Islam

Egypt's mufti says bitcoin forbidden

Cairo - Muslimchronicle

Egypt's grand mufti has said that bitcoin is forbidden in Islam, warning the digital currency could be used for criminal purposes. Bitcoin, launched in 2009 and based on a peer-to-peer payment system, poses "high risks to individuals and states," Shawqi Allam said in a published ruling. It could provide "stable and secure financial resources for terrorists and criminal groups," said Allam,Read more

Repeal of women driving ban tests Saudi reform drive

Riyadh - Muslimchronicle

Saudi Arabia's historic lifting of a ban on women driving will be a litmus test for its king-in-waiting, who has sought to sideline the kingdom's arch-conservatives as he accelerates reforms, analysts say. The kingdom will issue driving licences to women from next June, in the most striking reform yet credited to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite the risk ofRead more

Italian interior minister lauds Muslim World League's role in fighting extremism

Jeddah - Muslimchronicle

Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti received Muslim World League (MWL) Secretary-General Mohammed Al-Issa and his accompanying delegation in Rome on Tuesday. They explored a number of topics of common interest including citizenship and positive integration with the promotion of the right of religious freedom guaranteed by law, down to the official recognition of Islam as a religion. At the outsetRead more

Germany: Anti-migrant, anti-Muslim, anti-Merkel nationalist party rises

Berlin - Muslimchronicle

The Alternative for Germany (AfD), which rails against immigration and Islam, is set to become the country’s first hard-right nationalist party to clear the five-percent hurdle and enter parliament in the post-war era. Close to France’s National Front and the UK Independence Party, the AfD is an anti-establishment party that harnesses xenophobia and popular discontent about what it labels unaccountableRead more

Iran hajj pilgrims torn between joy and bitter memories

Mecca - Muslimchronicle

Reza from Iran is torn between the joy of taking part in this year's annual hajj pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites and bitter memories of the 2015 stampede that killed hundreds of his compatriots. Iranian pilgrims stayed away from the 2016 hajj after regional rivals Saudi Arabia, custodian of the sites in the west of the kingdom, and Iran failedRead more

Housewife jailed for blasphemy in Indonesia

Jakarta - Muslimchronicle

An Indonesian housewife has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for insulting Islam, an official said Tuesday, the latest conviction under the country's controversial blasphemy law. Siti Aisyah, 47, was found guilty on Monday evening of spreading Islamic teachings that differed from local ulemas -- religious leaders -- and calling them liars for disagreeing with her.Read more

Court orders Dutch government to finance new Islamic school

The hague - Muslimchronicle

The Dutch government was ordered Wednesday by the country’s highest court to approve funding for a new Islamic school in Amsterdam which it had sought to ban. Funding for the school was refused in 2014 by Deputy Education Minister Sander Dekker, after a member of the school’s board voiced support for the so-called Daesh jihadist group. But the Council ofRead more

Esma Voloder: ‘Islam is about unity’

Dubai - Muslimchronicle

A Muslim woman who fled the Bosnian refugee camp she spent time in as a baby has been named Miss World Australia 2017. Esma Voloder, 25, has come a long way from her war-torn roots and was awarded the coveted crown in a competition in Melbourne on Friday. Voloder said that she hopes to use the title to challenge stereotypesRead more

Taboo-breaking liberal mosque opens in Berlin

Berlin - Muslimchronicle

With a mission to spread a liberal form of Islam, a mosque where men and women pray side by side has opened its doors in Berlin, complete with female imams. The Arabic phrase "Allahu Akbar" ('God is greatest') resonated through the crowded Ibn-Rushd-Goethe-Mosque Friday as US-Malaysian Ani Zonneveld, one of the world's few female imams, launched the call to prayer.Read more