Ireland: Gov’t plans to be first EU state to sell Islamic bond Via the Irish Examiner (h/t Jihad Watch ): IRELAND plans to become the first European nation to sell sovereign sukuk — Islam-approved financial certificates — as its equal tax treatment for Islamic-finance products attracts investors. The Government has agreements with more than 60 countries to avoid double taxation on Islamic transactions, Micheál Smith, the south-east Asia director of IDA Ireland, said. ( source )

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Brussels: Professor says Muslim countries should establish theological schools in Europe Via KUNA : A Belgian professor of sociology and researcher on Islam Felice Dassetto is calling on rich Muslim countries to assist in establishing Islamic theological schools and faculties in Europe to overcome the gap in intellectual leadership of European Muslims. “One of the major problems Muslims in Europe face, except perhaps for UK, is the absence of religious intellectual leadership,” said Dassetto who teaches sociology in the university of Leuven and has published three books on Islam. In an interview with the Kuwait news agency, KUNA, he explained that the reason for this vacuum is the absence of Islamic theological faculties in Europe

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Oslo: Muslims call to boycott Islamic demonstration Via Views and News from Norway : Muslims themselves were urged to boycott a planned demonstration in front of the Norwegian Parliament on Friday by an Islamic group considered to be extremist. One local Muslim leader in Oslo claimed the group’s attitudes, actions and slogans actually violate Islamic principles. Dr Usman Rana, the former leader of Muslimsk Studentsamfunn (the Muslim students’ society) and now a practicing physician, urged fellow Muslims to stay away from the demonstration that was organized to protest Norway’s presence in Afghanistan

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Genoa: Moroccan upset his children were given to Muslim foster care Via El Punto Critico (Spanish) and Corriere della Sera (Italian): A couple from Albenga (Genoa) says their children have been given to a Muslim family by social services against their will. Makhlou Khalid is a Moroccan married to an Italian, Valentina. They say their children (a 3 and 5 year olds) have been baptized and are Christian.

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Hamburg: Plans for Islamic Shopping Centre Via Euro-Islam.info : Noura A. , a Muslim business woman in Hamburg/ Harburg, is planning on opening the first “Islamic Shopping Center” in a vacant property that was previously used as a restaurant. She is already advertising for business partners who want to rent parts of the property – and focuses exclusively on Muslim partners.

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Netherlands: PM says headscarves are not a symbol of oppression Via RNW : In a weekly meeting with the press, Prime Minister Mark Rutte has backed remarks made yesterday by Queen Beatrix that it is “nonsense” to say the Islamic headscarf is a symbol of women’s oppression. (…) Today, he added the queen’s comments were “completely right”. He said Mr Wilders’ comments on headscarves being a symbol of oppression were much too general, “There are lots of women who wear headscarves, they are not all oppressed.” ( source )

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Sweden: Teachers free to ban Islamic veils Via the Local : Teachers in Swedish schools can, in certain situations, prohibit students from wearing Islamic veils that reveal only their eyes, the country’s school’s agency has ruled. The ban covers clothing that could hinder interaction between students and teachers or which could pose a specific risk, such as in a laboratory. However, a general ban on headscarves isn’t possible

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Serbia: Muslim leader urges reconciliation with rival Via B92 : The leader of one of the rival Islamic organizations in Serbia has said that heads of both communities should step down in order to allow for reconciliation. Adem Zilkić, who heads the Islamic Community of Serbia, spoke for Belgrade-based daily Blic to say that he believed the seat of the Islamic Community should be in Belgrade – “as is the case with Islamic Communities of Montenegro, Turkey and Macedonia, their seats are in the capital cities.” He also stated that the unification with Muamer Zukorlić’s Islamic Community in Serbia should happen in a way that would incorporate existing institutions of the two organizations, without abolishing any. ( source )

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France: Six So Far Convicted Under Veil Ban Via RFE/RL : French Interior Minister Claude Gueant says six women have been convicted and fined since a ban on face-covering Islamic veils took effect in April. Gueant cites the figure in an interview with “Le Monde” daily, saying no woman has been sent to a citizenship class — another potential punishment

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Russia: 110 year old makes pilgrimage to the Hajj Via RT : A 110-year-old woman from Russia’s North Caucasus has fulfilled a lifelong ambition by traveling 3,000 kilometers as a pilgrim to join the Hajj. The Hajj is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world and also considered a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in every Muslim’s lifetime

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