Latest news with #MuslimCommunity
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Woman punched and kicked in face on Queens subway by man with history of anti-Muslim attacks
NEW YORK — A 55-year-old Muslim woman was attacked by a stranger on a Queens train after he repeatedly asked her, 'Where are you from?' police said Thursday. The victim was on a westbound E train entering the 75th Ave. station on Queens Blvd. in Forest Hills around 4 a.m. Wednesday, when Naved Durrni, 34, approached her, cops said. 'Where are you from?' Durrni, who was wearing a surgical mask, asked as he pestered her with questions. 'Who are you? Are you Muslim?' When the woman said she was Muslim, Durrni ruthlessly attacked her, punching and slapping her in the face, head and neck repeatedly and kicking her in the face, according to the criminal complaint against him. The onslaught left the woman with a broken nose and a fractured orbital bone, as well as bruises and swelling to her eye and neck, cops said. Durrni fled the station and was apprehended about a mile away at Kew Gardens Road and 126th St., cops said. Police charged him with assault as a hate crime and aggravated harassment. Durrni has a history of anti-Muslim attacks. In June 2021 he assaulted a Muslim couple as they walked near Liberty Ave. and Lefferts Blvd. in South Richmond Hill, punching a 31-year-old man in the back and tugging on a 24-year-old woman's hijab, punching her in the arm while screaming anti-Muslim statements at both of the victims, the Daily News previously reported. An hour later he attacked another Muslim couple, punching a 56-year-old woman in her face repeatedly and breaking her nose. Also in 2021, he followed a 38-year-old woman on Sutphin Blvd., near 94th Ave. in Jamaica, flashing a knife and yelling anti-Muslim slurs, cops said. Durni was convicted of aggravated harassment in September 2022 in Queens, according to the complaint in his most recent assault. He was remanded without bail. His next court appearance is June 26 in Queens Criminal Court.
Arab News
a day ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Philippines passes law designating national day for hijab awareness
MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has signed a law recognizing the Muslim headscarf as part of the country's traditional garment culture and designating a special day to increase awareness of it. The new law, signed on Wednesday, declares Feb. 1 each year as the National Day of Awareness on the Hijab and Other Traditional Garments and Attire 'to promote diversity, awareness, and tolerance of the various religious and cultural beliefs through the wearing of indigenous and traditional clothing, head garments and coverings.' Government institutions, in coordination with the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, will under the law organize events 'that promote the cultural values of wearing the hijab and other traditional garments and attire.' Muslims constitute about 10 percent of the country's 110 million predominantly Catholic population. Most Philippine Muslims live on the southern island of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, as well as in the central-western province of Palawan. The move to recognize the Muslim garment was welcomed by the community as a step toward promoting inclusion. 'When the government does that, it's a recognition of the importance of hijabs to the Muslims. It's really promoting inclusiveness in society, and it is honoring the Muslim women,' Dr. Potre Dunampatan-Diampuan, a Filipina Muslim scholar from the United Religions Initiative, told Arab News. For Samira Gutoc, chairperson of the rights advocacy group Ako Bakwit, the new law meant that she was being seen as equal in nation-building. 'We, hijabis, aim to be part of the workforce — not just in the Philippine National Police or army, but to work alongside all,' she said. 'It is a vital measure promoting awareness, respect and acceptance of the hijab, reinforcing the rights of Muslim women to practice their faith freely.' The National Day of Awareness on the Hijab and Other Traditional Garments and Attire will coincide with World Hijab Day, which has been observed on Feb. 1 since 2013 to promote understanding and awareness about Muslim religious and cultural practices. 'Muslim women in the Philippines had been looking forward to the time when they would be seen as equal — treated equally, without any judgment,' Princess Habibah Sarip-Paudac, the Philippines' first news anchor to wear a hijab on national television, told Arab News. 'We are so happy with this (law's) passage. It only means that the government is acknowledging the concerns of its people and it is after inclusivity.'
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
The concept of ‘naseeb' offers a way to stay grounded even when the world refuses to make sense
I still remember the day I left Germany for good. Four incredible years in the heart of Europe were behind me, and ahead of me was a return to Afghanistan – a country I never stopped loving, even from afar. But what should have felt like going home came with a weight of uncertainty. I went back with hope. Real hope. Afghanistan, despite all its scars, was buzzing with young energy. More than two-thirds of the population is under 25. You could feel the hunger for change in the air – in the packed classrooms, in the cafes full of debate, in the crowded markets thick with the smell of naan and kebabs. There were snow-capped mountains and sunlit orchards but also a fragile kind of optimism holding everything together. And then, it collapsed. The Taliban returned. The dream didn't just crack – it shattered. I fled again. This time to Australia. Not just with a backpack but with heartbreak, questions and a strange, lingering word echoing in my mind: naseeb. In Muslim communities, naseeb is a word people often say when things don't go to plan. A job you didn't get. A wedding that never happened. A flight missed, or a prayer unanswered. 'It wasn't your naseeb,' people say, as if to help you let go. But what does it really mean? In today's world – where we glorify hustle, control, five-year plans and endless optimisation – naseeb almost sounds too passive. But it's not about giving up. Not really. In Islamic thinking, naseeb is the paradox of action and surrender. You do your part – fully, fiercely – but you also understand that you're not the only one writing the story. It's a kind of faith that says: work like it depends on you. Pray like it is absolutely out of your control. And then … let go. If I've learned anything from watching Afghanistan's story unfold, it's that you can't always steer the ship. This country has seen it all – modern monarchs, Marxist revolutions, a brief democratic experiment, and now a return to religious rule. Every shift came with promises and every one of them left behind disappointment. For many Afghans, naseeb isn't just a saying. It's how they keep going. A way of surviving what they cannot change. And somehow, within that, there's strength. There's a verse in the Qur'an that often plays in my mind:'Perhaps you dislike a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. Allah knows, and you do not know.' (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:216) That line has helped me through displacement, heartbreak and uncertainty. It reminds me that even when everything falls apart, the effort still matters. The fight still meant something. Rumi, the Afghan-born poet so many of us turn to for wisdom, put it in a way only he could:'Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead, let life live through you.' In that sense, naseeb isn't a chain – it's a kind of freedom. A way to stay grounded when the world refuses to make sense. Just this morning, sipping coffee on a chilly Melbourne day, I scrolled through Instagram and saw Bollywood director Karan Johar talking about it. 'There are a million people more talented than me,' he said, 'but they might not have been this successful. We are born with a naseeb – something marked in our palm lines and on our forehead.' He wasn't saying don't work hard. Quite the opposite. His point was: talent and hustle matter – but they're not the whole story. And it's not just an Islamic idea. In Judaism, there's bashert – destined fate, especially in relationships. Christianity says, 'In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.' (Proverbs 16:9). Hinduism teaches karma and divine timing. Buddhism urges us to act but not cling to outcomes. Across the board, it seems like all these traditions are hinting at the same truth: do your best but don't expect to control everything. That's a radical idea in today's grind culture. Because society says: if you don't succeed, it's on you. You didn't want it enough. You didn't work hard enough. That belief can be crushing. But naseeb offers a softer, truer alternative: effort matters – but so does grace. Now, living far from the place that raised me – and the place that broke me – I still wrestle with the 'what-ifs.' But I'm learning to live with them. To trust that my journey, full of delays and detours, is not wrong. It's just … unfolding. Khalil Gibran once summed it up very delicately:'Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.' Shadi Khan Saif is a Melbourne-based writer and journalist
New York Times
12-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Mamdani's Delicate Quest to Become New York City's First Muslim Mayor
After a day partially spent celebrating Eid al-Adha with Muslims across the city, Zohran Mamdani sat inside a West Village church on Friday for a friendly town hall on confronting corporate greed. Roughly 10 minutes in, a protester loudly disrupted the event. When he was done, a second protester jumped in. Both took offense at Mr. Mamdani's position on the Israel-Gaza war; his characterization of Israel's actions as a genocide has become a wedge issue in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City. But the protesters complained that Mr. Mamdani had not gone far enough. They said he was too soft on Israel, objecting to his stance that Israel had a right to exist as a nation. Mr. Mamdani, they said, had strayed from his Muslim roots. The candidate took immediate offense. 'To call into question how I consider myself Muslim,' he said, 'is a step too far.' For Mr. Mamdani, running to be New York City's first mayor of Muslim faith has involved a delicate balancing act, especially as the war in Gaza drags on. His faith has always been a central part of his political identity, dating to his first campaign for State Assembly. But his various stances related to the war — he supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement; believes the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, should be arrested; and does not equate anti-Zionism with antisemitism — have proved divisive during the campaign and have sometimes drawn attention to his religion. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CTV News
11-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Helping families in need
Ottawa Watch CTV's Kimberley Fowler has more on a Muslim-run food drive helping families in need.
