions have risen in Jakarta after more than 100,000 Muslims rallied on November 4 demanding the prosecution of Mr. Purnama, who is a member of the ethnic Chinese minority.

A second anti-Purnama rally on December 2 was attended by more than 200,000.

Mr. Purnama became Jakarta’s first Christian governor in 50 years when he took over from Joko Widodo, now Indonesia’s president, in 2014.

Mr. Widodo, an ally of Mr. Purnama, has accused “political actors’’ of exploiting anger over Mr. Purnama’s remarks to undermine his government.

Mr. Purnama’s ascension to the top job in the city teeming with 10 million people had been hailed as an example of Indonesia’s embrace of democracy and diversity.

Hard line groups such as the Islamic Defenders’ Front have always been critical of Mr. Purnama, but their past protests against the governor failed to gain strong support, until his remarks on the Koran hit a nerve with many Muslims.

Mr. Purnama is known for his strong stance against corruption and being an effective administrator in a bureaucracy that has long been plagued by corruption and incompetence.

Before the blasphemy case, polls consistently showed him leading in the race for the governorship.

However, more recent polls showed his numbers had dropped significantly, putting him second in a three-way race.

Mr. Purnama has also made enemies along the way, including officials and members of the city council who he criticised publicly, suggesting that they are incompetent and corrupt.

As part of his urban renewal programmes, he forcefully evicted squatters and slum dwellers, and relocated them to apartments where they have to pay rent and are far from their livelihoods.

Muslim NYPD officer threatened, told ‘go back to your country’

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New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said he’s “sick to my stomach” over an incident in which a Muslim off-duty NYPD officer was reportedly threatened over the weekend by a man who said, “I will cut your throat, go back to your country.”

The officer, Aml Elsokary, said she had just dropped off her 16-year-old son in Brooklyn Saturday evening when a man begin arguing with the teen. When Elsokary, who was not in uniform, intervened, the man allegedly told her, “ISIS [expletive], I will cut your throat, go back to your country,” before fleeing the scene.
Elsokary, a 34-year-old Muslim-American, is an 11-year-veteran of the NYPD. She was wearing a hijab at the time of the incident, according to the NYPD.
Within 24 hours of the incident New York police arrested Christopher Nelson, 36, and charged him with menacing as a hate crime and aggravated harassment. Nelson was ordered held on $50,000 bail, according to Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.
Nelson’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request from CNN seeking comment.
There are approximately 900 Muslim-Americans currently serving on the NYPD, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday at a news conference in which he addressed the threat against Elsokary.
“This is her country, she is an American, she is a New Yorker, and this is her home. We cannot allow this hatred and bias to spread,” de Blasio said.
Elsokary, who regularly wears a hijab while on duty in Brooklyn, was praised for her heroism after she helped save a baby girl and an elderly man from a burning building in April 2014, according to a press release from Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
“I help everybody no matter what your religion is. I’m born and raised here and I am here to protect you all. The department has supported me in wearing my hijab. I want to thank my Muslim officers for standing by my side,” Elsokary said at Monday’s press conference.
The incident involving Elsokary is just one in a recent rash of hate crimes in New York, authorities said.
On Monday, an off-duty Muslim NYC transit employee was assaulted by a male passenger at Grand Central Terminal. The man allegedly called the uniformed employee a “terrorist” and pushed her down a flight of stairs.
The transit employee sustained injuries to her ankle and knee and was transported to an area hospital, according to a statement from Governor Andrew Cuomo, who directed the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the State Police and the state Division of Human Rights to investigate the matter.
“This is the great state of New York — we welcome people of all cultures, customs and creeds with open arms. We do not allow intolerance or fear to divide us because we know diversity is our strength and we are at our best when we stand united,” Cuomo said.
'Make America White Again': Hate speech and crimes post-election
Hate crimes in New York City are up 35% from last year, with a “huge spike” in incidents right after Election Day on November 8, NYPD Chief of Detectives Bob Boyce said Monday. Most of the reported hate crimes have been anti-Semitic in nature, followed by anti-Muslim crimes, Boyce said.
De Blasio said the uptick in hate crimes were “obviously connected to the (presidential) election.”
Critics accused President-elect Donald Trump of fostering xenophobia and Islamophobia during the divisive presidential campaign. In an interview last month Trump said he was “so saddened” to hear about vitriol hurled by some of his supporters against minorities and told them to “stop it.”
“You can’t have a candidate for president single out groups of Americans negatively and not have some ramification for that, not have something as a result of that. It’s very troubling. Look, a few times recently the President-elect has spoken out against it. He needs to keep doing that,” de Blasio said Monday.

First Ever Muslim Somali-American Woman Elected As MP In Historic US Election

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Ilhan Omar, 34, has made history by becoming the first Somali legislator in the United States. A former refugee, the Somali-born activist has been elected to serve as an MP in the US state of Minnesota. The Muslim Somali-American woman becomes the highest-ranking Somali elected to office in the US.

Her election comes just days after US President-elect Donald Trump accused Somali immigrants in Minnesota of “spreading their extremist views”.

Minnesota has the nation’s largest Somali community – about 50,000 according to the US census.

Celebrating her victory, Ms Omar said she would be the “voice for the marginalised” in the state parliament.

“I think I bring the voice of young people. I think I bring the voice of women in the East African community. I bring the voice of Muslims. I bring the voice of young mothers looking for opportunities,” Minnesota Public Radio quoted her as saying.

Ms Omar escaped from Somalia with her family at the start of the civil war when she was eight years old.

They lived in a Kenyan refugee camp for four years, before moving to the US and settling in a Somali-American neighbourhood in Minnesota.

Read More: BBC

Transgender Muslim woman hacked to death few days after marrying a man.

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A transgender Muslim woman has been hacked to death in Russia days after marrying a man after her father pleaded on television: ‘Bring him here and kill him in front of my eyes’.

Adam Aliev became Raina after a sex change operation in Moscow, and was killed several days after a ‘wedding’ to a man called Viktor.

 

Adam Aliev became Raina after a sex change operation in Moscow. (Photo: Express gazeta_east2west/DM)
Adam Aliev became Raina after a sex change operation in Moscow. (Photo: Express gazeta_east2west/DM)

The killing took place after the 25-year-old’s father Alimshaikh Aliev had told a TV station: ‘Let him be killed, I don’t want to see him. Bring him here and kill him in front of my eyes.’

The victim was from an ethnic Chechen family living in Dagestan, a Muslim region between the Caspian Sea and Chechnya in the Russian Trans-Caucasus, it was reported.

Following sex change surgery in Moscow around a month ago, a wedding ceremony was held and the murder took place several days later, according to reports.

The circumstances of the killing have not been disclosed.

‘He was hated for his non-traditional sexual orientation and when he changed his sex he was damned and received threats,’ stated Ren TV.

 

Raina Aliev was from an ethnic Chechen family living in Dagestan, a Muslim region between the Caspian Sea and Chechnya in the Russian Trans-Caucasus. (Photo: Vkonlakle_east3west/DM)
Raina Aliev was from an ethnic Chechen family living in Dagestan, a Muslim region between the Caspian Sea and Chechnya in the Russian Trans-Caucasus. (Photo: Vkonlakle_east3west/DM)
A female neighbour said the victim's father 'had a stroke' when he discovered about the sex change and wedding and issued a 'purman', inviting people to kill Raina. The victim's medical report. (Photo: Express gazeta_east2west/DM)
A female neighbour said the victim’s father ‘had a stroke’ when he discovered about the sex change and wedding and issued a ‘purman’, inviting people to kill Raina. The victim’s medical report. (Photo: Express gazeta_east2west/DM)

‘The young man decided to change his sex because he wanted to marry the man he loved, Viktor from Karachaevo-Cherkessiya (another mainly Muslim region in southern Russia).’

The wedding ‘shocked’ locals, reported Russian Dialog news site.

A female neighbour said the victim’s father ‘had a stroke’ when he discovered about the sex change and wedding and issued a ‘purman’, inviting people to kill Raina.

‘He cheated them, he went there to Moscow, had surgery and he turned from a boy to a girl,’ said the neighbour.

‘And now in Chechnya it is known too. His mother is saying “I don’t want to see him, I gave birth to a son, but what for? It is such a disgrace for the family”.

‘If the mother and father give a purman, it means they want him to be killed.’

The mother was reported to be ‘crying day and night’ over the operation and alleged wedding.

A Dagestan Mufti was quoted by KP newspaper saying: ‘Changing sex is totally forbidden, because it means that a man will be a woman.

‘It is totally forbidden in Islam. Changing sex is a protest against Allah.

‘Such surgery can be performed only in one case: when a person was born as a hermaphrodite and must decided what sex he wants to belong.

‘If a person changed his sex for another reason, he is damned, along with the surgeon who performed it.’

The surgery included breast implants the removal of the penis, it was claimed.

Deputy head of the village administration Abdutagur Israpilov said: ‘I knew Adam. He liked to put on tight leggings, his manners were feminine, even his voice was like a girl’s.

‘He finished school and went to live in Makhachkala (regional capital), and then Moscow, where he worked in nightclubs and made good money.

‘I don’t blame him (for the sex change). His feminine nature had won, so he decided to correct the mistake.

‘I heard that Adam changed his sex and married a man from Kabardino-Balkariya.’

Israpilov said: ‘He received threats. He appealed to police and a local policeman visited our administration because of it, and also a man from prosecutor’s office came.

‘Every second man in the Caucasus wanted to kill him. According to our traditions, it is just a disgrace for his family, it is a dirt on the whole Caucasus.

‘This surgery came as a shock for his mother, she is not talking to anybody now. His father got a stroke.

‘Adam wrote a letter to his friend and said he was angry about his relatives.

‘He said: ‘When they asked me for help, I sent them money, but they betrayed me when they got to know about the surgery’.

The village official said: ‘I did not recognise Adam’s cut-up body when it was brought to the village.’

Muslim groups demand holiday for Islamic new year

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Some Islamic groups have called on the Federal and state governments in Nigeria to declare Muharram 1, the first day of the Islamic Hijrah Calendar 1438 A.H, a public holiday.

The groups, in separate Hijrah 1438 A.H messages, said such a declaration would be in line with the principle of fairness and justice to Muslims in Nigeria.

The demand came from Muslim Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN), Obafemi Awolowo University Muslim Graduates Association (UNIFEMGA) and Muslim Community of Oyo state (MUSCOYS).

Others include National Council of Muslim Youths Organisations (NACOMYO), Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) and Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN).

MMPN in its statement signed by its President, Abdurrahman Balogun, urged the Federal Government to give recognition to Muslim New Year in the interest of fairness.

Balogun said that declaring Muharram 1, a public holiday would give Muslims a sense of belonging.

In the same vein, UNIFEMGA in its message signed by Abdulwaheed Odeyimka , its National President, called on the government at various levels to recognise the Hijrah calendar and use it side by side with the Gregorian calendar.

It congratulated Muslims and non-Muslims alike for witnessing another new Islamic year and urged them to reflect on their deeds and activities during the past year.

In his own message, the Chairman, Muslim Community of Oyo State, Alhaji Ishaq Sanni said the declaration and recognition of Hijrah was long overdue and called for its immediate implementation. He called on the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs to enter into dialogue with the Nigerian Government on the issue.

Sanni equally called for a stringent legislation against rapist in the country, saying it was getting too rampant because the culprits always get away with it.

Hijab Wearing Muslim Woman To Appear On Playboy Magazine

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A Muslim-American journalist Noor Tagouri will appear in Playboy magazine’s October issue wearing a hijab, a decision that has elicited praise in some quarters and provoked condemnation in others.

She’ll appear alongside a sex activist, a comedian and novelist as part of the magazine’s “Renegade” series, which highlights people who have “risked it all — even their lives — to do what they love.”
Earlier this year, Playboy changed directions, enacting a several changes, the biggest of which was to do away with fully nude photos.
Tagouri, a 22-year-old journalist who reports for Newsy, appears in the issue clad in black jeans, Converse sneakers, a leather jacket and of course, her head covered.
Read More: CNN

VIDEO: 2 Topless Female Protesters Beaten Up For Interrupting Muslim Conference

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Police have arrested two topless activists who stormed a Muslim conference in Paris and were kicked and dragged off stage over the weekend. The women, though unnamed, are reportedly part of feminist collective Femen.

Femen spokesperson Inna Shevchenko said on Twitter that the imam on stage “said husbands should not beat their wives”? just before the two women ripped off their clothing and jumped on stage. They had French and Arabic words written across their bodies, roughly translating to “Nobody submits me” and “I am my own prophet.”

Credit: cosmopolitan

Muslim Clerics Gather In Egypt To Counter Extremist Fatwas

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Top Muslim clerics gathered in Egypt on Monday to address extremist religious edicts in the face of an unprecedented threat from Islamic State group jihadists who have declared a “caliphate”.

The muftis — usually the official interpreters of Islam in their countries — are meeting alongside other clerics over two days in Cairo to cope with what the clerics described as a rash of extremist fatwas, or edicts.

“You do not need to be reminded that leniency (in dealing) with fatwas that ex-communicate” Muslims has resulted in “murder and bloodshed,” Ahmed al-Tayyeb, the head of the prestigious Cairo-based Islamic Al-Azhar institution, told the conference.

Read More: yahoo

Church General Overseer Converts To Islam In Ekiti And Gives Reasons

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Says strange man in dreams convinced him to do so

In Nigeria, particularly among the Yoruba tribe where religious tolerance is most noticed, it is a regular occur­rence to see muslims convert to Christianity. Hardly do we see a Christian turn to Islam. However, a man, former Pastor Adekunle Afolabi, founder and leader of Apata Adu­ra Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Ekute, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, broke that jinx recently. He converted fully to Islam after practising Christianity for over 25 years and even ris­en to become the General Overseer of his church, which have branches across Ekiti State.

Now known and addressed as Alfa Abubakar Afolabi, the 45-year-old man attributed his conversion to a divine encounter he had with a strange man in white in his dreams who showed him certain flaws
in Christianity and convinced him that indeed Islam is the only religion that leads to heaven.

In this interview with WOLE BALOGUN at his Ekute, Ado Ekiti residence, Alfa Abubakar spoke extensively on his experience. Excerpts:

How did your journey to Islam begin?

I am former Pastor Adekunle Afolabi, General Overseer and founder of Apata Adura Cherubim and Seraphim in Ekute, Ado-Ekiti, I have been a believer in Christianity for 25 years. I have been tutored at the Deeper Life Bible Church school in Ayobo, Lagos and my parents were attending the Assemblies of God Church. I later left the church to set up a C &S church where I became a Shepherd because God always reveals things to me either by vision or by dreams and to be candid, God re­veals things to me and when God wants to make a confirmation of them, they always come to pass.

The spiritual gift has enhanced my career as a cleric in Christianity such that my church grew so fast that by the time we were celebrating fifth anniversary, the church has had branches across the state and over 150 members attended my headquarters in Ekute alone. I have also become the state chair­man of the association of our church unification in Ado.

I was preparing for the anniversary when I started hav­ing dreams that eventually led to my conversion. At first in the dreams, I noticed my members were sitting on the floor in the church and some of them were covering their heads. I also saw that people were washing their hands and feet before entering the church just like it is done in Islam.

In my canal thinking, I thought God wanted us to be wash­ing our hands and feet before entering the church and I instruct­ed my members to be doing so, some did, while others didn’t.

I remembered when I was living in Ikere, around 1986, I used to attend a church then called the Church of Iya Olomi (Woman of holy water) in Ikere. There was an earthen pot in the church where we washed our legs before attending the church so I was thinking that may be that is what God wanted me to do. I went to buy an earthen pot in Ijebu and put it at the back of the church but something strange happened the day I did that, a heavy rain fell and erosion poured sand into the earthen pot that was filled with water and all the perfume and spiritual arrange­ment I put inside the water was spoilt. Then, I went to clean the pot and put another clean water again. To my surprise, when I was coming home I met little children at the earthen pot fetch­ing water from it like a well. So, to avoid trouble in the neigh­bourhood, I dug out the earthen pot and made up my mind that it seems God is against what am doing.

In another of my dream, I saw women in Hijab in the church, so on one Sunday I informed my congregation that at the forth­coming anniversary, all women should come with hijab. Only 10 people adhered to the instruction during that period but I was yet to be converted.

After that, certain strange things began to happen in my dreams, I would notice that someone comes to me, wakes me up and then take me on a journey to somewhere, there the man will ask a question: he said do I know if the way I was taking in life is the right one?,I told him, yes since I do pray to God and he answers me. But he asked me again that what makes me believe I was right and I told him that since I can pray to God and he answers me. He asked me again that do I believe that God could write Quran in Arabic to people for them to know his teachings, I said to him I don’t know but knew that some people use Arabic as language. He then called my attention to my left hand, there he told me to open my palm which I did and he asked if I knew that the first line in my left hand stands for eight and the second stands for one which go for 81. He added that on my right hand, the first line stands for one in Arabic and the other stands for eight and that if these are added together, they are equal to 99 which stands for the ninety nine names of Allah. He said this means that Allah wrote his name on the palms of all human beings in Arabic.

I was baffled because I never had any knowledge in the Quran, so I decided to go and research on it. It got to a point that my wife and I started attending the mosque together and one day, an alhaji around my neighbourhood saw me coming out of the mosque, he was so surprised and challenged me and I told him everything that occurred to me which led me to the mosque. He told me that I must not keep this to myself so he advised me to keep walking in God’s way in Islam and stop preaching in the church but call on Imam or alfa to come and preach.

Eventually, I ended up inviting an Imam, a muslim cleric to preach in my church during our fifth anniversary last year. The church members were surprised as the Imam preached.

After the anniversary, the same man came to me in my dreams and tasked me on payment of tithe in my church, saying I should stop collecting it. So, the next Sunday I stopped collecting tithes from the congregation.

Of course, the church members were not all happy, some went to another church because they can’t continue with this type of doctrine and that was how the number of the congregation con­tinued to reduce day after day.

I nearly got fed up, but I made up my mind that I won’t go back on my decision and religion and when it got to January end­ing, I made up my mind fully to convert to Islam.

As a prophet in C and S, you would be doing some spiritual work for people, now that you are now in Islam, do you still do the works?

Rendering spiritual help is given to all men by God for their own use, so the wisdom of it is given to me by God, he didn’t take it away from me because that is different from religion. It is a way of livelihood so, if any one falls sick, wants to give birth, is having stillbirth, stagnation at work, that is all what we use that for. He showed me places in the Bible where many prayed to God in Islamic way. By this praying, I mean to kneel down and bow down your head and face down.

How have your wife, relatives, friends and in-laws reacted to your newfound faith?

They have always known me to be truthful with whatever I’m doing and they respect me for that and also respect my decision, so there hasn’t been any cause for alarm.

The only person who at a time opposed it was my wife be­cause she was a Christian when I married her. She said she would quit the marriage and I said it is okay and that I don’t want to die a Christian but would rather die a Muslim. But after a while, she discovered that we haven’t been worshipping any idol, that we have always been worshipping God. She came back and ac­cepted me this way. Also, my children are supporting me and have joined me.

What about those who were your colleagues when you were in Christianity as a church leader?

They all left me the day I invited an Imam to come and preach in my church. That day of our anniversary. I have also been re­lieved of my position as president of our association. The only thing the pastors do once in a while is to call to ask me if indeed I still want to continue in the new faith and I usually confirm it. As for friends, some have stayed while others have left.

Have you now become a leader in Islamic faith?

No, I am still learning to be deeper in Islam. I had over 150 members in the church before but they have all left now. My church before has now been converted to a mosque and it is be­ing attended by many muslims now that I cannot even count them. An Imam is currently running the mosque while I am also there as an Alfa, learning more about the religion.

How many wives have you now?

The Bible does not oppose marrying more than one wife. It says if you want to marry another wife, you must ensure that you treat her the same way you are treating the ones or one you have already married. The Bible only says that for those who want to become Bishops, they should marry only one.

Now you have only one wife, is it likely that you will marry another wife?

No. I have married some women before. Now, I cannot marry another woman.That is not in my plans. My first born is about 22 years old.

You know that there is this common opinion that religion does not really matter, whether you are a Christian, Muslim or traditionalist, your relation­ship with God matters most in getting to heaven, what is your view on this saying?

All I can say is that anyone who wants to go to heaven should just accept Islam peacefully. Islam to me now, is the only way to God. No other way.

You have spoken against collecting tithes, and said you have stopped collecting tithes from your members, are you concerned that you may not get money to run the mosque since that is a major way to get money?

All I can say about that is that God’s words advise that when we have, we should be grateful and also when we do not. Before I stopped collecting tithes, I have members who usually give me about N20 000 or N10 000 but I still have to stop collecting it in obedience to God. Now, I don’t collect tithe from anyone but Islam permits people to do saka, which is just a voluntary attitude to contribute to someone’s or an alfa’ or just extend mercy or what we call Sadaka.

Source: Sun News

OMG: See How A Muslim Beauty Pageant Looks Like, Reveals Fresh Perspective Of Beauty

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Yes, there are a lot of differences separating Miss Muslimah, a Muslim beauty pageant in Yogakarta, Indonesia, from those broadcast across the Western world. Instead of bathing suits there are headscarfs, competitors pray five times a day, and the winner is chosen by a jury of orphaned children. However, after attending and documenting the competition in 2014, photojournalist Monique Jaques realized that the young women weren’t that different from their Western counterparts.

“I believe that this idea that the West has that the lives Muslim women lead are so different from ours is outdated and naive,” Jaques explained to The Huffington Post. “The girls had as much in common with any other young girl in America. They talked about makeup, television shows and friends just like [many] young women do.”

Jaques discovered the competition online and was intrigued to see what shape the competition would take. “I thought the contradiction of a Muslim beauty pageant was so interesting and unique,” she said. “In my work I’m always looking for ways to communicate the experience of young Muslim women to Western audiences. Much of the competition is similar to a pageant in America or anywhere in the West, just with headscarves.”

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Many competitors themselves seem to agree. “I think the only difference it has from a regular beauty pageant is the name,” Dina Torkia told Al Jazeera during the 2014 competition. “And the fact that we are all wearing scarves on our head.”

And yet this sole difference is hugely important, especially for the many young women whose careers and relationships are threatened by their decision to wear a hijab. “When you wear the headscarf in France, people have their own way of looking at you,” competitor Fatma Ben Guefrache told Al Jazeera. “It’s a problem across Europe. People don’t distinguish between an ordinary Muslim and a terrorist.”

The World Muslimah Award was established by Eka Shanty in 2011, after the former television reporter was removed from her position following a refusal to remove her hijab on screen. The competition, which enlists 18 young Muslim women from around the world, requires that participants don the symbol of modesty and faith. The event celebrates style and elegance along with religious piety, development of humanitarian intelligence and strength of character. Prizes include everything from pilgrimage trips to scholarships.

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The process is grueling, with participants getting as little as three hours of sleep a night. A typical day consists of visiting impoverished slums and elderly homes, and speaking with corporate sponsors, all while praying five times a day — and wearing heels. “We’re trying to find an excellent personality that can be a role model, an ideal figure to stand on behalf of millions of Muslim women in the world,” Shanty explained. “Of course this is very challenging and stressful, but I think it’s worth it for them.”

Throughout the pageant, challenges include reciting Quran passages, volunteering in nursing homes, debating Muslim values and touring impoverished communities. Although parts of the competition are controversial, including its sponsorship by skin-lightening products, Jaques has faith in the heart of the pageant. “I think it brings light to strong educated women who have goals and issues, and the hijab won’t deter them,” she explained to Feature Shoot. “Many have faced prejudice for their religious beliefs; one was even denied admittance to a university in France. Together, they stand up for the rights of Muslim women around the world.”

From Jaques’ images and descriptions, the ambitious and dedicated participants of Miss Muslimah seem to be aspirational role models for women of any faith. “I absolutely fell in love with the girls in the competition,” the photographer said. “It was such a wonderful collection of strong women with clear ideas about who they were and what they wanted to achieve.”

Credit: Huffintonpost

12 Nigerian, Ghanaian Christian Migrants ‘Thrown’ Overboard By Muslim

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Italian police said Thursday they had arrested a group of African migrants after witnesses said they threw 12 passengers overboard following a row about religion on a boat headed to Europe.

The deadly dispute, which saw a group of Muslim passengers allegedly attack a group of Christian passengers, coincided with reports of a new migrant drowning tragedy.

Four days after a migrant shipwreck off the coast of Libya, in which 400 people are believed to have died, another 41 migrants were missing feared drowned Thursday after their dinghy sank en route to Italy, Italian media reported.

The stricken vessel was spotted by a plane, which alerted the Italian coastguard but by the time a navy ship arrived at the spot only four passengers were found alive, the reports quoted the police and aid agencies as saying.

The four survivors, who came from Nigeria, Ghana and Niger, said they were part of a group of 45 people that set sail from Libya.

A separate group of migrants rescued by an Italian vessel related a deadly standoff over religion in their dinghy, which ended in 12 Nigerian and Ghanaian passengers being drowned, the police said.

The victims were “of Christian faith, compared to their attackers who were of Muslim faith,” police in the Sicilian port of Palermo said in a statement.

Fifteen migrants were arrested on suspicion of “multiple aggravated murder motivated by religious hate”, the statement added.

The incident aboard the vessel, which was carrying about 100 migrants, took place in the Strait of Sicily, between Tunisia and Italy.

Read More: vanguardngr

Muslim Group Declares War Against ISIS, Boko Haram

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A Muslim group, Muslims Against Terror organization has condemned the killings and attacks of the extremist Takfiri group IE the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Boko Haram affiliates and partners to al-Qaeda terrorist organizations in the world.

The group urged all Muslims to equally condemn the terrorist groups and join the Holy war against them in any way they can and with any means at their disposal.

It said the terrorist organization, that are killing innocent people in cities, attacking the government of Nigeria, Iraq, Syria, etc, and that violate the principles of Islam and the noble prophet.

In a statement, the group said “any attack on the innocent people is unlawful and contrary to the Sharia (Islamic law)… Muslims must safeguard lives, honor and property of Christians, Jews and other faiths; attacking them contradicts Sharia”.

“We have a moral responsibility – it’s not that we’re required but we have a moral responsibility – to clarify for the confused about where Islam stands on such crimes committed by “ISIS/BOKO HARAM” and all affiliates to al-Qaeda terrorist organisations: Islam completely rejects such terrorists behavior.

Read More: news24