Rejection of secularism, denial of science and conspiracy… Teachers in the national education system find themselves confronted with a challenge not only to the republican model, but also to the Enlightenment, against a backdrop of a general decline in the level of students. Understaffed, teachers do not feel supported by their superiors, who seem to be out of touch with reality.
Author of two reference books (“Muslim Brotherhood, the inner circle” and “The neo-Muslim Brotherhood in the West”), Lorenzo Vidino is one of the most prominent specialists on the Islamist Brotherhood in Europe. In this interview, he explains how the Muslim Brotherhood’s hidden real estate investments bring in tens of millions of euros every year.
The author of “Why I left the Muslim Brotherhood” was the first in 2016 to publish an investigation into the real estate assets of Imam Hassan Iquioussen and his family. For him, the Iquioussen case is in fact the tree that hides the forest: for decades, the Muslim Brotherhood has been discreetly accumulating buildings, houses, commercial premises, flats and land. The objective is to build up a “real estate war chest” that would allow them to finance themselves, so as not to depend on money from the Gulf countries.
Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi has passed away at an advanced age. His death has become the subject of controversy between those who mourned his passing and consider his death a loss for Islamic thought and the moderate spirit of preaching, and those who hold him responsible for the bloodshed of Muslims, the justification of extremism, the allegiance to corrupt and unaccountable regimes, and the issuing of politically motivated fatwas linked to these regimes.
In the photo, the man is posing between his two wives whose faces are masked by a pink heart, as a matter of modesty. He married them on the same day and is called Rachid. He is a “Skikdi”, an inhabitant of Skikda, which has earned him the nickname “Skik-deux” on social networks, further proof that Algerians can lose everything except their sense of humour! The wedding announcement is adorned with the Koranic verse that justifies marital diversity: “It is permitted to marry two, three or four of the women you like, but if you fear that you will not be fair to them, then only one, or slaves that you own”.
Pakistan’s intelligence service, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has for years waged a proxy war in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) by aiding and abetting terrorism through terrorist outfits such as Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM). The service continues to support this proxy war, now being carried out not just through the above mentioned groups but also through their various offshoots like The Resistance Front (TRF), People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), Jammu Kashmir Gaznavi Force (JKGF), United Liberation Front of Jammu & Kashmir (ULF-J&K) , Kashmir Tigers etc.
On the occasion of the International Youth Day on 12 August, the European Commission posted a video on Instagram showing young FEMYSO activists wearing T-shirts with their association’s logo. The organisation, which is part of the Muslim Brotherhood, was previously received by the Maltese Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, to talk about stereotypes, discrimination and hatred against young Muslims in Europe. In the same video, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, says: “Let’s be inspired by all the young people who show that you can achieve what you believe in”, before concluding: “This is the spirit of Europe’s next generation”.
A good Muslim today feels guilty for not having succeeded in establishing the Islamic State, whether by persuasion or force. This ideal, this ultimate goal is based on his pride as a Muslim. He is proud of what he is, not what he does. Instead of being what he will become, he wants to be what he has been. This blockage leads to a dichotomous attitude and, while he accepts technical modernity, he rejects its metaphysics. Thus, he lives a development without progress because he remains stuck to the sacred: the forbidden, halal, paradise, hell, the torments of the grave… For him, purity and fear prevail over the process of freedom. But because he feels guilty for not advancing the cause of Islam, which is to spread the law of Allah throughout the world, he is in constant conflict with himself.
In Germany, where three million Turks live, more than a million of whom have German nationality, Ankara has been trying for several years to influence elections by calling on voters with dual nationality not to vote for political parties deemed hostile to Turkey’s interests. Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s networks are also active in France, although much more discreetly, via the Council for Justice, Equality and Peace (Cojep), which presented – without much success – several candidates in the recent legislative elections.
Summer is just around the corner and the perennial question of the burkini is coming back like a yearly boomerang, just like the Latin beat that should accompany summer people on the beach. However, if musical successes are never predictable, the headlines, comments, condemnations and other resurgences on the legitimacy or banning of this “beachwear”, an extension of the hijab, will certainly be at the heart of the debate.
