- In Iran, “[t]he Islamic Revolution swept through the country like a tempest, bringing with it strict interpretations of Islamic law that deemed dance, especially by women, immoral and forbidden.” “[Young women’s] dance is a quiet rebellion against the rules the Islamic Republic has enforced for over four decades.”
- A new news story on Iran‘s famous Qom Seminary described it as “the most influential Shi’ite clerical institution in the country and arguably the world.”
- “Former staffers for the U.S. Institute of Peace say Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is misleading people about the work of the agency. . . . USIP staff also admitted that the institute contracted with Mr. Halimi. However, they insisted Mr. Halimi had renounced the Taliban long before USIP contracted with him and that he had served as an important resource in the region.” One USIP employee said: “‘He was teaching and training Afghan women’s rights advocates on Islamic principles and also doing research on how the Taliban’s treatment of women is a violation of international human rights and Islamic law.'”
- “Hibatullah Akhundzada, the reclusive leader of the Taliban, made a rare trip from Kandahar to the Afghan capital on Friday, 12 April, to address a one-day conference attended by senior officials of the group. . . . According to Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban, Akhundzada urged Taliban officials to fulfil their responsibilities based strictly on ‘principles of Sharia.'” For more content and context on the recent developments in Afghanistan, consult our Editor-in-Chief, Professor Intisar Rabb’s “Resource Roundup: Afghanistan, the Taliban, and Islamic Law.”
- “The UAE has approved a new strategy that aims to more than double the assets of its Islamic banks in the next six years.”
- “Organized under the auspices of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the [Doha] [C]onference aims to provide Sharia-based guidance on modern challenges, including artificial intelligence, mental health, and financial ethics.”
- In Uganda, some experts have expressed their opinion that Islamic banking “offers patient capital [which] can support farmers to transform seeds into food security. . . .”
- “Abdul Aziz Ghazi[, a controversial cleric in Pakistan] accused Pakistan of inflicting systemic violence and injustice upon its citizens, pointing to the deepening crisis within the country.”
- “A violent armed raid on a Damascus nightclub last week has fuelled fears of a threat to nightlife in the Syrian capital, despite condemnation by the Islamist-led authorities.”
- “Oman will open the door to Islamic banks and also let conventional lenders run Sharia-compliant operations in a bid to grab a share of the rapidly growing Islamic finance business[,]” according to what a central bank official said.
- “Bangladesh‘s Islamists are readying to make political gains after being crushed for years by the government that was overthrown in a mass uprising last year, rallying hardline loyalists for eagerly anticipated elections.”