The daughter of Indonesia's former President Sukarno, Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, will undergo the ritual of converting from Islam to Hinduism on October 26. A CNN Indonesia report made the revelation. &nbsp;&nbsp;

For the conversion, a ritual ceremony will be held at the Sukarno Center Heritage Area in Bale Agung Singaraja, Buleleng Regency, Bali, on Tuesday, the report said on Saturday. &nbsp;

Ida Ayu Nyoman Rai Srimben, the late Balinese grandmother of Sukmawati, seems to have played a major role in influencing her decision to embrace Hinduism, said the report by CNN Indonesia. &nbsp;

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While&nbsp;informing the press about her decision, her lawyer said that&nbsp;she&nbsp;has extensive knowledge of Hinduism. She&nbsp;is also aware of all doctrines and rituals of Hindu theology.&nbsp;

Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, who is 70-year-old, is the third daughter of Sukarno and the younger sister of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

She is also the founder of the Indonesian National Party (Partai Nasional Indonesia-PNI). She was married to Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Arya Mangkunegara IX, but got divorced in 1984. &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/india-uk-democracies-can-make-world-safer-prosperous-british-foreign-minister-423396" hreflang="en">India, UK democracies can make world safer, prosperous: British foreign minister</a>

In 2018, Sukmawati was accused of reciting a poem, which insulted Islam. The hardline Islamic groups in the country also filed a blasphemy complaint against her. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The daughter of Indonesia's former President had apologised as well, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Islam is the largest religion in Indonesia. The Southeast Asian nation also seems to have the largest Muslim population in the world.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

The daughter of Indonesia's former President Sukarno, Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, will undergo the ritual of converting from Islam to Hinduism on October 26. A CNN Indonesia report made the revelation.

The daughter of Indonesia's former President Sukarno, Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, will undergo the ritual of converting from Islam to Hinduism on October 26. A CNN Indonesia report made the revelation. For the conversion, a ritual ceremony will be held at the Sukarno Center Heritage Area in Bale Agung Singaraja, Buleleng Regency, Bali, on Tuesday, the report said on Saturday. Ida Ayu Nyoman Rai Srimben, the late Balinese grandmother of Sukmawati, seems to have played a major role in influencing her decision to embrace Hinduism, said the report by CNN Indonesia. Also Read: US seeks to contain Beijing anger after Biden vows Taiwan defense While informing the press about her decision, her lawyer said that she has extensive knowledge of Hinduism. She is also aware of all doctrines and rituals of Hindu theology. Sukmawati Sukarnoputri, who is 70-year-old, is the third daughter of Sukarno and the younger sister of former President Megawati Sukarnoputri. She is also the founder of the Indonesian National Party (Partai Nasional Indonesia-PNI). She was married to Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Arya Mangkunegara IX, but got divorced in 1984. Also Read: India, UK democracies can make world safer, prosperous: British foreign minister In 2018, Sukmawati was accused of reciting a poem, which insulted Islam. The hardline Islamic groups in the country also filed a blasphemy complaint against her. The daughter of Indonesia's former President had apologised as well, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald. Islam is the largest religion in Indonesia. The Southeast Asian nation also seems to have the largest Muslim population in the world. (With inputs from agencies)

Indonesian ex-President Sukarno’s daughter to convert from Islam to Hinduism

Saudi and Emirati efforts to define ‘moderate’ Islam as socially more liberal while being subservient to an autocratic ruler is as much an endeavour to ensure regime survival and bolster aspirations to lead the Muslim world as it is an attempt to fend off challenges rooted in diverse strands of religious ultra-conservatism.

The Saudi and Emirati efforts to garner religious soft power have much in common even though the kingdom and the United Arab Emirates build their respective campaigns on historically different forms of Islam. The two Gulf states are, moreover, rivals in the battle for the soul of Islam, a struggle to define what strand or strands will dominate the faith in the 21st century.

The battle takes on added significance at a time that Middle Eastern rivals are attempting to dial down regional tensions by managing their disputes and conflicts rather than resolving them. The efforts put a greater emphasis on soft power rivalry rather than hard power confrontation often involving proxies.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/opinion-76th-united-nations-general-assembly-key-issues-and-the-indian-dilemma-414656">Opinion | 76th United Nations General Assembly: Key issues and the Indian dilemma</a>

Saudi Arabia and the UAE propagate a ‘moderate’ Islam on the back of significant social reforms in recent years that preaches absolute obedience to the ruler and relegates the clergy to the status of the ruler’s clerics.

The reforms include Saudi Arabia’s lifting of a ban on women’s driving, enhancing of women’s professional and personal opportunities, curbing the powers of the religious police and introducing Western-style entertainment.

The UAE last November allowed unmarried couples to cohabitate, loosened alcohol restrictions and criminalised “honour killings,” a widely criticised religiously packaged tribal custom that allows a male relative to kill a woman accused of dishonouring her family.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE compete in the Muslim world with Turkish and Iranian Islamist strands of the faith that are laced with nationalism.

The Gulf states’ state-led moderation of religious practices rather than of theology and Muslim jurisprudence is also challenged by some strands of Wahhabism, the ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam on the basis of which Saudi Arabia was founded.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/opinion-initial-taliban-moves-fail-to-convince-afghanistans-neighbours-413032">Opinion | Initial Taliban moves fail to convince Afghanistan’s neighbours</a>

“Wahhabism has refracted into three broad groups since the early 1990s: a left that has developed a discourse of civic rights, a centre occupying official posts of state (dubbed ‘ulama al-sultan’ or the ruler’s clerics) that has put up some resistance to the loosening of their powers in the social, juridical and media spheres, and a Wahhabi right sympathetic to the jihadist discourse of al-Qaeda and its focus on questions of foreign policy,” said scholar Andrew Hammond.

While Turkey and Iran pose a geopolitical danger, autocratic monarchical rule is more fundamentally threatened by the religious challenge posed by what Mr. Hammond dubs the Wahhabi left and the Wahhabi right as well as Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama, the only non-state player in the battle for the soul of Islam, that advocates and practices reform of Islamic jurisprudence and unconditionally endorses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The arrests in recent years of Saudi scholars and preachers such as Safar al-Hawali, Salman al-Awda, Sulayman al-Duwaish, Ibrahim al-Sakran, and Hasan al-Maliki suggests as much.

Implicitly drawing a distinction with Nahdlatul Ulama, Mr. Hammond argues that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reforms amount to “defanging Wahhabism not dethroning it.”

The crown prince, since coming to office, has radically cut back on the investment of tens of billions of dollars in the propagation of religious ultra-conservatism across the globe, most effectively in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has also sought to balance Wahhabism with Saudi ultra-nationalism and shave off the rough social edges of the kingdom’s austere interpretation of the faith. His subjugation of the clergy, and incarceration of adherents of the Wahhabi left and far-right, put an end to a 73-year long power-sharing agreement between the ruling Al-Saud family and the clergy.

The left has entertained concepts of a constitutional rather than an absolute monarchy, called for political liberalisation and civil rights and in some cases endorsed the 2011 popular Arab revolts that toppled four Arab autocrats.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/opinion-new-taliban-government-and-the-dangers-posed-by-it-411656">Opinion | New Taliban government and the dangers posed by it</a>

The Wahhabi left could be joined in challenging the conservative Gulf monarchies and, simultaneously, be challenged by Nahdlatul Ulama once the group expands its activities to target the Muslim world’s grassroots beyond Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country as well as its foremost democracy. In its first outreach to grassroots elsewhere, Nahdlatul Ulama is expected to launch an Arabic-language website before the end of the year that would target the Arab world.

Nahdlatul Ulama’s concept of a humanitarian Islam that embraces principles of tolerance, pluralism, gender equality, secularism and human rights as defined in the Universal Declaration goes considerably further than proposals put forward by Mr. Hammond’s Wahhabi left, perhaps better described as more liberal rather than an ideological left-wing of a fundamentally ultra-conservative movement.

The Indonesian group’s concept of Islam also contrasts starkly with the Saudi and Emirati notion of autocratic religious moderation that involves no theological or jurisprudential reform but uses ‘the ruler’s clergy’ to religiously legitimise repressive rule under which protests, political parties and petitioning of the government are banned and thought is policed.

“The state has strengthened the Wahhabi centre through neutralising the Wahhabi left and right, which have each represented a threat to state authority and legitimacy … As for the civic rights innovations of the Wahhabi left exemplified by al-Awda, it is precisely this discourse that the state wants to shut down,” Mr. Hammond said, referring to the imprisoned cleric.

The track record of proponents of autocratic religious moderation is checkered at best. While the UAE has created a society that is by and large religiously tolerant, neither Saudi Arabia nor Egypt, which doesn’t have the wherewithal to fight a soft power battle in the Muslim world but seeks to project itself as a champion of religious tolerance, can make a similar claim.

Prince Mohammed has met Jewish and Evangelical leaders. Mohammed al-Issa, the head of the Muslim World League, long a major vehicle to promote Saudi religious ultra-conservatism, doesn’t miss an opportunity these days to express his solidarity with other faith groups. Yet, non-Muslims remain barred in the kingdom from worshipping publicly or building their own houses of worship.

In Egypt, Patrick George Zaki, a 27-year-old student, lingers in prison since February 2020 on charges of spreading false news and rumours for publishing an article documenting incidents of discrimination against Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority.

Mr. Zaki was arrested a year after Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Egypt’s citadel of Islamic learning, signed a Declaration of Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together with Pope Francis during the two men’s visit to the UAE. The declaration advocates religious freedom and pluralism.

By contrast, Nahdlatul Ulama secretary general Yahya Staquf recently told the story of Riyanto in a September 11 speech at Regent University, a bulwark of American Evangelical anti-Muslim sentiment founded by televangelist Pat Robertson. A member of Nahdlatul Ulama’s militia, Riyanto died guarding a church in Java on Christmas Eve when a bomb exploded in his arms as he removed it from a pew.

“To us in Nahdlatul Ulama, Riyanto is a martyr, and we honour his memory every Christmas Eve alongside millions of our Indonesian Christian brothers and sisters,” Mr. Staquf said.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

Saudi and Emirati efforts to define ‘moderate’ Islam as socially more liberal while being subservient to an autocratic ruler is as much an endeavour to ensure regime survival and bolster aspirations to lead the Muslim world as it is an attempt to fend off challenges rooted in diverse strands of religious ultra-conservatism.

Saudi and Emirati efforts to define ‘moderate’ Islam as socially more liberal while being subservient to an autocratic ruler is as much an endeavour to ensure regime survival and bolster aspirations to lead the Muslim world as it is an attempt to fend off challenges rooted in diverse strands of religious ultra-conservatism. The Saudi and Emirati efforts to garner religious soft power have much in common even though the kingdom and the United Arab Emirates build their respective campaigns on historically different forms of Islam. The two Gulf states are, moreover, rivals in the battle for the soul of Islam, a struggle to define what strand or strands will dominate the faith in the 21st century. The battle takes on added significance at a time that Middle Eastern rivals are attempting to dial down regional tensions by managing their disputes and conflicts rather than resolving them. The efforts put a greater emphasis on soft power rivalry rather than hard power confrontation often involving proxies. Also Read | Opinion | 76th United Nations General Assembly: Key issues and the Indian dilemma Saudi Arabia and the UAE propagate a ‘moderate’ Islam on the back of significant social reforms in recent years that preaches absolute obedience to the ruler and relegates the clergy to the status of the ruler’s clerics. The reforms include Saudi Arabia’s lifting of a ban on women’s driving, enhancing of women’s professional and personal opportunities, curbing the powers of the religious police and introducing Western-style entertainment. The UAE last November allowed unmarried couples to cohabitate, loosened alcohol restrictions and criminalised “honour killings,” a widely criticised religiously packaged tribal custom that allows a male relative to kill a woman accused of dishonouring her family. Saudi Arabia and the UAE compete in the Muslim world with Turkish and Iranian Islamist strands of the faith that are laced with nationalism. The Gulf states’ state-led moderation of religious practices rather than of theology and Muslim jurisprudence is also challenged by some strands of Wahhabism, the ultra-conservative interpretation of Islam on the basis of which Saudi Arabia was founded. Also Read | Opinion | Initial Taliban moves fail to convince Afghanistan’s neighbours “Wahhabism has refracted into three broad groups since the early 1990s: a left that has developed a discourse of civic rights, a centre occupying official posts of state (dubbed ‘ulama al-sultan’ or the ruler’s clerics) that has put up some resistance to the loosening of their powers in the social, juridical and media spheres, and a Wahhabi right sympathetic to the jihadist discourse of al-Qaeda and its focus on questions of foreign policy,” said scholar Andrew Hammond. While Turkey and Iran pose a geopolitical danger, autocratic monarchical rule is more fundamentally threatened by the religious challenge posed by what Mr. Hammond dubs the Wahhabi left and the Wahhabi right as well as Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama, the only non-state player in the battle for the soul of Islam, that advocates and practices reform of Islamic jurisprudence and unconditionally endorses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The arrests in recent years of Saudi scholars and preachers such as Safar al-Hawali, Salman al-Awda, Sulayman al-Duwaish, Ibrahim al-Sakran, and Hasan al-Maliki suggests as much. Implicitly drawing a distinction with Nahdlatul Ulama, Mr. Hammond argues that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reforms amount to “defanging Wahhabism not dethroning it.” The crown prince, since coming to office, has radically cut back on the investment of tens of billions of dollars in the propagation of religious ultra-conservatism across the globe, most effectively in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has also sought to balance Wahhabism with Saudi ultra-nationalism and shave off the rough social edges of the kingdom’s austere interpretation of the faith. His subjugation of the clergy, and incarceration of adherents of the Wahhabi left and far-right, put an end to a 73-year long power-sharing agreement between the ruling Al-Saud family and the clergy. The left has entertained concepts of a constitutional rather than an absolute monarchy, called for political liberalisation and civil rights and in some cases endorsed the 2011 popular Arab revolts that toppled four Arab autocrats. Also Read | Opinion | New Taliban government and the dangers posed by it The Wahhabi left could be joined in challenging the conservative Gulf monarchies and, simultaneously, be challenged by Nahdlatul Ulama once the group expands its activities to target the Muslim world’s grassroots beyond Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country as well as its foremost democracy. In its first outreach to grassroots elsewhere, Nahdlatul Ulama is expected to launch an Arabic-language website before the end of the year that would target the Arab world. Nahdlatul Ulama’s concept of a humanitarian Islam that embraces principles of tolerance, pluralism, gender equality, secularism and human rights as defined in the Universal Declaration goes considerably further than proposals put forward by Mr. Hammond’s Wahhabi left, perhaps better described as more liberal rather than an ideological left-wing of a fundamentally ultra-conservative movement. The Indonesian group’s concept of Islam also contrasts starkly with the Saudi and Emirati notion of autocratic religious moderation that involves no theological or jurisprudential reform but uses ‘the ruler’s clergy’ to religiously legitimise repressive rule under which protests, political parties and petitioning of the government are banned and thought is policed. “The state has strengthened the Wahhabi centre through neutralising the Wahhabi left and right, which have each represented a threat to state authority and legitimacy … As for the civic rights innovations of the Wahhabi left exemplified by al-Awda, it is precisely this discourse that the state wants to shut down,” Mr. Hammond said, referring to the imprisoned cleric. The track record of proponents of autocratic religious moderation is checkered at best. While the UAE has created a society that is by and large religiously tolerant, neither Saudi Arabia nor Egypt, which doesn’t have the wherewithal to fight a soft power battle in the Muslim world but seeks to project itself as a champion of religious tolerance, can make a similar claim. Prince Mohammed has met Jewish and Evangelical leaders. Mohammed al-Issa, the head of the Muslim World League, long a major vehicle to promote Saudi religious ultra-conservatism, doesn’t miss an opportunity these days to express his solidarity with other faith groups. Yet, non-Muslims remain barred in the kingdom from worshipping publicly or building their own houses of worship. In Egypt, Patrick George Zaki, a 27-year-old student, lingers in prison since February 2020 on charges of spreading false news and rumours for publishing an article documenting incidents of discrimination against Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority. Mr. Zaki was arrested a year after Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Egypt’s citadel of Islamic learning, signed a Declaration of Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together with Pope Francis during the two men’s visit to the UAE. The declaration advocates religious freedom and pluralism. By contrast, Nahdlatul Ulama secretary general Yahya Staquf recently told the story of Riyanto in a September 11 speech at Regent University, a bulwark of American Evangelical anti-Muslim sentiment founded by televangelist Pat Robertson. A member of Nahdlatul Ulama’s militia, Riyanto died guarding a church in Java on Christmas Eve when a bomb exploded in his arms as he removed it from a pew. “To us in Nahdlatul Ulama, Riyanto is a martyr, and we honour his memory every Christmas Eve alongside millions of our Indonesian Christian brothers and sisters,” Mr. Staquf said. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

Opinion | The Battle for the soul of Islam: Will the real reformer of the faith stand up?

Uzbekistan&nbsp;will allow girls to wear headscarves in schools in a bid to ensure devout Muslim families send their daughters to school, the Central Asian country's education ministry said.&nbsp;

Islam is the dominant religion in&nbsp;Uzbekistan, but the authoritarian government is staunchly secular and has retained tight control over the faith in the three decades of independence from the Soviet Union.&nbsp;

Education minister Sherzod Shermatov said on Saturday the authorities "intend to allow national headscarves and skullcaps in white or light colours" in schools after "the appeals of many parents".&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uzbekistan-is-taking-efforts-to-make-its-economy-sustainable-and-green-375475">Uzbekistan is taking efforts&nbsp;to make its economy sustainable and green</a>

He said the move was necessary to ensure every child got a secular education.

Prototypes of the permitted headscarves presented by Shermatov suggested girls of school age would not be able to cover their chin, as is the case with the hijab;&nbsp;a head covering popular throughout the Muslim world.&nbsp;

Shermatov did not specify what age category the measures would affect.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has relaxed some controls on state-sanctioned Islam since coming to power in the country in 2016 after the death of long-ruling autocrat Islam Karimov. &nbsp; &nbsp;

Earlier this year,&nbsp;Uzbekistan&nbsp;amended its law on freedom of conscience to allow women to wear the hijab in public places - though not in buildings housing state institutions such as schools.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-re-designates-pakistan-china-as-countries-curbing-religious-freedom-348369">US re-designates Pakistan, China as countries curbing religious freedom</a>

Other bans reversed following Karimov's death include a prohibition on children attending mosques and a ban on using loudspeakers for the call to prayer.&nbsp;

The United States government in 2018 removed&nbsp;Uzbekistan's sanction-carrying designation as a "country of particular concern" for religious freedom and last year took it off a "special watch list" of religious freedom offenders.

Uzbekistan will allow girls to wear headscarves in schools in a bid to ensure devout Muslim families send their daughters to school, the Central Asian country's education ministry said.

Uzbekistan will allow girls to wear headscarves in schools in a bid to ensure devout Muslim families send their daughters to school, the Central Asian country's education ministry said. Islam is the dominant religion in Uzbekistan, but the authoritarian government is staunchly secular and has retained tight control over the faith in the three decades of independence from the Soviet Union. Education minister Sherzod Shermatov said on Saturday the authorities "intend to allow national headscarves and skullcaps in white or light colours" in schools after "the appeals of many parents". Also read | Uzbekistan is taking efforts to make its economy sustainable and green He said the move was necessary to ensure every child got a secular education. Prototypes of the permitted headscarves presented by Shermatov suggested girls of school age would not be able to cover their chin, as is the case with the hijab; a head covering popular throughout the Muslim world. Shermatov did not specify what age category the measures would affect. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has relaxed some controls on state-sanctioned Islam since coming to power in the country in 2016 after the death of long-ruling autocrat Islam Karimov. Earlier this year, Uzbekistan amended its law on freedom of conscience to allow women to wear the hijab in public places - though not in buildings housing state institutions such as schools. Also read | US re-designates Pakistan, China as countries curbing religious freedom Other bans reversed following Karimov's death include a prohibition on children attending mosques and a ban on using loudspeakers for the call to prayer. The United States government in 2018 removed Uzbekistan's sanction-carrying designation as a "country of particular concern" for religious freedom and last year took it off a "special watch list" of religious freedom offenders.

In a bid to boost attendance, Uzbekistan will allow girls to wear headscarves in schools

Nick Cannon is now the father of 12 children. Cannon and his girlfriend, Alyssa Scott, welcomed their second child, a baby girl, on December 14. On December 29th, Scott shared the good news with the world via her Instagram handle.

Nick Cannon is now the father of 12 children. Cannon and his girlfriend, Alyssa Scott, welcomed their second child, a baby girl, on December 14. On December 29th, Scott shared the good news with the world via her Instagram handle. Sharing a heartwarming video in which the model remembered her late son Zen, Scott penned a touching note as she revealed the name of their baby girl, i.e., Halo Marie Cannon. Vivienne Westwood dies, Victoria Beckham, Claudia Schiffer and others pay tribute: 'A talented dame' ''December 14, 2022, Our lives are forever changed. Zen is in every breath I take. I know his spirit was with us in the room that morning. I know he is watching down on us; he shows me signs every day. I will hold on to this memory forever. I will remember the sound of Nick's voice saying "It’s a girl" and the look of everything we’ve been through flashing across his face. I will remember the sound of her crying out with her first breath and feeling her heartbeat against mine. My sweet girl, I got my surprise!! We love you, Halo Marie Cannon!" Alyssa captioned the post. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alyssa (@itsalyssaemm) × Nick and Alyssa's first child, Zen, died in December 2021 due to a brain tumour. Scott is also a mother of a four-year-old daughter Zeela. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alyssa (@itsalyssaemm) × In November, Alyssa revealed that she was expecting her second child with Nick. Sharing a photo from their maternity shoot, Alyssa wrote: "This is a MIRACLE & a BLESSING.'' Nick Cannon welcomed his 11th child, a baby girl, in November this year. The 'Masked Singer' announced the birth of his baby girl, Beautiful Zeppelin Cannon, with model Abby De La Rosa. Cannon and Rosa are already parents of twins, Zion Mixolydian and Zillion Heir. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alyssa (@itsalyssaemm) × Andy Cohen will still be drinking on-air during New Year's Eve telecast despite drinking ban In September, Brittany Bell gave birth to her third child and Nick's 10th, Rise Messiah Cannon. Bell and Nichol also share a son, Golden, and a daughter, Powerful Queen. This year, Cannon also welcomed a daughter, Onyx, with model Lanisha Cole. This year, in July, Nick welcomed his eighth child, a baby boy with model Bre Tiesi. He was previously married to singer Mariah Carey from 2008 to 2016, and with her, he has two children: a son, Moroccan, and a daughter, Monroe.

Taliban kill Afghan folk singer days after having tea with him

The Taliban said on Sunday that they remained committed to peace talks but also insisted that a 'genuine Islamic system' in Afghanistan was the only way to end war and ensure rights including those of women.&nbsp;

There is a surge of violence across Afghanistan since May when US military began its final withdrawal. The talks between militants and Afghan government have been deadlocked for months. There are also fears that if Taliban returns to power they will reimpose their harsh rule based on extreme interpretation of Islam. Under this, girls were banned from school and women accused of crimes like adultery were stoned to death in stadiums.

Taliban has been claiming that it is committed to peace even when violence is on the rise in the country.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/afghan-president-replaces-defence-minister-as-taliban-gains-ground-392617">Afghan president replaces defence minister as Taliban gains ground</a>

"Our very participation in the negotiations... indicates openly that we believe in resolving issues through (mutual) understanding," said Taliban co-founder and deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on Sunday&nbsp;

He said that only way to end conflict in Afghanistan was the establishment of Islamic system after departure of all foreign forces.

"A genuine Islamic system is the best mean for solution of all issues of the Afghans," Baradar said.

His statement acknowledged the fears in Afghanistan and abroad about the kind of system that would emerge -- and its impact on women -- saying that fell "within the ambit of the intra-Afghan negotiations".

Baradar also assured that the rights of all Afghans including women would be accommodated in that system, according to "the glorious religion of Islam" and Afghan traditions.

However, there are strong fears that Taliban's interpretation of rights will be antagonistic to changes that have taken place since 2001.

In May, a US intelligence report said the gains made over the past two decades on women's rights would be rolled back if the militants returned to power.

As the US military presses ahead to meet the September 11 deadline to complete the troop withdrawal, the Taliban have fought daily battles with government forces and claim to have captured 40 districts.

The growing fear and uncertainty about the future have forced many Afghans to try and leave, including thousands of men and women who fear reprisals because they worked with foreign forces.

Baradar called on Afghan youths to not leave the country, and also stressed that the Taliban would ensure that minorities, humanitarian organisations and diplomats had nothing to fear.

The recent losses faced by government troops have forced President Ashraf Ghani to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/afghan-president-replaces-defence-minister-as-taliban-gains-ground-392617">change his defence and interior ministers</a>.

On Saturday, he announced the changes and called on the Taliban to make a choice between peace and enmity with the government.

"If they choose enmity then the people will respond to them decisively," he said late on Saturday in a statement issued by the palace.

(With inputs&nbsp;from agencies)

The Taliban said on Sunday that they remained committed to peace talks but also insisted that a 'genuine Islamic system' in Afghanistan was the only way to end war and ensure rights including those of women.

The Taliban said on Sunday that they remained committed to peace talks but also insisted that a 'genuine Islamic system' in Afghanistan was the only way to end war and ensure rights including those of women. There is a surge of violence across Afghanistan since May when US military began its final withdrawal. The talks between militants and Afghan government have been deadlocked for months. There are also fears that if Taliban returns to power they will reimpose their harsh rule based on extreme interpretation of Islam. Under this, girls were banned from school and women accused of crimes like adultery were stoned to death in stadiums. Taliban has been claiming that it is committed to peace even when violence is on the rise in the country. Also Read | Afghan president replaces defence minister as Taliban gains ground "Our very participation in the negotiations... indicates openly that we believe in resolving issues through (mutual) understanding," said Taliban co-founder and deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on Sunday He said that only way to end conflict in Afghanistan was the establishment of Islamic system after departure of all foreign forces. "A genuine Islamic system is the best mean for solution of all issues of the Afghans," Baradar said. His statement acknowledged the fears in Afghanistan and abroad about the kind of system that would emerge -- and its impact on women -- saying that fell "within the ambit of the intra-Afghan negotiations". Baradar also assured that the rights of all Afghans including women would be accommodated in that system, according to "the glorious religion of Islam" and Afghan traditions. However, there are strong fears that Taliban's interpretation of rights will be antagonistic to changes that have taken place since 2001. In May, a US intelligence report said the gains made over the past two decades on women's rights would be rolled back if the militants returned to power. As the US military presses ahead to meet the September 11 deadline to complete the troop withdrawal, the Taliban have fought daily battles with government forces and claim to have captured 40 districts. The growing fear and uncertainty about the future have forced many Afghans to try and leave, including thousands of men and women who fear reprisals because they worked with foreign forces. Baradar called on Afghan youths to not leave the country, and also stressed that the Taliban would ensure that minorities, humanitarian organisations and diplomats had nothing to fear. The recent losses faced by government troops have forced President Ashraf Ghani to change his defence and interior ministers. On Saturday, he announced the changes and called on the Taliban to make a choice between peace and enmity with the government. "If they choose enmity then the people will respond to them decisively," he said late on Saturday in a statement issued by the palace. (With inputs from agencies)

'Islamic system' only way to Afghan peace: Taliban

Thirteen people went on trial in France accused of cyberbullying or death threats against a teenage girl who posted online comments critical of Islam.

France: 13 on trial over online abuse, death threats against teenager girl

The Pakistan government has decided that there would be no compromise on the country`s controversial blasphemy law, days after the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for a review of Islamabad eligibility for the General Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status in wake of an "alarming" increase in the use of blasphemy accusations in the country.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday chaired a meeting to review the EU Parliament`s Thursday resolution that claimed that there has been an alarming increase in accusations of blasphemy online and offline in Pakistan over the past year, The Express Tribune reported.

The European Parliament, in its latest session on Thursday, adopted a resolution demanding Pakistan to allow space for religious freedom and urged the EU authorities to review GSP plus status for Pakistan amid the increasing number of blasphemy cases.

Pakistan has expressed disappointment over the adoption of the resolution by the EU. According to sources, the meeting on Monday decided not to compromise on the blasphemy law as well as the law declaring Ahmadi community non-Muslim.

The meeting was told that Pakistan`s agreement with the EU did not include any condition with regard to religion.Pakistan had made a total of eight agreements with the EU on various human rights issues including human freedom, enforced disappearances, women rights and minority rights.The meeting was told that the country would suffer an annual loss of $3billion if the EU revokes its GSP+ status.

In January 2014, the EU granted Pakistan status under its flagship trading scheme, the General Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+).The GSP+ provides enhanced and preferential free trade between the EU and a small list of countries that are meant to be among those developing countries with the best human rights records.

According to the October 2019 report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, at least 80 people have been convicted of blasphemy in Pakistan and many of them face the death penalty.In December 2020, the US&nbsp;House of Representatives passed a resolution calling the worldwide repeal of blasphemy, heresy and apostasy laws, some of which have resulted in the imprisonment and/or deaths of Christians accused of speaking against Islam.

Pakistan`s blasphemy laws, both in content and application, are contrary to Pakistan`s human rights obligations to respect and protect the right to life, freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief, freedom of opinion and expression, equality before the law, prohibition of discrimination and the right to life.

The Pakistan government has decided that there would be no compromise on the country`s controversial blasphemy law, days after the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for a review of Islamabad eligibility for the General Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status in wake of an "alarming" increase in the use of blasphemy accusations in the country.

The Pakistan government has decided that there would be no compromise on the country`s controversial blasphemy law, days after the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for a review of Islamabad eligibility for the General Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status in wake of an "alarming" increase in the use of blasphemy accusations in the country. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday chaired a meeting to review the EU Parliament`s Thursday resolution that claimed that there has been an alarming increase in accusations of blasphemy online and offline in Pakistan over the past year, The Express Tribune reported. The European Parliament, in its latest session on Thursday, adopted a resolution demanding Pakistan to allow space for religious freedom and urged the EU authorities to review GSP plus status for Pakistan amid the increasing number of blasphemy cases. Pakistan has expressed disappointment over the adoption of the resolution by the EU. According to sources, the meeting on Monday decided not to compromise on the blasphemy law as well as the law declaring Ahmadi community non-Muslim. The meeting was told that Pakistan`s agreement with the EU did not include any condition with regard to religion.Pakistan had made a total of eight agreements with the EU on various human rights issues including human freedom, enforced disappearances, women rights and minority rights.The meeting was told that the country would suffer an annual loss of $3billion if the EU revokes its GSP+ status. In January 2014, the EU granted Pakistan status under its flagship trading scheme, the General Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+).The GSP+ provides enhanced and preferential free trade between the EU and a small list of countries that are meant to be among those developing countries with the best human rights records. According to the October 2019 report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, at least 80 people have been convicted of blasphemy in Pakistan and many of them face the death penalty.In December 2020, the US House of Representatives passed a resolution calling the worldwide repeal of blasphemy, heresy and apostasy laws, some of which have resulted in the imprisonment and/or deaths of Christians accused of speaking against Islam. Pakistan`s blasphemy laws, both in content and application, are contrary to Pakistan`s human rights obligations to respect and protect the right to life, freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief, freedom of opinion and expression, equality before the law, prohibition of discrimination and the right to life.

Pakistan govt decides to uphold blasphemy law despite European Parliament's calls for review

Bangladesh is reeling under the Islamist extremism, one that is threatening its economic development. 13 people have been killed in the violent protests in Dhaka and several Hindu temples have also been targeted. WION tells you more.

Rise of political Islam and Islamist terrorism in Bangladesh

Germany is combating radical Islam with an unprecedented crackdown. - A radical group has been outlawed - 800 cops, including SWAT teams, conducted raids - The de-facto recruiter for ISIS has been jailed WION's Palki Sharma tells you more.

Gravitas: Germany fights radical Islam

German police carried out early morning raids in 26 locations in Berlin and surrounding areas after Germany ban a radical Islamist group.

Germany: Police raid 26 locations in Berlin after banning radical Islamic group

Two decades of snail pace revisions of Saudi schoolbooks aimed at removing supremacist references to Jews, Christians, and Shiites suggest a willingness to delete offensive language while keeping in place fundamental concepts of an ultra-conservative, anti-pluralistic, and intolerant interpretation of Islam.

In a break with the past, Human Rights Watch and Impact-se, an education-focused Israeli research group, reported for the first time in two decades of post-9/11 pressure on Saudi Arabia that the kingdom had made significant progress in revising textbooks.

The reports focussed on explicit references to other religions but noted that further revisions were needed to eliminate language that disparages practices associated with religious minorities, particularly Shiite Muslims and Sufis, sects viewed as heretic by ultra-conservatives.

“As long as the texts continue to disparage religious beliefs and practices of minority groups, including those of fellow Saudi citizens, it will contribute to the culture of discrimination that these groups face,” said Michael Page, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Middle East director.

“They removed some of the more offensive stuff like pictures of Shiite shrines that were called shirk (polytheistic) and they removed some offensive language, but the kernel is still there... They are trying to make the language less offensive but the whole idea is offensive,” added Human Rights Watch Middle East researcher Adam Coogle.

Implicit in the two reports’ conclusions, but at best only summarily mentioned, was the fact that the ultra-conservative interpretation of basic religious concepts as promoted by Saudi Arabia until the rise of King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, remain unaltered in the schoolbooks.

These interpretations relate to the ban on bida’a or religious innovation and shirk or polytheism as well as the rejection of supplication, a thinly veiled reference to the Shia practice of intercession.

Critics, including prominent Muslim scholars, argue that Saudi Arabia’s failure to address problematic concepts of Islam, that constitute the basis for ultra-conservative rejection of religious pluralism and supremacist and intolerant interpretations of the faith, call into question the kingdom’s projection of itself as a paragon of religious moderation and leader of the Islamic world.

The critics assert that the significant progress reported by Human Rights Watch and Impact-se constitutes part of Saudi Arabia’s effort to pre-empt pressure from the Biden administration as it recalibrates its relationship with the kingdom.

They also charge that the progress is designed to make Saudi Arabia, whose image has been tarnished by human rights abuse and the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, palatable to foreign direct investors as well as boost pressure on international companies to shift their regional operations from Dubai to the kingdom.

Scholars in Saudi Arabia took issue with the Human Rights Watch report. “I do not know why the world is so busy with us. Although their countries are full of things that need attention, revision, arrangement, and organization,” said political sociologist Widad al-Jarwan, adding that “even their curricula in the West are full of mistakes against” Muslims.

Indonesian Muslim scholars argue that the Saudi interpretation of ibadah, the rules governing worship, constitute an innovation by defining aspects of worship practised by a majority of Muslims in ways that are viewed by ultra-conservatives as beyond the pale.

“What matters is how the Saudis interpret the teachings related to how Muslims should treat anybody of a different sect or faith. The problem is how they believe the other should be treated. It doesn’t matter what they call me. It doesn’t matter if they call me a kafir, an infidel, as long as they truly believe that I should be treated equally. The problem is that the Saudis don’t really want to change their established system of beliefs,” said Yahya Cholil Staquf, a prominent Islamic scholar and secretary-general of Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama, the world’s largest Muslim movement.

Mr. Staquf was one of the major forces behind Nahdlatul Ulama’s charter of Humanitarian Islam that embraces the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and calls for reform of problematic or obsolete religious legal concepts that negate equal rights for all.

Ali al-Ahmad, director of the Washington-based Institute of Gulf Affairs that has long highlighted problems with Saudi textbooks, contended that “when it comes to bida’a and shirk, the Wahhabis are more guilty than other Muslims. Saudi Arabia will not be able to move forward with Wahhabism as its state religion. The concept of a state religion must be abolished before the country can move into the modern age.”

Mr Al-Ahmed’s comment goes to the core of the debate about religious reform in the Muslim world and whether states like Saudi Arabia without the lead and buy-in of civil society can achieve real and lasting change.

“There’s no civil society. There’s no dialogue. Zero,” Mr Coogle said.

Significant social reforms in recent years were primarily designed to cater to youth aspirations, enable economic diversification, attract foreign direct investment, and shore up the country’s tarnished image while ensuring state-control on the principle of absolute obedience to the ruler. They were not rooted in a recognition that the kingdom’s ultra-conservative mores were problematic in and of themselves.

Discussing the textbook revisions, Mr. Coogle noted that “it’s not like the Saudis looked at their textbooks and saw a problem. Other people didn’t like it and the Saudis are trying to quell those concerns.”

The stepped-up Saudi revision of schoolbooks was in part spurred by a draft bill in the US Congress that would require the Secretary of State to report annually “on religious intolerance in Saudi Arabian educational materials.” The draft was initially introduced in 2017 by a Republican sponsor who has since retired and reintroduced in 2019.

The Human Rights Watch report noted that although the revised schoolbooks no longer contain explicit references to Shia Islam, they still included harsh criticism of Shia practices and traditions, labelling them evidence of polytheism that threatens the existence of Islam.

A schoolbook for 4th-grade nine-year olds advised that adherence to such practices would lead to the cancellation of a person’s good deeds, God’s rejection of their repentance, and eternal damnation.

The practices include praying to saints and visiting tombs and shrines of prominent religious figures that are rejected by Wahhabism as a form of idolatry. They also involve the Shiite supplication to God via intermediaries as well as kneeling to anyone other than God, building mosques and shrines on top of graves, and wailing over the dead.

“Any Saudi who reads this will understand what it means,” Mr. Coogle said.

Saudi Shiites noted that all Muslim students, including Shiites, were required to use these textbooks even if they were perceived as offensive.

“The textbooks are written under the close supervision of leading Wahhabi clerics led by Sheikh Saleh Al-Fawzan,” one of Saudi Arabia’s most senior ultra-conservative clerics, Mr. Al-Ahmad said.

Mr. Al-Fawzan “views Islam as a Wahhabi-only religion. This vision is what is reflected in Saudi textbooks and other religious literature. This means that Shia Muslims, Sufis, other Sunni Muslims –are polytheists and deviants,” Mr. Al-Ahmad added.

Mr. Page cautioned that “as long as disparaging references to religious minorities remain in the text it will continue to stoke controversy and condemnation.”

By the same token, Saudi Arabia’s failure to address ultra-conservative interpretations of religious concepts that justify a rejection of pluralism and religious tolerance challenge the kingdom’s claim to be a leading voice of moderation – a pillar of the country’s quest to be recognized as a, if not the leader of the Muslim world in a new world order.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

Two decades of snail pace revisions of Saudi schoolbooks aimed at removing supremacist references to Jews, Christians, and Shiites suggest a willingness to delete offensive language while keeping in place fundamental concepts of an ultra-conservative, anti-pluralistic, and intolerant interpretation of Islam.

Two decades of snail pace revisions of Saudi schoolbooks aimed at removing supremacist references to Jews, Christians, and Shiites suggest a willingness to delete offensive language while keeping in place fundamental concepts of an ultra-conservative, anti-pluralistic, and intolerant interpretation of Islam. In a break with the past, Human Rights Watch and Impact-se, an education-focused Israeli research group, reported for the first time in two decades of post-9/11 pressure on Saudi Arabia that the kingdom had made significant progress in revising textbooks. The reports focussed on explicit references to other religions but noted that further revisions were needed to eliminate language that disparages practices associated with religious minorities, particularly Shiite Muslims and Sufis, sects viewed as heretic by ultra-conservatives. “As long as the texts continue to disparage religious beliefs and practices of minority groups, including those of fellow Saudi citizens, it will contribute to the culture of discrimination that these groups face,” said Michael Page, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Middle East director. “They removed some of the more offensive stuff like pictures of Shiite shrines that were called shirk (polytheistic) and they removed some offensive language, but the kernel is still there... They are trying to make the language less offensive but the whole idea is offensive,” added Human Rights Watch Middle East researcher Adam Coogle. Implicit in the two reports’ conclusions, but at best only summarily mentioned, was the fact that the ultra-conservative interpretation of basic religious concepts as promoted by Saudi Arabia until the rise of King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, remain unaltered in the schoolbooks. These interpretations relate to the ban on bida’a or religious innovation and shirk or polytheism as well as the rejection of supplication, a thinly veiled reference to the Shia practice of intercession. Critics, including prominent Muslim scholars, argue that Saudi Arabia’s failure to address problematic concepts of Islam, that constitute the basis for ultra-conservative rejection of religious pluralism and supremacist and intolerant interpretations of the faith, call into question the kingdom’s projection of itself as a paragon of religious moderation and leader of the Islamic world. The critics assert that the significant progress reported by Human Rights Watch and Impact-se constitutes part of Saudi Arabia’s effort to pre-empt pressure from the Biden administration as it recalibrates its relationship with the kingdom. They also charge that the progress is designed to make Saudi Arabia, whose image has been tarnished by human rights abuse and the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, palatable to foreign direct investors as well as boost pressure on international companies to shift their regional operations from Dubai to the kingdom. Scholars in Saudi Arabia took issue with the Human Rights Watch report. “I do not know why the world is so busy with us. Although their countries are full of things that need attention, revision, arrangement, and organization,” said political sociologist Widad al-Jarwan, adding that “even their curricula in the West are full of mistakes against” Muslims. Indonesian Muslim scholars argue that the Saudi interpretation of ibadah, the rules governing worship, constitute an innovation by defining aspects of worship practised by a majority of Muslims in ways that are viewed by ultra-conservatives as beyond the pale. “What matters is how the Saudis interpret the teachings related to how Muslims should treat anybody of a different sect or faith. The problem is how they believe the other should be treated. It doesn’t matter what they call me. It doesn’t matter if they call me a kafir, an infidel, as long as they truly believe that I should be treated equally. The problem is that the Saudis don’t really want to change their established system of beliefs,” said Yahya Cholil Staquf, a prominent Islamic scholar and secretary-general of Indonesia’s Nahdlatul Ulama, the world’s largest Muslim movement. Mr. Staquf was one of the major forces behind Nahdlatul Ulama’s charter of Humanitarian Islam that embraces the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and calls for reform of problematic or obsolete religious legal concepts that negate equal rights for all. Ali al-Ahmad, director of the Washington-based Institute of Gulf Affairs that has long highlighted problems with Saudi textbooks, contended that “when it comes to bida’a and shirk, the Wahhabis are more guilty than other Muslims. Saudi Arabia will not be able to move forward with Wahhabism as its state religion. The concept of a state religion must be abolished before the country can move into the modern age.” Mr Al-Ahmed’s comment goes to the core of the debate about religious reform in the Muslim world and whether states like Saudi Arabia without the lead and buy-in of civil society can achieve real and lasting change. “There’s no civil society. There’s no dialogue. Zero,” Mr Coogle said. Significant social reforms in recent years were primarily designed to cater to youth aspirations, enable economic diversification, attract foreign direct investment, and shore up the country’s tarnished image while ensuring state-control on the principle of absolute obedience to the ruler. They were not rooted in a recognition that the kingdom’s ultra-conservative mores were problematic in and of themselves. Discussing the textbook revisions, Mr. Coogle noted that “it’s not like the Saudis looked at their textbooks and saw a problem. Other people didn’t like it and the Saudis are trying to quell those concerns.” The stepped-up Saudi revision of schoolbooks was in part spurred by a draft bill in the US Congress that would require the Secretary of State to report annually “on religious intolerance in Saudi Arabian educational materials.” The draft was initially introduced in 2017 by a Republican sponsor who has since retired and reintroduced in 2019. The Human Rights Watch report noted that although the revised schoolbooks no longer contain explicit references to Shia Islam, they still included harsh criticism of Shia practices and traditions, labelling them evidence of polytheism that threatens the existence of Islam. A schoolbook for 4th-grade nine-year olds advised that adherence to such practices would lead to the cancellation of a person’s good deeds, God’s rejection of their repentance, and eternal damnation. The practices include praying to saints and visiting tombs and shrines of prominent religious figures that are rejected by Wahhabism as a form of idolatry. They also involve the Shiite supplication to God via intermediaries as well as kneeling to anyone other than God, building mosques and shrines on top of graves, and wailing over the dead. “Any Saudi who reads this will understand what it means,” Mr. Coogle said. Saudi Shiites noted that all Muslim students, including Shiites, were required to use these textbooks even if they were perceived as offensive. “The textbooks are written under the close supervision of leading Wahhabi clerics led by Sheikh Saleh Al-Fawzan,” one of Saudi Arabia’s most senior ultra-conservative clerics, Mr. Al-Ahmad said. Mr. Al-Fawzan “views Islam as a Wahhabi-only religion. This vision is what is reflected in Saudi textbooks and other religious literature. This means that Shia Muslims, Sufis, other Sunni Muslims –are polytheists and deviants,” Mr. Al-Ahmad added. Mr. Page cautioned that “as long as disparaging references to religious minorities remain in the text it will continue to stoke controversy and condemnation.” By the same token, Saudi Arabia’s failure to address ultra-conservative interpretations of religious concepts that justify a rejection of pluralism and religious tolerance challenge the kingdom’s claim to be a leading voice of moderation – a pillar of the country’s quest to be recognized as a, if not the leader of the Muslim world in a new world order. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

Opinion: What does it take to recontextualise Islam in Saudi schoolbooks?

France's lower house of parliament approved on Tuesday a law to fight extremism and 'Islamist separatism' that the government bills as a riposte to religious groups attempting to undermine France's secular traditions. &nbsp;

President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party rallied around the legislation, with 347 National Assembly lawmakers voting in favour, 151 against and 65 abstaining. &nbsp;

With an eye on 2022 elections, President Emmanuel Macron has championed the bill, which seeks to tighten rules on issues ranging from religious teaching, online hate to polygamy.&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/macrons-new-anti-religious-bill-sparks-fresh-protests-in-france-363711/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

It has been debated in a highly charged atmosphere in France after three attacks late last year by extremists including the beheading in October of teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.&nbsp;

The law is dubbed the anti-separatism bill as ministers fear Islamists are creating communities that reject France's secular identity and laws, as well as its values, such as equality between the sexes.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/macrons-new-anti-extremism-bill-sparks-fresh-protests-in-france-363888" hreflang="en">Macron's new anti-extremism bill sparks fresh protests in France</a>

France, home to Europe's largest Muslim community, is still shaken by the succession of massacres committed by Islamist militants from January 2015 that left hundreds dead.&nbsp;

The National Assembly lower house voted on the legislation after a total of 135 hours of debates that saw some 313 amendments adopted. &nbsp;

The upper house Senate will also examine the draft legislation in the coming months and could amend it. If that it is the case, the bill will then go back to the National Assembly for a final reading.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/france-recommends-single-vaccine-dose-for-people-who-have-had-covid-363224" hreflang="en">France recommends single vaccine dose for people who have had Covid</a>

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said after the final debate on Saturday that the bill "provides concrete responses to... the development of radical Islam, an ideology hostile to the principles and values on which the Republic is founded."&nbsp;

Paty's killing prompted the inclusion of the specific crimes of online hate speech and divulging personal information on the internet that could be used to harm someone.&nbsp;

France's lower house of parliament approved on Tuesday a law to fight extremism and 'Islamist separatism' that the government bills as a riposte to religious groups attempting to undermine France's secular traditions.

France's lower house of parliament approved on Tuesday a law to fight extremism and 'Islamist separatism' that the government bills as a riposte to religious groups attempting to undermine France's secular traditions. President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party rallied around the legislation, with 347 National Assembly lawmakers voting in favour, 151 against and 65 abstaining. With an eye on 2022 elections, President Emmanuel Macron has championed the bill, which seeks to tighten rules on issues ranging from religious teaching, online hate to polygamy. It has been debated in a highly charged atmosphere in France after three attacks late last year by extremists including the beheading in October of teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The law is dubbed the anti-separatism bill as ministers fear Islamists are creating communities that reject France's secular identity and laws, as well as its values, such as equality between the sexes. Also read: Macron's new anti-extremism bill sparks fresh protests in France France, home to Europe's largest Muslim community, is still shaken by the succession of massacres committed by Islamist militants from January 2015 that left hundreds dead. The National Assembly lower house voted on the legislation after a total of 135 hours of debates that saw some 313 amendments adopted. The upper house Senate will also examine the draft legislation in the coming months and could amend it. If that it is the case, the bill will then go back to the National Assembly for a final reading. Also read: France recommends single vaccine dose for people who have had Covid Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said after the final debate on Saturday that the bill "provides concrete responses to... the development of radical Islam, an ideology hostile to the principles and values on which the Republic is founded." Paty's killing prompted the inclusion of the specific crimes of online hate speech and divulging personal information on the internet that could be used to harm someone.

French lawmakers approve bill to battle Islamist extremism

In a move which the state argues is needed to bolster the secular system while critics say encroaches on religious freedoms, the French parliament votes on the bill to battle Islamist extremism on Tuesday.&nbsp;

With an eye on 2022 elections, President Emmanuel Macron has championed the bill, which seeks to tighten rules on issues ranging from religious teaching, online hate to polygamy.&nbsp;

It has been debated in a highly charged atmosphere in France after three attacks late last year by extremists including the beheading in October of teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.&nbsp;

The law is dubbed the anti-separatism bill as ministers fear Islamists are creating communities that reject France's secular identity and laws, as well as its values, such as equality between the sexes.&nbsp;

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&nbsp;

France, home to Europe's largest Muslim community, is still shaken by the succession of massacres committed by Islamist militants from January 2015 that left hundreds dead.&nbsp;

The National Assembly lower house is expected to vote on the legislation in the afternoon after a total of 135 hours of debates that saw some 313 amendments adopted. &nbsp;

Macron's ruling party has a large working majority, meaning the legislation is expected to pass, but the upper house Senate will also examine the draft legislation in the coming months and could amend it.&nbsp;

If that it is the case, the bill will then go back to the National Assembly for a final reading.&nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/macrons-new-anti-extremism-bill-sparks-fresh-protests-in-france-363888" hreflang="en">Macron's new anti-extremism bill sparks fresh protests in France</a>

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said after the final debate on Saturday that the bill "provides concrete responses to... the development of radical Islam, an ideology hostile to the principles and values on which the Republic is founded."&nbsp;

Paty's killing prompted the inclusion of the specific crimes of online hate speech and divulging personal information on the internet that could be used to harm someone.

In a move which the state argues is needed to bolster the secular system while critics say encroaches on religious freedoms, the French parliament votes on the bill to battle Islamist extremism on Tuesday.

In a move which the state argues is needed to bolster the secular system while critics say encroaches on religious freedoms, the French parliament votes on the bill to battle Islamist extremism on Tuesday. With an eye on 2022 elections, President Emmanuel Macron has championed the bill, which seeks to tighten rules on issues ranging from religious teaching, online hate to polygamy. It has been debated in a highly charged atmosphere in France after three attacks late last year by extremists including the beheading in October of teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The law is dubbed the anti-separatism bill as ministers fear Islamists are creating communities that reject France's secular identity and laws, as well as its values, such as equality between the sexes. × France, home to Europe's largest Muslim community, is still shaken by the succession of massacres committed by Islamist militants from January 2015 that left hundreds dead. The National Assembly lower house is expected to vote on the legislation in the afternoon after a total of 135 hours of debates that saw some 313 amendments adopted. Macron's ruling party has a large working majority, meaning the legislation is expected to pass, but the upper house Senate will also examine the draft legislation in the coming months and could amend it. If that it is the case, the bill will then go back to the National Assembly for a final reading. Also Read: Macron's new anti-extremism bill sparks fresh protests in France Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said after the final debate on Saturday that the bill "provides concrete responses to... the development of radical Islam, an ideology hostile to the principles and values on which the Republic is founded." Paty's killing prompted the inclusion of the specific crimes of online hate speech and divulging personal information on the internet that could be used to harm someone.

French parliament to vote on anti-extremism bill to bolster ‘secular’ system

Think the Muslim world is united in opposing Islamophobia? Think twice.

Rising anti-Muslim sentiment in countries like China and&nbsp;Myanmar as well as the West against the backdrop of increased support for anti-migration and extreme nationalist groups, and far-right populist parties is proving to be a boost for contenders for religious soft power in and leadership of the Muslim world.

For Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, supporters of different expressions of political Islam, Islamophobia provides the backdrop for attempts to position themselves as defenders of Muslim causes such as Palestinian rights in Jerusalem, the third holiest city in Islam, the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar, and conflict in predominantly Muslim Kashmir.

Absent from the contenders’ list is China’s brutal crackdown on Turkic Muslims in its troubled northwestern province of Xinjiang. China, which aggressively has sought repatriation of Turkic Muslims, recently ratified an extradition treaty that Turkey, home to the largest Xinjiang exile community, insists will not put Uighurs at risk.

By the same token, Islamophobia has proven a useful tool to influence efforts by men like French President Emmanuel Macron and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to crack down on political Islam and shape the faith in the mould of Turkey &amp; Co’s Middle Eastern rivals for religious soft power, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The Gulf monarchies advocate a vague notion of ‘moderate’ Islam that preaches absolute obedience to the ruler and is quietist and non-political. The two Gulf states have gone as far as legitimising China’s crackdown and persuading the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to endorse the Chinese policy as an effective way of countering political extremism and violence.

Economics and trade are powerful drivers for the Muslim world’s refusal to hold China accountable. But so are the brownie points that major Muslim-majority contenders for religious soft power garner in Beijing. Muslim criticism of the crackdown potentially could make the difference in pressuring China to change its policy.

Saudi and Emirati rejection of and campaigning against political Islam bolsters the rationale of not only China’s crackdown but also Russian efforts to control Moscow’s potentially restive Muslim minority. China may not like the propagation of political Islam by the Gulf states’ religious soft power rivals but values their silence.

Chinese Turkic Muslims is not the only issue over which contenders, including Asian states like Indonesia, irrespective of what notion of Islam they promote, stumble in their quest for religious soft power. So is another litmus test of claims of a majority of the contenders to embrace religious tolerance and inter-faith dialogue that raises the question of whether contenders should clean up their own house first to give credibility to their often-opportunistic embrace of ‘moderate’ Islam.

Among the rivals, the UAE, populated in majority by non-nationals, is one of only two contenders to start acknowledging changing attitudes and demographic realities.

Authorities in November lifted the ban on consumption of alcohol and cohabitation among unmarried couples. This week, the UAE opened the door to the naturalisation of foreign nationals.

The other contender, Nahdlatul Ulama, the world’s largest Muslim movement, has begun tackling legal and theological reform of Islam with the encouragement of the government. The movement offered in October a platform for then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to lash out at China’s treatment of Turkic Muslims.

By contrast, Pakistan, in an act of overreach modelled on US insistence on extra-territorial abidance by some of its laws, recently laid down a gauntlet in the struggle to define religious freedom by seeking to block and shut down a US-based website associated with Ahmadis on charges of blasphemy.

Ahmadis are a minority sect viewed as heretics by many Muslims that have been targeted in Indonesia and elsewhere but nowhere more so than in Pakistan where they have been constitutionally classified as non-Muslims. Blasphemy is potentially punishable in Pakistan with a death sentence.

The Pakistani effort was launched at a moment that anti-Ahmadi -- and anti-Shiite sentiment in Pakistan, home to the world’s largest Shia Muslim minority, is on the rise. Recent mass demonstrations denounced Shiites as “blasphemers” and “infidels” and called for their beheading as the number of blasphemy cases being filed against Shiites in the courts mushrooms.

Pakistan’s rivals in the competition for religious soft power have largely remained silent about the worrying trend, raising questions about the integrity of their commitment to religious freedom and tolerance as well as their rejection of Islamophobia.

Newly appointed Indonesian religious affairs minister, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, a senior Nahdlatul Ulama official, is proving to be the exception that confirms the rule. Qoumas pledged in one of his first statements as a minister during a visit to a Protestant church to protect the rights of Shiites and Ahmadis.

Indonesia scholar Alexander R Arifianto, to this end, said: “Qoumas’ new initiatives as Religious Affairs Minister are a welcome move to counter the influence of radical Islamists and address long-standing injustices against religious minorities. He now has to prove these are not empty slogans, but an earnest attempt at promoting equal citizenship for all Indonesians irrespective of their religious beliefs.”

A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts, Tumblr, Podbean, Audecibel, Patreon and Castbox.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

Dr. James M. Dorsey is an award-winning journalist and a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore and the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute.

Think the Muslim world is united in opposing Islamophobia? Think twice. Rising anti-Muslim sentiment in countries like China and Myanmar as well as the West against the backdrop of increased support for anti-migration and extreme nationalist groups, and far-right populist parties is proving to be a boost for contenders for religious soft power in and leadership of the Muslim world.

Think the Muslim world is united in opposing Islamophobia? Think twice. Rising anti-Muslim sentiment in countries like China and Myanmar as well as the West against the backdrop of increased support for anti-migration and extreme nationalist groups, and far-right populist parties is proving to be a boost for contenders for religious soft power in and leadership of the Muslim world. For Turkey, Iran and Pakistan, supporters of different expressions of political Islam, Islamophobia provides the backdrop for attempts to position themselves as defenders of Muslim causes such as Palestinian rights in Jerusalem, the third holiest city in Islam, the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar, and conflict in predominantly Muslim Kashmir. Absent from the contenders’ list is China’s brutal crackdown on Turkic Muslims in its troubled northwestern province of Xinjiang. China, which aggressively has sought repatriation of Turkic Muslims, recently ratified an extradition treaty that Turkey, home to the largest Xinjiang exile community, insists will not put Uighurs at risk. By the same token, Islamophobia has proven a useful tool to influence efforts by men like French President Emmanuel Macron and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to crack down on political Islam and shape the faith in the mould of Turkey & Co’s Middle Eastern rivals for religious soft power, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The Gulf monarchies advocate a vague notion of ‘moderate’ Islam that preaches absolute obedience to the ruler and is quietist and non-political. The two Gulf states have gone as far as legitimising China’s crackdown and persuading the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to endorse the Chinese policy as an effective way of countering political extremism and violence. Economics and trade are powerful drivers for the Muslim world’s refusal to hold China accountable. But so are the brownie points that major Muslim-majority contenders for religious soft power garner in Beijing. Muslim criticism of the crackdown potentially could make the difference in pressuring China to change its policy. Saudi and Emirati rejection of and campaigning against political Islam bolsters the rationale of not only China’s crackdown but also Russian efforts to control Moscow’s potentially restive Muslim minority. China may not like the propagation of political Islam by the Gulf states’ religious soft power rivals but values their silence. Chinese Turkic Muslims is not the only issue over which contenders, including Asian states like Indonesia, irrespective of what notion of Islam they promote, stumble in their quest for religious soft power. So is another litmus test of claims of a majority of the contenders to embrace religious tolerance and inter-faith dialogue that raises the question of whether contenders should clean up their own house first to give credibility to their often-opportunistic embrace of ‘moderate’ Islam. Among the rivals, the UAE, populated in majority by non-nationals, is one of only two contenders to start acknowledging changing attitudes and demographic realities. Authorities in November lifted the ban on consumption of alcohol and cohabitation among unmarried couples. This week, the UAE opened the door to the naturalisation of foreign nationals. The other contender, Nahdlatul Ulama, the world’s largest Muslim movement, has begun tackling legal and theological reform of Islam with the encouragement of the government. The movement offered in October a platform for then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to lash out at China’s treatment of Turkic Muslims. By contrast, Pakistan, in an act of overreach modelled on US insistence on extra-territorial abidance by some of its laws, recently laid down a gauntlet in the struggle to define religious freedom by seeking to block and shut down a US-based website associated with Ahmadis on charges of blasphemy. Ahmadis are a minority sect viewed as heretics by many Muslims that have been targeted in Indonesia and elsewhere but nowhere more so than in Pakistan where they have been constitutionally classified as non-Muslims. Blasphemy is potentially punishable in Pakistan with a death sentence. The Pakistani effort was launched at a moment that anti-Ahmadi -- and anti-Shiite sentiment in Pakistan, home to the world’s largest Shia Muslim minority, is on the rise. Recent mass demonstrations denounced Shiites as “blasphemers” and “infidels” and called for their beheading as the number of blasphemy cases being filed against Shiites in the courts mushrooms. Pakistan’s rivals in the competition for religious soft power have largely remained silent about the worrying trend, raising questions about the integrity of their commitment to religious freedom and tolerance as well as their rejection of Islamophobia. Newly appointed Indonesian religious affairs minister, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, a senior Nahdlatul Ulama official, is proving to be the exception that confirms the rule. Qoumas pledged in one of his first statements as a minister during a visit to a Protestant church to protect the rights of Shiites and Ahmadis. Indonesia scholar Alexander R Arifianto, to this end, said: “Qoumas’ new initiatives as Religious Affairs Minister are a welcome move to counter the influence of radical Islamists and address long-standing injustices against religious minorities. He now has to prove these are not empty slogans, but an earnest attempt at promoting equal citizenship for all Indonesians irrespective of their religious beliefs.” A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts, Tumblr, Podbean, Audecibel, Patreon and Castbox. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.) Dr. James M. Dorsey is an award-winning journalist and a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore and the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute.

Islamophobia: A fungible prop for Muslim religious soft power

The topmost Muslim Council in France has adopted a 'charter of principles' to make Islam more compatible with French values. French Muslims are upholding secularism, the French govt is 'saluting' the efforts. WION's Palki Sharma gets you a report.

Gravitas: French Muslim body adopts Charter of Principles

President Joko Widodo’s recent cabinet reshuffle suggests that Indonesia may adopt a more critical attitude towards China and reinforce government support for efforts by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the world’s largest Muslim movement, to reform Islam and position the Southeast Asian state as a key player in a battle with Middle Eastern rivals for the soul of Islam.

Mr Widodo signalled his potential policy moves with the appointment of an ambassador to the United States Muhammad Lutfi as trade minister and prominent Nahdlatul Ulama official Yaqut Cholil Qoumas as minister of religious affairs.

Mr Lutfi’s appointment came two months after a visit by Mike Pompeo to Jakarta in October at the invitation of Nahdlatul Ulama during which the Secretary of State extended Indonesia’s access to a preferential tariff arrangement and opened the door to a free trade agreement with the United States.

Mr Pompeo emphasized in talks with Mr. Widodo and in an address to a Nahdlatul Ulama conference the need to challenge China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea as well as its brutal crackdown on Turkic Muslims in the People’s Republic’s north-western province of Xinjiang.

Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority democracy, extradited to China three Uighurs, the dominant Turkic ethnic group in Xinjiang, just days before Mr Pompeo’s arrival.

Mr Qoumas’ appointment is significant not only because of his prominent Nahdlatul Ulama background but also given the fact that he is one of the leaders of the movement’s most influential wing that has adopted a tough position on China’s repression of the Uighurs.

Indonesia has to date sought to walk a fine line in escalating tensions between the United States and China, including its refusal to speak out on the plight of the Uighurs. Indonesia has further sought to balance rejection of Chinese maritime claims in Indonesian waters with a desire to attract Chinese investment.

An Islamic scholar and leader of Nahdlatul Ulama’s GP Ansor Youth Movement, Mr. Qoumas, alongside his brother, Yahya Cholil Staquf, NU’s secretary-general, has been a driving force in the promotion of the movement’s concept of Humanitarian Islam, based on principles of tolerance, pluralism and the embrace of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Nahdlatul Ulama’s government-backed promotion of the concept has put it in direct competition with major efforts by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Iran to garner religious soft power by propagating a statist interpretation of the faith.

It is an interpretation that in the case of the kingdom and the UAE professes adherence to tolerance and inter-faith dialogue but demands absolute obedience to the ruler. Turkey and Iran push interpretations of the faith that embrace elements of political Islam as well as authoritarian governance.

In one of his early statements as a minister, Mr Qoumas appeared to be challenging more traditional wings of Nahdlatul Ulama by declaring in remarks during a visit to a Protestant church that he would protect the rights of Shiites and Ahmadis, two minorities that have been on the defensive amid concerns of mounting intolerance in Indonesia.

Senior figures within Nahdlatul Ulama continue to view Shi'ites, who constitute a mere 1.2 per cent of the Indonesian population, as one of the foremost domestic threats to Indonesian national security and an Iranian fifth wheel. Similarly, many in Nahdlatul Ulama reject Ahmadis identifying themselves as Muslims because the sect refuses to acknowledge the finality of the Prophet Mohammed.

"I don't want members of Shia and Ahmadiyya displaced from their homes because of their beliefs. They are citizens (whose rights) must be protected. The Religious Ministry will facilitate a more intensive dialogue to bridge differences,” Mr Qoumas said, referring to attacks on minorities.

Mr Qoumas’ Nahdlatul Ulama youth wing, together with its five-million strong militia, has played a key role in confronting militant Islamic groups, like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Islamic Defenders Front (FDI).

GP Ansor officials take pride in have engineered situations that in 2017 led to the banning of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a controversial global movement that calls for the restoration of the Caliphate.

The government last month banned FDI, established as a vigilante group that was a major organizer of mass protests in 2016 that led to the defeat of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian of Chinese descent better known as Ahok, in mayoral elections in Jakarta and his subsequent sentencing on blasphemy charges.

The ban came weeks after the return to Indonesia from self-exile in Saudi Arabia of FDI leader Rizieq Shahib. Mr Shahib was arrested for allegedly violating coronavirus restrictions.

The outlawing of Hizb ut-Tahrir and FDI on the basis of a presidential decree that enables the government to bypass legal procedures and fast-track the banning of groups it considers security threats prompted human rights groups to warn that Indonesia was undermining rights of freedom of association and expression.

Deputy justice minister, Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, told reporters that FPI was outlawed because some 30 members of the group had been convicted on terrorism charges and because the group defied Indonesia’s state ideology, Pancasila, which stresses unity and diversity.

The banning of FDI followed the election in November of Miftachul Akhyar, a Nahdlatul Ulama cleric, as head of the influential Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) to replace Ma’ruf Amin, Mr Widodo’s vice-president who in the past took a hardline against minorities and advocated Orthodox Sunni Muslim positions. Mr. Akhyar is Nahdlatul Ulama’s spiritual guide.

The election further removed from the council’s leadership several clerics who had backed the anti-Ahok demonstrations. They were replaced by at least one supporter of Humanitarian Islam, Masdar Masudi, as well as scholars from Muhamadiyya, Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim movement, viewed as progressives.

Nonetheless, some analysts suggest that the council, in apparent contradiction to Mr Qoumas, will not break its discriminatory attitude towards minorities.

Said Alexander R Arifianto, an Indonesia scholar at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies: “When it comes to marginalized minorities, we can expect the new MUI leadership to retain their conservative standing. Mainstream Islamic clerics — including those within MUI — tend to share a conservative orthodoxy in their religious interpretation toward these groups.”

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

President Joko Widodo’s recent cabinet reshuffle suggests that Indonesia may adopt a more critical attitude towards China and reinforce government support for efforts by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the world’s largest Muslim movement, to reform Islam and position the Southeast Asian state as a key player in a battle with Middle Eastern rivals for the soul of Islam.

President Joko Widodo’s recent cabinet reshuffle suggests that Indonesia may adopt a more critical attitude towards China and reinforce government support for efforts by Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the world’s largest Muslim movement, to reform Islam and position the Southeast Asian state as a key player in a battle with Middle Eastern rivals for the soul of Islam. Mr Widodo signalled his potential policy moves with the appointment of an ambassador to the United States Muhammad Lutfi as trade minister and prominent Nahdlatul Ulama official Yaqut Cholil Qoumas as minister of religious affairs. Mr Lutfi’s appointment came two months after a visit by Mike Pompeo to Jakarta in October at the invitation of Nahdlatul Ulama during which the Secretary of State extended Indonesia’s access to a preferential tariff arrangement and opened the door to a free trade agreement with the United States. Mr Pompeo emphasized in talks with Mr. Widodo and in an address to a Nahdlatul Ulama conference the need to challenge China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea as well as its brutal crackdown on Turkic Muslims in the People’s Republic’s north-western province of Xinjiang. Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority democracy, extradited to China three Uighurs, the dominant Turkic ethnic group in Xinjiang, just days before Mr Pompeo’s arrival. Mr Qoumas’ appointment is significant not only because of his prominent Nahdlatul Ulama background but also given the fact that he is one of the leaders of the movement’s most influential wing that has adopted a tough position on China’s repression of the Uighurs. Indonesia has to date sought to walk a fine line in escalating tensions between the United States and China, including its refusal to speak out on the plight of the Uighurs. Indonesia has further sought to balance rejection of Chinese maritime claims in Indonesian waters with a desire to attract Chinese investment. An Islamic scholar and leader of Nahdlatul Ulama’s GP Ansor Youth Movement, Mr. Qoumas, alongside his brother, Yahya Cholil Staquf, NU’s secretary-general, has been a driving force in the promotion of the movement’s concept of Humanitarian Islam, based on principles of tolerance, pluralism and the embrace of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Nahdlatul Ulama’s government-backed promotion of the concept has put it in direct competition with major efforts by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Iran to garner religious soft power by propagating a statist interpretation of the faith. It is an interpretation that in the case of the kingdom and the UAE professes adherence to tolerance and inter-faith dialogue but demands absolute obedience to the ruler. Turkey and Iran push interpretations of the faith that embrace elements of political Islam as well as authoritarian governance. In one of his early statements as a minister, Mr Qoumas appeared to be challenging more traditional wings of Nahdlatul Ulama by declaring in remarks during a visit to a Protestant church that he would protect the rights of Shiites and Ahmadis, two minorities that have been on the defensive amid concerns of mounting intolerance in Indonesia. Senior figures within Nahdlatul Ulama continue to view Shi'ites, who constitute a mere 1.2 per cent of the Indonesian population, as one of the foremost domestic threats to Indonesian national security and an Iranian fifth wheel. Similarly, many in Nahdlatul Ulama reject Ahmadis identifying themselves as Muslims because the sect refuses to acknowledge the finality of the Prophet Mohammed. "I don't want members of Shia and Ahmadiyya displaced from their homes because of their beliefs. They are citizens (whose rights) must be protected. The Religious Ministry will facilitate a more intensive dialogue to bridge differences,” Mr Qoumas said, referring to attacks on minorities. Mr Qoumas’ Nahdlatul Ulama youth wing, together with its five-million strong militia, has played a key role in confronting militant Islamic groups, like Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Islamic Defenders Front (FDI). GP Ansor officials take pride in have engineered situations that in 2017 led to the banning of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a controversial global movement that calls for the restoration of the Caliphate. The government last month banned FDI, established as a vigilante group that was a major organizer of mass protests in 2016 that led to the defeat of Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian of Chinese descent better known as Ahok, in mayoral elections in Jakarta and his subsequent sentencing on blasphemy charges. The ban came weeks after the return to Indonesia from self-exile in Saudi Arabia of FDI leader Rizieq Shahib. Mr Shahib was arrested for allegedly violating coronavirus restrictions. The outlawing of Hizb ut-Tahrir and FDI on the basis of a presidential decree that enables the government to bypass legal procedures and fast-track the banning of groups it considers security threats prompted human rights groups to warn that Indonesia was undermining rights of freedom of association and expression. Deputy justice minister, Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, told reporters that FPI was outlawed because some 30 members of the group had been convicted on terrorism charges and because the group defied Indonesia’s state ideology, Pancasila, which stresses unity and diversity. The banning of FDI followed the election in November of Miftachul Akhyar, a Nahdlatul Ulama cleric, as head of the influential Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) to replace Ma’ruf Amin, Mr Widodo’s vice-president who in the past took a hardline against minorities and advocated Orthodox Sunni Muslim positions. Mr. Akhyar is Nahdlatul Ulama’s spiritual guide. The election further removed from the council’s leadership several clerics who had backed the anti-Ahok demonstrations. They were replaced by at least one supporter of Humanitarian Islam, Masdar Masudi, as well as scholars from Muhamadiyya, Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim movement, viewed as progressives. Nonetheless, some analysts suggest that the council, in apparent contradiction to Mr Qoumas, will not break its discriminatory attitude towards minorities. Said Alexander R Arifianto, an Indonesia scholar at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies: “When it comes to marginalized minorities, we can expect the new MUI leadership to retain their conservative standing. Mainstream Islamic clerics — including those within MUI — tend to share a conservative orthodoxy in their religious interpretation toward these groups.” (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

Opinion: Indonesia potentially set to take on China and claim leadership of ‘moderate’ Islam

Abductions, forced conversions and forced marriages of girls and women from the minorities background has become a serious concern in Pakistan.&nbsp;

It is estimated that approximately 1,000 — mostly Hindu and Christian — girls, are abducted, forcibly converted and forcibly married every year.

Human rights activists say the practice has accelerated during lockdowns against the coronavirus, when girls are out of school and more visible, bride traffickers are more active on the Internet and families are more in debt.

The US State Department this month declared Pakistan “a country of particular concern” for violations of religious freedoms — a designation the Pakistani government rejects. The declaration was based in part on an appraisal by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom that underage girls in the minority Hindu, Christian, and Sikh communities were “kidnapped for forced conversion to Islam… forcibly married and subjected to rape.”

While most of the converted girls are impoverished Hindus from southern Sindh province, two new cases involving Christians, including Neha’s, have roiled the country in recent months.

The girls generally are kidnapped by complicit acquaintances and relatives or men looking for brides. Sometimes they are taken by powerful landlords as payment for outstanding debts by their farmhand parents, and police often look the other way. Once converted, the girls are quickly married off, often to older men or to their abductors, according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Forced conversions thrive unchecked on a money-making web that involves Islamic clerics who solemnize the marriages, magistrates who legalize the unions and corrupt local police who aid the culprits by refusing to investigate or sabotaging investigations, say child protection activists.

One activist, Jibran Nasir, called the network a “mafia” that preys on non-Muslim girls because they are the most vulnerable and the easiest targets “for older men with pedophilia urges.”

(With inputs from agencies)

Abductions, forced conversions and forced marriages of girls and women from the minorities background has become a serious concern in Pakistan. It is estimated that approximately 1,000 — mostly Hindu and Christian — girls, are abducted, forcibly converted and forcibly married every year.

Abductions, forced conversions and forced marriages of girls and women from the minorities background has become a serious concern in Pakistan. It is estimated that approximately 1,000 — mostly Hindu and Christian — girls, are abducted, forcibly converted and forcibly married every year. Human rights activists say the practice has accelerated during lockdowns against the coronavirus, when girls are out of school and more visible, bride traffickers are more active on the Internet and families are more in debt. The US State Department this month declared Pakistan “a country of particular concern” for violations of religious freedoms — a designation the Pakistani government rejects. The declaration was based in part on an appraisal by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom that underage girls in the minority Hindu, Christian, and Sikh communities were “kidnapped for forced conversion to Islam… forcibly married and subjected to rape.” While most of the converted girls are impoverished Hindus from southern Sindh province, two new cases involving Christians, including Neha’s, have roiled the country in recent months. The girls generally are kidnapped by complicit acquaintances and relatives or men looking for brides. Sometimes they are taken by powerful landlords as payment for outstanding debts by their farmhand parents, and police often look the other way. Once converted, the girls are quickly married off, often to older men or to their abductors, according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Forced conversions thrive unchecked on a money-making web that involves Islamic clerics who solemnize the marriages, magistrates who legalize the unions and corrupt local police who aid the culprits by refusing to investigate or sabotaging investigations, say child protection activists. One activist, Jibran Nasir, called the network a “mafia” that preys on non-Muslim girls because they are the most vulnerable and the easiest targets “for older men with pedophilia urges.” (With inputs from agencies)

Each year, 1,000 Pakistani minority girls kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam

As whole world started COVID-19 immunisation programme, Islamic nations have raised their concerns over the halal status of the vaccines.

Islamic nations demand Halal certified coronavirus vaccines

Punching above its weight, the United Arab Emirates is wielding a combination of religious soft power, commercial and economic sway, and hard power in its bid to counter political Islam in ways that potentially could threaten pillars of Western democracy as well as US and European strategic interests.

The UAE’s footprint is visible across the globe, most recently in France, the latest arena in what amounts to a battle for the soul of Islam, as well as in US disclosures about the nature of Emirati intervention in Libya.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia appear to have been lobbying for a tougher French policy towards political Islam prior to the crackdown initiated by President Emmanuel Macron in the wake of the gruesome killing of a schoolteacher in September and subsequent attacks, including on a church in Nice.

The lobbying, emphasising common interests in countering political Islam and Turkey, with which France is at odds in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean as well as on the issue of political Islam, aligned themselves neatly with Macron’s domestic and international agenda.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia in effect gave the French leader welcome Muslim cover to target political Islam and Turkey more than six months before the attacks this fall as he gears up for an election in 2022 in which Marie Le Pen, the leader of the far right, nationalist and anti-immigration National Rally, looms large.

Speaking in the French city of Mulhouse in February, Macron laid out his strategy to combat political Islam represented by the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists who in his words insist that Islam’s legal code supersedes the laws of the French Republic and emphasise what he calls “Islamist separatism” and “Islamist supremacy.” The UAE and Saudi Arabia have both declared the brotherhood a terrorist organisation.

Austria last month started cracking down on the brotherhood following a shooting rampage in the heart of Vienna in which four people were killed.

Kuwait and Qatar are funding the construction of an Islamic religious and cultural centre in Mulhouse. The UAE and Saudi Arabia alongside Bahrain and Egypt have been boycotting Qatar economically and diplomatically since 2017, alleging that the Gulf state is a prime supporter of Islamist groups.

“In the Republic we cannot accept that we refuse to shake hands with a woman because she is a woman. In the Republic, we cannot accept that someone refuses to be treated or educated by someone because she is a woman. In the Republic, one cannot accept school dropouts for religious or belief reasons. In the Republic, one cannot require certificates of virginity to marry,” Macron said.

Qatar has backed the brotherhood in the past and is home to Yusuf al-Qaradawi, widely viewed as a one of the foremost influencers of the Brotherhood, a catch-all for a multitude of aligned Islamist groups that bicker among themselves.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar as well as mediator Kuwait expressed hope in recent days that talks in advance of a Gulf summit in Riyadh later this month would produce at least a first step towards an end of the boycott.

Macron’s crackdown involves tighter legal control of Muslim organisations and aims to centralise the formation and accreditation of Muslim religious leaders in the country.

Critics, including United Nations experts, charge that a new security law introduced in parliament undermines democratic freedoms by implicitly targeting Muslims, imposing a wider ban on home schooling and controls on religious, sporting and cultural associations, and introducing degrees of surveillance and limits on freedom of expression.

Macron “does not want to see Muslims ghettoized in the West and he is right. They should be better integrated into society. The French state has the right to explore ways to achieve that,” UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash said in November.

Playing on Macron’s differences with Turkey that are shared by the UAE, Gargash suggested that the French president was drawing a line in the sand for his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.&nbsp;

“It is only when he is shown the red line that he shows himself ready to negotiate," Gargash asserted.

Mohammed al-Issa, head of the Muslim World League, a one-time major vehicle for the global propagation of past Saudi ultra-conservatism that now projects the kingdom’s undefined notion of moderate Islam, insisted last month that the law would defend French secularism against Islamic radicalism.

Speaking earlier at an inter-faith conference in Paris co-hosted by the League, Al-Issa stressed that religion needed to be protected from political exploitation to safeguard youth against extremist groups.

Much of Macron’s thinking appears to be informed by French Muslims who maintain close contact with both the French and Emirati governments.

Hakim El Karoui, the French-born son of an anthropologist of Islamic law and nephew of a former Tunisian prime minister, has long advocated notions of a French Islam that are reflected in Mr. Macron’s thinking.

This includes an undifferentiated view of political Islam, the notion of Islamists being secessionists or separatists, and the belief that Middle Eastern funding and political manipulation of faith rather than of domestic and economic factors primarily drive support for political Islam.

An advisor to former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, university lecturer, investment banker, geographer and author of several reports on Islam in France, El Karoui has long projected the UAE as a model of best practice in countering political Islam and fostering a moderate form of the faith.

The UAE promotes a concept of state-controlled Islam that preaches absolute obedience to the ruler.

“I think that France and the UAE must engage more in a religious debate. The positions of the moderate Muslims in France can be close to the ones of the UAE,” El Karoui told an Abu Dhabi-based newspaper in 2018.

French Middle East scholar Francois Burgat noted in an interview that “arguments put forth by El Karoui are enthusiastically embraced by authoritarian leaders in the Muslim world. They absolve them from responsibility for problems in their own societies.”

Macron’s UAE and Saudi-backed campaign is producing unintended advantages for the two Gulf states in their battle for the soul of Islam. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are in competition with one another but also frequently see their interests aligned.

In a parallel development, the Belgian government, acting on the advice of security services, this month rejected a request of the once Muslim World League-controlled Grand Mosque in central Brussels to be recognized as a faith community.

Justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said the application had been rejected because agents of the intelligence service of Morocco, a competitor for ownership of the definition of a moderate form of Islam in Europe and West Africa, had gained control of the mosque since Saudi Arabia handed it back to the government in 2018.

“I cannot and will not accept that foreign regimes hijack Islam for ideological or political motives, try to call the shots here and prevent Muslims in our country from developing their own progressive Islam,” Van Quickenborne said, echoing Macron’s approach.

A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts, Tumblr, Podbean, Audecibel, Patreon and Castbox.

(Dr James M Dorsey is an award-winning journalist and a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore and the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute.)

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer)

Punching above its weight, the United Arab Emirates is wielding a combination of religious soft power, commercial and economic sway, and hard power in its bid to counter political Islam in ways that potentially could threaten pillars of Western democracy as well as US and European strategic interests.

Punching above its weight, the United Arab Emirates is wielding a combination of religious soft power, commercial and economic sway, and hard power in its bid to counter political Islam in ways that potentially could threaten pillars of Western democracy as well as US and European strategic interests. The UAE’s footprint is visible across the globe, most recently in France, the latest arena in what amounts to a battle for the soul of Islam, as well as in US disclosures about the nature of Emirati intervention in Libya. The UAE and Saudi Arabia appear to have been lobbying for a tougher French policy towards political Islam prior to the crackdown initiated by President Emmanuel Macron in the wake of the gruesome killing of a schoolteacher in September and subsequent attacks, including on a church in Nice. The lobbying, emphasising common interests in countering political Islam and Turkey, with which France is at odds in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean as well as on the issue of political Islam, aligned themselves neatly with Macron’s domestic and international agenda. The UAE and Saudi Arabia in effect gave the French leader welcome Muslim cover to target political Islam and Turkey more than six months before the attacks this fall as he gears up for an election in 2022 in which Marie Le Pen, the leader of the far right, nationalist and anti-immigration National Rally, looms large. Speaking in the French city of Mulhouse in February, Macron laid out his strategy to combat political Islam represented by the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists who in his words insist that Islam’s legal code supersedes the laws of the French Republic and emphasise what he calls “Islamist separatism” and “Islamist supremacy.” The UAE and Saudi Arabia have both declared the brotherhood a terrorist organisation. Austria last month started cracking down on the brotherhood following a shooting rampage in the heart of Vienna in which four people were killed. Kuwait and Qatar are funding the construction of an Islamic religious and cultural centre in Mulhouse. The UAE and Saudi Arabia alongside Bahrain and Egypt have been boycotting Qatar economically and diplomatically since 2017, alleging that the Gulf state is a prime supporter of Islamist groups. “In the Republic we cannot accept that we refuse to shake hands with a woman because she is a woman. In the Republic, we cannot accept that someone refuses to be treated or educated by someone because she is a woman. In the Republic, one cannot accept school dropouts for religious or belief reasons. In the Republic, one cannot require certificates of virginity to marry,” Macron said. Qatar has backed the brotherhood in the past and is home to Yusuf al-Qaradawi, widely viewed as a one of the foremost influencers of the Brotherhood, a catch-all for a multitude of aligned Islamist groups that bicker among themselves. The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar as well as mediator Kuwait expressed hope in recent days that talks in advance of a Gulf summit in Riyadh later this month would produce at least a first step towards an end of the boycott. Macron’s crackdown involves tighter legal control of Muslim organisations and aims to centralise the formation and accreditation of Muslim religious leaders in the country. Critics, including United Nations experts, charge that a new security law introduced in parliament undermines democratic freedoms by implicitly targeting Muslims, imposing a wider ban on home schooling and controls on religious, sporting and cultural associations, and introducing degrees of surveillance and limits on freedom of expression. Macron “does not want to see Muslims ghettoized in the West and he is right. They should be better integrated into society. The French state has the right to explore ways to achieve that,” UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash said in November. Playing on Macron’s differences with Turkey that are shared by the UAE, Gargash suggested that the French president was drawing a line in the sand for his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “It is only when he is shown the red line that he shows himself ready to negotiate," Gargash asserted. Mohammed al-Issa, head of the Muslim World League, a one-time major vehicle for the global propagation of past Saudi ultra-conservatism that now projects the kingdom’s undefined notion of moderate Islam, insisted last month that the law would defend French secularism against Islamic radicalism. Speaking earlier at an inter-faith conference in Paris co-hosted by the League, Al-Issa stressed that religion needed to be protected from political exploitation to safeguard youth against extremist groups. Much of Macron’s thinking appears to be informed by French Muslims who maintain close contact with both the French and Emirati governments. Hakim El Karoui, the French-born son of an anthropologist of Islamic law and nephew of a former Tunisian prime minister, has long advocated notions of a French Islam that are reflected in Mr. Macron’s thinking. This includes an undifferentiated view of political Islam, the notion of Islamists being secessionists or separatists, and the belief that Middle Eastern funding and political manipulation of faith rather than of domestic and economic factors primarily drive support for political Islam. An advisor to former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, university lecturer, investment banker, geographer and author of several reports on Islam in France, El Karoui has long projected the UAE as a model of best practice in countering political Islam and fostering a moderate form of the faith. The UAE promotes a concept of state-controlled Islam that preaches absolute obedience to the ruler. “I think that France and the UAE must engage more in a religious debate. The positions of the moderate Muslims in France can be close to the ones of the UAE,” El Karoui told an Abu Dhabi-based newspaper in 2018. French Middle East scholar Francois Burgat noted in an interview that “arguments put forth by El Karoui are enthusiastically embraced by authoritarian leaders in the Muslim world. They absolve them from responsibility for problems in their own societies.” Macron’s UAE and Saudi-backed campaign is producing unintended advantages for the two Gulf states in their battle for the soul of Islam. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are in competition with one another but also frequently see their interests aligned. In a parallel development, the Belgian government, acting on the advice of security services, this month rejected a request of the once Muslim World League-controlled Grand Mosque in central Brussels to be recognized as a faith community. Justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said the application had been rejected because agents of the intelligence service of Morocco, a competitor for ownership of the definition of a moderate form of Islam in Europe and West Africa, had gained control of the mosque since Saudi Arabia handed it back to the government in 2018. “I cannot and will not accept that foreign regimes hijack Islam for ideological or political motives, try to call the shots here and prevent Muslims in our country from developing their own progressive Islam,” Van Quickenborne said, echoing Macron’s approach. A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts, Tumblr, Podbean, Audecibel, Patreon and Castbox. (Dr James M Dorsey is an award-winning journalist and a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore and the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute.) (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer)

France, Belgium and Austria move into the frontline of a battle for the soul of Islam

France is investigating 76 mosques that could pose a threat to national security. As the crackdown gets underway, French Muslims have raised fears of alienation. Molly Gambhir gets you both sides of the story.

Gravitas: France begins crackdown on extremism

European Leaders will meet next week to discuss a range of issues. A proposal to sanction Turkey could come up for discussion. Reportedly, France is leading a push for EU sanctions against Turkey. Molly Gambhir tells you more.

Gravitas: France pushes for sanctions against Turkey at the European Union

France has intensified its crackdown against radical Islam. 76 mosques and 2,600 Muslim places of worship have been put under investigation. Molly Gambhir tells you more.

Gravitas: France to investigate 76 mosques & 2600 Muslim places of worship

Turkey's President Recep Erdogan has fueled religious hatred, questioned Macron's mental health, and provoked European countries in the Eastern Mediterranean. Will the E.U. get back at Turkey? Molly Gambhir makes a case.

Gravitas: Will the E.U. sanction Turkey?

French President Emmanuel Macron is standing at a crucial juncture - it is a make or break moment for him.

When Macron came to power in 2017, he promised to "transform not reform" France. He called for an international roadmap to fight terrorism and promised zero tolerance for crimes. Macron is France's youngest president and three years into office, he has been dealing with multiple challenges.

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Macron is fighting criticism at home and abroad and thousands of miles from Paris, there are people burning Macron's effigies, stepping on his photos, brandishing swords and calling for the boycott of French goods.

In Pakistan, things have spiralled out of control. The government bowed to Islamists and agreed to have the French envoy leave the country. Macron has suddenly become one of the world's most controversial leaders by standing up for the French constitution and for sovereignty, and freedom of expression.

He has cracked down on terror and called out political Islam and in doing so, he has become one of the most hated leaders in the Muslim world. There are countries standing by Macron as he fights radicalism but there are also countries like Pakistan. Leaders like Imran Khan, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Malaysia's Mahathir Mohammad who are trying to build a chorus against Macron.

Macron's troubles do not end there, in Marseille, people have been protesting the Wuhan virus lockdown measures. Restaurant owners want the Macron government to allow businesses to reopen. Gym owners want their gyms to reopen, nightclub owners too have the same demand.

In Cannes, people are unhappy with the Macron government.

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"We have been closed since October 15, there's no one around anymore. We've scheduled to open on April 1, because now, it's not worth it. Just to sell two rooms, money will just go down the drain. So it's unfortunate. Cannes runs on conventions. We haven't had a convention this year. It runs on national travel and flights," owner of hotel Pruly, Jean-luc Drouot, says. 
" 
Similar sentiments are being echoed across France where restrictions have been implemented to deal with the impact of the second wave of the Wuhan virus. After Macron's government proposed a security law which would make publishing images of police officers a criminal offence things have got worse for him.

The government says the proposal is intended to protect police officials and critics say it endangers journalists and observers who take photos and capture videos of the police conduct during demonstrations.

France is headed for a presidential election in 2022. Macron won 66 per cent of French votes in 2017 but a year into office he faced the yellow vest protests. Macron's approval rating fell to 29 per cent, now throw in the pandemic, and the humanitarian crisis it has brought along, add to that the global economic crisis, the protests against Macron at home and abroad...

A poll conducted in October found 63 per cent people disapproved of Macron. His popularity dropped by 3 per cent within a month. When Macron came to office in 2017, he promised to transform France and the French police system and promised to uphold secularism and fight terrorism. 
&nbsp; 
If Macron manages to turn things around he will set an example for not just Europe but the entire world but if he slips, he loses office.

French President Emmanuel Macron is standing at a crucial juncture - it is a make or break moment for him. When Macron came to power in 2017, he promised to "transform not reform" France.

French President Emmanuel Macron is standing at a crucial juncture - it is a make or break moment for him. When Macron came to power in 2017, he promised to "transform not reform" France. He called for an international roadmap to fight terrorism and promised zero tolerance for crimes. Macron is France's youngest president and three years into office, he has been dealing with multiple challenges. × Macron is fighting criticism at home and abroad and thousands of miles from Paris, there are people burning Macron's effigies, stepping on his photos, brandishing swords and calling for the boycott of French goods. In Pakistan, things have spiralled out of control. The government bowed to Islamists and agreed to have the French envoy leave the country. Macron has suddenly become one of the world's most controversial leaders by standing up for the French constitution and for sovereignty, and freedom of expression. He has cracked down on terror and called out political Islam and in doing so, he has become one of the most hated leaders in the Muslim world. There are countries standing by Macron as he fights radicalism but there are also countries like Pakistan. Leaders like Imran Khan, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Malaysia's Mahathir Mohammad who are trying to build a chorus against Macron. Macron's troubles do not end there, in Marseille, people have been protesting the Wuhan virus lockdown measures. Restaurant owners want the Macron government to allow businesses to reopen. Gym owners want their gyms to reopen, nightclub owners too have the same demand. In Cannes, people are unhappy with the Macron government. × "We have been closed since October 15, there's no one around anymore. We've scheduled to open on April 1, because now, it's not worth it. Just to sell two rooms, money will just go down the drain. So it's unfortunate. Cannes runs on conventions. We haven't had a convention this year. It runs on national travel and flights," owner of hotel Pruly, Jean-luc Drouot, says. " Similar sentiments are being echoed across France where restrictions have been implemented to deal with the impact of the second wave of the Wuhan virus. After Macron's government proposed a security law which would make publishing images of police officers a criminal offence things have got worse for him. The government says the proposal is intended to protect police officials and critics say it endangers journalists and observers who take photos and capture videos of the police conduct during demonstrations. France is headed for a presidential election in 2022. Macron won 66 per cent of French votes in 2017 but a year into office he faced the yellow vest protests. Macron's approval rating fell to 29 per cent, now throw in the pandemic, and the humanitarian crisis it has brought along, add to that the global economic crisis, the protests against Macron at home and abroad... A poll conducted in October found 63 per cent people disapproved of Macron. His popularity dropped by 3 per cent within a month. When Macron came to office in 2017, he promised to transform France and the French police system and promised to uphold secularism and fight terrorism. If Macron manages to turn things around he will set an example for not just Europe but the entire world but if he slips, he loses office.

Macron faces opposition at home and abroad

The Darul Uloom Haqqania is known as Pakistan's University of Jihad. Known for preaching a fundamentalist brand of Islam, this 'terror school' is a breeding ground for extremists. WION's Molly Gambhir tells you more.

Gravitas: This 'terror school' in Pakistan churned out Taliban's top brass

Top EU leaders have called for a 'rapid and coordinated' response to Islamist terrorism. For the first time since its inception, the EU is taking a serious look at extremism. How successful will Europe's anti-terror campaign be? WION's Palki Sharma tells you more.

Gravitas: Islamist terror tops European Union's agenda

After lecturing the world on secularism, E.U. is now rushing to regulate Islam. What took Europe so long to realise there's a difference between secularism and appeasement? WION's Palki Sharma makes a case.

Gravitas: Europe moves to curb terror

After the string of terror attacks, the European Union is mulling radical moves. It wants to set up a school to train imams in Europe. WION's Palki Sharma tells you about the three measures the European Union plans to take to tackle radical Islam.

Gravitas: European Union mulls a school to train imams

The French foreign minister asserted his country’s 'profound respect for Islam' during a visit to Cairo on Sunday in a dispute over Prophet Mohammad's cartoons.

French minister, affirms respect for Islam in dispute over cartoons

Despite being kidnapped & married to her abductor, 13-year-old #ArzooRaja has refused to return home. Her family & parents say she has been brainwashed into believing that she now belongs to a higher social status after converting to Islam. Palki Sharma Upadhyay gets you a report.

Gravitas: How Pak extremists 'brainwash' minority girls

Jordanian ruler Abdullah I bin Al-Hussein gloated in 1924 when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the visionary who carved modern Turkey out of the ruins of the Ottoman empire, abolished the Caliphate.

The battle for the soul of Islam

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