Monday December 31, 2007 
Fairy lights an ecological disaster, Royals told
Nick Allen, Telegraph
Those who festoon their homes with Christmas lights are damaging the environment, the Royal Family was told during a church service at Sandringham on Sunday. The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Rev Graham James, said in a sermon at St Mary Magdalene Church: "Some people, I have noticed around here, turn their houses into minor ecological disaster zones." It was unclear whether the bishop had in mind anyone in the congregation, which included the Queen and the Countess of Wessex...

Festive lights a disaster, says Bishop
The Times
People who cover the outside of their homes in Christmas lights are creating minor ecological disaster zones, a bishop told members of the Royal Family, including the Queen, at a church service yesterday. It seemed, however, that the Right Rev Graham James, Bishop of Norwich, was unaware that the Queen’s Sandringham estate was illuminated with 805m (880 yards) of lights supplied by Blackpool Council.

2008’s ‘will be greats’…!!! (Walls Come Tumbling Down)
“We have to honor the wishes of the Pakistani people” (Alt.Muslim)

Sunday December 30, 2007 
Catholic leader claims Poles could split Church
Jonathan Wynne-Jones and Vikki Miller, Sunday Telegraph
The leader of the country's Roman Catholics has sparked a row by accusing immigrants of creating a separate church in Britain. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster, urged the Polish community to do more to learn English and integrate into local parishes, claiming the Catholic Church in the UK was in danger of dividing along ethnic lines as the number of Polish-speaking churches rose. Leading Polish community figures said they felt "violated" and "spiritually raped" by his words...

MPs challenge 'doctrinaire' bishops
Anushka Asthana, The Observer
Roman Catholic bishops are to appear in front of a powerful committee of MPs amid fears that they are pushing a fundamentalist brand of their religion in schools. Bishops have called on parents, teachers and priests to strengthen the role of religion in education. In one case the Bishop of Lancaster, Patrick O'Donoghue, instructed Catholic schools across much of north-west England to stop 'safe-sex' education and place crucifixes in all classrooms.

Torygraph promotes Islamic reform (Islamophobia Watch)
Democracy: an existential threat? (Ali Abunimah and Omar Barghouti, Guardian CiF)
Muhammad the Profit: Commerce, Play, and Entertainment in the Neoliberal Imperium (Tabsir)
Spencerdanism: A new cult? (islam, Muslims and an Anthropologist)

Saturday December 29, 2007 
Vatican to create more exorcists to tackle 'evil'
Nick Pisa, Telegraph
The Roman Catholic Church has vowed to "fight the Devil head-on" by training hundreds of priests as exorcists. Father Gabriele Amorth, 82, the Vatican's Exorcist in Chief, announced the initiative amid the Church's concerns about growing worldwide interest in Satanism and the occult. According to plans being considered, each bishop would have a group of priests in his diocese who were specially trained in exorcism and on hand to take action against "extreme Godlessness".

The “Official Narrative” Has Been Laid Down for us- On the Assassination of Benazir Bhutto (Muslimmatters)
When Mr Spencer is too busy (islam, Muslims and an Anthropologist)
Blogger behind bars (Iman al-Qahtani, Guardian CiF)

Friday December 28, 2007 
Muslims should be proud to support England's cricket team, says first Islamic Minister
Jane Merrick, Daily Mail
Muslims living in England should be proud to support the national cricket team and should celebrate the country they belong to, Britain's first Muslim Minister said last night. Shahid Malik issued a call to the Islamic community to embrace, not reject, Englishness as part of their identity. The International Development Minister said he did not endorse the "cricket test" proposed by former Tory Cabinet Minister Norman Tebbit. But he said he and many of his Muslim friends were enthusiastic fans of England's...

Subcontinental sisters
Rupa Huq, Guardian CiF
"It's only by the grace of Allah that I am here," declared the sari-clad exiled Asian leader of the opposition in a rare appearance in London earlier this year. The packed audience, there to ogle a female ex-head of state, were then treated to the detail of 19 previous assassination attempts - up to a hand-grenade incident where party workers had been killed forming a human-shield around her. To me, those words uttered by Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina Wajid to a packed lecture theatre at SOAS...

Thursday December 27, 2007
Only third of MPs back tougher anti-terror law
Patrick Wintour, The Guardian
Gordon Brown's hopes of securing a parliamentary majority for his plans to extend the time terrorist suspects can be detained without charge have been dealt a severe blow by a survey of Commons opinion showing only a third of MPs back tougher laws. The survey also reveals the appetite for further anti-terror legislation among Brown's own MPs is faltering, with 48% of Labour MPs agreeing there has been too much anti-terror legislation.

Anti-Islamic outsider is top Dutch politician
Michael Steen, Financial Times
Geert Wilders, who compares the Koran to Mein Kampf, has been named the Netherlands’ politician of the year in a poll run by public broadcaster NOS. Mr Wilders’ pithy and shocking soundbites – he warned of a “tsunami of Islamisation” – have dominated headlines ... Mr Wilders’ proposed solutions are deeply radical: stop all Muslim immigration, ban the building of mosques and ask the 1m Muslims among the Dutch population of 16m to “go to their own countries” or give up their religion.

Pakistan to Najistan [The murder of Benazir Bhutto] (Indian Muslims)
Benazir: 'I am not afraid of death' (Ruth Gledhill)

Wednesday December 26, 2007 
Human greed is a threat to the planet, warns Williams
Andrew Grice, Independent
A stark warning that human greed is threatening to destroy the environment was issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury in his Christmas message, while the leader of Roman Catholics in England and Wales appealed to people to be more welcoming to immigrants. Dr Rowan Williams appealed to Christians to do more to safeguard the planet, saying it should not be used "as a warehouse of resources to serve humanity's selfishness".

Whose liberation?
Salam Al-Mahadin, Guardian CiF
One of the most elusive tasks I have faced at conferences has been a definition of "Muslim women" from which I could lay out the terms of their suffering and, in a true pompous academic fashion, advance some proposals for their liberation. The moment the term "Muslim women" is deconstructed, my argument reaches an impasse. On the other hand, incorporating it into any diatribe against misogyny, oppression and persecution threatens to reduce my argument to one where Islam is the sole culprit.

Labour peer Lord Ahmed in horror M1 smash that leaves motorist dead
Daily Mail (L)
Labour peer Lord Ahmed has been involved in a six-car Christmas Day horror smash that claimed the life of a Slovakian driver. The 49-year-old Muslim peer was at the wheel of his gold coloured X Type Jaguar when it ploughed into an Audi A4 that had broken down in the fast lane of the M1 near Rotherham. The 28-year-old victim died instantly in the impact and Lord Ahmed - who helped free British teacher Gillian Gibbons in Sudan last month - suffered severe facial injuries and shock.

The Word of Muhammad :: ZemZem (CLOSER)
Cardinal's sermon on immigration shows his staggering ignorance (Islamophobia Watch)
The obsession with foreign prisoners returns (Indigo Jo Blogs)

Tuesday December 25, 2007 
Pakistan clerics persecute 'non Muslims'
Isambard Wilkinson, Telegraph Online
Hardline clerics are using Pakistan's blasphemy laws to persecute members of a small Islamic splinter group they say are not proper Muslims. The two million-strong Ahmadiyya community, based in Rabwah in the Punjab, risks charges of "impersonating Muslims" under the country's controversial religious laws. Shameen Ahmad Khalid, a community leader, said: "We have people serving long jail sentences for blasphemy or for 'posing as Muslims'."

Holding out for a hero
Shelina Zahra Janmohamed, Guardian CiF
Jesus is probably the biggest celebrity in the messiah club. He gets a big celebration every year, with prickly trees, shiny baubles and fat chap in a floppy red hat. The nativity story goes that he was born in a manger, made a significant contribution to world theology, shook the Roman Empire and then made the final sacrifice for his people. It is a classic messiah tale - lowly origins, signs at his birth to portend his greatness, epic impact and change on an unimaginable scale, and heroic dedication till the very end.

“Mamma li Turchi!!”, Italy and the Saladin Syndrome (islam, Muslims and an Anthropologist)

Monday December 24, 2007 
Muslim shopper battered to death in 'race attack'
James Tozer, Daily Mail
An Asian was battered to death in a suspected racist attack as he walked to the shops. Asaf Mahmood Ahmed, a 28-year-old Muslim, was found dying in an alleyway and witnesses have told police they heard racial insults moments earlier. A 15-year-old and an 18-year-old were arrested on suspicion of murder and were being questioned in custody last night. Mr Ahmed was found lying on the ground shortly before 10pm on Friday at the back of Derby Ward Labour Club in Deane, Bolton.

New wave of Poles bolsters 'Catholic Britain'
Jonathan Brown, Independent
A fierce debate over the growing influence of the Catholic Church was sparked yesterday when research revealed that churchgoing Catholics now outstrip the number of practising Anglicans. The findings were revealed the day after it was confirmed that Tony Blair had been received into the Catholic Church following years of speculation over his faith. In the first study of its kind, estimates for church attendance in 2006 showed that 861,800 Catholics attended services on a typical Sunday compared with 852,500 Anglicans.

Climate of suspicion
Seamus Milne, Guardian CiF
Perhaps it's not surprising that someone who describes himself as phobic about the concept of Islamophobia and thinks that the invasion of Iraq is a "subject of purely historical interest" might struggle to grasp why the relentless campaign of hostile media stories about the Muslim community is toxic and dangerous - or recognise that it is driven by a neoconservative agenda about terror and war. Muslims in Britain have been demonised...

Anger over plan to broadcast Muslim call to prayer on loudspeaker in Oxford
Daily Mail (L)
Muslim plans to broadcast a loudspeaker call to prayer from a city centre mosque have been attacked by local residents who say it would turn the area into a "Muslim ghetto". Dozens of people packed out a council meeting to express their concerns over the plans for a two-minute long call to prayer to be issued three times a day, saying that it could drown out the traditional sound of church bells. But a spokesman for the Central Mosque said that Muslim's also have the right to summon worshippers.

Thirty pieces of silver (Tony Parsons, Daily Mirror)
The Kaaba’s New Kiswah (Tabsir)

Sunday December 23, 2007
Muslims break taboo to allow guide dog into mosque
Abul Taher, Sunday Times
A RETRIEVER is in training to become the first dog in Britain to be permitted to enter a mosque, acting as a guide for its blind Muslim owner. The animal has been chosen because it salivates less than usual, thus reducing the risk of flicking spittle onto other worshippers at the Al Falah mosque in Leicester. Keeping pet dogs is considered “haram” (the Arabic word for “forbidden”) in Islamic teaching, because they are regarded as unclean, particularly their saliva.

Saturday December 22, 2007 
Orderly stoning for Satan
Riazat Butt, The Guardian
Security officials were on high alert yesterday as millions of Muslims rushed to complete the last rituals of hajj. In previous years there have been stampedes in Mina, leaving hundreds dead, when pilgrims took all their belongings from their tents to Jamaraat to stone the devil for the third and final time. Early reports, however, suggested that pilgrims were stoning Satan in an orderly fashion and new measures were in place to prevent any tragedies.

Victorian intolerance
Mark Lawson, The Guardian
Recent Liberal Democrat leaders have suffered some name-calling, but had so far avoided being dubbed the anti-Christ. But Nick Clegg has risked this epithet from the popular press and populist preachers by telling Radio 5 Live that he does not believe in God.
Clegg is not the first admitted atheist to run a mainstream British party. Neil Kinnock was always clear about his lack of belief, and the diaries of Edwina Currie tell us that John Major, during a post-coital bath, confessed to agnosticism...

Saudi police nab militants as pilgrims complete haj
Jonathan Wright, Reuters
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi security forces arrested suspected al Qaeda militants planning attacks during the haj pilgrimage, a Saudi-owned television said on Friday as Muslim pilgrims performed the last rituals in Mecca. Dubai-based Al Arabiya television quoted an unnamed security official as saying the suspects aimed to cause "security confusion" during the annual pilgrimage, in which more than 2 million Muslims were taking part.

Muslims further Inter-Faith Dialogue
Guy Dinmore, AIM
More than 130 Muslim scholars and religious leaders will issue a Christmas message of thanks and greetings to the Christian world this weekend. The message, hailed as unique and historic by theologians on both sides, follows a letter by the same group to Pope Benedict XVI, accepting his invitation to the Vatican and proposing outlines of an agenda focusing on theological, social and moral issues. Stressing the sanctity of every individual life and calling for healing and peace in a suffering world...

Tri-City Herald: Opinions - Hannah Allam: Muslims speak out through Arab-themed T-shirts (CLOSER)
Muslim Youth Helplines (Muslimmatters)
Tony Blair converts to Catholicism (Ruth Gledhill)
Iraq: The Hidden Human Costs (Tabsir)

Friday December 21, 2007 
Non-believers to sit in judgment on churches
Ruth Gledhill, The Times
Non-Christians are to be paid £30 a time to go to church, under a research programme to find out why more people do not practise the Christian faith. The new “mystery worshipper” scheme will be modelled on the “mystery shopper” schemes used by researchers to gauge the service offered by hotels, shops and other branches of the service industry. The project could even result in a “league table”, by which churches are ranked according to their appraisal score.

BA 'refused Sabbath observance'
Jonathan Petre, Telegraph
A Jewish man has claimed that British Airways banned him from taking Saturdays off to observe the Sabbath. Daniel Rosenthal, a customer service agent at Heathrow, refused to work after BA told him that he could no longer have the day off. The London Beth Din, the court of the Chief Rabbi, sent Mr Rosenthal a letter, which read: "We find it extraordinary that your employers are not prepared to respect your wish to continue observing our religion."

Women's Institute members told: 'Don't say prayers at carol concerts - it will offend non-Christians'
James Mills, Daily Mail
One of the leading figures in the Women's Institute has urged members to ban prayers from carol concerts. Jane Harris, a regional chairman of the organisation, said prayers were "not appropriate" because many WI members are non-Christians. "Although most non-Christians are happy to go along with the Christmas traditions, the WI is a secular organisation and therefore we should not include prayers at these events," Mrs Harris said in her column in a WI newsletter.

'Muslims are stealing our culture and traditions' (Islamophobia Watch)
Leyton: mosque hits back after extremism claim (Islamophobia Watch)

Thursday December 20, 2007 
Guantánamo three held on return to UK
Vikram Dodd, Patrick Wintour and Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian
Three men released from Guantánamo Bay after five years yesterday were being held by British police last night, even though, according to counter-terrorism sources, they are unlikely to face criminal charges in the UK. Last night it emerged Spanish authorities have told British police they will seek to extradite two of the men - Jamil el-Banna and Omar Deghayes - who could face terrorism charges in Spain. El-Banna was last night arrested on behalf of the Spanish authorities.

Cameron must rein in these toxic neocon attack dogs
Seumas Milne, The Guardian
Last Saturday, Ahmed Hassan, a 17-year-old Muslim student, was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack by a gang of white youths at Dewsbury railway station in west Yorkshire. Two have now been charged with his murder, and police say they are investigating whether there was a racial or religious motivation. In the Muslim communities in Dewsbury and neighbouring Batley, where Hassan lived, there's little doubt about it.

Guantanamo 'Brits' arrested on return to UK after four years in terror detention (Stephen Wright, Daily Mail)
Freed 'terror 3' held in the UK  (George Pascoe-Watson, The Sun)

Wednesday December 19, 2007 
Anti-terror police investigate children’s ‘suicide bomb’ DVD
Russell Jenkins, The Times
Anti-terrorist police are investigating the sale of a children’s DVD that appears to glorify suicide bombing. The disc, part of an Egyptian-made series, shows a girl singing about following in her mother’s footsteps and sacrificing herself in pursuit of jihad. It was apparently bought in a Muslim bookshop in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The first video shows an Arab woman playing with her two children before leaving home with dynamite tucked into her dress.

Stoning the devil
Riazat Butt, The Guardian
To the untrained eye al-jamrah al-aqabah al-kubra is just a concrete wall about 30 metres long and 18 metres high. Closer inspection reveals that it is a very particular wall, surrounded by CCTV cameras and a carefully directed one-way human traffic system. This wall, as with the two others in Mina - al-Jamrah al-Wusta and al-jamrah al-Sughra - forms part of the stoning the devil ritual, when Muslim pilgrims re-enact Abraham's rejection of Satan.

Anglican amendment
Eliane Glaser, The Guardian
On my way to buy a sandwich at lunchtime, a 10-minute round trip at most, I pass seven Christmas trees, a poster advertising carol services, bountiful lamp-post decorations and an estate agent with computer screens forlornly garlanded with tinsel. My attentiveness to these details is heightened by the fact that I am Jewish and, although not religious, celebrate Hanukah rather than Christmas with my family. Hanukah this year was on December 4 (it shifts with the lunar calendar)...

Was MPACUK Wrong To Attack Sufi Leaders?
MPACUK
Members of the website may know that MPACUK is non sectarian and we often attack Mosque and student so called emirs for their almost racist addiction to sectarianism. Often they are so drunk on their hatred of the sect down the road that they cannot see any of the major political attacks happening right under their own noses. The author of this article knows all too well the idiocy that these cults instil in their adherents, since I was one of them for many years.

Farmers warned not to sell lambs to Muslims who want them for religious sacrifice
Daily Mail (L)
Muslims are asking farmers to illegally slaughter animals as part of their Eid celebrations. Environmental health chiefs are warning farmers against the illicit practice after one was approached by a group of Muslims wanting to ritually sacrifice 40 lambs. The men approached farmer Alan Davies asking to buy and illicitly kill lambs on his land as part of the Eid celebrations which start today. Mr Davies, 58, of Pinfold Farm, Ribchester, Lancs, alerted health officers after men came knocking at his door...

Mohammed now second most popular boys' name in Britain
Andy Dolan, Daily Mail (L)
For the last 13 years it has reigned supreme as the most popular boy's name in the land. But in multicultural Britain, children named after the Muslim prophet Mohammed could soon be outnumbering the long-time favourite Jack. In a reflection of the increasing influence of Islam on UK society, figures released by the Office of National Statistics yesterday showed that the most popular spelling of the name - Mohammed - had climbed five places to 17th in the annual list of most popular baby names.

MPACUK incites murder (it says here) (Islamophobia Watch)
Another non-terrorist imprisoned (Islamophobia Watch)
Ahmadinejad and five facts about the hajj (Joanna Sugden)

Tuesday December 18, 2007 
Ahmadinejad joins pilgrimage to Mecca
Joanna Sugden and agencies, The Times
President Ahmadinejad has become the first Iranian leader to perform the hajj. Mr Ahmadinejad was asked by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, a close US ally, to join nearly two million Muslims at the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Islam requires all physically able Muslims to perform the journey at least once, if they can afford it, but Mr Ahmadinejad is the first President of Shia-dominated Iran to make this expedition to Sunni-governed Saudi Arabia.

Was Muslim 'model student' the victim of a race murder?
Chris Brooke and Jaya Narain, Daily Mail
An A-level student who dreamed of becoming a lawyer was stabbed to death as he waited on a railway platform. In what police are treating as an unprovoked attack, Ahmed Hassan, 17, was knifed in the back while out shopping for presents for Christmas and the Muslim festival of Eid. Officers were questioning three white teenagers, aged 17, 18 and 19, in connection with the murder at Dewsbury railway station in West Yorkshire.

Bomb plot suspect escaped while praying
Zahid Hussain and Sean O'Neill and Catherine Philp, The Times
Rashid Rauf, a key suspect in the alleged Heathrow bomb plot, escaped police custody in Pakistan after officers allowed him to pray at a mosque as he was being driven back to prison in his uncle’s car. The bizarre details of Mr Rauf’s escape, and the lax security, emerged as he spent his second day on the run, and are a huge embarrassment for the Pakistani Government.  Mr Rauf fled while being driven by two police officers from a court in Islamabad, where he had appeared over Britain’s request for his extradition.

IOL Second Life Hajj Goes Japanese
Mohammad Yahia, IslamOnline
CAIRO — Muslims in Japan can now have a hands-on training experience of hajj after the launch of a new Japanese version of IslamOnline.net's educational program on the annual ritual in the virtual world of Second Life. "We were impressed by IslamOnline.net's program which aims to spread awareness about hajj using a new and innovative method," Ichiro Ohira, regional manager of Japanese TV Asahi in Cairo, told IslamOnline.net. In association with Asahi, IOL has translated into Japanese all the material of its virtual hajj training program, which was launched on IOL's own island in Second Life on December 9.

Damsels in distress?
Soumaya Ghannoushi, Guardian CiF
It seems that Muslim women - particularly those living in western capitals- are destined to remain besieged by two debilitating discourses, which though different in appearance, are one in essence. The first of these is conservative and exclusionist, sentencing Muslim women to a life of childbearing and rearing ... The other is a "liberation" discourse that vows to break Muslim woman's bondage and free her of the oppressive yoke...

Left for dead by New Labour, liberal Britain must urgently fight back
John Pilger, The Guardian
The former Murdoch retainer Andrew Neil has described James Murdoch, the heir apparent, as a "social liberal". What strikes me is his casual use of "liberal" for the new ruler of an empire devoted to the promotion of war, conquest and human division. Neil's view is not unusual. In the murdochracy that Britain has largely become, once noble terms such as democracy, reform, even freedom itself, have long been emptied of their meaning.

Carlile's curious reasoning
Inayat Bunglawala, Guardian CiF
Lord Carlile - a Liberal Democrat peer - was appointed by Tony Blair's government in 2005 to act as an independent reviewer of anti-terror legislation. How effective has he been? He has surprised many civil liberties groups by his vocal support for the continued use of control orders on people suspected of involvement in terrorism. Control orders severely restrict who a person can meet and where they can go. They can potentially last indefinitely.

British children targeted with sing-along DVD for would-be suicide bombers
Daily Mail (L)
A children's sing-along DVD for would-be suicide bombers is being investigated by police after being found on sale in one of Britain's terrorist hotbeds. The disturbing disc of music videos - part of an Egyptian-made series - shows a young girl singing about following in the footsteps of her suicide bomber mother. A group of self-proclaimed orphans also turn against the West over the plight of the Palestinian people. The shocking DVD was purchased in Bradford, West Yorks, and full details of the Leeds-based UK distributors are contained on the back of the cover.

14% of stop and searches on ethnic minorities (Rolled-up Trousers)
Rape victim pardoned by Saudi King (Joanna Sugden)
A lesson to learn (Islam, Muslims and an Anthropologist)

Monday December 17, 2007 
Three teenagers held after Muslim, 17, dies from a knife wound
David Sanderson, The Times
Three people were in police custody last night after a Muslim teenager was stabbed to death in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. The victim, aged 17, was attacked near the town’s railway station at about 2pm on Saturday. A 24-year-old man was arrested and later released, but three other young men aged 17, 18 and 19, who are all believed to be white, were still being held for questioning. Transport police closed the station after the attack but it was reopened yesterday.

One religion, two countries
Rowenna Davis, Guardian Unlimited
"Baby, listen to me, I came here and I like to live independent," said Akhtar Mamood, his Pakistani-New York accent coming out staccato. "This country gave me food, money, respect - I love this country." Mamood, who immigrated to the US more than 30 years ago, is proud to call America home. He talked to me during break at his favorite Pakistani lunch spot. "We make money independently here and we're free to do what we want," he said. "We're proud to be American."

Why one Muslim girl became a born-again virgin for her wedding night
Diana Appleyard, Daily Mail
When Aisha Salim marries her fiancé in Pakistan next March, it will be the wedding of her dreams. Wearing a veil and gown, she will be every inch the fairytale virgin bride and as befits her strict Muslim religion, after the ceremony, she will hand her blooded wedding-night sheets to her in-laws as proof of her virginity. But far from being the traditional untouched bride that many Muslim families demand, she is a modern-day university graduate who has smoked, drunk, made love to - and even lived with - a previous English boyfriend. To disguise the fact that she has had sex, she has paid for painful surgery to "restore" her virginity.

The ways we betray the spirit of the nativity story
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, The Independent
My children were only ever goats and sheep, except in the early years when they were at a Montessori run by a Muslim woman who gave them the good parts. And Coca-Cola Santa is all around us. Within a radius of 10 miles, I counted 12 of these jolly chaps enticing young kids on to their laps in stores so mummies and daddies will get to spend lots of dosh. The fat man with his sack – the saint of gross materialism and instigator of greed – is surely the Antichrist if one considers the life of the great Saviour.

Much more than receipts
Abdurahman Jafar, Guardian CiF
Despite the evidence casting doubt on research methods in Policy Exchange's recent report, Hijacking British Islam, the fact remains - as Brian Whitaker noted on CiF last week - that Muslim literature carrying offensive ideas is widely available. Religious books carrying repugnant views are far from unique to one particular religion. Indeed, Policy Exchange makes the point that "adultery, apostasy and homosexuality, for instance, are deprecated by all the Abrahamic religions, and many others besides..."

Forged Receipts and Muslim Researchers (Yahya Birt)
Hunt down the Sufis? (Indigo Jo Blogs)

Riazat Butt at the Hajj (The Guardian)

Sunday December 16, 2007 
Al-Qaeda 'only one of many' major security threats to UK
Jamie Doward, The Observer
Britian's outgoing intelligence chief believes there is a danger of exaggerating the threat posed by al-Qaeda at the expense of equally significant security issues, such as global warming. Sir Richard Mottram, who has just stood down as Permanent Secretary in charge of Intelligence Security and Resilience, the body that advises the Prime Minister on the country's response to emergencies, will use a lecture this week to call for individual citizens to play a new role in combating the risks associated with increasing globalisation.

Muslim takes a subway beating to help Jews
Phillip Sherwell, Sunday Telegraph
It is a story of bravery and goodwill across religious divides, and normally cynical New Yorkers have taken the hero to their hearts. When Hassan Askari saw two couples on a subway train being pummelled by a white gang yelling anti-Semitic slurs in response to a Jewish festival greeting, he knew he could not turn the other cheek. The small-framed American Muslim accountancy student jumped to the defence of the Jewish group, prompting the bulky thugs and their female hangers-on to turn their fury on him.

More Chinese Muslims to join Haj to Mecca
David Eimer, Sunday Telegraph
They will be a drop in the ocean among the two million Muslims converging on Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca this week, but 10,700 Chinese are joining this year's Haj pilgrimage - representing a significant gamble by Beijing. As pilgrims prepare for the start, tomorrow, of the five-day-long rites, the number of Chinese allowed to join their fellow religionists is a sign of how the estimated 20-35 million Muslims in the country are being welcomed back into the Islamic fold after years of isolation.

Creationists plan British theme park
Jamie Doward, The Observer
The latest salvo in creationism's increasingly ferocious battle with evolution is about to be fired in Lancashire. Not in a fiery sermon preached from the pulpit, but in the form of a giant Christian theme park that will champion the book of Genesis and make a multi-media case that God created the world in seven days. The AH Trust, a charity set up last year by a group of businessmen alarmed by the direction in which they see society heading, has identified a number of potential sites in the north west of England to build the £3.5m Christian theme park.

Dedicated to Shattari Sufism
Express India, c/o Sufi News
Sufi Syed Ali Shah, President of Sufi Gafoorshah Durgah Trust, announced that the recently launched website, http://www.sufishattari.com/index.htm dedicated to the Shattari tariqa, received 3,000 hits in the first fortnight of its launch. A three-day sandal mubarak celebrations in commemoration of Hazrat Sufi Gafoorshah Husaini and Hazrat Mohammadshah Husaini began Friday at Daruwala Pool durgah, Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Top British terror suspect escapes
Jamie Doward, The Observer
The alleged British terrorist mastermind behind a plot to simultaneously blow up at least 10 transatlantic airliners in an atrocity that had the potential to dwarf 11 September was on the run last night. One of Britain's most wanted men slipped his handcuffs and fled after appearing at a court in Islamabad, Pakistan, where his lawyers were protesting against requests for his extradition. Last night two policemen were being questioned about the incident.

The anti-terror chief, the girl from Abba, and his secret love affair
Glen Owen, Mail on Sunday
Fresh indignity was heaped on Gordon Brown last night after one of the female singers from Abba was bizarrely dragged into a Government sex scandal.  In the latest blow to the Prime Minister's authority, senior sources told The Mail on Sunday that Admiral Sir Alan West, the Security Minister appointed personally by Mr Brown to lead the War on Terror, had admitted to an extramarital affair. The confirmation came after intense speculation about Sir Alan's private life had been sweeping Westminster.

'Out of control’ anti-terror chief risked blackmail (David Leppard, Sunday Times)

British Muslims, Europe and the Holocaust (Yahya Birt)
50% of Scots see Muslims as "cultural threat" (Rolled-up Trousers)
Apostasy in Islam (Daniel Martin Varisco, Tabsir)

Saturday December 15, 2007 
Poisonous and dangerous
Seumas Milne, The Guardian
This week's forensic exposure by the BBC programme Newsnight of the apparent fabrication of evidence underpinning an inflammatory report into British Muslims by the Tory-linked think tank Policy Exchange has revealed the soft underbelly of what has become an increasingly poisonous and dangerous campaign. Throughout this year, a steady stream of hostile and sensationalised stories about the Muslim community in both press and television...

Is conversion wrong? (Libby Purves)

Friday December 14, 2007 
UK Hindu school's U-turn on vegetarian policy
Aislinn Simpson, Daily Telegraph
The UK's first Hindu state school has been forced to back down on its strict vegetarian-only admissions policy after it was accused of being too strict. The Krishna-Avanti School in Harrow, north west London had stipulated that only those who subscribed to its definition of a practising Hindu candidates would be accepted in its first annual intake of 30 pupils next September. But sections of the local community where the school is based and the Hindu Council UK criticised the admissions policy...

Hindu school backs down on vegetarian policy (Ruth Gledhill, The Times)

RSPCA accused of secret killing of 'Shambo II' as 'police distracted Buddhist monks'
Julia Moult, Daily Mail
It was the kind of tender, loving care only a team of devoted worshippers could provide. Even though she had suffered a crippling injury which left her unable to stand, Hindu monks continued to provide round-the-clock care for their sacred cow Gangotri. The 13-year-old Blue Jersey cross - which had severe muscle damage - was hand fed and groomed and enjoyed a daily scrub.  So when RSPCA vets arrived at Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire on Tuesday to check on the temple's 42-strong herd...

RSPCA 'secretly' killed cow at Hindu temple (Times Online)

Anti-terror plans 'will not work'
Daily Mirror
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's tough new antiterror laws are branded unworkable in a damning report out today. She wants police to be able to grill suspects for 42 days instead of 28 before bringing charges. But Parliamentary Joint Human Rights Committee experts warned her plans carry a serious risk of wrecking terror trials. Their report is the third massive blow to the proposals in 24 hours. It came after the Commons Home Affairs committee said there was no evidence the 28-day limit needed extending. And Lord Falconer, the ex-Lord Chancellor, was also revealed to be opposed to the new laws. Shami Chakrabarti of human rights group Liberty, said: "The consensus against the Government is snowballing."

Terror suspect who went on run cleared of control order breach
Ian Cobain, The Guardian
The government's anti-terror strategy suffered a severe blow yesterday when a terrorism suspect who went on the run despite being the subject of a control order was cleared of committing any offence. An Old Bailey jury cleared Cerie Bullivant, an English convert to Islam, of breaching the terms of his control order after he told the court of the immense stress of being monitored closely. Bullivant, 25, did not deny absconding, but said he believed he had no option as the order had left him close to a breakdown. "Every part of my life has been affected by this control order," he said.

The other side of the tracks
Alexis Petridis, The Guardian
But the biggest hope for crossover success might lie with Yusuf's protege, Hamza Robertson, who, when I speak to him, is understandably still reeling from the experience of playing Wembley: his musical career began in earnest barely a year ago, and he's still holding down a day job with a telephone company. Born on the outskirts of Oldham, he converted to Islam four years ago, much to the consternation of some acquaintances: "I've had people say to me, why have you taken a Paki's religion?" he says.

Thursday December 13, 2007 
Inter Milan football strip 'offends Muslims'
Megan Levy, Daily Telegraph
A football strip worn by Italian team Inter Milan is at the centre of a legal row after a lawyer claimed it offended "Muslim sensibilities". Players wore the new strip – a white shirt with large red cross on it – in a Champions League match last month against Turkish team Fenerbahçe to celebrate the club’s centenary. But a Turkish lawyer, Baris Kaska, took exception to the "Crusader-style" cross which he said symbolised "Western racist superiority over Islam".

Behold the PC nativity scene
The Sun
BEHOLD a nativity scene to gladden the hearts of politically correct Christmas killjoys everywhere. It is TOTALLY PC — but yule be forgiven for thinking it is more silent FRIGHT than Silent Night. Sun reader Jon Gledstone re-worked the traditional stable scene to back our crusade to save Christmas from PC busybodies and health and safety fanatics. And he sent us a copy after we published a tongue-in-cheek feature on the PC perils of nativity. Mary and Joseph sport hard hats beside a “hand washing facility”.

'Recycle for Warrington' (Ruth Gledhill)

Evidence of extremism in mosques 'fabricated'
Martin Hodgson, The Guardian
A rightwing thinktank which claimed to have uncovered extremist literature on sale at dozens of British mosques was last night accused of basing a report on fabricated evidence. The report by Policy Exchange alleged that books condoning violent jihad and encouraging hatred of Christians, Jews and gays were being sold in a quarter of the 100 mosques visited. But BBC2's Newsnight said examination of receipts provided by the researchers to verify their purchases showed some had been written by the same person - even though they purported to come from different mosques.

Newsnight rips apart mosque extremism report (Rolled-up Trousers)

Reprimand for Met's former terror chief
Martin Hodgson, The Guardian
The former head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism unit will be reprimanded for his role in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said last night. Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman, who resigned last week from the Metropolitan police's specialist operations directorate, will receive a verbal warning for his actions after the shooting of the Brazilian electrician who was mistaken for a suicide bomber.

Huge rise in Scots with racist prejudices (Islamophobia Watch - 12/12)

Who is Jack kidding?
Helena Kennedy, Guardian CiF
Ah, the boys are at it again. Somewhere in the back rooms of government there have been discussions about how they should deal with the Blair legacy on civil liberties. What should the public line be on: internment without trial, control orders, efforts to include evidence based on torture, repeated efforts to reduce jury trial, attacks on the independence of the judiciary, reducing rights to protest, hugely extending custody before charge, abandoning safeguards for accused people...

Church fury over 'hijacking' of Christmas
Natalie Paris and agencies, Daily Telegraph (L)
The Church of England has written a spoof hymn bemoaning the "hijacking" of Christmas by a local council. The hymn, a reworking of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, accuses Warrington Council of forgetting the meaning of Christmas with its choice of Christmas lights. Rather than invoking a traditional Christmas spirit, the local authority has erected lights bearing the message "Recycle for Warrington". The Diocese of Manchester said Christians in Warrington, Cheshire, have been "insulted" by the decision to link the festive season with a recycling promotion.

Tuesday December 11, 2007 
Mohammed to beat Jack as top UK boys' name
Sarah Womack, Daily Telegraph
Mohammed is set to overtake Jack as the most popular boys' name in Britain as a result of the high birth rate in Muslim families, which is driving the British population to a record high. A report from the Office of National Statistics says the highest birth rates are in the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, both predominantly Muslim. Muhammad Anwar, a professor of ethnic relations at Warwick University, said: "Muslim parents like to have something that shows a link with their religion..."

Study finds foreigners in 80pc of new jobs
Robert Winnett, Daily Telegraph
More than 80 per cent of new jobs created by Labour over the last decade have gone to foreign-born workers, a new analysis of official figures claims. The Statistics Commission found in a study that 1.4 million of the 1.7 million jobs created since 1997 had been filled by those born overseas. Chris Grayling, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said last night: "The reality is that for all the billions spent by Gordon Brown ... seems to be doing is creating British jobs for foreign workers."

UK Muslims warned against 'victim culture'
Philippe Naughton, The Times (L)
The Conservative peer who helped negotiate the release of the primary school teacher jailed in Sudan for allowing her pupils to name a teddy bear Mohamed attacked her fellow British Muslims today for their "victim culture". Baroness Warsi, a Conservative spokeswoman on community cohesion, also criticised Labour for its "patronage politics" and for having encouraged the "divisive concept" of multiculturalism.

Teddy bear peer attacks fellow Muslims for 'victim culture' and failing to condemn terrorism (Daily Mail - L)

Reaction to Archbishop's protest (Joanna Sugden, Faith Central)

Monday December 10, 2007 
To believe in a European utopia before Muslims arrived is delusional
Gary Younge, The Guardian
In October, a promising young Iranian-German footballer, Ashkan Dejagah, refused to go to Israel to play for the German team in a European qualifier. Dejagah, who was born in Iran and came to Germany as a child, claimed if he went to Israel he might be denied entry into Iran. His decision not to go sparked accusations of antisemitism from German Jewish groups alongside calls from some politicians that he be dropped from the team (after some deliberation, German officials decided to keep him on the team).

Revealed: First picture of British-linked Bin Laden son with his 'gentle and kind' father
Neil Sears, Daily Mail
Shown together for the first time, this is Osama Bin Laden and the son who rejected his terror creed and went on to marry an English parish councillor. Omar Bin Laden, now 26, was just 15 when he was pictured with the father he describes as gentle and kind, with a love of football and a great sense of humour. He admits he went through terror training with the Al Qaeda leader in Afghanistan, but insists he left more than a year before the September 11 attacks in 2001.

My fear of being raped in jail, by teddy bear teacher Gillian Gibbons
Tom Kelly, Daily Mail
The teacher jailed for naming a teddy bear Mohammed has said she feared she would be raped by her Sudanese captors. Gillian Gibbons claimed she was "scared witless" after behind locked up on charges of insulting Islam. She said: "You start imagining that maybe some of the guards will come in and teach the blaspheming white woman a lesson. "That was my worst terror - that they would come in and teach me a lesson by raping me or that they would hit me."

Archbishop in Mugabe protest
Riazat Butt, The Guardian
The Archbishop of York dramatically cut up his dog collar during a live television interview yesterday, and vowed not wear it again until Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe is out of office. Dr John Sentamu made the gesture on the Andrew Marr show. He removed his dog collar, saying: "As an Anglican this is what I wear to identify myself, that I'm a clergyman. Do you know what Mugabe has done? He's taken people's identity and literally, if you don't mind, cut it to pieces. In the end there's nothing."

Muslims have much to thank Britain for
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, The Independent
Around this time of the year, my mum, Jena, a devout Shia Muslim, who died last year, would ask to be taken to see the Christmas lights in town, and when dropped off back home would entreat in Kutchi, our home language: "Say something nice in your newspaper article, time for that. It's their Christmas. Don't make people upset. This is a good country for us, you know." I can hear her mellow voice today, and do as she bid. For in many ways, she is right.

Season's salaams
Khaled Diab
Christmas is only a couple of weeks away and, here in Belgium, where Santa Claus (aka Sinterklaas) visits early, the festivities have already begun, with Christmas markets, sound and light shows, and delicious chocolate reincarnations of the great saint himself. There has been recent controversy about the status of Christmas in today's multicultural society. To my mind, multicultural should mean just what the label says, ie a multitude of overlapping and interconnecting cultures enriching and enlarging one another; and not a series of segregated cultural ghettoes.

No end to nightmare for 'terror' detainees (Islamophobia Watch)

From the horse's mouth, zionism is colonialism (Jews sans frontieres)

Sunday December 09, 2007 
Muslim apostates threatened over Christianity
Sunday Telegraph
Sofia Allam simply could not believe it. Her kind, loving father was sitting in front of her threatening to kill her. He said she had brought shame and humiliation on him, that she was now "worse than the muck on their shoes" and she deserved to die. And what had brought on his transformation? He had discovered that she had left the Muslim faith in which he had raised her and become a Christian. "He said he couldn't have me in the house now that I was a Kaffir [an insulting term for a non-Muslim]," Sofia - not her real name - remembers.

Miliband tried to stop Muslim peers rescuing the teddy bear teacher from Sudanese jail
Simon Walters, Mail
Foreign Secretary David Miliband tried to stop the mission by two Muslim peers who rescued British teacher Gillian Gibbons from jail in Sudan, it has been claimed. Mr Miliband also objected to the involvement of Tory Baroness Warsi because, as a frontbench spokeswoman, she had no right to take part. In the event, Labour's Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi defied the Foreign Office and flew to Sudan at their own expense to win the release of Mrs Gibbons who was imprisoned for allowing Sudanese schoolchildren to name a teddy bear Mohammed.

Muslim lobby group hid identity of Labour donor
Holly Watt and Jonathan Calvert, Sunday Times
ONE of Labour’s biggest donors was able secretly to channel more than £300,000 into the party’s election funds through an Islamic lobby group that hid his identity. Inquiries by The Sunday Times have established that Imran Khand, a 43-year-old computer entrepreneur, was behind three large donations to the party earlier this year. But his name was never disclosed to the Electoral Commission, which regulates party funding, because the money was given in the name of Muslim Friends of Labour, a lobby group.

Lord Goldsmith's extraordinary attack: 'Bush's war on terror is wrong'
Jonathan Oliver, Mail
The Government's former top legal adviser last night launched an outspoken attack on President Bush's concept of a "war on terror", branding it "dangerous", "counterproductive" and "wrong". Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General who ruled the Iraq war was lawful, attacked the US's indefinite detention of suspected "combatants" at Guantanamo Bay. His remarks, which follow the release of four inmates who had been British residents, will put further pressure on Britain's strained relations with the Bush White House.

MI5 chief refuses to back longer detention limit
Melissa Kite, Sunday Telegraph
The head of MI5 has said he will not support the detention of terror suspects beyond 28 days, striking a fresh blow against Gordon Brown's anti-terror plans. Jonathan Evans told MPs at a private meeting that he was not willing to back the Government's proposal to extend to 42 days the period for which suspected terrorists may be detained without charge. The Prime Minister is already under pressure on the issue with growing opposition among MPs threatening him with a Commons defeat.

BNP ballerina provokes new storm
Ben Quinn, The Observer
When Simone Clarke, principal dancer of the English National Ballet, admitted she was a member of the British National Party, one of the voices opposing calls for her to be sacked was that of the trade union Equity. Now, however, Clarke has taken a leading role in an organisation with BNP links which has been set up to rival the established trade union movement, including Equity. The acclaimed ballerina, currently appearing in an ENB production of The Snow Queen, has been elected to the executive of Solidarity, the British Workers' Union.

Family calls on US to free last UK resident in Guantanamo Bay
Sadie Gray, Independent on Sunday
Lawyers for Binyam Mohammed al-Habashi, the last UK resident to be imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, last night called on the Foreign Office to exert pressure on the US to free him. The call came after the announcement yesterday that four others will be returned to Britain within weeks, but the US authorities blocked a British government demand for Mr al-Habashi's release. His lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, said the 28-year-old Ethiopian has been left psychologically shattered by the torture he suffered as an early victim of the CIA's policy of extraordinary rendition.

Gordon Brown demands release of five British hostages (David Byers, Times Online)

Saturday December 08, 2007 
UK four 'to leave Guantanamo'
Daily Telegraph
Four of the five British residents held at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay are expected to be released following negotiations between the Government and Washington. The BBC reported last night that three of the men would be sent back to Britain, while one will go to Saudi Arabia and the fifth will remain in detention at the controversial military prison in Cuba. In July, Gordon Brown requested that the Americans release the men, who have all previously lived in Britain.

Not only oil: Iraq and the theft of identities (Islam, Muslims and an Anthropologist)

Friday December 07, 2007 
Muslim who wrote jihad poetry is spared prison
Sean O'Neill, The Times
The first woman to be convicted under terrorism legislation since the September 11 atrocities walked out of the Old Bailey yesterday after being spared a jail term. Samina Malik, 23, who wrote jihadi poetry under the pen name Lyrical Terrorist and amassed a computer library of extremist material, was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence. The Recorder of London, Judge Peter Beaumont, said that her offence was “on the margin of what this crime concerns”.

Woman nicknamed 'lyrical terrorist' escapes jail sentence
Owen Bowcott, The Guardian
Samina Malik, who called herself the "lyrical terrorist", was the first woman convicted under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 of possessing records likely to be useful in terrorism. Inayat Bunglawala, of the Muslim Council of Britain, welcomed the decision to suspend the sentence. "Samina Malik was being prosecuted in effect for a thought crime because she had downloaded some material from the internet which anyone could download."

Suspended sentence for the 'lyrical terrorist' (Jerome Taylor, The Independent)

Smith faces fight to raise detention limit in terror cases
Nigel Morris, The Independent
Jacqui Smith faces a desperate struggle to avoid defeat in Parliament over new plans to lock up terrorist suspects without charge for up to 42 days. The Home Secretary provoked a civil liberties storm and anger among opposition parties as she announced a fresh move to increase the current 28-day maximum. Ms Smith has backed off from earlier proposals for a 56-day limit and promised the Government would only ask for 42-day detention in extreme circumstances. But parliamentary opposition began building...

New bid for 42 day detention (George Pascoe-Watson, The Sun)

Hillary Clinton tells email slur aide to quit
Alex Spillius, Daily Telegraph
A volunteer for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has resigned after forwarding a chain email that suggested her rival Barack Obama is a Muslim who wants to destroy the United States by being elected to its highest office. Judy Rose, a co-ordinator of the Clinton campaign in Jones County in the election battleground state of Iowa, forwarded the statement to eight people on Nov 21, according to a copy of the email obtained by the Associated Press.

Israeli minister cancels UK trip in fear of arrest
Rory McCarthy, The Guardian
An Israeli government minister has cancelled a trip to Britain next month after he was warned that he risked arrest on war crimes charges. Avi Dichter, the public security minister and a former head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, was to speak at a conference on security at King's College London. But he was advised by Israel's foreign and justice ministries not to risk the visit. Dichter's concerns relate to an Israeli military attack in July 2002 on a house in Gaza that killed Hamas military commander Salah Shehadeh, his bodyguard and 13 civilians, including children.

No money, not enough food, rampant sickness, night-time raids. Darfur today
Robert Booth, The Guardian
A dust cloud blew across the market of the Abu Chok refugee camp in Darfur as Ahmed Abdullah Ibrahim summed up his desperate situation. "It is unsafe for me to go back home and it's not safe here," he said, his face wrapped up against the desert winds in a white headscarf. "Even yesterday, we had people in the camp come to attack us. They came in and fired shots." Ibrahim's dilemma is repeated at more than 100 similar camps across Darfur...

Could a robust Christian response be the answer to Muslim extremism in Britain?
Dominic Lawson, The Independent
Yesterday I met Hannah. Or rather, I met "Hannah". She feels in too much danger to reveal her real name to someone she does not know. She is under police protection and has had to move house more than 40 times, to escape detection. The people Hannah is trying to hide from are not drug dealers or gangsters of any sort, although they attacked one of her homes armed with knives and axes. The men who have threatened to kill her are respectable, educated people. They are, in fact, her own brothers.

'Could a robust Christian response be the answer to Muslim extremism?' (Islamophobia Watch)

War of words over an oil named Peace
Mark Tran, Guardian Unlimited (L)
Peace Oil, an olive oil made in Israel by Jews and Arabs, would seem an ideal Christmas gift for those wishing to take a stand against consumerism. The blurb on the Peace Oil website claims the product encourages cooperation between communities. Despite its laudable intentions, however, the Charities Advisory Trust has come under fire from those who claim it is undermining products made by Palestinians and brought into Britain by cooperatives such as Zaytoun.

Thursday December 06, 2007 
Muslims ‘criminalised for silly thoughts’
Sean O’Neill, The Times
Young Muslims are being convicted of thought crimes and branded as terrorists for life, the country’s most prominent Islamic leader has told The Times. Muhammad Abdul Bari said police and prosecutors were criminalising youths for harbouring “silly thoughts” and were undermining Gordon Brown’s £400 million drive to win Muslim hearts and minds. Dr Bari, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain, was commenting ahead of the sentencing today of Samina Malik, a shop assistant who styled herself as “the lyrical terrorist”, wrote poetry in praise of beheadings and joined extremist internet forums.

Retreat on 56-day terror detentions
Robert Winnett, Daily Telegraph
Ministers are to abandon proposals to hold terrorist suspects for up to 56 days without charge under new plans. Gordon Brown and Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, will concede that they do not have the necessary support to increase the present limit of 28 days after a public outcry over the planned rise. A "compromise arrangement" is to be proposed which would require the Home Secretary to seek the approval of Parliament if police wish to hold someone for more than 28 days.

'Muslim prayer beds' – more lies from the Daily Star (Islamophobia Watch)
Muslim beds to face Mecca (Rolled-up Trousers)
Hospital chiefs make U-turn over NHS Muslim prayer beds (Daily Mail - L)

Sudan’s ready teddy
Irfan Yusuf, Alt.Muslim
I grew up in a typical middle class South Asian household. All our family friends spoke Hindi and Urdu, the twin dialects spoken in most Bollywood movies. My parents' friends were from all different religions – Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Goan Catholics and even a Pakistani Anglican priest. Religion figured only in a ceremonial sense. Yes, I had to learn how to read the Koran in Arabic. That meant learning how to make the sounds out of the Arabic letters. Understanding the words themselves wasn't a huge priority.

Muslims in teddy conspiracy (Rolled-up Trousers)

Terror detention limit 'should be 42 days'
PA/Independent (L)
The Government wants to increase the period police can detain terror suspects without charge to 42 days, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said today. The controversial move to boost the limit from the current 28 days could prove to be Gordon Brown's toughest challenge so far as Prime Minister. A previous attempt by the Home Office to increase the maximum to 90 days - in November 2005 - led to Tony Blair's first defeat in the Commons. Opposition parties and civil liberties groups have fiercely opposed an increase...

Don't even think about it
Inayat Bunglawala, Guardian CiF
The conviction last Thursday of the self-styled "Lyrical Terrorist", 23-year old Samina Malik, marks a further dramatic erosion of our liberties in the United Kingdom. In the wake of the guilty verdict, several newspapers printed extracts from her attempts at poetry, including gems such as How to Behead, and The Living Martyrs. The court had heard that on an online social networking group known as Hi-5 Samina Malik had listed her interests as "helping the mujahideen any way I can..."

Online battle over 'mega-mosque' (Joanna Sugden)
Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program Never Existed (Tabsir)

Wednesday December 05, 2007 
Anti-terror chief stands down after accusations of 'improper contact'
Nigel Morris, The Independent
Britain's top anti-terror police officer has retired after being accused of bombarding a woman at the office of the police watchdog with 400 phone calls and text messages. Andy Hayman was already under pressure over his expenses claims and criticism of his conduct after the killing in Stockwell of Jean Charles de Menezes. But he made the decision to step down when confronted by suggestions that he had improper contacts with an employee at the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Terror chief quits after being accused of 'inappropriate contact' with a woman police watchdog official (Stephen Wright, Daily Mail)

Nurses to help Muslim patients face Mecca
Gary Cleland, The Telegraph
Nurses have been told to move Muslim patients' beds five times a day so that they face Mecca when they pray. The measure by Dewsbury and District Hospital in West Yorkshire is one of several designed to meet the needs of Islamic patients. Critics claim, however, that nurses' time would be better spent providing medical treatment and ensuring wards were free of infection. Tracey McErlain-Burns, chief nurse and director of patient experience at Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust, denied that nurses were being removed from other duties in order to move beds.

Hospital staff develop cultural understanding (Press Releases, Mid-Yorkshire NHS Trust)

Another day, another concocted anti-Muslim scare-story (Islamophobia Watch)
Vote Boris rather than Ken says Nick Cohen (Islamophobia Watch)
Amis on offensive again over Islam  (Islamophobia Watch)

Balkan Ancient Mosques Crave for Help
Hany Salah, IoL
TIRANA — Muslims in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro are appealing to the Muslim world for help to rescue and restore hundreds of ancient mosques that symbolize more than five centuries of Muslim history in Western Balkan. "The Sheikhdom urges all charity organizations across the Muslim world to support and contribute to restoring and revamping ancient mosques that play a role in reviving Islamic heritage and preserving the identity of the Albanian Muslim people..."

Underground temples and singing veg (Libby Purves)

Christian group loses blasphemy battle with BBC
Michael Herman and PA , The Times (L)
A group of Christian evangelists were today refused permission by the High Court to bring a blasphemy prosecution against BBC director-general Mark Thompson for his decision to air Jerry Springer — the Opera. Two judges ruled it was reasonable to conclude that the play, when considered “in context”, could not be considered blasphemous. Lord Justice Hughes and Mr Justice Collins said the production was, as a whole, “not and could not reasonably be regarded as aimed at, or an attack on, Christianity..."

BBC apologises for Mohammed joke
Jason Deans, Guardian Unlimited (L)
The BBC was forced to broadcast an on-air apology today after a local radio presenter in Nottingham joked that freed British schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons had a dog named Mohammed. Frances Finn, who presents BBC Radio Nottingham's mid-morning show, made the off-the-cuff comment yesterday in a conversation with a guest about Gibbons. Finn said "Gillian Gibbons' son is at the airport and is pleased to see her and I am sure her dog, Mohammed, is very pleased to see her as well..."

Fresh blow to Brown on detention plans
Haroon Siddique, Guardian Unlimited (L)
The government's case for extending the length of time that terror suspects can be held without charge was dealt a blow today as it emerged that a group of MPs has concluded there is "no evidence" to support increasing the detention limit. The home affairs select committee, with a majority of Labour members, is to present a report on the government's counter-terrorism proposals later this month and met to discuss a draft version yesterday.

A shabby triumph (Geoffrey Alderman, Guardian CiF)
Muslim Basher Strikes Again (MPACUK)

Tuesday December 04, 2007 
Amis demands Muslims join in 'factory siren' over terror plots
Riazat Butt, The Guardian
Martin Amis last night fired another salvo in the war of words over Islam, condemning an "abject failure" by Muslims to vigorously denounce suicide bombings. At a debate at Manchester University, where the novelist is head of creative writing, he told a packed auditorium that only a machine would not have experienced "retaliatory urges" upon learning in August last year of the alleged plot to bomb transatlantic aircraft, in which, Amis said, 3,000 people could have died.

Teacher jailed in Sudan over naming of teddy bear flies home after president grants pardon
Robert Booth, The Guardian
The British teacher imprisoned for insulting Islam by naming a school teddy bear Muhammad was on a plane home to Britain last night after being pardoned by the Sudanese president. Gillian Gibbons, 54, was released yesterday in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and taken into the care of British embassy staff after her nine-day ordeal. She is expected to be greeted by her Merseyside family when she arrives in the UK this morning.

'The real moral of poor Mrs Gibbons's ordeal' (Islamophobia Watch)

Murdoch buys faith-based website
Jemima Kiss, The Guardian
Rupert Murdoch has made yet another addition to his digital portfolio with the acquisition of Beliefnet, one of the world's largest spirituality sites. The site will become part of the Fox Digital Media Group, sitting alongside other faith-orientated businesses including the publishers HarperOne and TV programming on 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Terms of the deal are undisclosed. The deal will allow Fox to expand its faith-based TV, film and cable brands online...

Lo, Murdoch did bring the good news and stored up riches on earth (David Teather, Media Guardian)

Forgetting to remember
Anas Altikriti, Guardian CiF
When the MCB leadership emerged from their meeting on Saturday with the news that they had decided to end their boycott of the Holocaust memorial day, I expected to hear that something significant had occurred that led to this shift in position. The decision not to accept the invitation of the organising committee over recent years has led to immense pressure and often censure from a variety of sources, including the government, as well as a barrage of attacks from the media brigade...

Hospital staff told to make sure Muslim patients' beds face Mecca five times a day
Gwyneth Rees, Daily Mail (L)
The job of the nurse used to one of caring for the sick and needy. But not - it would seem - in today's politically-correct Britain. Now, nurses are being encouraged to spend valuable time turning around the beds of Muslim patients up to five times a day - so they can face Mecca. In a bid to promote cultural understanding, they are also expected to provide patients with running water so they can wash before prayer.  And then, of course, they are required to turn the beds back around to return the wards to normality.

Christian claims discrimination 'on grounds of religion'
Ruth Gledhill
Mark Sheridan, a churchgoer of 20 years standing, is at at employment tribunal in Abergele, Wales this week, supported by the British Humanist Association would you believe. He is claiming religious discrimination against him and constructive dismissal by his employers, Prospects. He says he was forced as a manager to tell non-Christians they could not be promoted because of their lack of faith, and this made his job impossible.

Red Bull pull 'blasphemous' Christmas ad (Libby Purves)

Monday December 03, 2007 
Christian Scholars Apologize for Crusades
IslamOnline
CAIRO — Reciprocating a goodwill gesture by 138 Muslim scholars, more than 300 Christian scholars and clergymen from across the globe have signed a letter apologizing to Muslims for the Crusades and the repercussions of America's so-called war on terror.
"We want to begin by acknowledging that in the past (e.g. in the Crusades) and in the present (e.g. in excesses of the war on terror) many Christians have been guilty of sinning against our Muslim neighbours," says the letter made available to the press at a news conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday, November 26.

Arab-American paratrooper faces deportation after Afghan service
Ed Pilkington, The Guardian
A highly decorated Arab-American sergeant in the US army, who is currently serving as a paratrooper in Afghanistan, faces deportation on his return to the United States because of an irregularity in his immigration papers. Sgt Hicham Benkabbou has been served with an order to stand trial for deportation as soon as he arrives home, despite the fact that he has been on active service in Afghanistan for almost two years with the 508th parachute infantry regiment, known as the Red Devils.

'War on terror' hinges on Guantanamo case
Damien McElroy & Ari Kaplan, Daily Telegraph
The American Supreme Court is to consider a petition from Guantanamo Bay detainees that could determine the long-term viability of the prison camp and provide a watershed moment for President George W Bush's "war on terror". Queues for the public gallery are expected to form outside the court in Washington tomorrow night ahead of the hearing, when the nine justices of the country's highest court are to review a petition from two of the camp's 330 inmates, who are demanding a trial in an American court of law.

Muslim Council ends Holocaust memorial day boycott
Vikram Dodd, The Guardian
Britain's largest Muslim body has voted to end its boycott of Holocaust memorial day, the Guardian has learned. The Muslim Council of Britain voted this weekend to end its six-year protest, which had angered the government and Jewish groups. The decision may lead to some groups leaving the MCB, an umbrella organisation with over 500 members. Its working committee voted 18 to 8 to end the boycott, which began in 2001. Those who voted to attend said the stance had allowed the MCB to be accused of antisemitism...

Hopes rise for release of teacher in teddy row
Xan Rice, The Guardian
Hopes were rising last night that the British teacher jailed for 15 days in Sudan for insulting Islam's prophet could be released today. Lord Nazir Ahmed and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, both British Muslim peers, said last night they would delay their return to the UK, amid signs of progress in reaching a resolution, after a day of difficult meetings with Sudanese government officials. The peers had been due to return home today, but will now stay for a third day of talks.

The shadowy role of Labour Friends of Israel
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, The Independent
Pardon me for asking. Perhaps I shouldn't. For an easy life, some things, you learn, are best left unsaid. Nervous, am I? You bet. But these questions will not stand aside or lie down. They have been bothering me since the Labour party donor row broke last week. They are raised here in good faith. I have no wish to bring the wrath of Moses upon me and I can already hear the accusations of anti-Semitism because I dare to raise the question...

British Asians aborting unwanted girls
David Rose, The Times
Cultural pressure to give birth to sons is causing some pregnant Indian-born women living in Britain to return to India to abort their unwanted daughters, an investigation has found. It reveals how “selective sex abortion”, a practice outlawed in India in the 1980s, is still widespread and being used by some women living in England and Wales. Between 1990 and 2005 almost 1,500 fewer girls were born to Indian mothers in England and Wales than would have been expected for that group, researchers say.

Teddy teacher pardoned in Sudan
Caroline Gammell, Daily Telegraph ( L - 08:31 GMT )
The British teacher jailed in Sudan over a teddy bear is to be released immediately after authorities granted her a full pardon. Two senior Muslim peers, Baroness Warsi and Lord Ahmed, had a meeting with President Omar al-Bashir after spending the weekend in negotiations with Sudanese officials as they tried to free Gillian Gibbons. The primary school teacher was jailed for 15 days last week after being found guilty of insulting Islam by allowing her class of seven-year-olds to call a teddy bear Mohammed.

Teddy row teacher to be released
BBC News Online (L - 08:58 GMT)
Teacher Gillian Gibbons is to be released from prison in Sudan after she was jailed for allowing children in her class to name a teddy bear Muhammad. Mrs Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, was jailed for 15 days by a court in Sudan. Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir pardoned her after a meeting with two British Muslim peers, Lord Ahmed and Baroness Warsi. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was “delighted and relieved” at the news and that “common sense had prevailed”.

Freed teddy bear teacher says sorry as Sudanese government grants her full pardon
Daily Mail (L - 1327 GMT)
Jailed British teacher Gillian Gibbons was freed today after being given a full presidential pardon by the Sudanese government. The 54-year-old will be put on a flight out of the country within the next few hours. But despite her ordeal, Miss Gibbons was said to want to stay on in Sudan to continue teaching. "I am sad to be leaving," she said. "I have great respect for Islam and am sorry to have caused distress." Miss Gibbons was handed over to British diplomats after paperwork for her pardon and release was completed...

Anger and understanding
Hassan bin Talal, Guardian CiF
The case of a teddy bear in a Khartoum classroom has become headline news across the world. The events seem ridiculous to most, politically motivated to some and worthy of outrage to only a small minority. But the facts of this debacle are less important than the emotions and reactions that the whole sorry event has unleashed. We live in a world that is so charged with anger, offence and distrust that the slightest spark can set the tinder aflame. Unless we work to quell underlying hatred and to dispel misunderstanding, we risk conflagration at any moment.

'Mohammedism' and the teddy bear (Ruth Gledhill)

Towards a shared, multi-faith future
Inayat Bunglawala, Guardian CiF
This weekend the Muslim Council of Britain voted to end its non-participation in the annual Holocaust memorial day. I have to admit that I have never been overly convinced as to the usefulness of such memorial events. The very first HMD event in the UK in 2001 was inaugurated by the then prime minister, Tony Blair. He looked typically sombre and determined during the televised occasion. "Never again," the world had said after the Nazi holocaust. But our Tony went on just two years later to give his active support to the criminal invasion of Iraq in which the dead now number in their hundreds of thousands. Never again, eh?

Sunday December 02, 2007 
Mohammed the mole digs author into a risky hole
Chris Gourlay, Sunday Times
A BRITISH children’s author who named a mole Mohammed to promote multiculturalism has renamed it Morgan for fear of offending Muslims. Kes Gray, a former advertising executive, first decided on his gesture of cross-cultural solidarity after meeting Muslims in Egypt. The character, Mohammed the Mole, appeared in Who’s Poorly Too, an illustrated children’s book, which also included Dipak Dalmatian and Pedro Penguin, in an effort to be “inclusive”.

I'd stay in Sudan if I could, says teddy teacher
Gethin Chamberlain, David Harrison and Blake Evans-Pritchard, Sunday Telegraph
The British teacher jailed in Sudan for naming a teddy bear Mohammed has said that she wished she could stay in the country. Gillian Gibbons, who faces deportation when she is released, said: "I'm really sad to leave and if I could go back to work tomorrow, then I would." In a statement issued through her legal team, Mrs Gibbons added: "I'm fine, I'm well, I'm very grateful to all the people who have been working on my behalf. I know so many people out there have done so much.

Muslim peers hopeful that 'teddy' teacher will be freed
Jenny Booth, Abul Taher & Rob Crilly, Sunday Times (L)
Two Muslim peers who have flown to Sudan to appeal for the early release of jailed British teacher Gillian Gibbons tonight said they were “hopeful” a resolution could be reached. Baroness Warsi, the Tory spokesman on community cohesion, is in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, with Labour peer Lord Ahmed in a private bid to secure the freedom of Mrs Gibbons. Last Thursday the teacher was sentenced to 15 days imprisonment by a Sudanese court for insulting Islam, blasphemy and inciting hatred...

Jailed teddy bear teacher 'to be released this weekend'
Blake Evans-Pritchard, Daily Mail (L)
Efforts to free British teacher Gillian Gibbons from Sudan appeared close to success last night after a mercy mission by two peers. After a day of frantic shuttling around the capital Khartoum, Labour's Lord Ahmed and Conservative peer Baroness Warsi said they were "optimistic" Mrs Gibbons would be released and flown back to Britain by the end of the weekend. But they warned that the Sudanese government was under intense pressure from hardliners not to back down.

President to meet teddy teacher Britons
Gethin Chamberlain, David Harrison and Blake Evans-Pritchard, Sunday Telegraph
The president of Sudan has agreed to discuss a possible pardon for a teacher jailed for "insulting Islam" with a British delegation tomorrow. The two peers battling to secure the release of Gillian Gibbons have delayed their return to the UK after signs of "progress" in the case. Labour's Lord Ahmed and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a Conservative, have finally been told they can meet President Omar el-Beshir after a day of negotiations with Sudanese officials.

MCB finally embraces 'British values' (Islamophobia Watch)

Saturday December 01, 2007 
Muslim peers to help Sudan teddy teacher
Gethin Chamberlain, Telegraph
Two British Muslim peers arrived in Sudan today hoping to secure the release of the teacher Gillian Gibbons, jailed for allowing her pupils to name a teddy bear Mohammed. Labour peer Lord Ahmed and conservative Baroness Sayeeda Warsi plan to meet Sudanese president Omar al Bashir in Khartoum to ask for the release of the 54-year-old. The pair travelled to Sudan in a personal capacity, hoping that an appeal for clemency from fellow Muslims might be more palatable for the Sudanese authorities.

Pope agrees to talks with Muslim leaders
John Hooper, The Guardian
Pope Benedict has invited leading Islamic authorities to discuss a letter they sent to Christian leaders last month urging a search for common moral ground. The pontiff's formal reaction was made public yesterday as the Vatican published his latest encyclical, in which he said atheism had "led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice". Replying to Prince Ghazi of Jordan, who arranged for the letter to be sent to the Pope, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said Benedict felt deep appreciation for the initiative...

Teacher moved to secret location as Sudanese demand stiffer sentence
Cahal Milmo, The Independent
Hundreds of Sudanese demonstrators brandishing swords and sticks demanded the execution of the British teacher Gillian Gibbons yesterday as diplomats sought her early release from the prison where she is serving a 15-day sentence for allowing a teddy bear to be named Mohamed. The protesters gathered in the centre of the capital, Khartoum, after streaming from mosques at the end of Friday prayers to demand a tougher punishment be imposed on Ms Gibbons...
 

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