Image with caption: Muslims have to wait for another year to be finally protected from discrimination
RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION TO BE OUTLAWED IN NSW
The government of New South Wales (NSW) announced that following the parliamentary enquiry, it will include discrimination on the basis of religion added to the anti-discrimination laws, but will wait until the Morrison Government introduces and passes a new Religious Discrimination Bill at the national level before deciding on changes. This means Muslims have to wait for another year to be finally protected from discrimination and vilification unlike Jews or Sikhs and other racial minorities who have some recourse under the current legislation. The NSW Government will introduce a bill in Parliament to amend the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW), adding religion to existing protected grounds of disability, sex, race, age, marital or domestic status, homosexuality, transgender status and carer’s responsibilities.
EGYPT TO TURN OLDEST ISLAMIC CAPITAL IN AFRICA INTO OPEN MUSEUM
The Egyptian government announced that the ancient city of Fustat, the oldest Islamic capital in Africa, will be turned into an open-air museum for visitors from across the world. The announcement came during a meeting between Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly and officials in charge of the Fustat Gardens development project. According to a statement published on the Egyptian premiership’s Facebook page, the Fustat Gardens development project aims to design a public park overlooking archaeological and historical sites and monuments, converting the site into a regional and global tourist destination. The project also aims to offer recreational activities and traditional industries typical of the region by reviving its heritage throughout various Pharaonic, Coptic, Islamic and modern eras. The city of Fustat, which means “the tent,” dates back to the year 641 and was built by Arab commander Amr ibn al-Aas in the wake of the Islamic conquest of Egypt.
Image with caption: Azerbaijani-Turkish joint naval drills wrap up
AZERBAIJANI-TURKISH NAVAL DRILLS WRAP UP
The Azerbaijani and Turkish underwater offence and defence groups have ended the next stage of their joint military exercises, the Defence Ministry reported. As a part of the task at the drills, the underwater groups successfully rescued the ship captured by hypothetical enemies in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, the report added. The two countries’ special forces fulfilled the assigned tasks and performed high professionalism with the involvement of helicopters and boats. It should be noted that Azerbaijan and Turkey simultaneously hold the TurAz Falcon – 2021 joint flight and tactical drills in Turkey’s Konya city. The drills are aimed at improving coordination and communication between the air forces of the two countries.
MUSLIM SCHOLAR ARRESTED ON BLASPHEMY CHARGES
Police in Indonesia arrested a Muslim scholar for allegedly blaspheming against Christianity by calling the Bible fictitious and false in one of his sermons. Police arrested Muhammad Yahya Waloni, a former Protestant who became a Muslim in 2006 and later an imam, from his home in the national capital of Jakarta. The arrest on charges of blasphemy and hate speech came in response to a complaint filed by an unidentified civil group in April. Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas recently called for a crackdown on people accused of committing blasphemy and hate speech. “All are equal before the law. Therefore, there must be fair treatment in all cases, including blasphemy and hate speech,” he said.
CHINESE AUTHORITIES ARE HACKING US-BASED UYGHURS: FBI
The Chinese government has long been accused of human rights abuses over its treatment of the Uyghur population and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in China’s Xinjiang region. In recent months, the Chinese government has become increasingly aggressive in its efforts to shut down foreign critics, including those based in the United States and other Western democracies. These efforts have now caught the attention of the FBI. In an unclassified bulletin, the FBI warned that officials are using transnational repression – a term that refers to foreign government transgression of national borders through physical and digital means to intimidate or silence members of diaspora and exile communities – in an attempt to compel compliance from U.S.-based Uyghurs and other Chinese refugees and dissidents, including Tibetans, Falun Gong members and Taiwan and Hong Kong activists. The FBI highlighted four instances of U.S.-based individuals facing harassment.
71,806 MUSLIM MALAYSIAN COUPLES DIVORCED IN THE PAST 6 MONTHS
Malaysia’s shariah courts have seen 71,806 cases of divorce in Muslim couples in just 6 months, from January 2021 to June 2021. That means a whopping 132 couples a day formally break up and say adios to each other every day. According to the report, financial difficulties was the top reason couples split up. The pandemic has badly ravaged earning power and financial stability, and this led to an impact on their personal lives too. Couples facing financial difficulties must also shoulder the burden of additional stress and emotional turbulence, which likely contributes to tension and resentment within the relationship.
Image with caption: The Islamic Shura Council has joined campaign to free Imam Jamil Al-Amin
CAMPAIGN TO FREE IMAM JAMIL AL-AMIN
The Islamic Shura Council, a member of the U.S. Council of Muslim Organisations (USCMO), has joined their campaign to free Imam Jamil Al-Amin, who is serving a life sentence for a crime he did not commit, for the last 21 years. Imam Al-Amin, now 77 years old, has gone blind due to being denied cataract surgery where he is incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona away from his family and attorneys. Currently, his case is under review by the Fulton County Conviction Integrity Unit, in Georgia. There is no evidence placing Imam Jamil at the scene of the crime: no fingerprints, no gun residue, no DNA. In fact, Otis Jackson has been consistent in his confession of the crime for which Imam Jamil is serving a life sentence (giving multiple written sworn statements and testifying in another trial under oath), and evidence corroborates Otis Jackson’s confession.
Image with caption: The Azerbaijani national judo team wins silver at First CIS Games 2021
NATIONAL JUDO TEAM WINS SILVER AT FIRST CIS GAMES 2021
The Azerbaijani national judo team has won silver at First Commonwealth of the Independent States (CIS) Games 2021. In the quarterfinals, the national judokas defeated the Kyrgyz team with a score of 5:1.
The national team is represented at the Games in 13 types of sports, including badminton (eight athletes), boxing (nine), basketball (four), judo (16), futsal (13), table tennis (8), bench and bullet shooting (3), karate (20), wrestling (4), women’s wrestling (6), kurash (5), sambo (7), freestyle wrestling (10), Greco-Roman wrestling (9), muay thai (6). The Games comprises 16 sports with a total of 182 sets of awards. Over 400 judges and referees, as well as over 1,000 volunteers, are involved in the competition.