Month: February 2021

France’s lower house of parliament is voting Tuesday on a bill that would strengthen government oversight of mosques and religious schools and crack down on polygamy and forced marriage, among other measures aimed at rooting out Islamic radicalism. The bill is part of broader French efforts to fight extremism in recent years that gained new urgency after a teacher was beheaded in October and other attacks. President Emmanuel Macron says the efforts are also needed to protect French values like gender equality and secularism from encroaching fundamentalism in some communities. But many French Muslims say the draft law limits religious freedom and unfairly targets them, and say France already has enough laws to fight terrorist violence. Critics call the bill a political maneuver by Mac...

On Monday, police said, a woman was burnt alive by her family members over an inter - faith love affair. The woman’s father, brother, brother-in-law and another person have been arrested in this connection. According to the police, the family had hired a contract killer, Varun Tiwari, and paid him 1.5 lakh rupees, to put an end to her relationship with a Muslim man. On Sunday, the victim’s father Kailash Yadav, brother Ajit Yadav, brother-in-law Satyaprakash Yadav and one Sitaram Yadav were arrested. A petrol container and motorcycle used in the crime have also been recovered by the police. While the hunt is on to trace the contract killer, a police official said. With the help of local police, CCTV footage, field unit and dog squad, the body was identified as Ranjana Yadav of Bel...