Islam

Daoud Riffi is an associate professor and historian. Publisher (Tasnîm Editions), consultant, and

What is Syria's place in the sacred geography of Islam?

Among the sacred places mentioned in Islamic sources are Mecca, Sinai, and Jerusalem, but also Syria (the Shām) and particularly Damascus, as explained by Daoud Riffi.

December 24th, 2024 at 04:20 am (Europe\Rome)

Women on the street in Shiraz, fifth-most-populous city of Iran. (Photo from Wikimedia Commons / CC

Iranian regime prefers to delay harsh new hijab law

After the defeat of its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon and the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, the Islamic Republic appears vulnerable.

December 19th, 2024 at 08:00 am (Europe\Rome)

Iranian singer defies regime with unveiled performance, arrested for 'courageous' act

Parastoo Ahmadi was arrested with two musicians after broadcasting an online concert bare-shouldered and without a veil. Her bold act, which was praised globally, comes amid debates over a new law promoting “chastity and hijab” within Iran's institutions.

December 16th, 2024 at 05:00 am (Europe\Rome)

Saint Elijah Maronite Cathedral, Aleppo (Preacher Iad/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Syria: 'Some Christians supported the Assad regime, certainly as the lesser evil'

In constant contact with Christian communities in Syria, Antoine Fleyfel, Director of the Institute for Eastern Christians (ICO) in Paris, bears witness to their hopes since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad's regime. However, he emphasizes how their history has led them to live fearing massacres.

December 14th, 2024 at 01:17 am (Europe\Rome)

The astounding resistance of Afghan women

In the documentary Bread and Roses, filmed on mobile phones, exiled filmmaker Sahra Mani portrays three Afghan women risking their lives to oppose Taliban oppression—a poignant testament to their courage, three years after the fundamentalists regained power in Kabul.

December 11th, 2024 at 05:00 am (Europe\Rome)

Screenshot of Cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialo

Cardinal Miguel Ayuso Guixot, pioneer of interreligious dialogue, dead at 72

Spanish Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, passed away November 25 at the age of 72. He was a key architect of the Vatican's dialogue with Islam and the agreements signed with Muslim leaders in recent years.

November 26th, 2024 at 10:00 am (Europe\Rome)

(Illustration photo) A checkpoint in Vanak Square, northern Tehran, 2007. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi

From clinics to cameras, a war against women in Iran

As a new law mandates surveillance and punishment through cameras and fines for Iranian women who refuse to wear the hijab, authorities have announced the creation of a 'clinic' for dissenters.

November 22nd, 2024 at 02:00 am (Europe\Rome)

Nila Ibrahimi addresses the 15th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy | May 17 2023

Afghan teen wins International Children’s Peace Prize

Nila Ibrahimi, a 17-year-old Afghan refugee in Canada, won the International Children’s Peace Prize for her viral protest song against the Taliban. Defying oppression, she inspired global change, amplifying Afghan women’s voices and advocating for their rights and education.

November 20th, 2024 at 05:00 am (Europe\Rome)

(Illustration photo) Young woman in Shiraz, Central Iran, 18 June 2012. (Photo by Masoud Shahrestan

‘It is from the belly of the Iranian beast that resistance persists’

Chowra Makaremi, researcher and anthropologist, reflects on the protest movement that has been ongoing in Iran for the past two years, explaining that this resistance is all the more powerful because it takes place at the very heart of the repressive apparatus.

November 19th, 2024 at 08:55 am (Europe\Rome)

In Libya, a morality police project sparks controversy

The Minister of Interior for the National Unity Government, Imed Trabelsi, has called for the enforcement of the “country's traditions,” including mandatory hijab wearing.

November 16th, 2024 at 06:31 am (Europe\Rome)