1. A Muslim man, Orhan E. said “Allahu Akbar” in public and was fined £178. He used the phrase after spotting a friend while walking. He was approached by an off-duty police officer who told him his "loud and clear" use of the expression could have caused people to fear an imminent terror attack. He said he was "manhandled" by officers. This incident happened May last year but he just came forward with his story following a recent incident in which a Muslim man was allegedly punched by a Swiss border guard after using the phrase.
2. During an episode of the podcast "Journeys of Faith with Paula Faris", actress Melissa Joan Hart commented sometimes "it's not easy" being Christian. Hart was raised Catholic and now a Presbyterian. When her son was transitioning from a Christian preschool to a traditional school, she told her son:
"We don't know if these people are good people. We don't know if they believe in Jesus...and he really took the Jesus part to heart."
3. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun was trapped at Bangkok airport trying to flee her family in Saudi Arabia. She had renounced Islam and feared her family will kill her once she's returned to her country. Thai immigration officials tried to deport her but she barricaded herself into her airport hotel room. Canada played a role in convincing the Thai government not to send her back to Saudi Arabia against her wishes. A spokesperson for Global Affairs, Stefano Maron, said Canada is "very concerned by and watching closely the situation of Ms. Rahaf al-Qunun.”
Update: Rahaf has been granted asylum in Canada.
4. In an interview with news agency DPA, Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, one of the most senior German figures in the Catholic Church denied that sexual abuse was a problem in the Catholic Church, saying that the problem was caused by gay men rather than catholic priests. He added that it was "statistically proven" that there is a connection between homosexuality and sexual abuse.
5. Amid protests in northeastern Assam, legislators approve bill that will grant citizenship to non-Muslim immigrants. The legislation will still need the approval of the upper house, seeks to grant rights to Jains, Hindus, Parsis and several other non-Muslim religious groups who migrated without documents from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Critics called the proposal anti-Muslim.
6. Belgium, home to roughly 500,000 Muslims and over 30,000 Jews, put a ban on the Muslim and Jewish ways of ritually slaughtering animals. The religious minorities and other countries fear they are the targets of bigotry under the guise of animal protection. Animal rights advocates an right-wing nationalists push to ban the ritual slaughter. Director of Global Action in the Interest of Animals, Ann De Greef, said:
“They want to keep living in the Middle Ages and continue to slaughter without stunning — as the technique didn’t yet exist back then — without having to answer to the law,” she said. “Well, I’m sorry, in Belgium the law is above religion and that will stay like that.”
7. Naythen Aubain, a 29-year-old from Utica, New York, has been charged with murdering and chopping up the bodies of his 90-year-old grandmother and 87-year-old landlord. He told the judge, "I'll chop anyone up who disrespects Jesus Christ."
He said he committed the crime in the name of Jesus Christ.
8. Due to the government shutdown, employees of national parks are unable to work but a group of youth Muslims are volunteering to clean up the litter left by tourists. Volunteers were associated with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association.
“I hope it shows that we’re not here just to talk about Islam the whole time,” [spokesperson Salaam] Bhatti said. “We’re here to be part of America.”
9. As crackdown against Muslims and Islamic symbols continue, a new decree seeks to 'guide Islam'. The new law seeks to "Sinicize" Islam within the next five years to rewrite how the religion is practised. After a meeting with representatives from eight Islamic associations, government officials agreed to guide Islam to be compatible with socialism and implement measures to Sinicize the religion.
10. The online retailer Amazon is selling items including toilet seat covers adorned with Islamic iconography amid complaints they are offensive to the Muslim community. It recently announced its decision to withdraw a selection of products featuring Islamic scripture from its site following a request from an American-Muslim civil rights group. A variety of products are still available to purchase but the retailer stated that all products in violation of its policies will be reviewed. Toilet seat covers decorated with the word "Allah" and shower curtains referencing the religious festival Eid can still be found on Amazon.
