HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — If Dr. Mehmet Oz is elected to the U.S. Senate this fall, he'll be the first Muslim ever to serve in the chamber. It's something he hardly brings up while campaigning, his Democratic opponent isn't raising it and it's barely a topic of conversation in Pennsylvania's Muslim community.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Saudi court has sentenced a doctoral student to 34 years in prison for spreading “rumors” and retweeting dissidents, according to court documents obtained Thursday, a decision that has drawn growing global condemnation.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian official Monday denied Tehran was involved in the stabbing of author Salman Rushdie, though he sought to justify the attack in the Islamic Republic's first public comments on the bloodshed.
KARBALA, Iraq (AP) — Shiites in Iraq, Lebanon and Pakistan chanted, paraded and beat their chests on Tuesday as they marked Ashoura, one of the most important dates on the religious calendar, commemorating the 7th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Hussein.
Click and gape at the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel ceiling up close. Click again and join thousands of pilgrims praying and circling around the cube-shaped Kaaba at Islam’s most sacred site. Or strap on a headset and enter the holy city of Jerusalem.
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Under fluttering strings of Greek and Byzantine flags, three men raised a party tent on the terrace of the 5th century Osios David church one recent Saturday, hoping it would shelter festivalgoers from the heat that already shrouded the view of Mount Olympus across the gulf.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Police in Mecca say they have arrested a Saudi man who helped an Israeli-Jewish reporter sneak into Islam's holiest city, defying a rule that only Muslims can enter the area.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A foot-and-mouth disease outbreak has disrupted ritual slaughter of animals to mark Eid al-Adha as millions of Muslims across Indonesia were celebrating one of the biggest holidays in the Islamic calendar Sunday.
MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Millions of Muslims across the globe — including in countries like Afghanistan, Libya, Egypt, Kenya and Yemen — were celebrating Eid al-Adha on Saturday, one of the biggest holidays of the Islamic calendar.
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — It is a scene that stirs hope — and relief — for Muslims around the world.
A million pilgrims from across the globe gathered on Thursday in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform the initial rites of the hajj, marking the largest Islamic pilgrimage since the coronavirus pandemic upended the annual event — a key pillar of Islam.
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — One million Muslim pilgrims were converging on Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca on Wednesday for the largest hajj since the coronavirus pandemic severely curtailed access to one of Islam’s five pillars.
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Sarfaraz Javaid thumps his chest rhythmically in the music video, swaying to the guitar and letting his throaty voice ring out through the forest: “What kind of soot has shrouded the sky?
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of people marched in Bangladesh’s capital on Thursday to demand the governments of Bangladesh and India officially condemn comments by two Indian governing party officials deemed derogatory to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Protests have been erupting in many Indian cities to condemn the demolition of homes and businesses belonging to Muslims, in what critics call a growing pattern of “bulldozer justice” aimed at punishing activists from the minority group.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Monday lifted a mask mandate for indoor spaces even as COVID-19 infection numbers steadily climb past 1,000 new cases a day after reaching double-digit lows just two months ago.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of people marched in Bangladesh's capital and in parts of India on Friday to urge Muslim-majority nations to cut ties with India and boycott its products unless it punishes two governing party officials for comments deemed derogatory to Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Thousands of Islamists rallied Thursday and briefly scuffled with police in Pakistan's capital, urging Muslim countries to cut diplomatic ties with New Delhi over remarks by two officials from India’s ruling party that were derogatory to the Prophet Muhammad.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — An American woman who prosecutors say led an all-female battalion of Islamic State militants in Syria pleaded guilty on Tuesday in a case that a prosecutor called a first of its kind in the United States.
NEW DELHI (AP) — India is facing major diplomatic outrage from Muslim-majority countries after top officials in the governing Hindu nationalist party made derogatory references to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, drawing accusations of blasphemy across some Arab nations that have left New Delhi struggling to contain the damaging fallout.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The chant in Arabic blasted from rooftop loudspeakers, drowning out both the growl of traffic from nearby interstates and the chatter and clinking glasses on the patio of the dive bar that shares a wall with Minneapolis’ oldest Somali mosque.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Turkey’s foreign minister visited Israel on Wednesday as part of ongoing efforts to improve ties between the two countries, which have often been bitterly divided in recent years over Turkey's support for the Palestinians.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Every Saturday, in secluded beach villas, hotel banquet halls and luxury apartment towers across Dubai, Jews arrive to worship at some of the world's most hidden synagogues even as the United Arab Emirates encourages the dramatic growth and openness of its Jewish community.
CAIRO (AP) — For the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, the smell of freshly baked orange biscuits and powdered sugar-dusted cookies typically fills the air in Mona Abubakr’s home. But due to higher prices, the Egyptian housewife this year made smaller quantities of the sweet treats, some of which she gives as gifts to relatives and neighbors.
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Millions of Muslims in Indonesia returned to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in full swing Monday after two years of subdued festivities due to pandemic restrictions and travel curbs.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Thousands of Iranians marched in the capital of Tehran on Friday to mark “Quds Day," or Jerusalem Day, a traditional show of support for the Palestinians. It was the first time such marches were held since before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
APRIL 22 – APRIL 28
As Russian attacks across Ukraine this week dominated the news, French President Emmanuel Macron was reelected, winning another five years in the presidential palace. Many countries celebrated Orthodox Easter, this time without the restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic, while elsewhere the Islamic holy month of Ramadan continued.
CAIRO (AP) — Sudanese authorities released two outspoken former government officials from jail, lawyers said Wednesday, part of trust-building measures amid efforts to end the country’s political impasse.
Afghanistan should join a list of the “worst of the worst” violators of religious freedom in the wake of the Taliban's return to power, a U.S. advisory body is recommending to the State Department.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Christians celebrated their “Holy Fire” ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Saturday against a backdrop of rising tensions with Israel, which imposed new restrictions on attendance this year that it said were needed for safety.
CAIRO (AP) — When the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins, a battle rages in Habiba Khanom’s mind: If she goes without food or drink, is she doing it for God or because of her anorexia? Deep down she knows the answer, and it saddens her.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of members of an Islamist group rallied in Bangladesh’s capital on Friday to protest recent violence in Sweden involving an anti-Muslim far-right group and fresh clashes at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque.
PARIS (AP) — From attacks on “wokeism” to crackdowns on mosques, France’s presidential campaign has been especially challenging for voters of immigrant heritage and religious minorities, as discourse painting them as “the other” has gained ground across a swath of French society.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police on Sunday entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City to secure the way for Jewish visitors to the flashpoint holy site, fueling clashes that left 17 Palestinians wounded, according to Palestinian medical workers.
It’s a convergence that happens only rarely. Coinciding with Judaism’s Passover, Christianity’s Easter and Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, Buddhists, Baha’is, Sikhs, Jains and Hindus also are celebrating their holy days in April.
PERTUIS, France (AP) — Muslim headscarves, a perennial issue in France, took center stage in the country's presidential campaign Friday amid far-right candidate Marine Le Pen’s push to ban them in the country that has western Europe's largest Muslim population.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — After a two-year break, thousands of people in Bangladesh and Nepal on Thursday celebrated their respective new years with colorful processions and musical soirees as the coronavirus pandemic eased and life swung back to normal.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — The ouster of Prime Minister Imran Khan in a parliamentary no-confidence vote early Sunday set Pakistan on an uncertain political path, with his supporters taking to the streets in protest and the political opposition preparing to install his replacement.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s political opposition toppled Prime Minister Imran Khan in a no-confidence vote in Parliament early Sunday after several political allies and a key party in his ruling coalition deserted him.
CAIRO (AP) — The new head of Yemen’s internationally recognized government said on Friday that the council he was chosen to lead will work to end the country’s grinding, eight-year civil war.
In his first televised address, Rashad al-Alimi thanked his government’s backers —Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — which have been helping Yemeni government forces fight the Iran-backed Houthi rebels for years.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday blocked Prime Minister Imran Khan’s bid to stay in power, ruling that his move to dissolve Parliament and call early elections was illegal. That set the stage for a no-confidence vote by opposition lawmakers, who say they have enough support to oust him.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's top court began hearing arguments Monday on whether Prime Minister Imran Khan and his allies had the legal right to dissolve parliament and set the stage for early elections.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister threw the country into political limbo on Sunday, accusing the United States of attempting to oust him and cancelling a no-confidence vote he was poised to lose.