Latest Islam News
VIRUS DIARY: In Saudi Arabia, a photographer finds new focus
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — I moved to Saudi Arabia from Egypt last year, eager to photograph a national awakening that was once unimaginable in a country so beholden to ultraconservative mores. Permission to have fun had been suddenly granted. It jolted this nation of 34 million — almost half of...
Wedding season brings new virus outbreak in West Bank
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — By the end of May, the Palestinian Authority appeared to have quashed a coronavirus outbreak in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, with only around 400 confirmed cases and just two fatalities in the territory, following a nearly three-month lockdown. Then the wedding invitations...
Eagles WR DeSean Jackson apologizes for anti-Semitic post
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson has apologized after backlash for sharing anti-Semitic posts on social media over the weekend. Jackson initially posted a screenshot of a quote widely attributed to Adolf Hitler, saying in part: “Jews will blackmail...
New at Saudi hajj: Bottled holy water, sterilized pebbles
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia has issued guidelines for about 1,000 pilgrims who will be allowed to perform the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca later this month, an experience that will be unlike any before because of the coronavirus pandemic. The pilgrims will only be able to drink holy water...
Iran mandates masks as public shrugs off resurgent virus
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Sunday instituted mandatory mask-wearing as fears mount over newly spiking reported deaths from the coronavirus, even as its public increasingly shrugs off the danger of the COVID-19 illness it causes. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicized an image of himself in a...
New mass grave unearthed in Iraq's north from brutal IS rule
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — A human skull, a pair of worn trousers and a shoe were among the remains unearthed from a mass grave discovered this week in northern Iraq, a remnant of the brutal rule of the Islamic State group, Iraqi officials said Thursday. The new mass grave was discovered on Monday in the village...
Court considers status of Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A state attorney on Thursday recommended that Turkey's highest administrative court reject a request that Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia, which now serves as museum, be turned back into a mosque, state-run media reported. The 6th-century structure was the Byzantine Empire’s...
Sudan's bid to ban genital mutilation sparks hope, caution
CAIRO (AP) — It’s been more than 60 years. But the scene is seared still into Kawthar Ali’s mind. The women pinned her down on a bed. She was maybe 5 1/2 or 6 years old. Holding her knees, they spread her legs open, her genitals exposed. At the time, she didn’t fully understand what...
Museum or mosque? Turkey debates iconic Hagia Sofia's status
ISTANBUL (AP) — In its more than 1,400-year existence, the majestic domed structure of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul has served as the Byzantine Empire’s main cathedral, a mosque under the Ottoman Empire and a museum under modern Turkey, attracting millions of tourists each year. The 6th-century...
After Floyd, raw talk, racial reckoning among US Muslims
As a young student, Hind Makki recalls, she would call out others at the Islamic school she attended when some casually used an Arabic word meaning “slaves” to refer to Black people. “Maybe 85% of the time, the response that I would get from people ... is, ‘Oh, we don’t mean...
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