An increasing majority of people in France believe Islam plays too influential a role in their society and almost half see Muslims as a threat to their national identity, according to a poll published on Thursday.

The survey by pollster Ifop in Le Figaro newspaper showed that 60 percent of people believed that Islam was “too important” in France in terms of its influence and visibility, up from 55 percent two years ago.

It found that 43 percent of respondents considered the presence of the Muslim community as a threat to their national identity, compared with just 17 percent who said it enriched society. Forty percent of those questioned were indifferent to the presence of Islam, Le Figaro said.   »»» Reuters

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It has been hailed as a new era for the Muslim community in Belgium. Two candidates from the fledgling orthodox muslim party Islam have been elected to seats in Anderlecht and Molenbeek in the recent local elections. The party plans to present candidates at regional, national and European elections in 2014.   »»» Euronews

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Gunmen opened fire on Muslim worshipers on Sunday as they were leaving a mosque in northern Nigeria, killing at least 20 people, a local official said.

The attack happened in a remote village called Dogo Dawa, in Kaduna state, said the official, Abdullahi Muhammad, the traditional ruler and councilor of Birnin Gwari, a government area near the village.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Like much of northern Nigeria, Kaduna is plagued by an insurgency led by the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram. They usually attack security forces, government officials or Christians, but have hit Muslim clerics and mosques, especially ones that do not follow their hard-line brand of Islam.    »»» NYTimes.com

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The U.S. pastor behind “International Burn a Koran Day” said he would “possibly” try again to enter Canada after border officers turned him back Thursday as he was on his way to speak in Toronto.

“We will see,” Terry Jones said in an interview. “We were looking forward to coming there and we were looking forward to speaking. … We were definitely disappointed and we were surprised.”

At the Windsor border crossing, Canada Border Services Agency officers questioned Mr. Jones and searched his car and luggage for more than four hours before denying him entry on the grounds of criminality.   »»» National Post (Canada)

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Religious leaders in Pakistan have condemned the shooting of teenage education rights activist Malala Yousafzai, during a special day of prayer across the country.

Clerics on Friday declared the attempt on her life, made by Pakistani Taliban gunmen while the 14-year-old girl was on her way home from school in the Swat valley, to be “un-Islamic”.

The joint fatwa, or religious edict, was issued by at least 50 scholars associated with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), and appealed to worshippers to observe a “day of condemnation” on Friday.

“Islam [like Judaism] holds the killing of one innocent person as killing the entirety of humanity,” Hamid Saeed Kazmi, a former religious affairs minister in Pakistan, told reporters.”   »»» Al Jazeera English

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Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Suleiman al-Manee, member of the Board of Senior Ulama and Adviser to the Royal Court, told Saudi university students in Malaysia that they are allowed to visit worship places of other religions and encouraged them to heavy usage of the social media, Al Riyadh newspaper reported online on Monday.

Dr. Abdullah encouraged Saudi youth to use heavily all available social media tools, namely facebook, twitter, emails and what’s app, in order to spread the message of Islam as “We need to reach the people in modern and suitable means”.

He reminded students about the importance of spreading the message of tolerance in face of the fierce attacks against Islam, and refrain from any violent reactions, and be messengers of peace.   »»» Al Arrabiya

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Egypt’s Attorney General, Justice Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud, ordered the release of two Christian children held in custody pending investigation for contempt of the Islamic religion, after the intervention of President Mohamed Morsi to free them, in response to a memorandum submitted by a Christian activist.

A source in the Attorney General’s office said that, “A decision was taken to release the two children aged 9 and 10 pursuant to the Egyptian law on the rights of the child, which prevents the detention of children”.
   »»» Ikhwanweb

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Leading Christian priests and bishops of the Anglican Communion have condemned out against the shorty video called “The Innocence of Muslims”, that has been blamed for riots by Muslims in at least 20 countries.

In New Zealand, Anglicans were joined by Catholics, Jews and Muslims in condemning the film.   »»» speroforum.com

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Swiss parliamentarians narrowly voted Friday against a ban on wearing the Muslim burqa and other face coverings in public places, including public transport.

The lower house of the Swiss parliament rejected the motion pushed by the canton of Aargau in a vote of 93 to 87.

Representing the majority, Hugues Hiltpold of the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland insisted that the burqa was not a problem in the country.

“The wearing of these kinds of garments for religious reasons does not pose real problems in daily life, since the practice is not very common in the Swiss Muslim community,” he told the National Council.

When it came to face coverings at demonstrations, the parliamentarians meanwhile said they did not want a national ban but would leave regulation up to each canton.    »»» alarabiya.net

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A man linked to an anti-Islam video that sparked riots across the Muslim world is being held in Los Angeles, California, ahead of a bail hearing.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, had been under investigation for violating probation terms after he was released from prison in 2011 for bank fraud.

Court records say he was banned from accessing the internet or using an alias without a parole officer’s permission.   »»» BBC News

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