Latest Islam News

France hands over last military base in Chad

Jan. 30, 2025 11:19 AM EST

N’DJAMENA, Chad (AP) — France handed over its last military base in Chad to local authorities on Thursday, two months after the former French colony in central Africa broke off its defense cooperation agreement with Paris. Chad has been a key counterterrorism force in the region...

An Iraqi man who carried out Quran burnings in Sweden is killed in a shooting

Jan. 30, 2025 08:07 AM EST

STOCKHOLM (AP) — An Iraqi man who carried out several Quran burnings in Sweden has been killed in a shooting near Stockholm, authorities said Thursday. Salwan Momika, 38, staged several burnings and desecrations of Islam's holy book in Sweden in 2023. Videos of the Quran burnings...

Over 100 Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution in Myanmar arrive in Indonesia's Aceh

Jan. 29, 2025 21:55 PM EST

PEREULAK, Indonesia (AP) — A rickety wooden boat carrying more than 100 Rohingya Muslims landed Wednesday in Indonesia as the northernmost province of Aceh continued to receive the refugees fleeing persecution and political unrest in Myanmar. Indonesia's government blames a surge...

Leader of rebels who toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad is named country's interim president

Jan. 29, 2025 17:39 PM EST

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The Syrian factions that toppled President Bashar Assad last month named an Islamist former rebel leader as the country‘s interim president on Wednesday in a push to project a united front as they face the monumental task of rebuilding Syria after nearly 14 years of civil...

Turkey detains journalists and replaces elected mayor amid crackdown on opposition

Jan. 29, 2025 11:44 AM EST

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish authorities have detained a prominent investigative journalist and four of his colleagues and replaced an elected pro- Kurdish mayor with a state appointee on Wednesday, escalating a recent government crackdown on the opposition and dissenting voices. ...

Algeria blasts European Parliament for condemning a French-Algerian author's arrest

Jan. 28, 2025 09:37 AM EST

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algerian lawmakers condemned the European Parliament for a resolution criticizing the arrest of French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal. Lawmakers from both chambers of the North African nation's parliament on Monday signed a statement rebuking the European...

Shiite pilgrims make annual pilgrimage in Iraq amid regional upheaval

Jan. 25, 2025 07:44 AM EST

BAGHDAD (AP) — Thousands of Shiite pilgrims dressed in black marched on Saturday, heading on foot toward the golden twin-domed shrine of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim in the northwestern Baghdad district of al-Kadhimiyah. The site in the Iraqi capital holds great religious significance...

Pakistani court sentences 4 people to death for blasphemy

Jan. 25, 2025 05:45 AM EST

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani court Saturday sentenced four people to death for blasphemy, allegedly because they posted sacrilegious material on social media about Islamic religious figures and the Quran. Their lawyer said appeal preparations are underway. Under the...

Nigerian soldiers killed 79 militants and suspected kidnappers in the past week, army says

Jan. 24, 2025 16:45 PM EST

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian soldiers killed 79 militants and suspected kidnappers over the past week, the army said Friday, in an operation targeting a decades-long insurgency by Islamic militants in the northeast and attacks by various armed groups in the northwest. The West...

Trump revokes protections for former Secretary of State Pompeo and top aide threatened by Iran

Jan. 23, 2025 16:28 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has revoked government security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran since they took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump's first administration. ...