My Guardian Knows What's Best For Me

A catchy slogan, certainly. It's a campaign led by Saudi Princess Jawaher bint Jalawi against those liberals and feminists who are trying to improve the status of women in the Kingdom: rather in the spirit of Marie Antoinette advising the poor on the benefits of eating cake. Here's a MEMRI look at some press reaction: [Mick Hartley] Read more

Pants ban for women draws condemnation

The sharia regulation prohibiting women from wearing pants in West Aceh regency drew strong condemnation from public circles in Aceh province. "The enforcement of the regulation is an accumulation of the negative views against women from the perspective of Islamic sharia," said Norma Susanti, the women and children's division head of Aceh Human Rights NGO Coalition.

She added that the regulation, issued by the West Aceh regent, was very discriminative in nature and very detrimental to women. "Islamic sharia is not discriminative against women, but it's different when it is used as a political means by men to restrain women's movements. [The Jakarta Post] Read more [via Religious Watch]

Multiculturalists diminish 'rough beast' ravaging Islam

.... Paraphrasing William Butler Yeats, Mansur contends that Islam is in the grips of a "rough beast" that has let loose anarchy upon the world. He traces the problem back to the earliest days of Islam, when perverse Muslim rulers renounced the peaceful teachings of the Qu'ran by slaughtering each other in a bloody struggle for political power following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632.

"The Prophet's immediate family members were the most conspicuous massacre victims," writes Mansur. "Ever since those early blood-lettings, Muslims have been the primary victims of Muslim violence." [London Free Press] Read more [via Muslims Against Sharia]

Muslims in Germany

.... Almost 90 percent of the students at Rainbow Elementary School in Berlin are from immigrant families, most of them Muslim. Fitting in can be tough, because a lot of them can’t speak German—even though many of their families have been here for decades.

.... When I started being a teacher more than thirty years ago I thought that problem we won’t have in ten years. They all will speak German. But they don’t. [Religion & Ethics Newsweekly] Read more [via Islam in Europe]

Education is the most powerful weapon

Report after report from the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and the Arab League emphasise that the education deficit in the Arab world is among the main causes of its underdevelopment.

With 5% of the world's population and the bulk of the world's oil and gas, the Arab world nonetheless lags behind most of the rest of the world, and suffers from what can best be termed "educational poverty." [Guardian Cif] Read more

Court in Kuwait rules female MPs are free to discard hijab

Kuwait's highest court has ruled today that female politicians are not obliged by law to wear the hijab, a blow to Muslim fundamentalists who want to fully impose sharia law. [guardian.co.uk] Read more

Extremism Spreads Across Indonesian Penal Code

Just before noon prayers one recent Friday — a mandatory session for men — the Shariah police’s all-female brigade hopped onto a Toyota pickup to begin patrols. Dressed in olive uniforms, the officers hewed to the city center, away from the areas worst hit by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

They urged stragglers to hurry to the nearest mosque and exhorted the recalcitrant to yield to God’s authority. “Dear followers of Islam, people of Banda Aceh,” blared a loudspeaker on the Toyota, “our city has applied Shariah. It’s almost praying time. Close all shops, stop all business activities. No more buying and selling.” [NYTimes.com] Read more

Gotcha Islamism

The reticence with which HT asserts itself within community forums, media groups, and political organisations speaks of a group that knows that its public face and vague strategy of implementation has limited appeal. And without access to mass media, HT’s reach to the average Muslim will continue to remain difficult.

The coverage of this issue, coupled with the warmth with which Mogahed’s advisory position in the Obama administration was accepted by Muslims, could mean that undercover HT hosting of shows like Muslimah Dilemma could be in jeopardy. If so, HT will only have its image, tactics, and its message to blame. [altmuslim] Read more

US Religious Freedom Report Hits Speech Curbs

The U.S. State Department's annual report on world-wide religious freedom, released Monday, was critical of what it says are international efforts to limit free speech in the name of combating defamation of religion. The Organization of the Islamic Conference, or OIC, has been pushing such anti-defamation measures in U.N. bodies. [A New Drak Age is Dawning] Read more

Faith Schools

Recent reports highlight how a number of what appear predominately Muslim Faith schools have been criticised for biased teaching on the Middle East.

London Muslim has previously highlighted my concern about the educational achievement or lack of it concerning Muslim kids and I'm afraid these statistics may be driving Muslim parents to shun community schools for Faith schools some run by a bunch of nutters. Let me once again be clear London Muslim opposes all Faith schools for the reasons I outline here where I also highlight the admission criteria of two Catholic schools. [London Muslim] Read more

Mosques don't need minarets

I saw a big yellow crane had gone up outside the Brick Lane mosque when I walked past there the other day, and my heart sank. Is this – finally – the start of the minaret project? Let me remind you, the building is a handsome, understated 18th century one.

It was built first of all by refugee Huguenots as their place of worship and then – 100 years or so later – taken over by refugee Jews as theirs. And now, another 100 years on, it's become a mosque used largely by Bengali Muslims.

Each time a new community has moved in, all they have done, effectively, is change the wallpaper. It is the best example of a shared multicultural space (the sharing separated, of course, by many decades) that I can think of. And I can only regret that I won't be alive 100 years hence to see who the new tenants will be. [Guardian Cif] Read more

Objections to Muslim and Homosexual Practices to be Unlawful in Europe

If all goes as planned, the 27 member states of the European Union will soon have a common hate crime legislation, which will turn disapproval for Islamic practices or homosexual lifestyles into crimes.

.... Last April, the European Parliament approved the European Union’s Equal Treatment Directive. .... Next month, the Council will decide on the directive, which places the 27 EU member states under a common anti-discrimination legislation. The directive’s definition of discriminatory harassment is so broad that every objection to Muslim or homosexual practices will be considered unlawful. [Hudson Institute] Read more [via Jihad Watch]

Saudi female journalist gets 60 lashes for TV show

A Saudi court on Saturday convicted a female journalist for her involvement in a TV show, in which a Saudi man publicly talked about sex, and sentenced her to 60 lashes. Rozanna Al Yami is believed to be the first Saudi woman journalist to be given such a punishment. The charges against her included involvement in the preparation of the program and advertising the segment on the Internet. [Khaleej Times] Read more [via Women Against Shariah]

The Saudi Sex Braggart Back in July The Bold Red Line - a programme on the Saudi-owned Lebanese TV channel LBC, which specialises in probing the underbelly of Arab society .... ran an interview with a Saudi airline sales clerk called Mazen Abdul Jawad, who fancied himself something of a Lothario and gave advice on how to pick up girls.... The reaction of the Saudi religious police was swift and predictable: [Mick Hartley] Read more

Journalist spared lashes by Saudi king King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has pardoned a woman journalist who was sentenced to 60 lashes for her involvement in a controversial TV show in which a Saudi man boasted publicly about his sex life. Rosanna al-Yami was sentenced to be flogged on Saturday for her role in the July broadcasting on the Lebanese satellite channel LBC of the taboo-breaking episode of the Bold Red Line programme. [guardian.co.uk] Read more

Islam’s Darwin problem

.... But there is another creationist movement whose influence is growing, and which is fueling challenges to science in countries where Christianity has little sway: Islamic creationism. Campaigners in countries like Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, and Indonesia have fought the teaching of evolution in schools there, sometimes with great success.

Creationist conferences have been held in Pakistan, and moderate Islamic clerics are on record publicly condemning Darwin’s ideas. A recent study of Muslim university students in the Netherlands showed that most rejected evolution. [The Boston Globe] Read more

Islamist MP slams govt for approving "naked" singer

Two weeks before American superstar Beyonce Knowles is scheduled to hold her first ever concert in Egypt, an Islamist MP publically blasted the government for accepting to host the event and accused the government of violating Sharia law.

The bootylicious pop diva is set for a government-approved gig at the Red Sea resort of Port Ghalib, irking Muslim Brotherhood member Hamdi Hassan, who slammed the government for allowing a singer “who appears naked in her clips” to perform, which he said would spread vice. [AlArabiya.net] Read more [via Religious Watch]

Islamists who want to destroy the state get £100,000 funding

Leading members of a group that wants to bring down the British state and replace it with a dictatorship under Islamic law have secured more than £100,000 of taxpayers’ money for a chain of schools.

Accounts filed at the Charity Commission show that the Government paid a total of £113,411 last year to a foundation run by senior members and activists of Hizb ut-Tahrir — a notorious Islamic extremist group that ministers promised to ban. The public money helped run a nursery school and two Islamic primary schools where children are taught key elements of Hizb’s ideology from the age of five. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more

White House Faith Adviser Defends Sharia Remarks

Dalia Mogahed, one of two Muslim members of President Obama's faith advisory council, has come under fire from conservatives for her early October appearance on a British television show connected with an extremist Muslim group.

.... the Daily Telegraph reported earlier this month that Mogahed told the show: "I think the reason so many women support sharia is because they have a very different understanding of sharia than the common perception in Western media . . . . The majority of women around the world associate gender justice, or justice for women, with sharia compliance." [U.S.News & World Report] Read more

Obama’s Muslim Faith Adviser Defends Sharia Remarks Not enough time to fact check Obama’s Muslim faith-based advisor, Dalia Mogahed, as she defends her remarks on Islamic sharia law, and since the Weekly Standard and conservative American writers and bloggers were singled out, we’re confident some of them will analyze her response in depth. [Creeping Sharia] Read more

Dalia Mogahed Makes More Excuses for HT Show Appearance As covered here at the Spittoon, one of President Obama’s advisors on Muslim affairs, Dalia Mogahed, appeared on a Hizb ut-Tahrir TV show on the Islam Channel. She then sent a letter to the Telegraph which, in a singularly unconvincing manner, tried to justify her appearance on the ‘Muslimah Dilemma’ show. Now she has written another defence of her appearance, this time for the Huffington Post. [The Spittoon] Read more

The clash of uncivilisations

... So to try to damn the BNP as racist misses the point by a mile. Not that the accusation is untrue — despite its attempt to rebrand itself, the BNP remains a racist party with strong neo-Nazi overtones. But it attracts votes talking about religion and culture.

Crucially, it is cynically using the Islamisation of Britain as cover for its animus against all Muslims and non-white people. There are many British Muslims, after all, who are a threat to no one, who want to enjoy the benefits of a secular society and human rights and are themselves potential victims of Islamism and sharia law. [The Spectator] Read more

Muslim student, 18, banned from college because she refuses to remove her burkha

A Muslim student has been banned from enrolling at a college because she refused to remove her burkha. Shawana Bilqes, 18, wanted to wear the garment - which covers her body and face, leaving only her eyes visible - during lessons.

But staff at Burnley College refused to enrol her, claiming the burkha was a barrier to 'safety and communication'. In a strongly worded statement, the college said 'unimpeded' face to face contact between teachers and students was vital. [MailOnline] Read more

Muslim girl banned from college for refusing to take veil off .... When Sister Shawana Bilqes claims Islam forbids her from taking off her veil I say bollocks. Where in Islam, the Quran or Sunnah does it say Muslim women should dress like Ninjas.

Yes wearing the Hijab, simplicity, modesty, avoiding aggressively showing ones beauty are all within the tenets of Islam but this fad, that tends to stem from the backward up north brigade, who claim the veil is compulsory is bullshit. [London Muslim] Read more

Address on niqab not meant to be offensive

A Toronto imam said on Friday he did not intend to insult non-Muslims during an address at his mosque on those who want the niqab and burka banned. Said Rageah, the imam at Toronto’s Abu Huraira Centre, said that only someone who did not understand Islam would have come away from last Friday’s prayers thinking that anyone at his mosque hated members of other faiths. He was specifically addressing an article that appeared in the National Post on Thursday in which some critics said the language he used was inflammatory. [National Post] Read more [via Creeping Sharia]

Marching against al-Muhajiroun

.... I would urge all British Muslims and non-Muslims to build on the brave steps we have already taken and condemn theocratic organisations everywhere who seek to segregate Muslims from mainstream society on the basis of twisted ideological interpretations and impose an intolerant way of life upon them, calling it sharia.

This is the basis on which British Muslims for Secular Democracy was founded. We believe that a commitment to plural and liberal values is necessary everywhere around theworld. [Guardian Cif] Read more

Pat Condell on Freedom of Speech

Wake Up America [International Free Press Society] See more

Teacher attacked for shaking hands with student

Danish police said on Thursday that a Palestinian father had hit a primary school teacher and bitten his ear after he had shaken the hand of the man's daughter.

The 47-year-old Danish teacher of Moroccan origin had invited the father and daughter for a meeting at the school in the town of Vollsmose on Wednesday when he had been "repeatedly hit and bitten in the ear", the police said. "The father, a Palestinian, apparently became furious that the teacher had greeted his daughter just before a meeting," said Joergen Andersen, the police superintendent in the nearby city of Odense. [Islam in Europe] Read more

Ramadan: "We respect the fears of the people.."

".. but we resist instrumentalization of these fears by politicians". An interview with Tariq Ramadan on WRS about the place of Islam in Switzerland. Sadly, the interviewer doesn't ask him how he does intend to respect the fears of the people.

Ramadan says that the success of integration is to stop talking about integration. He speaks of being legally integrated (following the law) and intellectual integration (succeeding in academics) yet not having the sense of belonging. But for most people, integration doesn't mean being law-abiding or even being loyal to your country.

Those are things you expect from citizens. Integration doesn't mean succeeding in your endeavors, either. Economic self-fulfillment is the reason many immigrants come to Europe, after all. Integrated means being loyal to the country's values - being culturally integrated. And the only thing Ramadan has to say about this, repeating it in various ways throughout the interview, is that we must stop talking about it. [Islam in Europe] Read more

Couple blackmail Muslim girl over Western dress

A couple blackmailed a Muslim girl by threatening to show her family pictures of her in Western dress. The woman, in her 20s, wore a veil in public in line with her parents' strict beliefs. But she changed into a T-shirt and jeans for an "innocent" but secret seaside day trip with Emal Ismaeli and Joanne Richards.

The couple took snaps of their Muslim friend in casual clothes. One apparently showed her with her arms around a man. A court heard that at the time of the blackmail Miss X lived at home and was engaged to a man from her community. [Daily Mirror] Read more