A German fashion label is out to tell the world that Islam isn’t just compatible with Western values of tolerance and free expression — it can be hip, too.

The project was born in 2006 as Muslim mobs rampaged across Europe against Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Designer Melih Kesmen became fed up with the anti-Muslim stereotypes that sprang up over the protests as well as the rioters’ attempts to stifle free speech.   »»» Sify Business (India)

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The Partido Renacimeinto y Unión España or PRUNE (The Party of Revival and Union) party of Spain was quoted as saying it was open to all the world.

The stated goal of the party is to be the voice of “the minorities” of Spain.   »»» World Bulletin (Turkey)

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Pakistani-born Shaikh Dr Tahir ul-Qadri is launching his fatwa in London as part of a drive to combat the power of jihadist rhetoric on the web and provide English-speaking Muslims with an authoritative theological explanation detailing why terrorism is not permitted.

Within the British Pakistani community Shaikh Dr Qadri – and his grassroots organisation Minhaj-ul Quran – is well known and respected. He is a “shaikh ul-Islam”, one of the highest positions in Islamic jurisprudence, and the UK branch of Minhaj boasts some 25,000 signed up members, most of whom hail from the British Pakistani community.   »»» The Independent (U.K.)

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Late last month, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton lifted a six-year visa ban on the Swiss Muslim academic Tariq Ramadan. Ramadan, an Oxford professor and Europe’s premier voice of reformist Islam, had been prohibited by the Bush administration from entering the U.S. on the grounds that he had given money to the Palestinian militant group Hamas – a charge he vigorously denied. Ever since, Ramadan has polarized public opinion in both America and Europe: the left lauds him as a “Muslim Martin Luther,” while the right demonizes him as an extremist in sheep’s clothing. Despite the passionate debate, neither side has shown much interest in the substance of Ramadan’s message – conveniently summarized in his concise new book, What I Believe (Oxford University Press, 2010).

Ramadan wrote What I Believe as “a work of clarification.” In it, he emphasizes that his goal is to fashion a distinctively “Western” expression of Islam that does not require Muslims to choose between their national identities and their religious one. According to Ramadan, a person can be both fully Muslim and fully French, British, or German; these multiple identities shift and blend depending on the situation we face.

Ramadan’s intellectual agenda reflects his own unconventional upbringing: his maternal grandfather was Hassan al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, the radical group that championed the establishment of an Islamic state in Egypt and which launched the modern era of Islamist politics. Ramadan’s father, Said, was one of al-Banna’s senior deputies, and after al-Banna’s death, he went into exile with his family in Geneva. There, he committed his life to preserving and disseminating al-Banna’s legacy. The first of Said Ramadan’s children born in Europe was Tariq. Caught between the Islamist cauldron of Egypt and cosmopolitan Geneva, Tariq grew up parsing his multiple and seemingly competing identities. As he writes, “I am Swiss by nationality, Egyptian by memory, Muslim by religion, European by culture, [and] universalist by principle.”   »»» iViews.com

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The problems centre on Merseytravel and pupils attending West Derby’s Holly Lodge Girls’ College in Merseyside, where 10 per cent of the 11,274 11 to 18-year-old students are from ethnic minorities, Daily Mail said.

Young girls have claimed they are being bullied on board for dressing in the traditional scarf which covers the head when they wait at bus stops.

But police officers will now be drafted on to board the buses to protect the students from ‘racist’ taunts of other passengers after an investigation, according to report.   »»» World Bulletin (Turkey)

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“We can see Arabian styles steadily influencing European street fashion, which proves the potential of this emerging niche. Aside from making abayas decorated with crystal beads, pearls, embroidery, satin flowers, and other colorful adornments, designers are also introducing dramatic new styles, fabrics, and colors to Islamic dresses.

Celebrity designers such as Christian Lacroix have been integrating Arabic styles into their wardrobes as they are intrigued by the emphasis given to the design rather than the body. A new generation of highly-talented designers such as Elie Saab, Robert Abi Nader Abed Mahfouz, Walid Attalah, Essa from the UAE and others continue to impress the fashion world with their fusion of modern and Muslim-inspired elements into their ensembles. Their works reflect the transition from plain and simple Arabic designs to more sophisticated creations that extensively use embroidered elements.    »»» Eye of Dubai

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Sunday’s opening comes as several museums worldwide are broadening their collections. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is working on a suite of Islamic art galleries and The David Collection in Copenhagen is preparing to close its gallery for a reinstallation. The Louvre in Paris and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London also boast of major renovations to their collections. And Egyptian officials plan to reopen Cairo’s Museum of Islamic Art.

In Detroit, the gallery of about 170 works of art from the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, Central Asia and India was several years in the making. It was to be part of the museum’s $158 million makeover completed in 2007 but required extra time and money.   »»» Asharq Alawsat Newspaperf (U.K.)

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Justice Minister Mohammed al-Eissa said the law was part of King Abdullah’s plan to develop the legal system.

The law – to be issued “in the coming days” – would allow women to appear in court on family-related cases, including divorce and child custody.

At the moment, they can only work behind the scenes in government and court offices.    »»» BBC News (U.K.)

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“Terrorism is criminal and spills the blood of innocents”, said Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Asheikh, chairman of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars, who is considered the top Islamic religious authority.

“It attacks security, spreads terror among people and creates problems for society … Such acts are forbidden by Islamic law”, he said   »»» SahilOnline (India)

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Khamenei said his country was not developing nuclear weapons because Islam forbade weapons of mass destruction.

”Because of this reason, we don’t have any belief in the atomic bomb and don’t pursue it,” he said.   »»» The Age (Australia)

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But in the eyes of many, much of the industry is actually not sharia-compliant at all.   »»» Reuters

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Saudi women are denied many of the rights granted to women in Islam. Under the Saudi system, male guardians control decisions concerning a woman’s education, employment, travel, marriage, divorce, child care, legal proceedings and health care – basically, every aspect of her life. It is a system that renders half the country’s population helpless dependents.

Nevertheless, there are Western perceptions of Saudi women that need to be addressed objectively.

Whenever Western journalists visit Saudi Arabia, they meet Saudi women who are educated, employed and successful, women who are prominent leaders in their communities. They ask them all kinds of questions and receive honest answers. However, these journalists often only report on the usual stereotypes: the hijab (head scarf) or niqab (a garment that covers a woman’s face and body), the segregation of men and women in most public and private institutions and, of course, the ban on driving.

Segregation hinders women’s daily activities and career advancement, but it is primarily rooted in local customs and traditions, as well as some – but certainly not all – religious interpretations within the country. It is not strictly or consistently enforced.
   »»» Jerusalem Post (Israel)

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Hussain will become the special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, an intergovernmental group with 57 member countries from the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, Balkans, Southeast Asia and South Asia.
   »»» newkerala.com (India)

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In 2006, Mr Sorabji, a 51-year-old accountant from India, who is a Hindu, was interested in buying an off-plan property from Nakheel in Jumeirah Park. He knew that if he went to a conventional bank for financing he would have to start paying monthly interest, known as pre-EMI – equated monthly installments – before the property was complete. After his home was constructed, he would have to pay EMI and a portion of the principal he had borrowed.    »»» The National Newspaper (Abu Dhabi)

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Bishop Michel Santier, the top French Catholic official for inter-religious dialogue, said very few women in France wore full veils and Muslim leaders agreed it was not obligatory in Islam.

“The French, including the Catholics among them, should not let themselves be gripped by fear or a ‘clash of civilisations’ theory,” he said in a statement calling for distinctions between the majority of peaceful Muslims and a minority of radicals   »»» Islamophobia Watch

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