Complaints of anti-Muslim bias in the US reached a record high in 2023, according to a report released Tuesday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The civil rights group received 8,061 complaints of anti-Muslim incidents last year, marking the highest number of complaints reported in the group’s 30-year history. The report found that complaints [...]
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost admitted on Friday in a court filing that the state’s ban on most abortions is unconstitutional after voters passed an amendment to the Ohio Constitution in November 2023 enshrining access to abortion. The issue in the pending litigation is a law passed by the Ohio legislature and signed by former [...]
US State Department expresses concerns over convictions of rights advocates in Vietnam
The US State Department expressed concern regarding the recent convictions of ethnic minority and religious freedom advocates in Vietnam on Monday. The statement highlighted the convictions of five individuals since January 2024 and called on the Vietnamese government to uphold freedoms of expression, association, and religion or belief. One of the cases mentioned in the statement [...]
How Democratic Sharia May Help Curb the Influence of Corrupted Interpretations of Islamic Law
What makes someone qualified to rule? One way to answer this question might be to approach it from the Islamic perspective, that is, by considering the criteria required for someone to become a mujāthid, a person accepted as an authority in Islamic law. The criteria include knowledge of the Shārīe‘ā essential objectives – ‘religion, life, [...]
Explainer: Why is Scotland's New Hate Crime Legislation So Controversial?
This week in Scotland, a hate crime law that ranks among the world’s strictest entered into force. The Hate Crime and Public Order Act 2021 (Hate Crime Act) aims to modernize and consolidate protections while broadening the scope of recognized hate crimes to encompass a wider range of individuals and circumstances. In other words, the [...]
Florida Supreme Court upholds 6-week abortion ban and allows abortion referendum for November ballot
The Florida Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the state constitution does not protect the right to abortion. The ruling in Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida vs. State of Florida allows the current 15-week abortion ban to be upheld and triggers the Heartbeat Protection Act to take effect. The Act, signed into law [...]
The home of Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah was hit by rocket-propelled grenades on Sunday, in what is believed to be a targeted attack. No casualties and minimal damages were reported by an anonymous Libyan minister, and no one has currently claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack could further separate an already divided country. [...]
Scotland's controversial new hate crime law comes into effect
Scotland’s controversial Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 came into force on Monday. The law intends to unite existing hate crime laws, along with creating several new offenses, most notably criminalizing “threatening or abusive behaviour which is intended to stir up hatred.” Stirring up racial hatred has been an offense since 1986. However, [...]
Iran International journalist stabbed in London following 'heavy' death threats
Pouria Zeraati, an Iranian journalist and TV presenter at Iran International, was stabbed on Friday in front of his home in London. The channel’s spokesman, Adam Baillie, reported the journalist was the victim of “heavy death threats” and that Zeraati was “obviously shaken up but making a good recovery.” Iran International is a UK-based channel [...]
UN experts raise concerns about Guadeloupe water crisis and censorship
UN independent experts expressed concern about the ongoing water shortage in Guadeloupe, a French Caribbean island. They raised concerns over tap water pollution, steep prices and attempts to silence critics, calling the situation a threat to human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation. After a last-minute ban was imposed on a planned debate about [...]