Pulitzer Prize Winner Andrea Elliot Speaks on Rising anti-Muslim Sentiment

.... “Just last year we’ve seen the fight over the Islamic center near ground zero, the spread of grass-roots opposition to the use of Shariah [Islamic law] and the buildings of mosques elsewhere in the country and the recent congressional hearings focused on Muslims,” Elliott said.

The media has largely been blamed for this resurgence in negative sentiment, with critics asserting that too much of the media’s coverage has focused on terrorism, she said.

But people who solely blame the media are ignoring other factors at work such as “the tone set by the Bush administration” and the immediate reaction to the 9/11 attacks, which gave Americans a “frenzied crash course” on the religion, Elliot added. [loonwatch.com] Read more

Britons need to see themselves as a single nation, says Security Minister

The minister said there needed to be a new approach in which people did not simply “rub along together and as long as people obey the law that’s quite sufficient.”

“I think it’s a common experience now that we know less about each other than we used to and I think there’s a very strong feeling that we need to understand each other and we need to be working together as a nation,” Lady Neville-Jones added.

“[We are] trying to convince minorities in this country that they actually do have a long term future here and that it’s their country as much as anybody else’s,” she said in an interview.

It is also important to “convince the majority population we are a single nation,” she added. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more

Fresh attempt launched to introduce anti-burqa law in Belgium

A committee in Belgium's lower chamber of parliament approved Wednesday a law outlawing burqas and other kinds of Islamic face veils - relaunching efforts to introduce the ban nearly one year after they were thwarted by a government crisis.

The law seeks to punish anyone caught in public places with their face completely or partly covered - thus preventing their identification - with fines between 15 to 20 euros (21 to 35 dollars) and/or up to seven days' imprisonment.

The draft law still needs to be approved by the full Chamber of Deputies and by the Senate, Belgium's upper house. [The Earth Times] Read more

Al-Azhar scholar criticizes Saudi edict banning protests

Sheikh Gamal Qotb, former head of the Al-Azhar fatwa committee, said peaceful protests help promote virtue and prevent evil.

Al-Azhar is the highest religious institution in the Sunni Muslim world. Qotb's criticism of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars edict comes as the Saudi government seeks to keep protests at bay.

Qotb described the Saudi edict as a "big mistake," saying protesters warn officials of their mistakes before those mistakes grow larger. He said Muslim governments should allocate channels for citizens to express their opinions and give feedback to officials. A Saudi mufti on Tuesday permitted a number of public and private institutions to print more than 1.5 million copies of the edict. [Al-Masry Al-Youm] Read more

Liberal MP says debate being stifled over 'racism' fears

THE Liberal senator widely attacked for describing Islam as a totalitarian ideology has warned that Australians at odds with the "politically correct" orthodoxy are being forced to whisper their views for fear of being labelled racists.

South Australian senator Cory Bernardi has also demanded migrants observe Australian customs and core values, urging the nation to reject a path of "isolation and separatism" by tolerating breaches of the nation's "social covenant" by newcomers.

.... Last month Senator Bernardi said in a radio interview: "Islam itself is the problem, it's not Muslims. Muslims are individuals that practise their faith in their own way, but Islam is a totalitarian, political and religious ideology." [The Australian] Read more

Geert Wilders: Time to Unmask Muhammad

To know why Islam is a mortal danger one must not only consider the Koran but also the character of Muhammad, who conceived the Koran and the entirety of Islam.

The Koran is not just a book. Muslims believe that Allah himself wrote it and that it was dictated to Muhammad in the original version, the Umm al-Kitab, which is kept on a table in heaven. Consequently one cannot argue with the contents.

Who would dare to disagree with what Allah himself has written? This explains much of Muhammadan behaviour, from the violence of jihad to the hatred and persecution of Jews, Christians and other non-Muslims and apostates. What we in the West regard as abnormal, is perfectly normal for Islam. [Jihad Watch] Read more

French religious leaders warn against divisive Islam debate

.... The planned debate at a Paris hotel next Tuesday is supposed to draw up a list of proposals that could be applied quickly to counter what the UMP sees as violations of the secular system.

.... A lay Muslim politician caused a stir this week by suggesting Muslims wear a five-pointed green star to protest against what he called persecution recalling that of wartime Jews forced by the Nazis to wear a yellow Star of David.

Abderrahmane Dahmane, who was fired as Sarkozy's advisor for diversity issues this month after criticising the UMP debate, also criticised Cope for suggesting Muslims should no longer pray in Arabic -- the language of the Koran -- in their mosques.

"This fascist climate evokes the sombre history of the Occupation in France, which sent thousands of Jews by train to the death camps," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Richard Prasquier, head of the Jewish umbrella group CRIF, called the green star idea "totally grotesque." [Reuters.com] Read more

Saudis print fatwa against protests

Saudi Arabia is printing 1.5 million copies of an edict by religious scholars outlawing protests as "un-Islamic".

Saudi managed to stifle an attempt to stage a mass protest on 11 March with a large security presence on the streets. The fatwa is to be printed at the request of the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul-Aziz Al al-Sheikh, who heads the clerics council. [Scotsman] Read more [via National Secular Society]

Muslim model defends Miss Universe contest bid

.... If Shanna wins the UK final on 1 May, she'll be the first ever Muslim to represent Britain in the grand final in Brazil later this year.

"People are attacking me, using religion as a tool, but is it really religion? "Or are you really jealous of a girl coming forward and not allowing anyone to dictate to her? "There are people out there who want to control women," Shanna said.

Meanwhile, other young Muslims have told Newsbeat that being allowed to live a Western lifestyle in the UK is a big issue. Rayan Jawad, 27, said: "This is a discussion that goes on all the time. "She's doing pretty much what any girl would love to do who's been brought up here." Rumena Begum, 18 said: "It goes against our morals and our religion. [BBC] Read more

Muslims bitter at German government crackdown demand

Muslim leaders in Germany on Tuesday protested the new interior minister's demand that they should help root out extremists by coming forward with information shared in mosques.

The demand by Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich at the long- scheduled talks chilled five years of efforts to overcome suspicions between Berlin and the Islamic community, who make up 5 per cent of Germany's population. [Monsters and Critics.com] Read more [via Islamophobia Watch]

Senate hearing focuses on U.S. Muslims' rights, not radical ties

.... But the most striking change was the second hearing's focus: Crimes committed against American Muslims, not by them.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he convened Tuesday's hearing because of rising Islamophobia, manifested by Quran burnings, hate speech and restrictions on mosque construction.

And though he did not mention him by name, Durbin twice criticized House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., who convened the earlier hearing on the "radicalization" of American Muslims.

The premise of King's hearing was that American Muslims do not cooperate with law enforcement probes into violent members of their community. [USA TODAY] Read more [via Islamophobia Watch]

Egyptian clerics protest at graft in Islamic religious bodies

Egyptian clerics and employees of state Islamic religious bodies are demanding an end to what they say is rampant corruption by senior officials who manage religious endowments. No official figures exist for the sums donated to Egypt’s top Islamic institutions to help manage and build mosques and pay imams, but independent estimates suggest they run to the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The bodies have been under state control for more than three decades and their reputation among many Egyptians has declined as part of broader discontent at the failings of government. Last month’s popular revolt that ended President Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade rule was the cue for an anti-corruption drive targeting senior officials in the former regime. [Reuters Blogs - FaithWorld] Read more

France: Green star to oppose Islam debate

Abderahmane Dahmane, Sarkozy's former diversity adviser, called on Muslims today to wear a green star (FR) to protest the debate on secularism proposed by the UMP.

A statement issued by Dahmane and Hassan Ben M'Barek, spokesperson for Banlieues Respect, which presents itself as a union of associations but who influence seems limited, said that the green star on their clothing will show that Muslims in France have decided to demand the cancellation of the debate on Islam and the end of UMP Islamophobia. [Islam in Europe] Read more

Afghan women are still at risk

Sima is 15 but looks younger. I met her in Kabul, in the female juveniles section of the Badam Bagh prison. She talks very little, but her eyes are full of grief. A defence lawyer told me it was likely she had been raped.

What is Sima's crime? She is serving her sentence for running away from domestic violence. About half of all women in Afghan prisons are there for the same "crime". Some of them are in prison with their babies. The youngest ones are no older than 12. Having spent time in jail, they will rarely be accepted back by their families and communities. [Guardian Cif] Read more

Sharia Law for Libya protest closes Oxford Street

.... There was a march yesterday, too. The cause was 'Sharia Law for Libya' (and everywhere else). Sure, there were not quite the 250,000 estimated at today's march, but this one still caused the closure of Oxford Street.

But, curiously, not a whisper from the BBC. And no mention by other sections of the MSM. In fact, one has to go to the Africa Press to find out that it took place at all. [Archbishop Cranmer] Read more

The Failure of Multiculturalism and How to Turn the Tide

.... I am here today to talk about multiculturalism. This term has a number of different meanings. I use the term to refer to a specific political ideology. It advocates that all cultures are equal. If they are equal it follows that the state is not allowed to promote any specific cultural values as central and dominant. In other words: multiculturalism holds that the state should not promote a leitkultur, which immigrants have to accept if they want to live in our midst.

It is this ideology of cultural relativism which the German Chancellor Angela Merkel recently referred to when she said that multiculturalism has proved “an absolute failure.”

My friends, I dare say that we have known this all along. Indeed, the premise of the multiculturalist ideology is wrong. Cultures are not equal. They are different, because their roots are different. That is why the multiculturalists try to destroy our roots. [Partij voor de Vrijheid] Read more

Defamation of Religion resolution finally dropped at the United Nations

.... A study conducted in 2009 showed that majorities in 13 of 20 nations polled around the world supported the right to criticise a religion.

Support for the right to criticise religion was strongest in the United States, at 89 percent. Chile was next with 82 percent support, followed by Mexico (81 percent), Britain (81 percent), Germany (76 percent), Poland (68 percent), Azerbaijan (67 percent), France (66 percent), Russia (61 percent), South Korea (59 percent), Turkey (54 percent), Kenya (54 percent), and Ukraine (53 percent).

In addition, 68 percent of Taiwanese and 81 percent in Hong Kong believed that criticism of religion should be a right. [The Freethinker] Read more

Muslim violence a fact, not prejudice

.... Even in Australia, many ethnic and religious groups have been subjected to disadvantage and exclusion, but none have produced the level of terrorist convictions of our own home-grown Islamic radicals.

It is a bitter pill for the vast majority of Australian Muslims to swallow that their faith has been linked, globally and locally, to religious violence.

Unfortunately, this link cannot be dismissed as the product of media prejudice or ''Islamophobic'' propaganda. It is in part an issue of some Muslims behaving very badly, and their often strident claim is that they do this in the name of religion.

Taking such claims seriously and debating them publicly must not be equated with stigmatising law-abiding and peaceable Australian Muslims. [The Sydney Morning Herald] Read more [via Political Correctness Watch]

Islam emerges as campaign issue in French local polls

.... "Everybody is obsessed with the National Front's rise and thinks they can win some extremist voters by using its issues," he said. "But the opposite will happen if they continue this."

The debate has alienated many Muslims, even such moderate figures as Grand Mosque of Paris Rector Dalil Boubakeur, who announced Wednesday he would not take part in a public debate on secularism that the UMP plans to hold on April 5.

He said the debate about Islam "has greatly upset and worried Muslims who feel stigmatised because of their faith." [Reuters] Read more

Intolerance in Muslim societies is rising

.... Sadly, progressive Muslim scholars have not been able to match the flurry of misinformation on Islam that is being unleashed through some private television channels. One reason for this could be the paucity of funds as the progressives do not have the benefit of petro-dollars.But the real fear perhaps is that of being ostracised from society, and in the worst case, killed.

Therefore, the only way to remedy this situation is for the moderate majority of the Muslims to support progressive reformers and help them intellectually counter religious chauvinism through the rational teachings of the Koran as done by the Prophet himself. [Daily News & Analysis] Read more [via National Secular Society]

Islamic countries set aside their 12-year campaign to have religions protected from "defamation"

Western countries and their Latin American allies, strong opponents of the defamation concept, joined Muslim and African states in backing without vote the new approach that switches focus from protecting beliefs to protecting believers.

Since 1998, the 57-nation Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) had won majority approval in the council and at the United Nations General Assembly for a series of resolutions on "combating defamation of religion".

Critics said the concept ran against international law and free speech, and left the way open for tough "blasphemy" laws like those in Pakistan which have been invoked this year by the killers of two moderate politicians in Pakistan. [Reuters] Read more

Is religious law dangerous? Consider Jewish law

.... Such is also the case, I would argue, with Sharia. A Conservative Jew is not anti-democratic for keeping kosher, just as a Muslim may follow halal dietary laws without threatening the republic.

The key question is NOT do they follow their religious law; it’s WHAT INTERPRETATION of religious law do they follow, and what is its relationship to secular law? The more their vision accepts a democratic, pluralistic society, the better.

If these proposed laws acted equally to restrict the influence of all religious law on government, I might agree – then I wouldn’t have to grapple with a government-promoted National Day of Prayer every May. But I suspect that most Sharia ban proponents would not accept that friendly amendment.

[COMMENT] .... Back in 2004, Muslims in the province of Ontario also used the existence of long-standing provincial Catholic and Jewish arbitration tribunals to campaign for the establishment of Sharia courts.

When some expressed concern, Sharia supporters accused their critics of “Islamophobia” and paranoia. Undaunted, one intrepid reporter took the time to visit the website of the pro-Sharia Canadian Society of Muslims. What he found there was chilling. [Chicago Tribune] Read more [via National Secular Society]

Thank Allah for Veena Malik

It's quite easy to suffix this with 'As the actress said to the bishop...', but that would be to trivialise one of the most formidable clashes of the Islam of love with what Jesus might have termed the Islam of 'whited sepulchres', except this mullah isn't even beautiful on the outside. Plea to the BBC: put her on Question Time. [Archbishop Cranmer] Read more

Dozy bint Rachel Woodlock, Aussie convert to Islam, attempts a hatchet job on apostate Patrick Sookhdeo

.... she's taking up the hatchet against all those evil, money-grubbing 'far-right' Islamophobes who supposedly cause Jihad by being mean and nasty to the poor little Muslims - and her primary target is prominent apostate from Islam, now Christian, UK Anglican Canon Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, who will be visiting Australia in early April to continue instructing and warning interested Aussies on the dangers of Islam and Islamisation. [The Iconoclast] Read more

The Most Islamic Community in Europe

Leicester, an industrial city in central England, is home to the most conservative Islamic population anywhere in Europe, according to American diplomatic cables that were obtained and recently released by the website, Wikileaks. Leicester is also on track to become the first majority non-white city in British history.

The politically incorrect observation was made by a senior US State Department official who visited the city as part of an effort to engage Muslim communities in Europe. It reflects how Leicester's long-ballyhooed experiment with multiculturalism is being challenged by Muslim separatism and assertiveness. [Hudson New York] Read more