Afghan regime’s return to public stoning and flogging is because there is ‘no one to hold them accountable’ for abuses, say activists

The Taliban’s announcement that it is resuming publicly stoning women to death has been enabled by the international community’s silence, human rights groups have said.

Safia Arefi, a lawyer and head of the Afghan human rights organisation Women’s Window of Hope, said the announcement had condemned Afghan women to return to the darkest days of Taliban rule in the 1990s.

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Anger from politicians across the spectrum as Paris principal resigns following online death threats

French politicians from across the spectrum have expressed dismay over the resignation of a Paris school principal who had received death threats after asking a student to remove her Muslim veil on the premises.

In a show of support, prime minister Gabriel Attal, a former education minister, was set to receive the principal late on Wednesday, his office said.

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After years as the only Muslim woman on the comedy circuit, the standup is now making history with a female touring troupe. She relives the attacks she faced on the way, from ‘letterbox’ burqa taunts to Isis allegations

For years, Muslim women have been the butt of the joke. We have been described as looking like “bank robbers” and “ letterboxes ” by the likes of Bernard Manning and Boris Johnson. And from Jack “ take off your veils ” Straw to Donald Trump, who said at least we “don’t have to put on makeup”, white men in power have continuously attacked us for cheap laughs.

We couldn’t retaliate. We were the voiceless, faceless, humourless, powerless underdogs of society. While white women operated in a variety of roles – pop stars, models, newsreaders, politicians – we were only ever seen baking cakes in a burqa or becoming Jihadi brides.

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Young people are slowly stopping attending Dalston mosque that could be forced to accept developers’ offers, says owner

Nestled among the kebab shops, Caribbean takeaways and flashy new-build flats in Dalston, north-east London, sits the UK’s first Turkish mosque. Like many things built by and for the deep-rooted communities in this heavily gentrified part of London, it is fighting for survival.

“Our bills have tripled, costs to maintain the building have soared and we are not collecting enough money,” said Erkin Güney, 59, who runs and owns Masjid Ramadan, also known as the Shacklewell Lane mosque. He said the mosque could be forced to close its doors by next Ramadan.

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In 2022, MoJ data shows 34% of those targeted with synthetic Pava spray were Muslims, who make up 18% of prison population

Muslim prisoners in England and Wales are being disproportionately targeted with the use of pepper spray according to campaigners, with statistics showing the number of incidents has risen sharply in recent years.

The Ministry of Justice data, obtained from a freedom of information request submitted by the advocacy organisation Maslaha, shows that in 2022, 34% of those targeted with Pava, a synthetic form of pepper spray, were Muslim, despite only making up 18% of the prison population. Pava was drawn and used against Muslim prisoners 188 times in 2022 and was drawn but not used by prison officers 54 times.

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Whether something is racist or homophobic, or threatens parliamentary democracy, should be obvious without government labelling

How do you define extremism? That depends on whether you want a definition with which most people can agree, or one that is meaningful. A definition acceptable to most people must necessarily be broad and bland. One that has more meaning will inevitably be controversial and contested.

And therein lies one of Michael Gove’s problems in his new definition of extremism . Such a definition is either unnecessary or it creates the very problems it is supposed to solve.

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The point guard is a talented prospect. But the French Federation of Basketball’s ban on religious headwear means she cannot play in her hometown of Paris

The energy radiating from Diaba Konaté is palpable, even over our transatlantic Zoom chat. The wide-smiling college star has dreamed of playing basketball in the States ever since she was a young girl. She moved to the US from France in December 2018 on a full scholarship from Idaho State University, later transferring as a junior to the University of California, Irvine.

The 23-year-old point guard’s collegiate highlights include averaging 8.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game as a junior, ranking among the top-30 in the nation with her free-throw percentage, and tying eighth in single-season school history with 63 steals. She also reached 1,000 points in her collegiate career after dropping a season-high 20 against UC Santa Barbara in February 2023.

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The Muslim holy month of Ramadan, featuring celebrations, prayers, pre-dawn breakfasts and post-sundown meals, began at sunrise Monday in the Middle East and a day later in much of Asia. In the Muslim lunar calendar, months begin only when the new moon is sighted, which can lead to variations of a day or two

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Michael Gove is rewriting the government’s definition of ‘extremism’ but his actions have drawn criticism from across the political spectrum. Columnist Rafael Behr reports

Why does the government need a new definition of extremism? There are two ways of answering that, the Guardian’s political columnist Rafael Behr tells Michael Safi. If you listen to the communities secretary, Michael Gove, you would hear a dark story of how certain organisations present themselves as moderate but beneath the surface are ideologically dangerous. These groups must be banned from interacting with the government at any level and blocked from receiving any funding. Another motivation, which the Conservatives would deny, is that it is an election year and they are fighting a campaign based on finding potential cultural dividing lines with Labour.

It’s been a bumpy week for the government to be highlighting its plan to deal with extremism. Rishi Sunak has spend much of it fending off demands to return a donation of £10m from a man who told a 2019 meeting that seeing Diane Abbott made you ‘want to hate all black women’ and that the MP ‘should be shot’. Downing Street eventually upgraded its criticism from ‘unacceptable’ to ‘racist and wrong’ but at the time of recording was refusing to return the donation.

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