Syed Mohamad was celebrating a key date in the Muslim Shiite calendar in secret when officials burst in and detained him, one of several raids in Malaysia that have set the long-persecuted community on edge.Dozens of Shiites have been rounded up recently in the Sunni Muslim-majority country, including several foreigners, fuelling fears that religious authorities are stepping up a crackdown on adherents of the minority sect.Around the world, Shiite Muslims – who are far outnumbered by Sunnis,

Muslims in the conflict-blistered Thai south on Friday marked with prayers the 15th anniversary of the deaths of scores of protesters who suffocated in army trucks – an incident that galvanised an insurgency and remains an emblem of state impunity.Known across Thailand's "deep south" as the "Tak Bai massacre", the 25 October, 2004 incident remains one of the deadliest days in the rebellion by Malay-Muslims against rule by the Thai state, which colonised the provinces

From 21 June until late November 1944, all Hungarian citizens of Jewish ethnicity living in the city of Budapest were obliged to wear the yellow star and live under curfew in designated houses with the same markings, usually made out of cardboard.

A Thai Muslim student group Wednesday called for police to drop an order requesting universities to provide "intelligence" on Muslim students and their activities in the Buddhist-majority state.Muslims make up Thailand's second largest religious group, with the majority residing in its three southernmost states, which since 2004 have been in the grip of a conflict between Malay-Muslim separatist rebels and Thai authorities.Rights groups have long accused the state of heavy-hand

A US travel ban on Myanmar army chief Min Aung Hlaing over his role in orchestrating a bloody crackdown against Rohingya Muslims harms the dignity of the military, a spokesman said Wednesday, adding critics failed to properly understand the crisis.The sanctions against the army chief and three other top military brass was the strongest censure from a western power since the army launched its offensive against the Rohingya in August 2017 following attacks on police posts.Secretary of State Mik

Malaysia's prime minister on Friday vowed to help Rohingya Muslims seeking refuge in Malaysia, reiterating the call for Southeast Asian leaders to "stop the oppression" of the stateless minority group expelled from Myanmar. Last year Mahathir Mohamad castigated Myanmar civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) meet in Singapore for defending the military's crackdown on the Rohingya. His direct condemn

Early this year, it was revealed that Thailand had set a new record for tourist arrivals, welcoming as many as 38.2 million tourists in 2018. For 2019, the government there hopes to bring in as many as 41 million tourists to the Land of Smiles. One sector that can help it achieve that goal is halal (permissible by Islam) tourism.A recent annual survey by Mastercard and CrescentRating found that Thailand is one of the top holiday destinations for Muslims.

Muslims around the globe will be celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr this week, marking the end of Ramadan (fasting month).

By now, most of the world already knows that Indonesia is home to the largest Muslim demographic in the world, housing approximately 229 million Muslims. This, however, is especially pertinent considering the fact that Indonesia is about to face its largest election in a week from today on 17 April.Several political pundits as well as human rights advocates have already expressed worry regarding a rising conservatism in the country.

For more than two years, China has waged a campaign of unparalleled repression against its Islamic minorities, incarcerating an estimated one-sixth of the adult Muslim population of the Xinjiang region at one point or another.