In The News

Consumer Giants Court Muslims with Halal Face Creams, Shampoos

Martinne Geller and Randy Fabi September 15, 2016
Not waiting for a new law to take effect, multinational corporations such as L’Oreal and Unilever are embracing a mandate on halal labeling. “The law, the first of its kind, requires food to be labeled halal or not in 2017, followed by toiletries in 2018 and medicines in 2019,” explain Martinne Geller and Randy Fabi for Reuters. Such products, free of pork and alcohol, are made at production...

The Battle of the Burkini

Ian Buruma September 6, 2016
French coastal communities went too far with rules targeting Muslim women who visit beaches in the so-called burkini – a bathing suit that covers most of the body but not the face. “A grotesque photograph soon appeared in newspapers around the world of three French policemen, one of them with a machine gun slung across his back, forcing a woman to undress on a beach in Nice,” explains Ian Buruma...

Syria Jarablus: Turkish Tanks Roll Into Northern Syria

Pinar Sevinclidir August 24, 2016
A dozen Turkish tanks and other vehicles have entered the Syrian town of Jarablus, a few kilometers from the border. “President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the operation was aimed against both IS and Kurdish fighters,” reports BBC News. “Turkey shelled Syrian Kurdish forces in the region this week, determined not to let them fill the vacuum if [the Islamic State] leaves.” The five-year war is...

Battle for Aleppo Carries High Stakes for Syria

Yaroslav Trofimov August 12, 2016
The Syrian city of Aleppo is divided and in ruins. Russia and Iran support the regime of Bashar al-Assad while the United States targets the Islamic State and maintains that conflict will continue as long as the dictator remains in power. Protests against the regime in 2011 turned to rebellion, drawing both moderate Syrians and sectarian fighters. Rebel groups, like al Qaeda affiliate Nusra Front...

Erdogan Targets More Than 50,000 in Purge After Failed Turkish Coup

Humeyra Pamuk and Ercan Gurses July 20, 2016
The Turkish government is said to be blaming a self-exiled religious leader for a July 15 coup attempt and targeting his supporters in the military, judiciary and education systems. Fethullah Gulen lives in Pennsylvania and denies having a role in the coup attempt. “A former ally-turned critic of Erdogan, he suggested the president staged it as an excuse for a crackdown after a steady...

Wolf-Pack Terrorism: Inspired by ISIS, Made in Bangladesh

Saroj Kumar Rath July 5, 2016
Ongoing political squabbles and vendettas do not stop terror, and militants will use such differences to drive a wedge into societies. “Ongoing conflict between the two major political parties, Bangladesh National Party, which considers itself custodian of Bangladeshi nationalism, and Awami League, which regards itself as the sole guiding force of Bangladeshi liberation, has left the field open...

War of Words: What's in the Name “Rohingya”?

Azeem Ibrahim June 16, 2016
Myanmar's constitution recognizes 135 ethnic groups, but excludes the Rohingya. Some estimates put the minority at 1.4 million, a fraction of the nation’s more than 50 million people. Nationalists have concocted a revisionist history, insisting that Rohingya Muslims are really from Bangladesh, brought in by British colonizers, to deny the group citizenship rights and identification cards...