Quebec passes religious symbols secularism bill

A Canadian province has passed legislation that would bar civil servants in positions of "authority" from wearing religious symbols at work.

The Coalition Avenir Quebec's (CAQ) bill covers judges, police officers, teachers and other public figures.

It prevents the wearing of symbols such as the kippah, turban or hijab at work.

Also passed was an immigration bill that scraps some 18,000 pending applications from skilled immigrants, affecting some 50,000 people.

That controversial move is part of an immigration programme overhaul the government says will help the province meet labour market needs and improve the integration of newcomers.

The secularism bill in particular has sparked protests and debate in the province since its introduction.

It was passed late on Sunday night following a rare weekend sitting at the Quebec provincial legislature.

Existing employees will be exempt from the bill. [BBC] Read more

Blogger killed in Islamabad's G-9/4 area

.... According to the police official, Khan — who has over 16,000 followers on Twitter, over 48,000 on his YouTube channel and over 22,000 followers on Facebook — received a phone call from an unidentified person to come to G-9, "where a man took him into the forest".

The suspect then used a dagger to murder Khan, said police, adding that the sound of firing was also heard from the area.

.... The father of the deceased, seen in a video addressing a group of men, said that his son had no personal enmity. He said his son spent his life talking about Islam.

My son's "only fault was that he spoke about the the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions", he added, saying he was proud of his son. [Dawn.Com] Read more

Quebec to adopt religious symbols ban

Simon Jolin-Barrette insisted Sunday that Bill 21 does not withdraw civil rights. The government House leader is also the minister responsible for Quebec’s controversial secularism bill, which includes a religious symbols ban for public employees in positions of authority, which the government has defined as judges, prison guards, police officers and teachers, among some others.

“No, it will give rights to people. It will give rights to all Quebecers to have the right to have secular services from the state,” he said.

Members of the National Assembly were obligated to sit all weekend after the government invoked a closure motion in order to force the adoption of two contentious bills.

After sitting all day Saturday until after 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning in order to adopt the government’s immigration reform legislation, Bill 9, the National Assembly reconvened five hours later in order to adopt the government’s secularism legislation. [Global News] Read more

Muslim dad and brother ‘abused entire family after two daughters refused arranged marriages’

A father is on trial for controlling his entire family because two of his eight daughters would not marry the men he had chosen for them. Salamat Khan, 63, is alleged to have cast out the daughters when they married men he did not approve of. He said they were ‘dead to the family’ and vowed to inflict what he considered a ‘traditional’ Islamic upbringing on two others who wanted to lead western lives, a crout was told. Madina and Maryha Khan were not allowed to go out and he made them cook and clean for him.

They described their lives as ‘living in a prison’. It was also alleged that he demanded the properties of female relatives be transferred to him and his only son Abbas, 34, who said the sisters were not welcome in the family home because ‘they made their choices’. [Metro.co.uk] Read more

Boris was right about the niqab – it’s oppressive and ridiculous

The real extremists are those who want to protect Islam and its beliefs from public debate and ridicule.

Amin, chairman of the Muslim Conservative Forum, has caused a stink by saying on this morning’s Today programme that he would leave the Tory party if Johnson becomes PM. He thinks Johnson lacks the ‘basic level of morality and integrity’ to hold such a position, partly because he once ‘chose to mock Muslim women who wear [the] niqab and burqa’. Amin doesn’t understand morality. What would be truly immoral in a free country would be to deny people high office on the basis that they have ‘blasphemed’ against Islamic practices.

Amin was referring to the now infamous Daily Telegraph column in which Johnson said the niqab and burqa make women look like letterboxes and bank robbers. This is frequently held up by Corbynistas and commentators as proof of Johnson’s ‘Islamophobia’, which only confirms that the term ‘Islamophobia’ is now explicitly used to police not only abuse or discrimination against Muslims, which everyone agrees are terrible things, but also mere criticism of Islamic practices. [Spiked] Read more

Austria to shut down Saudi-backed interfaith centre

MPs voted on Wednesday to demand the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID) be closed down following repeated criticism of Saudi Arabia's human rights record.

The latest vote was prompted by a recent case in which an 18-year-old was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for alleged crimes committed when he was a child.

Austria's foreign ministry said that it would comply with parliament's decision and was "checking the necessary legal steps" in order to do so.

The centre would be closed in a way that "will not cause damage to Austria's foreign policy interests and which is in line with international practice," the ministry said in a statement.

The centre has been a periodic source of controversy since opening in 2012, with critics saying it offered the government in Riyadh a way to gloss over accusations of severe human rights violations. [The Local] Read more

Man — charged with insulting Islam, Prophet Muhammad, Hadi Awang — changes plea to guilty

A man who previously claimed trial to two counts of insulting Prophet Muhammad, Islam and PAS president, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, on Facebook, changed his plea to guilty, in the Sessions Court here today.

Danny Antoni, 28, entered the plea after the charge against him was read again before Judge MM Edwin Paramjothy during mention of the case today.

The court then fixed July 17 for sentence hearing.

On the first count Danny was charged with using the Facebook account of Danny A’antonio Jr, to post an insulting statement against Prophet Muhammad and Islam which could threaten harmony between Muslims and non-Muslims at 1.21am on January 9.

The charge, under Section 298A (1) (a) of the Penal Code, provides for a maximum jail term of five years, upon conviction. [Malay Mail] Read more

Islamic charities push death for ‘apostates’ and female subjugation

Four Islamic charities are promoting material suggesting 'apostates' should be killed, women should be subordinate to men including by accepting marital rape and homosexuality is not innate.

The National Secular Society has reported the charities to the charities regulator, the Charity Commission, after NSS research found they link to or explicitly carry extremist material on their websites.

The commission has said it will open "assessment cases" into the charities in response to the NSS's concerns.

The website of Islamic Centre Leicester, a charity which exists to "promote the spiritual teachings of the Islamic religion", says the punishment for 'apostasy' is death.

In response to a question about whether there is a punishment for "Muslims who leave the fold of Islam", the charity says: "All the schools of thought agree that a person's apostasy must be proven by the testimony of two male witnesses. Furthermore, all agree that the apostate's punishment is death." [National Secular Society] Read more

Snapp Driver Who Booted Passenger Over Hijab Hailed As ‘Hero’

An Iranian version of Uber has triggered a heated debate over the country's strict Islamic dress code for women known as the hijab.

A female passenger in Tehran complained on Twitter on June 6 about a Snapp taxi driver who had forced her out of his car in the middle of a highway for not respecting the dress code.

The passenger also published the driver's picture and details to back up her claim. In a following tweet, she maintained that Snapp had apologized to her for the inconvenience and reprimanded the driver.

Meanwhile, two hashtags in support of the abandoned passenger went viral on Twitter. The Persian hashtags, which translate as "Boycott Snapp" and "We delete Snapp" in English, have been used more than 100,000 times since June 9.

Under a barrage of criticism, Snapp issued a statement, saying, they have both worked with the driver who will continue to work for the company and also addressed the grievance of the passenger for her unfinished trip. [Radio Farda] Read more

Former mayor at centre of police probe into alleged anti-Islamic social posts

A former mayor is under investigation by police after allegedly posting an anti-Muslim message on Facebook. The inquiry into Seaham Town councillor Barbara Allen was put into the public eye after a resident of the town asked her about the message as she handed over the mayoral chains at the council’s annual meeting.

She confirmed police are looking into the post, which was put online early last month.

The Echo understands that since the inquiry came to light, the long-serving member said she has now left the Labour Party and is a member of Seaham Community Party (SCP). [Sunderland Echo] Read more

Montreal woman says STM bus driver didn't stop for her because of her niqab

Zineb Benrochd was standing at a bus stop in broad daylight last week, wearing her niqab, when a bus whizzed right past her.

The 23-year-old Montrealer wondered why. She says she looked the driver up online and discovered a trail of Islamophobic social media posts.

In 2010, for instance, the bus driver posted: "I'm so happy and in a good mood today, that I love everybody, except the [expletive] who wear the hijab or the veil. Sorry, but I can't stand them."

But when Benrochd took to Facebook in an attempt to call out the bus driver's behaviour, she was soon bombarded with dozens of messages — some angry, some hateful — from other Montreal transit employees defending their colleague. [CBC/Radio-Canada] Read more

Iranian hardliners threaten taxi app boycott in hijab row

Iranian social media users are threatening to boycott their country's popular taxi app Snapp after the company apologised to a woman who had been ordered out of one of their driver's cars for failing to wear the compulsory Islamic headscarf, or hijab.

The passenger posted a picture on Twitter of the driver who ordered her out of his cab.

"This is the driver who dropped me off his car in the middle of a motorway [in the capital Tehran]," she wrote on 6 June.

Snapp later apologised and promised to reprimand the driver, according to the woman.

Conservatives responded angrily to Snapp's decision, criticising the company for submitting to people who disrespect "Islamic values". [BBC] Read more

Conservative Party accused of 'fundamental failure' over Islamophobia

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has accused the Tory Party of "fundamental failures" in tackling Islamophobia.

Its head of public affairs, Miqdaad Versi, said he had seen "hundreds of cases" within the party, "demonstrating the scale of the problem".

When action was taken, he claimed the offending members were "quietly let back into the party".

Conservative chairman Brandon Lewis has previously said "swift action" is taken when complaints are made.

The MCB is an umbrella organisation of various UK Muslim bodies, including mosques, schools, and charitable associations.

It has formally asked the Equality and Human Rights Commission to investigate accusations of Islamophobia in the Tory Party, claiming it "runs deep".

The watchdog said it was considering complaints in line with its "usual processes". [BBC] Read more

Tehran closes 547 restaurants for breaking 'Islamic principles’

Iranian police have shut down 547 restaurants and cafes in Tehran for not observing “Islamic principles”, the capital’s police chief said Saturday.

“The owners of restaurants and cafes in which Islamic principles were not observed were confronted, and during this operation 547 businesses were closed and 11 offenders arrested,” Hossein Rahimi said in statement on the policeforce website.

Fars news agency said the operation was carried out over the past 10 days.

The infractions included “unconventional advertising in cyberspace, playing illegal music and debauchery”, Fars reported.

“Observing Islamic principles is ... one of the police’s main missions and responsibilities,” the police chief said.

The head of Tehran’s guidance court, which deals with “cultural crimes and social and moral corruption”, called on Tehran citizens to report cases of “immoral behaviour” by texting a designated phone number. [The Guardian] Read more

Govt Report: Muslim Prison Gangs Forcing Inmates to Convert to Islam

Muslim prison gangs are forcing inmates to convert to Islam and follow religious practices or face violent repercussions, according to a government report.

The report, carried out by the Ministry of Justice, surveyed 83 male prisoners and 73 staff at three of the eight high-security prisons in the country. It found that large gangs of Muslim men were using intimidation tactics to force conversions and rules on other prisoners. The gangs were made up of multiple ranks including leadership, foot soldiers, recruiters, and enforcers.

.... a Christian pastor who worked as a prison chaplain also claimed that prisoners were being coerced into converting to Islam in exchange for protection from gangs. Pastor Paul Song said of the culture in Brixton prison: “If someone is secular and in prison and they want to lead a peaceful life in prison they need to become Muslim. That way they are protected.” [Breitbart London] Read more

Islamophobia definition raises more questions than answers

.... These abhorrent acts should not be watered down because a political group has decided to advance an inadequate term to describe anti-Muslim hate. The issue is compounded by the “what is art”-type analysis, leaving one to imagine what is “Muslimness” and who has it?

Can I buy it at the corner shop, or is it planted when the Shahada is whispered into a Muslim child’s ear at birth? Where do converts get their Muslimness from? Does it come in a convert welcome pack from the Saudi-funded mosque that allows women to enter only through the separate entrance at the back and down the stairs? Does it count towards your Tesco Clubcard points? The possibilities are endless. The reality is Muslims oscillate between multiple identities, like millions of ordinary British people.

Identity politics demean us all, but does most damage to those minorities who end up being viewed as caricatures. Instead of trying to return blasphemy culture to Britain, the ultra-Islamists could spend time practising Ijtihad, an Islamic legal and philosophical state encouraging independent reasoning. [The Times (£)] Read more

Britain's Back-Door Blasphemy Law

The long-running dispute revolves — most recently — around an effort by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on British Muslims, a cross-party formation of around two-dozen MPs in the British Parliament, to institutionalize the definition of Islamophobia in racial rather than religious terms.

The proposed definition has been opposed by many Britons, including British Muslims, who warn that it would effectively shield Islam from scrutiny and valid criticism.

"We have here a clash between two very different ways of viewing a society: broadly individualism and collectivism.... In a collectivist society the aim is for the rulers to determine how individuals should behave ... those in power lay down a detailed code and threaten punishment for non-compliance. And they do not welcome criticism as a device for mutual learning and holding power to account." [Gatestone Institute] Read more

Hundreds of Tehran restaurants shut for breaking ‘Islamic principles’

Iranian police have shut down 547 restaurants and cafes in Tehran for not observing “Islamic principles”, the capital’s police chief said Saturday.

“The owners of restaurants and cafes in which Islamic principles were not observed were confronted, and during this operation 547 businesses were closed and 11 offenders arrested,” Hossein Rahimi said, quoted on the police’s website.

Fars news agency said the operation was carried out over the past 10 days.

The infractions included “unconventional advertising in cyberspace, playing illegal music and debauchery”, Fars reported.

“Observing Islamic principles is… one of the police’s main missions and responsibilities,” the police chief said. [Tribune] Read more

Iran deploys 2,000 new 'morality police' units to quell hijab rebellion

Iran has deployed 2,000 new morality police units in reaction to what officials call an “increasing defiance” of the compulsory wearing of hijabs.

The units – called “resistance groups for verbal and practical response to bad-hijabi women” – were launched recently in the northern province of Gilan as part of a pilot scheme. They each have six women with the power to arrest and detain those deemed to be flouting strict veiling laws.

The move comes amid a growing backlash by women in the Islamic Republic, hundreds of whom have been arrested for taking off their head coverings in public in protest at the law.

A campaign called “White Wednesday” that encouraged women to wear white and discard their hijabs has also gained support, much to the consternation of conservative clerics. [National Post] Read more

It’s time to crack down on Muslim-on-Muslim hatred

This fragmentation of Muslim communities into ‘Sunni’, ‘Shia’ or ‘Ahmadi’ is increasingly a problem in Britain. Growing up in Uganda and Kenya, this was scarcely an issue for me. Muslims there were not seen by other Muslims through the lens of such fragmented terms. When we arrived in Britain, these fault lines were glaringly exposed. Some Muslims in Britain are convinced they are better because they are Sunni or Shia. In this supposed pecking order, the Ahmadis – kind, gracious and caring Muslims – are at the bottom of the heap.

Such navel gazing, as to who is the ‘right type of Muslim’, does Islam no good. It is having the effect of creating a wider group of ex-Muslims who become disillusioned with their fellow followers of Islam.

But there is a chance to crack down on this Muslim-on-Muslim hatred. In the definition of this abuse, it is vital not to have people making decisions as to who is a Muslim and who is not. [The Spectator] Read more

Muslim gangs ‘beat prisoners’ who will not convert to Islam

Muslim gang leaders are orchestrating violence in top-security jails, including administering beatings to force inmates to convert to Islam, a report has said.

The gangs operated under the guise of religion, with a hierarchy of leaders, recruiters, enforcers, followers and foot soldiers, the report by the Ministry of Justice said. One non-Muslim inmate said: “There is an underlying pressure for people to convert and join the gang.

“Their tactic is to befriend someone when they come in. If they don’t convert, they will then start spreading rumours about them, that the person is a snitch, so that they will be ostracised. Then the beatings follow.”

Gang members told researchers that their strength of numbers on the wings spread fear among other inmates. One Muslim prisoner said: “They know they’re only going to three other jails and they know there will be brothers waiting there to stab them.” [The Times (£)] Read more

Angry Protests Prove LGBT Education Must Start At Primary School, Says Teacher Andrew Moffat

Anti-LGBT protests prove why relationship education has “got to start” at primary school, the teacher at the centre of a fierce debate about equality in relationship education has said.

In an exclusive interview with HuffPost UK, Andrew Moffat said he had considered quitting his job at Parkfield Community School in Birmingham but was now “not going anywhere”.

“Change isn’t always easy and this is about how we can move society forward so that everyone is welcome and everyone has a contribution to make. So the protests only go to show why this work is so important in schools,” he said.

“I want children to be proud of who they are. And I think all parents want that for their children. It’s an anti-bullying resource. No parent wants their child to be bullied.”

Speaking about his own experience as a child, Moffat said: “I remember a boy in that class saying ‘I think all gays should be put up against a wall and shot’ and everyone cheered - and the teacher didn’t say anything. [The Huffington Post UK] Read more

The Schizophrenic Muslim Mind

Muslims are torn by two competing realities. The first is the illusion of supremacy upon which they have been suckled all their lives by the Mother of all books (the Qur’an). The second is the real world in which they have to live.

Talk with an average Muslim and sooner rather than later you will hear him/her boast — theirs is the best religion (“Today I have perfected for you your religion” — Quran 5.3); they have the best prophet (Muhammad is the seal of the prophets, i.e., the final prophet with Allah’s most complete revelation for mankind); they have the best book (the Qur’an is the literal, inimitable, unchangeable words of Allah); the best people (“You are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind” — 3.110); theirs is the best language (the language of Arabic is the language of heaven, and certainly the language of revelation); they have the best law (Shari’a is divine law, and all the world should be governed by it); they have the best “blood” (i.e., according to divine law the shedding of a Muslim’s blood is a capital crime, while the shedding of the blood of a kafir is halal (permitted), in some cases requiring a payment of restitution to the victim’s family, in other cases stirring promises of heavenly rewards for dispatching a disbeliever properly to hellfire. [Mateen Elass] Read more

Exclusive: Ofsted Chief Inspector Says Parents Cannot 'Pick And Choose' Over LGBT Lessons

The chief inspector of schools has warned parents cannot “pick and choose” whether their children go to lessons about LGBT relationships.

In comments aimed squarely at Tory leadership contender Esther McVey, Ofsted boss Amanda Spielman urged people to respect the Equality Act as she defended lessons that prepare children for “life in modern Britain”.

McVey attracted widespread anger this week when she said parents should be able to withdraw children from relationship education on religious grounds until they are as old as 16.

The former work and pensions secretary was doubling down on comments she made previously over protests at Anderton Park Primary School, in Birmingham.

Some parents want to remove their youngsters from the school’s ‘No Outsiders’ lessons, which teach children about LGBTQ+ relationships, race, religion, adoption and disability. [The Huffington Post UK] Read more

Professor Jordan Peterson declares “Islam is not compatible with democracy” amid Canada’s battle for free speech

Hungarian leader Viktor Orban and Canada’s Dr. Jordan Peterson met last week and “slammed Illegal Immigration as well as the ideological premise of ‘political correctness which in their view “make sensible public discussions virtually impossible”.

Peterson also said that Islam is not compatible with democracy and the issue is not “allowed to be discussed”, a message which has been repeatedly expressed by Jihad Watch.

Professor Jordan Peterson soared to popularity given his views in support of intellectual freedoms, free speech and human rights. His latest defense of free speech couldn’t have come at a better time. News emerged in Canada this week that opposition Conservative leader Andrew Scheer threw Tory MP Michael Cooper out of a House of Commons “Justice and Human Rights” committee hearing — examining online hate — after Cooper’s confrontation with a Muslim witness. Jihad Watch covered the story HERE.

The Justin Trudeau government continues its campaign–heavily advised by the National Council of Canadian Muslims (formerly CAIR-CAN)– to “crack down” on free speech in efforts to battle “Islamophobia“, which includes an expensive followup to anti-Islamophobia motion M-103. This Justice and Human Rights Commons committee hearing is an extension of M-103 by all indicators. [Jihad Watch] Read more