International Affairs

Arabs charged over Dutch cartoon

An Arab organization is to be put on trial in the Netherlands over its publication of a cartoon deemed offensive to Jews, prosecutors say. The cartoon, published by the Arab European League (AEL) on its website, questions the Holocaust. It said the decision to prosecute illustrated bias against Muslims. It said the same standards were not applied to the Dutch …

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East Jerusalem Shuts Out Thousands of Prayers, By Mel Frykberg

QALANDIA, West Bank, Aug 31 (IPS) – The future of East Jerusalem and of Palestinian access to it has again been brought under the spotlight. Thousands of Palestinians were turned away at West Bank checkpoints leading into Jerusalem by Israeli security forces as they tried to attend Friday Ramadan prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque. IPS witnessed dozens of heavily armed Israeli …

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The White House – Blog Post – Ramadan Kareem

As the new crescent moon ushers in Ramadan, the President extends his best wishes to Muslim communities in the United States and around the world. Each Ramadan, the ninth month on the lunar calendar, Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset for 29 or 30 days. Fasting is a tradition in many religious faiths and is meant to increase spirituality, …

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