The Moroccan government admitted on Thursday, 18th of October, that it had «historically» paid several Imams operating in the Spanish city of Ceuta, when they asked for it, to spread moderate Islam values, says El Mundo quoting Spanish news agency EFE. «What the government has done in the past and what it is still doing now is to respond to the requests of the Moroccan Imams», government spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi said in a press briefing held after the government
The Central Council of Muslims in Germany has submitted a proposal to the German Interior Ministry, suggesting to collaborate with the department when training Imams in the country. The body wants to grant these scholars academic and practical trainings, said the Council’s secretary general, Abdessamad El Yazidi. Speaking to MAP news agency, El Yazidi said that the council’s leaders sent their proposal ahead of a conference on Islam, to be held in Germany in November. For the
A Parti Québécois candidate has been disqualified by the sovereigntist provincial political party in Quebec, Wednesday 29th of August, for his anti-Islam posts on social media, reports Canadian online newspaper Montreal Gazette. Pierre Marcotte who was chosen as the party’s candidate in Drummond-Bois-Francs published posts on his social media accounts, calling Muslims «pit bulls». «This person will not be a Parti Québécois candidate;
As Japan prepares to host the 2020 Olympics, a Tokyo-based sports and cultural events company has created a mosque on wheels in hopes of making Muslim visitors feel at home during the summer Olympics, says the London-based daily newspaper Evening Standard. The director of Yasu Project, the company behind the project, Yasuharu Inoue warned against the possibility that the existing mosques in the city might not be enough for the Muslim visitors during the event. «As an open and
Youssef Sbai is a role model Moroccans living abroad should look up to. The 58-year-old man is curious, and passionate about knowledge. He is currently working on his doctoral thesis to better understand the world around him. Born in Rabat, Youssef Sbai studied at Moulay Youssef High school, then flew to Italy to study architecture. «Through the Italian embassy in Rabat, I managed to get myself a scholarship granted by the Moroccan Ministry of Education», he told Yabiladi. Once in
A man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after vandalizing a mosque in Titusville, a city in Florida, United States. Identified as a 37-year-old local named Michael Wolfe, he was convicted on criminal mischief to a place of worship on Tuesday, 5th of December, reports Reuters news agency. The surveillance videos of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, Masjid Al-Muminin Mosque in the same city show Wolfe smashing the windows, the cameras and lights with a machete. He threw fresh bacon
Khalid Chaouki, a Moroccan-Italian national, was elected on Tuesday head of the Great Mosque of Rome, the biggest Islamic institution in Italy, reports the Italian online newspaper La Stampa. «Several years after being founded, the Great Mosque of Rome plays an important role in breaking up with past by choosing Khalid Chaouki, a portrait of a second generation of Muslims in Italy,» said the same source. The latter believes that his election will open a new chapter in «Islam
shortly after 2am on Tuesday 26th of September, a mosque located in the Orebro region in southern Sweden was destroyed. A fire broke off in the building which became a mosque in 2007, whose roofs collapsed. Suspected of being arson, the police arrested a 20-year-old suspect and an investigation was open, according to Aftonbladet daily newspaper that was quoted by RT. «We cannot speculate about the motives of this crime», said Orebro district police chief, who preferred not to