In The News

Indifference to Muslim Woes: Financial Times

Edward Luce January 2, 2020
The world’s western leaders would express outrage if China detailed a million Christians or if India pointedly excluded refugees who identify as Christians. About 1.8 billion people, a quarter of the world’s population, are Muslim. “By downplaying much larger-scale violations against Muslims, [western leaders] jeopardise what remains of the west’s human rights credibility,” argues Edward Luce for...

US Embassy in Iraq as Target of Anger: NPR

Larry Kaplow January 1, 2020
Supporters of an Iraqi militia surrounded the US Embassy in Baghdad and breached a gatehouse. The United States held off the group with teargas and blames neighboring Iran for the unrest. After a rocket attack killed a US contractor, the United States responded with airstrikes on five compounds in Syria and Iraq held by the Kataib Hezbollah militia, reports Larry Kaplow for NPR. “U.S. officials...

Indians Protest Citizenship Law: Al Jazeera

December 19, 2019
Rules around citizenship help define a country’s values and aspirations. Large numbers of Indians are turning out to protest a new citizenship law that welcomes refugees from neighboring states but pointedly excludes Muslims. Authorities have detained hundreds of demonstrators and banned gatherings in Uttar Pradesh as well as parts of the northeast, Bihar and cities including Hyderabad and...

India’s Parliament Passes Citizenship Bill: NYT

Jeffrey Gettleman and Suhasini Raj December 12, 2019
India’s parliament has approved a Citizenship Amendment Bill, expected to be signed into law soon.The bill “uses religion as a criterion for determining whether illegal migrants in India can be fast-tracked for citizenship” and “favors members of all South Asia’s major religions except Islam,” reports the New York Times. Muslim leaders regard the measure as discrimination; up to 15 percent of the...

Xinjiang Whistleblower: Washington Post

November 27, 2019
China has placed hundreds of thousands of Muslims in prison camps for reeducation. “China is eradicating the language, traditions and religion of Uighur, Kazakh and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang in China’s far northwest, corralling them into concentration camps and bombarding them with indoctrination by the Communist Party,” notes a Washington Post editorial. “The student guide was revealed by...

Lawful Settlements in West Bank? New York Times

Lara Jakes and David M. Halbfinger November 19, 2019
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reversed 40 years of US policy by suggesting Israeli settlements in the West Bank do not violate international law. The move dashes Palestinian hopes for a peace settlement providing land for their own state. The New York Times suggests the internet is to influence politics in Israel, lending support to Benjamin Netanyahu and prompting need for a third election....

Concerns About US-Taliban Peace Deal: Reuters

September 6, 2019
The United States has fought extremist forces in Afghanistan since 2001, including the Taliban. The war resulted in more than 3200 US and coalition military deaths, more than 20,000 wounded along with tens of thousands of more deaths and wounded among civilians and Afghan forces. The Trump administration is in a hurry to withdraw US forces. “The deal, which would see around 5,000 U.S. troops...