Somalia’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs on Thursday officially reinstated the public holiday of Mawlid al-Nabi, which celebrates the birthday of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. The holiday was effectively driven underground by Islamist militants decades ago, because followers of certain Muslim traditions consider the observance to be distasteful or heretical.
Human Rights Watch expressed concern about growing violence against Sufi Muslims in Libya on Thursday, noting that two Sufi mosques in Tripoli have been attacked in the past two months.
A video posted on an encrypted social media channel used by the Islamic State purportedly shows the beheading of two elderly men found guilty of “witchcraft and sorcery” in Egypt.
Contents: Pakistan again in shock as Sufi shrine bombing is fifth terror attack in a week; Monday’s terror attack in Lahore Pakistan kills dozens; Pakistan’s government promises that each drop of blood will be avenged
Contents: Taliban attack on German consulate in Afghanistan kills six; Afghan Taliban attack on Bagram base kills four Americans; 14-year-old suicide bomber kills dozens in Sufi shrine in Pakistan
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a series of brutal terrorist attacks in Bangladesh, and is said to be intensifying its effort to recruit from the country’s huge Sunni Muslim population. Despite these developments, the Bangladeshi government continues to insist ISIS has no significant presence in their country.
A sharia court in northern Nigeria has sentenced Muslim cleric Abdul Nyass to death for insulting Mohammed last May.
