Culture

Islamic State (IS) said the coronavirus pandemic was divine punishment for its enemies, according to an audio broadcast on Thursday, where the jihadists also vowed more attacks. The person on the tape, which was posted on one of the militants’ websites but could not be verified by Reuters, identified himself …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD   I’ve been planning to write about Youssef El Sherif’s Al-Nihaya (The End) since the holy month of Ramadan began but found it difficult to research and preferred to wait till the end before passing judgement on it. It is Egypt’s first ever sci-fi TV …

Virtual reality tours have replaced flag-waving rallies as Palestinians facing coronavirus restrictions create digital spaces to lament the loss of their physical homeland in 1948. Cellphone apps and Zoom video chats are among the other online tools being used to mark the Nakba, or “Catastrophe”, when Palestinians were forced from …

Almost a third of gay and bisexual men report feeling vulnerable at home during the new coronavirus pandemic, with Brazilians particularly concerned, a global survey found on Tuesday, highlighting its wider mental health impacts. According to research conducted by the U.S.-based gay social network Hornet for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, …

I am starting to prepare to return to work and to the new normal as we start to ‘flatten the curve’ progressively. I believe that our success as individuals and that of our businesses will be assessed how we have handled the situation in resilience. By Emile Fakhoury It goes …

Israel’s military has decided to end the drafting of soldiers as dancers in its entertainment troupes after a video of two male conscripts gyrating on stage prompted criticism that their performance was unbecoming. Most Israelis are conscripted into the armed forces when they turn 18 for a period of two …

The new Michael Moore film Planet of the Humans, which takes aim at the green movement, has provoked a furious reaction from scientists and campaigners all over the world. Moore states in his film that the green movement is hypocrite, and in fact dangerously misleading the public. He exposes for …

A period drama about the trials of a Jewish midwife airing on Saudi-controlled MBC for Ramadan has drawn both criticism as an attempt to promote Arab “normalisation” with Israel and praise for a rare exploration of the Gulf’s social history. “Umm Haroun”, a fictional series about a multi-religious community in …

Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Beyonce and Oprah Winfrey on Saturday headlined a special broadcast of music, comedy and personal stories celebrating those around the world on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic. The two-hour “One World:Together at Home” event, broadcast across multiple television channels in …

While coronavirus closures are coaxing wildlife into the abandoned streets of many a metropolis, in one Israeli city the four-legged interlopers are assertive and, well, quite boorish. Wild boars, some as bulky as Rottweilers and traveling in family packs, have been trotting through Haifa in increasing numbers. Their once-nocturnal visitations …

Rumours of a gay character in a new Turkish Netflix series, “Love 101”, have ignited calls for a boycott of the streaming service and sharp criticism from the broadcast regulator. A furore erupted after a now-deleted Twitter account @love101netflix suggested one of the main characters in the show – a …

Standing in colourful hula hoops carefully spaced to illustrate social distancing, young children in a camp in war-torn Syria give an enthusiastic welcome to a puppet show staged to teach them about the coronavirus. Volunteers visited the camp for displaced Syrians in the northwestern town of Maarat Masrin, where they …

As an SF author, activist and reviewer from the Eastern part of the Arab world, I can’t help but feeling humbled if not downright jealous of what is going on in the Western part of the Arab world, the so-called Maghreb. I say this after reading a novel I’ve been …

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and an alliance of faith groups have urged President Donald Trump to champion a moratorium on debt payments for poor countries hit by the coronavirus pandemic that has triggered a global recession. In a letter sent to the U.S. president on Wednesday, the groups …

Egypt will ban any public religious gatherings during the holy Muslim fasting month Ramadan starting in around two weeks to counter the spread of the new coronavirus, a government statement said on Tuesday. Muslims usually break the fast at sunset together with their families, go to the mosque to pray …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday a national lockdown would begin on Tuesday and end on Friday to try to stem the spread of the new coronavirus during the Jewish holiday of Passover. In a televised address, he said travel restrictions would be tightened on Tuesday and that …

The Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church, plans to open its first temple in mainland China at a time when Beijing has been clamping down steadily on religious freedoms. The temple in the eastern Chinese city of Shanghai will help fill a …

Israelis who have beards for religious reasons will get the option of custom-made face masks to protect them from the coronavirus rather than being told to shave, a government official said on Monday. As part of measures to combat the epidemic, Israeli authorities last week told people to cover their …

Pope Francis on Sunday backed a call by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a global ceasefire so the world can focus on fighting the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking at his weekly blessing, delivered from the official papal library instead of St. Peter’s Square because of the lockdown in Italy, Francis …

Formula One drivers will join video gamers and others in a series of virtual grands prix to replace a swathe of races postponed by the coronavirus outbreak, the sport announced on Friday. The first, run on the official F1 2019 PC video game, will be held from 2000GMT this Sunday …

Bars and nightclubs in Turkey will be closed from Monday in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus, the Turkish Interior Ministry said on Sunday. It said the temporary ban will go into effect at 10 am (0700 GMT) on Monday. The ministry did not say how long the …

Hurricane Katrina. The New Zealand earthquake. Even the Spanish economy. Over the years, LGBT+ people have been blamed for disasters both natural and man-made, and now they stand accused of being responsible for the coronavirus epidemic. Several U.S. religious figures and an influential Israeli rabbi have suggested the emergence of …

University student Sophie Meehan was enjoying a family trip to the theater in London when pictures of a stranger’s genitals popped up on her mobile phone. The 20-year-old was about to board a train to return home to Kent in southeast England last year when an AirDrop file appeared on …

United Nations human rights guardian Michelle Bachelet urged the global community on Thursday to show solidarity with people of ethnic Asian origin subject to discrimination amid an outbreak of a novel coronavirus that started in China. “The coronavirus epidemic has set off a disturbing wave of prejudice against people of …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday Bernie Sanders was wrong to call him a racist during a debate among contenders for the U.S. Democratic presidential nomination, but shied away from attacking the senator in return. “I am not intervening in the U.S. election,” Netanyahu replied when asked on …

A satirical Belgian carnival parade decried by Israel’s foreign minister as “hateful” went ahead on Sunday despite being withdrawn from the United Nation’s list of recognized cultural events over accusations of racism and anti-Semitism. After a float in 2019 featured caricatures of ultra-Orthodox Jews standing with bags of money, organizers …

German Kurds called on Thursday for stronger government action against far-right radicalism and racism as they mourned the victims of a gun attack on two shisha lounges. “Politicians must ask themselves, ‘how did we get here?’” Metin Kan, who said he was a close friend of one of the people …

The Utah state Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday effectively to decriminalize polygamy among consenting adults, reducing penalties for a practice with deep religious roots in the predominantly Mormon state. The bill, which would treat the offense of plural marriage as a simple infraction on par with a parking ticket, now …

By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD   Was watching an annoying science fiction movie the other day called variously The Holy Relic and The Hunt for the Hidden Relic (2002), and was struck by a number of things, good and bad. First, the bad. The movie is German, adapted from a novel …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended on Saturday his nation’s global role despite misgivings in Europe, vowing that Western values would prevail over Russian and Chinese desires for “empire”. Seeking to reassure Europeans troubled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America first” rhetoric, his ambivalence over the NATO military alliance …

The mayor of Tel Aviv ordered the removal on Friday of highway billboards that appeared to call for the surrender at gunpoint of Palestinian leaders for the sake of peace. “Peace is made ONLY with defeated enemies,” said the billboards, which showed photo-shopped images of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and …

Iran’s week-long parliamentary election campaign started on Thursday, state TV reported, a vote seen as a popularity test for the clerical establishment at a time when relations with Washington are at their worst since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The Guardian Council, which must approve candidates, has rejected around 6,850 moderate …

Business is booming at Iran’s largest flag factory which makes U.S., British and Israeli flags for Iranian protesters to burn. At the factory in the town of Khomein, southwest of the capital Tehran, young men and women print the flags by hand then hang them up to dry. The factory …

Iranian rapper Amir Tataloo has been detained by Turkish authorities in Istanbul after he was flagged as a wanted person by Interpol, police say. Turkish police said Interpol issued a “red notice” for Tataloo, real name Amirhossein Maghsoudloo. The notice, which is not an arrest warrant, was for a drug-related …

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said Jordan will host 2020 Olympics boxing qualifiers for Asia and Oceania after an event in China’s Wuhan was canceled due to fears over the new flu-like coronavirus. The death toll from the virus rose to 41 on Saturday, with more than 1,300 infected …

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will no longer be working members of Britain’s monarchy and they will pay their own way in life as they embark on an independent future, Buckingham Palace said on Saturday. They will also no longer use their “Royal Highness” titles, the palace said in …

The British government secretly funded Reuters in the 1960s and 1970s at the behest of an anti-Soviet propaganda unit linked to British intelligence and concealed the funding by using the BBC to make the payments, declassified government documents show. The money was used to expand Reuters coverage of the Middle …

Several Israeli school districts held impromptu tolerance classes on Sunday after the country’s education minister, an Orthodox rabbi, angered LGBT campaigners by implying homosexuality was unnatural. The furor over the remarks by Education Minister Rafael Peretz – who last year spoke favorably about gay “conversion therapy”, a widely discredited method …

Pope Francis called on Sunday for dialogue and restraint two days after the killing of a top Iranian military commander by the United States. Speaking at the Sunday Angelus prayer at the Vatican, the pope did not mention Iran by name but spoke of a terrible air of tension that …

By: Emily Devereaux | This Christmas season, let’s reflect on Jesus’ life and the historical areas of that far away land. While there is a debate about who is Jesus, still, there is some evidence o His Palestinian heritage. He especially represents Palestinian heritage in many of his teachings and …

Pope Francis urged the world to let the light of Christmas pierce the “darkness in human hearts” that leads to religious persecution, social injustice, armed conflicts and fear of migrants. In his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) Christmas Day message, the 83-year-old pope called for peace …

By Angela Haupt  Freelance Writer Dec. 23, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. GMT+2 If you read it and loved it in 2019, read more like it in 2020. Here are 12 books, from a variety of genres, to consider based on recent favorites. If you enjoyed “City of Girls,” by Elizabeth …

Hosting a summit of Muslim leaders, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad bemoaned the state of Islam and defended the meeting that has been shunned by Saudi Arabia and criticized for undermining the bigger Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Divisions in the Muslim world were self-evident as only about 20 countries sent …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday came out in support of Arsenal player Mesut Ozil for his criticism of China’s treatment of ethnic Uighur Muslims, saying Beijing can censor the team’s football games but cannot hide rights violations. The Arsenal midfielder, a German Muslim of Turkish origin, last …