A response to a classic 'ijtihad question' on fasting and space travel:

ArabNews, UAE astronaut says not required to fast during Ramadan on ISS "“I’m in... the definition of a traveler, and we can actually break fast,” Neyadi said. “It’s not compulsory.""

As we edge towards Qatar's World Cup, here are a couple of relevant links:
Aleem Maqbool, BBC News, World Cup 2022: 'I don't want to worry about being killed' "The focus is on human rights in Qatar as it prepares to host football's World Cup, starting on Sunday. Two people tell us how ...

I'm participating in the 'Sharia in Transition' workshop at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, 29-30 ...

Iraqi #Shiite cleric Ali al-Sharifi received death threats after a video showing him being kissed by a woman went viral. He went to see Muqtada al-Sadr and pledged not to wear his turban and clerical clothes for ...

Ali Raza, InsideBitcoins, Indonesian government plans to unveil a crypto bourse by the end of 2022 "The Indonesian government plans to launch a crypto bourse by the end of the year. A report by a top government official has ...

SCMP, Why Indonesians of different faiths are mourning Ahmad Syafi’i Ma’arif, the Islamic scholar who preached ‘co-existence’ over tolerance "Ahmad Syafi’i Ma’arif, who passed away on May 27 at the age of 86, ...

BBC Pidgin, Video of Deborah Samuel killed in Shehu Shagari College of Education Sokoto for alleged blasphemy spark reactions as police arrest suspects The issue of alleged digital influence emerges in this article from BBC Pidgin. "Imam Toyi Yusuf na lawyer and journalist wey pipo sabi ...

The Peninsula, Ministry launches Islamweb in Indonesian language "The Director of the Department of Advocacy and Religious Guidance Mal Allah Al Jaber, said that ‘Islamweb Languages’ is one of the ambitious projects that the Department ...

Kemenag Jateng, Penyuluh Agama Islam Dukung Pelayanan Tranformasi Digital, 26 Feb 2022

This article (from 26 Feb) discusses prioritisation of digital services by the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs, including the Cyber Islamic ...

New and noted: Islamic Religious Authority in Cyberspace: A Qualitative Study of Muslim Religious Actors in Australia by Shaheen Amid Whyte, Religions 2022, 13(1), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13010069 This is part of 'Critical Perspectives on Digital ...

SCMP, Malaysia: TikTok ‘unboxing by husband’ trend among Muslim newlyweds condemned by religious authorities "One Muslim cleric said a man videoing ...

Reuters, 'Ashamed': Pakistan grapples with fallout from mob killing "The violence, which was condemned by rights watchdogs including Amnesty International, also drew intense responses from politicians, celebrities and journalists ...

Jana al-Issa, Hussam al-Mahmoud & Saleh Malas, Enab Baladi, Religious institution in Syria: Al-Assad’s old-new target, 5 Dec 2021

"(Abdul Rahman) Al-Haj said that the gloomy reality of the religious institution in Syria ...

BBC News, NunTok: How religion is booming on TikTok and Instagram

This is an interesting piece. I'm working on TikTok issues too for my next project: "Nuns, imams and Buddhist monks are among those sharing successful - and often fun - short-form videos on social media."

Anthony Cuthbertson, Independent, Bitcoin halal? Muslims in Indonesia told not to buy as crypto declared haram, 11 Nov 2021 "The National Ulema Council, which serves as the country’s authority on Shariah compliance, ...

The News International, Despite abundance of good looking men: Advertisers feature women in ads, says Ashrafi "Special Representative of the Prime Minister on Religious Harmony Maulana Tahir Ashrafi on Sunday ...

Sarbas Nazari, BBC News, Iran: The painful choices of being pregnant and unmarried "Iran's establishment argues that economic challenges and complicated pre-marriage rituals are pushing single Iranians away from conventional, religiously-approved marriages."

‘The Fatwa Machine’ section from ‘Hashtag Islam’ is now available translated into Arabic on mominoun.com. I’m grateful that there is interest in expanding the audience for my work, and for the effort put into this translation.

Middle East Eye, Saudi Arabia: Prominent cleric 'beaten and tortured to death while in detention' "Human rights group says Musa al-Qarni suffered from severe head wounds after heavy beating."

The National, WhatsApp down: how parts of the Middle East came to depend on the messaging service, 5 Oct 2021 "When WhatsApp went down on Monday, Dar Al Ifta, one of Egypt’s foremost Islamic advisory ...

Cyber Muslims: Mapping Islamic Digital Media in the Internet Age, Robert Rozehnal (Anthology Editor), Bloomsbury, 2022

'Cyber Muslims' (edited by Robert Rozehnal) will be out in April next year. I'm looking forward to reading it (I also have contributed to this).

Uyghur imams targeted in China's Xinjiang crackdown https://t.co/eQezwtSPzh

— Gary Bunt (@garybunt) May 17, 2021