http://islaminpk.online

Disclaimer: I'm not coming out of retirement.. but I thought this was interesting, and couldn't find an English source to show people. The story started when a teacher was accused of sexually abusing kindergarten kids in the Antwerp school De Blokkendoos, this past June.  For days parents protested outside the school, and finally the school was forced to close a week ahead of the summer vacation. The teacher and administration of the school also received death threats and had to go into hiding.  The case has not been officially closed, but the Mayor of Antwerp Bart De Wever recently announced that the teacher had been wrongly accused. And this is where it gets interesting. It turns out that the mother who first complained is Najat Mejdoubi, who said the teacher had raped and abused her 4-year old son.  Majdoubi is a member of Sharia Sisters, a sister organization of Sharia4Belgium.  Dozens of parents joined in the accusations, three turned to the police. It's not cle...

Brussels: Six people charged in deadly exorcism of Muslim woman Via al-Arabiya : A court in Brussels opened on Monday the trial of six people charged in connection with the 2004 murder of a young Muslim woman in a deadly act of exorcism, a practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person believed to be possessed. The woman was reportedly deceived into believing that she could not have children because she was possessed and that she had to undergo a practice of exorcism. But the woman apparently could not stand the severe punishment the exorcism allegedly entails to scourge the demon out of the body, and she lost her life. The detainees in the case include two self-appointed exorcists, the victim�s husband and three female members of a radical Muslim group, will be standing trial for three weeks and facing charges of �torture leading to death.� If they are convicted, they face up to 30 years in prison. ( source )

Italy: First Muslim televangelist show Via AKI : Italy's first Muslim televangelist show debuted several weeks ago.  The show, named 'Min al-Dakhil Rumia' (from the Land of the Romans), is broadcast on RTB Brescia and via satellite, and targets European Muslims.  The show is hosted by Imam Abu Ammar al-Sudani, an Italian Muslim preacher and activist. The imam wants to offer true Islamic television.  Abu Ammar says they started the show in order to talk about the role of Islam in the West and in Italy, from a a social, cultural and religious point of view.  The show also features reports on Italian Muslims from all over the country. The show is currently funded by Gulf countries.  Abu Ammar says the upcoming episodes will also be sponsored by Italian companies.  The imam says that the first two episodes were received well, and that he got congratulatory phone calls from Morocco, Egypt and France.  

Ireland: Becoming a hub for Islamic finance Via thejournal.ie : Ireland is one of many countries which has begun to look at Islamic finance as a way to help rebuild the financial services sector. Already Ireland is a base for 20 per cent of Islamic funds based outside of the Middle East, and the plan is to expand that even further. �To someone like myself who has no particular expertise in the area, Islamic finance looks like a good fit for Ireland,� T�naiste Eamon Gilmore told an audience during a speech last month. (...) However while the government is doing a lot to encourage Islamic finance at an international level, this isn�t filtering down to Ireland�s 49,200 Muslims. Ireland�s two biggest banks, Bank of Ireland and AIB, both confirmed that they don�t offer Sharia-compliant personal banking to customers. This means customers who wish to bank according to their religious beliefs cannot take out mortgages, loans or have savings accounts.  ( source )

Germany: Malaysians to bring Islamic investment Via DW : Islamic investing represents a 1.2 trillion-euro market. Now one Malaysian firm wants to bring the trend to Germany. Others have tried and failed before, so it could be a struggle. Confident and professional, the female chief executive of Malaysia-based CIMB-Principal recently gave a press conference in Frankfurt about the only registered Islamic investment fund in Germany. With uncovered hair, red lipstick and silver earrings, Noripah Kamso said, "I want to share the new i-word with you. It doesn't stand for iPad, iPhone or inflation�but for Islamic banking." ( source )

Sweden: City slammed for 'special treatment' of Muslim kids Via the Local : A Swedish school district has sparked outrage for striking a deal with local Muslim groups ensuring Muslim students can skip out on overnight class trips and Muslim girls don't have to be naked when showering at school. "My first reaction after reading was total shock: how can schools so casually force children into more segregation and social exclusion?" women's and equal rights activist Bahareh Andersson wrote on the Swedish opinion website Newsmill. Her comments came in response to reading a document outlining an agreement between education officials in J�nk�ping municipality and local Muslim groups ensuring special treatment for Muslim children enrolled in area schools. "It's not only about exceptions for food, but it's also about an exception from human rights. Children learning from an early age that gender segregation is something natural and that love without marri...

UK: Imam caught on camera advocating female circumcision Via the Daily Mail : Mohammed Abdul, the Imam of a Bristol mosque, was filmed urging a follower to take women and girls abroad so they can be circumcised legally. (...) The footage was obtained by an undercover reporter working for the Sunday Times newspaper, who posed as a Muslim seeking advice. During a meeting with Mohammed Abdul at the Masjid al-Huda mosque: 'In this country, it is not possible, we cannot do that. (For) any other Muslim who likes to practise the way of Prophet Muhammad, the best way is to go to other countries. 'Some families, they go to Africa or Arab countries. 'In this country you have to fight for your religion, your cultures, They (the British) don't like your Muslim cultures.' ( source )

Russia: Chechen Leaders Slam Proposed Creation Of Shari'a Courts Meanwhile, Khasavov fled Russia after receiving death threats . Via RFE/RL : Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov and Chechen mufti Sultan-hadji Mirzayev have both harshly criticized the proposal by Chechen legal scholar Dagir Khasavov to establish Shari'a courts in Russia for the benefit of those Russian Muslims who do not want to �get bogged down in the Russian legal system,� which they do not trust. (...) Khasavov, who is based in Moscow, advocated Shari'a courts as an alternative to complement Russia�s civil justice system in an interview on April 24 with REN-TV that, according to his son Arslan, has not been shown in its entirety. Instead, only selected statements from the interview were broadcast. The most controversial, and that which occasioned the most negative comment, was Khasavov�s warning that the Muslim community would respond to efforts to prevent the introduction of a Shari'a court with a �...

London: Don�t ban alcohol � we'll get blame, say Muslim students Via the London Evening Standard : Muslim students at a university considering banning alcohol from parts of its campus have hit out at the plan � fearing they will be blamed for the move. Students at London Metropolitan University said banning alcohol in the name of Muslims will cause tension on campus, divide the community, and could be exploited by far-Right groups such as the English Defence League. Malcolm Gillies, Vice Chancellor of London Met, has said he might stop alcohol being served in parts of the university because some religious students view it as �immoral�. But Syed Rumman, vice president of the Student Union, warned that any ban would be �catastrophic�. Mr Rumman, who is a Muslim, said: �I do not drink, but it doesn�t mean that I will deprive another student from having alcohol.� He added: �It is unethical, catastrophic and it will isolate Muslims further in society. This will go against the ethos of L...