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Inconsistency in Terror Reporting Issue: 149

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More than half of British news stories which mentioned terror, terrorists or terrorism also referred to Muslims or Islam, a new report has found.

This is almost nine times the amount perpetrators were identified as “farright”, “neo-Nazi” or “white supremacist”, the analysis by the Muslim Council of Britain’s Centre for Media Monitoring d by Certifie

(CfMM) said.

Rizwana Hamid, director of CfMM, said there was a “disproportionate focus” on Muslims and that headlines using terms such as “Allahu Akbar” implied that “religion is always the motivator”.

She added: “Whilst there now appears to be a recognition of the

importance of consistency and the scale of the far-right threat amongst the broadcasters, and most of the press, there is still a long way to go.

“Inconsistencies remain, with a disproportionate focus on Muslims.

“Worst of all, headlines using religious terms such as ‘Allahu Akbar’ imply that religion is always the Continued on page 3

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By Salama

Halal charity wins UK case after bitter feud with butchers

Meat sellers’ group had accused British certification charity of restricting the market over its strict interpretation of halal.

A charity that certifies halal products in Britain won a legal fight after being accused of unfairly controlling the market by insisting its members sold meat only from animals that were slaughtered under its strict code.

The Halal Monitoring Committee persuaded a judge to throw out the case brought by a group of butchers and wholesalers who said it was unreasonable for the charity to withdraw its approval from companies that sold the meat of animals that were stunned before killing.

The committee ran a certification programme for the sellers of meat from abattoirs it had reviewed.

Under the labelling initiative, the retailers were allowed to display yellow window stickers stating their products were from slaughterhouses that had been approved by the HMC. After the committee accused the butchers’ group – the Halal Meat Sellers’ Committee – of displaying pictures and graphics on its website “aimed at portraying HMC as corrupt, bullying and manipulative”, dispute descended into acrimony, the court was told.

The butchers said 80 per cent of the halal market was from animals killed their way and argued that the committee’s position was “unjustifiable and … serves to restrict access to the halal marketplace”.

But High Court judge Peter Eggers said that the contract was not a restraint of trade.

“A butcher can sign up to that

scheme or not,” Mr Eggers said in his ruling. “If the butcher does so, he/she must abide by those conditions.”

HMC said on its website that it had the support of more than 600 mosques because of its measures to ensure the transparency of halal products.

The non-profit organisation carried out slaughterhouse and retail checks to ensure that its rules were being followed, it said.

No one was available from either group to comment after ruling.

HMC said on its website that it had the support of more than 600 mosques because of its measures to ensure the transparency of halal products.

The non-profit organisation carried out slaughterhouse and retail checks to ensure that its rules were being followed, it said.

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Inconsistency in terror reporting Continued from front page

motivator, ignoring other factors such as criminal history and mental health issues which may be at play, and which are often mentioned when the perpetrator is not Muslim.

“However, in our interaction with editorial directors, managing editors, security correspondents and senior producers, there has generally been a willingness to reflect, and we hope our recommendations help improve standards for us all.”

The CfMM analysed more than 230,000 articles published in 31 mainstream British news websites, magazines and newswires, looking at the inconsistencies in the coverage of terrorist attacks depending on the background of the perpetrator.

Report author Fiasal Hanif, a former reporter for The Times, said:”Newspapers and online sources are driven by a commercial imperative to constantly produce clickbait and use algorithms and metrics to work out what sells, making the reporting of terrorism more of a science than an art. This can skew the coverage away from the particular realities of that single act.

“The ethnicity of the perpetrator is enough for some and in many cases is the most vital detail for editors and reporters when determining whether the tag of terror should be applied. The classification of incidents in mainland Europe have been predicated on the shouting of religious slogans or the mere suggestion that they might have been uttered according to a ‘witness’.

“Certain newsrooms take this as a sufficient basis of attribution,

irrespective of its reliability.

“Others still wait for clearance from those in positions of power or authority to give their verdicts, sometimes failing to take into account possible conflicts of interest or the political spin being employed to limit any scrutiny of potential security failures.

“As the terror perpetrated by white supremacists in Christchurch, El Paso and Hanau has shown, it is impossible to justify that terrorism is the preserve of one group of people.

“The plethora of information that arises after so called terror attacks, such as the state of the perpetrators mental health, no substantial links to actual terror groups, a history of criminal activity etc., demonstrates that what journalists do not immediately know about a perpetrator is just as important as what can be verified. ” Security editor of ITV News Rohit Kachroo (quoted in the conclusion of the report) said: “When criticism comes – particularly from people who are directly affected by the words we use – we need to listen and assess; we need to ask ourselves whether personal biases might affect the way we see the world.

The work of the Centre for Media Monitoring offers us an opportunity to take time to do just that.”

According to the Global Terrorism Index 2019 report, far right terrorist groups accounted for 17.2% of terrorist incidents in the West versus 6.8% for Islamist groups and 62.8% of incidents not attributed to any group in 2018.

However the report also found

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that terrorism attacks linked to Islam are typically more deadly.

It found that four groups were responsible for 58% of terrorism deaths worldwide in 2018: the Taliban, Boko Haram, Khorasan Chapter of the Islamic State and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as Daesh (which is the term the MCB favours) Recommendations from the MCB report include: “Adopt an internal definition of terrorism, make this transparent and be consistent in its application.

“Care should be taken in establishing any other facts which reasonably explain the motives or actions of the perpetrator before the incident is described as terror.

“If the ideology of the perpetrator is suspected but not confirmed, this should be clearly indicated.

“Do not refer to Daesh as ‘Islamic State’. Either use their full name adDawlah-al-Islāmiyyah or Daesh.

“When possible avoid using images or republishing material which terrorists would want widely disseminated.

“An individual owning a Qur’an or attending a particular mosque is not indicative of religiosity nor does it implicate a mosque in the act.

“By headlining Allahu Akbar, it predetermines a motive when the facts might not have been established, particularly when it comes to uncovering background details such as criminal history or mental health history or other factors.” www.pi-media.co.uk

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Zainab Abbasi case shines spotlight on police brutality

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The footage is raw and deeply disturbing in equal measure: a panicked father waiting on her daughter’s bedside at hospital only to be brutally dragged away by ultraviolent police.

Bodycam footage shows Dr Rashid Abbasi being dragged away

by Northumbria Police officers as his critically ill six-year old daughter, Zainab, clings to dear life thanks to a ventilator.

The background to the story is that Zainab, who suffered from the rare genetic illness Niemann-Pick disease, was about to have her life

snuffed out as her doctors had just informed her father, and mother Aliya, that they had decided to switch off her life-support machine.

In an ironic twist, Dr Abbasi is himself a National Health Service (NHS) chest consultant with thirty years service behind him.

Justifying his decision to resist the forceful police officers, Dr Abbasi said he could not contemplate leaving his daughter’s side voluntarily.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today Program (August 03), Dr Abbasi said: “I would not leave my

daughters’ bedside voluntarily just to talk to them [the police] because I knew if I stepped out they would not let me back in and they might use that opportunity to if I am away from her to remove the tube”.

In another interview with Sky News the Abbassis described the August 2019 incident as a “living nightmare”.

“To be honest, we cannot explain what a nightmare this became ... When my husband was being detained I was telling them he has a heart problem, he’s had a problem for over 20 years.

“I actually thought he was going to die, at one point I said to the nurses am I going to be organizing two funerals?”, Aliya told Sky News.

Following the brutal incident, the NHS trust applied to the High Court for permission to take Zainab off the ventilator, but in mid-September 2019, just three days before the hearing was due to start, she tragically died.

The Abbassis are now taking legal action against Northumbria Police.

The shocking incident is set to further diminish public confidence in British policing, not least because of the ethnic minority background and Muslim faith of the Abbassis.

A female Muslim war hero who spied for Britain during World War II became the first woman of South Asian descent to receive a blue plaque in London, local media reported.

Noor Inayat Khan, whose codename was Madeleine, was sent by the British army to occupied France in 1943 as a secret radio operator, before being executed by the Nazis.

Khan was awarded a blue plaque, which is a permanent sign in the UK installed in a public place to celebrate a link between that location and a famous person or event.

English Heritage, a UK-based charity, called her “Britain’s first Muslim war heroine in Europe,” and unveiled the blue plaque at her family home in Bloomsbury, London

in a live-streamed online event.

Khan’s life was molded by war -- somewhat ironic considering she was a pacifist by virtue of her Sufi faith. Born in Moscow in 1941 to an Indian father and American mother, her family moved to London at the start of World War I. They then moved to France, but in 1940 escaped the Nazi occupation to Cornwall in the south of England.

She joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, trained as a radio operator, and recruited by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) -- a secret military organization set up by then-premier Winston Churchill to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe.

The SOE sent her as the first female radio operator to occupied France.

Her biographer, Shrabani Basu, was quoted by the Guardian as saying: “She was fluent in French, she knew the area, and she was a brilliant radio operator. So she went in undercover behind enemy lines and she worked there for three months setting up crucial links and sending information back to London.”

Khan was arrested by the Gestapo, the Nazis’ secret police, later that year having been betrayed by a French double-agent.

She briefly escaped custody but was recaptured.

Though subjected to interrogation in a German prison, she gave her captors no information -- not even her name.

Ten months later, she was taken to the Dachau concentration camp, where she was executed in 1944.

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How are UK Mosques adapting in coronavirus times?

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As the UK reels from Europe’s highest COVID-19 infection rates, Britain’s mosques have changed almost beyond recognition in response to coronavirus.

“Hundreds of mosques closed their doors because they recognized the risk of holding gatherings amid the pandemic – even before the official government lockdown,” says Zainab Gulamali, public affairs manager at the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Britain’s largest umbrella body for Muslims.

During a three-month closure period, Britain’s 1500-plus mosques experimented with novel ways of supporting their congregations.

Many mosques put their services online, while local Imams livestreamed sermons. During the holy month of Ramadan, Imans held daily

services on Facebook Live, YouTube or via the radio.

A host of mosques also used their spaces to support their communities in different ways, such as through food banks, producing PPE, or even setting up temporary mortuaries.

“So many measures were taken so that people could still connect with their communities in lockdown,” says Gulamali.

Following the lockdown period, English mosques were permitted to reopen for individual worship from June 13 and communal worship from July 4. But the national prayer landscape looks markedly different from the turn of the year.

The MCB has working closely with the British Islamic Medical Association to formulate new guidelines for worshipping during

The University of Copenhagen and the British Library in London have invited applications for a 3-year fulltime Collaborative PhD Studentship to study ways in which the Quran .

Commencing no earlier than January 1, 2021, the PhD studentship is fully funded through a Synergy Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) and embedded in the six-year international research project “The European Quran: Islamic Scripture in European Culture and Religion (1150-1850)” (EuQu).

The project studies the ways in which the Islamic Holy Book is embedded in the intellectual, religious and cultural history of Medieval and Early Modern

Christians, European Jews, freethinkers, atheists and European Muslims.

In collaboration with EuQu, the British Library is preparing a major exhibition exploring and critiquing the history of how Islam has been represented in cultural and artistic production in Europe, from the early modern period to contemporary times, to be held in 2023-2024.

The PhD student will be part of the EuQu international team of researchers. The PhD project will make a significant contribution to the themes explored by EuQu, using the British Library collections as a starting point. In addition, the student is expected to be actively involved in the research leading

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pandemic times. The bodies have also recommended that all mosques appoint a dedicated COVID-19 safety officer.

“We’ve been working together to assess what mosques should look like in a pandemic world and what modifications are needed,” says Gulamali.

“We’ve held a series of training workshops for mosque leaders and COVID safety officers, as well as worshippers.”

The MCB’s guidelines include measures such as: worshippers donning facemasks; socially distanced prayer spacing; one-way systems; closing off bathrooms; asking worshippers to put their shoes in bags and not on a communal shoe rack; and holding multiple Friday prayer sessions to prevent overcrowding.

Some mosques have also implemented online prayer booking systems to further assist with crowd control measures.

“It feels like the whole world has had to change and adapt to the new normal, so it makes sense for mosques and places of worship to adapt and change as well,” says Gulamali.

“All of our lives look so different now, so the changes at the mosque are very much the same as those seen in general life.”

PhD studentship offered on ‘Quran in Europe’

toward the British Library exhibition on the representation of Islam in Europe.

The PhD project will be supervised by Prof Jan Loop (UCPH), with Dr Nur Sobers-Khan (British Library) as co-supervisor.

This is an exciting opportunity for aspiring researchers and curators to be involved in developing a highly visible exhibition in a major cultural institution in the UK, as part of an international collaborative research project.

All innovative research proposals are welcome, as long as they clearly fit the themes and structure of the EuQu project and are situated within the expertise of the supervisors.

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Israel launches fresh airstrikes, artillery attacks on Gaza In Case You Missed It

The Israeli military carried out airstrikes and artillery attacks on various sites across the besieged Gaza Strip over what it cited as a volley of rockets launched from the Palestinian enclave into occupied territories.

The military said in a statement that underground infrastructure and military positions belonging to Hamas resistance movement were targeted in strikes by Israeli tanks and military aircraft after resistance fighters in the besieged enclave fired six rockets at southern Israel overnight.

The statement added that the

projectiles triggered sirens in the Nahal Oz and Alumim settlements, east of the northern Gaza Strip, sending hundreds of resident settlers to bomb shelters.

An unnamed Israeli military spokesman said he did not have any information on where the Gaza rockets landed, but that none of them were intercepted by Iron Dome missile system, Press TV reported.

The rockets came shortly after the Israeli military initially bombed Hamas facilities in Gaza over alleged launch of incendiary and explosive balloons into occupied lands.

There have been no immediate reports on possible damage or casualties in the attacks.

Israel has been pounding the Gaza Strip almost nightly for the past few weeks, saying it would not tolerate the balloons coming from the enclave.

Mediators from the United Nations, Egypt and Qatar have been working to restore calm. Qatari envoy Mohammad al-Emadi has been in Gaza holding talks with Hamas leaders.

Israel on August 11 closed Kerem Shalom crossing – the main crossing into the Gaza Strip, citing the launch of incendiary balloons from the besieged enclave as the cause.

Israeli authorities slashed Gaza’s permitted fishing zone the next day, halving the area from 15 nautical miles to eight.

The Tel Aviv regime also halted fuel imports into the coastal strip, leading to its only power plant shutting down.

Palestinian health officials have voiced serious concern that the power plant shutdown could aggravate a novel coronavirus outbreak in Gaza Strip, which is home to two million Palestinians.

Hamas urges regional leaders to press for end of Gaza blockade Palestinian resistance movement Hamas called on regional leaders to break their silence on Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Israel has bombed the coastal Palestinian strip, which is ruled by the movement, almost daily since August 6.

It has banned Gaza fishermen from going to sea and closed its goods crossing with the territory,

prompting the closure of Gaza’s sole power plant for want of fuel.

Hamas in a statement called the closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing a “crime against humanity” and called on the international community and “decision-makers in the region” to “break their silence to bring an end” to the blockade.

Hamas also said that the normalization of relations between

Israel and the United Arab Emirates helps “maintain crimes and violations” against the Palestinians, AFP reported.

The Israeli army said it had again hit Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip overnight, in retaliation for incendiary balloon and rocket attacks launched from the Palestinian enclave. www.pi-media.co.uk

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Muslim detainees in Florida forced to choose between Expired Meals, Eating Pork

Muslim detainees at a federal immigration facility in Florida have been repeatedly served pork or porkbased products, which goes against their religious beliefs, according to legal and civil rights advocates.

The groups allege that Muslim detainees at the Krome detention facility in Miami have been forced to accept pork because the “religiously compliant or halal meals that ICE has served have been persistently rotten and expired.”

Expired halal meals have been an issue for over two years, but the situation for the detainees at the facility was exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, according to Muslim Advocates and Americans for Immigration Justice.

In one instance, the chaplain at Krome’s dismissed requests from the Muslim detainees for help, saying, “It is what it is,” Nimra Azmi, a staff attorney for Muslim Advocates, told CNN. There are approximately several dozen Muslim detainees at Krome who believe that it is religiously

impermissible to consume pork, the groups said in a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership and federal oversight agencies.

In the past, detainees would choose their own meals in the cafeteria, and were therefore able to avoid pork if the halal meals were spoiled. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the facility has been serving pre-portioned and pre-plated meals. This change has meant that detainees either had to choose between a spoiled halal meal or a meal with pork, according to the letter.

At least two to three times a week, the pre-plated meals include pork, the groups said.

“The detainees are frustrated, rightfully so, that something as simple as being able to get meals that are edible for them and religiously compliant for them are not being attended to,” Azmi said. “I think that they particularly feel that they’re just being ignored, that ICE is being dismissive, that nobody cares.”

Azmi said that she reviewed notes and letters from the detainees describing the conditions inside the facility.

ICE is investigating the specific allegations raised in the letter, according to an agency official.

A spokesperson for the agency told CNN that “ICE’s Performance Based National Detention Standards cover all aspects of detention, to include reasonable accommodation of religious dietary practices. Any claim that ICE denies reasonable and equitable opportunity for persons to observe their religious dietary practices is false.”

ICE has previously been accused of infringing on religious liberties of its detainees.

A lawsuit filed last year by the same groups, alleged that Muslim detainees at the Glades County Detention Center in Florida had prayers interfered with, were deprived religiously-compliant meals and were denied religious articles.

“This sort of treatment is not just morally reprehensible, it’s against the law. Federal statutes provide heightened protections for religious exercise. This extends to immigrants and incarcerated individuals, who are especially vulnerable to neglect, mistreatment, and other abuses,” wrote Aleksandr Sverdlik of the Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief for the American Civil Liberties Union last year.

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Algeria launches Islamic finance products to prop up economy

Algeria has launched Islamic finance products in a bid to attract money from the informal market, but bankers warn it will take more to fix the country’s struggling economy.

Falling oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic have battered the North African country, triggering alarm bells among officials and experts.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that Algeria’s economy will shrink 5.2 percent this year.

Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad has warned of an “unprecedented economic situation,” and experts have estimated unemployment at nearing 15 percent.

In Algeria, Africa’s largest nation and home to 43 million people, most transactions are done in cash circulating outside the formal banking sector, said professor

Mohamed Boudjelal, an expert on Islamic finance.

Many Algerians “turn their nose up” at conventional banking, Boudjelal said.

Some Muslims believe that the traditional banking system is incompatible with their faith.

Islamic finance — the provision of financial services in accordance with religious laws — is a fast growing sector that has been adopted in many Muslim countries.

The industry is based on shared profit and loss, while earning interest is banned as “usury.”

Funds are also blocked from investing in companies associated with tobacco, alcohol, pork or gambling.

Algeria is hoping the new products could woo new investors into the market, following the success of Islamic finance products

over the past decade in other countries, notably in the Persian Gulf and Malaysia.

The country’s neighbors have already rolled out similar schemes.

In Tunisia, Islamic finance has operated in the private sector since the 1980s, although the sector remains modest, while in Morocco it began in 2017, though it has recorded net losses it says are due to initial start-up costs.

But Algeria hopes to tap into the significant revenues of the informal market, estimated to be as much as $30-35 billion, according to Abderahmane Benkhalfa, a former minister of finance and ex-head of the banking association.

“It is not only necessary to draw these resources, but to inject them into banks in order to bolster the economy,” Benkhalfa said.

Last month, state-run National Bank of Algeria offered nine Islamic financial services, receiving a certificate from Muslim clerics ensuring they were compatible with Islamic law.

Only two other private banks, subsidiaries of the Bahrain-based Baraka Bank and Al Salam Bank, offer Islamic finance services in Algeria.

However, Algeria’s other banks — all state-run — are now expected to follow suit by the end of the year.

Most foreign banks are also planning to sell Islamic finance products too. www.pi-media.co.uk

Indonesian NGOs condemn UAE-Israeli deal A number of non-governmental organizations in Indonesia denounced the recent deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel for normalization of ties.

In a statement, a coalition of 30 Indonesian NGOs dubbed “Indonesian Coalition for Defending al-Quds” described the “shameful” deal as a crime against the Palestinian nation.

Head of the coalition Bakhtiar

Nasser said those who normalize ties with the Zionist regime consider colonialism to be normal and endorse oppression, murder and pillage, Anadolu Agency reported.

Such a move is betraying all the efforts to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque, he added.

He called on NGOs around the world, especially those in the Muslim world, to work toward fair resolution of the issue of Palestine.

The much-condemned deal was recently signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

US President Donald Trump, who apparently helped broker the deal, has attempted to paint it as a big breakthrough.

The UAE is now the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to normalize with Israel. Abu Dhabi was already believed to have clandestine relations with Tel Aviv.

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UN chief urges addressing root causes of Rohingya crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for greater attention to the Rohingya refugee crisis – which entered its fourth year – and for addressing the root causes of the conflict.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson, the SecretaryGeneral said the UN will continue to stand in solidarity with all those affected by the crisis, and that it is committed to working with all stakeholders, including regional actors, towards a future of

sustainable development, human rights and peace in Myanmar.

Guterres called for greater urgency to the crisis by addressing the root causes of the conflict and creating the conditions for the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of all refugees.

“The ultimate responsibility rests with Myanmar authorities, who have committed to implementing the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State,” he said, adding:

“Beyond solutions for the immediate humanitarian suffering, accountability is an imperative for long-term reconciliation.”

Last month marked three years since the start of the crisis, the largest and most recent forced displacement of the minority, mainly Muslim, Rohingya and other communities from Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

The complex crisis erupted in August 2017, following attacks on remote police outposts in northern Myanmar by armed groups allegedly belonging to the Rohingya community. These were followed by systematic attacks, killings, rapes and other crimes against the community.

In the weeks that followed, over 700,000 Rohingya – the majority of them children, women and the elderly – fled their homes for safety in Bangladesh, with little more than the clothes on their backs.

Prior to the mass exodus, well over 200,000 Rohingya refugees were sheltering in Bangladesh as a result of earlier displacements from Myanmar. www.pi-media.co.uk

Muslim woman in US accuses Mcdonalds of religious discrimination

A Muslim woman who worked for a McDonald’s franchisee in the US state of Maryland has accused managers and co-workers of sexually harassing her and subjecting her to religious discrimination after she converted to Islam.

Diamond Powell, 28, of Baltimore, sued her former employer, Susdewitt Management of Lanham, Maryland, with the backing of attorneys from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group.

The Morgan State University graduate was Christian in 2016 when she started working for the company, which operated two McDonald’s locations at Baltimore/Washington

International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Powell converted to Islam in February 2017 and began wearing a hijab to work.

A manager told her to take that hoodie off her head, Powell’s federal lawsuit alleges.

A general manager initially granted Powell’s request to take short prayer breaks during her shifts, according to her lawsuit.

But the general manager prohibited Powell from praying in a quiet spot at the airport and instead told her to pray in a dirty stock room, the lawsuit alleged.

After Powell continued praying outside the restaurant, the general

manager eventually revoked her request to take a prayer break, saying “God will understand”, according to the lawsuit.

By doing so, the general manager forced Powell to choose between continuing her employment with McDonald’s or sacrificing her sincerely-held religious beliefs, the suit said.

Powell resigned from the job in April 2018. Her suit accused Susdewitt Management of violating the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. www.pi-media.co.uk

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Muslim women sue delaware over wearing hijab at work

Three Muslim women who previously worked in Delaware juvenile detention services filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against state officials last month saying they were barred from wearing religious head coverings at work.

The women, Tia Mays, Madinah Brown and Shakeya Thomas, claimed in a lawsuit filed Aug. 6 that they were told they could not wear a hijab to their jobs at the New Castle County Detention Center and the Ferris School for adjudicated juveniles.

Supervisors allegedly prohibited them from working at the facilities unless they removed the head coverings, according to the lawsuit filed by the Council on AmericanIslamic Relations (CAIR). The women asked to be transferred and offered to wear head coverings that could be less of a safety risk around potentially violent juveniles detained

in the center.

The lawsuit names the state’s Department of Services of Children, Youth and their Families, as well as other officials working within the department. A spokesperson for the department told The Hill that “we are dedicated to maintaining an inclusive environment for all.”

The lawsuit states that a supervisor told Thomas that she “had a few days to think about what she wanted to do — keep wearing her hijab or continue to be employed.”

She was also allegedly told that if “she ever wanted to work for the State of Delaware in the future, it would be in her best interest to resign.”

Brown claims in the lawsuit that she was reprimanded by superiors and ordered to clock out repeatedly after wearing a hijab to work. She also filed a report with the department’s human resources

department, which she claimed took no action.

Brown also filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year, which included the claim that a supervisor told her “Now you’re looking like a terrorist” in front of other employees.

Mays claims that supervisors said there was a “misunderstanding” and that a policy not allowing her to wear a hijab “should have been mentioned prior to her beginning employment.”

“No one should have to pick between their livelihood and their faith,” CAIR attorney Zanah Ghalawanji said. “By standing up for their rights and fighting back, Tia, Shakeya and Madinah hope that this agency will be prohibited from imposing this terrible predicament on other women in the future.”

The lawsuit, which was also filed by the law firm Jacobs & Crumplar, seeks an injunction prohibiting the department “from discriminating against employees on the basis of religion, sex or race, and to allow accommodation for religious head coverings.” It also seeks payment for economic damages and emotional harm, as well as “punitive damages and legal costs,” CAIR said in a statement. @

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Turkey accuses Greece of violating Muslim minority rights In Case You Missed It

a mere spectator to the systematic violation of human rights in a member country,” it said.

“We ask Greece to cease its systematic policy, which is not compatible with the Lausanne Peace Treaty, hindering the education of the children of the minority, and reopen the schools it has closed,” it said.

The ministry said it would bring the issue to the consideration of international human rights organizations.

Greece does not recognize its Muslim population, located predominantly in Western Thrace, as an ethnically Turkish minority but as a religious one.

Turkey accused Greece of oppressing the members of its Muslim community in western Thrace, while slamming the European Union for allegedly tolerating the “systematic violation of human rights” in the country.

The statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, which referred to the Muslim minority in Western Thrace as a “Turkish minority,” was issued after authorities reportedly announced they would suspend the

operation of four schools in Rodopi region due to a steep decline in the number of pupils.

“With this latest decision, the number of Turkish minority primary schools, which has been 231 until 25 years ago, dropped to 115,” the Turkish ministry said.

“This practice by Greece is a part of the assimilation and oppression efforts towards the Turkish minority in western Thrace,” it said.

“Meanwhile, the EU has been

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Africa’s largest Mosque to open in November Algiers Great Mosque, the largest Islamic place of worship in Africa will be inaugurated in November.

According to al-Araby website, eight years after the construction of the mosque began, it is now ready for inauguration.

The official ceremony will be held in early November, concurrent with the 66th anniversary of the Algerian revolution, the country’s president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, said during a visit to the mosque.

The mosque had been scheduled to be officially launched in the holy month of Ramadan this year

(Apirl-May) but its inauguration was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The mosque houses the world’s tallest minaret and is the largest in Africa and the third-largest in the world.

Its construction began in August 2012 after the Algerian government’s contract, for 1 billion euros, was won by the China State Construction Engineering Corporation.

The design was done by German architects KSP Juergen Engel Architekten and engineers Krebs und Kiefer International.

The mosque sits on a site covering 400,000 m2 and overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The prayer hall has a capacity of 37,000 worshippers, while the structure including the compound can house up to 120,000 worshippers and has parking space for 7,000 cars. The complex also houses a Quran school, a park, a library, staff housing area, a fire station, a museum of Islamic art, and a research center.

The mosque also has a 265-meter-tall minaret, which makes it the tallest building in Africa.

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Mosques in Belgium’s Antwerp file complaint against far-right party

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07506 466 385 Two mosques in Antwerp, Belgium, are filing a complaint against the farright Vlaams Belang political party and its chairman Tom Van Grieken for spreading images on social media which they feel incite hatred and discrimination.

The Al Aqsa Mosque and the adjacent Cultural Centre Mosque Omar in the northern district of Antwerp are filing a complaint, after Vlaams Belang and Van Grieken circulated images of Muslims on the day of Eid al-Adha (the Feast of Sacrifice).

In his tweet, Van Grieken said that “this is the real reason why the

entire Antwerp province is being punished” with stricter coronavirus measures, the Brussels Times reported.

Due to the tightening of coronavirus measures, the Feast on 31 July was forced to take place in people’s own social bubble, and most mosques in Belgium closed their doors.

Only a few decided, in accordance with the measures, to admit a limited number of believers for the sacrificial prayer, including the Al Aqsa Mosque in Antwerp North. www.pi-media.co.uk

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Islamophobic rally in Oslo ends with Quran desecration

A Norwegian anti-Islam group staged a protest ended with an activist tearing pages from a copy of the Quran.

The rally outside the parliament building in Oslo was organized by a group called Stop Islamization of Norway, or SIAN. Some of their past rallies have ended with clashes between group members and their political opponents. The police had a heavy presence at the scene in advance of the event.

The protest escalated into violence when a female activist

held up a copy of the Quran and tore pages from the Islamic Holy Book. Angry counter-protesters then launched an attack, and the police rushed to intervene. One person was reportedly injured, and several others were arrested.

Before the scuffle, the rally had been mostly peaceful for around two hours, with demonstrators chanting, singing, and listening to SIAN leader Lars Thorsen as he delivered a speech in which he insulted the Holy Prophet of Islam (PBUH), RT reported.

A security barrier had been erected beforehand to separate the rival sides and keep order. As the situation became more tense and volatile, law enforcement agents used pepper spray on several occasions and pushed back counter-protesters who tried to cross the line.

Earlier, a Quran-burning stunt by members of a local anti-Islam group triggered outrage among the Muslim community in Malmo, Sweden, escalating into fully fledged rioting. www.pi-media.co.uk

German football club give anti-Muslim fan the boot

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In the face of Islamophobic remarks by one of its supporters, German football side Koln gave the fan his walking papers.

As posted by the club on Twitter, the unidentified fan wrote to the

Bundesliga club saying: “Today I have come to the realization that FC will be playing in kits that have a mosque on them. Due to the fact that I can’t identify with Muslims and mosques, I am now making

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known my exit from the religious organization.”

The club’s logo still features the Cologne Cathedral, but in a silhouette cityscape on the club’s shirt, the shape of a mosque is visible.

But the club gave no quarter to this anti-Muslim fan, according to Anadolu Agency.

Above an image of the fan’s note on Twitter, the club wrote simply: “We received notice from a member who wanted to cancel their membership due to the mosque on our kit. To that, we say: goodbye and thanks for the idea!”

Germany, a country of over 81 million people, has the secondlargest Muslim population in Western Europe after France.

The country has nearly 4.7 million Muslims -- 3 million of Turkish origin -- and according to estimates, over 11% of Cologne’s population is Muslim.

Football: India, Saudi Arabia bidding for 2027 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia, India and Uzbekistan will be joined by two more associations expressing their interest in hosting the AFC Asian Cup in 2027.

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have disclosed that all five national associations have formally submitted their bid documents to host the continental competition in seven years’ time way ahead of the stipulated deadline.

“The All India Football Federation (AIFF), the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI), the Qatar Football Association (QFA), the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) and the Uzbekistan Football Association (UFA) all submitted their Form of Legal Opinion, Host Candidate

Questionnaire and Sponsor NonInfringement Undertakings to the AFC,” read a statement from the AFC on its website.

“Now, all five will be required to submit a Letter of Undertaking to meet the List of Requirements for the tournament by October 30, 2020 as the next stage of the process.

The successful host of the 19th edition of the AFC Asian Cup for 2027 will be announced in 2021.”

The second oldest continental football championship in the world after Copa America, the Asian Cup is held once every four years.

The UAE were hosts to a firstever 24-team competition - in 2019 - with Qatar powering their way to a win against Japan in Abu Dhabi.

Initially, successful teams included South Korea (twice) and

Iran (three times). However, since 1984, Japan (four times) and Saudi Arabia (three times) have been the most successful teams, together winning seven of the last ten finals.

Australia joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2007 and hosted the Asian Cup finals in 2015. The 2019 tournament was expanded for the first time from 16 to 24 teams, with the qualifying process doubling as part of the qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

China will be the hosts for the 2023 Asian Cup, while the awarding of the 2027 edition will be done

by AFC’s 30-member executive committee in 2021.

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I September 2020

SPORT I19

UFC president: Israel and Khabib bouts are ‘Fight of the Year’ contenders

Dana White is tipping the headline bouts at the UFC’s next two payper-view events, which feature Israel Adesanya and Khabib Nurmagomedov, as Fight of the Year contenders.

Adesanya defends his middleweight title against Paulo Costa at the top of the card at UFC 253 on September 27, with lightweight champion Nurmagomedov taking on interim belt-holder Justin Gaethje in the main event at UFC 254 on October 25. Although locations have yet to be

confirmed, but shows are expected to take place in Abu Dhabi.

The match-up between Adesanya and Costa, the No 2-ranked challenger, pits against one another two undefeated fighters – 19-0 and 13-0, respectively – while Nurmagomedov has yet to be beaten in 28 professional mixed martial arts bouts.

Gaethje, meanwhile, set up the encounter by comprehensively defeating Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in May. The American, whose record stands at 22-2, is considered

by many as the sternest test Nurmagomedov has faced to date.

Asked following his latest Contender Series event on Wednesday if he had a location confirmed for Adesanya-Costa, UFC president White said: “That’s Fight of the Year, man; I can’t wait for this fight.

“Still to this day, I have [strawweight champion] Weili Zhang versus Joanna Jedrzejczyk [at UFC 248 in March]. We were in a meeting the other day and we have those big TVs that play out there. Literally, that was on and it [messed] up the whole meeting for me, I couldn’t stop watching that fight. It was so goddamn good.

“But I’m telling you what’s going to give it a run for its money is that fight. Obviously the two you’ve got to think are going to give that a run is Gaethje versus Khabib and Israel and Costa.”

White added with a smile: “And, no, I do not have location yet.”

Both UFC 253 and UFC 254 look set to be staged at Fight Island on Yas Island. The inaugural series, designed to permit the promotion’s international athletes compete during the coronavirus pandemic, took place last month. Beginning with UFC 251 on July 12, it featured four events and four title bouts.

An exhibition fight between former heavyweight champions Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr set for September has been moved to November 28, The Ring magazine has reported The eight-round fight, originally slated for September 12 as part of a three-hour pay per view event on social media and music platform Triller, had been moved because Tyson’s camp felt they could maximize revenue by rescheduling,

the report added.

The fight was initially set to take place at Dignity Health Park in Carson, California, without fans present.

Tyson teased fans about a possible return in May when the 54-year-old posted videos of himself training.

In one video, Tyson, the first heavyweight to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, was seen hitting the

pads with tremendous power and precision before signing off with the message “I’m back”.

Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion of all time when he defeated Trevor Berbick in 1986 aged 20. He won 50 of his 58 professional fights before retiring in 2005 after a loss to Kevin McBride.

Jones, 51, who has simultaneously held a record seven belts, last fought in 2018.

Tyson fight vs Jones Jr rescheduled for November

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You are not my Father

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By Moulana Khalid Dhorat

A man worked very hard during his lifetime to bring his son, Hiran, up.

Since he wasn’t given a university education, his desire was that his son becomes the first graduate in his family. He worked two eighthour shifts a day just to ensure that the exorbitant tuition fees could be paid. Alas, on the day of his son’s graduation, he found himself on his deathbed. He urgently called his son in order to give him some parting advices: Father: “I have worked very hard to ensure that you are not only educated, but you lead an upright and decent life after I’m no more.”

Son: “I really appreciate it, father. I will never forget you.”

Father: “Fine, I leave you with three advices: Firstly, never speak a lie in your life, even if you are chopped in half. Secondly, our neighbour’s daughter is very attractive. Ensure that no one takes advantage of her. Lastly, when I’m no more, never speak ill of me to anyone. You owe your success to me. Never forget that.”

Son: “Father. I think you are losing your mind in these last few

moments. If I don’t lie in life, how can I get away with all my trickery and deception? Secondly, I’ve taken care of pretty face next door many times already. I don’t think you should worry of her dignity when she doesn’t worry about it herself. Lastly, although you sacrificed your life for me, I will always remember you by your mistakes and curse you all the time. Come to think of it, it’s a good thing that you are dying. It will save us the agony of being at each other’s throats all the time!”

His father let out an anguished shriek at these treacherous words of his dear son. Writhing in disappointment, he gave up his soul saying: “O Hiran, I gave you sound Islamic and worldly knowledge, but today you have betrayed me. You are my legitimate son, but you have made me your illegitimate father.”

Let us assume for a moment that Hiran’s father was no rolemodel to his son. Would this give Hiran the right to say such words and adopt such an attitude of life after his father’s death? Never. On the other hand, Hiran’s father was not only a role-model to his son, he

was also caring, compassionate and upright. Can anyone respect Hiran for his treachery? In view of his words at his father’s bedside, would you have businesses dealings with him since lying has become part of his character, would you give your daughter in marriage to him knowing that he sleeps around at any opportunity, and would you confide any secret in him knowing that he will broadcast your affairs all over town?

The answer will always be never.

If we would shun an individual for having such qualities, what your attitude be towards an entire people who today believe that lying is piety, violating our daughters and the wive’s of others is an act of virtue, and dishonouring and cursing their forefathers a mark of respect?

Sounds far-fetched?

Religions have been built on such shameful, but attractive pillars, so that people may be inclined to it in order to sin under the guise of piety, but destroy their hereafter for which religion has been brought to preserve. This fact is not taken from the story of Humpty Dumpty or Alice in Wonderland, nor is it an

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I September 2020

exaggeration. All are invited to do independent research and find out for themselves.

Some Muslims of the past have come up with fantastic beliefs just to be recognised. The Murji’ah claimed that a person can commit any sin, and any amount of sins, he will be definitely forgiven. Isn’t this a license to hellfire? Some followers of the Batiniyyah sect would go to Caliph Ja’far ibn Masur and tell him openly: “You are God.” Abu Tahir belonged to the Qaramitah sect who believed that not only one’s property belonged to the community, but one’s wives and daughters too. Later he claimed to be god incarnate and savagely attacked Makkah. Here he butchered many pilgrims and threw them in to the well of Zam Zam. Wishing to disfigure the Ka’bah, he removed the Black Stone (Hajr al-Aswad) from its place and took it to Ahsa, his headquarters, where it stayed for 23 years until some people knocked some sense into him and he had it returned.

If the film show “Ripley’s: Believe it or Not” were to make a movie on how Muslims used their religion to indulge in strange, blasphemous, shameless and ridiculous actions, they would run the show from now till the year 3000, and it will still not end. Readers, believe me, people have misused religion to legalise prostitution, drugs, murder and even believing in multiple gods for hundreds of years already. It’s not strange that it can be happening now too!

Yearning and Desire of the Prophet The Master, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was once sitting with his band of devoted Companions (Sahabah). He expressed an ardent desire to meet his brothers. His Companions were a little disappointed at this, and asked: “O Apostle of God, aren’t we your brothers?” to which the Master (Peace be upon him) replied: “No. You are my companions. My brothers are those who will come many years after me. Without seeing me, they will accept my religion. They will love me as intensely as you do. Ah, how I wish I could meet them!” The

Master (Peace be upon him) then went to explain how his followers will be distinguished for him on the day of Judgement by means of the salutations (salawaat) they bestowed upon him, and the marks of their ablution (wudhu) and prayers (salaat) on their bodies.

O my Muslim brothers and sisters, your Prophet (Peace be upon him) is yearning to meet you in your afterlife.

He is itching to give you a drink from the Pond of Abundance (Haudh alKauthar) after which you will never feel thirsty again. He has planted his feet at the Bridge (Pul Siraat) which is thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword. His outstretched hand is waiting to help you cross over. He has already ensured that the Scales (Mizan) of measuring your deeds are not faulty. If your deeds fall short, he will use his status as the “Best of Creation” to intercede for you.

The Master (Peace be upon him) is waiting for you, but how will you face him if you cursed, disparaged, and slandered his wives, his uncles, his in-laws, his friends and his companions? How will you face him if you distorted his religion, and replaced the warmth, peace and love of Islam with the hatred, enmity and ice of a diseased heart?

The Companions (Sahabah) No religion preaches hate and enmity, especially if such hate is directed to their own forefathers and spiritual ancestors. But some present-day religions do: all in the name of Islam. In the name of Islam, the Sahabah are publicly cursed and monuments are erected for those who murdered their caliphs.

The Sahabah were hand-picked by the Almighty to be of assistance to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). The Almighty knows His creation and He knows full well who was deserving of this honour. But these hypocrites think they know better than the Almighty Himself.

Any negativity towards the Sahabah is just like pouring a bucket of filth in the vast ocean. Such filth will never pollute the ocean, likewise no amount to cursing the Sahabah will reduce their status. Quite the contrary, it will only increase their status, and also, it will reveal the filth

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hidden in the hearts of the hypocrites of this great nation of Islam so we can recognise them easily.

The Sahabah were not robots, nor were they an Apple or Windows application. They were not engineered to German standards of perfection or Swiss standards of precision. They were not machines or computers. No, they were fallible human beings, just like me and you. However, they were given the most difficult job on earth: the job of assisting the Master to establish Islam. Me and you are today Muslims because of them. In return, the Master (Peace be upon him) told them: “The fire will not touch the one who seen me.” (Tirmidhi) They had 99.99% percent goodness in them, and due to their human nature, there was a measly 00.01% of human error in them.

Do we focus on the 00.01% or the 99.99%? Let’s look at it from another angle: the Qur’an has 99.99% clear words in it, and 00.01% words such as the Huroof al-Muqatta’at (Abbreviatives like Alim-Laam-Meem) that have an obscure meaning. Do we spend 99.99% of our time in solving 00.01% of the meaning of the Qur’an or 99.99% of our time in understanding 99.99% of the clear words of the Almighty?

Agreed, a small number of the Sahabah were divinely made to do things like drinking, stealing and fighting, but it was done to show us how to treat such situations. A prophet is protected from sin, so it would be against his station to commit these sins in order to show us how to punish a person who fornicates, for example. In later years, some of the Sahabah became embroiled in political disputes, but this was to show us how to solve our modern political problems: how to abdicate power in order to restore peace, how to conclude peace treaties, how to respond to mischief, how to recognise the hypocrites amongst us, and how unite against our enemies.

Let us start learning to read our history books from the front to the back, and not from the back to the front!! www.pi-media.co.uk

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