Scotblood – First Minister visits Edinburgh Donor Centre

Today First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP visited the Edinburgh Donor Centre, to thank donors and staff for their efforts during the busy festive season. During the visit she also met with representatives from the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society (SABS), who have been working with the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) to encourage more people to give blood, especially members of the Muslim community.

Imminent execution of six in Saudi, Six sentenced to death in Bahrain VOB.ORG

There are fears among the inhabitants of East Arabia that the execution of six Shia Muslims from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia may be imminent. Yesterday they were transferred from a prison in the Eastern city of Dammam to the capital, Riyadh, where executions often takes place.

Opinion | It’s time for the U.N. to sanction Saudi Arabia

Ripples of reform from Riyadh have been attracting positive press for the Saudis in Washington. The government recently pledged to permit women to drive, allow movie theaters into the country and to teach physical education to girls in schools. These are important steps, especially for gender equality.

From ‘Sort of Muslim’ to ‘Proud to be Alevi’: Young British Alevis and Identity

This presentation explains how the negative identity of second-generation Alevis in the UK has been transmitted intergenerationally, linked to their history of persecuted exclusion in Turkey and to the transnational settlement of Alevi migrants in the UK, and how this sense of marginalisation and invisibility in the receiving country can be addressed.

Before the Printed Word: Texts, Scribes and Transmission | The Institute of Ismaili Studies

Ismaili historiography has often lamented the destruction of renowned libraries developed under the Fatimids in Egypt (10th-12th centuries) and the Nizaris of Alamut times (11th-13th centuries). In many ways, this loss represented the eclipse of an important chapter in Muslim history that had witnessed the flourishing of learning and intellectual exchange across different societies.

The Unthought in Islam: The Shi`a and Shi`ism in the Western Diaspora

The Edinburgh workshop addressed Shii perceptions about being Shii in Scotland, the UK and elsewhere in the Western diaspora. The workshop was held in Edinburgh over 5-7 May, 2017 and included academic presentations and discussions by representatives of the faith community itself.

UK and the Gulf:

Inside the Saudi town that’s been under siege for three months by its own government

When Donald Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on his first trip abroad as US President in May, officials in Riyadh made a spectacular effort to promote the idea of unity in the Muslim world, inviting more than 100 leaders of Muslim nations to attend the Arab Islamic American Summit with the new President.

Opinion | An Ally Is Set to Execute Critics. Will Mr. Trump Be Silent?

Mujtaba al-Sweikat was a bright 17-year-old student on his way to visit Western Michigan University when he was arrested at King Fahd Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 2012. Since then, Mr. Sweikat has been in Saudi custody, subjected to torture, including beatings so severe his shoulder was broken, in order to extract confessions that sealed his fate: condemned to death, likely by beheading.