Tunisia’s constitution seeks to ban criticism of religion

.... Four articles in particular have elicited varying degrees of criticism: Article 5, which regulates the media; Article 28, which defines the status of women; Article 45, which seeks to determine whether the president should be elected by popular vote or parliamentary vote; and Article 3, which calls for the criminalization of religious offenses, stating that “The state guarantees freedom of religious belief and practice and criminalizes all attacks on that which is sacred.”

While every country sets ultimate limits on its citizens’ rights and liberties, Tunisia’s broadly defined efforts to ban criticism of religion in Article 3 are worrisome.

The article in its current, murkily worded formulation will likely restrict the range of expression in Tunisia, and may be used as a convenient vehicle for political and social repression. [Sada] Read more

Muslim tycoon in divorce fight over affair 'allowed under Sharia Law'

.... In a tense divorce hearing today, the property developer, who styles himself 'Lord’ and was once jailed for attacking a helicopter, told Bristol county court that he was allowed a second wife under sharia.

Ms Bidaki argued that her husband’s affair and illegitimate children were grounds for a divorce.

They married in Iran in 1978, when she was 19, before moving to Britain, where they had three children and he built his business, the court heard. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more

Europe’s Muslim population triples in 30 years

Europe’s Muslim population has tripled over the last 30 years. Many European see Islam as a threat and Muslim fundamentalism as a challenge to their values, particularly those related to women.

These views were expressed by eminent scholars and speakers during a workshop on “Multiculturalism in Europe in the light of International Developments after 9/11” organised by University of Karachi Area Study Centre for Europe in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, here the other day. [Daily Times] Read more

Islamists attack Tunisia hotel bar: witnesses

Islamist activists raided the last working bar in the central Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid on Monday, smashing bottles and chasing away customers, witnesses said.

Around 50 activists burst into the bar in the Hotel Horchani in the centre of town, customers and staff told AFP.

Bearded men then raided the reception and the upstairs rooms of the hotel, the last in Sidi Bouzid to serve alcohol, some of them shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) and "Al-Saharab haram" (drinking is a sin). [AFP] Read more

Fears over revival of mega-mosque plan

An Islamic group will this week relaunch its bid to build a 12,000-capacity “mega-mosque” next to the Olympic site.

The Tablighi Jamaat group, a Muslim missionary movement once described as an “ante-chamber of fundamentalism”, wants to build Britain’s biggest place of worship in West Ham.

It will have 40ft minarets, a library, a visitor centre and a 300-space car park at the Canning Road site. The scheme has aroused years of intense opposition since the group first submitted plans in 1999. In 2001, it agreed that worship would only be on a temporary basis. Permission expired in 2006 but the group continued to use the site.

In 2010, the council issued an enforcement notice but it successfully appealed against it last year and more than 5,000 people a week now worship at the site which houses several pre-fab building. [Evening Standard] Read more

Imam held in blasphemy case after new testimony

A blasphemy case took a bizarre turn here on Saturday when police arrested Khalid Jadoon, a prayer leader who had allegedly put some pages of the holy Quran among the burnt papers to strengthen the case against a Christian girl.

The arrest was made after a statement before a magistrate by a witness, Hafiz Zubair, a Muezzin in the same mosque, in which he alleged that he saw Khalid Jadoon putting the pages of Quran in the polythene bags containing the burnt papers. [DAWN.COM] Read more

Channel 4 history of Islam sparks flood of complaints and presenter Tom Holland subjected to torrent of abusive tweets

.... Islam: The Untold Story has triggered nearly 550 complaints to both the television regulator Ofcom and Channel 4 itself.

It has also sparked a bitter war of words on Twitter involving leading historians and Islamic scholars.

Since it was screened last week, presenter Tom Holland, a historian with a double first from Cambridge, has been subjected to a torrent of abusive tweets, some of which have included physical threats. [MailOnline] Read more

Questioning Tom Holland and his ‘Islam: The Untold Story’

As I mentioned in my previous blog, following the broadcast of his Channel Four documentary ‘Islam: The Untold Story’ on Tuesday evening, I got in touch with the presenter, Tom Holland, via Twitter to ask him some questions about the rather bizarre conjectures he had made – particularly given that he had said at the outset that he was interested in facts.

Tom responded to a number of my questions via Twitter which I thought was very kind of him, especially as he may have received messages from a lot of people. I thought it would be worthwhile reproducing some of our exchanges below. [inayatscorner] Read more

Pharmacist who asked colleague what her favourite sex position is LET OFF at tribunal because he had a 'restrictive Muslim background'

A pharmacist who made crude remarks to three of his female colleagues has escaped with a warning after a panel heard he came from a 'restrictive Muslim background' and was unaware of the offence his conduct had caused.

Khalil Jamil asked one of the women about her favourite love-making position and quizzed another about the mating habits of her horses - but a professional panel ruled his behaviour was not sexually motivated. [MailOnline] Read more

Halal toothpaste, anyone? Religious observance has become a global brand

.... The most lucrative of these by far is Islamic finance, which seeks to eliminate usury from all transactions and which has been transformed from a niche product to one available on the high street in the UK.

There is halal perfume, toothpaste, "beer" (it's awful), bacon (delicious), cosmetics as well as "halal" hotels and holiday resorts. The definition of halal has become so broad, it seems to encompass everything that caters to Muslim sensibilities. There is even a World Halal Week that showcases such products.

A growing Muslim diaspora in the west, and a rising middle class in Muslim countries constitute what is estimated to be a $2trillion market in halal goods and "experiences". [Guardian Cif] Read more

Jais to charge publisher of Irshad Manji's book

Book publisher and activist Faisal Mustaffa will be charged in the syariah court over Irshad Manji's banned book, Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta (Allah, Liberty and Love).

Faisal was told by the Selangor Religious Department (Jais) that he was under arrest and would be charged for failing to answer the questions of religious officers, after he had exercised his right to remain silent as provided for under the law.

"This is ridiculous. I was asked to come here for one case, and I have been charged for another case. I co-operated with their investigation," Faisal told theSun today.

He said Jais officers intimidated him by raising their voices and threatening him for declining to answer their questions. [Sun Media Corporation] Read more

Guidelines on wife-beating

From bearded loon Egyptian cleric Abd Al-Rahman Mansour, on Al-Nas TV:

Islam instructs a man to beat his wife as a last resort before divorce, so that she will mend her ways, treat him with kindness and respect, and know that her husband has a higher status than her.

I say to every husband: Do not rush to beat her whenever a problem arises. Oh servant of Allah, Allah said: "Admonish those of them on whose part you fear disobedience, refuse to share their beds, and beat them." One should not beat out of anger.

This you must know: If the wife utters the name of God, the beating must stop. [...] [Mick Hartley] Read more

Franklin man says rights violated, sues over Muslim cap

A Muslim man who once ran for Franklin alderman is suing a security company, claiming his religious rights were violated when its guards demanded he remove his cap before entering Nashville’s Juvenile Justice Center.

Rashid al-Qadir claims security guards violated his First Amendment right to the free exercise of his religion by telling him he could not wear the small, brimless cap called a kufi. Al-Qadir says he offered to remove the kufi for inspection but then wanted to put it back on. The guards refused and demanded he leave the building. Al-Qadir says he left voluntarily because he was afraid of being arrested or hurt. [www.tennessean.com] Read more

Why 'Citizen Khan' is the Tebbit cricket test for Muslims

.... The BBC sitcom has only aired one episode so far, but its lampooning of a self-important Muslim patriarch was almost as funny, and true to life, as the lampooning of self-important officialdom in TwentyTwelve.

Writers Adil Ray and Richard Pinto have an eye for the small hypocrisies that go on in a religious household: the father who talks charity but thinks only of money, the made-up daughter who wears symbols of religious identity like a Gucci scarf, the obsession with keeping up with the Joneses rather than being witnesses of the one true faith… yes, as someone brought up as a Catholic, I recognise it all. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more

Global condemnation makes it more difficult to free Pakistani girl accused of blasphemy

The Vatican has had its say. Online petitions are filling with virtual signatures. Pakistan's president is being lobbied. And even Muslim groups are coming to her aid.

Rimsha Masih has a lot of supporters. But ironically it could be the waves of support that mean the young Christian girl is eventually convicted of blasphemy – or even bludgeoned to death by another prisoner.

For although the law is rarely best carried out in secret, Pakistan's archaic blasphemy laws fall apart entirely when conducted amid the blaze of publicity. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more

Pakistan blasphemy case: 'Muslims could take law into their own hands'

A lawyer representing the man who accused a Pakistani Christian girl of blasphemy has said that if she is not convicted, Muslims could "take the law into their own hands".

Rao Abdur Raheem cited the example of Mumtaz Qadri, the man who last year shot dead a politician who had called for reform of the much-abused blasphemy law.

The apparent hijacking of the case against Rimsha Masih by organised extremists, including lawyers, could further complicate a bitterly contentious case.

The lawyer's comments are likely to further complicate a bitterly contentious case that has caused an international outcry and embarrassed the Pakistani government. It could intimidate the court and would put her life at further risk even if she is freed. [guardian.co.uk] Read more

Theocracy in the UK

Crude and brutal ideologies can be promoted through sophisticated, subtle means. This is hardly surprising. The less obvious the worth of a particular cause the more its advocates might grow reliant on cognitive and emotional manipulation.

Such is the case with the Islamic Education & Research Academy, iERA, who I’ve touched on several times and meant to explore properly. Their vision is one of cruel religious supremacy but as shocking and archaic as this sounds the means by which they advance it are modern and ingenious. These are not the medieval theocrats of Western imaginings. They offer Dawah 2.0. [Back Towards The Locus] Read more

Book excerpt: The ‘Muslim tide’ that wasn’t

.... French Muslims, despite their economic isolation, are falling fast into the reproduction patterns — and the cultural patterns — of their host country.

A major study by American and French scholars found that fertility rates are “closely tied to length of residence in France … the longer immigrant women live in France, the fewer children they have; their fertility rate approaches that of native-born women.”

The real fertility rates of French Muslim women, as we have seen, are now only slightly higher than those of the general population, and they are still falling. The data, the authors conclude, “show that immigrants adapt to local norms (and, perhaps, to the cost of living) soon after arrival. [National Post] Read more

Atheists Ignore Islamophobia at their Peril

.... [A COMMENT] I'm not "Islamophobic". I don't have an "irrational fear" of Islam, and I'm far too polite (or prudent) to refer to it as a "shitty" religion. I just regard it as the worst of a bad bunch, and I came to this conclusion by going through life with my eyes and ears open.

Muslims, in my experience, range from the decent, but blinkered, to the fanatical and psychopathic. It's hard to have any kind of discussion of their religious beliefs without them taking offence, and often with me feeling that the threat of violence isn't far away.

I can empathise with anybody who describes him/herself as a human being, but not with anybody who self-identifies as a Muslim; by definition, they are then identifying me as a kuffar, or non-Muslim. They have created the dualism; therefore it's up to them to cope with the consequences of this. [Religion Dispatches] Read more

After Anders Breivik's conviction, Norway must confront Islamophobia

.... The mainstream political rhetoric concerning Islam in Norway has undoubtedly changed for the better in the past year. The number of ordinary citizens willing to contest Islamophobic discourse publicly has risen.

But popular attitudes often remain stubbornly unchanged. A 2012 survey indicates that Norwegians hold more negative attitudes towards Muslims than towards any other minority group, except the Roma.

[A COMMENT] Have you ever considered that the general population don't want to confront Islamophobia?

Instead of churning out articles that aim to paint Islam as a scapegoat, why don't you take a fresh go at this, and print an article exploring why, the more time that goes by, the further the general population move away from the idea of multiculturalism and seem to be repelling Islam. And explain why this is a bad thing. [Guardian Cif] Read more

Muslim Brotherhood’s prima donna

.... Ramadan is a charming guy, but behind his smile lies a man committed to the goals of the worldwide Islamic jihad as laid out by his mentor, Sheik Qaradawi, and his father, the Trotsky of world Islamism, Said Ramadan.

While the rest of us will join the labour movement in parades or relish the last days of summer around family and friends, the Islamists will congregate in Edmonton and Montreal to receive guidance from Tariq Ramadan. Just last year, he told an American Muslim audience their job in the North America was to colonize the continent: [THE TORONTO SUN] Read more

Religious violence growing in Indonesia

Intra-Islamic religious intolerance is growing in Indonesia, says Dr Greg Fealy, an Australian specialist on Islam in the country.

He was speaking in the wake of the killing of two men in a mob attack on Shi'ites in the town of Sampang in East Java province. [ABC] Read more

Islam's critics won't be silenced

Lean thinks that "society" should act against my colleague Pamela Geller and me because the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik cited us in his manifesto. But actually, Breivik cited many, many people, including Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy and Thomas Jefferson -- who are never blamed for Breivik's murders.

.... Brevik’s real inspiration for his violence was, by his own account, Al Qaeda, as becomes clear in his manifesto when he spends 25 pages quoting extensively from the Koran and other Islamic sources. I am no more responsible for Breivik than the Beatles are for Charles Manson. [Los Angeles Times] Read more

Heavily made-up girl in a hijab provokes storm of complaints as BBC is accused of insulting Muslims with new sitcom Citizen Khan

It was probably unlikely that a TV comedy series about a Muslim community leader would pass without comment.

And so it was that in the region of 200 complaints were made to the BBC yesterday after it broadcast the first episode of Citizen Khan.

It was claimed that the programme ‘takes the mickey out of Islam’, was guilty of ‘stereotypes about Asians’ and was ‘disrespectful to the Koran’. [MailOnline] Read more

Taliban behead 17 at dance event

The Taliban have beheaded 17 Afghans for attending a dance party that flouted Islamic extremist rules.

The killings, in a the southern district of Helman, were a reminder of how much power the insurgent group still wields - particularly as international forces draw down and hand areas over to Afghan forces.

The victims were part of a large group that had gathered late on Sunday in the Musa Qala district for a celebration involving music and dancing, said district government chief Neyamatullah Khan. He said the Taliban slaughtered them to show their disapproval of the event. [UKPA] Read more