Muslim-majority Indonesia braces for Christmas terror attacks, with 192,000 security personnel deployed to protect Christians and other faiths from radical Islamists

Muslim-majority Indonesia will deploy 192,000 security personnel ahead of Christmas to guard Christians and those of other faiths against jihadists.

The Southeast Asian archipelago of 260 million has significant numbers of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists who have been targeted by radical Islamist groups.

On Tuesday, authorities said the police and military personnel would be deployed to secure Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations across the country - including in easternmost Papua, a predominantly Christian region.

The deployment, which comes after a recent spate of attacks, is more than the 167,000 personnel deployed last year.

'As many as 10,000 personnel will be deployed in Jakarta' alone, said National Police spokesman Argo Yuwono.

'Based on intelligence data, there are potential risks... so we're taking preventive measures but we are also ready to take proactive action,' he added. [Daily Mail] Read more

Conspiracism threatens both Jews and Muslims

.... Yes, antisemitism is rife within the Arab world and within Muslim communities. No sensible person doubts that. Yes, the term “Islamophobia” is used by Islamists in order to dodge criticism of their theocratic and totalitarian politics, and by others in order to advance the case for a quasi-blasphemy law. For this reason, some argue for a better term than “Islamophobia”: me included.

But such marginal arguments over terminology must not distract from the concern over a genuine, and deeply worrying phenomenon. If we pretend that, because the term Islamophobia is sometimes misused by rotters, it doesn’t exist at all - as Melanie Phillips appears to have done - we are indistinguishable from the likes of the Labour Against the Witch-hunt mob, who devote themselves to denying clear cases of antisemitism, and defending obvious antisemites. [The Jewish Chronicle] Read more

Royal Derby Hospital: Disposable sterile hijabs introduced

A hospital trust believes it is the first in the UK to introduce disposable sterile headscarves for staff to use in operating theatres.

Junior doctor Farah Roslan, who is Muslim, had the idea during her training at the Royal Derby Hospital.

She said it came following infection concerns related to her hijab that she had been wearing throughout the day.

It is hoped the items can be introduced nationally but NHS England said it would be up to individual trusts.

Dr Roslan, who works in Lincolnshire, said the idea came to her while she was a medical student with University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Trust.

"I'd been using [the same headscarf] all day which obviously wasn't clean and ideal," she told BBC Radio Derby. [BBC] Read more

No inquiry opened into charity promoting Islamist extremism

A regulator has not opened a statutory inquiry into a charity behind a TV station which has promoted Islamist extremism despite receiving five complaints about it, the National Secular Society can reveal.

The Charity Commission for England and Wales has not opened any statutory inquiries into Islamic Research Foundation International (IRFI), which finances the channel Peace TV, since at least 2010.

Last month Peace TV was taken off air after the broadcasting regulator Ofcom ruled that one of its programmes had incited murder of those who practise "magic".

In response to an NSS freedom of information request, the commission has now said it has received five complaints about IRFI in the last nine years – but has not opened any statutory inquiries into it.

The NSS submitted one of the complaints about IRFI in November 2018. The complaint raised concerns that Peace TV and one of its speakers – Dr Zakir Naik, who was also a trustee of IRFI – had promoted extremist views, including by praising Osama bin Laden. [National Secular Society] Read more

Birmingham Islamic school 'swift to address' extremist books concerns

Leaders at an Islamic private school where extremist books were found have been "swift to address" concerns the discovery raised, inspectors say.

Ofsted rated Jamia Islamia Birmingham boys' school "inadequate" in July after finding books in the library promoting "support for an Islamic State".

A follow-up inspection found the books had been removed but the school still did not meet all required standards.

The school said it made a "tremendous amount of progress" in a few months.

Inspectors said one book contained the words: "Don't make the Jews and the Christians your friends."

The Sparkbrook school, which told inspectors it had been "unaware of the existence of these texts", has since introduced a library policy setting out what materials should and should not be included. [BBC] Read more

'Extremist books promoting ISIS' removed from Islamic school in Birmingham

An Islamic school has removed 'extremist' books from its library which promoted ISIS and warned against befriending Jews and Christians.

The texts were initially discovered at Jamia Islamia Birmingham at Fallows Road, Sparkbrook, in June during a visit by Ofsted inspectors who delivered a scathing verdict of the independent boys school and lowered its rating from 'Requires Improvement' to 'Inadequate' across the board.

The watchdog's subsequent report described the nature of the books which they deemed to be 'actively undermining fundamental British values'.

It said: "The school library contains books that promote extremist views and support for an Islamic State. For example, a series of aims set out in one book includes ‘To help the Taliban government in the accomplishment of enforcement of Shari’ah in Afghanistan’ and ‘To struggle for the creation of Islamic states in which the Islamic canons will enforced practically [sic]’.

"On the front page of this book are the words ‘Don’t make the Jews and the Christians your friends’. [Birmingham Mail] Read more

Regulator criticised for not opening inquiry into charity chaired by man barred from UK

The National Secular Society has criticised the Charity Commission for not opening a statutory inquiry into a charity that it claims promotes extremist views.

Zakir Naik, who is listed on the website of the Islamic Research Foundation International as its chair, was barred from entering the UK in 2010 because of his views, which include praising Osama bin Laden and saying all Muslims "should be terrorists".

The regulator said it had disqualified Naik as a trustee in April this year, but he had challenged the decision at the charity tribunal.

Last month the satellite channel Peace TV Urdu, which Naik founded in 2009, was taken off air after the regulator Ofcom ruled one of its programmes had incited murder.

This prompted the society to urge the commission to take action against the charity, which advances Islam and generated income of £518,000 in the financial year ending 31 January 2019. [Third Sector] Read more

Pakistan scholar's blasphemy trial enters final stages as U.S. raises alarm

A Pakistani court will hear final arguments on Thursday in the blasphemy trial of a liberal scholar and former university lecturer a week after a U.S. religious freedom commission placed his name on its list of global victims, his lawyer said.

Junaid Hafeez, who quit his studies at Pakistan’s top medical college to pursue a passion for art and literature, secured a Fulbright scholarship and attended Jackson State University in 2009 where he majored in American literature, photography and theatre with distinction.

He has been in solitary confinement in Pakistan for fear of being attacked by fellow inmates in jail since his arrest in 2013 on blasphemy charges linked to online posts.

Insulting Islam’s Prophet Mohammad carries a mandatory death penalty in Pakistan, which is about 95 percent Muslim and has some of the harshest blasphemy laws in the world. [Reuters] Read more

A New Poll Found 37% Of Conservative Voters Admit They Have A Negative View Of Muslims

More than 60% of Conservative voters said they agreed with the statement that Islam threatened the British way of life.

More than a third of Conservative voters admit they have a negative view of Muslims, according to a new poll that lays bare the scale of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in Britain ahead of Thursday’s general election.

The poll — carried out by ICM last week for the campaign group Avaaz — surveyed 2,011 voters about their views on Muslims and Jews in the UK.

It compared the answers of people who said they voted Conservative and Labour at the 2017 election with the public as a whole, finding that 37% of Tory voters are view Muslims in a negative light, compared to 26% of the electorate as a whole and 16% of Labour supporters.

Conservative voters were also much more likely to say they agreed with the statement that Islam threatens the British way of life — 62% compared to 45% of the general public and 35% of Labour voters.

And 55% of Tory supporters agreed that there should be a reduction in the number of Muslims entering Britain, while 41% of the wider public and 33% of Labour voters backed that statement. [BuzzFeed] Read more

Should the Welsh Assembly adopt a definition of Islamophobia?

Following the UK government’s rejection of the APPG on British Muslims’ definition of Islamophobia, could Wales adopt it? Mairi Hughes reports on a wide range of perspectives within the public sphere on the complexities of fighting prejudice via a formal definition.

.... When Leanne Wood stood up in the Welsh Assembly and asked for comment on the impact Westminster’s rejection of the APPG’s Islamophobia definition would have on community cohesion, the Assembly responded that they were in talks with the Scottish government, ‘with a view to adopting the definition’.

Hardeep Singh of the Network of Sikh Organisations, whose signature appears on the open letter to Sajid Javid, said: ‘Generally with these sorts of subjects, it seems to be quite binary. But, if you look at the granularity of the detail, you realise it’s actually far more complicated than a group wanting to have a definition, there’s so many other things involved in this.’

The debate around how policy-makers should be ensuring the defeat of anti-Muslim sentiment, and the appropriateness of formal definitions in challenging hatred and prejudice remains on the political agenda, and has unravelled in all its complexity. As the Welsh Assembly considers its next move, it seems this decision will set a significant precedent for how hate crime should be tackled. [Planet] Read more

Conservative Derbyshire councillor suspended for 'racist' and 'hateful' burka comments

A Conservative Derbyshire councillor has been suspended after making "racist" and "hateful" comments about women who wear burkas.

Cllr Henry Thompson, who represents the Heanor East ward on Amber Valley Borough Council, made the comments on Facebook over the past couple of days.

The quotes came below a news article from The Telegraph which the Tory councillor had shared on Facebook - bearing the headline "British public back a ban on burka by two to one, poll finds".

Cllr Thompson, who was elected in 2018, says he made the comments in a personal capacity.

He denies that he is racist, has apologised for any offence caused but stands by his comments.

Calls had been made for Cllr Thompson’s resignation by leader of the borough council, Labour’s Cllr Chris Emmas-Williams.

Leader of the council’s Conservative group, Cllr Kevin Buttery said that Cllr Thompson had been suspended from the party pending an investigation. [DerbyshireLive] Read more

Sweden Shuts Down Islamic School Due to Radicalisation Concerns

The Swedish School Inspectorate has revoked a Gothenburg Islamic school’s licence due to concerns that pupils may be exposed to radical Islamic ideology.

Authorities closed the Safirskolan school after its former owner, Abdel-Nasser el Nadi, had been detained by the Swedish security police (Säpo). Säpo recommended he, and several other Islamic radicals, be deported from the country on national security grounds, Nyheter Idag reports.

While a new individual did take the helm of the school, which was formerly called Vetenskapsskolan (the Science School), the inspectorate determined that the new head was still close enough to el Nadi that the school risked “being subjected to radicalisation and recruitment to environments that accept violence or serious crime as a method of political change”.

“We have made the assessment that the new owner does not take a completely independent position from the previous owner,” said School Inspectorate Divisional Lawyer Johan Kylenfelt. [Breitbart London] Read more

Largest Muslim group says BBC has ‘failed to sufficiently report’ on Tory Islamophobia author image

In a letter to director general Tony Hall, the Muslim Council of Britain says the corporation has failed to be ‘impartial and consistent in its coverage on similar issues’. The comments come as the Labour Party is embroiled in a row over antisemitism and the apparent lack of action.

Last week, the shadow chancellor John McDonnell, said he believed the row over anti-Semitism in the party may have an effect on the election result. He also apologised to the Jewish community ‘for the suffering we’ve inflicted on them’, during a BBC One interview.

The Muslim Council of Britain has asked the broadcaster to give racism against Muslims ‘equal importance’. Signed by the council’s secretary General Harun Khan, claims there is Islamophobia not just across society but at ‘every level of the Conservative party. The letter says: ‘Religious hate crime in England and Wales rose by 40% to its highest level in 2017-18, with more than half of all religiously-motivated attacks being directed at Muslims. [Metro.co.uk] Read more

Britain’s blasphemy problem

Blasphemy laws infringe upon the right to freedom of expression, freedom of religion and the necessary need to freely critique ideologies. A 2016 study by Freedom of Thought found that 43 countries allow a prison term for blasphemy, while it is punishable by death in six countries: Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.

The UK is free from such laws. And yet blasphemy laws are being tacitly enforced in Britain on a community level.

In 2016, extreme anti-blasphemy attitudes in the UK resulted in the murder of Asad Shah, a shopkeeper from Glasgow, murdered for “disrespecting the Prophet”. He was stabbed multiple times, dragged into the street and stamped on with such force that every bone in his face was broken.

Afterwards, the murderer claimed that, “If I had not done this, others would have and there would be more killings and violence in the world.” He receives fan mail and visits from people who regard him as a hero. [TheArticle] Read more

Blasphemy laws continuing cause for concern for Christians in Pakistan

Six months since Christian Asia Bibi fled Pakistan, after being imprisoned for ten years on blasphemy charges, reports highlight the plight of others accused of blasphemy in the country.

The reports come from multiple sources including the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCRIF) and Humanists International.

The USCIRF reports there are 80 people in Pakistan imprisoned on blasphemy charges.

The latest Freedom of Thought report from Humanists International says Pakistan remains a "perennial offender" in imprisoning people for blasphemy - long after the country's Supreme Court discredited the high-profile case against Asia Bibi.

According to the report: "The authorities prosecuted a total of 1,170 blasphemy cases between 1987 and 2012, with scores of new cases every year. Civil society reports estimate that in 2017 alone at least 50 individuals were imprisoned on charges of blasphemy, with at least 17 facing possible death sentences."

Andrew Boyd from Release International, a charity supporting persecuted Christians told Premier: "Whether you're found guilty or acquitted as Asia Bibi was, it is effectively a death sentence [being accused of blasphemy], there's a number of different forms of it. It could be blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed, it could be something that is said against Muhammad, or it could be disrespecting the Quran."

More than 70 people have been murdered following blasphemy allegations since 1990, according to Al Jazeera. [PREMIER CHRISTIAN RADIO] Read more

Saudi Arabia ends gender segregation in restaurants

Saudi Arabia will no longer require restaurants to have separate entrances segregated by sex, the government says.

Previously, it was mandatory to have one entrance for families and women, and another for men on their own.

The restrictions had already been quietly eased in practice, with many restaurants, cafes and other meeting places no longer enforcing segregation.

A series of sweeping social reforms in Saudi Arabia has been accompanied by an intensified crackdown on dissent.

Earlier this year, a royal decree allowed Saudi women to travel abroad without a male guardian's permission, and in 2018 the Gulf kingdom ended a decades-long ban on female drivers. [BBC] Read more

General election 2019: Tory chairman 'sorry' for Islamophobia in party

Conservative chairman James Cleverly has apologised for cases of Islamophobia in his party.

Mr Cleverly said he was "sorry" when Tory members and candidates "do or say things that are wrong".

But he added that he was "confident" there was now "a robust mechanism" in place to deal with the issue.

The Muslim Council of Britain has accused the Tory party of having a "blind spot for this type of racism" and of not doing enough to tackle it.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Pienaar's Politics, Mr Cleverly said an investigation into prejudice in his party will get under way before the end of the year. [BBC] Read more

Denial, obfuscation, apathy: why it’s so hard to get Islamophobia on the political agenda

Islamophobia is apparently a “natural reaction” to Islam, with the faith being “the most viciously sectarian of all religions in its heartlessness towards unbelievers”. So wrote Boris Johnson in the Spectator in 2005.

Sayeeda Warsi on Tory Islamophobia: 'It feels like I'm in an abusive relationship'

It’s far from the only item on the charge sheet for Johnson’s Islamophobia. He retains Chloe Westley in his team at No 10 despite her having called a far-right activist who has described Islam as “evil” a “hero”; and he gave Zac Goldsmith a position in cabinet despite his racist campaign for mayor of London in 2016. And of course, there is his recent and infamous use of far-right terminology about Muslim women who wear burqas, comparing them to “letterboxes”.

Yet the prime minister’s lack of any acknowledgment of error or wrongdoing on his part and his casual disregard for the impact of his words and actions does not appear to be relevant to large swathes of the media. There is a wealth of evidence of Islamophobia across all levels of the Conservative party. Why does it have so little political traction, and why is it regularly dismissed in mainstream circles? [Guardian Cif] Read more

Islamist extremists begin to remobilise as they finish prison sentences

An extremist network once led by the hate preacher Anjem Choudary has begun to remobilise as waves of former members leave prison or are released from monitoring measures.

A core group from Choudary’s banned al-Muhajiroun network has returned to Islamist activism after completing terrorism prevention schemes and other controls, according to a report by a commission that advises the Home Office.

The terrorist preacher, who was released from prison last October after serving half of a five-and-a-half-year sentence, was photographed in 2009 with Usman Khan, who murdered two people last week near London Bridge. [The Times (£)] Read more

We cannot afford to be timid about calling out the threat of radical Islam

.... Given the depravity of Khan’s religious views, and the cunning with which he evidently concealed them after his release, no government desistance and disengagement programme was going to deradicalise him.

For all the brow-beating of the British state, and the political ping-pong that has resulted from it, the wrong solutions are being posited to guard against the scale of the threat (even if it is common sense to suggest that those guilty of particularly heinous crimes should serve a longer portion of their sentences than Khan did if they remain a potential security concern).

Part of the problem is that it is increasingly difficult to raise the issue of the menace of radical Islam without being accused of “Islamophobia” by those who have hijacked a noble cause — the fight against anti-Muslim hate crime — and turned it into an attempt to silence all discussion of extreme variants of Islam.

It is perfectly obvious why some Islamophobia campaigners desire such a blanket rallying cry: it masks scrutiny of their own views, which they would be able to promote without fear of challenge.

What is less clear is why politicians and state entities are happy to go along with this charade, when alternative and much tighter definitions of racism against Muslims — such as “anti-Muslim hatred” — exist that would avoid the pitfalls of catch-all Islamophobia definitions while still ameliorating a societal ill. [City A.M.] Read more

Indonesian man FAINTS as he is caned for having pre-marital sex before being revived to receive the rest of his 100 lashes alongside woman he slept with

An Indonesian man who fainted as he was being whipped for pre-marital sex today was revived to receive the rest of his punishment before being rushed to hospital.

Despite international condemnation, public flogging is common for a range of offences banned under local Islamic law in the conservative Aceh region on Indonesia's Sumatra island, including gambling, drinking alcohol, and having gay or pre-marital sex.

Aceh is the only region in Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim-majority country, that imposes religious law.

On Thursday, a 22-year-old man - sentenced to 100 strokes - pleaded with a masked Sharia officer to stop lashing his back with a rattan cane before he fainted.

He was revived and given brief medical attention and then the flogging continued. He was later carried off the stage by two guards and rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. [Daily Mail] Read more

Switzerland investigates Muslim preacher over welfare fraud

Switzerland-based Muslim preacher Abu Ramadan is under investigation for allegedly committing welfare fraud. He has also been investigated over hate speech.

.... The media reports say the former agronomist received more than CHF590,000 ($598,317) in social assistance between 2003 and 2017. He is accused of concealing income worth tens of thousands of francs that could have led to a lower allocation of welfare benefits. The sums relate to pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia that the preacher accompanied.

Ramadan is reportedly in contact with authorities to “clarify any misunderstandings” but declined making a comment to the press.

It is not the first time that the preacher of the Ar’Rahman Mosque in the western Swiss city of Biel has caused controversy.

The imam, originally from Libya, was investigated over hateful statements he allegedly made against Jews, Christians, Buddhists and Muslim Shiites while preaching. [swissinfo.ch] Read more

‘They call for my slaughter': Somali atheists living in fear

Hassan dreads each sunset. When the skies darken in Nairobi, Kenya, the threats begin.

He is too scared to leave his home but his taunters, mostly his neighbors, find him: They pummel the walls and metal door of his room in a concrete five-story building. Hassan, a 25-year old Somali refugee, has only lived in Nairobi a few months, but his neighbors — who are all Somali Muslims — have found out he has renounced Islam. To some of the most devout Muslims, being an atheist is punishable by death.

“My life has been a living hell. They are spreading that I have left the faith,” Hassan, who is using a pseudonym for fear of reprisals, told Global Voices. “I’ve reported it to the police, but nobody got arrested.” [Global Voices] Read more

Multiculturalism is undermining democracy

.... The Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPAC) has launched a campaign encouraging British Muslim voters to defeat ‘Islamophobic’ Conservative MPs – identifying 14 constituencies of importance under its Operation Muslim Vote campaign. The MPAC’s propaganda is hugely oriented towards territorial disputes in other parts of the world, including Kashmir and Palestine.

As a British Muslim of South Asian origin, I can personally say that I have heard far too much about territorial disputes taking place in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent during the build-up to what is meant to be a UK General Election. The efforts of religious organisations and affiliate bodies for non-UK political parties – large and small – to generate faith-based bloc voting should be a cause for political concern. [Spiked] Read more

Six Muslim men sentenced to jail, fine for going to waterfall instead of Friday prayers

In what is possibly the first case in the country, six male Muslims, including three teenagers, were sentenced to a month in jail and fined over RM2,000 for skipping out on Friday prayers last August 23.

Khairul Azle Abdul Rasid, 35; Abdul Malek Mohd, 25; Muhamad Hafizi Abdul Razak, 22; Muhammad Aliff Fikri A Mazzani, 19; and two unnamed 17-year-old boys were given the sentence by Syarie judge Nik Mohd Shahril Irwan Mat Yusof at the Hulu Terengganu Lower Shariah Court earlier today after pleading guilty to a charge of deliberately missing the compulsory Friday prayers, Harian Metro reported on its website. [Malay Mail] Read more