French Hijab ban during sports, ‘discriminatory and must be reversed’ says Human Rights Council
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French Hijab ban during sports, ‘discriminatory and must be reversed’ says Human Rights Council

The UN Human Rights Council experts criticized France’s football and basketball federations for banning hijab-wearing players, including at the amateur level, and the government’s decision to prevent hijab-wearing athletes from representing France at the Paris Olympics. They argued that these measures violate fundamental rights, including religious expression and cultural participation. The experts stated that France’s…

Dutch students banned from prayer at school
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Dutch students banned from prayer at school

Students in the Netherlands report being banned from praying during school hours, with some facing punishment for attempting to do so. Over 180 schools have been named in complaints, with Muslim students most affected due to the specific timing and rituals of their prayers. Christian students also report difficulties. Many students resort to praying in…

Largest Muslim Iftar in Europe held in Trafalgar Square
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Largest Muslim Iftar in Europe held in Trafalgar Square

By Martin Weightman. Martin has worked in the field of human rights for more than 40 years. He is the Director of the All Faiths Network, an interfaith group based in the UK. He is also on the Advisory Board of an African development organisation as their interfaith and human rights advisor. He was the European Human Rights…

Serving Humanity
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Serving Humanity

An Interfaith event was held at Noor Mosque, Crawley, organised by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Elder’s Association. The local mayor, Bishop of Horsham, Sikh, Hindu and Muslim speakers talked about the value of interfaith and different projects that were being carried out. Awards were also given to the speakers and some of the attendees. Director of…

Headlines blame Muslims for Basque attack

Headlines blame Muslims for Basque attack

Writing in the Guardian last month, Miqdaad Versi highlighted both the dangerous linking of terrorism with relgion, chiefly Islam, in the press, and the frightening way in which such false claims are then propagated through social media. The most recent example was the Daily Express headline ‘Terror in Spain: Gunman screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ opens fire in…

Poll finds that religious views are considered a cause of terrorism – but not so much with the young
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Poll finds that religious views are considered a cause of terrorism – but not so much with the young

A YouGov poll on attitudes to the causes of Islamic and Christian terrorism shows a significant differences of views between younger and older respondents. While “religious views” is thought to be the main cause of terrorist acts, in neither Christian or Islamic cases is terrorism thought to reveal anything about the faith. Asked “Generally speaking,…

A request for support – armed raid at Ahmadiyya centre
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A request for support – armed raid at Ahmadiyya centre

On 5th December 2016, 16 fully armed policemen and 12 plain clothed officers in three police vehicles forcefully entered the Tahrik Jadid (an administrative body of the Ahmadiyya community overseeing overseas missions, building mosques, and publishing literature and the Holy Quran in various languages) compound in Rabwah, Pakistan. Cases have been filed against the 4…

New Russian law ratchets up religious oppression
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New Russian law ratchets up religious oppression

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the so-called “Yarovaya package” of laws which substantially toughen criminal accountability for a number of crimes and introduce new forms of violations of law, including “failure to report a crime”. The package also forbids unregistered organizations [chiefly religious groups] to engage in missionary activity, while any missionary activity by…