Denmark: Muslims feeling less religious, more Danish

While the government is dealing with the burka ban .... and is increasing requirements for foreigners who want permanent residence in Denmark, integration is going ahead, according to new data from the Catinét analysis institute, which researched a big group of refugees and immigrants regarding their relationship to religion and Danish-ness. Religion is taking up less space, and the percent of immigrants who feel Danish is increasing, the data shows. [Islam in Europe] Read more

Should Richard Dawkins be arrested for incitement to religious hatred?

.... What fate would befall Cranmer if he equated all Muslims with the ‘obnoxious’ Osama Bin Laden? What persecution and injustice would he endure of he criticised the Qur’an; parodied the ‘nauseating’ and ‘barbaric’ teachings which emanated from the ‘nasty human mind’ of Mohammed; or said the ‘entire religion is founded on an obsession’ with killing the infidel?

.... Might he find himself in court, like Geert Wilders, accused of inciting hatred for daring to articulate a religious opinion? [Archbishop Cranmer] Read more

The roots of Muslim rage

In one of his letters Thomas Jefferson remarked that in matters of religion "the maxim of civil government" should be reversed and we should rather say, "Divided we stand, united, we fall." In this remark Jefferson was setting forth with classic terseness an idea that has come to be regarded as essentially American: the separation of Church and State.

This idea was not entirely new; it had some precedents in the writings of Spinoza, Locke, and the philosophers of the European Enlightenment. It was in the United States, however, that the principle was first given the force of law and gradually, in the course of two centuries, became a reality. [ICJS Research] Read more [via Political Correctness Watch]

Sharia’s Dominion

.... Both Sultan and Darwish document how traditional Islamic law, or sharia, underpins Islamic life. Darwish argues that under Islam’s golden period of conquest and imperial rule, sharia’s most important aspect was “total control of the large and diverse Muslim empire—everyone’s behavior, loyalty, mind and even soul.”

.... She would have sharia declared an illegal, dangerous totalitarian ideology, in much the same way that the United States did decades ago with Communism. These steps would not stop the entry of Muslims intent on subverting the Western system, but they would put them on notice. [City Journal] Read more [via Political Correctness Watch]

Italy moves towards emulating France on burqa ban

Italy may soon seek a ban on full-face Muslim veils, drawing on debate in France where President Nicolas Sarkozy has described the burqa as unwelcome and legislators are considering a vote to outlaw or restrict it.

Equal Opportunities Minister Mara Carfagna has said the Italian government will quickly follow in France’s footsteps, breathing new life into four draft bills on burqas already circulating in parliamentary committees. [Reuters Faithworld] Read more

Most Britons Would Ban Burqa in Public Places, Airports and Schools

As lawmakers in France openly recommend a ban on full veils, people in Britain believe that garments that cover the face should also be outlawed in the United Kingdom, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

% Agree or disagree with banning in public places
	Agree	Disagree	Not sure
Hijab	22	75	4
Niqab	66	30	4
Burqa	72	23	4

% Agree or disagree with banning at airports
	Agree	Disagree	Not sure
Hijab	34	63	3
Niqab	85	12	3
Burqa	87	10	3

Garments that conceal a woman’s face are an effront to British values
% Agree	% Disagree	% Not sure
67	25	8

The Government should not tell individuals what they can or cannot wear
% Agree	% Disagree	% Not sure
58	36	6

[Angus Reid] Read more

Denmark urges full use of rules limiting face veil

Denmark's government said Thursday that face-covering Muslim veils don't belong in Danish society but no ban is needed because their use can be limited under existing rules.

The center-right government said the burqa - an all-covering dress - and the niqab face veil are "diametrically opposed" to the values on which Danish society is built. It called for the full use of existing rules that allow schools, as well as both public and private employers, to demand that students, teachers and workers show their faces. [newsobserver.com] Read more

German Mosques Raided Over Wife-Beating Manual

In a nationwide raid, police impounded copies of a banned book which called for violence against women. Beating of women is justified as "discipline,” so long as no bones are broken and no bruises left on the body.

.... "Women under the Protection of Islam” is the German translation of a book published in Saudi Arabia. Descriptions in the chapter "Beating the Woman” have been declared by the Federal Department for Media Likely to Endanger Young People as both discrimination and incitement to violence. [Gates of Vienna and EuropeNews] Read more [via National Secular Society]

Azad Ali and Man Made Law

Harry’s Place is pleased to report some joyous news about Azad Ali, the civil servant who says of al Qaeda preacher Anwar al Awlaki “I really do love him for the sake of Allah, he has an uncanny way of explaining things to people which is endearing”.

Azad has stepped down from the presidency of the Civil Service Islamic Society (CSIS), but his replacement is very proud of the contributions of the Awlaki supporter, and “as a Trustee he will remain involved with Society business”. Mashallah. [Harry’s Place] Read more

Geert Wilders: on trial for telling the truth

There is nothing hyperbolic in stating that a trial which has just started in Holland will have unparalleled significance for the future of Europe. It is not just about whether our culture will survive, but whether we are even allowed to state the fact that it is being threatened.

The trial of Geert Wilders has garnered hardly any attention in the mainstream press here. Fortunately the blogosphere can correct some of this. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more

Islam and Dutch Tolerance The Netherlands is a nation long known for its emphasis on tolerance and liberal thinking. However those qualities are being put to the test at the moment with the trial of politician Geert Wilders. The outspoken MP has been at the forefront of warning against the Islamisation of Holland and Europe. For his troubles he is now on trial.

Wilders has been charged with “incitement and discrimination against Muslims” in his numerous public speeches and writings. Hate speech crimes are alive and well in Holland, and if convicted he can face up to two years in prison. [CultureWatch] Read more

Muslims in the UK: beyond the hype

Today, we are proud to launch the European Muslim Research Centre (EMRC) at the University of Exeter. We hope that the EMRC will be part of a wider process of voices and perspectives which are too often being ignored, or buried under a tide of negative portrayals of Muslim communities and Islam by vociferous sections of the media and populist politicians. [Guardian Cif] Read more

Media and politicians 'fuel rise in hate crimes against Muslims' A rise in the number of hate crimes against Muslims in London is being encouraged by mainstream politicians and sections of the media, a study written by a former Scotland Yard counter-terrorism officer, published yesterday, says.

Attacks ranging from death threats and murder to persistent low-level assaults, such as spitting and name-calling, are in part whipped up by extremists and sections of mainstream society, the study says. [guardian.co.uk] Read more

[Another and earlier study commissioned by Ken Livingstone set out to blame the media for the negative portrayal of Muslims and Islam. See here]

Let God be God

Last November the Malaysian government refused to release 10,000 Bibles it had seized because they contained the word Allah to refer to God. The Herald, a publication of the Roman Catholic Church in Malaysia, challenged the government's decision to ban for non-Muslims the use of the word Allah to refer to God.

In December, a Malaysian court ruled that such a ban was unconstitutional. The court's decision provoked anger among some Muslims. The Times reported a speaker in a Kuala Lumpur mosque as saying, "We will not allow the word Allah to be inscribed in your churches. Heresy arises from words wrongly used. Allah is only for us." [altmuslim] Read more

Muslim Sportswoman Fails to Overturn Headscarf Ban

A Swiss basketball player has failed in her bid to have a court overturn a headscarf ban when she plays in league games.

A local court in the canton of Lucerne said in a ruling published Wednesday that the ban doesn't breach the rights of the player, who is Muslim. [AP] Read more

Ministers attacked over tackling anti-Islamic hostility

There is growing disenchantment at the government's "lacklustre response" to rising anti-Islamic hostility, the Muslim Council of Britain has said. The council wrote to the home secretary on the "growing problem" after a march by the English Defence League (EDL). Some 1,500 EDL supporters protested against Islamic extremism in Stoke-on-Trent on Saturday.

The Home Office insisted the government "will challenge any views that reject or undermine our shared values". A spokesman added: "We do not encourage or advocate any voices of hatred or violence within our communities." [BBC] Read more

‘The Niqab has no place in Islam’

.... It allows one person to remain anonymous during face-to-face communication, thus depriving the right of the other to reciprocate whilst registering the changes in facial expressions, which is vital in such communication, in conjunction to voice that is used for everyday communication.

Whether in public offices, educational institutions or out on the streets, the disadvantage to those who are required to deal with women covered under a niqab or burqa is immense. [Pickled Politics] Read more

At least she wasn't stoned

The Telegraph brings us the charming story of a 16 year old Bangladeshi girl whose misfortune it was to have grown up in a village ruled by a combination of hardline religion and traditional community values. The formal authorities have little power here, so when she was raped by the local sex-pest she had nowhere to turn. The truth emerged some weeks later when, after an arranged marriage, she was discovered to be pregnant. She was immediately divorced and sent home in shame. [Heresy Corner] Read more

We should not absolve Islam of the crimes committed in its name A young girl in Bangladesh has been sentenced to 101 lashes for having become pregnant as a consequence of being raped. Her father will also have to pay a fine to the local Islamic savages who presided over the case. The rapist was pardoned by the village elders. The girl, who married shortly after the attack, has since been divorced in the usual peremptory Islamic manner. [The Spectator] Read more

Gallup Coexist Study 2009 – The Headlines You Didn’t See!

• A quarter of British Muslims don’t have confidence in the country’s Judicial system and courts!

• British Muslims are the least integrated in Europe, only one in 10 is integrated

• Loyalty doesn't mean much

• British Muslims at greatest odds with their countrymen over what integration means – the veil is a serious issue

• British Muslims have less respect for other religions than other European Muslims do

• Huge gap between British Muslims and the British public regarding freedom of speech

• British Muslims most likely to support violence in a noble cause

• Survey may have deliberately avoided important and contentious issues

These are reasonable and accurate conclusions drawn from the 2009 Gallup Coexist study which involved 513, 506, and 504 interviews of French, German and British Muslims respectively and of 1006, 1011, and 1001 non-Muslims respectively. [LibertyPhile Research] Read more

A Matter of Urbanism

This article from Novopress is a good example of the cynical nonchalance with which Sarkozy's UMP party regards the Islamic presence in France, and minarets in this particular case.

The title of the Novopress article is: "For UMP, a church steeple or a minaret, it's kif-kif". But in the long term it is not kif-kif. There is no such thing as 50-50 when you are dealing with Islam. And of course the UMP knows this: [GalliaWatch] Read more

Switzerland: Minaret referendum was a vote against the spread of Islam

According to a new analysis the supporters of the minaret ban weren't voting against Muslims, they were voting against the spread of Islam. It doesn't matter whether Islam is compatible with Swiss culture or, as Tariq Ramadan claims, 'Islam is European'.

I think this supports my view that the bottom line here is that the Swiss want Switzerland to be Swiss. They don't mind Muslims living there, but they do not want Muslim culture taking over. [Islam in Europe] Read more

Reza Pankhurst Responds

Reza has now produced a written response to the articles which appeared in The Times recently claiming that he was a member of Hizb ut Tahrir. It makes for very interesting and sometimes amusing reading. He says:

"When applying to the LSE, I made it clear who I was and the views I was persecuted for in Egypt, and my hope that I could add a different voice and angle within academic circles that is mostly absent in a highly politicised field currently being filled largely by anti-terrorism careerists rather than serious research." [Harry’s Place] Read more

'We Are Not Really Germans'

Many women in Germany who wear the headscarf say they experience barriers to employment, according to a new survey published by the Open Society Institute.

It's no secret that many immigrants have a hard time in Germany. A new study has found that women wearing headscarves have a particularly hard time on the job market and a quarter of those with Turkish backgrounds face discrimination when looking for work. [SPIEGEL ONLINE] Read more [via Islamophobia Watch]

The Bad Sufi - the client faith of the American Empire

Sufism - once just another variant of Islam, now bankrolled by Britain and the US as a 'moderate' form of the religion that could help counter extremism in Pakistan. But what is Sufism? Where did it come from? And what role does it play today?

In the first of a two-part series on Sufism, Qalandar Bux Memon argues that modern Sufi leaders have become part of Pakistan's corrupt ruling elite, favoured by the West not for their 'moderation' but for their compliance. [The Samosa] Read more

Burqa - France

A French parliament report called Tuesday for a ban on the full Islamic veil in all schools, hospitals, public transport and government offices, saying the burqa was an affront to French values. "The wearing of the full veil is a challenge to our republic. This is unacceptable," the report released by a parliament commission said. "We must condemn this excess."

After six months of hearings, the panel of 32 lawmakers recommended a ban on the face-covering veil in all state-run institutions and offices, the broadest move yet to restrict Muslim dress in France. The commission called on parliament to adopt a formal resolution stating that the burqa was "contrary to the values of the republic" and proclaiming that "all of France is saying 'no' to the full veil." [AFP] Read more

The cloak of darkness is no exercise of civil liberties It is gratifying that so many white British liberals have come out to defend shrouded Muslim women. Their generosity of spirit and messianic belief in liberty makes them recoil from a state ban on the burka.

France under Sarkozy is set to take this step to be followed swiftly, I am sure, by some other EU countries. In Egypt too, top theologian, Sheikh Tantawi, of al-Azhar university is pushing for an anti-burka injunction, and Turkey remains ferociously divided over the militant secularism instated by its founding fathers. [independent.co.uk] Read more

In a burka you’re cutting me off as well as you I confess that I once fell over on the job. In 2001 I was sent near the Pakistan border to interview fleeing Afghans and the local imam asked me to wear an extra-large faded blue burka in the refugee camp. I was taken to interview a woman who had lost five of her six children before managing to walk with her baby across the mountains to safety. [Times Online] Read more

Is it liberal to ban the burka? The French proposal to restrict the public wearing of burkas and face-veils seems to be gaining momentum, with an official report recommending that such garments be banned in official buildings and public transport, and even that wearers be refused residence cards and citizenship on the grounds that they exhibit "radical religious practice".

Among the claims made in the document are that the veil (worn, it is thought, by fewer than two thousand women in France) is "a challenge to the Republic", "the symbol of the repression of women, and... of extremist fundamentalism" and something that "all France is saying Non to". It added, "this is unacceptable. We must condemn this excess." [Heresy Corner] Read more

'No place for burqa' in Denmark, says Prime Minister THE face-covering burqa and niqab veils worn by some Muslim women "have no place in Danish society", Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen has said. "They symbolise a view of women and humanity that we totally oppose and that we want to combat in Danish society," he said.

Denmark was "an open, democratic society where we look at the person to whom we are talking, whether it's in a classroom or on the job"."That is why we don't want to see this garment in Danish society," he said. [heraldsun.com] Read more

Ban on burqas receives strong public support in France A report drawn up by French MPs will this week call for a ban on Afghan-style burqas and other garments that cover a woman’s face. The proposal has strong public support. According to an opinion poll by Ipsos for the magazine Le Point, 57% of voters favour a ban while 37% are opposed. [Times Online] Read more

Concervative Politicians Meet Muslim Law Students

.... Ross and I spent about an hour talking about issues such as the application of the two legal heritages in Britain, making it plain that in the courts of England the law of England was and must remain paramount but that what people did privately to sort out disputes was up to them, unless it led to oppression or unfairness or affected the rights of others under the law of the land.

Sharia councils do not operate in public and may not have the same regard to the rights and interests of women in family disputes or inheritance cases. [politics.co.uk] Read more [via Islam in Europe]

Whither Multiculturalism?

Multiculturalism, like so many modern nostrums, was always better in theory than in practice. Indeed, it can work when it is simply allowed to happen, as was the case with the American melting pot. There social cohesion was possible despite all the diversity because people came to America wanting to become Americans. They wanted the American dream.

But when multiculturalism is enforced by governments, it usually ends up backfiring. Indeed, the hoped for integration usually ends us in disintegration. Equality by decree, or community by government fiat, will seldom work. Unless people agree to a common social vision, the various disruptive and divisive pulls will be too strong to overcome. [CultureWatch] Read more