Malaysian Muslims facing fascist indoctrination, former minister says

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has hit out at religious authorities and right-wing groups for subjecting Muslims to propaganda to the point of expecting the faithful to read no books, but to simply obey preachers even when they talk “absolute nonsense”. -

The former de facto law minister cited as example the Hari Raya sermon by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), where Muslims were told to reject liberalism, capitalism, pluralism, secularism, materialism and modernity.

“If we Muslims have any knowledge of these ‘isms’, then our faith will be affected and our lives will go astray,” Zaid wrote in a blog post, ridiculing the notion.

“So what do Muslims have to do instead? Must we reject life, pursue no knowledge, read no books and just listen to preachers who want to rule Muslims by indoctrination and propaganda? [The Malay Mail Online] Read more

The real Trojan Horse in our classrooms

.... this politically correct approach to history has quite a stranglehold in the classroom. One of the most widely used and popular school history textbooks, many times reprinted, is entitled, Minds and Machines: Britain 1750-1900.

It authors include senior advisors to Government. In order to denigrate all things British, bogus evidence is invented for pupils to use in forming an opinion of the British Empire. In relation to colonised people, for example, it states that “we have tried to imagine what they would tell us if they were to come back from the dead.” Pupils thus learn that an undead Princess Rani Lakshmi would tell us that: “The British punished survivors by firing cannon balls through them at point blank range”, and so on and so on.

The exposure of an extremist Islamic agenda in some Birmingham schools has hit the headlines. Rather then initiating a witch hunt, perhaps Government should pay some attention to what is being taught more widely in our classrooms in the name of value relativism and political correctness.

The “Trojan Horse” issue is a symptom, not a cause, of a “learning” revolution that has been taking place in our schools for some time in all parts of the country and in all of our schools. [Yorkshire Post] Read more

Turkish women defy deputy PM with laughter

Twitter in Turkey broke into a collective grin on Wednesday as hundreds of women posted pictures of themselves laughing.

They weren't just happy. They were smiling in defiance of the deputy prime minister, Bülent Arinç, who in a speech to mark Eid al-Fitr on Monday said women should not laugh in public.

[A COMMENT] Probably true that Turkish women under AKP rule don't have much to laugh about from under their govt-pressure-forced headscarves.

[ANOTHER] "In 2012, when the government tried to massively curb the right to abortion, Ankara mayor Melih Gökcek said on public television: "'Why should the child die if the mother is raped? The mother should die instead.'" Yeah, because it surely was her fault. That remark is truly horrible and reveals his mind.

[ANOTHER] I'm glad women - and men - in Turkey still have the freedom to laugh at him. I wonder how long that will continue if Turkey descends into yet another chaotic and repressive Islamic state? It certainly sounds like that process is already underway. [The Guardian] Read more

Halal feature: Labelling under the spotlight

.... Large amounts of halal-slaughtered New Zealand lamb is being sold on UK shelves, but industry figures dismissed the uproar as sensationalist. Craig Finch, Beef + Lamb New Zealand regional manager, tells MTJ: “All our halal meat is processed to the same standards as non-halal meat. All of our animals must be stunned prior to slaughter – the only difference is we have Muslim slaughtermen who say a quick prayer. The processes are absolutely identical. There is also no difference in animal welfare.”

.... Welfare and veterinary groups say the issue should not be religious. Halal meat can be both stun and non-stun, and the RSPCA, which disagrees with non-stun slaughter, believes labelling should concentrate on this: “Scientific research has clearly shown that slaughter of an animal without stunning can cause unnecessary suffering. The RSPCA is calling for labelling to refer to stun or non-stun slaughter [rather than a method of ‘religious’ slaughter] so shoppers can make an informed choice. [MeatInfo.co.uk] Read more

By keeping its sharia guidance, is the Law Society fit to represent solicitors?

.... Even though the Law Society’s guidance does not change the legal status of sharia, it changes the perception of the legal status of sharia. For that reason, if nothing else, the decision to issue the practice note represents a monumental misjudgement on the part of the Law Society. The Law Society has undermined the rule of law.

It is not acceptable for the Law Society, or politicians, or commentators, to focus merely on whether the Law Society’s guidance is lawful. The guidance is grossly immoral and not in keeping with this country’s proud record on equalities, and that is reason enough for withdrawal.

If the Law Society had issued racist guidance no-one would be throwing their arms up in defeat and pronouncing with a pathetic air of resignation, “well, I suppose there’s nothing illegal about it”. This is the analogy we must make with the sharia practice note. [Lawyers’ Secular Society] Read more

Why Turkish women will be laughing all the way to the election

Ten days before historic presidential elections in Turkey, the deputy prime minister has brought to the country’s attention the pressing matter of female modesty. “[A] woman must not act in an alluring manner but must preserve her purity,” said Bülent Arinç, co-founder of the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) and close ally of the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is widely expected to win the election on 10 August.

.... The prime minister has made no secret of where he stands in the debate on women’s role in Turkish society: in 2010, he declared that “women and men are not equal. They only complement each other”. During his election campaign 10 days ago, he visited a dormitory of female university students to warn them not to “hang around” but find husbands as soon as possible.

[A COMMENT] Ah, but islam is no laughing matter. In the words of Ayatollah Khomeini: "Allah did not create man so that he could have fun. The aim of creation was for mankind to be put to the test through hardship and prayer. An Islamic regime must be serious in every field. There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam. There can be no fun and joy in whatever is serious." This Turkish guy is just following the script.

[A COMMENT] Why is it always the women who are expected to stop doing things because men can't control themselves? I wonder how it would go down if Erdogan told Turkish men that women can do whatever they want, and they should avert their gaze from alluring women if it bothers them, or wear some sort of spiky chastity belt to avoid getting aroused... [Guardian Cif] Read more

Jizya: Extortion money from Islam's slaves

.... So jizya was, and is indeed, protection money -- though protection, not from outsiders, as Esposito and others claim, but from surrounding Muslims themselves. Whether it's the first caliphate from over a millennium ago or whether it's the newest caliphate, the Islamic State, Muslim overlords continue to deem the lives of their non-Muslim subjects forfeit unless they purchase it, ransom it with money.

There is nothing humane, reasonable, or admirable about demands for jizya from conquered non-Muslim minorities, as the academics claim. Jizya is simply extortion money. Its purpose has always been to provide non-Muslims with protection from Muslims: pay up, or else become one of us and convert to Islam, or else die.

And it is commanded in both the Koran and Hadith, the twin pillars of Islam.

In short, jizya is an ugly fact of Islam -- one that, distort as they may, the academics can't whitewash away, even as the world stands idly by watching its resumption in the twenty-first century. [The Commentator] Read more

Uproar over sale of 'jihadist book' in France

Among the pulpy best sellers and children’s activity books for sale in up to a 1,000 mainstream stores around France is a volume that has ignited a heated discussion online and in public.

It’s called 'The Way of the Muslim' (La Voie du Musulman) and as part of a special push by the book's Lebanese publisher the volume has popped up on hundreds of supermarket, department store and bookshop shelves during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The book’s opponents, who call it Islamist propaganda, note that it contains passages that say heresy “is punishable by death” and “Muslims should set up all sorts of weapon factories to make all types of weapons used in the world...even if it is to the detriment of the well-being of the nation,” French daily Le Figaro reported. [The Local] Read more

American opinion of Arabs, Muslims is getting worse: poll

How Americans view Arabs and Muslims has gotten worse in recent years, with negative feelings strongest among Republicans and senior citizens, according to a poll released on Tuesday.

Only 27 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of Muslims, down from 35 percent in 2010, according to the Zogby poll, commissioned by the non-profit Arab American Institute. Favorable attitudes toward Arabs dropped to 32 percent from 43 percent in 2010.

The poll also found that 42 percent of respondents believe an American Muslim's religion would influence his or her decision making in an important government job. The same percentage believe it is justified for law enforcement to profile Arab Americans or American Muslims. [Reuters] Read more

Persecution of Ahmaddiya Muslims in Pakistan Is a Continuing Stain on the Country

.... An attack on Ahmadi Muslims is an attack on all of us as people of faith and an attack on basic decency and morality. As a British person of Sunni Muslim heritage, the more Ahmadi Muslims are attacked because of their faith, the louder people of Sunni heritage should shout out - 'Not in Our Name.' There are no ifs or buts and there are no alternatives to this, for we cannot allow such mob rule to take over and for injustice to prevail.

This is also why I support the campaign to Stop The Persecution and I call all those who seek a better, more just world to join me.

[A COMMENT] The plight of Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan or the Middle East reveals blight within mainstream Is lam, whether Sunni or Shia - that others who do not agree with their very specific chronology and theology are apostates, infidels, kuffars, all those who somehow have "chosen" to repudiate "real" Is lam.

This is an unfortunate embarrassment that reveals the underlying question of whose version gets to be implemented in the global charge to cause everyone to submit to Is lam. [The Huffington Post UK] Read more

Trojan Horse plot: we must not excuse bigots on the grounds that they are Muslim

.... Let’s be clear. These bigoted views are exactly that – bigoted. As a Muslim I object to those hardliners who aggressively suggest such views are Islamic. They are not. Yet this hate peddling was done in the name of Islam.

I have seen over the years how sexist, homophobic and intolerant Muslims deliberately manipulate my faith to justify sexism, homophobia and intolerance to other faith communities. They hide behind the excuse of "Islam", and argue they are within their religious rights to hold such bigoted views – and British society too often acts as if these are the natural rights of all Muslims. Such an attitude was seen, frustratingly, in the Muslim Council of Britain’s statement in response to the Trojan Horse findings, but also from Birmingham City Council ....

[A COMMENT] It's time for Muslims to revise their incoherent message. They could start by revising the Koran. After all what civilised people would promote a 'holy book' that instructs its followers to kill or subjugate anyone who disagrees with them?

And in fact how stupid are western government authorities who fail to immediately ban both Islam & the Koran until this hate propagating 'religion' fixes its fundamentals? There may be 'moderates' in Islam who ignore its teachings but that is hardly a cause for comfort. It's the true believers that are the ones who keep it alive. 121 votes.

[ANOTHER] Time for muslims to celebrate their qualities by leaving these shores and going to live somewhere like Yemen or Saudi Arabia where they can live their lives unfettered by democracy, tolerance and individuality. 88 votes.

[ANOTHER] When did we last see a march by Muslims protesting at the "eradication" of the Christian community in the Middle East? No, when push comes to shove, they will excuse, or at best turn a blind eye, to any atrocity committed against anyone not adhering to their medieval barbaric creed.. 85 votes.

[ANOTHER] "...the upholding of British laws in a diverse, plural society ..." neatly sums up the absurdity of the idiotic doctrine of multiculturalism. It's like trying to square a circle.

There is no such thing as a "diverse, plural society". If it's diverse, it's not a society. If it's not a society, its laws will not be accepted by all.

It makes government meaningless, for government is supposed to be drawn from the people and to act on behalf of the people. If the 'people' has been destroyed, there is no legitimacy to government. All attempts at government have to be increasingly oppressive to maintain any degree of 'cohesion'. 138 votes. [The Telegraph] Read more

'Women should not laugh in public,' says Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister in morality speech

Women should not laugh in public in Turkey, the Deputy Prime Minister has said in a speech on “moral corruption” in the country.

Bülent Arinç used a meeting for Eid al-Fitr on Monday to condemn perceived moral regression, consumerism and even excessive mobile phone use.

[A COMMENT] I'm surprised we're allowed to comment on this as the Indie falls over backwards to appease Islam. Why no comments on the bizarre Muslim reaction to the Glasgow Scottie dogs? At some point we need a cordon sanitaire to protect our own beseiged culture and traditions.

[ANOTHER] I'd quite like to stand in front of this buffoon and laugh and laugh at him.

His comment shows no respect for any woman. I rather suspect he is scared of women and needs to keep them subjugated and uses cult mumbo jumbo to do this. [The Independent] Read more

Women should not laugh in public, Turkish deputy PM says

.... “Chastity is so important. It is not only a name. It is an ornament for both women and men. [She] will have chasteness. Man will have it, too. He will not be a womanizer. He will be bound to his wife. He will love his children. [The woman] will know what is haram and not haram. She will not laugh in public. She will not be inviting in her attitudes and will protect her chasteness,” Arinç said, adding that people had abandoned their values today.

People needs to discover the Quran once again, Arinç said, adding that there had been a regression on moral grounds.

“Where are our girls, who slightly blush, lower their heads and turn their eyes away when we look at their face, becoming the symbol of chastity?” he said. [Hürriyet Daily News] Read more

ISIS’s Black Flags Are Flying in Europe

“Death to the Jews” chanted the crowd waving the black flags of the Islamic State, or ISIS as it used to be known. They were looking for new supporters for their cause, the creation of a worldwide caliphate answering to the man who now calls himself Ibrahim: a zealot too radical even for Al Qaeda who has stormed through Syria and Iraq carrying out mass executions, crucifying rivals, beheading enemies.

But these marchers were not in Syria or Iraq; they were in The Hague in The Netherlands. And their message was one tailored to the disaffected young descendants of Muslim immigrants in Europe. [The Daily Beast] Read more

Tougher integration requirements needed for Muslims, says Venstre

Immigrants from non-Western countries create the most integration problems in Denmark, so they should face tougher demands, according to Venstre spokesperson Inger Støjberg.

Støjberg wrote in a Berlingske editorial that Muslim immigrants have the hardest time integrating in Denmark and that it should be an iron-clad requirement that they are either getting an education or have a job before they can stay in the country.

Støjberg pointed to Imam Abu Bilal, a regular speaker at the Grimhøj Mosque in Aarhus, and his statement that Muslims should ask for the help of Allah to kill Jews as evidence that some Muslims are not integrating well. [The Copenhagen Post] Read more

Germany's biggest tabloid attacks Islam

"I don't believe in God, but at the same time Christianity, Judaism or Buddhism don't bother me. Only Islam bothers me more and more," wrote Nicolaus Fest, vice editor-in-chief of the Bild am Sonntag newspaper in the editorial published on Sunday.

Fest then laid out why Islam's "criminality," "murderous contempt" and "honour killings" did not belong in Germany, in comments which prompted a raft of hostility online against the Axel Springer-owned tabloid.

"I'm bothered by the considerably disproportionate criminality of youths from Muslim backgrounds," wrote Fest. "I'm bothered by Islam's murderous contempt for women and homosexuals. I'm bothered by forced marriages, 'justices of the peace,' 'honour killings.'"

[A COMMENT] Not all Muslims are extremists but it is a fact that Islamic extremism exists and not much has been done to quell it. How come Salafists are not branded as racists in Germany? I pity Europe because it's going down the drain. No wonder why it is stagnating - economically and socially - today.

[ANOTHER] I was born a Hindu but brought up as a human. I have seen people criticize Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddism quiet sharply but none of the religions react sharply and as aggressively as the Islamic followers do. [The Local] Read more

Ahmadi woman and children killed after Pakistani mob torches homes

A Pakistani mob killed a member of a religious sect and two of her granddaughters after another member was accused of posting blasphemous material on Facebook, police said on Monday, in the latest instance of growing violence against minorities.

The dead, including a seven-year-old girl and her baby sister, were Ahmadis, who consider themselves Muslim but believe in a prophet after Mohammed. A 1984 Pakistani law declared them non-Muslims and many Pakistanis consider them heretics. [The Guardian] Read more

Commonwealth Games Scottie dogs 'disrespectful to Muslims'

Malaysian politicians and religious leaders have attacked the use of Scottie dogs during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, claiming it was disrespectful to Muslims.

Around 40 Scottie dogs were used in the opening ceremony in Glasgow last Wednesday to lead teams around Celtic Park.

The dogs, which all wore tartan dog coats with the name of each team on them, were widely praised on social media, with many people stating they thought they had "stolen the show". Hamish, who led out the Scotland team, received one of the biggest cheers of the night. [The Telegraph] Read more

France offers asylum to Mosul's Christians

France said on Monday it was ready to welcome Christians from northern Iraq who have been told by the al Qaeda offshoot group now ruling the region to either covert to Islam, pay a religious levy or face death.

Islamic State insurgents seized large swathes of northern Iraq last month, prompting hundreds of Christian families in Mosul to flee a city which has hosted the faith since its earliest years. [Reuters] Read more

Mecca’s changing face matches the needs of its Muslim pilgrims

.... While Mecca is a site of great historical religious significance, it cannot be preserved in the familiar sense, as its history has not ended. You might not appreciate what it looks like – but it matches the tastes and requirements of the present, as every place of pilgrimage has done in its heyday. Who can say that in 2,000 years the Mecca clocktower that people deem so ghastly will not be treated with as much reverence as the palaces of the Vatican are today?

[A COMMENT] One of my muslim friends tried to explain to me the spiritual euphoria he felt taking the pilgrimage to Mecca: feeling a profound sense that humanity is one, regardless of superficial differences - a sort of divine universal energy, if you will. If only non-muslims weren't excluded by pain of death. 422 votes.

[ANOTHER] We've spent two centuries putting the idiocy of religion in its place, and now it looks as if we're going to have to start all over again. 637 votes.

[ANOTHER] What a strange piece from Nesrine. The Horrible House of Saud has been engaged in destroying the relics of Islamic past since they first cut their way to power - they have merely stepped up their barbarous game in recent times. This reads like an apologia. 281 votes. [Guardian Cif] Read more

Christianity in Iraq – "the end is very near"

Things are so desperate, our people are disappearing," says Canon Andrew White, the courageous Vicar of Baghdad.

"We have had people massacred, their heads chopped off.

"Are we seeing the end of Christianity? We are committed come what may, we will keep going to the end, but it looks as though the end could be very near.

"The Christians are in grave danger. There are literally Christians living in the desert and on the street. They have nowhere to go. [Archbishop Cranmer] Read more

Extremist Muslim bullies forced out headteacher

The teacher broke his silence to tell of his ordeal at the hands of his own school governors.

He said the governors sought to control his inner-city school, including bringing in Islamic worship each morning.

When he objected he claims they conspired to force him out and replace him with a Muslim head.

He told the council what was happening and was offered no support. Later he was told to resign by council bosses.

Now he has decided to speak out despite being banned from discussing his ordeal after signing a compromise agreement.

.... “I spoke to the local authority numerous times and I was told that if things ever got too bad they would step in but then they didn’t and it was at that point it became clear that I was going to have to leave.”

On the day the head was asked to tender his resignation, he was under the impression the local authority was finally going to intervene.

He said: “I thought I was going to talk to the local authority about the steps they were going to take to tackle the governing body but as it turned out, they said, ‘No, you will have to resign’.”

[A COMMENT] In their own countries we see muslims as backward primitive peasants constantly at war with themselves and anyone who does not share their ideals. The problem is they are bringing these ideals here and are gradually infiltrating and changing our society which is their ultimate aim.

[ANOTHER] Is this the same Birmingham City Council (Labour controlled) that said there was no evidence of Islamifaction of the school. Now it seems that several subsequent investigations show the complete opposite. These in turn backed up claims made by Birmingham MP Khalid Mahmood. [Daily Express] Read more

Trojan Horse: Park View School headteacher suspended

The headteacher of the Birmingham school at the centre of the Trojan Horse plot has been suspended, the Mail has learned.

Park View School acting principal Monzoor Hussain was relieved of his duties in the wake of damning conclusions reached in a report compiled by former anti-terror chief Peter Clarke.

Razwan Faraz, deputy head at Nansen Primary, which was also caught up in the furore, was also suspended.

Sources confirmed the decisions were taken by a new board of trustees installed at Park View Educational Trust, which runs Park View, Nansen and a third school, Golden Hillock. [Birmingham Mail] Read more

ISIS Purge Christians In Iraq: 'Bishop Of Baghdad', Andrew White Says 'The End Is Very Near'

The end appears "very near" for Christians in Iraq, the vicar of the only Anglican church in the country warned as he appealed for more help to counter the threat from Islamist militants.

A week ago the Christians in the city were told they had until July 18th to convert to Islam, pay a special tax, leave, or, in the words of a statement by the jihadists, they would have “nothing but the sword.”

But then the jihadists changed their mind: paying the tax was no longer an option and all Christians were told on July 18th that they all had to leave by the next day— or be killed. Most fled. [The Huffington Post UK/PA] Read more

Iraq jihadists blow up 'Jonah's tomb' in Mosul

The new jihadist rulers of Iraq's northern city of Mosul on Thursday completely levelled one its most well-known shrines.

The Nabi Yunus shrine was built on the reputed burial site of a prophet known in the Koran as Yunus and in the Bible as Jonah.

"Islamic State completely destroyed the shrine of Nabi Yunus after telling local families to stay away and closing the roads to a distance of 500 metres from the shrine," said the official at the Sunni endowment, which manages Sunni religious affairs in Iraq. [The Telegraph] Read more

Iraq: Isis warns women to wear full veil or face punishment

Islamic State (Isis), the al-Qaida offshoot that seized large swathes of northern Iraq last month, has warned women in the city of Mosul to wear full-face veils or risk severe punishment.

The Sunni insurgents, who have declared a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria and have threatened to march on Baghdad, also listed guidelines on how veils and clothes should be worn, part of a campaign to violently impose their radical brand of Islam.

"The conditions imposed on her clothes and grooming was only to end the pretext of debauchery resulting from grooming and overdressing," the group said in a statement.

[A COMMENT] Mental, truly mental.

[ANOTHER] Yeah, well we all think ISIS are nutters (except those young Britons who have gone to join them), but this obsession with 'dressing modestly' is, of course, part of mainstream Islam.

Reports on the Trojan Horse schools showed young British girls of about 6 or 7 all wearing trousers and tighly wrapped headscarves in a British state, supposedly non-faith, school.

And Islamic headscarves and 'modest' Islamic dress are a regular sight in many British inner city areas. It would be interesting to see some Guardian writers tackle the basic question of how free women can ever be and how equal in society if they are always forced to dress 'modestly' by a religion controlled by men?

Some Muslim women claim it's their choice to dress 'modestly' but with men making the rules, can it ever really be their free choice? [The Guardian] Read more

Without freedom of religion and belief, what freedom is there?

.... In an all too brief survey of worldwide violations of Article 18, I inevitably begin in the Middle East, where, in the midst of an orgy of violence and brutality, we are fast approaching a time when Christianity will have no home in its ancient homelands.

In Syria, the brutal murder in April of the 75 year-old Dutch Jesuit Father Franz van der Lugt, who had served there for 50 years, working in education and with disabled people, illustrates why an estimated 450,000 Christians have fled. Followers of other religions, notably the Mandeans, Yizidis, Baha’is and Ahmadis suffer similarly.

In Iraq, a Christian population of 1.4 million has been reduced to 150,000. In recent weeks, the depredations, beheadings and crucifixions by ISIS are almost beyond belief. For the first time in almost 2,000 years, Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, no longer has a Christian community. Its churches are now closed, most having been desecrated. In what has been described as “religious cleansing”, ISIS says that anyone who refuses to convert and defies it will be,

“killed, crucified or have their hands and feet cut off”. [Archbishop Cranmer] Read more

Solicitors’ watchdog backs down over Sharia wills

The solicitors’ watchdog has been forced to delete from its website references to professional guidance on drawing up Sharia-compliant wills.

The guidance was issued in May by the Law Society and prompted claims by some commentators that it was effectively enshrining Islamic law in the legal system by recognising the legitimacy of some Sharia principles.

The profession’s watchdog, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), then referred to the guidance on its website, prompting criticism that it was endorsing Sharia compliance, in breach of its public sector duty of equality. [The Times (£)] Read more

Why the surprise at Birmingham's Trojan Horse plot? We saw it coming 20 years ago

.... For over 20 years I have been warning of the dangers of the poisonous cocktail of multiculturalism, political correctness and unlimited, uncontrolled immigration from countries which do not share our British culture and standards. It has not been a comfortable time. I have been under constant attack for doing so.

Some 17 years ago I was widely criticised for saying that: "Unless we share standards, moral values, language and national heritage, we will constitute neither a society, nor a nation, but just a population living under the same jurisdiction … One cannot uphold two sets of ethics, nor be loyal to two nations any more than a man can have two masters … nationality is in the long term more about culture than ethnicity."

.... Nor did I pretend that we were free of blame for the problems which I predicted. A decade ago I noted that "It is hard to beat something with nothing, and Islam is certainly something", and "Until we change and our society regains faith in its own values almost any faith or movement with faith in its own culture will challenge that of 21st-century Britain. Certainly Islam will."

Why was anyone surprised at what has been happening in Birmingham? Not only could it have been foreseen. It was foreseen.

[A COMMENT] Well, you may recall Enoch Powell made some similar predictions. He didn't come out so well and, until the British media stop creating taboo subjects, nobody else will either.

[ANOTHER] The problem is, Lord Tebbit, that although it is perfectly clear that the policy of multiculturalism has been a disaster, and that preserving 'community peace' has led to suppression of news reports, police investigations, CPS prosecutions and the like, as well as tolerating the development of religious fiefdoms in schools, in local government and increasingly in academia, no one in power shows the slightest inclination of doing anything about it.

[ANOTHER] Political correctness and not just with respect to matters like this, has made cowards of our politicians and police. The rest of us are going to pay a heavy price for that.

[ANOTHER] So, in otherwords, Lord Tebbit, the Immigration policy your government, like every other post War government pursued, KNOWINGLY accepted into the country hundreds of thousands of people whose whole world view was UNDERSTOOD FROM THE START to be incompatible with British traditions and of which a significant minority were ideologically committed to the destruction of that country.

[ANOTHER] Twenty years ago, my Lord? Try forty. Indeed it was 1968 when Enoch Powell made his much misrepresented rivers of blood speech. And Ray Honeyford made his views public in 1984.

That makes 46 years of cowardice and betrayal by the political class, including a large chunk of time when the Tories were in office. [The Telegraph] Read more

Insight - Purge of minorities re-draws Iraq map

A new map is being drawn across the plains of northern Iraq as Sunni militants of the Islamic State purge the rural landscape of religious and ethnic minorities that have co-existed for hundreds of years.

More than half a million people have been displaced across Iraq since June, when the north's biggest city, Mosul, fell to Sunni insurgents who have have harried Shi'ite Turkmen and Shabaks, Yezidis and Christians.

Even before the fall of Mosul, Yezidis, who follow an ancient monotheistic religion with elements of nature worship and are branded devil worshippers by the hardline Islamists, hardly dared set foot in the city, which has been a nerve centre for the Sunni insurgency since 2003. [Reuters] Read more

British Muslims must confront the truth of the ‘Trojan Horse’ schools

The Trojan Horse reports are in, and they make for damning reading. ‘An aggressive Islamist agenda… a coordinated, deliberate and sustained action to introduce an intolerant and aggressive Islamist ethos’.

Teachers who claimed that the Boston marathon bombing and the murder of Lee Rigby were in fact hoaxes and an ‘Attack on Islam’. And so on. The grim details are out. But there is a story behind this story which has not been thought about, though it ought to be. That is the response of Britain’s Muslim communities to these awful revelations.

.... I can think of only two people of Muslim background who have had a consistent, brave, outspoken and truly moral response to these events.

One is the Labour MP Khalid Mahmood (who has again urged Muslims to face up to the challenge and not to pretend the plot is a fake). The other is the Quilliam Director and prospective Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate Maajid Nawaz, who has been equally principled in his consistent opposition to what has been unearthed in Birmingham.

[A COMMENT] Can we try and get this straight. The so called "extremist" views are the default views of the "community" - or to be more precise, the colony/colonies.

These views include particular contempt for white women and girls(which underlies the grooming epidemic the contemptible liberal left continues in complete denial about), hatred of jews and homosexuals(wishing the latter dead), primitive views of women which leads to their suppression via honour crime, loathing of apostates, obscurantist approaches to science, complete contempt for kaffirs.

East Brum is now an alien colony.

[ANOTHER] .... they can happily wallow in their denial because the British establishment p2ssy foot around trying not to offend them and fearful of having the charge of Islamophobes levelled against them.

If some racist was mouthing off about racial superiority, the whole British establishment , media, political, and law, would pile in giving them no quarter, but the bigots of Islam seem to have a fee hand at being insulting, rude and down right racist, and they don't do anything about it.

Unfortunately this has been allowed to go on for so long that trying to confront their bigotry is going to be a mighty unpleasant business. [The Spectator] Read more

A country where liberal journalists risk death

The life of a liberal journalist in Pakistan is not an easy one. Write about someone fighting a blasphemy case, or someone whose faith is considered heresy, and you may very soon find yourself in deep trouble.

Shoaib Adil, a 49-year-old magazine editor and publisher in Lahore, has many well-wishers and they all want him to disappear from public life or, even better, leave the country.

Since blasphemy charges were filed against him last month, the police have told him that he can't return home, he can't even be seen in the city where he grew up and worked all his life. It wouldn't be safe. [BBC] Read more

Harassment of Christians escalates in Islamist-run Sudan

Church properties have been bulldozed and seized in a climate of growing harassment of minority Christians in Islamist-run Sudan since the south's 2011 independence, its council of churches said.

Kori Elramla Kori Kuku, general secretary of the Sudan Council of Churches, says that harassment has been on the rise ever since the separation three years ago of South Sudan, whose population follow mainly Christian and traditional beliefs. [Middle East Online] Read more

Christian leaders express shock at world silence after ISIS expels Iraqi Christians

.... Last Saturday was the deadline that ISIS gave Christians in Mosul to either convert to Islam, pay a religious levy, leave the city or die by the sword. As a result, about 10,000 Christians left Mosul. Nothing like this has happened since the Armenian genocide in Turkey about a hundred years ago. [Al-Akhbar] Read more

'Trojan Horse' report by council 'ought to be reviewed'

The council-commissioned review of the "Trojan Horse" allegations "ought to be reviewed itself", teachers have said.

Members of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said Peter Clarke's Government-commissioned report into allegations of a hardline Muslim take-over of schools was more thorough.

The two reports differed in their conclusions, although neither found evidence of extremism in the schools.

Birmingham City Council would not comment on the inquiry process. [BBC] Read more

Muslim Council of Britain rejects findings of Trojan horse report

The Muslim Council of Britain has warned education authorities "not to be sidetracked by culture wars initiated by divisive commentators", as it rejected many of the findings of a government-commissioned report that found a co-ordinated effort by extreme Muslims to take over some Birmingham schools.

The MCB said the report, written by Peter Clarke, the former Met counter-terror chief, was guilty of "conflating conservative Muslim practices to a supposed ideology and agenda to Islamise secular schools".

[A COMMENT] What actually is The Muslim Council of Britain? What is it for? Who are their members? Are they elected?

What interests do they represent, and why do they command front page Guardian headlines?

[ANOTHER] What I want to know is when is The Guardian going to give the same sort of coverage to the grossly bullied teachers. They were given pretty good airplay on Radio 4. They even sounded like typical Guardian readers.

But their stories of horror - of gross bullying by Islamist governors trying to instill a hate regime - made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Instead of giving some coverage to these bullied people, it was young women teachers who were given the R4 airplay of bullying, The Guardian is instead choosing to give several uncritical articles to the Islamist hate machine.

[ANOTHER] Yes. And apart from interviewing teachers who were bullied, it would additionally be fair to interview those concerned Muslim parents who first sounded the alarm. They have also been bullied in their 'community' for daring to stand up to the zealots. Why the Guardian insists on taking the part of the bullies every single time is quite beyond me.

[ANOTHER] Islam has no place in UK institutions and dare I say in the eyes of most British people no place in modern Britain. To what extent does a tolerant society tolerate an intolerant faction of that society? If the Muslim leaders do not condemn this it means they approve and it means they are incredibly damaging. [The Guardian] Read more

Gender Segregation: Why the Latest EHRC Guidance for Universities is a Secular Victory

The Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) recently issued new guidance on university events in the UK, which means that universities can no longer allow gender segregation to be enforced at events on campus.

This flies in the face of the controversial guidance issued by Universities UK (UUK) in November 2013, which permitted gender segregation on religious grounds, and is, in my opinion, a fantastic outcome for anyone who values equality and a secular society.

Secularism isn't just about separation of church and state - it's about ensuring that people of all religious viewpoints are treated equally under the law and that no-one faces discrimination simply for the views they hold. It also holds that no-one should receive special privileges for the views they hold either. [The Huffington Post UK] Read more

Christian sentenced by Iranian judge to have his lips burnt with a cigarette for eating during Ramadan

An Iranian judge sentenced a Christian man to have his lips burnt with a cigarette for eating during the day in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The barbaric punishment was carried out in public in a square in the city of Kermanshah.

Five other Muslim men were also flogged in public with 70 lashes for not fasting during Ramadan, the city's deputy governor Ali Ashraf Karami said.

.... There are an estimated 250,000 Christians in Iran's 76 million strong population.

They all face torture, imprisonment or the death sentence under Sharia law for not observing Islamic religious festivals and dress codes.

Thousands of persecuted Christians have fled the country, which saw Hossein Soodmand hanged in 2008 for following the faith. [Daily Mail] Read more

Council 'gagged teachers' from raising Trojan Horse concerns

Teachers forced out of three schools at the centre of the Trojan Horse investigation were prevented from raising concerns because of gagging agreements.

One former staff member at a school caught up in the scandal told the BBC that compromise agreements were being routinely used to silence teachers who were being forced out of their jobs.

[A COMMENT] When you think about it, it needed the tacit approval Birmingham City Council and teaching unions with gagging orders to keep it all quiet so the islamification of schools could continue.

We need some tough, no nonsense individuals in Birmingham with a lorry load of shovels 'cos there's a massive pile of **** to shovel before we get this sorted out. I'm not sure Nicky Morgan and Cameron are up to it. [The Telegraph] Read more

The Trojan Horse plot is an indictment of local education authorities, not academies

Plenty of critics of the Government's education reforms have latched on to the Trojan Horse plot in Birmingham as "proof" that granting schools more autonomy is dangerous. See this piece by Fiona Millar in the Guardian, for instance. The argument is that if you allow taxpayer-funded schools to break free of local authority control, it's inevitable that some of them will be taken over by extremists.

[A COMMENT] The Trojan Horse plot is an indictment of 40 years of successive governmental policies that were warned about as ALREADY divisive back in the 1980s by the proto-martyr of Political Correctness, Headmaster Ray Honeyford.

If he could see it happening then, when there were less than a million Muslims in the UK the fact that it has developed exactly as he said it would with a Muslim population that doubles every ten years (10 million by 2030, 20 million by 2040, a majority soon after the middle of the century) why do we STILL REFUSE TO SEE IT? With Islam comes Islamism. There have always and will always be Muslims who are crazies. WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO INTEGRATE THEM. Because to do so is for them a BETRAYAL OF ALLAH AND HELL FOR ETERNITY.

So whatever difficulties they encounter here in the UK is of no significance.

They only want our material comforts and opportunities as a means to the far more serious and all-encompassing task of establishing Islam everywhere. [The Telegraph] Read more

'Trojan Horse' Teachers Claimed Lee Rigby Murder Was A Hoax And Gay People Were Satanic

.... In his government-ordered report on the matter, former counter terror chief Peter Clarke said that he "came into possession" of a print-out of more than 3,000 postings sent from April 2013 until the group was shut down in March.

The "core contributors" were identified as mainly teachers at either Park View School or other schools within the Park View Educational Trust and all were men.

.... he added: "A number of topics are discussed, often by a small group of contributors, which reveal the members' attitudes towards education, homosexuality and gay marriage.

"There is also an undercurrent of anti-Western sentiment, explicit antagonism towards the British military, a sceptical reaction to news of terrorist attacks (Lee Rigby and the Boston bombings), and numerous links posted to extremist speakers."

Some of the messages were linked to conspiracy theory videos about the killing in May last year of Fusilier Rigby and the explosions at the Boston Marathon that killed three people a month earlier. [The Huffington Post UK/PA] Read more

Teachers at Muslim Trojan Horse school sent WhatsApp messages claiming Lee Rigby's murder and Boston bombing were HOAXES, inquiry reveals

Teachers at the centre of the 'Trojan Horse' plot to takeover Birmingham schools exchanged messages that the murder of soldier Lee Rigby was a hoax, it emerged today.

A damning report into Birmingham schools has unearthed 'compelling evidence' of an attempt by a group of hardline Muslims 'to gain control of governing bodies', Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said.

The investigation, led by former anti-terror chief Peter Clarke, revealed details of a WhatsApp group called The Park View Brotherhood which also included a description of homosexuals as 'animals' with 'satanic ways’.

.... Mr Hussain’s brother, Maz Hussain, was head of science, and Miss Paul claims he once handed out a worksheet stating that women ‘must obey their husbands,’ and told Year 10 boys that wives were not allowed to refuse their husbands sex.

She added: ‘I was ridiculed by the kids. In one class I can remember them all shouting at me “You’re going to burn in hell, Miss”, just because they knew I’m not Muslim.’

Miss Paul, who lives with her Muslim partner and four of her children, began being targeted in 2005.

‘I was belittled and made to feel awkward at any opportunity,’ she said. ‘They’d say women who dressed like me would go to hell. Or that women who wear make-up like me aren’t attractive. I felt dehumanised.’

The agreement, seen by the Mail, gives her £3,700 to keep quiet. ‘People, including myself, are still very afraid to speak out,’ she added.

Miss Paul says the gagging orders – for which some teachers received six-figure sums – are the reason it has taken so long for details of the Islamisation of Birmingham schools to become public.

A Birmingham Council spokesman said it, ‘has always been clear that compromise agreements relate to the terms of departure.

‘We would want those with concerns about professional standards or child safety issues to feel able to speak freely.’ [Daily Mail] Read more

Note: This Daily Mail article also gives a very useful summary of the four "Trojan Horse" related reports and their findings

Undercover report reveals school governor was racist bigot

One of the ringleaders of the Islamist plot to take over British schools is exposed today as a sexist, racist bigot.

School chief Shahid Akmal told an undercover reporter from Birmingham Mail sister paper the Mirror, that “white women have the least amount of morals”, white children were “lazy” and that British people have “colonial blood”.

Akmal claimed that women were “emotionally weaker” than men and that their role was to look after children and the home.

He defended jailing or exiling gays and adulterers under Sharia Law as a “moral position to hold”.

Until he was removed last week, Akmal was the chairman of governors at Nansen Primary School in Birmingham, where music was banned and inspectors found pupils were not sufficiently protected from radicalisation. [Birmingham Mail] Read more

Turkey's top cleric calls new Islamic 'caliphate' illegitimate

The declaration of a "caliphate" by Islamist militants in Iraq lacks legitimacy and their death threats to Christians are a danger to civilization, Turkey's top cleric, the successor to the last caliph's most senior imam, said.

.... Gormez is in a unique position to question Baghdadi's claim to the caliph's seat. His office was created in 1924 to replace the Ottoman Sheikh al-Islam, the mufti with authority to confirm new sultans and who also served as chief legal adviser.

"Its structure has changed greatly in modern times but its historical ties, of course, continue," Gormez said, wearing a grey suit and tie and running worry beads through his hand. [Reuters] Read more

Trojan Horse apologists fall silent in wake of new report

.... The assistant head of Park View, the school at the centre of the plot, said the story was “plain old Islamophobia.” The leader of Birmingham council called the allegations “defamatory,” and attacked The Telegraph for revealing many of the key developments. As recently as last week, the head of one Birmingham think-tank demanded a boycott of this newspaper, comparing its reports to the Sun’s smearing of the Hillsborough dead.

Those voices have fallen silent now. As Peter Clarke’s horrifying report reveals, the real bigotry, bullying and lies were from several of the staff and governors of the Trojan Horse schools.

[A COMMENT] A man, whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War II .... When asked how many German people were true Nazis, the answer he gave can guide our attitude toward fanaticism.

'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come.’

.... ‘We are told again and again by 'experts' and 'talking heads' that Islam is a religion of peace and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant.

It is meaningless fluff meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the spectre of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.’ [The Telegraph] Read more

Muslim youths vandalise east London office after claiming artwork depicts the ANTI-CHRIST!

.... Viewed from across the road the painting is actually a face, with a nose on the central shutter, two single eyes on the two either side, and a mouth running across all three.

The artists wanted it to represent humanity and diversity.

They even wrote and crossed out the words, “colour” and “shape” and circled the word “space” to reinforce a message that what matters is not someone’s background or appearance but the community in which you live.

However, youths from the nearby Chicksand housing estate had a different interpretation.

They told Mr Rahman the painting in fact represented “dajjal”, an Islamic term in Arabic for the “anti-Christ”, or the devil, or the “false Messiah”. [The Daily Express] Read more

The four Trojan Horse inquiries explained

Four different investigations into the Trojan Horse allegations of a hardline Muslim takeover plot at a number of Birmingham schools have reported back.

Here are the main findings of each. [The Times (£)] Read more

Note from LibertyPhile. Here are links to the Clarke and Kershaw reports. It is well worth reading Clarke's report.

(1) Report into allegations concerning Birmingham schools arising from the ‘Trojan Horse’ letter

Author: Peter Clarke CVO OBE QPM. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 22 July 2014

(2) Independent Trojan Horse Investigation Prepared for Birmingham City Council

By Ian Kershaw

(3) Publication of the Trojan Horse Review Group Report to the Leader of Birmingham City Council – 22 July 2014

This report by Birmingham City Council’s Trojan Horse Review Group is a review of the findings of the Independent Chief Advisor’s investigation report (ICA – Ian Kershaw).

Stigmatising Muslims won’t solve problems in Birmingham schools

.... Clarke, a former counter-terror police chief, found that a small number of governors in a small number of schools have sought to influence curriculums with bigoted views. He says: “There has been coordinated, deliberate and sustained action, carried out by a number of associated individuals, to introduce an intolerant and aggressive Islamic ethos into a few schools.

“The effect has been to limit the life chances of the young people in their care and to render them more vulnerable to pernicious influences.”

.... The challenge now is to rebuild trust and repair damaged relationships. We need to ensure community representatives can work with Birmingham city council to formulate a vision of the principles and values of education in our city, and to chart a way forward that puts our children first.

[A COMMENT] It would no doubt help in that process if the communities themselves were more insistent on having representatives who did not attempt to to introduce an intolerant and aggressive Islamic ethos into a few schools.

[ANOTHER] I find the very word 'community' divisive. Who decides the entry criteria to be member of this 'community'?

What people really mean when they use the word 'community' is 'our race' or 'our religion' or 'our culture'.

It seems many people who put themselves forward as 'community leaders' are purely there to defend vested interested so that they can retain their power and influence and resist the much needed change and reform of their 'community'.

[ANOTHER] "The moderate Majority has to be much, much more vocal in their criticism of the intolerant Minority". But the problem is they are intimidated by the minority, and the liberal left that controls the media gives them no support whatsoever. In fact, papers like the Guardian specialize in making excuses for the intolerant minority.

[ANOTHER] "Stigmatising Muslims won’t solve problems in Birmingham schools". You have a point there. But how do you solve the problem of a section of society that wants to remove themselves from that society based on weird oppressive religious belief?

[ANOTHER] From the very start of this sorry story Salma Yaqoob and her fellow denialists have conflated the community with the malign cranks in their midst by saying that anyone who criticises the latter is in fact guilty of traducing the former. They are as responsible as anyone for stigmatising the Muslim community.

[ANOTHER] The author claimed in the previous comment piece that there was no evidence of a "plot" by Islamists to promote their radical views within certain schools. She has been proven wrong. Will she admit that? No, clearly not. [Guardian Cif] Read more

Give up breathing for Ramadan

Some majority-Muslim countries have laws mandating observance of Ramadan; Morocco for instance has Article 222 which states that:

A person commonly known to be Muslim who violates the fast in a public place during Ramadan, without having one of the justifications allowed by Islam, shall be punished by one to six months of prison and a fine.

There’s clearly no leeway there for someone who is “commonly known” to be from a Muslim background to have either left Islam entirely or to be a relaxed, secular sort of Muslim who decides for herself whether or not to fast during Ramadan. That’s pretty heavy-duty compulsion, if you ask me.

Ramadan clearly is widely treated as compulsory, sometimes at the state level and much more at the familial level (which tends to bleed into the neighborhood and the “community” – the notional, non-physical community as well as the literal neighborhood-surrounding one). [The Freethinker] Read more

Anti-West rants of Trojan Horse teachers

Teachers in schools at the centre of the “Trojan horse” allegations used a social media network to promote anti-western ideas, disparage British troops and share homophobic views.

A report into allegations that hardline conservative Muslims conspired to take over several Birmingham schools found a “constant undercurrent” of “anti-western, anti-American and anti-Israeli sentiment” [The Times (£)] Read more

Teachers face sack for promoting extremism after Trojan plot report

Teachers who expose pupils to extremist speakers face being struck off without right to appeal, the education secretary said today in response to a report on the Trojan horse plot by radical Muslims to take over schools.

Peter Clarke, a former head of the anti-terrorist branch at Scotland Yard, investigated the conspiracy at the request of Michael Gove, the former education secretary. His report, published today, was described as “shocking” by Mr Gove's successor. [The Times (£)] Read more

Trojan Horse Report Finds 'Aggressive Islamic Ethos' In Birmingham Schools

... The investigation, led by former anti-terror chief Peter Clarke concluded that there had been "co-ordinated, deliberate and sustained action" by a number of individuals to introduce an "intolerant and aggressive Islamic ethos" into a few schools in the city.

This had been achieved in some schools by gaining influence on the governing bodies, installing "sympathetic" headteachers and senior staff, appointing "like- minded" people to key positions and removing heads who were not "compliant" with a particular agenda.

.... His report is the last of four separate probes into the allegations in Birmingham ... His findings differ from those contained in Ian Kershaw's inquiry for Birmingham City Council, which concluded there was no evidence of a "conspiracy to promote an anti-British agenda, violent extremism or radicalisation in schools in east Birmingham".

.... Last month Ofsted issued a damning verdict on the running of a number of Birmingham's schools as it declared five failing and placed them into special measures.

[A COMMENT] The fact that we have tolerated this for so long together with FGM demonstrates what a wondrous multicultural wonderland we have in Britain. The left wing liberals are always preaching to us from the Book of Tolerance and from the Book of Diversity, and we have followed them because of their superior intellects.

Anyone can come over to Britain and create their little bit of Somalia, their bit of Pakistan, or their piece of Ethiopia and live as if they were back home - only integrating when requiring benefits and the NHS of course.

[ANOTHER] Moderate Islam is the Trojan horse that allows in Extremist Islam! Everybody knows it! [The Huffington Post UK] Read more

Muslims aren't shocked to discover we are watched. But we won't be scared

.... Many from outside the Muslim American community have been shocked by these revelations and others like them. But for me – beyond the feeling that my long-held suspicions have been confirmed – the knowledge that my faith makes me suspicious in the eyes of the government to which I've pledged my allegiance, well, that fazes me less and less everyday.

[A COMMENT] All this talk of "communities". The most natural thing in the world would be for some of those emigrating from Muslim-majority lands to gradually integrate and intermarry with the local population. And it would also be the most natural thing in the world for some to decide that Islam was not the religion for them after all.

These two, natural things cannot happen when Islam contains laws that explicitly prohibit them. Stay apart, stay separate, you are different, the locals are ungodly, you are 'oppressed', don't leave the group, it is 'us and them'.

More integration, and less self-segregated "communities", please. The suspicion would start to melt away.

[ANOTHER] When will Islam formally accept the separation of church and state, accept the relativity of all belief, accept the primacy of scientific thought over ancient texts and myths, and condemn those who seek theocracy and commit violence in that cause?

Until this happens Muslims should expect state surveillance.

This would of course also apply to loony-tunes Christians around the world, except that we don't see much holy war and mass murder from them any more.

[ANOTHER] I find it strange that you prefer to condemn the US government for trying to protect all of its citizens (including you), rather than condemn the activities of ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Qaeda, and the rest. [Guardian Cif] Read more

Ban on New Christian Churches Has Watchdogs Worried

Sudan has been in the headlines of late over its persecution of a Christian woman who was arrested and condemned to death for refusing to recant her faith, but it’s the nation’s recent decision to ban the construction of new churches that is raising additional concern among watchdogs.

As the BBC reported last week, the Sudan Council of Churches, among other groups and international watchdogs, has criticized the government for refusing to hand out permits to open new churches. [The Blaze] Read more

View from abroad: Brainwashing Muslim kids in Birmingham

.... Clarke accuses the governors of trying to impose “an aggressively separatist and intolerant agenda incompatible with full participation in a plural secular democracy”. Basing his report on interviews, email correspondence between staff members, and exchanges on the social media, Clarke asserts:

“It appears to be a deliberate attempt to convert secular state schools into exclusive faith schools in all but name … There is clear evidence that young people are being encouraged to accept unquestionably a particular hardline strand of Sunni Islam that raises concerns about their vulnerability to radicalisation in the future.”

For us Pakistanis, there’s nothing new here: our schools have been brainwashing our children in this manner for decades, and the result is before us in the form of rising intolerance and extremism that now dominate the public discourse. But in Britain, such indoctrination is unacceptable, and will no doubt lead to loud calls for greater supervision of schools in largely Muslim areas. [Dawn.com] Read more

'Gender Segregation Is Discrimination' - So Why Does the EHRC Allow for Exemptions?

Seven months after the controversy surrounding the publication of Universities UK's guidelines legitimising gender segregation, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has now ruled that gender segregation is - generally - unlawful. The verdict of the commission could not be clearer:

.... However, as usual, the catch is in the fine print. Reading further into the document, one can find several worrying exemptions that rather than discourage discrimination, will give those who want to undermine equality principles a helping hand in maintaining segregation.

The first is that "equality law does not apply to religious worship". Thus, "a religious student society or association may organise a gender segregated event, for the duration of any religious service." [The Huffington Post UK] Read more

Trojan Horse teachers should be jailed

The revelations that radical Islamists were able to infiltrate and effectively control at least 21 schools in Birmingham is a reminder of just how vulnerable Britain has become to home-grown extremism.

If that wasn’t shocking enough, now we learn that many of those implicated in this wickedly evil plot will be allowed to keep their jobs, instead of being sent to jail where they belong.

However, with so little serious action from the authorities, it should be no surprise that in a country where a British solider like Lee Rigby can be beheaded in broad daylight by two men chanting "Allahu Akbar" we should also find a culture of hatred and Islamic extremism creeping into our education system.

[A COMMENT] You can guarantee that if the teachers had been UKIP supporters and were trying to educate the children in British values, they would have been sacked immediately!

[ANOTHER] Apparently 1 in 4 babies born in the UK last years had a first generationn migrant mother. I'm not sure that anything can be done now to reverse this trend and its inevitable consequences.

However, I do think that before it is settled the country will be at war with itself and those in power will need more than the law to look after them. Of course, they won't be able to rely on tolerance, moderation and reason, dare I say 'British values', to keep everything steady because that's all been sold down the river. [The Commentator] Read more

Iraqi Christians are raped, murdered and driven from their homes – and the West is silent

For the first time in 1,600 years, Mass is not being said in Mosul: an ancient culture has been wiped out in a matter of weeks. It's a war crime that, strangely, no one seems to want to talk about.

Mosul is the second-largest city in Iraq and the place where many Christians believe Jonah was buried. Since the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) rode into town, their faith has been forced underground. Bells have been silenced, the hijab enforced with bullets. Tens of thousands fled after being offered an unattractive choice: convert, pay a religious tax, or be put to the sword.

[A COMMENT] Can you imagine the howls of outrage all over the Muslim world if Christians in the UK made similar threats to Muslims here?

[ANOTHER] .... people are often less interested in the suffering of innocents than in making sure the causes they adopt mark them out as members of the moral 'in crowd'.

This also explains why there is little interest in the suffering Christians of Iraq. It is a cause to which very little status attaches. It carries little social and political weight. It would fall flat at a dinner party, if you dared to bring it up. [The Telegraph] Read more

Direct News from Christians in Mosul

Their Christian neighbours and friends have already fled the city of Mosul in Iraq's north, which last month fell into the hands of Sunni jihadists led by the Islamic State group, which espouses an extreme form of Islam.

Along with the rest of the city's estimated 25,000 Christians who had not already fled years of kidnappings, bombings and shootings, Sunni militants gave 36-year-old Fadi, his wife and son until Saturday to comply with a brutal ultimatum: convert to Islam, pay an unspecified tax, leave the city or die. [Archbishop Cranmer] Read more

Trojan Horse plot teachers keep jobs

Senior teachers heavily implicated in the so-called Trojan Horse plot to Islamise Birmingham state schools will keep their jobs, despite damning criticism from four official inquiries.

Only hours after Michael Gove was removed as Education Secretary last week, Department for Education officials made a “five-point agreement” with the management of the academy schools at the centre of the plot – Park View, Golden Hillock and Nansen — according to the trust that runs all three.

In a copy of the agreement sent to parents, one of the points states “the senior leaders of the academies are recognised as having strong track records in raising achievement and will have a big contribution to the future leadership of the academies”. [The Telegraph] Read more

Isis mob stones woman to death

WOMAN accused of adultery was stoned to death last week in the first public execution of its kind conducted by the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (Isis).

The sentence was imposed by an Islamic court on the woman, who was not named, but said by locals to be in her thirties. It was carried out on Thursday by a frenzied mob of men and women in a town square in the northern Syrian province of Raqqa, which is under jihadist control.

There have been reports of the strict discipline imposed by Isis, but this is believed to be the first photographic evidence of a stoning. [The Sunday Times (£)] Read more

Year Four: The Arab Spring Proved Everyone Wrong

Shortly after the Arab Spring broke out at the tail end of 2010, two narratives took hold in the West. Optimists hailed a region-wide birth of democracy, as though the Middle East and North Africa were following the path blazed in Eastern Europe during the anti-communist revolutions of 1989. Pessimists fretted that the Arab world was following Iran’s example in 1979 and replacing secular tyrants with even more repressive Islamist regimes.

Both narratives turned out to be wrong, and not just because their adherents had the wrong narrative. Any narrative superimposed over this series of events was doomed to be wrong. [World Affairs] Read more

There’s already a culture war about faith schools. Expect one to grow about Muslim schools in particular

Muslims will make up roughly eight per cent of Britain’s population by 2030. However, the distribution of the Islamic population will not, of course, be spread evenly across the country: the concentration will be greater in urban areas, then as now. Bradford and Birmingham contain more Muslims than other large British cities, and their numbers help to indicate developments to come – 32 per cent and 27 per cent respectively.

In summary, Islam is already Britain’s second-largest religion. This position will grow more entrenched. It will surely be the most practiced religion in some of our major cities within 15 years…and there are at present only 12 Muslim faith schools in Britain.

[A COMMENT] No faith schools. Full stop.

[ANOTHER] I'm not a Christian but this country's heritage is Christian and it seems perfectly right to me that there should continue to be Christian schools for those that want them.

Muslim schools are a different matter, since no-one I know was ever consulted about the imposition of a huge Muslim population whose values are very often un-English even where these are not positively antithetical to our own.

Would-be Muslim conquerors were beaten out of Europe many centuries ago, yet our leaders are letting them in again. It's wicked and insane.

[ANOTHER] Firstly, the schools in question are not faith schools; they are secular state schools that have been infiltrated by Muslim extremists.

Schools run by the C of E, the Catholics and most of the Jewish establishments have no difficulty in combining a proper education with a religious ethos. There is only one religion that is posing this problem

We must stop, in this country, punishing the many for the transgressions of the few. The root cause of this problem was cowardice on the part of Birmingham City Council. [ConservativeHome] Read more

90 percent of slain Muslims killed by 'brothers': Turkey's religious head

One thousand Muslims are being killed each day and 90 percent of the killers are also Muslims, the head of Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) has said.

"They are being killed by their brothers, not only in Syria and Iraq, but also in Libya, Pakistan, Africa and Myanmar," Prof. Dr. Mehmet Görmez said in his address to the participants of the World Islamic Scholars, Peace, Moderation and Commonsense Initiative conference in Istanbul on July 19.

Görmez cited "some studies," without elaborating on details.

The Islamic world needs to make a joint effort to revive the quintessential values of Islamic civilization, he added.

"Suffering, violence and conflicts in various parts of the Islamic world, including its storied cities like Baghdad and Damascus, wound every Muslim's heart profoundly," Görmez said. [Hürriyet Daily News] Read more

The latest on Birmingham schools

Two separate enquiries into the ‘Trojan Horse’ allegations have started reporting their findings.

.... It is frustrating that perspectives from Muslims such as the MWN’s Shaista Gohir and Quilliam’s Usama Hasan were for so long brushed aside by the Guardian, creating a false impression that this is an issue all Muslims could agree upon, and that the only authentic Muslim response – and the only principled anti-racist response – was to go on the defensive. [Harry’s Place] Read more

The imminent extermination of Mosul's Christians

Canon Andrew White has posted an urgent request for prayer: the Christians of Mosul, where they have lived for 1,700 years, are about to succumb to the ISIS interpretation of Sharia - you know, convert to Islam or pay the jizya or prepare to die. As the savvy Digital Nun observes, Christians have been in Mosul since before Mohammed was in nappies. She writes: [Archbishop Cranmer] Read more

Struggling to Keep Afghan Girl Safe After a Mullah Is Accused of Rape

.... But the victim was only 10 years old. And there was more: The authorities said her family members openly planned to carry out an “honor killing” in the case — against the young girl. The mullah offered to marry his victim instead.

This past week, the awful matter became even worse. On Tuesday, local policemen removed the girl from the shelter that had given her refuge and returned her to her family, despite complaints from women’s activists that she was likely to be killed. [NYTimes.com] Read more

It's the men, stupid - Saudis still blame women for sexual harassment

.... Saudi society is constructed around the idea that men have uncontrollable sexual urges. Harassment, rape, etc, are thus the fault of women for placing temptation in their way – hence the need for gender segregation and not allowing women to leave their home unless accompanied by a male family member to protect them.

The first reader's comment below the Saudi Gazette article says: "The best way to avoid harassment is to strictly adhere the Islamic teachings. Don't go out without a muharram [male guardian]."

Changing attitudes like that will require a revolution. [al-bab.com] Read more

Convert, pay tax, or die, Islamic State warns Christians

Islamist insurgents have issued an ultimatum to northern Iraq's dwindling Christian population to either convert to Islam, pay a religious levy or face death, according to a statement distributed in the militant-controlled city of Mosul.

The statement issued by the Islamic State, the al Qaeda offshoot which led last month's lightning assault to capture swathes of north Iraq, and seen by Reuters, said the ruling would come into effect on Saturday. [Reuters] Read more

City in Tarragona passes bylaw banning burqas and niqabs in public places

The Reus city council, in the Catalan province of Tarragona, on Friday approved new bylaws that will ban people from wearing a burqa, niqab or any other kind of full face veil in public places. The measure is the first to go so far in Spain, given that other such local legislation had only banned such clothing on municipal-owned premises.

The measure was passed thanks to votes from the coalition government in the city council, made up of the conservative Popular Party (PP) and the Catalan nationalist bloc CiU. The opposition parties – including the Catalan Socialists, PSC – all voted against the measure. [EL PAÍS] Read more

Trojan Horse report: Birmingham schools broke law with Islamic assemblies and banned sex education

Hardline governors in some Birmingham schools were guilty of “serious malpractice” and headteachers were undermined in order to introduce Islamic worship and ban sex education, a damning report into the “Trojan Horse” allegations found today.

Schools introduced Islamic assemblies without permission and used the Muslim call to prayer which had “led to the coercion of young people” to participate in worship during the school day, the report commissioned by Birmingham City Council found.

.... He said: “The report has highlighted areas where we have either taken no action, were too slow to take action, or have simply done the wrong thing. The report further states this has often been because of the risk of being seen as racist or Islamophobic. Our proper commitment to cohesion in communities sometimes overrode the need to tackle difficult questions about what was happening in a small number of schools.”

[A COMMENT] Islamic values are incompatible with European ones.

[ANOTHER] Once again we see fear of being accused of being "islamophobic" as the reason for not dealing with this threat. A phobia implies an irrational or unfounded fear but when it comes to Islam it is a rational response to an existential and demonstrable threat - so no "phobia".

[ANOTHER] What did people think would happen if we did not put checks and measures in place when witnessing Muslim majority schools?

The PC Brigade has been shameless in giving succour to beliefs that fly in the very face of a liberal society. Trying to spin at every turn the consequences all around us and persistently playing down the countless victims in many parts of the world. [The Independent] Read more

Birmingham council a 'disastrous failure' over Islamism in schools

Birmingham council "disastrously" failed to act when a group of Muslim men began to promote, sometimes illegally, a fundamentalist version of Islam in some schools, because officials were afraid of being accused of racism or Islamophobia, a report has found.

The investigation, carried out by the independent adviser Ian Kershaw, was commissioned by Birmingham City council (BCC) as a result of concerns raised in a letter dated 27 November 2013, known as the "Trojan horse" letter, which suggested a number of schools in the city had been "taken over" to ensure they were run on strict Islamic principles.

.... Particularly damning is Kershaw's finding that "a significant number of those governors acting unreasonably have been local authority governors", that is, appointed by the council.

[A COMMENT] How many of these 'officials' will be disciplined or sacked for failing to intervene to stop the illegal promotion of a fundamentalist version of Islam. Probably none. Not doing your job is often no cause for action in the public sector. It'll probably be another 'systemic failure' with nobody to blame and no jobs or pensions affected.

[ANOTHER] Another inquiry putting the Guardian's previous reporting into an unhappy perspective. End of term report: Must do better in future.

[ANOTHER] The Guardian's reporting as veered from (a) there is no problem, to (b) it is only a small problem, to (c) it must all be the fault of someone other than those who did the infiltrating - in fact it must be the fault of the person who ordered the inquiry!

[ANOTHER] This politically correct nonsense began twenty something years ago when the fatwah was placed on Salmand Rushdie.

We should have realised then that there was a sizeable minority of Muslims in this Country that wanted to promote their vision of an Islamic state in our Country. The salami slicing attempts at Islamization has to be resisted by all right thinking people otherwise it will only get worse. [The Guardian] Read more

Christians lie and wives must have sex or go to hell, Trojan Horse pupils told

Children were taught that all Christians are liars and attempts were made to introduce Sharia law in classrooms as part of an alleged 'Trojan Horse' takeover plot of Birmingham schools, an inquiry has found.

The inquiry commissioned by Birmingham City Council found evidence of religious extremism in 13 schools as school governors and teachers tried to promote and enforce radical Islamic values.

Schools put up posters warning children that if they didn't pray they would "go to hell", Christmas was cancelled and girls were taught that women who refused to have sex with their husbands would be "punished" by angels "from dusk to dawn".

[A COMMENT] Dear DT You might as well shut the comments down, so many are being removed for pointing at the elephant in the room. This article exposes the scandal of what's been allowed to go on in some Birmingham schools because of a spineless appeasement of extremist attitudes, and here you are doing exactly the same. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

[ANOTHER] I have just been hearing how ISIS treat Christians in Mosul, threatening them with death if they do not either convert or pay a special tax. This will not make many waves, but imagine the outcry if we did this in reverse to our own highly valued islamic "communities".

[ANOTHER] Enoch Powell..........you were correct

[ANOTHER] "Surely teachers openly speaking such racist comments to children, should be prosecuted?" They will probably get a pay rise after all this is over that's the way the UK works today and that is why it is facing an existential threat like never before. [The Telegraph] Read more

New Islamic Caliphate declares Jihad on … Muslims

The new “caliphate” of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—the Islamic State, formerly “ISIS”—recently made clear that it means to follow in the footsteps of the original caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Sadiq (632-634), specifically by directing its jihad against fellow Muslims, in Islamic parlance, the “hypocrites” and “apostates,” or in Western terminology, “moderates.”

This came out in the context of the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, with some Muslims asking the newly formed “caliphate” when it would launch a jihad on the Jewish state.

The Islamic State’s response? “Allah in the noble Koran does not command us to fight Israel or the Jews until we fight the apostates and hypocrites.” [The Commentator] Read more

The Trojan horse plot shows we must clarify religion’s place in state schools

In my youth I was a member of a UK organisation that called itself “The Movement to Reform the Muslim Youth”. Back then, we regrettably had an extremist mindset that was characterised by dreams of global domination for Islam. These would involve the re-establishment of a caliphate and the enforcing of a narrow, sectarian, xenophobic and puritanical theology.

.... None of the revelations that have come to light in recent weeks as a result of investigations into the plot surprise me. These include the findings in Peter Clarke’s draft report, leaked to the Guardian, which found strong evidence of an Islamist agenda ruining a small number of schools in Birmingham. The methods are familiar to me, as is the mindset that inspires them.

[A COMMENT] I have come to the conclusion that there should be no religious instruction in our schools. If parents choose to indoctrinate their offspring in ancient wizardry why should I as a taxpayer foot the bill?

[ANOTHER] Religion has no place in schools, other than as something to be taught about in its historical and cultural context, or as part of comparative mythology. There is no place for compulsory worship in schools, nor for any form of religious indoctrination. The 1944 Education Act was utterly wrong-headed to enforce religious observance in non-faith schools, and faith schools should be abolished.

[ANOTHER] "State schools should be totally free of all religion." I now agree with this, though previously I didn't, but despite being a Muslim, the potential it has to cause problems is obvious.

.... It is up to parents to take responsibility for whatever religious education and experiences they want their children to have. If they aren't prepared to undertake that, they should have no choice but to accept that state schools in this country are not going to adopt that role. [Guardian Cif] Read more

Muslim groups slam new call for UK burka ban

.... The practice of Muslims covering their face is a “fad,” he added. “How come their mothers or grandmothers never wore it? Were they bad Muslims? No, of course not,” he said.

Omer El-Hamdoon, president of the Muslim Association of Britain, said he disagreed with a ban on the burka, saying women should be allowed to “wear whatever they want.” [Al Arabiya News] Read more

Trojan Horse Leaked Report Finds 'Aggressive Islamist Ethos' In Birmingham Schools

Key individuals were "promoting and encouraging certain Islamic principles" in Birmingham classrooms amid poor oversight from education chiefs, a city council investigation into the alleged "Trojan Horse" takeover plot has found.

The findings of the Birmingham City Council inquiry carried out by Ian Kershaw and published today, concluded that governors, deputy and acting headteachers, trustees and parents were involved in a pattern of behaviour "moving between schools in the area".

In a 151-page report, Mr Kershaw concluded: "The evidence shows individuals have been seeking to promote and encourage Islamic principles in the schools with which they are involved, by seeking to introduce Islamic collective worship, or raising objections to elements of the school curriculum that are viewed as anti-Islamic."

[A COMMENT] So is the Hu ff going to stop calling the warning letter a "hoax" then?

[ANOTHER] The time is fast approaching to revoke the British Citizenship of some people involved in this despicable act to take over state schools and curriculums. The time has come to look into the rights of those who claim to be British and how they arrived in the UK. The time has come for expulsions. [The Huffington Post UK] Read more

Trojan Horse report finds 'aggressive Islamist ethos' in schools

A leaked report into the so-called "Trojan Horse" plot has found evidence there was an agenda to introduce "an intolerant and aggressive Islamist ethos" into some Birmingham schools.

The report, revealed in The Guardian, was ordered by the government after claims some Muslim groups were trying to take control in some schools.

.... Mr Kershaw also says Birmingham City Council was "slow to respond" to allegations in the letter and accused education chiefs in the city of "poor oversight".

Peter Clarke Peter Clarke is a former deputy commissioner of the Met

He identifies a "culture within [the council] of not wanting to address difficult issues and problems with school governance" for risk of bringing accusations of racism or Islamophobia.

Speaking at a press conference earlier, Council leader Sir Albert Bore admitted the council failed to act for fear of being seen as racist or Islamophobic. [BBC] Read more

Leaked report reveals 'aggressive Islamist agenda' in Birmingham schools

A damning report into extremist infiltration of Birmingham schools has uncovered evidence of "coordinated, deliberate and sustained action to introduce an intolerant and aggressive Islamist ethos into some schools in the city".

The conclusion emerges from a leaked draft of a report, commissioned by the former education secretary Michael Gove and written by Peter Clarke, the former head of the Metropolitan police's counterterrorism command, which is due to be published in the next 24 hours.

.... He added: "Time and again people who have either been teachers or governors at Park View appear to be involved in behaviour at other schools that have destabilised headteachers, sometimes leading to their resignation or removal.

The tactics that have been used are too similar, the individuals concerned are too closely linked and the behaviour of a few parents and governors too orchestrated for there not to be a degree of coordination behind what has happened." [The Guardian] Read more

Fears of Islamophobia gave activists free rein in Birmingham schools

A group of fundamentalist "activists", mostly men of Pakistani origin, infiltrated the management of at least 10 schools in Birmingham, sometimes breaking the law in order to introduce Muslim worship and sex segregation, according to a highly critical report.

Their activities were unimpeded by council officials who were fearful of allegations of Islamophobia, who forced ousted teachers to sign gagging clauses rather than treating their complaints seriously as whistleblowers, Ian Kershaw, the authority's independent adviser, concluded.

.... at Golden Hillock school, one of Kershaw's interviewees reported that a teacher told children not to listen to Christians because they were "all liars"; another allegedly told pupils they were "lucky to be Muslims and not ignorant like Christians and Jews".

[A COMMENT] "Female pupils were also ordered to return from a tennis coaching programme "because the school policy … does not allow girls to have a male coach and take part in any activity with boys" and a netball tournament was cancelled because organisers were not able to guarantee there would be no men present."

WTF??? There should be no place in British schools for the people who ordered or condoned this.

[ANOTHER] Will their be arrests and prosecutions amongst the staff? And what to do about all those parents who are presumably quite comfortable with their children being exposed this hardline Islamism? Give them a slap on the wrist and keep our fingers crossed? [The Guardian] Read more

Why is the Law Society promoting Islamic rules and legal services?

Not satisfied with issuing guidance on sharia inheritance and succession rules, the Law Society it seems is now even more enthusiastic about sharia law than we previously thought. Clearly, none of the criticism it has faced has led to a re-think.

It held a talk on 24 June 2014 called "Developing services for Muslim clients – an introduction to Islamic rules for small firms"The Law Society was very keen to ensure its members (or those who attended the talk) knew how to apply sharia law provisions for clients who may request such a service.

.... So again why is the Law Society doing this? It intends to have more detailed seminars in the future. I feel it is another example of national identities and cultures being subsumed into a stronger religious identity.

It seems to me that the Law Society is developing and promoting sharia law because it has been lobbied by groups wanting to promote sharia law. It was positively encouraging the listeners to be aware of these rules so they could advise their Muslim clients when preparing wills, prenuptial agreements or divorce settlements whether financial or in relation to children.

I found the tone of the talk to be one of an unquestioning belief that sharia rules are worthy of being considered law. Sharia is not law, it should not become law and it should not be given the credibility of being considered as law.

If people want to live according to what they consider sharia law in the UK they can do so, as far as is legally possible in the civil matters stated above and they can get advice from the mosque and the internet. It should not, however, be the job of the Law Society to advise us what "sharia law" is. [National Secular Society] Read more

Trojan horse inquiry: 'A coordinated agenda to impose hardline Sunni Islam'

An investigation ordered by the government has found a "sustained, coordinated agenda to impose segregationist attitudes and practices of a hardline, politicised strain of Sunni Islam" on children in a number of Birmingham schools.

A draft of the report, marked as sensitive, states: "Left unchecked, it would confine schoolchildren within an intolerant, inward-looking monoculture that would severely inhibit their participation in the life of modern Britain."

The inquiry, conducted by the former counterterrorism chief Peter Clarke, was ordered by the former education secretary Michael Gove and began in April. Clarke gathered 2,000 documents and generated 2,000 pages of interview transcripts from 50 witnesses, including former headteachers, teachers, council staff and school governors.

He did not interview parents or pupils. "The level of distress and anxiety felt by the witnesses cannot be overstated," he says. [The Guardian] Read more