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Monday June 30 2008
Jacqui Smith pressured to intervene in police race row
Richard Edwards, Telegraph
Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, is being pressured to
intervene in a race row after chief constables were accused of ignoring an
inquiry into discrimination against Muslim officers. It has emerged that at
least 20 police forces refused to co-operate with the first audit into the
treatment of Muslim and black officers. It was conducted jointly by the National
Association of Muslim Police and the think-tank Demos, and questioned the 43
police forces in England and Wales on...
11th-hour bid to save family from threats
David Maddox, Scotsman
A PAKISTANI family who sought asylum in Scotland because
they received death threats over their religious beliefs are hoping that a
last-minute appeal will stop their deportation tomorrow. Asad Gull, who worked
as a Christian publisher in Pakistan and arrived in the UK with his family nine
months ago, lost his asylum case on a court technicality last week. He had not
realised he needed to produce a letter from his wife's sister in London.
Priest at prayer gets 150,000 hits
Angelique Chrisafis, Guardian
The French love of reality programmes encompasses the
music talent show Star Academy, match-making for lonely rural farmers and a
polite version of Wife Swap - On a echangé nos mamans. But now the French
Catholic church has jumped on the bandwagon with a show about priests that has
become an internet phenomenon. The diocese of Besançon in eastern France has
launched Prêtre Academy - Priest Academy - to mark its first ordination of a new
local priest for three years.
UK to woo Brit Muslims to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan (Newstrack India)
Religions should not be allowed to make ghettos (YAB, Independent)
Faith
schools: government claims attacked by thinktank (Anthea Lipsett,
EducationGuardian.co.uk)
Chester Mystery Plays: Review (Alfred Hickling, Guardian)
Faith schools undermined by 'Government witch hunt' (Graeme Paton,
Telegraph)
Islam in Europe Weekly Overview (Islam in Europe)
Centre for Social Cohesion (Rolled-Up Trousers)
Reporting terrorism: a reflection (Islam, Muslims and an Anthropologist)
A
temple to mystery and imagination (Jonathan Glacey, Guardian)
FAQ:
Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (The Guardian)
Meet the Focas (Andrew Brown guardian.co.uk)
Priest sacked for affair takes Catholic Church to tribunal (Fiona MacLeod,
Scotsman)
Behind
masks or out and loud: gay marchers break new ground (Maseeh Rahman in
Delhi, Guardian)
Do as I say, not as I do (Between the Lines)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the MSA Meeting (Daniel Varisco,
CyberOrient)
Tribute to Professor Syed Hussein Alatas (1928-2007) (Tabsir)
Sunday June 29 2008
Learning to be British and Muslim
Cristina Odone, Times
It’s 3pm and the girls at Madani high school in Leicester
are trooping out of the gates. They wear white scarves over dark blue djellabas
– a shapeless coat worn over trousers. No sign of the boys: they don’t leave for
another half an hour. Boys and girls operate on a different timetable, carefully
calibrated to keep the sexes segregated. The architecture at Madani high
conspires to do the same: there is a girls’ wing and, in mirror image, a boys’
wing – the two separated by an elegant Arabic-style courtyard...
[Faith
schools: a force for good - Cristina Odone, Guardian CiF]
Minister
is dragged into police race row
Mark Townsend, Observer
The home secretary is at the centre of the worst race row
to engulf the police service for almost a decade as chief constables stand
accused of blocking an inquiry into discrimination against Muslim officers.
Jacqui Smith will be asked to intervene tomorrow after the damning revelation
that at least 20 police forces refused to co-operate with the first audit into
the treatment of Muslim and black officers. Information from those forces that
did take part suggested there was routine racial discrimination against them.
Conservative Anglicans form global network
Riazat Butt, guardian.co.uk
Conservative evangelicals representing half of the world's Anglicans launched a
new global network today, challenging the authority of the Archbishop of
Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Foca) will
sever ties with the main churches in the US and Canada, whose liberal leaders
are accused of betraying biblical teaching. The group vowed to rescue people
from the forces of "militant secularism and pluralism" created by the "spiritual
decline" in developing economies.
Met chief Ian Blair ‘plotted to oust’ race-row officer Tarique Ghaffur (David Leppard, Times)
Channel
4 pays £150,000 to free film maker from terrorists (Jerome Starkey and Dipesh Gadher, Times)
The Spectator prints my letter, with more twaddle from Roddle (Indigo Jo
Blogs)
Sharia-compliant mortgages are here - and they're not just for Muslims (Huma
Qureshi, Guardian)
“The new atheists are secular fundamentalists” (Wajahat Ali, Alt.Muslim)
With enemies like these... (Andrew Copson, Guardian CiF)
Friday June 27 2008
Salmond backs first state-funded Islamic school for Scotland
Michael Howie, The Scotsman
ALEX Salmond yesterday threw his support behind plans for
Scotland's first state-funded Islamic school, to be submitted to councillors in
Glasgow. Senior Muslim community leaders are preparing a detailed case for the
school, which organisers say will "teach Islamic values" and will be delivered
later in the summer. It is the first serious attempt to establish a state-funded
Islamic school Scotland, and is believed to have strong chance of success...
Britain's leading
Muslim police officer sues Met for discrimination
Vikram Dodd, Guardian
Sir Ian Blair was last night facing his worst race crisis as commissioner of the
Metropolitan police, after it was announced that Britain's most senior Muslim
officer would sue the force for racial discrimination and victimisation. The
decision was announced after assistant commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, the force's
number three in command, met with Blair, who had summoned him to crisis talks,
with the threat of disciplinary action if he refused to attend.
Vatican
denies fashion status
Tom Kington, Guardian
The devil may wear Prada, but following months of speculation the Vatican has
put paid to the idea that the Pope is also a fan of the top-end Italian
designer. Benedict XVI's reputation as an bookish theologian with austere tastes
took a knock shortly after his election when pictures of him wearing a pair of
simple but elegant red slip-on shoes fuelled speculation among Vatican-watchers
that the pontiff was hiding a penchant for high fashion.
Halal hampers company starts a small revolution (Asian Image)
UK: Army to offer halal rations (Islam in Europe)
Express-watch: MUSLIMS OFFEND EXPRESS JOURNALISTS (Five Chinese Crackers) Thursday June 26 2008
Top Asian officer plans to sue Met for discrimination
Terri Judd, Independent
Britain's most senior Asian police officer is preparing to
take legal action against Scotland Yard for racial discrimination, accusing
colleagues of victimisation, bullying and harassment. Assistant Commissioner
Tarique Ghaffur is set to make allegations against Commissioner Sir Ian Blair as
well as the Police Authority chairman, Len Duvall. Mr Ghaffur, who is
responsible for security at the 2012 Olympics, has had legal documents drawn up
and is in the final stages of preparing the case...
[Met faces
race claims from Muslim police chief - Vikram Dodd, Guardian]
BBC and other broadcasters 'too white'
Nicole Martin, Telegraph
One of the BBC's senior executives has attacked the
corporation and other broadcasters for failing to employ black and Asian people
in senior roles. Samir Shah, a non-executive director at the BBC, said that
ethnic minorities as well as people from working class backgrounds were still
being excluded from the industry's so-called "power elite", despite equal
opportunity policies stretching back 30 years.
[There
are too many ethnics on TV, says Asian BBC chief - Paul Revoir, Mail]
White boy, 12, suspected of being Islamic extremist recruit after he showed
beheading videos to classmates
Daily Mail
A 12-year-old white schoolboy is among 120 people being
dealt with by police in a new project combating Islamic-inspired violent
extremism, it was revealed today. The child, who has only been identified by the
initials BC, was reported by his school in West Yorkshire after he was found
circulating video clips of terrorists beheading Westerners. Sick films were
distributed to classmates on their mobile phones, prompting a teacher to march
the boy to the local police station.
An exhibition with a difference
BBC News Online
Celebrating the British Asian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual (LGBT)
community is not something that happens everyday in Berkshire. That's why a
venue in Reading is hosting an event that highlights their lives and experiences
within the UK. The Reading International Solidarity Centre (RISC) is regularly
at the forefront when bringing minority issues to the Berkshire majority. This
month is no different as they play host to one of the
Dhoom
Dhamaka festival's main events...
The framing of mutual joy (John Bryson Chane, Guardian CiF)
Anglican conservative accuses 'relic' Williams of colonial mindset (Riazat
Butt, guardian.co.uk)
Facebook a valid educational tool, teachers told (Anthea Lipsett,
EducationGuardian.co.uk)
Fosis conference in Salford (Asian Image) Wednesday June 25 2008
Nazi supporter guilty of terror plans and possessing child porn
Jo Adetunji, The Guardian
A Nazi sympathiser, described by police as extremely
dangerous, has been found guilty of planning acts of terrorism and of possessing
child pornography after investigators found homemade bombs and indecent images
of children at his home. Martyn Gilleard, 31, a forklift truck driver from
Goole, east Yorkshire, pleaded guilty in two separate cases at Leeds crown court
after police found "significant" volumes of extreme right-wing literature,
weapons, ammunition and homemade explosives...
[Kid
porn stash of Nazi fiend - Alastair Taylor, The
Sun]
Christians must recover nerve, says Nazir-Ali
Riazat Butt, The Guardian
The west is losing Christian discourse at a time when it
needs it most, the bishop of Rochester told a gathering of conservative church
leaders in Jerusalem yesterday. Addressing the 1,200 delegates of the Global
Anglican Future Conference, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali said militant secularism was
creating a double jeopardy for western culture. "Western culture depends on
Judeo-Christian heritage. Let us pray we are able to recover our Christian nerve
in the west..."
Unison urges teaching assistants and dinner ladies to strike
Anthea Lipsett, EducationGuardian.co.uk
Unison negotiators are recommending that teaching
assistants and school dinner staff stage a 48-hour walkout next month to kick
off a programme of public sector strike action this summer. Unison's local
government members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland voted yesterday, by
55% to 45%, for a series of sustained strikes over a 2.45% pay offer. Union
negotiators are recommending staff stage a walkout in protest at the offer on
July 15 and 16.
Salman Rushdie is knighted by the Queen (Andrew Pierce, Telegraph)
BBC and other broadcasters 'too white' (Nicole Martin, Telegraph)
Spectacular Transports (Trinketization)
Islamophobia
in a village (Elham Asaad Buaras, Muslim News) Tuesday June 24 2008
Asian
officer held back by Met police 'glass ceiling', tribunal told
Vikram Dodd, The Guardian
The most senior officer to sue his own force for racial
discrimination said yesterday he had repeatedly been blocked for promotion
because he was not part of a "golden circle" of white officers. Commander Shabir
Hussain told of the prejudice he faced in the ranks, including being told to
leave the country after the September 11 attacks in 2001.m Hussain, an officer
with the Metropolitan police, told an employment tribunal he had been rejected
an "unprecedented" four times for promotion...
Muslim teenager Ahmed Hassan murdered by white thug Michael Brook
Andrew Norfolk, Times
A Muslim schoolboy described as a perfect pupil and a
model son was murdered by a drunken white teenager who had only been released
from custody three days earlier, a court heard today. Ahmed Hassan, 17, an A*
student who hoped to become a lawyer, was waiting with friends to catch a
Saturday afternoon train to Manchester when he received a fatal stab wound in
the back. The knife was wielded by Michael Brook, 18, from Dewsbury, West
Yorkshire...
Cracks begin to show at summit discussing gay clergy rift
Riazat Butt, The Guardian,
The people gathered on the Mount of Olives were united in
voice as they sang their officially approved hymns, but on the second day of a
conference which has laid bare the divisions in the Anglican communion over
homosexuality, notes of discord could already be heard. Talk of betrayal,
disappointment and disagreement threatens to sour the Global Anglican Future
Conference (Gafcon), which has cost £2.5m and drawn more than 1,200 delegates
from Africa, Australia and the US.
[Vicious
hot air currents - Stephen Bates, Guardian CiF]
The ladder of fundamentalism (Lenin's Tomb)
Gafcon: 'There will be no split' (Ruth Gledhill)
Confusion over handshake issue at Irish awards (Indigo Jo Blogs)
New French Muslim chief on the “virginity lie” case (Tom Heneghan, Faith
World)
China demolishes mosque over Olympic row (Reuters, Times of India)
End rendition and secret detention: Europe’s duty (Amnesty International)
Egotistical Peers (Ziggy, Asian Image) Monday June 23 2008
Islamic
scholar voted world's No 1 thinker
Robert Tait, The Guardian
A hitherto largely unknown Turkish Islamic scholar,
Fethullah Gülen, has been voted the world's top intellectual in a poll to find
the leading 100 thinkers. Gülen, the author of more than 60 books, won a
landslide triumph after the survey - which is organised by the British magazine,
Prospect, and Foreign Policy, a US publication - attracted more than 500,000
votes. The top 10 individuals were all Muslim and included two Nobel
laureates, the novelist Orhan Pamuk and Shirin Ebadi.
[Video:
Turkey's most powerful man: Riazat Butt & Shehani Fernando, The Guardian]
Williams accused of leading church into crisis
Riazat Butt, The Guardian
A senior Anglican archbishop last night accused Rowan
Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, of apostasy, manipulation and leading
the church into turmoil, as a summit of traditionalists convened in Jerusalem
with a mission to "rescue" the Anglican church from its liberal leadership. The
Rt Rev Peter Akinola, Archbishop of Nigeria, called for a new "roadmap" for the
77-million-strong Anglican communion on the opening day of an eight-day
meeting...
Diplomas lead to a 'two-tier school system'
Nicola Woolcock, Times
Business leaders will criticise the Government's diplomas
today, saying that they are in danger of splintering independent and state
schools. Richard Lambert, director-general of the CBI, was initially a keen
supporter of the diploma, which was established to end the divide between
theoretical and practical qualifications. However, in a dramatic split from the
Government, he criticised the most recent diplomas in languages, humanities and
science, describing them as an “unnecessary distraction”.
Profile: Michael Nazir-Ali (The Guardian)
BB Alex Runs for Her Life (Peter Dyke, Daily Star)
Muslim extremist Abu Qatada to receive £8,000 incapacity benefits a year - for
his bad back (Tom Kelly, Daily Mail)
The Anglican culture wars (Andrew Brown, Guardian CiF)
Routine Abuses in the name of security in Tunisia (Amnesty International) Sunday June 22 2008
Ian McEwan: I despise militant Islam
Nicole Martin, Telegraph
The award-winning novelist Ian McEwan has launched an
outspoken attack on militant Islam, accusing it of "wanting to create a society
that I detest". The author said he "despises Islamism" because of its views on
women and homosexuality. But predicting a backlash against his comments, which
were made in an Italian newspaper, he insisted he was not a racist. The writer
of Atonement and Enduring Love condemned religious hardliners as he defended his
friend, the writer Martin Amis...
[McEwan's
Bitter - Lenin's Tomb]
Young Muslims 'are turning to extremism'
Patrick Sawer, Telegraph
Extremists are winning the battle for the hearts and minds
of Britain's young Muslims, a disturbing police report warns. Increasing numbers
have become so alienated from mainstream society that they could even lend their
support to jihadi terrorism, the study claims. While most reject violence, many
distrust police and are reluctant to inform on extremists. The report was
commissioned by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) after last
year's failed bomb attacks...
School sex clinics fuel debate on promiscuity
Anushka Asthana, The Observer
Condoms, pregnancy tests and morning-after pills are being
offered in schools to hundreds of thousands of children, some as young as 11.
Twenty-nine per cent of secondary schools in England now have sexual health
clinics with one in 20 providing children with prescriptions for a variety of
contraceptives - the pill, injections or implants - without their parents being
informed, according to research by the Sex Education Forum.
Diverse US Muslims (IslamOnline)
UK bishop 'will boycott
Lambeth' (BBC News Online)
Islam in Europe Weekly Overview (Islam in Europe)
Archbishop Akinola on error and apostasy (Ruth Gledhill)
Round-up: cheap labour for cheap clothes, Hassidic Jews in London (Indigo Jo
Blogs) Saturday June 21 2008
Abu Hamza loses extradition fight
John Aston and Mike Taylor, Independent
The radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza has lost his High
Court battle against extradition to the United States, where he faces a jail
sentence of up to 100 years. If convicted on terrorist charges he is likely to
spend the rest of his life locked up for 23 hours a day in a top-security jail
in Colorado. Two High Court judges sitting in London ruled yesterday that the
decision to extradite Hamza was "unassailable" but gave him 14 days to appeal to
the House of Lords.
[Good
riddance: Hook-handed Abu Hamza loses fight against extradition to U.S. -
Dan Newling, Mail]
Ex-BNP activist 'recruiting prisoners to join al-Qa'ida'
Nigel Morris, Independent
A former British National Party activist who converted to
Islam in a maximum-security jail is being held in isolation on suspicion of
trying to recruit fellow prisoners to terrorist groups. Stephen Jones has been
confined to a segregation unit in Whitemoor prison, Cambridgeshire, for three
weeks while the intelligence services investigate his alleged links to
al-Qa'ida. It is thought to be the first time a prisoner has been put in
isolation because of fears he was attempting to radicalise other inmates.
[Muslim
convert 'recruits' inmates - BBC News Online]
Escape bid as Michael Ross is convicted of Orkney murder
David Lister, Times
A Scots soldier decorated for bravery in Iraq made a
dramatic attempt to escape from custody yesterday after he was found guilty of
the racially motivated murder of an Asian waiter on Orkney. Michael Ross, a
sniper with the Black Watch, was 15 when he walked into the island’s only Indian
restaurant in June 1994 wearing a balaclava and shot Shamsuddin Mahmood, a
26-year-old Bangladeshi, in front of diners and staff.
Gay
priests back in New Zealand after wedding row (Barbara McMahon, Guardian)
Conservatives rule out Anglican reconciliation on gay clergy (Riazat Butt,
Guardian)
Schools listed as failing among best in the country, says NUT (Anthea
Lipsett, The Guardian) Friday June 20 2008
Bid to stop terror groups brainwashing young Scots Muslims
Michael Howie, Scotsman
A COUNTER-radicalisation plan is being developed in
Scotland to prevent young Muslims being "brainwashed" by al-Qaeda terrorists,
The Scotsman can reveal. The strategy, which has the backing of police and the
Scottish Government, will see parents of young Muslims encouraged to exercise
greater control over their children's use of the internet, which is regarded as
a major "weak spot" in Britain's efforts to combat terrorism.
Minister rejects fears of parallel legal system insisting Sharia law has no
jurisdiction in Britain
Daily Mail
Sharia law has no jurisdiction here, a minister insisted
yesterday after fears were voiced about two parallel legal systems in Britain.
The "necessary tools are in place" to ensure that the rule of law is respected
and upheld, despite challenges from other cultures, said Lord Bassam of
Brighton. He told peers: "Sharia law has no jurisdiction in England and Wales
and there are no plans to change this."
[Tory
peers warn of threat of sharia law - Islamophobia Watch]
He is
bright and prepared to take a stand for something he believes in, even if it's
not going with the mainstream
Riazat Butt, Guardian
Until last Sunday few people had heard of the Reverend Dr
Martin Dudley BD MSc MTh PhD FSA FRHistS AKC. But a lot can change in a week and
when, on May 31, he presided at a service for two gay clergy the rector could
never have predicted that, a fortnight later, he would be swept into the eye of
a storm. Since news broke of the ceremony - which had a wedding march, rings,
vows, two best men, a fanfare and confetti - Dudley has been publicly
admonished...
[Divisions
and unions in the church - Letters, Guardian]
Christianity 'could die out within a century'
Laura Clout, Telegraph
More than half of Britons think Christianity is likely to
have disappeared from the country within a century, according to a survey.
Research by the Orthodox Jewish organisation Aish found that just over a third
of people thought religions like Christianity and Judaism would still be
practiced in Britain in 100 years' time. Although four in 10 people said they
would choose to be a member of the Christian religion, almost the same number
said they would rather practice no religion at all.
Orthodox sect justified by gay clergy row, say Conservative Anglicans
Tim Butcher and Martin Beckford, Telegraph
A new "orthodox" movement must be created within the
Anglican Communion because of the divisive issue of homosexual clergy, claims a
leading traditionalist. Dr Peter Jensen, the Archbishop of Sydney, said Anglican
leaders in America had driven the worldwide church to the brink of schism by
ordaining the first openly gay bishop, the Rt Rev Gene Robinson, in 2003. He
insisted he and other conservatives were trying to preserve the Communion and
remain faithful to scripture by proposing new structures.
Hate preacher 'knew 7/7 bomber' (Daniel Sandford, BBC News Online)
Akinola barred from Jordan (Indigo Jo Blogs)
Nazis recommend Harry's Place (Islamophobia Watch)
The 'politics of inclusion' takes a hit (Islamophobia Watch)
Thursday June 19 2008
Henry Chadwick
Rowan Williams The Guardian
'The Anglican church," it was said, "may not have a Pope, but it does have Henry
Chadwick." Nothing could better illustrate the unique position held for many
years by this aristocrat among Anglican scholars, who has died aged 87. His
erudition was legendary, in practically all areas of the study of late
antiquity, but it was also deployed to memorable effect in the work of the
Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission.
Hardline archbishops declare Anglican split
Tim Butcher and Martin Beckford, Telegraph
Hardline Church leaders have formally declared the end of
the worldwide Anglican Communion, saying they can no longer be associated with
liberals who tolerate homosexual clergy. The traditionalists dealt a serious
blow to Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, by claiming that he can
no longer hold the Church together. They warned that the Church was gripped by
its most serious crisis since the Reformation.
'Alternative Lambeth' conference forced to move to Jerusalem
Ruth Gledhill, Times
The "alternative Lambeth" conference organised by
conservative evangelicals in the Anglican church in Amman has been forced to up
sticks and move to a different country after the Archbishop of Nigeria was
denied entry to Jordan. The Global Anglican Future Conference was to have met in
Jordan this week and Jerusalem next week in a bid to establish an orthodox
centre for the Anglican Communion, currently in disarray over the twin issues of
homosexuality and women's ordination.
Abu Qatada
tastes freedom behind net curtains (Steve Bird and Sean O’Neill, Times)
A hair-raising price for being too honest (Janet Street-Porter, Independent)
Harun Yahya preaches Islam, slams Darwin and awaits Jesus (Tom Heneghan,
FaithWorld)
Those who laugh together, live together (Ruth Gledhill)
Welfare
shouldn't be left to 'faith groups' (Terry Sanderson, Guardian CiF)
Angry Christie
makes racism claim (BBC News Online) Wednesday June 18 2008
'Lyrical
terrorist' has conviction quashed
Paul Lewis, Guardian
A former Heathrow shop assistant calling herself the
"lyrical terrorist" yesterday won her appeal against a conviction under
terrorism laws. Samina Malik, 24, was given a nine-month suspended jail sentence
at the Old Bailey last December after she became the first woman to be found
guilty of storing material likely to be of use for terrorism. Malik, of
Southall, west London, adopted her nickname because of extremist lyrics she
wrote on till receipts, but was never prosecuted over her poetry.
'Bin Laden lieutenant' Abu Qatada freed on bail
Sean O’Neill and Ben Quinn, Times
Abu Qatada, the radical Muslim cleric described as one of
Osama bin Laden’s right-hand men, was freed from jail last night under some of
the most stringent bail conditions ever imposed by a British court. A judge
ruled that there were no grounds to detain Abu Qatada, 47, after previous
attempts to deport him were defeated in the courts. The decision by Mr Justice
Mitting at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (Siac) to release the
Jordanian-born cleric was greeted with dismay by the Government.
[Qatada
sent home with electronic tag after six years in jail: Robert Verkaik,
Independent; Profile: Abu
Qatada: BBC News Online;
Dangerous man or dangerous policy? Inayat Bunglawala, Guardian CiF ]
The 'pope' of hope
Riazat Butt, Guardian
His All Holiness, Bartholomew I, Archbishop of
Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, is the spiritual leader of
300 million Orthodox Christians and 270th successor to the Apostle Andrew. He is
also extremely green, taking heads of church and state to areas beset with
environmental problems - the Amazon and Arctic among them - and confronting them
with the best science. After announcing, on an Aegean island, that attacks on
the environment should be considered sins...
Sikh bangle means as much to Monty Panesar as it does to teenager, court told
Frances Gibb, Times
A simple steel wrist bangle means as much to Sarika Watkins-Singh, 14, as it
does to the England spin bowler Monty Panesar, the High Court was told
yesterday. The bangle is a symbol of her Sikh faith and not a piece of
jewellery, Sarika’s lawyers said as they brought a challenge to a ban imposed by
her school. Mr Justice Silber said that he would like to see one of the bangles
– known as the kara – during the hearing, which is set for three days.
Archbishops criticise gay clerics' ceremony
Riazat Butt, Guardian
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York yesterday expressed
their "very great concern" over a wedding-style service between two gay priests
at a London church and condemned clergy who disregarded Church of England
teaching on human sexuality. The joint statement from Rowan Williams and John
Sentamu, the two most senior figures in the church, is the most significant
rebuke yet about the ceremony involving the Rev Peter Cowell and the Rev David
Lord, who outraged conservatives...
Sister wins £4,000 for hijab-related job refusal (Indigo Jo Blogs)
British evangelicals: 'The worst caste' says top Hindu (Ruth Gledhill)
What they have done to Somalia (Lenin's Tomb) Tuesday June 17 2008
BB Alex's Muslim Rant
Peter Dyke, Daily Star
BIG Brother bully Alexandra De-Gale has sparked an unholy
row in the house and now she is up for eviction. The gobby single mum accused
Mohamed Mohamed of looking down on women because he is a Muslim. Her latest
hate-filled outburst deeply offended the shocked housemate. And Islamic groups
have branded her “ignorant”. Now Alex, 23, has sealed her fate. We can reveal
that her fed-up housemates have put her up for the chop on Friday, with bookies
saying...
Islam stuck in the Middle Ages, says Professor Hans Kung
Ruth Gledhill, Times
Islam is stuck in its own version of the “Middle Ages”
which is contributing to a global crisis, one of the religion's leading experts
has argued. Professor Hans Kung, a leading Roman Catholic and theologian from
Germany, warned in a lecture of a “deadly threat” to all humankind unless new
efforts are made to build bridges with Islam. He said in London that Islam has
“special problems” with modernity because, unike Christianity and Judaism, in
which he also specialises, it has never undergone a “serious religious
reformation”.
David Johnston, sacked vicar who called Bishop a liar, wins £14,500
Ruth Gledhill, Times
A former vicar and Church of England communications
officer who branded his bishop “a liar” won a claim for wrongful dismissal and
was awarded more than £14,500 at an employment tribunal yesterday. The Rev David
Johnston, 56, immediately called for the Bishop of Liverpool, the Right Rev
James Jones, to resign. Mr Johnston also claimed the Bishop did not like being
in Liverpool and was "unhappy" that he was not appointed Archbishop of York.
Muslim
stylist wins £4,000 payout
BBC News Online
The owner of a hair salon has been ordered to pay £4,000
compensation to a Muslim stylist who was turned down for a job because she wears
a headscarf. Bushra Noah accused Sarah Desrosiers of religious discrimination
when she failed to offer her a job at her Wedge salon in King's Cross, central
London. An employment tribunal panel dismissed the 19-year-old's claim but
upheld her complaint of indirect discrimination.
[Should
all hairdressers wear headscarves? Alice Olins, Times]
Pieces in jigsaw 'show killer of Orkney waiter was racist hero'
David Lister, Times
The killing of a Bangladeshi waiter in an Orkney
restaurant was “a cold-blooded assassination” by a racially motivated killer, a
court has been told. The point-blank shooting of Shamsuddin Mahmood in 1994 at
the Mumtaz Indian Tandoori restaurant in Kirkwall, Orkney, was a “savage,
merciless and above all pointless” murder committed by a war hero, the High
Court in Glasgow heard. In his closing speech to the jury, Brian McConnachie,
QC, for the prosecution, said...
Mayor
drops festival's anti-racism message (Matthew Taylor The Guardian)
Hassan Butt: I wasn't a terrorist (Rolled-up Trousers)
Democratic
downturn [Turkey and Indonesia] (Inayat Bunglawala, Guardian CiF)
In Defense of Dr. Samar Habib (Muslimah Media Watch) Monday June 16 2008
Gay priest resigns after furore over church blessing
Riazat Butt, The Guardian
A gay priest who angered conservative Christians by
exchanging rings and vows with his partner in a church ceremony for his civil
partnership in London last month has resigned, it emerged last night. The Rev Dr
David Lord, a New Zealander who tied the knot with English clergyman Peter
Cowell on May 31, "felt it appropriate to lay down his clergy license",
according to a statement released through the Anglican church in New Zealand.
His decision will debar him from officiating as a priest.
£100,000 police hunt for 'terror' suit to fit over turban
Telegraph
A police project that involved spending £100,000 helping a
Sikh officer find a chemical and biological attack suit to fit over his turban
and beard has been described as "ridiculous". The junior officer, who has not
been named, encountered problems trying to join West Midlands Police's
counter-terrorist operation support unit because he could not fit protective
gear over his religious headwear and beard. Police chiefs decided to let him
spend 18 months...
42
days? Try 18 months
Evo Morales, The Guardian
Until the end of the second world war Europe was a
continent of emigrants. Millions left for the Americas: some to colonise, others
to escape hunger, financial crises, persecution, ethnic cleansing, war or
totalitarian governments. European citizens arrived in Latin and North America
en masse, without visas or conditions imposed on them by the authorities ...
Contrast the European "return directive", to be voted on in the European
parliament this week.
Rapture
site sends unbelievers their last chance ... via email (Bobbie Johnson,
Guardian)
RDBook: Empire's Theology (Nathan Schneider, Religion Dispatches
A silver lining to the Dutch anti-Islam film “Fitna” (Tom Heneghan,
FaithWorld)
42 days later
(Rolled-up Trousers)
Shaykh Pirzada condemns 42-day detention (Indigo Jo Blogs)
India's 'Dalit Queen' Mayawati wants short tribute £500,000 taller (Jeremy
Page, Times)
'Killing Muslims, blowing up mosques' – Nazi's plan for race war
(Islamophobia Watch) Sunday June 15 2008
Do Stamford Hill's Jews need integration?
Rafael Behr, The Observer
The Haredi Jews of Stamford Hill in north London are a sober bunch. They only
binge-drink once a year, at Purim, when there is a religious obligation to
celebrate exuberantly the salvation of Babylonian Jews from a sixth-century
genocide. Children wear fancy dress, men get drunk and dance boisterously. But
the police don't get called out to break up fights in the synagogue. When it
comes to law and order, the Haredim are model citizens.
Ian Huntley 'to convert to Islam'
Sam Wilson, Telegraph
Ian Huntley, the killer of schoolgirls Holly Wells and
Jessica Chapman, is considering converting to Islam, it has been claimed.
Huntley, 34, serving life at the maximum security Frankland Prison in County
Durham, has started reading the Koran on a daily basis after befriending two
Muslim inmates, according to The People. The Soham killer is thought to have
turned to the small group of Muslim inmates in Frankland after being threatened
by other prisoners.
Anglican
church's first gay 'wedding'
Press Association, guardian.co.uk
The first gay "marriage" to be held in an Anglican church
has reignited controversy over homosexual clergy and same sex civil
partnerships. The Reverend Peter Cowell and the Rev Dr David Lord exchanged vows
at St Bartholomew the Great in the City of London last month. Church of England
guidelines say gay clergy can enter a civil partnership if they provide
reassurance that they will abstain from sex.
[Priests
marry in first gay church wedding: Sadie Gray, Independent]
Man who blinded imam detained (Indigo Jo Blogs)
Loving you now, but breaking all the rules (Ruth Gledhill)
Army accused of human rights abuse in case of Iraqis held without trial for five
years (Robert Verkaik, Independent)
Conservatives will ban khat (Sayeeda Warsi, Guardian CiF) Friday June 14 2008
Interview with Karen Armstrong on Islam, Fundamentalism, and "Triple Vision"
Andrea Bistrich, Religion Dispatches
Karen Armstrong was a Catholic nun for seven years before
leaving her order and going to Oxford. Today, she is amongst the most renowned
theologians and has written numerous bestsellers on the great religions and
their founders. She is one of the eighteen leading group members of the Alliance
of Civilizations, an initiative of the former UN General Secretary, Kofi Annan,
whose purpose is to fight extremism and further dialogue between the Western and
Islamic worlds.
Muslimahs Speak Up blog carnival posted (Indigo Jo Blogs)
Church 'comeback' for Latin
mass (BBC News Online) Friday June 13 2008
Compulsory
lessons urged on forced marriage and 'honour' violence
Riazat Butt, The Guardian
Lessons about "honour"-based violence and forced marriage
should be an explicit statutory requirement in British schools and become a
compulsory part of the sex and relationships curriculum, MPs said today. A
report from the all-party home affairs select committee said education on these
issues seemed to be "at best variable, and at worst nonexistent", with some
schools apparently resistant to discussing them, owing to fear of offending
parents and communities.
Christian teenager died after aborting Muslim boyfriend's child
Nick Britten, Telegraph
A teenage Christian died a fortnight after having an abortion to avoid conflict
with her Muslim boyfriend's family, an inquest has heard. Manon Jones, 18,
suffered bleeding and went into shock after part of the embryo remained inside
her. Doctors admitted her care on the night she died was compromised because
they were so busy dealing with other cases and had they had more time to treat
her "things could have been different".
Church bells are a nuisance, say locals
Laura Clout
For centuries, the peal of bells has announced church services, tolled deaths
and warned of invasion. But now the chime from one Suffolk church is being
investigated by environmental health officers to see if it constitutes a
"statutory nuisance". The Rev Nigel Hartley, vicar of St Peter and Paul's Church
in Aldeburgh, said a petition has been launched by around 20 locals to limit the
bell ringing. He fears that if the bell-ringing is restricted, thousands of
churches across Britain may have to consider the implications.
[Village
cabal strives to silence ancient church bells in Aldeburgh -Frances Gibb,
Times]
The
Legacy of Muslim Women (Mere Islam)
Losing the hearts, upsetting the minds: Brown’s 42-day detention (Islam,
Muslims and an Anthropologist)
Father-of-four finds 12-strong colony of illegal immigrants living in his LOFT (Sophie Borland, Mail)
Bush
meets Pope in Vatican gardens (David Batty and agencies, guardian.co.uk) Thursday June 12 2008
Seven in ten marriages 'forced'
Ruth Gledhill
More than seven in ten marriages involving an English citizen and a spouse born
in Asia could have an element of 'force or coercion' about them, according to
document published today that contains some of the strongest language used
by community leaders to date. The
Muslim Arbitration Tribunal
claims that forced marriages reflect a 'crisis that has loomed within the Muslim
community without being noticed or dealt with for the past two decades.'
Terror accused 'wanted to set up Islamic state in Scotland'
Melvyn Howe, Scotsman
TWO Muslim supporters of "violent jihad" discussed setting
up a secret Islamic state in a remote part of Scotland, a court heard yesterday.
Away from the prying eyes of the authorities, it would provide a safe haven for
those who felt "oppressed", jurors were told. The community would be run
according to Sharia law and eventually be used as a base to "discreetly train"
for attacks against non-believers. The only drawback Aabid Khan allegedly
identified was the availability of weapons.
Islam’s
spiritual science
Wajahat Ali, Alt.Muslim
Rumi, the best selling poet in America today, was a
practicing Muslim and a Sufi master who lived nearly eight hundred years ago.
His poetry and lyrical verses exalting his desire for the Divine, as well as
describing his ecstatic pain and yearning for his “beloved” continue to inspire
lovers to this day. Due to mass commercialization and weak translations of
Rumi’s poetry, Sufism has unfortunately become synonymous with a saccharine...
East European immigrants DON'T take our jobs - because Britons are 'unmotivated
and uneducated', Government claims (James Slack, Mail)
Immigration 'boosts the British economy by £1,650 per head' (Nigel Morris,
Independent)
Netherlands: Few Dutch go to church or mosque regularly (Islam in Europe)
When faith and health care clash for French Muslims (Tom Heneghan,
FaithWorld)
Zaitun Mohamed Kassim (Amina Wadud, W&S)
Intelligent, divine (Giles Fraser, Guardian)
First it was Millwall fans, now it’s the BNP… (Walls Come Tumbling Down)
Murad Qureshi on the Brian Donegan trial (Islamophobia Watch) Wednesday June 11 2008
Muslim children in Britain 'brought up to hate their homeland'
Duncan Gardham, Telegraph
Radical British Muslims have formed chatrooms to discuss
adopting orphans and bringing up children to be Islamic fighters, a study has
found. Discussions on a number of radical websites have asked how children
should be brought up to be "mujahideen" and whether they should be pulled out of
mainstream schools. Other participants boast of how their children threaten to
kill "kuffar" [non-believers] and complain that the Shakespeare being taught in
schools is "full of homosexuality, fornication and adultery."
Islamic fanatics are openly using the internet to recruit children in Britain,
says Civitas
James Slack, Mail
Islamic extremists in Britain are openly trying to recruit
children via the internet, a report warns. They are using websites which carry
messages of hate from terror suspects, according to the respected Civitas
think-tank. The study, by its Centre for Social Cohesion, reveals how fanatics
are using the Web to bypass the anti-terror laws passed in the wake of the 2005
London bombings. Extremists are no longer delivering hate-filled sermons ... but
instead use pro-jihadist websites.
Muslim parents to blame for children turning to extremism
Jonathan Wynne-Jones & Martin Beckford, Telegraph
British Muslim parents are to blame for leaving their
children open to the lure of Islamic extremism, according to an influential
academic. Dr Farhan Nizami CBE, a key adviser on Islam to the Prince of Wales,
accused British Muslims of failing to make sure their children learn to speak
English or supporting them in their education. He said this leaves them
alienated from mainstream society and exposed to being groomed by radical
Islamic groups.
Britain's top Muslim? Hardly (Indigo Jo Blogs)
'It really is psychological torture' [Detention under terror laws in UK]
(Lee Glendinning, Guardian)
Turkish PM
fights for survival with plea for Islamists and secular judges to avoid clash·
Erdogan hopes to deter court closure of AKP (Robert Tait, Guardian)
Migrants have to be taught not to litter, says councillor who sparked racism row
(Arthur Martin and Tamara Cohen, Mail)
Supporting tough measures (Khurshid Ahmed, Guardian CiF)
The oldest Christian church? (Jamal Nasrallah/EPA, Guardian)
Halal money (Nesrine Malik, Guardian CiF)
Hunting for heretics in the 21st century (Tom Heneghan, FaithWorld)
In the
news...Comic Books! ('Ilm al-insaan)
Southern Baptists remain hesitant on environment (Ed Stoddard, FaithWorld)
All in the name of War on Terror (Tabsir)
First migrant team
to start work (BBC News Online) Tuesday June 10 2008
Terror law: Muslims give backing to 42 days
Andrew Porter, Telegraph
A leading Muslim organisation has given Gordon Brown a
boost in his attempt to win a crucial Commons vote on raising the limit on
detaining terror suspects to 42 days. The British Muslim Forum said they were
reassured after speaking to ministers that safeguards in the new legislation
would protect civil liberties. Khurshid Ahmed, Chairman of the BMF, which is
Britain's largest representative Muslim organisation, said the Government had
listened to concerns from the Muslim community.
[Rights
body threatens to bring legal challenge on 42-day detention: Alan Travis &
Patrick Wintour, Guardian]
Muslim Army major who 'got a hug instead of a medal' after saving hostages in
Iraq settles sex and race discrimination case
Tom Kelly & Michael Seamark, Mail
Military chiefs have vowed to learn lessons from the
treatment of a female Muslim Army lawyer who was 'given a hug instead of a
medal' for her part in trying to free soldiers kidnapped in Iraq. Major Rabia
Siddique yesterday settled a race and sex discrimination case against the
Ministry of Defence. The 36-year-old claimed she was denied proper recognition
for her role in talks to try to free two SAS soldiers kidnapped in Basra in
September 2005.
Persecuting the Baha'is
Bahar Tahzib, guardian.co.uk
Lately though, hope – like human rights - has become a scarcer commodity for
many of Iran's citizens. This is particularly true for Iranians who, like
myself, are members of the Bahá'í faith. Last month six members of the informal
leadership committee of Iran's 300,000-strong Baha'i community were arrested. A
seventh colleague has been detained since March. No word has been heard from
them since their arrests. They are being held incommunicado with no access to
lawyers and no contact with relatives.
Female contenders rule out 'archaic' post of Poet Laureate (Emily Dugan and Ben Dowell, Independent)
Who
speaks for European Muslims? (H A Hellyer, Alt. Muslim)
UK Focus on Islam Threat-based (IslamOnline)
'UK's top Muslim' backs 42 days (Islamophobia Watch)
Hacker
brings down police website (BBC News Online)
UK Army Honours Muslim Major (IslamOnline) Monday June
09 2008
UK society 'demonising'
children
BBC News Online
British children are being "demonised" by a society that
is locking too many of them up, according to watchdogs. The joint report by
children's commissioners for all parts of the UK said attitudes towards
youngsters were hardening across the country. The experts said crime committed
by children had fallen between 2002 and 2006, but the numbers criminalised had
gone up by just over a quarter. Their conclusions are part of a United Nations
review of standards in the UK.
ID cards could help turn Britain into a surveillance society, warn MPs
Nicholas Watt, The Guardian
A compulsory national identity card scheme could be used
to monitor the movements of British citizens because of the dangers of "function
creep", a committee of MPs warned yesterday. Britain is in danger of turning
into a "surveillance society", the Commons home affairs select committee says in
a report which calls on the government to promise that the multibillion-pound ID
card scheme will not be used as a matter of routine to spy on people.
Interview with Karen Armstrong
Andrea Bistrich, Religion Dispatches
Karen Armstrong was a Catholic nun for seven years before leaving her order and
going to Oxford. Today, she is amongst the most renowned theologians and has
written numerous bestsellers on the great religions and their founders. She is
one of the eighteen leading group members of the Alliance of Civilizations, an
initiative of the former UN General Secretary, Kofi Annan, whose purpose is to
fight extremism and further dialogue between the Western and Islamic worlds.
Senior officers attack 42-day detention plan (Vikram Dodd, The Guardian)
Archbishops to
back criticism of government over church's role (Riazat Butt, The Guardian)
Gay US
bishop and long-term partner in civil union ceremony (Riazat Butt, The
Guardian)
Failure on child poverty targets is 'moral disgrace' (Sarah Cassidy,
Independent)
Fathers 4 Justice stage rooftop protest at Harman's home (Beverley Rouse &
Sam Marsden, PA/Independent)
Archbishop of Canterbury warns: Do not ignore Christianity for Islam
(Telegraph)
Minority Report: Indonesia calls on Ahmadis to return to mainstream Islam
(Jerome Taylor, IndyBlogs)
In interfaith dialogue, beware of Saudis bearing gifts? (Tom Heneghan,
FaithWorld)
OIC: Muslims in Europe face greater discrimination (Islam in Europe) Sunday June 08 2008
Children aged 13 groomed for terror
David Leppard, Times
SCHOOLCHILDREN as young as 13 are being “groomed” for
terrorism by Islamic extremists in the heartland of the 7/7 suicide bombers,
according to Britain’s most senior police officer charged with countering
radicalisation. Sir Norman Bettison, chief constable of West Yorkshire, said
some bright children entering secondary school were picking up extremist
messages from internet chat rooms and people who wanted to turn them into
terrorists.
'Young left to die' as
councils shun action
Jamie Doward, The Observer
Political correctness is putting children's lives at risk as authorities turn a
blind eye to domestic violence for fear of antagonising ethnic minority
communities, says the NSPCC. The charity warns that Asian victims of domestic
violence are being failed by those working in child protection because of
'cultural sensitivities'. The report finds that 'police, health, education and
social services did not feel qualified to deal with Asian victims.
Drums greet first Hindu state primary
Vikki Miller, Telegraph
Pupils at Krishna-Avanti Primary School will have
dedicated yoga and Sanskrit lessons and will grow vegetables, in line with the
strict vegetarian principles of the school. A traditional Hindu temple will take
pride of place in the courtyard of the new school, in Harrow, north London. It
will have about 240 pupils, with an admissions policy giving priority to
practising Hindus. However, the school was forced to abandon even stricter entry
requirements which would have required parents to be vegetarian...
Channel 4 paid race chief Trevor Phillips to deal with fallout of Big Brother's
Shilpa row (Mail)
UK Muslim Role in Next Decade (IslamOnline.net & Newspapers)
Marketing the churches of England: Plans for a tourist officer in every diocese
(Jonathan Petre, Mail)
Muslims Advance Inter-faith Dialogue (IoL)
Churches face £15m water bills blow (Jonathan Wynne-Jones , Telegraph)
Ministers ignore us, says
Church (BBC News Online)
Scottish Muslims Regret Police Profiling (IslamOnline)
June05-June 07 2008
Leading
clerics urge Muslims to learn about other faiths in drive to promote harmony
Riazat Butt, The Guardian
An international appeal was launched yesterday urging
Muslims around the world to learn about non-Muslims and their cultures for the
sake of peaceful coexistence. The call was made in a communique issued at the
end of the International Islamic Conference for Dialogue, a three-day event that
brought together more than 600 influential scholars and academics.The plea, one
of many in the 18-page document, aimed to encourage Muslims to reach out to
people from other monotheistic faiths...
Israeli threat to attack Iran over nuclear weapons
Ian Black, The Guardian
Israel "will attack" Iran if it continues to develop nuclear weapons, one of
prime minister Ehud Olmert's deputies warned yesterday. Shaul Mofaz, a former
defence minister and a contender to replace the scandal-battered Olmert, said
military action would be "unavoidable" if Tehran proved able to acquire the
technology to manufacture atomic bombs. Mofaz is Israel's transport minister,
but he is also a former chief of staff, privy to secret defence planning as a
member of the security cabinet, and leads regular strategic talks with the US.
Church attacks Labour for betraying Christians
Ruth Gledhill, Times
The policies of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have helped to
generate a spiritual, civic and economic crisis in Britain, according to an
important Church of England report. Labour is failing society and lacks the
vision to restore a sense of British identity, the report says in the Church’s
strongest attack on the Government for decades. It accuses the Government of
“deep religious illiteracy” and of having “no convincing moral direction”.
Hamza lawyer earning
£1 a year in legal aid
Padraic Flanagan and Stephan Bevan, Express
A CONTROVERSIAL lawyer who has represented hook-handed
Muslim cleric Abu Hamza and other terror suspects saw her firm earn almost
£1million in legal aid last year. Mudassar Arani has raked in a total of
£3.5million from the taxpayer over the last seven years. Figures from the Legal
Services Commission show that legal aid fees collected by her firm, Arani & Co,
have almost quadrupled since the financial year 2001-02.
[See also:
Abu Hamza's Muslim lawyer earns £1m a year in legal aid from representing terror
suspects, Daily Mail]
Fears for
Turkish ruling party as court overturns headscarf law
Robert Tait, The Guardian
Turkey's highest court yesterday overturned a politically
controversial law allowing women students to wear the Muslim headscarf at
university, dealing a blow to the country's Islamist-leaning government and its
chances of survival. In a decision with significant implications for Turkey's
future, the constitutional court upheld an appeal from opposition parties that
the law - passed by parliament in February - posed a threat to its 85-year-old
secular system.
Religious
leaders condemn bombing
BBC News Online
Christian and Islamic leaders from Devon said they were
"very dismayed" by the incident. "We unreservedly condemn all expressions of
hatred and fear of our fellow humans, and emphasise our common humanity before
God. It is essential that we all stand together against those who seek to harm
the lives of any people and fragment our shared society. It is all too easy to
stereotype people who are different and seek to portray them as objects to be
feared rather than humans to be loved."
Postman's
racist terror campaign
BBC News Online
A postman has admitted to planting a hoax bomb and sending hate-mail letters to
leading figures, including former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Jefferson Azevedo
sent letters containing white powder or Nazi slogans to various people over a
four-year period, Southwark Crown Court heard. Azevedo, 45, of Langley Road,
Portsmouth, admitted 19 offences and asked for another 140 to be considered.
They included nine charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
It's NOT racist to tell the truth about immigration and crime, says leading
police chief (Jenny Johnston, Lying
Mail)
Masked men
on church roof in Treeton near Rotherham given caution (Times)
Wing and a prayer as archbishop takes to the heavens (Jonathan Brown,
Independent)
Transcending Jerusalem (Mere Islam)
Bishop Gene Robinson to 'marry' gay partner ('Martin' Beckford, Telegraph)
Talking to the Taliban (Nushin Arbabzadah, Guardian CiF)
Hindu state school
beginning work (BBC News Online)
Water charge
may close churches (BBC News Online)
The Islamification of Britain (part 756) (Islamophobia Watch)
Service for
[Muslim] shopkeeper shot dead (BBC News Online)
Man who attacked
imam is 'insane' (BBC News Online)
Netherlands: 65% support ban on large mosques (Islamophobia Watch)
BNP says call to prayer at Stoke mosque will 'provoke neighbours'
(Islamophobia Watch)
Sentamu hammers Brown's Labour Government (Ruth Gledhill)
Staffordshire: BNP warns against mosque call to prayer (Islam in Europe)
Thursday June 05 2008
Mecca
talks stress religious tolerance
Riazat Butt, The Guardian
More than 500 delegates from around the world gathered in
the Islamic holy city of Mecca yesterday with the aim of fostering better
relations between Muslims and followers of other faiths. King Abdullah of Saudi
Arabia opened the three-day conference in Al-Safah Palace, a stone's throw from
the Grand Mosque, by stressing the need for better understanding and cooperation
between monotheistic religions. The king urged his audience to promote the true
message of Islam...
Misrepresenting Islam
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na`im, ReligionDispatches
Suggestions that Presidential candidate Barack Obama was a
Muslim seemed to have subsided when his controversial pastor, Reverend Jeremiah
Wright, walked onto the stage. But even as Obama defended his Christian faith,
and his choice of churches, speculation about his connection to Islam continues
on-line as well as within the mainstream press, including an Op-Ed entitled
“President Apostate” in The New York Times
(May 12, 2008) by the military strategist and historian Edward Luttwak (and,
exactly a week later, in a May 19 Christian Science Monitor Op-Ed
entitled
“Barack Obama–Muslim Apostate?“).
Critics of embryo research are 'absurd', says church academic
Mail
The Rt Rev Richard Harries, Lord Harries of Pentregarth,
told an audience that it was an 'extra-ordinary' position to think of every
fertilised embryo as a living soul. The former Bishop of Oxford said his
position differed from the 'more conservative' Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr
Rowan Williams who recently used the word 'rape' in connection with the Human
Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. Lord Harries told Cheltenham Literature
Festival: 'We now know...
[Cardinal
on the attack: Scotsman]
Nicky
Reilly remanded in custody on Exeter restaurant bomb charges (Home Staff ,
Times)
Deoband first: A fatwa against terror (Tabsir)
'BBC news is fuelling racist attacks on Poles because liberal elite is scared to
highlight non-white immigration' (Mail)
15
child brides used to settle Pakistan feud (Declan Walsh, Guardian)
Men, women and autism (Indigo Jo Blogs)
Wednesday June 04 2008
'A
hodgepodge of hash, yoga and LSD'
John O'Mahony, Guardian
If Ravi Shankar has one abiding memory of the Monterey pop
festival - which took place in the heady summer of 1967, at the height of his
notoriety as the sitar-playing guru to the stars - it is of unfortunate
scheduling. Slated to appear before him were Jefferson Airplane, a band whose
blues-inflected barrage of pulsating sound couldn't have clashed more with his
own karmic composure. And right after him was one Jimi Hendrix, then still a
relative unknown...
It's not just boys who are autistic
Joanna Moorhead, The Guardian
Ten years ago, when she was 11, Robyn Steward was diagnosed with Asperger's
syndrome, a form of autism that made that already challenging time particularly
difficult. While other girls were forming tight friendships, hanging out with
each other for hours after school, Steward had trouble fitting in with her
contemporaries - more so, she suspects, than if she had been a teenage boy with
the syndrome. "At that age," she says, "boys aren't connecting with one another
so much, but for girls it's so cliquey..."
Refugees from Eritrea, a young state riven with conflict and divided by faith
Catherine Philp, Times
Recent religious repression has meant Eritrea is wrongly portrayed as a Muslim
state that persecutes Christians. In reality, it is the Orthodox Church’s
antipathy towards new evangelical groups that has inspired much of the
persecution. When the Government introduced legislation in 2002, forcing all
religious organisations to register, it seized the opportunity to shut down the
growing number of Pentecostal churches, citing such groups as a threat to
national security, along with extremist Islamist groups.
Interfaith talks on agenda in Mecca, Rome and London (Tom Heneghan,
FaithWorld)
Blame terrorism on multiculturalism says Torygraph (Islamophobia Watch)
Qaradawi slams Pakistan bombing (Islamophobia Watch)
'Symbolism of hijab' (Islamophobia Watch)
Denmark: Three Muslims attacked after embassy bombing (Islam in Europe)
Pig's head
nailed to Asian centre (BBC News Online)
U.S. religious groups in anti-torture campaign (Ed Stoddard, FaithWorld)
Hassan Butt's deception exposed (Indigo Jo Blogs)
Tuesday June 03 2008
New plan
to tackle violent extremism
Alan Travis, The Guardian
A nationwide "deradicalisation" programme is being
developed to tackle people who have been drawn into Islamist violent extremism
in Britain, the government will reveal today. The Home Office said the strategy
was needed to help bring back those who had "already crossed the line" in terms
of ideology and outlook, but not yet committed any clear criminal offence. The
local schemes involved so far aim to reverse the process of radicalisation
possibly through mentoring those involved...
[Labour
Urges Action on Extremism: Daily Star]
Faithbook launched on Facebook
Riazat Butt, The Guardian
The social networking tool Facebook is often used to
organise drunken parties and while away boredom, but organisers of a multifaith
initiative hope it will combat extremism and improve relations between religious
communities. Faithbook, which goes live today on the popular site, uses images,
videos, prayers, content from sacred texts and commentary from prominent figures
to promote constructive dialogue in the UK and the rest of the world.
Church of England tackles rise in bullying vicars
Tom Peterkin, Telegraph
An increase in bullying in the Church of England has led
to bishops being urged to introduce harassment advisers. The recommendation is
included in new guidelines drawn up in response to claims that the Church has
not been supportive enough to bullied vicars and other ecclesiastical workers.
Instances of bullying by congregations or the hierarchy within religious
organisations have doubled over the last five years, according to Unite, the
trade union...
Third World migrants behind our 2.3m population boom (Steve Doughty & James
Slack, Mail)
Al Jazeera English - News - Blast At Danish Embassy In Pakistan (CLOSER)
Christopher Morgan: a tribute (Ruth Gledhill)
Families
welcome back 400 children taken from sect (Dan Glaister, Guardian)
Muslim in call centre abuse wins £20,000 (Craig Brown, Scotsman)
Bardot fined over racial hatred (Islamophobia Watch)
British government says it favours stepping into Islamic finance (Associated
Press/ HT)
Muslim Friendly Flats Opened (Bristol Evening Post)
Soundbites but no solutions in French “virginity lie” case (Tom Heneghan,
FaithWorld)
So al-Qa’ida’s defeated, eh? Go tell it to the marines (Tabsir)
Germany: Neo-Nazi violence becomes the norm (Islam in Europe)
James Slack
and the truth (5cc)
Lahore nights
(Koonj The Crane)
Monday June 02 2008
We are destroying the very values which could save us in our battle against
Islam
Bruce Anderson, Independent
In 1683, a Turkish army reached the suburbs of Vienna. The
outcome trembled in the balance until Jan Sobieski of Poland arrived with his
army, threw back the Ottomans and finally freed western Europe from the threat
of Muslim domination, thus completing the work begun by Charles Martel at
Poitiers in 732. Or did he? Today, there are plenty of Europeans who would say:
"Charles Martel, Jan Sobieski, you are needed at this hour." There are
widespread fears that Muslim immigrants...
2m flood in and will not be leaving
Emma Wall, Daily Star
MORE than two million immigrants have flooded into Britain
in just 16 years, shock figures out today show. A report by Migrationwatch UK
shows foreigners swelled our population by 2.3million between 1991 and 2006.
Most are from outside the EU, ruining traditional arguments against an annual
limit. The think-tank’s analysis of Office Of National Statistics figures show
the real impact of the UK’s open-door policy on immigration.
Hostility to immigrants 'is holding UK back'
Nigel Morris, Independent
Widespread public hostility to immigration threatens to
undermine efforts to attract the skilled foreign workers crucial to Britain's
future prosperity, the Government is warned today. An influential think-tank
says skills shortages, an ageing population and increasing demand for highly
qualified workers will leave UK companies more dependent than ever on hiring
abroad. The Work Foundation challenges ministers to make greater efforts to put
the case for skilled migration to a population...
Islam’s rise in America; “Are Christians Prepared for Muslims in the
Mainstream?” (Spreading the Sunni point of View)
A lament for the death of the left as a political force (Yasmin
Alibhai-Brown, Independent)
Wogan Blasts 'Eastern
European Racists' (Daily Express)
Foreign care workers escape background check (Laura Clout, Telegraph)
Christians told: don't preach here... it's Muslim only (Jerry Lawton, Daily
Star)
Victimised
policeman wins payout (BBC News Online)
Fear of a black planet (Raziq Rauf, Guardian CiF)
Bishop says climate-change deniers are as bad as sex dungeon father Josef Fritzl
(Steve Doughty, Mail)
Ireland: Opposition calls for school ban on hijab (Islamophobia Watch)
Sunday June 01 2008
Inside the world of UK Muslim women
Nick Mathiason and Huma Qureshi, The Observer
She wants to marry her soulmate, shops in Primark, TK Maxx
and Topshop, and dreams of starting her own business. Meet the typical Muslim
woman in Britain today. A thousand women throughout the country have responded
to the biggest lifestyle study of Muslim women undertaken in the UK. It appears
to show that Muslim women have established a delicate balance between a desire
to live a contemporary lifestyle and tap into consumer trends while sticking to
values underpinning the Islamic guide to life.
Amazing glimpse into ordinary yet extraordinary lives
Na'ima B Robert (editor of Sisters Magazine), The Observer
As a Muslim woman in the UK, I am used to my voice not
being heard. I am used to people making assumptions, making judgments, making
light of the values I hold dear. Believe it or not, there are many Muslim women
like me, frustrated at the ignorance and bias that so often accompany our
society's attempts to address any issue surrounding Islam and, in particular,
Muslim women. That is just one of the reasons why this survey is so refreshing.
Christian preachers face arrest in Birmingham
David Harrison, Telegraph
A police community support officer ordered two Christian
preachers to stop handing out gospel leaflets in a predominantly Muslim area of
Birmingham. The evangelists say they were threatened with arrest for committing
a "hate crime" and were told they risked being beaten up if they returned. The
incident will fuel fears that "no-go areas" for Christians are emerging in
British towns and cities, as the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of
Rochester, claimed in The Sunday Telegraph this year.
What I told the Pope about how to shape the new capitalism
The Observer, Sunday June 1 2008
Decent wages, dignity at work, no profit without
morals - when it comes to reforming the unstable market economy, the Catholic
church is leading where New Labour fears to tread. Yesterday, Will Hutton joined
an extraordinary debate at the Vatican...
Poems from Guantánamo (Tabsir)
Nine out of 10 immigrants 'non-European' (James Kirkup, Telegraph)
Round-up: drinks on the Tube, Blair uniting religions, Mary Whitehouse, high
fuel costs (Indigo Jo Blogs)
Inside Pakistan Madrasahs (IslamOnline)
Oslo/London: Muslim hip-hop (Islam in Europe)
We want equal rights to join al Qaeda and become suicide bombers, say women
extremists (Mail Online)
Antwerp: Jehovah's Witnesses missionizing in Arabic (Islam in Europe)
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