“I’m angry to learn that women wearing hijabs were the target of a violent attack in London, and a mosque in Winnipeg was the target of hateful harassment,” Trudeau said on his official X account on Friday.

According to a statement by the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), two women wearing the Muslim headscarf were attacked Thursday in front of their children in London, where four members of a Muslim family were killed in a ruthless attack in 2021.

The statement noted that a knife-wielding man punched the women in their faces and made inappropriate comments. “The Israelis did a good job of landscaping Gaza. They’ll do the same to Lebanon,” and other slurs of an Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian nature,” according to NCCM.

“Needless to say, the incident amounts to yet another disturbing example of how Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, often intersecting, continues to pervade corners of our communities, primarily targeting the vulnerable,” the civil rights organization said, adding that anti-Muslim hatred led to the killing of the Muslim family three years ago, and earlier this year, a Muslim family’s house was set on fire due to anti-Palestinian racism.

“It is time to act. Now. There is no time for more platitudes and words. Our leaders have to come up with a real plan to address this massive and disturbing rise in hate against our communities,” NCCM statement said.

No details were provided about the attack on the mosque in Winnipeg, in the country’s central Manitoba province.

A horrific mosque attack in Quebec province, where a lone gunman killed six Muslims and wounded 19 during evening prayers, shook the North American country in 2017.

In June 2021, four members of a Muslim family, who were out on a stroll in London, Ontario, were killed after a white nationalist man deliberately drove his truck into them. Countless other attacks occur on an ordinary basis, as Muslims across the country urge the government to take concrete action to stop the crimes.

Islamophobia is entrenched in Canada, according to a report by the country’s Senate Committee on Human Rights.

Source: Daily Sabah

Sheikh Qaradaghi said: “We must not leave Lebanon or Gaza easy prey for targeting and division, for the sake of a sectarian or political disagreement, as the enemy does not differentiate between Muslims in its genocide against them, as anyone who is not with them is against them.

“What is required by Shari’ah is to stand as one against the Zionist project and against the Zionist genocide in any country. What we are witnessing today in terms of attacks on Lebanon and Gaza is an attack on the dignity of our peoples and our lands, and we cannot allow it to continue.”

The International Union of Muslim Scholars was founded by Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradhawi and is headquartered in Qatar, but is comprised of leading scholars from around the globe.

Sheikh Qaradaghi is a renowned Kurdish scholar who is now based in Qatar.

Here is a translation of his statement from the original Arabic:

“In the name of God, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. What is happening in Lebanon today is a blatant aggression on land and people, the destruction of people’s homes, the killing of civilians including children and women, and part of the policy of Netanyahu and his extremist right-wing group to expand the State of Israel to include Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza, and parts of Lebanon and Jordan. The annexation of the Golan has actually been achieved.

“It is not just a disagreement with a political or partisan faction. Distinguishing between problems of a sectarian nature and issues that affect the Ummah as a whole is a duty upon all Muslims and free people of the world. We must not leave Lebanon or Gaza easy prey for targeting and division, for the sake of a sectarian or political disagreement, as the enemy does not differentiate between Muslims in its genocide against them, as anyone who is not with them is against them.

“What is required by Shari’ah is to stand as one against the Zionist project and against the Zionist genocide in any country. What we are witnessing today in terms of attacks on Lebanon and Gaza is an attack on the dignity of our peoples and our lands, and we cannot allow it to continue.

“Our disagreement with the partisan policies of some Lebanese or Palestinian parties does not give us the right to support any aggression targeting peoples. We must not rejoice when the Lebanese or Palestinian people are attacked under any pretext. This aggression is a blatant assault, and Muslims and their governments must work to prevent it.

“As the President of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, I call upon our Islamic and Arab nation to do their duty in the face of the Zionist aggression and genocide, and I also urge that an urgent Arab-Islamic summit be held to discuss and stop this rampant Zionist madness that targets not only Gaza and Lebanon, but also extends to all Arab and Islamic capitals and countries.

“Our responsibility requires us to take immediate action to stop the Israeli aggression on Lebanon, and to demand an end to the brutal bombing of Gaza. We also call for providing our people in Gaza with everything they need to confront the siege, whether on the military, food, or economic level, or any type of support necessary for their continued steadfastness.

“Arabs and Muslims have many cards, including announcing the cutting off of oil and gas until the aggression stops, as well as the political and economic boycott of the Zionist entity, and the severing of diplomatic relations. Our silence in the face of this aggression deepens the tragedies of our peoples, and we must work according to the jurisprudence of priorities and awareness of the present and realise the meaning of God’s saying: ‘And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of God,’ and His saying: ‘And do not dispute and [thus] lose courage. God is the helper.’”

Source: 5Pillars 

he US anti-Semitism envoy has triggered a backlash over remarks she made about the pager attacks in Lebanon last week, which have been blamed on Israel.

At a recent event held by the Israeli-American Council, a moderator commented that “after October 7, there was a feeling around the world that Israel was weaker”.

In response, US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt said: “Do you want a beeper?”

The moderator later said: “I have a few.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has demanded that the Biden administration fire Lipstadt, calling her remarks “dangerous”.

“Special Envoy Lipstadt’s callous remarks are not only disgusting, but also dangerous,” CAIR Government Affairs Department Director Robert McCaw said in a statement.

“At a time when our nation’s government claims it is working to de-escalate tensions between Israel and Lebanon, her flippant celebration of state-sponsored terrorism undermines diplomatic efforts to prevent a broader war in the region,” he said.

He said joking about the loss of innocent lives, especially children, is a disgrace and should have no place in US foreign policy discussions.

“It sends a message to the world that the US government condones or even celebrates the slaughter of Arab and Muslim civilians. This is not just immoral, it’s irresponsible,” he said.

McCaw said the Biden-Harris administration must immediately fire Lipstadt “and make clear that the United States does not support or celebrate state violence and terrorism against vulnerable populations”.

Lipstadt was confirmed by the US Senate on March 30, 2022 as the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, with the rank of ambassador, according to the State Department.

At least 37 people were killed and over 3,000 others injured in explosions of pager and radio devices across Lebanon on September 17 and 18. While the Lebanese government and Hezbollah have blamed Israel for the explosions, Tel Aviv has not denied or confirmed its involvement.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed over 41,400 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7 last year.

The consortium not only offers students further occasions for growth and development, but also supports Pope Francis’ vision of interreligious dialogue, said Gabriel Said Reynolds, the Jerome J. Crowley and Rosaleen G. Crowley Professor of Theology. “Pope Francis is clearly signaling to Catholics that part of charity is welcoming the other, offering hospitality toward the other and extending the friendship of Christ to non-Christians as well,” Reynolds said.

The exchange program will begin this fall, with theology students spending up to a year at their selected institution. Each of the four universities has unique advantages for students seeking to deepen their understanding of Muslim-Christian relations, immerse themselves in a new culture and hone language skills in English, Arabic or Italian, Reynolds said.

“The Pontifical Institute offers coursework in both Italian and Arabic to students who come from all over the world, while Saint Joseph University has a highly diverse student body in a majority-Muslim country,” he said. “And Sacro Cuore in Milan has historical connections to the communion and liberation movement within the Catholic Church, as well as a robust, thriving program in Muslim-Christian relations.”

At Notre Dame, the consortium is supported by the Department of Theology’s World Religions World Church program, in which faculty and students research world religions in all of their dimensions, as well as the Church and its theological expressions in diverse cultural settings. Like the consortium, that program seeks to follow Pope Francis’ counsel that “an attitude of openness in truth and in love must characterize the dialogue with the followers of non-Christian religions,” Reynolds said. “Our hope is that through this student exchange, we will help further the Church’s thinking about how to be a positive dialogue partner with the Muslim community.”

Source: University of Notre Dame

Professor Ayoub spearheaded the establishment of Imam Ali Chair for Shia Studies and Dialogue Among Islamic Schools of Thought. This is the first chair for Shia studies in North America, a lasting legacy for Dr. Ayoub’s long and successful career.

Dr. Ayoub was born in a devout Muslim family in 1935 at Ain Qana (South Lebanon), a small town with an integrated religious population. His upbringing was socially integrated with events and people from both the Islamic and Christian religious faiths. Mahmoud Ayoub attended a British Presbyterian missionary school for the blind as a child.

He received his education at the American University of Beirut (BA, Philosophy, 1964), the University of Pennsylvania (M.A., Religious Thought, 1966), and Harvard University (Ph.D., History of Religion, 1975).

His doctoral dissertation, Redemptive Suffering in Islam: A Study of the Devotional Aspects of Ashura’ in Twelver Shiism in the Middle Ages turned into a book that still stands as a classic in the field.

From 1988 to 2008, Dr. Ayoub was a Professor and Director of Islamic Studies in the Department of Religion at Temple University in Philadelphia. Over his career, he also taught at the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, San Diego State University, the University of Toronto, and McGill University, among others.

During the early 1990s, he supervised a group project to translate Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān, a monumental contemporary commentary on the Qurʾān by the late Mohammad-Hossein Ṭabāṭabāʾī from Arabic into English. Although that project was never finished, it gave birth to Dr. Ayoub’s two-volume commentary on the early sūras of the Qurʾān.

In 1998, Dr. Ayoub helped devise and launch a graduate M.A. level program in Muslim-Christian relations and comparative religion for the Centre for Christian-Muslim Studies, University of Balamand, Lebanon.

After decades of working in leading universities nationwide, Professor Ayoub found a welcoming home at the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary — now Hartford International University for Religion and Peace.  Professor Ayoub and his wife, Linda Clark lived on campus, attended educational events where Dr. Ayoub often offered insightful commentary, and frequently welcomed students, alumni, faculty, and staff into their home.

Throughout his academic career, Professor Ayoub has received distinguished awards and scholarships, both for his achievements and research. Among others, he was a recipient of the Kent Doctoral Fellowship and the Canada Council Fellowship. In 1994-1995, he participated in the Fulbright Exchange of Scholars program for Malaysia. In the Spring-Summer of 2000, he undertook a research project on Christian-Muslim relations in Egypt and Lebanon, also on a Fulbright scholarship.

Published works: 

• Redemptive Suffering in Islam (1978)
• The Qur’an and Its Interpreters – Volume I (1984)
• The Qur’an and Its Interpreters – Volume II (1992)
• Islam: Faith and History (2005)
• A Muslim View of Christianity: Essays On Dialogue (2007)
• The Crisis of Muslim History: Religion and Politics in Early Islam (2014)
• Dirasat fi al-‘Alaqat al-Masihiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Arabic

In addition, his articles have appeared in books and journals such as:

• The Muslim World, Journal of the American Oriental Society
• Bulletin of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies (Tokyo)
• Islamochristiana (Rome, Italy).

Dr. Ayoub’s authority in both the scholarship and comparative study of Islam and Muslim-Christian relations, as well as interreligious dialogue, is demonstrated by the national and international recognition he has received worlwide.

At the Islamic Research and Information Center, we would like to express our sincere condolences to the Islamic society as a whole and, in particular, to Dr. Ayoub’s family, friends and academic associates on the sorrowful loss of Professor Mahmoud Ayoub and ask Allah, Almighty for extending His grace and blessings to his soul.

By Jon Armajani

Publisher: Lexington Books

Publication Date: May 20, 2020

This book argues that ever since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, which established a Shia Islamic government in Iran, that country’s religious and political leaders have used Shia Islam as a crucial way of expanding Iran’s objectives in the Middle East and beyond. Since 1979, Iran’s religious and political leaders have been concerned about Iran’s security in the face of the hostility and expansionism of the United States and other western countries, and the threats from powerful neighboring Sunni leaders and countries. While Iran’s government has attempted to align itself with Shia Muslims in various countries, such as Iraq and Lebanon, against American and Sunni expansionism, the Iranian government has attempted to religiously nourish and politically mobilize those Shias as a matter of principle, not only because of the Iranian government’s desires to protect Iran from external threats. The book analyzes Shia Islam and politics in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon which have among the largest proportional Shia populations in the Middle East and are vibrant centers of Shia intellectual life.

Jon Armajani is professor in the peace studies department at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University and is the author of Modern Islamist Movements: History, Religion, and Politics.

Source: Rowman & Littlefield

Moderated by: Jason Schlude, Ph.D.

Sponsored and Organized by: Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning at Saint John’s University

The recently published book Shia Islam and Politics: Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon by Jon Armajani was the subject of this event. The book argues that since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, which established a Shia Islamic government in Iran, that country’s religious and political leaders have used Shia Islam as a crucial way of expanding Iran’s objectives in the Middle East and beyond. The book analyzes Shia Islam and politics in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon, which have among the largest proportional Shia populations in the Middle East and are vibrant centers of Shia intellectual life. At the same time, it explores Shia worldviews, governmental structures, education, and social service while considering Shia Islam and politics beyond those three countries.

This program on 22 September, 2020 began with a brief presentation by Professor Armajani, followed by an interview with him about the book and an open question-and-answer session.

Jon Armajani is professor in the Peace Studies Department at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University. He is the author of Dynamic Islam: Liberal Muslim Perspectives in a Transitional Age (2004), Modern Islamist Movements: History, Religion, and Politics (2012), and Shia Islam and Politics: Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon (2020). He coedited with James E. Lindsay Historical Dimensions of Islam: Pre-Modern and Modern Periods; Essays in Honor of R. Stephen Humphreys (2009).

Source: csbsju.edu

It aims to promote the link between researchers on Islam and the Muslim-Christian dialogue, in connection with Eastern Christians, and to foster the interaction between academics, social actors and economic organizations.

The aim is also to open up fields of research on Islam and to develop methodological tools to avoid cultural misunderstandings.

PLURIEL links 15 thematic laboratories and 150 researchers in Europe, the Mediterranean and North America.

This electronic platform is the showcase for the activities of all the research groups. It informs about news, publications and events in terms of congresses, symposia, study days or international conferences. It also offers resources in the form of videos, articles, etc.

A coordination team monitors PLURIEL. It meets twice a year in a European or Middle Eastern city. She watches over current projects, coordinates new contacts, prepares the biennial congress. Unlike the coordinator who is mandated by the Federation, the coordination team can acquire new members depending on development and activities.

Currently, the coordination team is made up of 11 members:

PLURIEL’s congress

# 1: Islam in Plural. Thought, Faith, and Society. Lyon 2016
# 2: Islam and Belonging. Rome 2018
# 3: Islam and otherness. Beirut 2020

Contacts

• Phone: +33 4 72 32 50 52
• Email: pluriel@univ-catholyon.fr
• Website: https://pluriel.fuce.eu/

CEC president Rev. Christian Krieger stated: “We are aware that in Europe, when we talk about justice for minorities, we also look for everyone to have the status of equal citizens. This point, as our partners in the Middle East have stressed, requires more attention and clarification.”

The conference also addressed other concrete challenges and opportunities in countries such as Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria.

Participants stressed that education is one of the key elements in overcoming prejudices.

In his greetings, Patriarch John X of Antioch said, “By the grace of God, we, as Christians, have been living in the East for two thousand years, and we have coexisted with our Muslim brothers and sisters for many centuries. Differences of religion do not separate us, but rather enrich us in many areas of life.”

Participants released a communiqué regarding the avenues they explored towards peaceful coexistence in the Middle East.

Source: World Council of Churches

Hence, Shia Rights Watch (SRW) calls for an international day for Shia and human rights advocates to gather with a common goal of increasing awareness about minorities, specifically Shia Muslims and to advocate for their rights.

International Shia Day is not to promote any NGO, government or political party. It is solely to advocate for Shia rights and take action against injustice.

International Shia Day has been observed and celebrated since June 12th, 2015. This day was introduced by Shia Rights Watch as a result of the increase in oppression against Shia Muslims in different country. Shia Rights Watch chose June 12 as the International Day for Shia Rights in commemoration of the massacre that occurred at Camp Speicher in 2014 in which ISIS militants escorted upwards of 3,000 Iraqi soldiers from Camp Speicher, an Iraqi military base previously operated by the U.S.A., to Tikrit, an ISIS controlled town 140 km north-west of Baghdad. Once they arrived in Tikrit the soldiers were divided by religious affiliation; the non-Shia allowed to live, the Shia condemned to death by firing squad.

It is estimated that ISIS killed upwards of 1,700 Shia soldiers, making this the most prolific sectarian mass killing against Shias since the time of Saddam Hussein’s rule. Only one person survived the attacks, Ali Hussein Kadhim, who survived by feigning dead. Every year, SRW with the help of other NGOs, honors a different group of victims. The 2015 campaign honored the 1700 Camp Speicher victims and 2016 intends to honor hundreds of Nigerian Shia killed by Nigerian Army.

Source: www.internationalshiaday.com