German Rightist Wants Fasting Muslims to Be Banned
BERLIN (Dispatches) -- A lawmaker from the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) called Thursday for Muslim doctors, nurses, pilots, bus and train drivers to be banned from working during Ramadan if they are fasting.
Germany is home to some four million Muslims - including Turks who have lived here for decades as well as migrants and asylum seekers who arrived in the past few years, many fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere.
AfD politician Martin Sichert said employers who were not able to give fasting Muslims a night or early shift should be able to make them use some of their annual leave during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Sichert's comments came after Inger Stojberg, Denmark's Integration Minister, caused furor Monday by urging practicing Muslims to take vacation during Ramadan to avoid a negative impact on society.
Her letter was met with widespread criticism, including from within her own Liberal Party.
U.S. Prison Feeding Port to Muslim Inmates
In the United States, a federal judge granted a restraining order Thursday forcing prison guards in Alaska to stop giving Muslim inmates pork as they break their fasts during Ramadan, rights campaigners said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a lawsuit on Tuesday claiming Anchorage Correctional Complex had violated constitutional prohibitions against "cruel and unusual punishment.”
"CAIR has reported an unprecedented spike in bigotry targeting American Muslims and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump as president,” the Washington-based organization said in a statement.
Muslims are currently marking the holy month of Ramadan, fasting from dawn until sunset, which means going without food for around 18 hours in Anchorage.
Inmates observing the festival are given rations equating to 1,100 calories a day at most, according to the complaint, far short of the recommended daily amount of around 2,500 calories for men.
The packages contain food made of pork, which is forbidden in Islam, rendering the actual nutritional value of the meals even more inadequate.
CAIR said the treatment contravened the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and violated First and 14th Amendment rights to equal protection and free exercise of religion.
The suit seeks a "balanced nutritional diet” for inmates, as well as policy changes and compensatory and punitive damages.
Germany is home to some four million Muslims - including Turks who have lived here for decades as well as migrants and asylum seekers who arrived in the past few years, many fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere.
AfD politician Martin Sichert said employers who were not able to give fasting Muslims a night or early shift should be able to make them use some of their annual leave during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Sichert's comments came after Inger Stojberg, Denmark's Integration Minister, caused furor Monday by urging practicing Muslims to take vacation during Ramadan to avoid a negative impact on society.
Her letter was met with widespread criticism, including from within her own Liberal Party.
U.S. Prison Feeding Port to Muslim Inmates
In the United States, a federal judge granted a restraining order Thursday forcing prison guards in Alaska to stop giving Muslim inmates pork as they break their fasts during Ramadan, rights campaigners said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a lawsuit on Tuesday claiming Anchorage Correctional Complex had violated constitutional prohibitions against "cruel and unusual punishment.”
"CAIR has reported an unprecedented spike in bigotry targeting American Muslims and members of other minority groups since the election of Donald Trump as president,” the Washington-based organization said in a statement.
Muslims are currently marking the holy month of Ramadan, fasting from dawn until sunset, which means going without food for around 18 hours in Anchorage.
Inmates observing the festival are given rations equating to 1,100 calories a day at most, according to the complaint, far short of the recommended daily amount of around 2,500 calories for men.
The packages contain food made of pork, which is forbidden in Islam, rendering the actual nutritional value of the meals even more inadequate.
CAIR said the treatment contravened the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and violated First and 14th Amendment rights to equal protection and free exercise of religion.
The suit seeks a "balanced nutritional diet” for inmates, as well as policy changes and compensatory and punitive damages.