Hundreds died in Saudi Arabia performing the Hajj, a Houston mom was almost one of them
The Hajj (or pilgrimage) in Mecca is an arduous (and expensive) journey all Muslims aspire to undertake one day. However, hundreds died this year due to the violent heat and KPRC 2 digital producer Ahmed Humble's mother, was one of the fortunate survivors.
Michigan's largest Arab American cities reject Biden over his handling of Israel-Hamas war
Dearborn and two other Michigan cities with large Arab and Muslim populations turned against President Joe Biden in the stateโs primary after Democratic leaders there warned for months that voters were angry about his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
China sanctions a US research firm and 2 individuals over reports on human rights abuses in Xinjiang
China says it is banning a United States research company and two analysts who have reported extensively on claims of human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups native to the countryโs northwest.
Hundreds gather in Sarajevo to pay their respects to Srebrenica massacre victims
Hundreds have lined the main street of the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, as a truck carrying 30 coffins passed on its way to Srebrenica, where newly identified victims of Europeโs only acknowledged genocide since World War II will be buried on the 28th anniversary of the crime.
Muslims across Pakistan hold anti-Sweden rallies to denounce burning of Islam's holy book
Thousands of Muslims in Pakistan have held rallies to protest last weekโs burning of the Islamic holy book in Stockholm following a call by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to โsend a strong message to Sweden.โ.
HPD chief Troy Finner increases patrols around mosques across city after 4th Muslim man slain in Albuquerque
Houston police chief Troy Finner has increased patrols in and around mosques across the city after the slayings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque, including one Friday, that are believed to be connected.
A look at some of the worldโs major crowd disasters
Fans at a Houston music festival surged toward the stage during a performance by rapper Travis Scott, triggering panic in the crowd and leaving at least eight people dead and many more injured, authorities said. Hereโs a look at some of the major crowd disasters in recent decades:
Turkey reimposes restrictions after sharp rise in infections
Turkey is reinstating weekend lockdowns in most of Turkey's provinces and will also impose restrictions over the Muslim holy month of Ramadan following a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)ANKARA โ Turkey is re-introducing weekend lockdowns in most of its provinces and will also impose restrictions over the Muslim holy month of Ramadan following a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases. Infections in Turkey have soared less than a month after authorities divided the 81 provinces into four color-coded categories and relaxed restrictions in some provinces under a โcontrolled normalizationโ effort. The number of infections hit a record on Tuesday, with the Health Ministry confirming 37,303 new cases in the past 24 hours. The total number of infections in the country since the start of the outbreak last year stands at more than 3.2 million.
The Latest: Pope meets father of drowned Syrian refugee boy
Following a Mass on Sunday in the Iraqi city of Irbil, Francis met with Abdullah Kurdi and spent a long time with him, the Vatican said. Through an interpreter, the pope listened to Kurdiโs story and expressed sympathy for the loss of his family. Francis issued the appeal during a joyful visit to the Christian community of Qaraqosh, on the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq. Chaldean Catholic Patriarch, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako said Francisโ visit to Iraq was โmiraculousโ and had already borne fruits. AdChristian and Muslim leaders in Mosul have welcomed Pope Francis' visit to the Iraqi city devastated by war and are calling on Christians who fled the Islamic State group's onslaught to return.
Philippine president approves amnesty program for rebels
The Philippine president has approved an amnesty program for Muslim and communist rebels who would agree to surrender their weapons as they return to normal life in the latest such attempt to tame rural insurgencies that have raged for half a century. (Joey Dalumpines/Malacanang Presidential Photographers Division via AP)MANILA โ The Philippine president has approved an amnesty program for Muslim and communist rebels who would agree to surrender their weapons as they return to normal life in the latest such attempt to tame rural insurgencies that have raged for half a century. Duterte also agreed to include former insurgents who once belonged to the main communist New Peopleโs Army in his amnesty program. The 75-year-old Duterte has promised to resolve Muslim and communist insurgencies before he leaves office. The amnesty program excludes the notoriously brutal Abu Sayyaf and other small armed bands associated with the Islamic State group.
France passes anti-radicalism bill that worries Muslims
The wide-ranging bill, titled โSupporting respect for the principles of the Republic,โ covers most aspects of French life. But Le Pen criticized the bill as too weak and offered what she called her own, tougher counter-proposal. The bill mentions neither Muslims nor Islam by name. The measure has been dubbed the "separatism" bill, a term used by Macron to refer to radicals who would create a โcounter societyโ in France. Associations must sign a contract of respect for French values and pay back state funds, if they cross a line.
UK tribunal to hear witnesses on China genocide accusations
Organizer Nick Vetch said Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, a eight-member panel who will act as jury has been finalized. The panel has been selected to represent diverse backgrounds and no expert on China was included on purpose, Vetch said. In declaring genocide, Pompeo cited widespread forced birth control and forced labor among Uighurs. China denies any abuses and insists that the steps it has taken are necessary to combat terrorism and a separatist movement. AdVetch said the tribunal has written to the former and current Chinese ambassadors to London to request the Chinese governmentโs presence and cooperation, but so far received no response.
Rohingya refugees fear returning to Myanmar after coup
Rohingya refugee Mohammad Jaffar, 70, talks to the Associated Press at the Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Feb.2, 2021. Rohingya refugees from Myanmar living in camps in Bangladesh are condemning the military coup in their homeland and saying it makes them more fearful to return. (AP Photo/Shafiqur Rahman)DHAKA โ Rohingya refugees from Myanmar living in camps in Bangladesh condemned the military coup in their homeland and said it makes them more fearful to return. Bangladeshโs Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that it hopes the coup will not hamper the refugees' return. The United Nations has described the Myanmar military crackdown on the Rohingya as a form of genocide.
China labels Pompeo 'doomsday clown' over genocide claims
The accusation of genocide by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo against China touches on a hot-button human rights issue between China and the West. Pompeoโs announcement Tuesday doesnโt require any immediate actions, although the U.S. must take the designation into account in formulating policy toward China. China says its policies in Xinjiang aim only to promote economic growth and social stability. โSo hopefully weโll see a continued continuity with regards to the new (Joe Biden) administration on holding China to account," Leibold said in an interview. โAnd hopefully the Biden administration can bring its allies along to continue to put pressure on the Chinese government," he said.
Bosnian city of Mostar holds 1st local election in 12 years
(AP Photo/Kemal Softic)MOSTAR โ MOSTAR, Bosnia-Long-entrenched ethno-nationalists were projected to win the first local election in Bosniaโs southern city of Mostar in 12 years, but early results of Sunday's vote also indicated multiethnic parties and alliances would be a strong part of the future city council. Mostar is split between Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croats, who fought fiercely for control over the city during the countryโs 1992-95 war. It hasnโt held a local election since 2008, when Bosniaโs constitutional court declared its election rules discriminatory and ordered them changed. Thus, the lawmakers from multiethnic parties appear set to become tiebreakers in all but certain disputes between the dominant Bosniak and Croat nationalists. Prior to the war, ethnically mixed couples made up 10% of all marriages in Mostar, and the city was markedly cosmopolitan.
Malaysia group teaches refugee women how to read and write
Refugee women in Malaysia, some in their late 50s, are learning to read and write for the first time. The students are refugee women in Malaysia, some in their late 50s, who for the first time are learning how to read and write, both in Malay and English. Like Zaleha, many refugee women in Malaysia have picked up the local tongue, but without knowing how to read or write, they are mostly confined to familiar surroundings. For most refugee women, education is often viewed as a low priority, Arissa said. โIt was very essential for us to not pitch the refugee women as a charity, where they are constantly requiring external aid," Arissa said.
Anti-France protests continue, as Macron seeks understanding
Smaller demonstrations in Lebanon, Turkey and India followed on anti-France protests across the Muslim world last week that were mostly led by Islamist groups. The renewed protests came after President Macron's interview late Saturday in which he said that he understood the shock Muslims felt at caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad. โI have never said that,โ Macron told the Al-Jazeera interviewer, explaining that some false translations of his words in the media showed him to support the cartoons mocking Prophet Muhammad. โWe condemn blasphemy of Islam and Prophet Muhammad by French President,โ read a slogan scribbled on a French flag. Anti-France protests were held by Muslim groups on Friday in Mumbai, Indiaโs financial and entertainment capital, and Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh state.
France mourns 3 killed in church attack, tightens security
A family lights a candle in front of the Notre Dame church in Nice, France, Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. A new suspect is in custody in the investigation into a gruesome attack by a Tunisian man who killed three people in a French church. Macron's government stood firm, and called up thousands of reserve soldiers to protect France and reinforce security at French sites abroad. Before Nice, Issaoui, who was born in 1999, arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa on Sept. 20, Franceโs antiterrorism prosecutor said. Minister Luciana Lamorgese called Thursdayโs attack in France โan attack on Europe.
France reacts after Erdogan questions Macron's mental health
FILE - In this Sunday, Jan. 20, 2020 file photo, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left and French President Emmanuel Macron stand, during a group photo at a conference on Libya at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany. France has recalled its ambassador to Turkey after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said President Emmanuel Macron needed mental health treatment and made other comments that the French government described as unacceptably rude. Erdogan questioned his French counterparts mental condition while criticizing Macrons attitude toward Islam and Muslims. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)PARIS โ France recalled its ambassador to Turkey for consultations after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said President Emmanuel Macron needed mental health treatment and made other comments that the French government described as unacceptably rude. Erdogan questioned his French counterpart's mental condition while criticizing Macronโs attitude toward Islam and Muslims.
Grisly beheading of teacher in terror attack rattles France
French President Emmanuel Macron denounced what he called an "Islamist terrorist attack" against a history teacher decapitated in a Paris suburb Friday, urging the nation to stand united against extremism. (Abdulmonam Eassa, Pool via AP)PARIS โ For the second time in three weeks, terror struck France, this time with the gruesome beheading of a history teacher in a street in a Paris suburb. French President Emmanuel Macron denounced what he called an โIslamist terrorist attackโ and urged the nation to stand united against extremism. Macron visited the school where the teacher worked in the town of Conflans-Saint-Honorine and met with staff after the slaying. ... Why does a history teacher behave this way in front of 13-year-olds?โ the man asked.
Pilgrims return to Mecca as Saudi eases virus restrictions
But as nations begin to ease those restrictions, the Saudi government on Sunday started allowing a maximum of 6,000 pilgrims a day to enter the sprawling Grand Mosque in Mecca. Muslim travelers from outside Saudi Arabia could be allowed to perform the umrah pilgrimage as early as Nov. 1, the Interior Ministry has said. Saudi Arabia recently began easing some restrictions on international flights for the first time since March. Pilgrims were selected after applying through an online portal and all were residents or citizens of Saudi Arabia. Despite taking early and sweeping measures to contain the virus, Saudi Arabia has recorded nearly 336,000 cases, including 4,850 deaths.
House approves second bill aimed at forced labor in China
FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2018, file photo, people line up at the Artux City Vocational Skills Education Training Service Center at the Kunshan Industrial Park in Artux in western China's Xinjiang region. The Associated Press has found that the Chinese government is carrying out a birth control program aimed at Uighurs, Kazakhs and other largely Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. Chinas repression in Tibet, the status of the exiled Dali Lama, and its treatment of ethnic minorities spurred violent protests ahead of Beijings 2008 Olympics. China is host to the 2022 Winter Olympics with rumblings of a boycott and calls to remove the games from Beijing because of widespread human rights violations. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)
32 acquitted in razing of India mosque that set off violence
An Indian court on Wednesday acquitted all 32 accused, including senior leaders of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, in the case. Last year, Indiaโs Supreme Court ruled in favor of building a Hindu temple on the disputed site. The Supreme Court also ruled that the demolition of the Babri Masjid was illegal and ordered that the separate trial in the mosque demolition case be completed expeditiously. The four acquitted BJP leaders โ L.K. โWhen the Supreme Court said that the demolition of the mosque was an unlawful act, how can a lower court set free the accused?โ he said.
Australian think tank finds 380 detention camps in Xinjiang
CANBERRA โ China appears to be expanding its network of secret detention centers in Xinjiang, where predominantly Muslim minorities are targeted in a forced assimilation campaign, and more of the facilities resemble prisons, an Australian think tank has found. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute used satellite images and official construction tender documents to map more than 380 suspected detention facilities in the far northwestern region, highlighting internment camps, detention centers and prisons that have been newly built or expanded since 2017. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Friday dismissed the report as โpure disinformation and slander,โ saying the Australian institute had โno academic credibility.โ China does not operate โso-called detention campsโ in Xinjiang, Wang told reporters at a daily briefing. โOf these, about 50% are higher security facilities, which may suggest a shift in usage from the lower-security, โre-education centersโ toward higher-security prison-style facilities,โ Ruser wrote. Of the camps stripped of security infrastructure, 90% were lower security facilities, the report said.
Saudi Arabia to lift ban on Mecca pilgrimage amid virus
FILE - In this May 25, 2019 file photo, Muslim worshippers circumambulate the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, during the minor pilgrimage, known as Umrah in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Muslim travelers from outside Saudi Arabia could be allowed to perform the โumrahโ pilgrimage as early as Nov. 1, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Saudi Arabia recently began easing some restrictions on international flights for the first time since March. Pilgrims were selected after applying through an online portal and all were residents or citizens of Saudi Arabia. Despite taking early and sweeping measures to contain the virus, Saudi Arabia has recorded more than 330,000 cases, including more than 4,500 deaths.
Gas pipeline blast burns dozens praying at Bangladesh mosque
Doctors treat a burn Muslim worshipper in a hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2020. Dozens of Muslim worshipers suffered burn injuries critically during evening prayers after explosions of a gas pipeline installed underground near a mosque outside Bangladesh capital, officials said Saturday. (AP Photo/Abdul Goni)DHAKA An underground gas pipeline near a mosque exploded during evening prayers outside the capital of Bangladesh, leaving dozens of Muslim worshipers with critical burns, officials said Saturday. The blast occurred Friday night as people were finishing their prayers at Baitus Salat Jame Mosque at Narayanganj, local police chief Zayedul Alam said. TV stations reported that because of the impact of the gas line blast, at least six air conditioners also exploded inside the mosque.
Very different, symbolic hajj in Saudi Arabia amid virus
Hundreds of Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, as they keep social destination to protect themselves against the coronavirus ahead of the Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, July 29, 2020. During the first rites of hajj, Muslims circle the Kaaba counter-clockwise seven times while reciting supplications to God, then walk between two hills where Ibrahim's wife, Hagar, is believed to have run as she searched for water for her dying son before God brought forth a well that runs to this day.