Muslim pilgrims will today begin a dramatically downsized hajj as the Saudi hosts strive to prevent a coronavirus outbreak during the five-day pilgrimage. Pilgrims will be required to wear masks and worship at a social distance as they complete one of the five pillars of Islam – which is usually one of the world’s largest … Read more
Dawn breaks in the crowded prison cell. Not everyone is asleep — conditions are so cramped in the 70-square-yard space that 15 of the 60 inmates have to stand to give others their turn to lie down. The lack of privacy is absolute. Toilet breaks are rationed — two minutes at a time — and … Read more
Dawn breaks in the crowded prison cell. Not everyone is asleep — conditions are so cramped in the 70-square-yard space that 15 of the 60 inmates have to stand to give others their turn to lie down. The lack of privacy is absolute. Toilet breaks are rationed — two minutes at a time — and … Read more
China’s ambassador to the UK today insisted Uighur Muslims live in ‘peace and harmony’ despite being confronted with video appearing to show shackled prisoners being herded onto trains. Appearing on the Andrew Marr Show, Liu Xiaoming denied reports that China is carrying out a programme of sterilisation of Uighur women in the western Xinjiang region. Reports have … Read more
Muslims around the world on Sunday began celebrating Eid al-Fitr, a normally festive holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, with millions under strict stay-at-home orders and many fearing renewed coronavirus outbreaks. The three-day holiday is usually a time of travel, family get-togethers and lavish daytime feasts after weeks of dawn-to-dusk fasting. … Read more
Areas with large ethnic minority populations make up more than three quarters of England’s coronavirus hotspots, a report has revealed. But numbers coming from Muslim communities in areas which could be expected to be hard-hit are low, and cultural habits may be protecting England’s Muslims from the fast-spreading disease. That’s according to a report by Professor … Read more
Muslim people feel the most satisfied with their lives because they feel more ‘oneness,’ or connection than people of other faiths, a new study suggests. Measuring life satisfaction is about as close to quantifying ‘happiness’ as we’ve been able to get thus far, and a German psychologist’s new study suggests that a feeling of ‘oneness’ … Read more
Pakistani Muslims clashed with police trying to enforce new curbs on gatherings to prevent Friday prayers and contain coronavirus infections, officials said. TV footage showed dozens of people chasing two police vehicles and pelting them with stones as an officer fired in the air to disperse the crowd. The astonishing video outside a Karachi mosque … Read more
Sporadic violence hit parts of Delhi overnight as gangs roamed streets littered with the debris of days of sectarian riots that have killed 33 people, police said Thursday. Thousands of riot police and paramilitaries patrolled the affected northeast fringes of the Indian capital of 20 million people, preventing any major eruptions. The unrest is the … Read more