Doctors in Austria’s westernmost province have been cleared to resume circumcisions after the Justice Ministry reassured them that they can perform the religious practice without risking criminal charges, officials said.

Spooked by a regional court ruling in neighbouring Germany that the practice supported by Muslims and Jews amounted to physical abuse, the governor of Austria’s Vorarlberg province last week advised doctors to suspend it, triggering a heated debate.

Austria’s Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim leaders united in defence of circumcision on Friday, condemning calls to limit the practice as an attack on religion and demanding that the government clarify its legality.

   »»» FaithWorld

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Some 50 of the world’s nations are now Muslim-majority, and they compete in the Olympics, with less controversy than might be imagined. (Muslims may well make up 1/3 of humankind by the end of the 21st century.)

This year, the Olympic games fall in the fasting month of Ramadan. During that month, observant Muslims refrain from drinking or eating during the daylight hours (which are long in London during the summer). Since the Muslim calendar is lunar, it advances about 11 days a year through the solar calendar.

So is holding the summer Olympics during Ramadan controversial? It doesn’t seem to matter to most Muslims. Many governments and athletes of Muslim heritage are secular. But even most of the observant can deal with it. Those who demonize sharia, or the Muslim interpretation of their religious law, may be surprised to discover that it is a flexible and pragmatic, living tradition. The muftis, or official Muslim jurisconsults, of most Muslim nations have given their athletes permission not to fast while they are competing at the games. It is a principle of Islamic jurisprudence that you don’t have to face on long journeys, and since most athletes will journey to London for the games, they can be considered exempt from fasting during them. Muslims exempted from fasting in Ramadan often make up the fast later. Other jurists consider that having a particularly grueling form of work to do can exempt the toiler from fasting. By analogy, Olympic athletes can be exempted. Malaysian religious authorities are encouraging some categories of athlete to fast nevertheless (i.e. if neither their travel nor their sport is particularly taxing, why invoke the exemption?).    »»» Informed Comment

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One Russian Muslim leader has been shot dead and another wounded, in separate attacks in the Russian republic of Tatarstan, officials say.

The Mufti of Tatarstan, Ildus Fayzov, was injured when his car was blown up as he left a radio station in the city of Kazan.

A former deputy mufti, Valiulla Yakupov, was shot dead near his home at about the same time.

There have been a number of deadly attacks on Russian Muslim clerics.

Tatarstan, in central Russia, has a large Muslim population.

The motive in this case is unclear, but Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for Russia’s Investigative Committee, said both leaders were known for fighting extremism.   »»» BBC News – Russia Muslim leaders attacked in Tatarstan

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) said, “Beware of extremism in religion because the only thing that destroyed those before you was extremism in religion.” (related by Ibn Majah and Nasai)

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The German government says Jewish and Muslim communities should be able to continue the practice of circumcision, after a regional court ruled it amounted to bodily harm. The ruling does not establish a national precedent but does create a climate of juridical uncertainty.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said it was a case of protecting religious freedom.

He said: “Circumcision carried out in a responsible manner must be possible without punishment.”   »»» BBC News

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, death following circumcision is rare and is estimated affect 1 infant in 500,000. Other sources estimate that 35,000,000 circumcisions are carried out annually worldwide. Thus an estimated 70 deaths per year result from circumcision complications. Almost all of them could be avoided by using proper techniques and patient follow-up.

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A suicide bomber has killed five people at a mosque in the north-eastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, security officials say. Maiduguri is the stronghold of the militant Islamist group Boko Haram.

BBC Nigeria analyst Jimeh Saleh says the group has not targeted a mosque before, but it is known to have assassinated Muslim leaders.

Just over a year ago, Boko Haram claimed responsibility for assassinating the a dignatary’s younger brother in Maiduguri.

At the time a sect spokesman said traditional institutions would come in for attack for colluding with the authorities.

Boko Haram, which means “Western education is forbidden” in the Hausa language, seeks to overthrow Nigeria’s government and establish an Islamic state.   »»» BBC News

According to respected scholars of Islam, the followers of the Boko Haram sect are heretics, blasphemers and renegades. Muslims who kill other Muslims are guilty of spreading unrest. Forcing your religion upon others and destroying places of worship is forbidden in Islam. There is no room for coercion in Islam and no one can be forced to convert. Destroying the places of worship of non-Muslims located in Muslim-majority areas is fobidden.

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Mohsen Radi, member of the People’s Assembly and member of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP)’s National Committee, affirmed that freedom of art is a right that will certainly be guaranteed by the forthcoming Constitution and that there will be no restriction of art and creativity.

He pointed that the Muslim Brotherhood presented great works for the stage in the 1980s, especially on Almotahideen Theater in Ramses Street, including the plays Shaklaba (Somersault), Hilm (A Dream), Alharafeesh (Outcasts) and Blood on Kaaba’s Cover, as well as three ‘variety’ concerts.

Speaking to the ‘Life Today’ program on satellite TV channel Al-Hayat, Radi added that the State Security apparatus saw that the Brotherhood were artistically active, and could touch the hearts of people.

“Hence, they closed the theaters on which we offered our art productions, such as Almotahideen Theater, followed by Alhosabir Theater, so as to keep people fearful of the Muslim Brotherhood, and to maintain and entrench the idea that the Brotherhood is only good at preaching.   »»» Ikhwanweb

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In Britain today there is a mismatch between how non-Muslims often perceive Muslims and how Muslims typically perceive themselves. This disconnect is down to a tendency by non-Muslims to assume that Muslims struggle with their British identity and divided loyalties. These concerns were challenged a few days ago,in a report by the University of Essex that found Muslims actually identify with Britishness more than any other Britons.

This study is just one of several recent studies that have consistently found that Muslims in Britain express a stronger sense of belonging in Britain than their compatriots. Consider the following examples:

• 83% of Muslims are proud to be a British citizen, compared to 79% of the general public.

• 77% of Muslims strongly identify with Britain while only 50% of the wider population do.

• 86.4% of Muslims feel they belong in Britain, slightly more than the 85.9% of Christians.

• 82% of Muslims want to live in diverse and mixed neighbourhoods compared to 63% of non-Muslim Britons.

• 90% of Pakistanis feel a strong sense of belonging in Britain compared to 84% of white people.   »»» guardian.co.uk

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Radical Islamists linked to al-Qaida have broken down the door to a 15th-century mosque in Timbuktu that locals believed had to stay shut until the end of the world, defying international calls to halt the destruction of holy sites in the Unesco-listed city.

In a third day of attacks on historic and religious landmarks that Unesco has called “wanton destruction”, the Islamists targeted the ancient Sidi Yahya mosque as they tried to erase traces of what they regard as un-Islamic idolatry.

Islamists of the Ansar Dine group claim the centuries-old shrines of the local Sufi version of Islam in Timbuktu are idolatrous. They have so far destroyed at least eight of 16 listed mausoleums in the city in northern Mali, together with a number of tombs.

Ansar Dine and well-armed allies, including al-Qaida splinter group Mujwa, have hijacked a separatist uprising by local Tuareg MNLA rebels to control two-thirds of Mali’s desert north, territory that includes the regions of Gao, Kidal and Timbuktu.

The size of the area under their control is bigger than France, heightening fears that Mali will become a jihadist haven.   »»» guardian.co.uk

The Ansar Dine radicals are violating fundamental principles of Islam. Like Christian Iconoclasts and Puritans of the past, they are ready to destroy to enforce their point of view. This is not Islamic behaviour. Under traditional shari’ah law, their actions are examples of “fitna” (insurrection, crimes against public order) and they would be punished severely.

King Muhammad VI of Morocco has publicly called for an international Islamic ‘peacekeeping’ force to be deployed to stop the destruction, which has been headline news in the Moroccan media. Sadly, there is probably not enough time to do anything. The Mali government, whose army was defeated in recent battles with the Ansar Dine is powerless to act.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) said, “Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded; and gain strength by worshipping in the mornings and the nights.” (related in Sahih Bukhari ).

He also said, “Beware of extremism in religion because the only thing that destroyed those before you was extremism in religion.” (related by Ibn Majah and Nasai).

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Lt. Col Ishaq Rano, Assistant Director, Islamic Affairs of the Nigerian Army, says that killing and bombing of Churches by the Boko Haram sect is forbidden in Islam.

Rano, who spoke during the special Juma’at prayer to commemorate the 2012 Nigerian army day celebration in Jos, said Boko Haram members were not “good Muslims” and termed their actions as “haram” (forbidden).

“We are praying to God to touch Boko Haram to stop killing innocent people, to stop killing Christians and to stop killing security personnel.

“In Islam, killing is not allowed, it is forbidden in Islam to kill anybody.”

Rano emphasised that nobody had the right to kill anybody, adding that only a court of law could condemn a person.

“Even if a person commits a crime in your presence, you can’t kill him or her, but you can take him or her to the law court.

“If Boko Haram members claim to be Muslims, then they are not good Muslims. They are only bearing Muslim names, they do not know Islam.”   »»» allAfrica.com

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Some French airports have begun to ask headscarf-wearing women to take off their scarves for security reasons, which has spurred criticism from Muslims in the country, who find the practice a discriminatory one.

The Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) has announced that Nantes Atlantique Airport has made it obligatory for headscarf-wearing women to take off their scarves and place them in the X-ray machine along with their other belongings.

The practice was put into effect two weeks ago by the SGA, the company responsible for Nantes Atlantique Airport’s security. Women affected by the new rules requested that they be allowed to take off their headscarves in a special room staffed only by women, but the request was denied. The women were told that they must place their headscarves on the conveyor going through the X-ray machine if they wanted to avoid missing their plane.

The SGA defended their actions, claiming that dangerous materials could be hidden under the headscarves, which has triggered outrage in France’s Muslim community.

According to EU airport security regulations, security staff do not have the authority to ask women to take their headscarves off.   »»» Today’s Zaman (Turkey)

There has NEVER been an incident in modern European history in which a women traveling by plane and wearing a headscarf had anything concealed in her headscarf that presented a risk of danger to other travelers or to any airport terminal or airplane.

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