mosques

Left: A Palestinian schoolgirl in Gaza City passes by the main entrance to Pasha's Palace in 2019 as the minaret of the Omari Mosque is seen in the background. Right: Palestinians spend a Ramadan fasting day in 2019 reading the Quran inside the Omari Mosque.

Israeli strike leaves Gaza's oldest mosque in ruins

12:59pm December 09, 2023

by Daniel Estrin

The centuries-old Omari Mosque, Gaza's oldest, was badly damaged in an Israeli strike. An Israeli official told NPR it was targeted because militants were using a tunnel near the structure.

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People receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the Al-Abbas Islamic Center, converted into a vaccination clinic in Birmingham, England, in January. Sheikh Nuru Mohammed, the imam at the mosque, recognized many of his congregants were hesitant to get t

How A U.K. Imam Countered Vaccine Hesitancy And Helped Thousands Get The 'Jab'

11:02am April 26, 2021

by Frank Langfitt

Sheikh Nuru Mohammed began to fight disinformation during Friday sermons — and turned his mosque into a vaccination center. It was the first of its kind in Britain and paved the way for dozens more.

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Dozens of worshippers pray outside the Haidari Mosque in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

Pakistan Calls Off Limits On Mosque Attendance In Time For Ramadan

1:59pm April 23, 2020

The clampdown on public gatherings was openly defied by clerics and worshippers. Now the government has changed the rules as the holy month is about to begin.

Dozens of worshippers outside the Haidari Mosque in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

Pakistan Limits Worshippers At Mosques. Many Worshippers Are Defiant

1:56pm April 17, 2020

Pakistani authorities have called for a maximum of 5 worshippers in a mosque. Many in the religious community disagree — and the issue will only become more heated as Ramadan approaches.

Chinese-style tile has replaced the domes and domed minarets of the Hongsibao Mosque in China's Ningxia region. Ningxia is home to a large concentration of Hui Muslims, who have long prided themselves on assimilation but are under increasing scrutiny by C

World News

'Afraid We Will Become The Next Xinjiang': China's Hui Muslims Face Crackdown

11:19am September 26, 2019

by Emily Feng

A government crackdown on China's Muslim minorities has reached the Hui. "The pressure on not just one's religious behavior, but how one lives one's daily life, is unbearable," says a young Hui man.

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Chinese Hui Muslims pray during Eid al-Fitr prayers at Niujie Mosque in Beijing in 2015. Authorities in western China were poised to begin demolition of a mosque Friday, despite protests by members of the country's Muslim Hui ethnic minority determined to

Thousands Of Muslims Gather In China To Protest Mosque Demolition

1:29pm August 10, 2018

by Camila Domonoske

The brand-new Grand Mosque in Weizhou is slated for destruction. The Chinese government says it lacked the right permits, but worshipers see the demolition as an attack on their faith.

A person tries to open the door of a closed mosque in Vienna. The Austrian government said it's closing seven mosques as part of a crackdown on foreign financing of religious groups.

World News

Austria Will Shutter 7 Mosques And Review Residency Of Dozens Of Imams

12:07pm June 08, 2018

by Daniella Cheslow

The crackdown follows a 2015 law that bars foreign financing of religious institutions in Austria, but critics say it's driven by Islamophobia.

Muslims and Latinos line up for free halal tacos outside a mosque in Rosarito, in Baja California, Mexico, as part of the #TacoTrucksatEveryMosque Crosses the Border event, Sept. 1, 2017. The events seek to foster unity between two communities facing incr

Building A Latino-Muslim Coalition With #TacoTrucksAtEveryMosque

5:09pm February 08, 2018

by Gustavo Arellano

It's just what it sounds like. Food trucks show up at mosques to hand out free halal tacos after religious services. The goal: to foster unity between two communities facing increasing discrimination.

An Angolan Muslim walks near the ruins of a mosque in Viana, a suburb of Luanda, the Angolan capital. Community members claim that the edifice was destroyed by bulldozers in 2013 after police surrounded the mosque, arguing it did not have the proper docum

Donald Trump Isn't The Only One Calling For Restrictions On Muslims

5:10pm December 09, 2015

by Anders Kelto

Angola has cracked down on its tiny Muslim population and been accused of destroying some mosques. But the southern African nation has not called for a ban on Muslim immigrants.