Abu Dharr Archive

Archive March 2007
Saturday March 31 2007/11 Rabiul Awwal 1428 Call that humiliation? Terry Jones, The Guardian I share the outrage expressed in the British press over the treatment of our naval personnel accused by Iran of illegally entering their waters. It is a disgrace. We would never dream of treating captives like this - allowing them to smoke cigarettes, for example, even though it has been proven that smoking kills. And as for compelling poor servicewoman Faye Turney to wear a black headscarf, and then allowing the picture to be posted around the world - have the Iranians no concept of civilised behaviour? For God's sake, what's wrong with putting a bag over her head? That's what we do with the Muslims we capture: we put bags over their heads, so it's hard to breathe. Chocolate Jesus exhibition cancelled after Catholics protest USA Today, via ReligionNewsBlog.com NEW YORK (AP) — A planned Holy Week exhibition of a nude, anatomically correct chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ was cancelled Friday after Cardinal Edward Egan and other outraged Catholics complained. The “My Sweet Lord” display was shut down by the hotel that houses the Lab Gallery in midtown Manhattan. Roger Smith Hotel president James Knowles cited the public outcry for his decision. The reaction “is crystal clear and has brought to our attention the unintended reaction of you and other conscientious friends of ours to the exhibition,” Knowles wrote in the two-paragraph cancellation notice. Ga-ga Yahya out for revenge Tomm Dunn, The Sun THIS (Photo in original) is the crazed Iranian godfather of terror who ordered the kidnap of 15 British sailors and Marines. Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi is the all-powerful chief of the Revolutionary Guards, the military fanatics holding our Royal Navy heroes. Intelligence sources believe the kidnapping of 14 men and one woman last week could be Safavi’s revenge for a series of blows recently inflicted on him by the West. His identity is revealed by The Sun amid outrage over further parading of the Brits on TV. General Safavi, in his 50s, is answerable only to himself and is a religious zealot who hates Britain and America. His Guards train and fund Shiite Muslim insurgents to kill British and US soldiers in Iraq. And check out: Muslim GPs: Chapter and Verse (Rolled Up Trousers) Tribute to ‘modern Muslim’ murdered at home (The Independent) Friday March 30 2007/10 Rabiul Awwal 1428 Is a Greener Islam Possible? M. Aurangzeb Ahmad, Alt.Muslim Green is the color which is most often associated with Islam and coincidently green is also the color which is associated with the environmentalist movement. While the modern Environmentalist movement goes back to the efforts of Rachel Carlson, one can argue that the care of environment has been integral to most of the religious traditions of the world. In recent years environment friendly groups have emerged in all the major religions of the world, perhaps the strongest statement on the issue has come from the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, nicknamed the Green Patriarch, who stated harming the environment could be considered a sin. Many Evangelical Christians have also shown keen interest on the issue of Environmentalism which call Creation Care. Veil row assistant loses appeal BBC News Online A Muslim classroom assistant sacked for refusing to remove her veil in lessons has lost an appeal against a ruling that she was not discriminated against. Aishah Azmi, 24, was asked to remove the veil after Headfield Church of England School in Dewsbury, West Yorks, said pupils could not understand her. Mrs Azmi refused and was sacked after an employment tribunal ruled she was not the victim of discrimination. She had not contested the sacking, but claimed religious discrimination. Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) in London. After the ruling, Kirklees Council said it and the school were disappointed that Mrs Azmi had decided to pursue her appeal. Home Office sets up centre to fight terrorists Philip Johnston, Daily Telegraph A counter-terrorism centre is to be set up inside the Home Office as part of a reorganisation of Whitehall's public protection and security structures, as announced by Tony Blair yesterday. The Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism will be responsible for developing a strategy to combat al-Qa'eda and home-grown bombers. A national security committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, will meet each month. The Home Secretary will chair a national security board, which will meet weekly. A research, information and communications unit will be established in the Home Office "in support of the struggle for ideas and values". The Home Office's shift towards immigration, terrorism and crime means it is to be split up. And check out: Don't confuse terrorism with Islam, says EU (Islamophobia Watch) UN Human Rights Council concerned over stigmatising Muslim, Arab minorities (Islamophobia Watch) Wednesday March 28 2007/08 Rabiul Awwal 1428 Health secretary in Muslim GP row BBC News Online Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt is embroiled in a row over whether some Muslim GPs are guilty of breaking the confidentiality of their patients. Two medical magazines reported that Ms Hewitt said some Muslim women feared raising sensitive issues with their GP in case it got back to their families. The Department of Health said she was not accusing GPs of breaking the rules. Doctors leaders warned any breach in confidentiality would dealt with extremely seriously. Ms Hewitt was asked about the issue by reporters after addressing a meeting of the Fabian society. She told Pulse magazine: "I have had Muslim women give me chapter and verse on very distressing breaches of confidentiality by Muslim GPs. "Some women patients feel they cannot trust their own GP, who knows the patient's extended families." Warning over Islamic extremists operating in universities Colin Brown, The Independent Race hate laws should be used to crack down on extremist groups whose activities are prompting a rise in anti-Semitism at Britain's universities, vice-chancellors are to be warned by ministers today. The police are to be told to use the Public Order Act 1986 outlawing the spreading of racial hatred where there is enough evidence to bring prosecutions against Islamic extremists for speeches on student campuses. The hardening of the approach towards anti-Semitism by the Government follows growing evidence collected by an all-party group at Westminster about a rise in attacks since the Iraq war. Ministers are particularly concerned about the infiltration of campuses by Islamic extremist groups who have stirred up hatred against Israel. A monstrous war crime Richard Horton, The Guardian Our collective failure has been to take our political leaders at their word. This week the BBC reported that the government's own scientists advised ministers that the Johns Hopkins study on Iraq civilian mortality was accurate and reliable, following a freedom of information request by the reporter Owen Bennett-Jones. This paper was published in the Lancet last October. It estimated that 650,000 Iraqi civilians had died since the American and British led invasion in March 2003. Immediately after publication, the prime minister's official spokesman said that the Lancet's study "was not one we believe to be anywhere near accurate". The foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, said that the Lancet figures were "extrapolated" and a "leap". And check out: Woolas calls for crackdown on 'Islamic anti-semitism' on campuses (Islamophobia Watch) Hewitt criticised for casting doubt on Muslim GPs' ethics (Islamophobia Watch) Monday March 26 2007/06 Rabiul Awwal 1428 Mandela boycotts Bristol's slavery commemoration Kim Sengupta, The Independent Nelson Mandela has boycotted plans to commemorate the bicentennial of the Act abolishing the slave trade in Bristol after hearing of bitter divisions within the community and accusations of racism and intolerance. Mr Mandela had been invited to Bristol, once one of the busiest slave ports in Britain, by the Lord Mayor, councillor Peter Abraham, for a service of remembrance due to take place today. But South Africa's former president declined the invitation after local black organisations contacted him to say his presence would be seen as condoning an overwhelmingly white city council which is accused of riding roughshod over the wishes of the city's black population. As the EU turns 50, Pope says it's on path to oblivion Ian Traynor, The Guardian European leaders yesterday celebrated the EU's 50th birthday, with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, telling the prime ministers or presidents of 27 countries that modern Europe was a dream come true. But the birthday party summit for the EU - staged with rock concerts, Beethoven, beer and cake in brilliant sunshine in Berlin - was soured by the German Pope, Benedict XVI, who delivered a profoundly pessimistic verdict on Europe at 50, declaring that the continent could be heading for extinction. Angry that a "Berlin Declaration" unveiled yesterday listing the EU's achievements and challenges on its 50th birthday contained no reference to the continent's Christian roots, Pope Benedict said that Europe could "not be built by ignoring its people's identities". Saturday March 24 2007/04 Rabiul Awwal 1428 Fleeing the Janjaweed: a people brutalised and betrayed Jody Williams, The Independent Flying over the vast expanse of Chadian desert to get to the refugee camps housing tens of thousands of refugees from Darfur, you get a very clear picture of what normal villages look like on both sides of the border. Small clusters of perhaps 10 to 20 thatched huts are ringed by fences made out of branches of the thorn tree. Sometimes a few kilometres away there will be another cluster of huts, but sometimes a village is isolated. I had no trouble imaging an attack by Sudanese forces and their Janjaweed militias. This was my second trip to the camps and the day before, a group of despairing women I met with in the Gaga Camp - the only one of twelve camps in Chad that is still accepting refugees from Darfur - had talked about the attacks they had lived through. Use violence against Muslims, says Van Gogh's former mentor (Islamophobia Watch) Thursday March 22 2007/02 Rabiul Awwal 1428 Promoting Civic Involvement: Introducing unitedmuslims.org Shahed Amanullah, Alt.Muslim As the editor of altmuslim.com, I try to focus our articles on items of interest to Muslims and others alike, in a manner geared towards open discourse and critical inquiry. And even though altmuslim.com is part of a larger Web endeavor through our parent company, Halalfire Media LLC, I don't usually write about the various other web projects that we work on. But I want make an exception, and give you an early look at a website that I hope will do a lot of good for both the Muslim community and the larger communities in which we live. After two years of conceptual planning and two months of feverish coding, I'm proud to present unitedmuslims.org - a website designed to aggregate the energy and talent of the Muslim community and actively put it to use in making the world a better place. This week, unitedmuslims.org is launching simultaneously in the US, UK, and Canada, with more countries coming online soon. Defence Spending: Security agencies win £86m for terror fight Nigel Morris, The Independent The cost of combating terrorism at home and abroad was underlined as the Chancellor announced major new handouts to the security services and to British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. MI5, MI6 and GCHQ will receive an extra £86.4m, bringing their total annual spending to £2.25bn this year, more than double their budget before the September 11 attacks. And Mr Brown, who praised the "huge debt of gratitude to our armed forces", promised a further £400m for the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the total expense of Britain's commitment in the two countries to £7.4bn. Most of the extra cash for the security agencies will pay for speedier recruitment as they expand to their greatest strength for 50 years. The rest will be invested in high-technology surveillance equipment. Wednesday March 21 2007/01Rabiul Awwal 1428 Schools told: You can ban the veil - but not hairstyles Daily Mail Schools have been given the go-ahead to ban Islamic full-face veils, gang clothing and jewellery - but they must allow braided 'cornrow' hairstyles. They will be required to tear up existing dress code policies after Government guidelines on uniforms were published. Hairstyles such as cornrows - plaits along the scalp - will be permitted, since they are "more likely to be adopted by specific racial groups". But heads are advised to ban the niqab, which covers the entire face apart from a slit for the eyes, to allow pupils to be identified and taught properly. They can also outlaw jewellery on health and safety grounds and prevent pupils wearing styles and colours of clothing related to street gangs to "protect young people from external pressure". Law chief to target 'preachers of hate' John Steele, Daily Telegraph More extreme Muslim "preachers of hate" will be prosecuted in a drive against radicalisation by the Crown Prosecution Service, the Director of Public Prosecutions said yesterday. Sir Ken Macdonald said he had created the post of national "radicalisation co-ordinator" to prosecute preachers such as Abu Hamza and is also planning to appoint about five other specialist prosecutors in major cities to help police build cases against those who used inflammatory rhetoric to whip up violence. "The preacher of hate issue is one of growing public concern and we expect to be bringing more cases of this sort. "It is dangerous and it requires a vigorous response from us and the police," Sir Ken said in a newspaper interview. Crackdown on the preachers of hate Matthew Hickley, Daily Mail Extremist Islamic 'hate preachers' face a crackdown from a network of specialist prosecutors set up to monitor their activities and bring criminal charges against them. Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald yesterday promised to root out radical clerics who stir up hatred and inspire others to carry out terror attacks. The tougher approach is likely to be seen as an admission that the authorities have so far been too tolerant towards preachers who fan the flames of terrorism. Notorious cases include Finsbury Park Mosque cleric Abu Hamza, who was allowed to preach inflammatory sermons for years before he was prosecuted and jailed last year. Also among those who can expect close scrutiny is Anjem Choudary, the unofficial spokesman of militant Islam in the UK. And check out: Muslim leader 'dismayed' by new ban on veil-wearing at schools (Islamophobia Watch) Sunday March 18 2007/29 Safar 1428 One third of all Christians say: We've suffered discrimination Jonathan Oliver, Mail on Sunday One in three Christians claim to have suffered discrimination because of their religious views, according to a new poll. The survey by the BBC shows unprecedented disquiet among church-going Britons amid claims they increasingly face prejudice in the media, the workplace and even in their own communities. It follows a series of high-profile rows over unfair treatment towards Christians, including the case of the British Airways worker who was banned from wearing a crucifix, while Muslim employees were allowed to wear headscarfs. A third of those polled by the BBC's religious programme Heaven And Earth, claim Christians experience discrimination in the way the media portrays them.. Saturday March 17 2007/28 Safar 1428 Sally Clark, mother wrongly convicted of killing her sons, found dead at home Thair Shaikh, The Guardian Sally Clark, the solicitor wrongly convicted of murdering her two baby sons, was found dead by her family at her home yesterday. Mrs Clark, 42, who served three years of a life sentence after being found guilty of smothering 11-week-old Christopher in 1996 and shaking eight-week-old Harry to death two years later, died during the night, said Sue Stapeley, a spokeswoman for the family. No cause of death was given. Mrs Clark's family said in a statement: "Sadly, she never fully recovered from the effects of this appalling miscarriage of justice. Sally ... was a loving and talented wife, mother, daughter and friend." Coroner says 'friendly fire' killing of British soldier was a criminal act Kim Sengupta, The Independent The killing of Lance Corporal Matty Hull in an American air strike in Iraq was a "criminal, unlawful act" by pilots who opened fire "with disregard for the rules of engagement", a coroner ruled yesterday. Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker also scathingly criticised the US authorities for their lack of co-operation which had caused so much "pain and suffering" to L/Cpl Hull's family. The failure to hand over important documents has meant that "the full facts have not yet come to light". L/Cpl Hull, 25, died when his convoy came under attack from two A-10 "Tankbuster" warplanes despite the British vehicles showing orange markings to signify allied forces. 'London bomber' did not mean to hurt anyone, court hears Jason Bennetto, The Independent An alleged bomber has admitted taking a rucksack "device" on to a bus as part of the 21 July 2005 alleged suicide attacks in London but insisted he did not mean to kill or hurt anyone. Muktar Said Ibrahim, 29, speaking for the first time about the incident, said he had a device on a bus with him to protest against the plight of Muslims everywhere, and especially in Iraq. His barrister, George Carter-Stephenson, QC, has already described to a jury at Woolwich Crown Court how Mr Ibrahim tested several rucksack devices beforehand to make sure they only went "pop". The defendant became the first of six men accused of an extremist Muslim plot to give evidence. All six deny charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life. And check out: Jews, Muslims and free speech (Indigo Jo Blog) Thursday March 15 2007/26 Safar 1428 Muslim sues her bosses over 'suicide bomber jibes' Jaya Narain, Daily Mail A Muslim woman is suing her former employers after, she says, they repeatedly referred to her as a "suicide bomber". Aneela Farani, an accounts manager, told an employment tribunal that she was repeatedly dismissed as a terrorist in the wake of the attacks on London in 2005. She said colleagues made jokes about her headscarf and a black zip-up bag she used to carry company brochures and promotional material when she visited clients. Mrs Farani, 40, claimed one member of staff commented: "Who knows what’s in her bag or what she’s got strapped to her?" She also accused company director Alan O’Brien of saying he "wouldn’t be surprised if customers didn’t shout 'suicide bomber' when I walked into their office and ran out". Freedom of speech row as talk on Islamic extremists is banned John Steele, Daily Telegraph A leading university has been accused of "selling out" academic freedom of speech by scrapping a talk on links between the Nazis and Islamic anti-Semitism after allegedly receiving emails from Muslims protesting about the event. Matthias Küntzel, a German author and political scientist who specialises in the threat of Islamic fundamentalism, was told yesterday by the University of Leeds that a talk scheduled for yesterday evening, and a two-day workshop, on Hitler's Legacy: Islamic Anti-Semitism in the Middle East, had been cancelled because of security fears. In a statement yesterday, two academics in the Leeds German department, which had organised the event, claimed the university had bowed "to Muslim protests". Dr Küntzel said he had given similar addresses around the world and there had been no problems. Family of seven still search for peace after five years of race hate Terri Judd, The Independent Eight-year-old Khalid Mohamed was helping his parents move into their new home when some older boys on bikes started chasing his family and shouting racist abuse. As the bewildered Somali family tried to settle into their new house in north London, adult neighbours joined in the heckling. "Fuck off Pakis. We don't want you here," they yelled. "We will burn the house down." Since that day five years ago, the Mohamed family - who fled war-torn Mogadishu before Khalid was born - has barely gone 48 hours without enduring abuse. Stones are thrown at their house at night; lit cigarettes pushed through their letterbox. Khalid's father, Abdalla, 46, has been grabbed around the throat in front of his severely disabled daughter and terrified wife. His car has been vandalised on three occasions. His wife, Asha, is called a "baldy Paki" because she wears a scarf. We are making a fatal mistake by ignoring the dissidents within Islam Timothy Garton Ash, The Guardian Are there credible versions of Islam that are compatible with liberal democracy as it has developed in the west? Can one be both a good Muslim and a good citizen of a free society? Or are Islam and the post-Enlightenment west like fire and water? While I have been in Egypt over the last fortnight, exploring these issues with Muslims and non-Muslims in a pivotal society of the Middle East, a debate has been bubbling away on the web (see www.signandsight.com) in which various woolly and nefarious views on the subject have been attributed to me. Among the accusations is that I, who was so much engaged for dissidents under communism, show insufficient solidarity with the "dissidents of Islam" such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali. This charge is based on a misunderstanding of the principle of solidarity which prevailed in the struggle against communism and should do so now. That principle is: total solidarity in the defence of people unjustly persecuted, total freedom to disagree with their views. 'Honour killing' victim's lover tells how affair 'shamed' her community Gwyneth Rees, Daily Mail The boyfriend of a married Muslim woman allegedly murdered by her father and uncle for having an affair with him choked back tears yesterday as he told how her mother knew of the plot to kill her. Rahmat Suleimani, 28, told the court that his girlfriend Banaz Mahmod's mother warned him that her husband was arranging to kill them both in an 'honour killing'. She warned him: "You should watch your back because there are people out there who want to kill you." She then allegedly begged him not to reveal that she had told him of the plan, saying she would be "in deep trouble" if anyone found out. Pretty Banaz Mahmod, 20, was garrotted with a bootlace in January 2006 and buried in a suitcase in her grandmother's backgarden, the Old Bailey heard. It is alleged her father and uncle killed her because they believed her new relationship bought shame to their strict Iraqi Kurdish family. Wednesday March 142007/25 Safar 1428 Muslim takes sauna in hijab Jamie Pyatt, The Sun A MUSLIM woman in full hijab robes was allowed to swelter in a SAUNA because worried staff did not want to offend her. She then jumped into the sports centre’s swimming pool to cool off while still wearing the black top-to-toe Islamic dress. Staff did not know if they should enforce a dress code which asks customers to wear SUITABLE clothes. People in the sauna — all wearing normal swimming cossies — were amazed as the woman joined them in the steam room in her robes. Last night surprised Muslim spokesman Taj Hargey asked: “How can you swim properly if you wear a hijab?” After ten minutes in the sauna and ten minutes in the pool the mystery woman changed out of her wet hijab into a dry one in the changing rooms and left alone. And check out: UNESCO: Israel must stop work near Al-Aqsa Mosque pending agreed plan (Electronic Intifada) Tuesday March 13 2007/24 Safar 1428 Don't let truth stand in the way of a red-hot debunking of climate change George Monbiot, The Guardian Were it not for dissent, science, like politics, would have stayed in the dark ages. All the great heroes of the discipline - Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Einstein - took tremendous risks in confronting mainstream opinion. Today's crank has often proved to be tomorrow's visionary. But the syllogism does not apply. Being a crank does not automatically make you a visionary. There is little prospect, for example, that Dr Mantombazana Tshabalala-Msimang, the South African health minister who has claimed Aids can be treated with garlic, lemon and beetroot, will be hailed as a genius. But the point is often confused. Professor David Bellamy, for example, while making the incorrect claim that wind farms do not have "any measurable effect" on total emissions of carbon dioxide, has compared himself to Galileo. And check out: Attack on Mosque (The Daily Record) Tuesday March 12 2007/23 Safar 1428 Labour lacks Christian values, says bishop Kate Devlin, Daily Telegraph A Catholic bishop is urging his flock not to vote for Labour in next month's elections for the Scottish Parliament, claiming that the party is "devoid" of Christian values. Joseph Devine, the Bishop of Motherwell, said that Labour's family policies, and in particular its support for civil partnerships and gay adoption, were testing the support of its traditional Catholic voters. His comments will come as blow to Labour as it faces a difficult battle to retain its position as the largest party in the Scottish Parliament. Recent opinion polls suggest that the party, which has traditionally relied on a strong Catholic vote in Scotland, could lose out to the independence-supporting Scottish National Party on May 3. Bishop Devine, who has been a strong critic of the party's family policies, said that the Labour party had a "morality devoid of any Christian principles". Man Blows Himself Up in Morocco Web Cafe The Guardian CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) - A man who was prevented from looking at terror Web sites by the owners of an Internet cafe blew himself up with explosives hidden on his body, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said Monday. Four other people were injured in the Sunday night blast, including the dead man's companion, who was hospitalized with burns and an injury to the throat, said Ministry spokesman Abderrahman Achour. Authorities, uncertain about the circumstances of the blast in a Casablanca slum, held off labeling it a suicide bombing, Achour said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. Police were not immediately able to identify the dead man, who was not carrying an ID card. His companion identified himself as Said Jokia, but he, too, was not carrying official identity papers, the Ministry spokesman said. Sunday March 11 2007/22 Safar 1428 Islamic extremists 'infiltrate Oxbridge' Roya Nikkhah, Sunday Telegraph Leading universities including Oxford and Cambridge have been targeted by Islamic extremists who remain widely active on campuses, a prominent academic is warning. Up to 48 British universities have been infiltrated by fundamentalists and the threat posed by radical groups must be "urgently addressed", according to Prof Anthony Glees. The claim calls into question the Government's attempted crackdown on Islamic extremism in universities and casts doubt on claims by Bill Rammell, the Higher Education Minister, that the problem is not widespread. Prof Glees will warn the Association of University Chief Security Officers (Aucso) next month that the disbanded extremist group, al-Muhajiroun, claims to have infiltrated "the main campuses such as Cambridge, Oxford, the London School of Economics and Imperial College". Army race remarks 'not offensive' BBC News Online The Tory home affairs spokesman sacked over comments on race in the Army said nothing "that was remotely offensive", former chancellor Ken Clarke has said. He told the BBC that Patrick Mercer could return to the front bench "when the dust settles". But he had shown a "lack of care" and had to be dismissed, Mr Clarke added. Mr Mercer, an ex-colonel, was asked to quit after he said he had met "a lot" of "idle and useless" ethnic minority soldiers who used racism as a "cover". Last week, Mr Mercer, who spent 25 years in the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters regiment, said in a Times interview: "If someone is slow on the assault course, you'd get people shouting: 'Come on you fat bastard, come on you ginger bastard, come on you black bastard.'" Churchill kept ghettoes warning under wraps Chris Hastings, ASunday Telegraph As Britain's wartime prime minister, he led the fight to crush Nazism and its plans to exterminate the Jewish race. Yet, even as Hitler was stepping up the persecution and Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF) were fomenting unrest in Britain, Sir Winston Churchill believed that Jewish people were "partly responsible for the antagonism for which they suffer". An extraordinary article, written by Churchill 70 years ago but subsequently banned from being published, will reignite the debate about whether his government did enough to stop the Nazis' attempted genocide. Churchill penned the controversial views in 1937, only a year after Mosley's blackshirts had clashed with Jews and other locals on Cable Street in east London and just months after Jews in Germany were banned from holding many professional occupations. And check out: Uncovered: Churchill's warnings about the 'Hebrew bloodsuckers' (IoS) Islamic extremists 'infiltrate Oxbridge' (Islamophobia Watch) Churchill blamed Jewish community for failure to integrate (Islamophobia Watch) Race-row Tories 'must change more' (Mail on Sunday) Saturday March 10 2007/21 Safar 1428 I'm not racist, says Tory MP Andy McSmith, The Independent Patrick Mercer, the Tory MP who said he had met a lot of "idle and useless" black soldiers when he was a serving officer, has insisted he is not racist. He claimed that he was "rock hard" about preventing racism in his battalion, but admitted that the comments which cost him his position on the Tory front bench were "unwise", embarrassing for the Conservative Party and possibly hurtful for soldiers who served with him. Mr Mercer, an ex-colonel, was sacked by David Cameron from his role as a shadow Home Office minister over an interview in which he said he had heard soldiers being called "ginger bastard", "fat bastard" or "black bastard". He added: "I came across a lot of ethnic minority soldiers who were idle and useless, but who used racism as cover for their misdemeanours." Anti-Semitic forces out to get Levy Andrew Pierce, daily Telegraph The fightback by Lord Levy's friends continued yesterday with the Jewish Board of Deputies joining the growing clamour that the Labour peer was being undermined in the cash-for-honours affair by anti-Semitic forces. The editor of the Jewish Chronicle, which has devoted four pages of its present issue to Tony Blair's personal fund-raiser, joined in by accusing unnamed figures in Downing Street of being happy to see the deliberate scapegoating of the "Jewish money man". The carefully choreographed offensive came at the end of another remarkable week in the 11-month police inquiry. An emotional Lord Levy, who has been arrested twice but not charged, issued a statement condemning a series of leaks about the investigation and objecting to trial by media. Dead or alive, on his 50th birthday ghost of the Hindu Kush haunts US Declan Walsh, The Guardian Osama bin Laden marks his 50th birthday today, most likely at a hideout in the tribal lands straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan. It's tempting to imagine the grey-bearded jihadi hunched over a cake with burning candles inside a cave, smiling henchmen gathered behind him. In reality it's not likely to be much of a bash. Birthday parties are frowned upon by Wahhabi puritans such as the al-Qaida leader, who consider such celebrations a vulgar western import. But as he passes another milestone he at least has reason to enjoy a quiet smile. Six years after 9/11, Bin Laden is maddeningly out of reach. Despite the world's largest manhunt and a $25m bounty he remains at large, the Scarlet Pimpernel of jihad. And check out: Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Islam's plot to conquer the West (Islamophobia Watch) Johann Hari reviews Mark Steyn's hate novel (Indigo Jo Blog) Friday March 09 2007/20 Safar 1428 Cameron fires former colonel in racism row George Jones, Daily Telegraph David Cameron sought to defuse a damaging row over racism yesterday by sacking a member of his front-bench team for suggesting being called a "black bastard" was part of Army life for ethnic minority soldiers. Mr Cameron said the remarks by Patrick Mercer, his homeland security spokesman, were "completely unacceptable". Mr Mercer, an Army colonel before becoming an MP, apologised for his comments saying he "deeply regretted" any offence they had caused. Labour and the Liberal Democrats seized on the remarks, claiming they showed the Conservatives were still the "nasty party" and had not changed under Mr Cameron's leadership. Leading British institutions gripped by racism rows Robert Verkaik, The Independent Britain's institutions stand accused of fostering a climate of casual racism ... In the most high-profile case, David Cameron, the Tory party leader, was forced to sack his frontbench spokesman on homeland security, Patrick Mercer, because he suggested that being called a "black bastard" was part and parcel of life in the Army for ethnic minority soldiers. Shortly afterwards the Independent Police Complaints Commission announced that it was to investigate the brutal assault of a black teenager by a white police officer outside a Sheffield nightclub. In Manchester, a magistrate who was overheard talking to a colleague about "bloody foreigners" in private after a hearing was reprimanded by the Judicial Appointments Commission but allowed to return to work. In Oxford, a university professor was forced to defend himself after students protested at his outspoken comments on immigration. 'Yid Army' schoolboys held for alleged racism Nicole Martin, The Daily Telegraph A group of schoolboys have been arrested for allegedly shouting racist chants at their Jewish teacher. The eight pupils aged 15 and 16 are said to have chanted "Yid Army" at David Appleman, a technology teacher at Chauncy School in Ware, Herts. The chant is used by Tottenham Hotspur fans in friendly recognition of the club's support from the Jewish community in north London. Officers from Hertfordshire Police arrested the boys at the school after Mr Appleman complained of alleged racism after seeing a video of the boys on the Internet site YouTube. The pupils, who allegedly made the remarks at the teacher's leaving party, have been bailed to return to Hertfordshire Police Station on March 14 and 15. Dennis O'Sullivan the school's head teacher, today criticised police for treating the boys as "criminals". "David is seen on the video looking delighted, smiling and shaking hands with the boys," he said. And check out: No charges over Big Brother row (BBC News Online) Thursday March 08 2007/19 Safar 1428 MoD ignored race claims, says soldier who set up black 'union' Thomas Harding, Daily Telegraph A soldier from the Caribbean who claims that he was attacked by white colleagues dressed as members of the Ku Klux Klan has set up a "union" to fight alleged racism in the Army. Pte Marlon Clancy, from Belize, says his tormenters said they were going to "take the nigger to burn". They also said that black soldiers should not have rights in the Forces, he claims. Pte Clancy, a chef in the Royal Logistic Corps, told Today on Radio 4 yesterday that "Commonwealth soldiers are third-class soldiers". He said: "First, you have the British-born white soldiers. Then you have the British-born black soldiers. Last, you have the black Commonwealth soldiers. In some units, the white soldiers will be given priority for courses over the black soldiers." The Ministry of Defence denied that it had ignored racism in the ranks, adding that there had been 26 complaints... Veil row appeal to be heard Huddersfield Examiner A Muslim teaching assistant who was suspended and later sacked for refusing to remove her veil in the classroom is due to appeal against a tribunal decision which supported her school's action. Aishah Azmi, 24, was suspended on full pay after staff at Headfield Church of England Junior School in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, said pupils found it hard to understand her. An employment tribunal in Leeds dismissed three of Mrs Azmi's claims of discrimination and harassment, but found that she was victimised by the school and awarded her £1,000 for "injury to feelings". A month later the local education authority sacked her from her post as a bilingual support worker. Mrs Azmi, of Thornhill Lees, Dewsbury, said she was willing to remove her veil in front of children - but not when male colleagues were present. Expert on terrorism is new head of MI5 Kim Sengupta, The Independent The new head of MI5 is an official who has specialised in tracking the threat of Islamist terrorism. Jonathan Evans, currently the deputy-head of the service will take over from Eliza Manningham-Buller, the outgoing director-general, who caused surprise in Whitehall by announcing that she was stepping down early from the job. A government statement issued yesterday said Mr Evans' appointment has been confirmed by Home Secretary John Reid with the agreement of the Prime Minister. Mr Evans joined the Security Service after reading classics at Bristol University in 1980 working on counter-espionage. He subsequently worked on the team of Sir Anthony Duff to modernise the service before moving on to counter-terrorism then dealing mainly with the Irish republican movements. Wednesday March 07 2007/18 Safar 1428 Racism claim troops 'to form union' Daily Mail Soldiers from the Commonwealth, angry over perceived racism within the British armed forces, are forming a trade union in protest, it has been reported. The BBC reports that Marlon Clancy, whom it says is in the military, is setting up the British Commonwealth Soldiers Union. The move comes amid complaints of widespread racism, unfair treatment and a lack of welfare support, it says. The union, while powerless to strike or negotiate, will give advice to members. The Ministry of Defence said there was no evidence of endemic racism in the army and special provision was offered to the 6,000 Commonwealth soldiers, the corporation added. I suppose they must be just a bunch of trouble making... Yard rocked by race row Daily Mail A furious race row engulfed Scotland Yard today after controversial Muslim police chief Ali Dizaei failed in his promotion bid. The chief superintendent - one of Britain’s most senior Muslim police chiefs - was one of 10 officers bidding for the £90,000-a-year rank of commander. The Metropolitan Police Authority, the body which oversees the Yard, announced today it was promoting only three applicants. A spokesman said: “We were going to appoint up to six depending on the quality of the candidates.” The decision not to promote Mr Dizaei, left, caused immediate controversy amid claims of race bias by the MPA. He said: “I am extremely disappointed but I remain proud to be a Met officer and happy to be a borough commander in Hounslow.” Cartoon protester guilty of encouraging murder Staff and agencies, The Guardian A British Muslim man was today found guilty of two counts of soliciting to murder during a demonstration against the Muhammad cartoons. Abdul Muhid, 24, a prominent member of the Saviour Sect which is linked to the radical cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, led a crowd chanting "Bomb, bomb the UK" and produced placards with slogans such as "Annihilate those who insult Islam", the Old Bailey heard. The demonstration happened outside the Danish embassy in London on February 3 2006 after the publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons depicting Muhammad. The images included one of the prophet wearing a bomb-shaped turban. Other placards read "Europe you will pay, the Fantastic 4 are on their way" and "3/11 is on its way", apparent references to the fatal terrorist bombings in London and Madrid. And check out: 'How my eyes were opened to the barbarity of Islam' (Islamophobia Watch) Why socialists should resist Islamophobia (Islamophobia Watch) Straw: 'big cultural divide' between Muslims and the rest of British society (Islamophobia Watch) Gay Humanists offer Spencerian bigotry (Indigo Jo) Tuesday March 06 2007/17 Safar 1428 Less than one in 20 held under anti-terror laws is charged Nigel Morris, The Independent Less than 4 per cent of the people arrested under anti-terror laws since the September 11 attacks five years ago have been convicted of terrorist offences, it was disclosed yesterday. Following warnings from Muslim groups over the growing alienation of large sections of the community, the Government faced demands for an overhaul of anti-terrorist legislation. Ministers also came under sustained fire in the House of Lords for their use of control orders against terrorist suspects, with peers warning that the policy could backfire by attracting support for extremism. Statistics released by the Home Office disclosed that 1,166 people were detained between 11 September 2001, and 31 December last year on suspicion of involvement in terrorism. These arrests have so far led to 221 charges and just 40 convictions, although some other prosecutions are still in the pipeline. Sunday March 04 2007/15 Safar 1428 'We are independent - we can choose what we wish to teach' Roya Nikkhah, Sunday Telegraph With its ramshackle exterior, the School of the Islamic Republic of Iran in north-west London is barely recognisable as a school from the outside. Behind wire gates, the main building is a grey-brick bungalow with a rusty iron roof and wire mesh over the windows. The head teacher, Farzad Farzan, was reluctant to discuss teaching methods or syllabus, citing his "poor knowledge" of English and the absence of an interpreter. He said: "We are an independent school and, therefore, we can choose what we wish to teach." Pupils followed a "Farsi syllabus". English was taught only once a week. The Ofsted website lists it as a Muslim school with 53 pupils aged between six and 16, but provides no inspection reports. Blood and glory Ed Vulliamy, The Observer Vote for Enoch Powell,' came the counsel from a stage in the West Midlands. 'Stop Britain from becoming a black colony ... Get the foreigners out ... I used to be into dope, now I'm into racism. It's much heavier, man.' Not some ranting nutcase from the National Front, but an inebriated Eric Clapton (now CBE), formerly of Cream and latterly of Hello! magazine. Yes, Clapton - who played the blues, but whose outburst in August 1976 came hot on the heels of another from David Bowie, proclaiming Adolf Hitler to be 'the first rock star' and urging that what Britain needed was a 'right-wing dictatorship'. Half of Muslim schools not inspected Julie Henry, Sunday Telegraph More than half of private Muslim schools have not been inspected for five years, while some have not received a full inspection for a decade. An analysis of the 114 independent Islamic schools in England registered with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has found that Ofsted reports are available for only 53. Most of these involve recent visits, but two reports are for the 1997-98 academic year. Most of the other 61 schools, and their 6,000 pupils, were inspected five or more years ago but, because of a gap in the law, their reports have never been made public. The law has now been changed, but is not retrospective. Seventeen schools have no listing on the website of Ofsted - the official inspection body - making it impossible to establish whether they have ever been visited. Black staff at the BBC are mainly cleaners and guards, says Ross Chris Hastings and Jasper Copping, Sunday Telegraph Jonathan Ross, the BBC's highest-paid presenter, yesterday plunged the corporation into an embarrassing race row by claiming that the vast majority of its black and Asian staff work as cleaners or security guards. During his Radio 2 programme, Ross, who reportedly has an £18 million three-year contract with the BBC, said its ethnic minority employees were more likely to be seen carrying a cloth than presenting programmes. "How many black people have they got working on proper shows?" he asked. "[Black people] are either standing on the door or carrying a cloth." Ross, who also presents the BBC's Film 2006 programme, said the BBC had not "got there in terms of race". His comments echo controversial claims made in 2001 by Greg Dyke, the former director-general, who accused the corporation of being "hideously white". I believe in Trident, and using it if necessary Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, Sunday Telegraph Once again the General Synod of the Church of England has been wrong-footed by passing a last-minute motion declaring the renewal of Trident to be unethical. The original motion had been carefully thought-out and was supported by documents setting out the situation facing the United Kingdom and asking probing and intelligent questions about the Government's intentions. Instead, the Church has now been left in a position which can be seen as mere moralising and trying to dictate defence policy. All of this is extremely unfortunate because the Churches in general, and the Church of England in particular, have a legitimate role in the debate on the replacement or renewal of a minimum nuclear deterrent. And check out: Churches told to put up No Smoking signs (Mail on Sunday) Adviser resigned after Kelly backed Church's policy on gay adoption (MoS) Saturday March 03 2007/14 Safar 1428 Black pupils 'are treated worse' BBC News Online Black pupils are routinely punished more harshly, praised less and told off more often in English schools than other pupils, an official report says. It says the staff in many schools are "unwittingly" racist, with black youngsters three times more likely than white to be expelled permanently. It describes this as an "iconic issue" for black Caribbean communities. The Department for Education and Skills said using "the R-word" was unhelpful, but it is to issue new guidance. The report - Getting it. Getting it right - had advocated a focus on the 100 schools with "disproportionately high" exclusions of black pupils. A DfES spokesperson said the numbers involved in any one institution were small so it was hard to draw general conclusions about which interventions would work or not. The return of God? John Humphrys, Daily Telegraph There's a lot of God in Britain these days. Only this week we have had the bizarre claim by the Hollywood director James Cameron that he has found the bones of Jesus. If that's true it means Jesus died just like anyone else and the Christian religion is based on a lie. You will note I said if that's true. I wrote in these pages just before Christmas about the extraordinary response to a series of interviews I did for Radio Four (Humphrys in Search of God). I had thousands of replies and, four months after the broadcasts, they're still coming. At the time, I put it down to the bizarre nature of the programmes: grumpy old sod best known for duffing up politicians (that's me) bares his soul and asks some of the world's leading religious figures to show him God. Nigeria endorses Islamic leader Alex Last, BBC News Online The authorities in northern Nigeria have held the final ceremony to inaugurate the spiritual head of the country's estimated 70 million Muslims. The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sada Abubakar, received the staff of office which formalises the government's recognition of his position. He became sultan after the death of his elder brother, Sultan Maccido, who died in a plane crash last year. The ceremony took place in front of a crowd of thousands. He was handed the staff by the state governor in the ancient city of Sokoto. Then members of the nobility, wearing turbans and ceremonial robes, cantered up on horseback to salute him. The ceremony was attended by the president, Olusegun Obasanjo, and his bitter political rival, vice president Atiku Abubakar, who is campaigning to become president in elections in April. Friday March 02 2007/13 Safar 1428 Met 'anarchy' as Muslim officer lashes out in book Stephen Wright, Daily Mail Britain's top policeman Sir Ian Blair has been accused of unleashing 'anarchy' by failing to block the publication of a controversial book by a serving senior Muslim officer. Chief Superintendent Ali Dizaei makes an astonishing attack on the conduct of Metropolitan Police colleagues who, he claims, launched a vendetta against him during a corruption inquiry. He also alleges Scotland Yard chiefs conducted a campaign of harassment against the National Black Police Association, to which he is legal adviser, as part of its attempt to discredit him. His memoirs are being serialised in a national newspaper just days before he learns whether he will be promoted to the rank of Commander on a salary of £90,000. The rise of the mighty evangelicals filled with the spirit of capitalism Tom Phillips, The Guardian Pass through the towering golden gates and you come to the reception area, where hidden guards eyeball visitors through tinted, bulletproof glass. Then come the glistening marble floors and voluptuous balconies, the 25-metre heated indoor pool and the gigantic underground car park, filled with dozens of top of the range cars (the majority bulletproof). Finally there is the nearby helipad where illustrious guests can be whisked in and out of the neighbourhood without worrying about kidnapping or congestion. This is the Place Vendôme, a towering residential complex in Chacara Klabin, a leafy haven in southern Sao Paulo for the elite and the seriously rich. But unlikely as it may seem, it was also until recently the site of one of the world's most luxurious vicarages... Thursday March 01 2007/12 Safar 1428 A blind eye to bigotry Mike Marqusee, The Guardian Five years ago this week, across the Indian state of Gujarat, the stormtroopers of the Hindu right, decked in saffron sashes and armed with swords, tridents, sledgehammers and liquid gas cylinders, launched a pogrom against the local Muslim population. They looted and torched Muslim-owned businesses, assaulted and murdered Muslims, and gang-raped and mutilated Muslim women. By the time the violence spluttered to a halt, about 2,500 Muslims had been killed and about 200,000 driven from their homes. The pogrom was distinguished not only by its ferocity and sadism (foetuses were ripped from the bellies of pregnant women, old men bludgeoned to death) but also by its meticulous advance planning. The leaders used mobile phones to coordinate the movement of an army of thousands through densely populated areas, targeting Muslim properties with the aid of computerised lists and electoral rolls provided by state agencies. Equality chief says firms 'should have race quotas for workers' Steve Doughty, Daily Mail The head of the new equality commission yesterday called for race quota laws that will allow employers to favour minorities. Trevor Phillips demanded that 30-year-old rules, which forbid discrimination on grounds of race or sex, should be scrapped. He said a sweeping new equality law should allow public sector organisations and private firms to choose workers on race grounds to end 'immovable, persistent, disadvantage'. It should also allow the introduction of quotas to ensure firms employ set numbers of women, mothers, disabled people, the elderly, homosexuals, or members of other minority groups. Mr Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, called for the radical 'positive action' law in his Equalities Review, drawn up for Tony Blair at a cost of £400,000. Comprehensive that's in a different class Graeme Paton, Daily Telegraph A small Jewish comprehensive was named as the most effective school in the country in the tables published today. Pupils at the Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls School in Stamford Hill, north London, were on average five terms ahead of 14-year-olds in the rest of the country in maths, English and science. The school even beat 81 grammars, which dominate the table of top 100 schools using the so-called "value-added" measure – based on the progress made between the age of 11 and 14. However, Rabbi Abraham Pinter, the principal, said despite its success staff and pupils still face anti-Semitic abuse. "If anything race relations have improved but we have still got a long way to go," he said. "When I was a kid I had been beaten up a couple of times. I am 58 now. One of my sons has been beaten up for being Jewish and my other kids have not been beaten up..." And check out: Dudley Mosque bid thrown out (Islamophobia Watch)

Archive March 2007

Saturday March 31 2007/11 Rabiul Awwal 1428
Call that humiliation?
Terry Jones, The Guardian
I share the outrage expressed in the British press over the treatment of our naval personnel accused by Iran of illegally entering their waters. It is a disgrace. We would never dream of treating captives like this - allowing them to smoke cigarettes, for example, even though it has been proven that smoking kills. And as for compelling poor servicewoman Faye Turney to wear a black headscarf, and then allowing the picture to be posted around the world - have the Iranians no concept of civilised behaviour? For God's sake, what's wrong with putting a bag over her head? That's what we do with the Muslims we capture: we put bags over their heads, so it's hard to breathe.

Chocolate Jesus exhibition cancelled after Catholics protest
USA Today, via ReligionNewsBlog.com
NEW YORK (AP) — A planned Holy Week exhibition of a nude, anatomically correct chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ was cancelled Friday after Cardinal Edward Egan and other outraged Catholics complained. The “My Sweet Lord” display was shut down by the hotel that houses the Lab Gallery in midtown Manhattan. Roger Smith Hotel president James Knowles cited the public outcry for his decision. The reaction “is crystal clear and has brought to our attention the unintended reaction of you and other conscientious friends of ours to the exhibition,” Knowles wrote in the two-paragraph cancellation notice.

Ga-ga Yahya out for revenge
Tomm Dunn, The Sun
THIS (Photo in original) is the crazed Iranian godfather of terror who ordered the kidnap of 15 British sailors and Marines. Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi is the all-powerful chief of the Revolutionary Guards, the military fanatics holding our Royal Navy heroes. Intelligence sources believe the kidnapping of 14 men and one woman last week could be Safavi’s revenge for a series of blows recently inflicted on him by the West. His identity is revealed by The Sun amid outrage over further parading of the Brits on TV. General Safavi, in his 50s, is answerable only to himself and is a religious zealot who hates Britain and America. His Guards train and fund Shiite Muslim insurgents to kill British and US soldiers in Iraq.

And check out:
Muslim GPs: Chapter and Verse (Rolled Up Trousers)
Tribute to ‘modern Muslim’ murdered at home (The Independent)

Friday March 30 2007/10 Rabiul Awwal 1428
Is a Greener Islam Possible?
M. Aurangzeb Ahmad, Alt.Muslim
Green is the color which is most often associated with Islam and coincidently green is also the color which is associated with the environmentalist movement. While the modern Environmentalist movement goes back to the efforts of Rachel Carlson, one can argue that the care of environment has been integral to most of the religious traditions of the world. In recent years environment friendly groups have emerged in all the major religions of the world, perhaps the strongest statement on the issue has come from the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, nicknamed the Green Patriarch, who stated harming the environment could be considered a sin. Many Evangelical Christians have also shown keen interest on the issue of Environmentalism which call Creation Care.

Veil row assistant loses appeal
BBC News Online
A Muslim classroom assistant sacked for refusing to remove her veil in lessons has lost an appeal against a ruling that she was not discriminated against. Aishah Azmi, 24, was asked to remove the veil after Headfield Church of England School in Dewsbury, West Yorks, said pupils could not understand her. Mrs Azmi refused and was sacked after an employment tribunal ruled she was not the victim of discrimination. She had not contested the sacking, but claimed religious discrimination. Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) in London. After the ruling, Kirklees Council said it and the school were disappointed that Mrs Azmi had decided to pursue her appeal.

Home Office sets up centre to fight terrorists
Philip Johnston, Daily Telegraph
A counter-terrorism centre is to be set up inside the Home Office as part of a reorganisation of Whitehall's public protection and security structures, as announced by Tony Blair yesterday. The Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism will be responsible for developing a strategy to combat al-Qa'eda and home-grown bombers. A national security committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, will meet each month. The Home Secretary will chair a national security board, which will meet weekly. A research, information and communications unit will be established in the Home Office "in support of the struggle for ideas and values". The Home Office's shift towards immigration, terrorism and crime means it is to be split up.

And check out:
Don't confuse terrorism with Islam, says EU (Islamophobia Watch)
UN Human Rights Council concerned over stigmatising Muslim, Arab minorities (Islamophobia Watch)

Wednesday March 28 2007/08 Rabiul Awwal 1428
Health secretary in Muslim GP row
BBC News Online
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt is embroiled in a row over whether some Muslim GPs are guilty of breaking the confidentiality of their patients. Two medical magazines reported that Ms Hewitt said some Muslim women feared raising sensitive issues with their GP in case it got back to their families. The Department of Health said she was not accusing GPs of breaking the rules. Doctors leaders warned any breach in confidentiality would dealt with extremely seriously. Ms Hewitt was asked about the issue by reporters after addressing a meeting of the Fabian society. She told Pulse magazine: "I have had Muslim women give me chapter and verse on very distressing breaches of confidentiality by Muslim GPs. "Some women patients feel they cannot trust their own GP, who knows the patient's extended families."

Warning over Islamic extremists operating in universities
Colin Brown, The Independent
Race hate laws should be used to crack down on extremist groups whose activities are prompting a rise in anti-Semitism at Britain's universities, vice-chancellors are to be warned by ministers today. The police are to be told to use the Public Order Act 1986 outlawing the spreading of racial hatred where there is enough evidence to bring prosecutions against Islamic extremists for speeches on student campuses. The hardening of the approach towards anti-Semitism by the Government follows growing evidence collected by an all-party group at Westminster about a rise in attacks since the Iraq war. Ministers are particularly concerned about the infiltration of campuses by Islamic extremist groups who have stirred up hatred against Israel.

A monstrous war crime
Richard Horton, The Guardian
Our collective failure has been to take our political leaders at their word. This week the BBC reported that the government's own scientists advised ministers that the Johns Hopkins study on Iraq civilian mortality was accurate and reliable, following a freedom of information request by the reporter Owen Bennett-Jones. This paper was published in the Lancet last October. It estimated that 650,000 Iraqi civilians had died since the American and British led invasion in March 2003. Immediately after publication, the prime minister's official spokesman said that the Lancet's study "was not one we believe to be anywhere near accurate". The foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, said that the Lancet figures were "extrapolated" and a "leap".

And check out:
Woolas calls for crackdown on 'Islamic anti-semitism' on campuses (Islamophobia Watch)
Hewitt criticised for casting doubt on Muslim GPs' ethics (Islamophobia Watch)

Monday March 26 2007/06 Rabiul Awwal 1428
Mandela boycotts Bristol's slavery commemoration
Kim Sengupta, The Independent
Nelson Mandela has boycotted plans to commemorate the bicentennial of the Act abolishing the slave trade in Bristol after hearing of bitter divisions within the community and accusations of racism and intolerance. Mr Mandela had been invited to Bristol, once one of the busiest slave ports in Britain, by the Lord Mayor, councillor Peter Abraham, for a service of remembrance due to take place today. But South Africa's former president declined the invitation after local black organisations contacted him to say his presence would be seen as condoning an overwhelmingly white city council which is accused of riding roughshod over the wishes of the city's black population.

As the EU turns 50, Pope says it's on path to oblivion
Ian Traynor, The Guardian
European leaders yesterday celebrated the EU's 50th birthday, with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, telling the prime ministers or presidents of 27 countries that modern Europe was a dream come true. But the birthday party summit for the EU - staged with rock concerts, Beethoven, beer and cake in brilliant sunshine in Berlin - was soured by the German Pope, Benedict XVI, who delivered a profoundly pessimistic verdict on Europe at 50, declaring that the continent could be heading for extinction. Angry that a "Berlin Declaration" unveiled yesterday listing the EU's achievements and challenges on its 50th birthday contained no reference to the continent's Christian roots, Pope Benedict said that Europe could "not be built by ignoring its people's identities".

Saturday March 24 2007/04 Rabiul Awwal 1428
Fleeing the Janjaweed: a people brutalised and betrayed
Jody Williams, The Independent
Flying over the vast expanse of Chadian desert to get to the refugee camps housing tens of thousands of refugees from Darfur, you get a very clear picture of what normal villages look like on both sides of the border. Small clusters of perhaps 10 to 20 thatched huts are ringed by fences made out of branches of the thorn tree. Sometimes a few kilometres away there will be another cluster of huts, but sometimes a village is isolated. I had no trouble imaging an attack by Sudanese forces and their Janjaweed militias. This was my second trip to the camps and the day before, a group of despairing women I met with in the Gaga Camp - the only one of twelve camps in Chad that is still accepting refugees from Darfur - had talked about the attacks they had lived through.

Use violence against Muslims, says Van Gogh's former mentor (Islamophobia Watch)

Thursday March 22 2007/02 Rabiul Awwal 1428
Promoting Civic Involvement:
Introducing unitedmuslims.org
Shahed Amanullah, Alt.Muslim
As the editor of altmuslim.com, I try to focus our articles on items of interest to Muslims and others alike, in a manner geared towards open discourse and critical inquiry. And even though altmuslim.com is part of a larger Web endeavor through our parent company, Halalfire Media LLC, I don't usually write about the various other web projects that we work on. But I want make an exception, and give you an early look at a website that I hope will do a lot of good for both the Muslim community and the larger communities in which we live. After two years of conceptual planning and two months of feverish coding, I'm proud to present unitedmuslims.org - a website designed to aggregate the energy and talent of the Muslim community and actively put it to use in making the world a better place. This week, unitedmuslims.org is launching simultaneously in the US, UK, and Canada, with more countries coming online soon.

Defence Spending: Security agencies win £86m for terror fight
Nigel Morris, The Independent
The cost of combating terrorism at home and abroad was underlined as the Chancellor announced major new handouts to the security services and to British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. MI5, MI6 and GCHQ will receive an extra £86.4m, bringing their total annual spending to £2.25bn this year, more than double their budget before the September 11 attacks. And Mr Brown, who praised the "huge debt of gratitude to our armed forces", promised a further £400m for the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing the total expense of Britain's commitment in the two countries to £7.4bn. Most of the extra cash for the security agencies will pay for speedier recruitment as they expand to their greatest strength for 50 years. The rest will be invested in high-technology surveillance equipment.

Wednesday March 21 2007/01Rabiul Awwal 1428
Schools told: You can ban the veil - but not hairstyles
Daily Mail
Schools have been given the go-ahead to ban Islamic full-face veils, gang clothing and jewellery - but they must allow braided 'cornrow' hairstyles. They will be required to tear up existing dress code policies after Government guidelines on uniforms were published. Hairstyles such as cornrows - plaits along the scalp - will be permitted, since they are "more likely to be adopted by specific racial groups". But heads are advised to ban the niqab, which covers the entire face apart from a slit for the eyes, to allow pupils to be identified and taught properly. They can also outlaw jewellery on health and safety grounds and prevent pupils wearing styles and colours of clothing related to street gangs to "protect young people from external pressure".

Law chief to target 'preachers of hate'
John Steele, Daily Telegraph
More extreme Muslim "preachers of hate" will be prosecuted in a drive against radicalisation by the Crown Prosecution Service, the Director of Public Prosecutions said yesterday. Sir Ken Macdonald said he had created the post of national "radicalisation co-ordinator" to prosecute preachers such as Abu Hamza and is also planning to appoint about five other specialist prosecutors in major cities to help police build cases against those who used inflammatory rhetoric to whip up violence. "The preacher of hate issue is one of growing public concern and we expect to be bringing more cases of this sort. "It is dangerous and it requires a vigorous response from us and the police," Sir Ken said in a newspaper interview.

Crackdown on the preachers of hate
Matthew Hickley, Daily Mail
Extremist Islamic 'hate preachers' face a crackdown from a network of specialist prosecutors set up to monitor their activities and bring criminal charges against them. Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Ken Macdonald yesterday promised to root out radical clerics who stir up hatred and inspire others to carry out terror attacks. The tougher approach is likely to be seen as an admission that the authorities have so far been too tolerant towards preachers who fan the flames of terrorism. Notorious cases include Finsbury Park Mosque cleric Abu Hamza, who was allowed to preach inflammatory sermons for years before he was prosecuted and jailed last year. Also among those who can expect close scrutiny is Anjem Choudary, the unofficial spokesman of militant Islam in the UK.

And check out:
Muslim leader 'dismayed' by new ban on veil-wearing at schools (Islamophobia Watch)

Sunday March 18 2007/29 Safar 1428
One third of all Christians say: We've suffered discrimination
Jonathan Oliver, Mail on Sunday
One in three Christians claim to have suffered discrimination because of their religious views, according to a new poll. The survey by the BBC shows unprecedented disquiet among church-going Britons amid claims they increasingly face prejudice in the media, the workplace and even in their own communities. It follows a series of high-profile rows over unfair treatment towards Christians, including the case of the British Airways worker who was banned from wearing a crucifix, while Muslim employees were allowed to wear headscarfs. A third of those polled by the BBC's religious programme Heaven And Earth, claim Christians experience discrimination in the way the media portrays them..

Saturday March 17 2007/28 Safar 1428
Sally Clark, mother wrongly convicted of killing her sons, found dead at home
Thair Shaikh, The Guardian
Sally Clark, the solicitor wrongly convicted of murdering her two baby sons, was found dead by her family at her home yesterday. Mrs Clark, 42, who served three years of a life sentence after being found guilty of smothering 11-week-old Christopher in 1996 and shaking eight-week-old Harry to death two years later, died during the night, said Sue Stapeley, a spokeswoman for the family. No cause of death was given. Mrs Clark's family said in a statement: "Sadly, she never fully recovered from the effects of this appalling miscarriage of justice. Sally ... was a loving and talented wife, mother, daughter and friend."

Coroner says 'friendly fire' killing of British soldier was a criminal act
Kim Sengupta, The Independent
The killing of Lance Corporal Matty Hull in an American air strike in Iraq was a "criminal, unlawful act" by pilots who opened fire "with disregard for the rules of engagement", a coroner ruled yesterday. Oxfordshire Assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker also scathingly criticised the US authorities for their lack of co-operation which had caused so much "pain and suffering" to L/Cpl Hull's family. The failure to hand over important documents has meant that "the full facts have not yet come to light". L/Cpl Hull, 25, died when his convoy came under attack from two A-10 "Tankbuster" warplanes despite the British vehicles showing orange markings to signify allied forces.

'London bomber' did not mean to hurt anyone, court hears
Jason Bennetto, The Independent
An alleged bomber has admitted taking a rucksack "device" on to a bus as part of the 21 July 2005 alleged suicide attacks in London but insisted he did not mean to kill or hurt anyone. Muktar Said Ibrahim, 29, speaking for the first time about the incident, said he had a device on a bus with him to protest against the plight of Muslims everywhere, and especially in Iraq. His barrister, George Carter-Stephenson, QC, has already described to a jury at Woolwich Crown Court how Mr Ibrahim tested several rucksack devices beforehand to make sure they only went "pop". The defendant became the first of six men accused of an extremist Muslim plot to give evidence. All six deny charges of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause explosions likely to endanger life.

And check out:
Jews, Muslims and free speech (Indigo Jo Blog)

Thursday March 15 2007/26 Safar 1428
Muslim sues her bosses over 'suicide bomber jibes'
Jaya Narain, Daily Mail
A Muslim woman is suing her former employers after, she says, they repeatedly referred to her as a "suicide bomber". Aneela Farani, an accounts manager, told an employment tribunal that she was repeatedly dismissed as a terrorist in the wake of the attacks on London in 2005. She said colleagues made jokes about her headscarf and a black zip-up bag she used to carry company brochures and promotional material when she visited clients. Mrs Farani, 40, claimed one member of staff commented: "Who knows what’s in her bag or what she’s got strapped to her?" She also accused company director Alan O’Brien of saying he "wouldn’t be surprised if customers didn’t shout 'suicide bomber' when I walked into their office and ran out".

Freedom of speech row as talk on Islamic extremists is banned
John Steele, Daily Telegraph
A leading university has been accused of "selling out" academic freedom of speech by scrapping a talk on links between the Nazis and Islamic anti-Semitism after allegedly receiving emails from Muslims protesting about the event. Matthias Küntzel, a German author and political scientist who specialises in the threat of Islamic fundamentalism, was told yesterday by the University of Leeds that a talk scheduled for yesterday evening, and a two-day workshop, on Hitler's Legacy: Islamic Anti-Semitism in the Middle East, had been cancelled because of security fears. In a statement yesterday, two academics in the Leeds German department, which had organised the event, claimed the university had bowed "to Muslim protests". Dr Küntzel said he had given similar addresses around the world and there had been no problems.

Family of seven still search for peace after five years of race hate
Terri Judd, The Independent
Eight-year-old Khalid Mohamed was helping his parents move into their new home when some older boys on bikes started chasing his family and shouting racist abuse. As the bewildered Somali family tried to settle into their new house in north London, adult neighbours joined in the heckling. "Fuck off Pakis. We don't want you here," they yelled. "We will burn the house down." Since that day five years ago, the Mohamed family - who fled war-torn Mogadishu before Khalid was born - has barely gone 48 hours without enduring abuse. Stones are thrown at their house at night; lit cigarettes pushed through their letterbox. Khalid's father, Abdalla, 46, has been grabbed around the throat in front of his severely disabled daughter and terrified wife. His car has been vandalised on three occasions. His wife, Asha, is called a "baldy Paki" because she wears a scarf.

We are making a fatal mistake by ignoring the dissidents within Islam
Timothy Garton Ash, The Guardian
Are there credible versions of Islam that are compatible with liberal democracy as it has developed in the west? Can one be both a good Muslim and a good citizen of a free society? Or are Islam and the post-Enlightenment west like fire and water? While I have been in Egypt over the last fortnight, exploring these issues with Muslims and non-Muslims in a pivotal society of the Middle East, a debate has been bubbling away on the web (see www.signandsight.com) in which various woolly and nefarious views on the subject have been attributed to me. Among the accusations is that I, who was so much engaged for dissidents under communism, show insufficient solidarity with the "dissidents of Islam" such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali. This charge is based on a misunderstanding of the principle of solidarity which prevailed in the struggle against communism and should do so now. That principle is: total solidarity in the defence of people unjustly persecuted, total freedom to disagree with their views.

'Honour killing' victim's lover tells how affair 'shamed' her community
Gwyneth Rees, Daily Mail
The boyfriend of a married Muslim woman allegedly murdered by her father and uncle for having an affair with him choked back tears yesterday as he told how her mother knew of the plot to kill her. Rahmat Suleimani, 28, told the court that his girlfriend Banaz Mahmod's mother warned him that her husband was arranging to kill them both in an 'honour killing'. She warned him: "You should watch your back because there are people out there who want to kill you." She then allegedly begged him not to reveal that she had told him of the plan, saying she would be "in deep trouble" if anyone found out. Pretty Banaz Mahmod, 20, was garrotted with a bootlace in January 2006 and buried in a suitcase in her grandmother's backgarden, the Old Bailey heard. It is alleged her father and uncle killed her because they believed her new relationship bought shame to their strict Iraqi Kurdish family.

Wednesday March 142007/25 Safar 1428
Muslim takes sauna in hijab
Jamie Pyatt, The Sun
A MUSLIM woman in full hijab robes was allowed to swelter in a SAUNA because worried staff did not want to offend her. She then jumped into the sports centre’s swimming pool to cool off while still wearing the black top-to-toe Islamic dress. Staff did not know if they should enforce a dress code which asks customers to wear SUITABLE clothes. People in the sauna — all wearing normal swimming cossies — were amazed as the woman joined them in the steam room in her robes. Last night surprised Muslim spokesman Taj Hargey asked: “How can you swim properly if you wear a hijab?” After ten minutes in the sauna and ten minutes in the pool the mystery woman changed out of her wet hijab into a dry one in the changing rooms and left alone.

And check out:
UNESCO: Israel must stop work near Al-Aqsa Mosque pending agreed plan (Electronic Intifada)

Tuesday March 13 2007/24 Safar 1428
Don't let truth stand in the way of a red-hot debunking of climate change
George Monbiot, The Guardian
Were it not for dissent, science, like politics, would have stayed in the dark ages. All the great heroes of the discipline - Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Einstein - took tremendous risks in confronting mainstream opinion. Today's crank has often proved to be tomorrow's visionary. But the syllogism does not apply. Being a crank does not automatically make you a visionary. There is little prospect, for example, that Dr Mantombazana Tshabalala-Msimang, the South African health minister who has claimed Aids can be treated with garlic, lemon and beetroot, will be hailed as a genius. But the point is often confused. Professor David Bellamy, for example, while making the incorrect claim that wind farms do not have "any measurable effect" on total emissions of carbon dioxide, has compared himself to Galileo.

And check out:
Attack on Mosque (The Daily Record)

Tuesday March 12 2007/23 Safar 1428
Labour lacks Christian values, says bishop
Kate Devlin, Daily Telegraph
A Catholic bishop is urging his flock not to vote for Labour in next month's elections for the Scottish Parliament, claiming that the party is "devoid" of Christian values. Joseph Devine, the Bishop of Motherwell, said that Labour's family policies, and in particular its support for civil partnerships and gay adoption, were testing the support of its traditional Catholic voters. His comments will come as blow to Labour as it faces a difficult battle to retain its position as the largest party in the Scottish Parliament. Recent opinion polls suggest that the party, which has traditionally relied on a strong Catholic vote in Scotland, could lose out to the independence-supporting Scottish National Party on May 3. Bishop Devine, who has been a strong critic of the party's family policies, said that the Labour party had a "morality devoid of any Christian principles".

Man Blows Himself Up in Morocco Web Cafe
The Guardian
CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) - A man who was prevented from looking at terror Web sites by the owners of an Internet cafe blew himself up with explosives hidden on his body, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said Monday. Four other people were injured in the Sunday night blast, including the dead man's companion, who was hospitalized with burns and an injury to the throat, said Ministry spokesman Abderrahman Achour. Authorities, uncertain about the circumstances of the blast in a Casablanca slum, held off labeling it a suicide bombing, Achour said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. Police were not immediately able to identify the dead man, who was not carrying an ID card. His companion identified himself as Said Jokia, but he, too, was not carrying official identity papers, the Ministry spokesman said.

Sunday March 11 2007/22 Safar 1428
Islamic extremists 'infiltrate Oxbridge'
Roya Nikkhah, Sunday Telegraph
Leading universities including Oxford and Cambridge have been targeted by Islamic extremists who remain widely active on campuses, a prominent academic is warning. Up to 48 British universities have been infiltrated by fundamentalists and the threat posed by radical groups must be "urgently addressed", according to Prof Anthony Glees. The claim calls into question the Government's attempted crackdown on Islamic extremism in universities and casts doubt on claims by Bill Rammell, the Higher Education Minister, that the problem is not widespread. Prof Glees will warn the Association of University Chief Security Officers (Aucso) next month that the disbanded extremist group, al-Muhajiroun, claims to have infiltrated "the main campuses such as Cambridge, Oxford, the London School of Economics and Imperial College".

Army race remarks 'not offensive'
BBC News Online
The Tory home affairs spokesman sacked over comments on race in the Army said nothing "that was remotely offensive", former chancellor Ken Clarke has said. He told the BBC that Patrick Mercer could return to the front bench "when the dust settles". But he had shown a "lack of care" and had to be dismissed, Mr Clarke added. Mr Mercer, an ex-colonel, was asked to quit after he said he had met "a lot" of "idle and useless" ethnic minority soldiers who used racism as a "cover". Last week, Mr Mercer, who spent 25 years in the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters regiment, said in a Times interview: "If someone is slow on the assault course, you'd get people shouting: 'Come on you fat bastard, come on you ginger bastard, come on you black bastard.'"

Churchill kept ghettoes warning under wraps
Chris Hastings, ASunday Telegraph
As Britain's wartime prime minister, he led the fight to crush Nazism and its plans to exterminate the Jewish race. Yet, even as Hitler was stepping up the persecution and Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF) were fomenting unrest in Britain, Sir Winston Churchill believed that Jewish people were "partly responsible for the antagonism for which they suffer". An extraordinary article, written by Churchill 70 years ago but subsequently banned from being published, will reignite the debate about whether his government did enough to stop the Nazis' attempted genocide. Churchill penned the controversial views in 1937, only a year after Mosley's blackshirts had clashed with Jews and other locals on Cable Street in east London and just months after Jews in Germany were banned from holding many professional occupations.

And check out:
Uncovered: Churchill's warnings about the 'Hebrew bloodsuckers' (IoS)
Islamic extremists 'infiltrate Oxbridge' (Islamophobia Watch)
Churchill blamed Jewish community for failure to integrate (Islamophobia Watch)
Race-row Tories 'must change more' (Mail on Sunday)

Saturday March 10 2007/21 Safar 1428
I'm not racist, says Tory MP
Andy McSmith, The Independent
Patrick Mercer, the Tory MP who said he had met a lot of "idle and useless" black soldiers when he was a serving officer, has insisted he is not racist. He claimed that he was "rock hard" about preventing racism in his battalion, but admitted that the comments which cost him his position on the Tory front bench were "unwise", embarrassing for the Conservative Party and possibly hurtful for soldiers who served with him. Mr Mercer, an ex-colonel, was sacked by David Cameron from his role as a shadow Home Office minister over an interview in which he said he had heard soldiers being called "ginger bastard", "fat bastard" or "black bastard". He added: "I came across a lot of ethnic minority soldiers who were idle and useless, but who used racism as cover for their misdemeanours."

Anti-Semitic forces out to get Levy
Andrew Pierce, daily Telegraph
The fightback by Lord Levy's friends continued yesterday with the Jewish Board of Deputies joining the growing clamour that the Labour peer was being undermined in the cash-for-honours affair by anti-Semitic forces. The editor of the Jewish Chronicle, which has devoted four pages of its present issue to Tony Blair's personal fund-raiser, joined in by accusing unnamed figures in Downing Street of being happy to see the deliberate scapegoating of the "Jewish money man". The carefully choreographed offensive came at the end of another remarkable week in the 11-month police inquiry. An emotional Lord Levy, who has been arrested twice but not charged, issued a statement condemning a series of leaks about the investigation and objecting to trial by media.

Dead or alive, on his 50th birthday ghost of the Hindu Kush haunts US
Declan Walsh, The Guardian
Osama bin Laden marks his 50th birthday today, most likely at a hideout in the tribal lands straddling Pakistan and Afghanistan. It's tempting to imagine the grey-bearded jihadi hunched over a cake with burning candles inside a cave, smiling henchmen gathered behind him. In reality it's not likely to be much of a bash. Birthday parties are frowned upon by Wahhabi puritans such as the al-Qaida leader, who consider such celebrations a vulgar western import. But as he passes another milestone he at least has reason to enjoy a quiet smile. Six years after 9/11, Bin Laden is maddeningly out of reach. Despite the world's largest manhunt and a $25m bounty he remains at large, the Scarlet Pimpernel of jihad.

And check out:
Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Islam's plot to conquer the West (Islamophobia Watch)
Johann Hari reviews Mark Steyn's hate novel (Indigo Jo Blog)

Friday March 09 2007/20 Safar 1428
Cameron fires former colonel in racism row
George Jones, Daily Telegraph
David Cameron sought to defuse a damaging row over racism yesterday by sacking a member of his front-bench team for suggesting being called a "black bastard" was part of Army life for ethnic minority soldiers. Mr Cameron said the remarks by Patrick Mercer, his homeland security spokesman, were "completely unacceptable". Mr Mercer, an Army colonel before becoming an MP, apologised for his comments saying he "deeply regretted" any offence they had caused. Labour and the Liberal Democrats seized on the remarks, claiming they showed the Conservatives were still the "nasty party" and had not changed under Mr Cameron's leadership.

Leading British institutions gripped by racism rows
Robert Verkaik, The Independent
Britain's institutions stand accused of fostering a climate of casual racism ... In the most high-profile case, David Cameron, the Tory party leader, was forced to sack his frontbench spokesman on homeland security, Patrick Mercer, because he suggested that being called a "black bastard" was part and parcel of life in the Army for ethnic minority soldiers. Shortly afterwards the Independent Police Complaints Commission announced that it was to investigate the brutal assault of a black teenager by a white police officer outside a Sheffield nightclub. In Manchester, a magistrate who was overheard talking to a colleague about "bloody foreigners" in private after a hearing was reprimanded by the Judicial Appointments Commission but allowed to return to work. In Oxford, a university professor was forced to defend himself after students protested at his outspoken comments on immigration.

'Yid Army' schoolboys held for alleged racism
Nicole Martin, The Daily Telegraph
A group of schoolboys have been arrested for allegedly shouting racist chants at their Jewish teacher. The eight pupils aged 15 and 16 are said to have chanted "Yid Army" at David Appleman, a technology teacher at Chauncy School in Ware, Herts. The chant is used by Tottenham Hotspur fans in friendly recognition of the club's support from the Jewish community in north London. Officers from Hertfordshire Police arrested the boys at the school after Mr Appleman complained of alleged racism after seeing a video of the boys on the Internet site YouTube. The pupils, who allegedly made the remarks at the teacher's leaving party, have been bailed to return to Hertfordshire Police Station on March 14 and 15. Dennis O'Sullivan the school's head teacher, today criticised police for treating the boys as "criminals". "David is seen on the video looking delighted, smiling and shaking hands with the boys," he said.

And check out:
No charges over Big Brother row (BBC News Online)

Thursday March 08 2007/19 Safar 1428
MoD ignored race claims, says soldier who set up black 'union'
Thomas Harding, Daily Telegraph
A soldier from the Caribbean who claims that he was attacked by white colleagues dressed as members of the Ku Klux Klan has set up a "union" to fight alleged racism in the Army. Pte Marlon Clancy, from Belize, says his tormenters said they were going to "take the nigger to burn". They also said that black soldiers should not have rights in the Forces, he claims. Pte Clancy, a chef in the Royal Logistic Corps, told Today on Radio 4 yesterday that "Commonwealth soldiers are third-class soldiers". He said: "First, you have the British-born white soldiers. Then you have the British-born black soldiers. Last, you have the black Commonwealth soldiers. In some units, the white soldiers will be given priority for courses over the black soldiers." The Ministry of Defence denied that it had ignored racism in the ranks, adding that there had been 26 complaints...

Veil row appeal to be heard
Huddersfield Examiner
A Muslim teaching assistant who was suspended and later sacked for refusing to remove her veil in the classroom is due to appeal against a tribunal decision which supported her school's action. Aishah Azmi, 24, was suspended on full pay after staff at Headfield Church of England Junior School in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, said pupils found it hard to understand her. An employment tribunal in Leeds dismissed three of Mrs Azmi's claims of discrimination and harassment, but found that she was victimised by the school and awarded her £1,000 for "injury to feelings". A month later the local education authority sacked her from her post as a bilingual support worker. Mrs Azmi, of Thornhill Lees, Dewsbury, said she was willing to remove her veil in front of children - but not when male colleagues were present.

Expert on terrorism is new head of MI5
Kim Sengupta, The Independent
The new head of MI5 is an official who has specialised in tracking the threat of Islamist terrorism. Jonathan Evans, currently the deputy-head of the service will take over from Eliza Manningham-Buller, the outgoing director-general, who caused surprise in Whitehall by announcing that she was stepping down early from the job. A government statement issued yesterday said Mr Evans' appointment has been confirmed by Home Secretary John Reid with the agreement of the Prime Minister. Mr Evans joined the Security Service after reading classics at Bristol University in 1980 working on counter-espionage. He subsequently worked on the team of Sir Anthony Duff to modernise the service before moving on to counter-terrorism then dealing mainly with the Irish republican movements.

Wednesday March 07 2007/18 Safar 1428
Racism claim troops 'to form union'
Daily Mail
Soldiers from the Commonwealth, angry over perceived racism within the British armed forces, are forming a trade union in protest, it has been reported. The BBC reports that Marlon Clancy, whom it says is in the military, is setting up the British Commonwealth Soldiers Union. The move comes amid complaints of widespread racism, unfair treatment and a lack of welfare support, it says. The union, while powerless to strike or negotiate, will give advice to members. The Ministry of Defence said there was no evidence of endemic racism in the army and special provision was offered to the 6,000 Commonwealth soldiers, the corporation added. I suppose they must be just a bunch of trouble making...

Yard rocked by race row
Daily Mail
A furious race row engulfed Scotland Yard today after controversial Muslim police chief Ali Dizaei failed in his promotion bid. The chief superintendent - one of Britain’s most senior Muslim police chiefs - was one of 10 officers bidding for the £90,000-a-year rank of commander. The Metropolitan Police Authority, the body which oversees the Yard, announced today it was promoting only three applicants. A spokesman said: “We were going to appoint up to six depending on the quality of the candidates.” The decision not to promote Mr Dizaei, left, caused immediate controversy amid claims of race bias by the MPA. He said: “I am extremely disappointed but I remain proud to be a Met officer and happy to be a borough commander in Hounslow.”

Cartoon protester guilty of encouraging murder
Staff and agencies, The Guardian
A British Muslim man was today found guilty of two counts of soliciting to murder during a demonstration against the Muhammad cartoons. Abdul Muhid, 24, a prominent member of the Saviour Sect which is linked to the radical cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, led a crowd chanting "Bomb, bomb the UK" and produced placards with slogans such as "Annihilate those who insult Islam", the Old Bailey heard. The demonstration happened outside the Danish embassy in London on February 3 2006 after the publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons depicting Muhammad. The images included one of the prophet wearing a bomb-shaped turban. Other placards read "Europe you will pay, the Fantastic 4 are on their way" and "3/11 is on its way", apparent references to the fatal terrorist bombings in London and Madrid.

And check out:
'How my eyes were opened to the barbarity of Islam' (Islamophobia Watch)
Why socialists should resist Islamophobia (Islamophobia Watch)
Straw: 'big cultural divide' between Muslims and the rest of British society (Islamophobia Watch)
Gay Humanists offer Spencerian bigotry (Indigo Jo)

Tuesday March 06 2007/17 Safar 1428
Less than one in 20 held under anti-terror laws is charged
Nigel Morris, The Independent
Less than 4 per cent of the people arrested under anti-terror laws since the September 11 attacks five years ago have been convicted of terrorist offences, it was disclosed yesterday. Following warnings from Muslim groups over the growing alienation of large sections of the community, the Government faced demands for an overhaul of anti-terrorist legislation. Ministers also came under sustained fire in the House of Lords for their use of control orders against terrorist suspects, with peers warning that the policy could backfire by attracting support for extremism. Statistics released by the Home Office disclosed that 1,166 people were detained between 11 September 2001, and 31 December last year on suspicion of involvement in terrorism. These arrests have so far led to 221 charges and just 40 convictions, although some other prosecutions are still in the pipeline.

Sunday March 04 2007/15 Safar 1428
'We are independent - we can choose what we wish to teach'
Roya Nikkhah, Sunday Telegraph
With its ramshackle exterior, the School of the Islamic Republic of Iran in north-west London is barely recognisable as a school from the outside. Behind wire gates, the main building is a grey-brick bungalow with a rusty iron roof and wire mesh over the windows. The head teacher, Farzad Farzan, was reluctant to discuss teaching methods or syllabus, citing his "poor knowledge" of English and the absence of an interpreter. He said: "We are an independent school and, therefore, we can choose what we wish to teach." Pupils followed a "Farsi syllabus". English was taught only once a week. The Ofsted website lists it as a Muslim school with 53 pupils aged between six and 16, but provides no inspection reports.

Blood and glory
Ed Vulliamy, The Observer
Vote for Enoch Powell,' came the counsel from a stage in the West Midlands. 'Stop Britain from becoming a black colony ... Get the foreigners out ... I used to be into dope, now I'm into racism. It's much heavier, man.' Not some ranting nutcase from the National Front, but an inebriated Eric Clapton (now CBE), formerly of Cream and latterly of Hello! magazine. Yes, Clapton - who played the blues, but whose outburst in August 1976 came hot on the heels of another from David Bowie, proclaiming Adolf Hitler to be 'the first rock star' and urging that what Britain needed was a 'right-wing dictatorship'.

Half of Muslim schools not inspected
Julie Henry, Sunday Telegraph
More than half of private Muslim schools have not been inspected for five years, while some have not received a full inspection for a decade. An analysis of the 114 independent Islamic schools in England registered with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) has found that Ofsted reports are available for only 53. Most of these involve recent visits, but two reports are for the 1997-98 academic year. Most of the other 61 schools, and their 6,000 pupils, were inspected five or more years ago but, because of a gap in the law, their reports have never been made public. The law has now been changed, but is not retrospective. Seventeen schools have no listing on the website of Ofsted - the official inspection body - making it impossible to establish whether they have ever been visited.

Black staff at the BBC are mainly cleaners and guards, says Ross
Chris Hastings and Jasper Copping, Sunday Telegraph
Jonathan Ross, the BBC's highest-paid presenter, yesterday plunged the corporation into an embarrassing race row by claiming that the vast majority of its black and Asian staff work as cleaners or security guards. During his Radio 2 programme, Ross, who reportedly has an £18 million three-year contract with the BBC, said its ethnic minority employees were more likely to be seen carrying a cloth than presenting programmes. "How many black people have they got working on proper shows?" he asked. "[Black people] are either standing on the door or carrying a cloth." Ross, who also presents the BBC's Film 2006 programme, said the BBC had not "got there in terms of race". His comments echo controversial claims made in 2001 by Greg Dyke, the former director-general, who accused the corporation of being "hideously white".

I believe in Trident, and using it if necessary
Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, Sunday Telegraph
Once again the General Synod of the Church of England has been wrong-footed by passing a last-minute motion declaring the renewal of Trident to be unethical. The original motion had been carefully thought-out and was supported by documents setting out the situation facing the United Kingdom and asking probing and intelligent questions about the Government's intentions. Instead, the Church has now been left in a position which can be seen as mere moralising and trying to dictate defence policy. All of this is extremely unfortunate because the Churches in general, and the Church of England in particular, have a legitimate role in the debate on the replacement or renewal of a minimum nuclear deterrent.

And check out:
Churches told to put up No Smoking signs (Mail on Sunday)
Adviser resigned after Kelly backed Church's policy on gay adoption (MoS)

Saturday March 03 2007/14 Safar 1428
Black pupils 'are treated worse'
BBC News Online
Black pupils are routinely punished more harshly, praised less and told off more often in English schools than other pupils, an official report says. It says the staff in many schools are "unwittingly" racist, with black youngsters three times more likely than white to be expelled permanently. It describes this as an "iconic issue" for black Caribbean communities. The Department for Education and Skills said using "the R-word" was unhelpful, but it is to issue new guidance. The report - Getting it. Getting it right - had advocated a focus on the 100 schools with "disproportionately high" exclusions of black pupils. A DfES spokesperson said the numbers involved in any one institution were small so it was hard to draw general conclusions about which interventions would work or not.

The return of God?
John Humphrys, Daily Telegraph
There's a lot of God in Britain these days. Only this week we have had the bizarre claim by the Hollywood director James Cameron that he has found the bones of Jesus. If that's true it means Jesus died just like anyone else and the Christian religion is based on a lie. You will note I said if that's true. I wrote in these pages just before Christmas about the extraordinary response to a series of interviews I did for Radio Four (Humphrys in Search of God). I had thousands of replies and, four months after the broadcasts, they're still coming. At the time, I put it down to the bizarre nature of the programmes: grumpy old sod best known for duffing up politicians (that's me) bares his soul and asks some of the world's leading religious figures to show him God.

Nigeria endorses Islamic leader
Alex Last, BBC News Online
The authorities in northern Nigeria have held the final ceremony to inaugurate the spiritual head of the country's estimated 70 million Muslims. The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sada Abubakar, received the staff of office which formalises the government's recognition of his position. He became sultan after the death of his elder brother, Sultan Maccido, who died in a plane crash last year. The ceremony took place in front of a crowd of thousands. He was handed the staff by the state governor in the ancient city of Sokoto. Then members of the nobility, wearing turbans and ceremonial robes, cantered up on horseback to salute him. The ceremony was attended by the president, Olusegun Obasanjo, and his bitter political rival, vice president Atiku Abubakar, who is campaigning to become president in elections in April.

Friday March 02 2007/13 Safar 1428
Met 'anarchy' as Muslim officer lashes out in book
Stephen Wright, Daily Mail
Britain's top policeman Sir Ian Blair has been accused of unleashing 'anarchy' by failing to block the publication of a controversial book by a serving senior Muslim officer. Chief Superintendent Ali Dizaei makes an astonishing attack on the conduct of Metropolitan Police colleagues who, he claims, launched a vendetta against him during a corruption inquiry. He also alleges Scotland Yard chiefs conducted a campaign of harassment against the National Black Police Association, to which he is legal adviser, as part of its attempt to discredit him. His memoirs are being serialised in a national newspaper just days before he learns whether he will be promoted to the rank of Commander on a salary of £90,000.

The rise of the mighty evangelicals filled with the spirit of capitalism
Tom Phillips, The Guardian
Pass through the towering golden gates and you come to the reception area, where hidden guards eyeball visitors through tinted, bulletproof glass.
Then come the glistening marble floors and voluptuous balconies, the 25-metre heated indoor pool and the gigantic underground car park, filled with dozens of top of the range cars (the majority bulletproof). Finally there is the nearby helipad where illustrious guests can be whisked in and out of the neighbourhood without worrying about kidnapping or congestion. This is the Place Vendôme, a towering residential complex in Chacara Klabin, a leafy haven in southern Sao Paulo for the elite and the seriously rich. But unlikely as it may seem, it was also until recently the site of one of the world's most luxurious vicarages...

Thursday March 01 2007/12 Safar 1428
A blind eye to bigotry
Mike Marqusee, The Guardian
Five years ago this week, across the Indian state of Gujarat, the stormtroopers of the Hindu right, decked in saffron sashes and armed with swords, tridents, sledgehammers and liquid gas cylinders, launched a pogrom against the local Muslim population. They looted and torched Muslim-owned businesses, assaulted and murdered Muslims, and gang-raped and mutilated Muslim women. By the time the violence spluttered to a halt, about 2,500 Muslims had been killed and about 200,000 driven from their homes. The pogrom was distinguished not only by its ferocity and sadism (foetuses were ripped from the bellies of pregnant women, old men bludgeoned to death) but also by its meticulous advance planning. The leaders used mobile phones to coordinate the movement of an army of thousands through densely populated areas, targeting Muslim properties with the aid of computerised lists and electoral rolls provided by state agencies.

Equality chief says firms 'should have race quotas for workers'
Steve Doughty, Daily Mail
The head of the new equality commission yesterday called for race quota laws that will allow employers to favour minorities. Trevor Phillips demanded that 30-year-old rules, which forbid discrimination on grounds of race or sex, should be scrapped. He said a sweeping new equality law should allow public sector organisations and private firms to choose workers on race grounds to end 'immovable, persistent, disadvantage'. It should also allow the introduction of quotas to ensure firms employ set numbers of women, mothers, disabled people, the elderly, homosexuals, or members of other minority groups. Mr Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, called for the radical 'positive action' law in his Equalities Review, drawn up for Tony Blair at a cost of £400,000.

Comprehensive that's in a different class
Graeme Paton, Daily Telegraph
A small Jewish comprehensive was named as the most effective school in the country in the tables published today. Pupils at the Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls School in Stamford Hill, north London, were on average five terms ahead of 14-year-olds in the rest of the country in maths, English and science. The school even beat 81 grammars, which dominate the table of top 100 schools using the so-called "value-added" measure – based on the progress made between the age of 11 and 14. However, Rabbi Abraham Pinter, the principal, said despite its success staff and pupils still face anti-Semitic abuse. "If anything race relations have improved but we have still got a long way to go," he said. "When I was a kid I had been beaten up a couple of times. I am 58 now. One of my sons has been beaten up for being Jewish and my other kids have not been beaten up..."

And check out:
Dudley Mosque bid thrown out (Islamophobia Watch)

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dihliz	empire	abu dharr	A.D. archive March 2007