American athletic apparel brand Nike launched its first-ever campaign ad film, “What If You Can?” aimed at Saudi Arabian women, a first in Saudi history. The ad hopes to inspire girls in the Muslim-majority, ultraconservative kingdom to build confidence and realize their full potential through the power of sport. However, the ad also sparks debate on the role of women in a changing Saudi Arabia.
A Pakistani court sentenced a Christian man to death for reportedly sharing what it claimed was hateful content against Muslims on social media after one of the worst mob attacks on Christians in the eastern province of Punjab last year, his lawyer said, adding they will appeal the verdict.
Protests and riots erupted in Israel after the country’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing the Israeli government to draft ultra-Orthodox Jewish men for military service, ending the exemption for ultra-Orthodox men to serve in the country’s military for the first time since the country was founded in 1948.
A new trend is growing among ethnic Albanians after Kosovo saw the emergence of a new movement calling Kosovars to abandon Islam, as a recent census affirms that Muslims are no longer the majority in Albania for the first time in over 200 years.
https://t.co/Ln6HFx9HSJ Albania’s Muslim population drops below 50% for first time in centuries
Despite warnings from the United Kingdom’s Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted), an independent faith school continues to segregate boys from girls, according to an inspection report.
An independent Islamic school has again been found to segregate girls age 11+ from boys despite this being unlawful. If schools continue to put religious dogma before the law and the welfare of pupils, they must be shut down.https://t.co/zVLpRnMKUo
Pakistan’s first-ever human milk bank, established in June, temporarily suspended operations after sparking criticism from religious organizations and scholars. The country’s Health Ministry announced it would seek further guidance from the Council of Islamic Ideology.
Under changes made by the German government to the country’s citizenship laws, people applying for naturalization would no longer need to give up their previous citizenship and could obtain it faster, but those applying for naturalization would be required to affirm Israel’s right to exist.
CNN: Germany demands new citizens accept Israel’s right to exist
A white woman in Texas has been arrested and charged for allegedly attempting to drown a 3-year-old girl at a pool and making racist remarks towards her mother, with investigators asking for the case to be treated as a hate crime.
A woman is accused of attempting to drown a 3-year-old Muslim child in possible hate crime incident https://t.co/Vw9ue56xmo
The Russian Republic of Dagestan in the country’s North Caucasus region is holding three days of mourning following an attack by Islamic militants in two cities that targeted Orthodox Christian and Jewish houses of worship as well as a traffic police post that killed 20 people, mostly police officers.
As many countries in Central and Western Asia, such as Iran and Afghanistan, have made it mandatory to wear hijab and other forms of Islamic headscarves, Tajikistan, where 96% of its population identifies as Muslim, took the opposite direction and passed a law banning the use of hijab, calling it an “alien garment” as the ex-Soviet country seeks to build a secular national identity.
