Daily Archives: July 3, 2016

Nationality + Migration

Africa News | Africans

African Union prepares to launch common African passport
  • The A.U. is preparing to launch the e-Passport, a transnational passport opening up migration between the 54 constituent countries, at its upcoming summit in Kigali, Rwanda.
  • The e-Passport is expected to function similar to European Union citizenship, promoting mobility and increased economic integration across the African continent.
  • The passport will initially be available to heads of state and other diplomatic and foreign affairs representatives, with rollout to citizens expected to take place in 2018.

Read more:
“African Union set to launch e-Passport at July Summit in Rwanda” (African Union press release)
“The opposite of Brexit: African Union launches an all-Africa passport” (The Washington Post)
“As EU fights over migrants, African Union takes steps to free movement of people” (CNBC)

Nationality + Migration

U.S. News | Emiratis

Emiratis warned against wearing national dress abroad after man falsely reported for IS allegiance in U.S.
  • An Emirati man in the U.S. for medical treatment was forcefully arrested in Avon, Ohio, after a receptionist at the hotel he was staying at called police to report that he was declaring allegiance to the Islamic State.
  • He was released once it was determined he had made no such declarations and received an apology from the mayor and police chief.
  • After the U.S. ambassador was summoned, the U.A.E. Foreign Ministry issued a statement advising Emirati citizens not to wear traditional formalwear for their safety while traveling abroad.

Read more:
“Emirati mistaken for Daesh: Avon police chief sorry” (Gulf News)
“‘They were brutal with me’ Emirati describes arrest in US after being mistaken for ISIL member” (The National)
“UAE tells citizens to avoid national dress while abroad after man held in U.S.” (Reuters)

(Image Credit: WEWS News Channel 5, via The National)

Religion + Belief

Iraq News | Shiite Muslims

IS bombing of predominantly Shia neighborhood in Baghdad leaves nearly 300 dead
  • A truck bombing ripped through the Karrada shopping district of central Baghdad, many of the victims children out with their families to celebrate the end of the school year .
  • The attack was claimed by the Islamic State, the fourth such global attack coordinated or inspired by the group within the last month (following Orlando, Istanbul, and Dhaka).
  • IS, a Sunni extremist group, claimed to have attacked Shiite Muslims, also taking credit for a second bombing in the predominantly Shia neighborhood of al-Shaab that left at least two dead.

Read more:
“Bombing Kills More Than 120 in Baghdad” (The New York Times)
“Nearly 120 killed in overnight Baghdad bombings claimed by Islamic State” (Reuters)
“Iraq: Baghdad bombings kill dozens” (Al Jazeera)

(Image Credit: Reuters, via Al Jazeera)

Religion + Belief

Cuba Feature | Muslims

The Muslims of Cuba

With estimates of their numbers as high as 10,000, Cuban Muslims have grown from a tiny group of followers to a vibrant cultural community, particularly in Havana. An atheist state under communism, Cuba has begun to relax prohibitions on religion over the years, providing a small space for Muslims amidst the country’s predominantly Catholic population. Cuba itself experiences little immigration, but a growing number of converts have expanded the presence of Islam in the Caribbean nation.

As funding from Turkey supports the construction of a mosque in Old Havana and Saudi Arabia sends religious garments, observant Muslims, increasingly visible, are now faced with educating their broader communities about a religion few have had much interaction with outside of negative television reports. For Ramadan, several media outlets have taken a look at the community of Cuban Muslims looking to practice a faith of restraint some Cubans see as foreign to their culture.

Read:
“Cuban Muslims celebrate Ramadan despite the obstacles” (Al Jazeera)
“Islam thrives in communist Cuba” (USA TODAY)
“Practicing Islam in Catholic Cuba” (CNN, April 2016)

(Image Credit: Kamilia Lahrichi/USA TODAY)