TheRepublic.com - Islam News

Civil rights groups sue NYPD over Muslim spying

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:47:12 -0400

NEW YORK - The New York Police Department's widespread spying programs directed at Muslims have undermined free worship by innocent people and should be declared unconstitutional, religious leaders and civil rights advocates said Tuesday after the filing of a federal lawsuit.

Hardline Egypt cleric sentenced for burning Bible

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:05:27 -0400

CAIRO - Egypt's official news agency says a hardline Muslim cleric has received an 11-year suspended sentence for tearing up and burning a Bible.

Amid Gitmo strike, ex-detainee tells of force-feed

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 19:17:43 -0400

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - For more than three months, the U.S. military has faced off with defiant prisoners on a hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay, strapping down as many as 44 each day to feed them a liquid nutrient mix through a nasal tube to prevent them from starving to death.

Rallies supporting voting rights held across Ala.

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:59:10 -0400

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - More than 100 protesters braved the hot Alabama sun on the steps of the state capitol Friday to show their support for the U.S. Voting Rights Act.

Myanmar monks end meeting with call for peace

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:44:53 -0400

HMAWBI, Myanmar - A meeting of more than 200 Myanmar Buddhist monks on how to solve deadly communal conflicts that have pitted majority Buddhists against Muslims declared Friday they seek peace and accused the media of tarnishing their religion's image.

AP PHOTOS: Egypt's Sufis thrive despite attacks

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:14:32 -0400

CAIRO - Egypt's Sufi Muslims say their places of worship are under threat by rising radicalism, as shrines sacred to them are coming under attack by Islamist hard-liners who deem them heretical.

Man sent to jail for whipping Muslim in Australia

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:43:53 -0400

SYDNEY - A man who whipped a Muslim convert as a religious punishment for drinking alcohol was sentenced Friday to at least 16 months in jail.

Gaza suffers drop in foreign aid over Syrian war

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:04:23 -0400

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - A refugee from Syria recently opened a bakery here, drawing long lines of customers eager to taste meat and cheese pastries with the special flavors of Damascus - a rare bright spot in the long shadow that the Syrian civil war is casting over the Gaza Strip.

Egypt says citizens free to join fight in Syria

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:02:06 -0400

CAIRO - A senior official in Egypt's presidency says Egyptians are free to join the fight in Syria and will not be prosecuted upon return.

Egypt's wheat harvest becomes mired in politics

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 02:39:20 -0400

IBSHAWAI, Egypt - Early in Egypt's wheat harvest this year, President Mohammed Morsi spoke in a televised address, proclaiming the crop would be 30 percent higher than the year before and that the country is on track to go from being the world's biggest importer of wheat to being entirely self-sufficient in four years.

Probe sought into bank closing Arabs' accounts

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:55:10 -0400

SOUTHFIELD, Michigan - A Muslim civil rights organization has asked the U.S. Treasury Department to investigate JPMorgan Chase & Co. for closing bank accounts of U.S. Arabs and Muslims.

Tunisia imprisons 3 European topless activists

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:07:02 -0400

TUNIS, Tunisia - A Tunisian court on Wednesday convicted three European feminist activists who staged a topless courthouse protest last month, sentencing them to four months and a day in prison, a court official said. The defense called the sentence far too harsh.

Iran nuke policy 'unchangeable' no matter who wins

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:44:24 -0400

TEHRAN, Iran - Just hours after Iran's presidential candidates bickered over nuclear policies during a televised debate, the country's foreign minister stepped in with a comment of his own: Nothing will change regardless of the winner.

Profile: Talking with Bill Maher

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:55:14 -0400

By KIRK BAIRD - It was a bad week for President Barack Obama, which meant a good show for standup Bill Maher and his politically driven HBO series "Real Time with Bill Maher."

Man pleads guilty in anti-Muslim NYC cabbie attack

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:32:12 -0400

NEW YORK - A baby-faced college student will serve 9 1/2 years behind bars after pleading guilty Tuesday to charges he attacked a New York City taxi driver from Bangladesh during an anti-Muslim tirade inside a cab.

Editorial: With Syria, it's crunch time for Barack...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 16:48:52 -0400

An editorial / By Dale McFeatters - President Barack Obama's preferred strategy on the Syrian civil war was to temporize, providing modest amounts of nonlethal military aid to the rebels, refugee assistance to Turkey and encouragement to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the rebels' main arms suppliers.

In Iran vote, reformists struggle with few options

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 17:26:45 -0400

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Despite four years of non-stop pressure, arrests and intimidation, Iran's dissidents still find ways to show their resilience.

Egypt's Islamists, opposition closely eye Turkey

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 16:33:20 -0400

CAIRO - Liberal-minded Egyptians and supporters of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood now share one thing: the rival sides are closely following protests in Turkey, a country that has provided the heavily polarized and increasingly impoverished Egyptians with a tantalizing model for marrying Islamist government with a secular establishment and achieving prosperity along the way.

UNESCO team finds damage to Mali culture alarming

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:02:00 -0400

UNITED NATIONS - A team of experts led by UNESCO said Friday it has found far more serious damage to Mali's cultural heritage in the fabled city of Timbuktu than initially estimated, with 16 mausoleums totally destroyed and over 4,000 ancient manuscripts lost.

Iran leader's election bid: Taming the presidency

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:42:09 -0400

TEHRAN, Iran - At the height of Iran's internal political clashes in late 2011, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei became so exasperated that he warned the Islamic Republic could someday drop the office of an elected president.

Indonesia axes bikinis for 2013 Miss World pageant

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:31:53 -0400

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Miss World has axed the famed bikinis from this year's pageant in Indonesia, replacing the skimpy swimsuits with conservative beach sarongs amid mounting protests from hard-line Muslim groups, organizers said Thursday.

Protests unite Turks across the social spectrum

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 18:49:40 -0400

ISTANBUL - Office workers in business suits chant anti-government slogans alongside pious women wearing Muslim headscarves. Schoolchildren and bearded anarchists rub shoulders with football fans, well-heeled women in designer sunglasses and elderly couples donating food.

Vandals target southern Minnesota mosque

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:47:46 -0400

OWATONNA, Minnesota - Officials at a mosque in southern Minnesota want to know why vandals are targeting their religious center.

Religion news in brief

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:11:49 -0400

Legal experts expect Cincinnati Archdiocese to appeal jury finding for fired pregnant teacher

Leaders plan voting rights caravan across Alabama

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 07:19:29 -0400

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and others are planning a caravan across Alabama on June 14 to encourage the U.S. Supreme Court to save a major portion of the Voting Rights Act.