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Friday 03 July 2009
Find God, win a trip to Mecca (or Jerusalem, or Tibet)
Robert Tait, guardian.co.uk
A new gameshow offers a prize arguably greater than that
offered by Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Contestants will ponder whether to
believe or not to believe when they pit their godless convictions against the
possibilities of a new relationship with the almighty on Penitents Compete (Tovbekarlar
Yarisiyor in Turkish), to be broadcast by the Kanal T station. Four
spiritual guides from the different religions will seek to convert at least one
of the 10 atheists in each programme to their faith.
Teachers' anti-discrimination code reworded after faith groups object
Polly Curtis, guardian.co.uk
The General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) was today
accused of watering down a new code of conduct for teachers after faith groups
objected to a ruling that would force them to "promote equality and value
diversity", including challenging homophobia and supporting homosexuality. A
briefing document seen by the Guardian reveals substantial changes to a crucial
section of the code designed to tackle discrimination in schools.
Teachers, doctors and police given guidelines on forced marriage
Staff and agencies, guardian.co.uk
Teachers, doctors and the police were today given guidelines to help them
identify and tackle the problem of forced marriage. The government advice was
issued ahead of the summer holidays, the peak time for families to take girls to
south Asia, in particular, and force them to marry. Latest figures from the
government's Forced Marriage Unit suggest that 70% of cases involve families of
Pakistani origin and 11% those from a Bangladeshi background.
Inside a Pakistani school where children are being brainwashed into terrorists
(John Humphrys, Mail)
A setback in the struggle against the Islamification of the West
(Islamophobia Watch)
Blogs and news on Civitas report here...
Wednesday 01July 2009
Police Give Muslims in Cells Compasses To Pray Towards Mecca
Mark Reynolds, Daily Express
POLICE will issue a compass to all Muslims detained in
cells – so they can face Mecca when praying. To make sure they face the holy
site, the Norfolk force has already painted the ceiling of some cells to point
them in the right direction. Chief Inspector Roger Wiltshire, head of custody
services, said either a ceiling compass would be painted or hand-held compasses
would be issued to detainees. He said a basic stencil is used to paint the
ceiling compasses.
Sharia law and me
Zeinab Huq, Guardian CiF
The headlines will tell you there are at least 85 sharia
courts in Britain. There are definitely more and they have little to do with
gavels and wigs and more to do with upholding the cultural and tribal status quo
in communities. Having been on the receiving end of sharia rulings – I must make
it clear that sharia courts are often nothing of the sort and are more likely to
be an imam at the end of a phone I can speak about the arbitrary and random
nature of these bodies.
Hajj officials confront swine flu threat
Riazat Butt, guardian.co.uk
The elderly, young, infirm and pregnant should stay away from this year's hajj
to avoid catching swine flu, Saudi health officials said today. Their
recommendations followed a workshop aimed at minimising the spread of the
disease during the pilgrimage season, which attracts about 4 million Muslims
from around the world. Other measures include vaccinating people at least a
fortnight before their arrival in the country and...
Denis MacEoin misrepresents the Shari’ah again (Indigo Jo Blogs)
The Woodcraft Folk are not atheists (Danny Rowe, Guardian CiF)
Praying for patients: debate taking place now (Ruth Gledhill)
Nun and priest 'kissing ad' banned (Ruth Gledhill)
Muslims in Europe: The Scottish example [Osama Saeed] (Zahed Amanullah,
Alt.Muslim) Tuesday 30 June 2009
Catholic school bars Muslim teacher who refused to remove face veil so staff
could identify her
James Tozer, Mail
A Muslim teacher was barred from a Roman Catholic college
after refusing to remove her full-face veil so staff could identify her. The
woman, who works at an Islamic school, opted to leave instead and now the
college could face a claim of religious discrimination. The teacher was at an
open day at the sixth-form college with two female pupils, all of them wearing
niqabs showing only their eyes.
[Muslim
pupils and teacher ordered to remove veils - Telegraph; also
BBC Online,
Times, etc ]
Don't demonise sharia courts
Inayat Bunglawala, Guardian CiF
It is not difficult to go and visit sharia courts. There
was an interesting write-up by Dan Bell in the Guardian a couple of years ago
about the best-known sharia council in London. He found that: "The Muslims who
consult the Islamic Sharia Council are not asking for permission to stone
adulterous wives, or chop off the hands of thieves, but simply for day-to-day
guidance on living in accordance with their faith."
Islamic Civilization in Peril (Tabsir) Monday 29 June 2009
Britain has 85 sharia courts: The astonishing spread of the Islamic justice
behind closed doors
Steve Doughty, Daily Fail
At least 85 Islamic sharia courts are operating in
Britain, a study claimed yesterday. The astonishing figure is 17 times higher
than previously accepted. The tribunals, working mainly from mosques, settle
financial and family disputes according to religious principles. They lay down
judgments which can be given full legal status if approved in national law
courts. The study by Denis MacEoin estimates there are at least 85 working
tribunals.
[85 sharia courts in UK, says report - Mirror]
[Dozens
of sharia courts are giving illegal advice, claims Civitas report -
Guardian]
[At
least 85 sharia 'courts' operating in Britain, says Civitas report -
Telegraph]
[Claim
85 sharia courts 'in operation' - Asian Image]
[No
to sharia law in Britain - Denis MacEoin, Guardian CiF]
[UK
has 80 plus sharia courts - The Sun]
The shocking picture of a white boy aged 11 being 'converted' to Islam by
radical preacher
Daily Mail Reporter, Daily Fail
This is the shocking picture of a young, white schoolboy
being converted to Islam by a cleric linked to a radical Muslim hate preacher.
The bewildered 11-year-old, who gives his name as Sean was filmed repeating
Arabic chants and swearing allegiance to Allah. The boy is prompted throughout
by controversial cleric Anjem Choudary, a follower of exiled hate-preacher Omar
Bakri Mohammed.
Prosecutors press for action against BNP leaflets
Afua Hirsch and Matthew Taylor, guardian.co.uk
Senior prosecutors are calling for the laws on race hate crimes to be
strengthened to counter the threat posed by the British National party. The
threshold for securing a conviction is so high that far-right activists are able
to evade prosecution for material that many people would consider to be
threatening and racist, according to sources at the Crown Prosecution Service
(CPS).
Toube demands an apology (Islamophobia Watch)
Beyond the burqa
(Rafia Zakaria, Alt. Muslim)
Muslim Women are People too (Islamicate)
A Fracture in Belief – Morden Islamic Centre (Suspect Paki)
Dialectical dilemma over the burka (Letters, Guardian)
Closing the week 26 (Closer)
Muslims’ needs and the cause of Islam (Indigo Jo Blogs)
Iran warned by EU after British embassy workers arrested (Ian Black,
guardian.co.uk) Sunday 28 June 2009
The hijab debate: 'I don't want to be judged on my looks'
Independent on Sunday
The President of France caused a furore last week when he
described the head covering worn by Muslim women as 'a sign of subservience'.
But is the issue as simple as Nicolas Sarkozy thinks? Here 10 British women
explain to Andrew Johnson why – to varying degrees – they choose to cover up...
Doctors: 'Let us pray for patients'
Daily Mirror
Doctors are to demand the right to discuss religion with
their patients and to pray for them.... The issue will be discussed at the
British Medical Association (BMA) annual representative meeting which begins on
Monday. Cancer specialist Dr Bernadette Birtwhistle, of the Christian Medical
Fellowship, said: "I think it is getting to the point where many of us feel we
cannot talk to patients about their spiritual or religious needs or ask them
about praying."
[Doctors want right to
talk faith - BBC News Online]
Victim of British torture tells of his life of suffering
Emily Dugan, Independent on Sunday
Wambugu Wa Nyingi is smiling. He has survived torture, been crippled and left
for dead. Now he is jubilant. "I'm happy that I'm coming to seek justice from
the people who took away my life," says the 81-year-old. After a lifetime of suffering, Mr Nyingi
is finally able to hope. He and four other elderly Kenyans have begun a landmark
legal battle with the Government in Britain that goes to the heart of one of the
dirtiest secrets of the British Empire. Leaving Kenya for the first time last
week, they filed a case in the Royal Courts of Justice.
Richard Dawkins backs atheist camp to give children 'godless alternative'
(James Meikle guardian.co.uk)
Sentencing delayed again [Neil MacGregor] (Asian Image)
Saturday 27 June 2009
Veiled threats: row over Islamic dress opens bitter divisions in France
Angelique Chrisafis, guardian.co.uk
In the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, with its busy
market, fast-food joints and bargain clothes shops, Angelica Winterstein only
goes out once a week – and only if she really has to. "I feel like I'm being
judged walking down the street. People tut or spit. In a smart area west of
Paris, one man stopped his car and shouted: 'Why don't you go back to where you
came from?' But I'm French, I couldn't be more French," said the 23-year-old...
France's burka barrier
Amel Boubekeur, Guardian CiF
For a week now, the hundred or so French women who wear
the sitar (a veil that covers the face, incorrectly referred to as the burka) or
the niqab have been at the heart of the French political debate. Nicolas Sarkozy
made a speech to parliament stating that the burka was not welcome in France as
it was incompatible with women's rights and adding that France shouldn't be
afraid to defend its values.
Armed Forces Day mocks our military (Symon Hill, Guardian CiF)
Are we losing the hijab
or are we losing the fight? (MPACUK)
Azad Ali cleared of wrongdoing by Civil Service investigation
(iEngage)
The third stage for Iranian totalitarianism? (Mad Mel's Blog)
Church 'out of touch' on gays, says Times poll (Ruth Gledhill)
MCB misrepresented (Islamophobia Watch)
iKhutbah
(Gary Bunt, Islam in Britain)
The way he
made us feel [Michael Jackson Obit.] (Zahed Amanullah, Alt. Muslim)
West must respect the Muslim veil (Islamophobia Watch)
Harry's Place debates the 'burka ban' (Islamophobia Watch) Monday 22 June 2009
End 'cruel' religious slaughter, say scientists
Martin Hickman, Independent
Religious slaughter techniques practised by Jews and
Muslims are cruel and should be ended, says a scientific assessment from the
Government's animal welfare advisers. The Farm Animal Welfare Council says that
slitting the throats of the animals most commonly used for meat, chickens,
without stunning, results in "significant pain and distress". The committee,
which includes scientific, agricultural and veterinary experts, is calling for
the Government to launch a debate with Muslim and Jewish communities to end the
practice.
Julie Burchill moves closer to Judaism
Riazat Butt, guardian.co.uk
Writer and self-confessed Christian Zionist Julie Burchill
has deepened her love affair with Judaism by becoming a regular at a Brighton
synagogue. Burchill, who has expressed admiration for Jews on many occasions,
has also started taking Hebrew classes at the Brighton and Hove Progressive
Synagogue. According to Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah, the columnist has been a
regular at Shabbat services for a month and has become a friend of the
synagogue. She said that while membership was only for Jews, becoming a friend
was open to everyone.
Wilders to make second
anti-Islam film (MPACUK)
After scarves in schools, France mulls ban on burqas and niqabs (Tom
Heneghan, FaithWorld)
Do animals have moral codes? Well, up to a point… (Tom Heneghan, FaithWorld) Saturday 20 June 2009
In Tehran, fantasy and reality make uneasy bedfellows
Robert Fisk, Independent
Now for the very latest on the fantasy circuit. The cruel
"Iranian" cops aren't Iranian at all. They are members of Lebanon's Hizbollah
militia. I've had this one from two reporters, three phone callers (one from
Lebanon) and a British politician. I've tried to talk to the cops. They cannot
understand Arabic. They don't even look like Arabs, let alone Lebanese. The
reality is that many of these street thugs have been brought in from Baluch
areas and Zobal province...
Three charged over group attack
Margaret Davis, Press Association (Independent)
Three people were charged with attempted murder today
after violent clashes between white and Asian groups, police said. A 17-year-old
boy was caught up in the violence in May last year and left with bleeding to the
brain which required emergency surgery. Greater Manchester Police said a group
of around 12 white men and boys were set upon by Asian attackers in Denehurst
Park, Greave.
'I'm no hero' insists caretaker
Asian Image
A caretaker insists he is not a hero, despite saving his
mosque from a suspected arson attack. Mohammad Kohelee, 62, rushed to put out
the fire at the Greenwich Islamic Centre, at around 12.15am on Tuesday. He was
left with burns to his left arm and the side of his face after tackling the
blaze, allegedly started by vandals who cut through a chain to break into the
centre’s car park. The caretaker said: “I was panicked but I wasn’t scared.
Al-Muhajiroun: dangerous amateurs
Nesrine Malik, Guardian CiF
Al-Muhajiroun's first public outing after the Islamist
group's reincarnation was supposed to take the shape of a debate between Anjem
Choudary and Douglas Murray, the director of the Centre for Social Cohesion, and
was billed as The Great Debate: Sharia Law v British Law. I was rather surprised
that Murray had agreed to the debate as it seemed to cement the view that he was
the secular equivalent of Choudary but apparently he believed...
An apathetic, greedy west has abandoned war-torn Congo
Eve Ensler, Guardian
In 1996, I was sitting with 20,000 grieving women in a
stadium in Tuzla, Bosnia. The women were holding photographs of husbands,
fathers, brothers, sons and boyfriends who had been disappeared a year earlier
in a place called Srebrenica, a UN enclave where Bosnian refugees had turned
over their protection to UN peacekeepers who stood passively by as 10,000 men
were marched off to be slaughtered.
Douglas Murray and Anjem Choudary – two self-publicists help each other out
(Islamophobia Watch)
World religious leaders hold their own G8 summit (Philip Pullella, FaithWorld)
London’s Alcoholic Young Girls, Muslims (IslamOnline)
Thursday 18 June 2009
Muslims angered at charge for white racist
David Sapsted, The National
A white supremacist will be sentenced today for threatening to blow up
Scotland’s main mosque and behead Muslims. Neil MacGregor, who described himself
to police as “a proud racist”, admitted at earlier court proceedings to
threatening to bomb Glasgow Central Mosque and kill a Muslim a week until all
the mosques in Scotland were closed. What has amazed and angered Muslims is that
MacGregor’s plot has received scant mention in the Scottish press and none at
all in the wider UK media. Monday 08 June 2009
Muslims have to change for themselves
Abdullahi Ahmed an-Na'im, Guardian CiF
To me, as a Muslim from Sudan, this dependency on external
actors is part of the problem, signifying a neo-colonial state of mind among
Muslims, thereby perpetuating ourselves as the subjects of empire, rather than
self-determining persons and communities. I wish this was not the case, but
since it is, we have to start somewhere, and Obama's speech can be a good start.
(Text
of Obama's speech)
We wanted a world leader. We saw only a US president
Ahdaf Soueif, Guardian
There is a difference between believing that ultimately
the interests of the inhabitants of the planet are genuinely interconnected and
believing that the interests of the world can be made to seem compatible with
America's. Obama has said that America should have not only the power but the
moral standing to lead the world. Today we waited for him to demonstrate that
moral standing and assume the leadership of the world. He did not; he remained
the President of the United States.
Mad Mel explains the BNP's success (Islamophobia Watch)
In
Memory of Ed Teague, Postman Patel (Craig Murray)
Amnesty
International Human Rights Report 2009 (Amnesty International)
Radicalisation Series - Part I: The slippery slope of ethnic profiling
(CLOSER)
Muslim groups criticise
helpline (BBC News Online) Monday 01 June 2009
Barack Obama extends hand of friendship to Muslim world
Tim Reid, Times
President Obama will seek to forge a new American
relationship with the Muslim world this week during a long-awaited speech in
Egypt in which he will heap praise on Islamic culture and give a personal
commitment to a new era of co-operation. The address in Cairo will harness Mr
Obama’s own ancestral ties to the religion as he begins the daunting task of
reducing the deep mistrust of America felt by many of the world’s one billion
Muslims.
Let the odious al-Muhajiroun speak
Inayat Bunglawala, Guardian CiF
"What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to
offend, it ceases to exist." So argued the novelist Salman Rushdie at the height
of the controversy over his book, the Satanic Verses. And – as I have admitted
previously on Cif – I think he was right. Well, how strong our own commitment to
freedom of expression is will shortly be put to an interesting test. Almost five
years after they announced their disbandment, the controversial
publicity-seeking – and frankly loathsome — Muslim group, al-Muhajiroun, have
announced that they are to be relaunched.
How to alienate Muslims even more
Kawsar Zaman, Guardian CiF
Young men say they were detained by MI5 agents simply by
virtue of the fact that they were Muslim. They say they were then threatened
that unless they provided intelligence for the security services they would face
entirely false accusations of extremism. Over a period of 18 months they claimed
to have been harassed by taunting phone calls, including one saying: "If you
don't want anything to happen to your family you will co-operate."
A gay Muslim in EastEnders? Big deal (Samia Rahman, Guardian CiF)
God is merciful, but only if you're a man (Ophelia Benson, Observer) Friday 29 May 2009
Tutu, an archbishop for unbelievers
John Harris, Guardian CiF
Come Dawkinsites and Hitchenistas, militant atheists and
unrelenting secularists: not that I am a believer, you understand, but if you
want a sobering lesson in the fact that religion can be a thoroughly progressive
force and a source of hope in otherwise desperate circumstances – to quote Karl
Marx out of context, "the heart in a heartless world" – well, you really should
spend an hour and a bit in the company of the former archbishop of Cape Town.
Desmond Tutu spoke at the Hay festival last night...
Muslims urged to vote to keep out extremist parties
Riazat Butt, guardian.co.uk
Muslim scholars in Britain have urged the country's imams
to stress the importance of local and European elections during their sermons,
warning that a low turnout could lead to "openly anti-Muslim parties" gaining
national and international prominence. In a joint statement issued yesterday
they called for imams to discuss the need to vote with their congregations as
part of their khutbahs – the sermon delivered before Friday afternoon prayers.
EastEnders: Muslim character to have gay love affair
Leigh Holmwood and Gareth McLean, guardian.co.uk
EastEnders is to tackle one of the last taboos left in
soap, with a storyline featuring a Muslim character embarking on a gay love
affair. MediaGuardian.co.uk can reveal that the plot, which will hit screens in
mid-June, will see Syed Masood, a Muslim property developer with a girlfriend
who arrived in Albert Square six weeks ago, fall for openly gay Christian
Clarke. The pair will share an on-screen kiss. The BBC has billed the storyline
as a "traditional love affair, albeit with a modern multicultural twist". Monday 25 May 2009
Trouble flares as Luton residents protest over Muslim extremists
Home staff, Times
Nine people were arrested yesterday after trouble flared
during a protest march against supposed Muslim extremists. The march in Luton
was said to be a protest against an earlier demonstration during the Royal
Anglian Regiment’s homecoming parade when soldiers were heckled on their return
from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. Yesterday there were about 500 protesters,
some carrying banners with slogans such as “No Sharia Law in the UK” and
“Respect our Troops”.
Friday 22 May 2009
Home Secretary was warned of MI5's 'blackmailing of Muslims'
Robert Verkaik, Guardian
The Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, was warned nine months
ago about MI5's alleged campaign of blackmail and intimidation against a group
of young Muslim men, The Independent has learnt. Veteran Labour MP Frank Dobson
wrote to Ms Smith in September about concerns raised by a north London community
leader who claimed six youth workers had endured an 18-month campaign of threats
and coercion in an attempt to recruit them as informants on their friends and
neighbours. Wednesday 13 May 2009
Muslim to head BBC religious programmes
Leigh Holmwood, The Guardian
The BBC has appointed its first Muslim head of religious
programming, only the second time in its 87-year history a non-Christian has
taken the role. Channel 4 executive Aaqil Ahmed, who commissioned Christianity:
A History, The Qur'an and the Bafta-winning Saving Africa's Witch Children while
at the commercial broadcaster, is expected to take up the position this summer.
The only previous non-Christian head of religious programming at the BBC was
agnostic Alan Bookbinder...
[Welcoming
the BBC's Muslim head of religion -Sunny Hundal; see also
Islamophobia Watch]
Pope Benedict XVI visits holy sites (Steve Bell, Guardian)
A response to “The
dehijabization phenomenon” (Rifk Ebeid- AltMuslimah.com) Monday 11 May 2009
I'd be happy if the new laureate blew all her money on the horses or invested in
fetish gear
Germaine Greer, The Guardian
Dear Carol Ann Duffy, congratulations, I think. I was
surprised when you accepted the laureateship because I had you down as a
republican. You're probably fed up with being hailed not only as the first woman
to hold this thankless job, but the first Scot, the first bisexual, the first
lesbian, the first single mum, the first Catholic and, for all I know, the first
Capricorn. If you'd been black and disabled, you'd have ticked all the boxes.
The Breathtaking Hypocrisy of Tory Bloggers (Craig Murray) Sunday 10 May 2009
London's Little Afghanistan
Reza Mohammadi, Guardian CiF
When I first moved to London, I found it intriguing that
it was actually possible to speak Farsi there. I stayed in Hyde Park, and around
my hotel there were numerous Iranian restaurants. Walking on London's streets,
one could easily find people who spoke Farsi. In the north and west of the city,
about 70% of taxi drivers are either Afghan or Iranian. So it didn't take me
long to meet many fellow Afghans, and be introduced to their restaurants,
eateries and associations.
Fatwa advice line el-Hatef el-Islami to launch in UK
Riazat Butt, guardian.co.uk
Next month sees the UK launch of el-Hatef el-Islami, one of the world's most
popular Islamic hotlines. Dubbed dial-a-fatwa and dial-a-sheikh in its native
Egypt, it will draw on the expertise of scholars from Cairo's al-Azhar
University to provide perplexed believers with help and religious rulings
(fatwas) on everyday dilemmas. British callers can ring in with their problems,
and access the answer up to 48 hours later by punching in a pin number. The
hotline will also include an email facility...
Foster to ease Mecca pilgrims’ progress
Chris Gourlay, Times
THE mountain is to move for Muhammad. Norman Foster and
Zaha Hadid are involved in plans to transform the landscape around Mecca,
Islam’s holiest city, to make way for a high-rise metropolis complete with
high-speed rail link for pilgrims. Architectural designs being considered by
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia could see the mosque at the heart of the city
expanded fivefold to hold 5m worshippers in one go.
Breath Taking! (SDOACL)
Prisoners in Ranby jail make bomb to blow up Muslims (Justin Penrose,
Mirror)
Jews, Christians and Muslims write 'open letters' to Pope (Ruth Gledhill)
The Pope must have a message for the Middle East (Tariq Ramadan The Guardian)
Islam's difficult road (Kishwer Falkner, Observer )
She's Israeli, he's an Arab. War has made them like mother and son (The
Observer)
Queen's Trinity Cross medal scrapped... because it's 'too Christian' (Daily
Mail)
The BNP can hurt Labour in its heartlands (Jeremy Seabrook, Guardian CiF)
Sole-searching questions after Benedict visit to mosque (Tom Heneghan,
FaithWorld)
Pope warns of
misuse of religion (BBC News Online)
Suspected arson attack on Islamic centre (Jo Adetunji, The Guardian)
Scaremongering over Muslim demographics (Indigo Jo Blogs) Friday 08 May 2009
Extremists bring Muslims only violence
Inayat Bunglawala, Guardian CiF
Monday's suspected arson attack on the al-Ghurabaa mosque
in Luton follows a number of written threats received at the mosque believed to
have been sent by far right groups. The mosque holds daily Arabic/Qur'anic
lessons for about 90 children though fortunately the arson attack – the police
say they believe an accelerant was used – took place after midnight when the
mosque was empty. Tensions have been running high ever since a tiny group of
al-Muhajiroun supporters...
British Muslims have more faith in UK than Britons, study finds
Ruth Gledhill, Times
British Muslims identify with Britain far more than the
general public and have more confidence in the country’s institutions, according
to research published today. The results of the survey, which showed that 77 per
cent of British Muslims were loyal to Britain compared with 36 per cent of the
general public, challenge a perception that the community is less patriotic than
the country at large. It also recorded that the community had more confidence in
British courts, elections, financial bodies...
[Patriotic
and homophobic: a portrait of British Muslims' state of mind - Chris Green,
Independent]
Muslims hit back over terror raids (Mark Hesford, Manchester Evening News)
Pope set for Middle East visit (al-Jazeera)
Hounslow KFC goes halal (Asian Image) Thursday 07 May 2009
Muslims in Britain have zero tolerance of homosexuality, says poll
Riazat Butt, Guardian
Muslims in Britain have zero tolerance towards
homosexuality compared to their counterparts in France and Germany,
according to a survey published today. The Gallup poll features the results
of telephone and face-to-face interviews with Muslims and non-Muslims in the UK,
France and Germany and is designed to measure global attitudes towards people
from different faith traditions. It shows that British Muslims hold more
conservative opinions towards...
[British,
Muslim and loyal: MCB welcomes Gallup poll findings - Islamophobia Watch]
Muslims: beyond the caricature
Shelina Zahra Janmohamed, Guardian CiF
My British glass is half empty. According to a Gallup poll
released yesterday, only half of the UK population identifies itself as very
strongly British. And in Germany only 32% of the general public feels that way
about being German. Who then identifies most strongly with their nation,
reaching a whopping 77% in the UK? Muslims. This refreshing piece of information
is part of a wider picture that Gallup paints of a European Muslim population
that is more tolerant and integrated, as well as more strongly identified with
Europe's nations than other communities.
Holocaust still an issue as Pope Benedict prepares to visit the Holy Land
Rory McCarthy, Guardian
Israel's Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem, is housed within an angular concrete
corridor that leads visitors through appalling stories of persecution,
suffering and death and out eventually to a calming view over the Jerusalem
forests. Halfway down the corridor in a room on the left are two black and white
photographs of the wartime pope, Pius XII, with a few lines of text in English
and Hebrew. It is one of hundreds of displays in the museum...
US ex-soldier guilty
of Iraq rape (BBC News Online)
Quilliam Foundation defends Muslims shock (Islamophobia Watch)
Jordan amasses evidence for claiming Jesus baptism site (Tom Heneghan,
FaithWorld) Wednesday 06 May 2009
Egypt's emos, the latest hate figures
Jack Shenker, Guardian CiF
They appeared overnight, without warning. I noticed the
first one in Umm Dahab's alleyway off Mahmoud Baysuni street, an
incomprehensible jumble of shapes stencilled at a jaunty angle on the floor.
There was another in the next alley down by the old shoe stall, and dozens more
over the road on Qasr El-Nil. On slabs of paving stone and stretches of tarmac;
outside banks, mosques and travel agents – downtown Cairo had been flooded with
carbon-copy street-paintings spilling out through the city.
We must keep the taboo against suicide
Theo Hobson, Guardian CiF
My main reaction to Chris Woodhead's comment that he would
rather commit suicide than suffer the full horrors of his motor neurone disease
(MND) is that I think I would feel the same thing in his position. I have no
idea how keenly I would cling to life in the midst of escalating pain, but I
would want to know that the option for a speedy exit was there. A law that shuts
off this exit seems inhumane – and the religious believers who preach against
assisted suicide seem legalistic...
BNP official under investigation for comments about archbishop of York
Hélène Mulholland & Matthew Taylor, Guardian
A City Hall investigation is under way after a senior BNP official on the
devolved London government's payroll described the archbishop of York, John
Sentamu, as an "ambitious African" and said his fellow Ugandans threw spears at
their enemies. The Guardian understands that City Hall's chief executive, Leo
Boland, decided to act following concerns raised by Boris Johnson, the
Conservative mayor of London.
Wilders' plan to save the West (Islamophobia Watch)
Fast food chain KFC converts eight London restaurants to halal-only menu
(Daily Mail)
Muslims, Islam Channel and QF: who represents who? (Indigo Jo Blogs)
US teacher broke law by describing creationism as 'superstitious nonsense'
(R. Butt, Guardian) Tuesday 05 May 2009
Home Office 'names and shames' 16 people banned from UK
Hélène Mulholland and agencies, guardian.co.uk
Hate preachers, anti-gay protesters and a far right US
talk show host are among a "named and shamed"
list of people banned by the Home Office from entering the UK,
it was revealed today. Jacqui Smith, the home secretary,
said she decided to make public the names of 16 people banned since October for
fostering extremism so others could better understand the behaviour Britain was
not prepared to tolerate.
Islamizing Europe - Muslim Demographics (CLOSER)
Talking Lebanon, Kashmir and Socks at a Muslim School (Snowblog)
Hazel Blears Lies Again (Craig Murray)
Arson attack on an Islamic centre (BBC News Online)
Yasmin Alibi-Brain on Islam, women and justice (Indigo Jo Blogs) Monday 04 May 2009
'Best way to beat the BNP is to vote Green'
Andrew Grice, Independent
An anti-racism campaigner has emerged as the candidate who
could stop the British National Party chairman Nick Griffin winning a seat in
the European Parliament next month. Peter Cranie has been chosen by the Green
Party to stand in the North-west, where the BNP's hopes of winning its first
seats in a nationwide election are highest. Respect, the left-wing party headed
by the Bethnal Green and Bow MP George Galloway... Sunday 03 May 2009
The mythical rise of the BNP
Daniel Davies, Guardian CiF
Reading
Jon Cruddas and Nick Lowles's article on the campaign
to prevent Nick Griffin of the BNP winning a seat in the Euro elections, backed
up by
Harriet Harman's warnings on the same subject, you
could be forgiven for getting downhearted. It certainly looks like there's a
very real threat, and they're right to take it seriously. On the other hand, if
you crunch a couple of numbers, the battle looks eminently winnable. The BNP is
simply not at a level that would justify any panic reaction in the form of
anti-immigrant politics from the likes of
Phil Woolas.
Don't ignore the BNP's supporters
James Ball, Guardian CiF
Another election, another British National party scare. As
the European elections loom, there are warnings that an electoral win will
"legitimise" the BNP and grant it access to £2m of funding. There is a real
danger the party will win European seats – but that's not what risks making it
legitimate. The BNP is attracting votes and, unpalatable though it may be, that
grants it a certain minimum standard of legitimacy.
Islamic games suspended over Gulf row
Robert Tait, guardian.co.uk
For millennia Iran has guarded the strategic waterway dividing it from its Arab
neighbours as a symbol of national greatness that should be defended in name and
deed. But now its insistence that it be known only as the Persian Gulf threatens
to torpedo ambitious plans for a sporting extravaganza intended to promote
Islamic harmony. Iran announced it was cancelling the Islamic Solidarity Games
planned for October rather than bow to Arab demands...
Iain Dale and Racism (Craig Murray) Saturday 02 May 2009
Quilliam's unfair attack on the Islam Channel
Mehdi Hasan, Guardian CiF
This, for the non-Muslims and non-channel-surfers among
you, is the Islam Channel, one of this country's most prominent and popular
free-to-air, English language Muslim satellite channels. This week the channel
found itself accused of allowing its various presenters and guests to promote
"intolerant and bigoted interpretations of Islam" and even condone "terrorist
attacks on British troops" in an "alert" issued by the Quilliam Foundation.
Ed Balls puts the squeeze on faith schools
Francis Davis Guardian CiF
A few years ago I recall listening to a fascinating
presentation by one of the architects of New Labour's health reforms: "It's not
in the legislation", he said "but in the detail of the implementation that you
can take out your opponents". His example was the way that Labour had freed up
medical recruitment for the private hospital sector to make it increasingly
impossible for NHS doctors to moonlight. These words came back to me as I
completed the work on a new pamphlet...
Muslims hit by trebling in stop and search
Robert Verkaik, Independent
Police use of anti-terror stop and search powers
trebled last year, prompting fears that the policy is alienating London's
Muslim communities. Officers in England and Wales used Terrorism Act powers to
search 124,687 people in 2007/8, up from 41,924 in 2006/7, figures released
yesterday showed. But only around 1 per cent of those searches ended in an
arrest. There were 1,271 arrests in total but only 73 of those were for terror
offences.
Tory councillor faces disciplinary action over anti-Muslim email
(Islamophobia Watch)
Muslim women seek to lift the veils of prejudice (Carla Power, Times)
Special courts for
Gujarat riots (BBC News Online) Thursday 30 April 2009
Do sex taboos contribute to
sex trafficking?
Uzma Mariam Ahmed
During my final year in law school, I represented a young woman from the Islamic
Republic of Mauritania who was seeking asylum. She was born in Mauritania to a
slave mother, separated from her family at a young age and sold and then re-sold
to owners who tortured and raped her. She was ultimately forced into
prostitution and then trafficked to several other African countries before
entering the United States. She was Muslim.
Increase in Muslims calling helpline (Asian Image)
The need for constructive discussion on tariqa problems (Indigo Jo Blogs)
The Muslim cleric who blames British mosques for the 7/7 bombings, says
multiculturalism is a disaster and would throw Islamic fanatics out (Richard
Pendlebury, Mail)
Warning: This Post Contains Sexism (Craig Murray)
Swine flu name is
'offensive'...WHAT?! (MPACUK)
Muslim men cleared of 7/7 plot but jailed for attending terror camps (Rachel
Williams, The Guardian) Wednesday 29 April 2009
Muslim radicalisation's socio-economic roots
Tahir Abbas, Guardian CiF
We live in interesting times, as they say. No more so than
in the very immediate period with all the pressures that emanate from a
depressed economy, deflated expectations, net reductions of real wealth and the
view that things can only get worse. This is quite a development given that when
New Labour came into power in 1997, inheriting a Conservative-orchestrated
economic boom, things apparently could only get better.
Sex education for five-year-olds to be made compulsory in schools
Polly Curtis, Guardian
The government has announced plans to make sex education
compulsory for pupils aged five to 11, dividing faith groups and safer sex
campaigners. Under the plans all secondary schools will have to teach teenagers
about contraception, safer sex and relationships, but faith schools will also be
free to preach against sex outside of marriage and condoms. Details of how
personal, social and health education (PSHE) will be made compulsory, published
today...
[Unbiased
sex education is a child's right - Andrew Copson, Guardian CiF]
Durban II: Now for the legacy
Agnes Callamard, Guardian CiF
As hundreds of government and civil society representatives boarded flights out
of Geneva at the end of last week, there were undoubtedly many conversations
about the meaning and legacy of the Durban Review Conference. The second half of
last week's conference was remarkably calm, despite the drama of its opening
days and a rocky preparatory process. The final Outcome Document was adopted on
Tuesday by participating states...
BNP could get £2m EU funds, Hain warns (Patrick Wintour, The Guardian)
Iqra Bookshop allegations (Gary Bunt, Islam in Britain)
Show us your faces, store tells customers after raid by men wearing Muslim veils
(The Scotsman)
Equality Bill
(Jess McCabe, The F-Word)
New Labour Corruption and Quilliam (Craig Murray)
If swine flu isn’t kosher in Israel, is it halal in the Muslim world? (Tom Heneghan, FaithWorld)
Saturday 25 April 2009
The liberal supremacists
Terry Eagleton The Guardian
If the test of liberalism is how it confronts its
illiberal adversaries, some of the liberal intelligentsia seem to have fallen at
the first hurdle. Writers such as Martin Amis and Hitchens do not just want to
lock terrorists away. They also tout a brand of western cultural supremacism.
Dawkins strongly opposed the invasion of Iraq, but preaches a self-satisfied,
old-fashioned Whiggish rationalism that can be wielded against a benighted
Islam.
MORE FROM APRIL 2009
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