This week, historic protests rock Egypt as citizens demand President Hosni Mubarak step down, the Tunisian cabinet is purged, a group of Muslim and Jewish women meet in LA, a young Pakistani woman becomes the first to summit a mountain in North Pakistan, and a Brussels court acquits a woman charged for wearing the niqab.
The Guardian posted regular updates of the anti-government protests in Egypt. Some of the stories detail a proposed Million Man March, al-Jazeera being taken off the air in the country and open calls from opposition leaders for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down.
The New York Times reported that Tunisia’s interim government responded to mounting pressure from protests by ousting most members of the old cabinet. The move follows the ousting of dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. According to the Time, Tunisian protesters are growing increasingly agitated and tear gas has been fired at them.
The Los Angeles Times reported on a group of Muslim and Jewish women who have been meeting in for the past 8 years. The club, known as the West Los Angeles Cousins Club, meets monthly and discusses spirituality and mutual understanding.
OnIslam reported Samina Khayal Baig, a 20-year-old Pakistani Muslim woman, climbed 22,400 feet to the top of Chashksin Sar peak. Baig is the first woman to summit the Pakistani peak, located in the north of the South Asian country.
The Eurasia Review reported that a Brussels court acquitted a Muslim woman who was charged for wearing the niqab. Belgium’s lower house of parliament banned the full face veil, but the bill has not yet passed the country’s Senate. The court found that the fine imposed was not proportionate to the offense.
