Why I disagree with having a women-run mosque in Bradford

On Sunday 2 August, the Muslim Women’s Council in Bradford will be holding an event to discuss its proposals for the UK’s first women-managed mosque. Some women have experienced exclusion from male-run mosques, and so on the surface this seems a reasonable way forward. Many Muslims in Bradford would agree that we need to work towards greater involvement and inclusion of women in the life of the Muslim community.

.... All of this is why I support Bradford having a mosque that is led by both men and women, that is used by both men and women, which remains true to the Muslim tradition and religious moral law. Such a mosque would be the first to be inclusive of both male and female leadership and also male and female use, so would be a good example of how other mosques could develop, potentially stimulating change and development across all British mosques.

[TOP RATED COMMENT] "There are some very good examples of female scholarship emerging in the Muslim community within Bradford and beyond."

That would be scholarship about, say, the development of empiricist philosophy within the Scottish Enlightenment, the Barbary incursions, the Norse influence on the vowels of eastern England? Or is “ scholarship” here being used in a special sense about just one book not subject to the principle of a priori examination that would be normal in other fields? [Guardian Cif] Read more

Prosecution of anti-Islam preacher is “in the public interest”, claims Public Prosecution Service

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) of Northern Ireland have defended their prosecution of James McConnell, the Christian preacher who called Islam "Satanic."

In a letter sent to the National Secular Society, the PPS have doubled-down on their decision to take the case to trial, after the NSS warned that their actions had created a "chilling effect" on free speech. A Christian organisation warned that "many churches will be wary of what they place on the internet until this case is heard and the law is clarified."

Pastor McConnell is being prosecuted under the Communications Act 2003 for sending a "grossly offensive" message. The Pastor said during a sermon that Islam was a "doctrine spawned in hell" and that while there "may be" "good Muslims" in the UK, he didn't trust Muslims generally. [National Secular Society] Read more

Apologists for terror or defenders of human rights? The Cage controversy in context

The attack on Cage is part of the more general assault on politically active Muslims and an attempt to push Muslim organisations to the margins of public life. Cage is not the only group to have had its banks accounts, those of its staff and – let it be emphasised – their children, closed.

Not being a charity, it is not even one of the 55 Muslim charities that are currently being attacked (or 'investigated' as they would have it) by the Charity Commission. The Commission, headed by the neoconservative ideologue Lord Shawcross, has put 'intense regulatory pressure' on charities that have funded Cage to publically declare they will never do so again.

In addition, Amnesty and others have been pressurised to draw a cordon sanitaire between Cage and themselves. This plainly amounts to a campaign to bully and censor people into dissociating themselves from Cage and has had a significant impact on its ability to undertake its human rights work. [openDemocracy] Read more

Halal committee receives hundreds of views

More than 500 submissions have been made to a Senate committee investigating the hot topic of the halal certification of food in Australia.

The majority voiced opposition to the existing system, with many raising the question of whether the money ends up in the pockets of overseas organisations.

"I have no desire to eat halal blessed food and resent having to pay for the process," one said.

A father of five recalled his difficulty in finding non-halal certified products at his local supermarket.

Another suggested a user-pays system, which would result in the costs of having halal certification borne by those who wish to buy it.

"The rapidly expanding halal certification industry is imposing its Islamic tax on farmers, industry, transportation, retailers and customers in Australia," a couple wrote. [Yahoo7 News] Read more

Report: Hundreds of Islamist Extremists Speaking On British Campuses

Between 2012-14 there were over 400 extremist events on British Campuses, a new report has found. The University of Westminster, where Islamic State beheader Jihadi John studied, came top of the list, while opposition to the government’s anti-radicalization initiative, Prevent, was entrenched and officially sanctioned by many student unions.

The report by anti-extremism group Student Rights said there is “evidence that a culture conducive to the promotion of non-violent extremism has developed on a number of UK university campuses.”

It said speakers on campuses are commonly arguing that there is a Western war on Islam, supporting individuals convicted of terrorism and expressing intolerance of non-believers and other minorities. It revealed that well over a hundred extremists are speaking every year, and that “extremist material” is being shared on the social media pages of student societies. [Breitbart London] Read more

Isis killer’s former university hosts 25 radical preachers

The London university attended by the Islamic State murderer Mohamed Emwazi has hosted the highest number of extremist or intolerant speakers over the past three years, a report claims.

The University of Westminster, where the terrorist known as “Jihadi John” gained a computer programming degree, offered a platform to radical speakers on 25 occasions between 2012 and 2014.

They included Shohana Khan and Adnan Khan, representatives from the hardline group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which promotes a caliphate ruled by Sharia. The government has threatened to ban it and it is on the National Union of Students’ “no-platform” list.

A Palestinian scholar who is alleged to have called homosexuality a “criminal act” spoke four times in four months, while other speakers promoting Islamist views were also given a platform. Uthman Lateef, a British preacher who has said, “We don’t accept homosexuality . . . we hate it because Allah hates it”, spoke in 2012. [The Times (£)] Read more

David Cameron’s Muslim Muddle

The British prime minister didn’t go far enough—though he went further than most politicians.

Listening to and reading Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent speech about Islamic extremism in Britain, I realized why I could never be a practicing politician. Its mixture of good sense, half-truths, evasions, political correctness, and electioneering was anathema to me. It was the stock-in-trade of a man obliged by his position to balance a hundred considerations at once, an obligation that precludes intellectual honesty, even if the latter is desired.

.... Every politician, it seems, must tread on the eggshells of political correctness. Cameron felt constrained to say, “It is here in Britain where success is achieved not in spite of diversity but because of diversity . . . . Every one of the communities that has come to call our country home has made Britain a better place.” Suggestio falsi and suppressio veri can hardly go further. [City Journal] Read more

Islamic identity crisis at the core of radicalisation

Muslim community leaders in Australia are rarely on the same page – except for when it comes to criticising the government's counter-radicalisation efforts.

All stand united against the government for its lack of understanding the issue of radicalisation and not "consulting" them with important policy decisions on the subject.

Yet, when you talk to most of these Muslim community leaders on identifying the problem and proposing tangible solutions one can't help but notice their rudimentary understanding of the subject offering little beyond textbook prescription to focus more on "socio-economic" issues and conducting "true consultations" with the Muslim community leaders.

For a start, the overwhelming claim by Muslim community leaders that "research" suggests socio-economic and political issues drive radicalisation is not only erroneous but reveals a primitive understanding of the debate on the subject. [The Sydney Morning Herald] Read more

UK: David Cameron Declares War on Islamic Extremism

Prime Minister David Cameron has outlined a new five-year plan to fight Islamic extremism in Britain.

The strategy — the specifics of which will be unveiled in the coming months — rests on four pillars: challenging the ideology of Islamism; confronting those who promote Islamic extremism; encouraging moderate Muslims to speak up and be heard; and improving Muslim integration.

Cameron, however, has not offered a precise definition of "extremism," and it remains unclear how his government will balance efforts to silence Islamic extremists with the right to free speech.

Muslim reaction to the plan has been mixed: some have hailed it as "brave," "bold," "overdue," and "an important first step," while others have criticized it as "confusing," "contradictory," "over-simplified," and "Islamophobic." [Gatestone Institute] Read more

Extremism and the conveyor-belt fallacy

.... Interestingly, those keen to deny the links between violent and non-violent extremists often argue the opposite when it comes to Islamophobia. They are very keen to point out the links between groups like the English Defence League, Britain First and anti-Muslim hate crime. Ideology suddenly becomes key and a precursor to violence when it is right-wing but not when it is Islamist.

We have a bizarre situation in this country whereby few are interested in trying to understand radicalisation yet many appear keen to use it to critique their political opponents. In the eyes of the hard-left, radicalized Muslims are a tool to exploit in a grand strategy to oppose western capitalism.

Islamist extremists who preach the importance and necessity of establishing an Islamist state suddenly pretend their efforts are not linked to those seeking to establish their ideology through violent means.

Meanwhile we have sections of the press and academia that have already decided that the real issue is nasty Tory policies like Prevent – rather than extremists advocating religious supremacy. [Left Foot Forward] Read more

Shut up as a woman, Deputy PM Arinç tells female HDP deputy

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arinç has told a female deputy from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), who was responding to him during a speech in Parliament, to “shut up as a woman” in remarks that drew protest from women.

“Lady, shut up,” Arinç told the HDP's Nursel Aydogan, who responded to the deputy prime minister as he was delivering a speech on Wednesday during an extraordinary session held to discuss a proposal to discuss recent terror incidents. After Aydogan continued to respond, Arinç told her to “shut up as a woman.”

HDP Co-chairperson Pervin Buldan called on Arinç to apologize to Aydogan as well as to all the other female deputies.

“It's the expression of his subconscious. Arinç told a deputy to ‘shut up as a woman'. She could have spoken if she had been a man,” Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Aylin Nazliaka said on Twitter. [Today's Zaman] Read more

Saudi Arabian royals who annexed an entire public beach for their stay on the French Riviera 'ordered local police not to allow female officers near them'

Saudi Arabian royals who annexed an entire public beach for their stay in the south of France have reportedly ordered local police not to allow female officers anywhere near them.

More than 100,000 people have already signed a petition against billionaire King Salman and his entourage having Mirandole Beach, in Vallauris, between Cannes and Antibes, to themselves.

And yesterday, demonstrators - including nude swimmers - made their feelings known during a protest.

Now the police are furious, suggesting the visitors from the repressive Middle Eastern state do not believe in equal rights. [Daily Mail] Read more

Austria launches investigation against Wilders

The Austrian Public Prosecutor has started an investigation against PVV leader Geert Wilders on charges of sedition. Aggrieved Muslims pressed charges against Wilders because of his statements comparing the Koran with Adolf Hitler’s book Mein Kampf and demands that the Islamic holy book be banned during a meeting of the right wing populist FPO in Vienna in March, NU reports.

Interest group Initiative of Musilm Austrians finds that Wilders has made himself guilty of sedition, denigrating religious teachings and breach of the prohibition of reviving Nazi ideology. The theme of his speech in Hofburg, Vienna was “The threat to Europe”.

Wilders reacted on Twitter with the tweet. “It can not get a lot crazier.” [NL Times] Read more

Why must Britain’s young Muslims live with this unjust suspicion?

At Eid prayers in a rainswept Aberdeen this month, the imam gave thanks to Allah Almighty for the blessings of life in Britain. We had successfully completed a month of fasting while Muslims in China were banned from observing Ramadan and in other parts of the world, many fasted through distressing circumstances of poverty and war. In the sports hall that was booked for the prayers, we listened to the imam in our rain-splattered best clothes before heading for our first morning coffee in a month and the candy floss on sale for the children.

Older, first-generation immigrants understood the logic of Britain being better and freer than “our own home countries”. But the young who were born and grew up in Britain would say that it is hard work being a British Muslim. [1723 comments]

[TOP RATED COMMENT 633 votes] Because young Muslims keep blowing stuff up and shooting people?

[2ND 525] I do not live in the UK but I did live and work in Bradford during 9/11. My sister worked in New York at that time. To watch the asian youths returning from Friday prayers celebrating the event impacted on my attitude towards the asian community and the youths.

[3RD 420] You can write all the articles you want, and so can everyone you know. It won't make a tiny bit of difference. A better use of your time would be to report any information you might know about suspected jihadists to the authorities. Now if you and everyone you know all did that - THAT would make a huge difference. So don't worry about suspicions. That's just a by-product. Focus on the source.

[4TH 392] Another week, another "Someone else's fault" article in the Guardian

[5TH 314] For large numbers of Muslims to demonstrate with the same fervour against acts of terror as against the publications of irreverent cartoons?

[6TH 281] Part 1000 in a never-ending series called 'why muslims are always victims and their religion has nothing to do with anything bad that happens'.

[7TH 247] Reading this I can appreciate how difficult it is to be a young muslim but I still wonder about the never ending stream of articles appearing in the Guardian which further the 'poor me' narrative. Are they truly representative of the muslim community?

Are there not muslims out there who can tell us how they are mobilising within their communities to make them less insular, to connect with the people around them? Is there no one that can appreciate why islam frightens the hell out of people and reflect on that?

Personally I suspect that there is something in the religion that creates an inability to self-analyse, to empathise with others, a sort of 'group-victim' mentality which is cultural, and explains an awful lot about the roots of radicalisation. [Guardian Cif] Read more

Defending obscurantism - Saudi call for worldwide laws against blasphemy

In an Orwellian twist of logic, Gulf states are once again pushing to restrict religious freedom under the guise of promoting tolerance, combating extremism and protecting human rights.

At a conference in France at the weekend, a Saudi official from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs called for the worldwide introduction of blasphemy laws, as a matter of urgency.

The situation, he said, "requires everyone to intensify efforts to criminalise insulting heavenly religions, prophets, holy books, religious symbols and places of worship".

The kingdom, of course, has been setting an example in this respect. It was under such laws that Saudi blogger Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1,000 lashes, 10 years in jail sentence and fined of one million riyals ($266,000). [al-bab.com] Read more

Muslims take pride in contribution to Scots life

AN INNOVATIVE social media campaign has been launched to highlight the contribution Muslims have made to life in Scotland.

It aims to collect and collate the history of Scotland’s 85,000 Muslims through personal recollections and stories on Facebook and Twitter.

The project, which will last for a year, is the first attempt of its kind to research and celebrate the history of Scots Muslims and is aimed at promoting their positive impact on society to both young Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

“Muslims have made a positive impact on Scottish society”, says Habib Malik, the community interests director at Napiershall Formula, which is managing the campaign on behalf of the Scottish Muslim Heritage Trust.

[TOP RATED COMMENT] Muslims are, at present, a relatively small minority of the population and thus show a tolerant outlook to the rest of society. But, as had been shown in England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and in many other European countries, this mask of tolerance soon slips when Muslims bacome a majority in any area. Scottish left wingers who are so pro-Muslim should just travel south of the border to places like Dewsbury, Rochdale and Tower Hamlets to see what happens when Muslims get the upper hand in any community.

[2ND] Sorry, but I'm sick of hearing about Islam. I played my favourite 'How long does it take to hear a reference to Islam/Muslims on the BBC' game today. Turned on R4 when I went to make breakfast and today's result was a big fat 0 seconds. An article on why Muslims in East London don't feel British.

Then open this website and whammy, here we are, how great Muslims are. We don't have daily updates on Sikhs, Catholics, the Chinese community, Wee Frees, Fraserburgh fishermen, Buddhists and all the other myriad of people that make up our society. Yes, I know there are Muslims out there and that they have problems and cause us problems but just give us peace for one day.

[3RD] Some people should open their eyes, google 'violent passages from the Koran'.

Or maybe they rather see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.

[4TH] The misogynistic death cult that masquerades as 'The Religion of Peace' is proving a complete disaster for its adherents and for the rest of humanity. No place for this backward and ignorant nonsense in the UK.

[5TH] Scotland could manage quite well, without any contribution from Islam. [The Scotsman] Read more

UK muslims feel identity under threat since 9/11

POLITICIANS from Scotland’s Islamic community see the need for Cameron’s counter-extremism strategy, but they are wary of a failure to understand what turns young people to terrorism, says Euan McColm

It is a subject so complex that the usual rules of politics don’t apply. When Prime Minister David Cameron set out his five-year counter-extremism strategy last week, even those who might usually be expected to criticise for the sake of criticism were unable to do so.

.... Yousaf said that those concerned about radicalisation should be mindful of the pressure Muslims felt “post 9-11”.

“My perception is that since then many Muslims feel that their identity is under threat in a way it never was.

“We see it in different ways, throwaway remarks. My mum wears a headscarf, for example, and she has had more comments directed against her in recent years. My aunt was in Homebase recently and asked another customer if he would hand her something down from a shelf. He said he would as long as she wouldn’t bomb him.”

Not, perhaps, enough to radicalise a middle-aged woman of moderate views, but an example of the change in mood that may be adding to the frustration some misguided young Muslims undoubtedly feel.

[TOP RATED COMMENT] The Saudis, instead of spending their money improving the World, have been squandering their vast oil wealth trying to turn Muslims into Wahhabi, Kaffir hating, misogynistic violent jihadis for the past thirty years.

[2ND] In Muslim terms, if you are not a Muslim, then you are persona non grata. They do not accept any other religion other than Islam. Before the mortally offended start, I'm not anti Islam, but it's time some people faced the truth, and are able to express their opinions on the matter of continued non integration by the Muslim community.

All too often, the media and especially politicians are walking on egg shells, terrified of upsetting the Muslim community every time we are faced with yet another atrocity against western life. We need to be able to criticise without being accused of being anti Islamic, and that's the problem.

[3RD] UK muslims feel their identity is under threat since 9/11 ? So they should, it is time they chose between their past heritage and their present loyalties.

[4TH] News for Sarwar ~ Fact - Scottish people equal with their English friends ARE just as sick of immigrants and WE don't see this integration from the Pakistani community your trying to make out. In General we feel the same and WANT to SEE Massive changes to the immigration system.

[5TH] No one is forcing Muslims to live in the west. They are free to upsticks and return to the homeland of their religion anytime.

[6TH] the Muslim community say they feel under threat? the question is why? they have Sharia courts, schools, they are allowed to build Mosques, their is no restrictions on them and their religion they are with British government permission allowed to create their own Aparthied in the UK then Cameron claims not enough integration!

I would suggest Mr Cameron actually read the Koran integration is not permitted with non Muslims and one has to wonder if friendship is not permitted what`s the chance integration will work? a call for it in effect asking Muslims not follow the preaching's of their Prophet.

Unfortunately the Muslim community worldwide have the same problem Nowhere exists Muslims are not under threat according to Muslims themselves, the teaching of the prophet said he has commanded his followers to make Islam the only dominate faith [The Scotsman] Read more

Muslims who held anti-terrorism Dublin rally faced resistance from some Muslims

A group of Muslims behind an anti-terrorism demonstration in Dublin, say they faced resistance from a few members of the Islamic community, while promoting the event.

The Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council organised the protest against terrorism and the actions of the so-called Islamic State group.

Organisers said that a member of the council was assaulted by someone at a mosque who claimed to support 'ISIS', while he was handing out leaflets to promote today's protest against terrorism. [Irish Examiner] Read more

Banned staff revealed to be teaching at Trojan horse school

At least two teachers accused of involvement in the Trojan Horse plot to “Islamise” Birmingham schools have been reinstated by the academy at the heart of the scandal, despite being banned from the teaching profession.

Shakeel Akhtar, the assistant principal of Park View School, and Saqib Malik, director of student progress, have in recent weeks resumed teaching children in class, in a move that has been heavily criticised by other staff and is understood to have contributed to at least two resignations.

Both men are among more than a dozen teachers allegedly involved in the plot who are still subject to “interim prohibition orders” banning them from teaching. [The Telegraph] Read more

Can the Middle East tackle Islamist militancy?

.... If you watch Saudi television, as I sometimes do, you will quickly realise that Saudi Arabia is tragicomically caught in the huge gap between the image it tries to project and the reality it pretends does not exist.

Last Saturday was such a moment.

After the announcement that the interior ministry had broken up terror cells linked to so-called Islamic State (IS) and arrested some 400 suspects, Saudi commentators took to the airwaves. They praised the police for thwarting planned terrorists attacks and, crucially, noted the young age of the suspects, most of whom were Saudis.

They talked about how Saudi society could steer those stray, lost souls back to the path of true Islam and away from extremism.

The irony couldn't have escaped anyone who knows Saudi Arabia well.

How could this ultra-conservative monarchy fight extremism when its own brand of the faith - known as Wahhabi Islam - is barely distinguishable from the one practised by the militants in Syria and Iraq? [BBC] Read more

Muslim group welcomes PM's extremism crackdown in UK

.... Forum member Dr Khurshid Ahmed said the way some recent speeches by the Prime Minister had been reported had not been received well because Muslims felt they were all being asked to apologise for the activities of Islamic State and extremists.

Dr Ahmed, referring to the speech, said: “I welcome it. We are all very supportive of any measures we can come up with to deal with extremism, as long as there is a fair approach to all forms of extremism, from Islamist to the right-wing fascist.”

Mr Cameron said it was every citizen’s duty to challenge extremist ideas.

Speaking after his speech, Mr Cameron said: “I was chatting to Abdullah beforehand. He was very inspiring to me because first of all he was taking part in the Balsall Heath Forum which is a great expression of the Big Society – people who got together and weren’t happy with the way things are. [Birmingham Post] Read more

Faith School Bans Pupils From Meeting 'Outsiders'

A Muslim boarding school has been rated "good" by Ofsted, despite threatening to expel students if they mix with other children.

The Institute of Islamic Education in Dewsbury was praised by the education watchdog despite its pupils being taught not to speak to the media and being banned from watching TV, listening to the radio or reading newspapers.

Last week David Cameron criticised some faith schools in a speech on extremism, saying that improving integration was part of the "the struggle of our generation".

.... In its most recent inspection report Ofsted specifically praised the Dewsbury school for preparing its pupils to cater for the changing needs of British Muslims.

"The Islamic Institute of Education provides a good quality of education and meets its stated aims very well," it said.

The school is housed in Dewsbury's Markazi Mosque compound and run by the Tablighi Jamaat sect, which imposes a strict Sharia code on students.

The school has no website, but Sky News obtained copies of documents given to parents which state that students "socialising with outsiders... will be expelled if there is no improvement after cautioning." [Sky News] Read more

Religious Persecution On the Rise: Minorities Under Threat in the Middle East

.... In contrast, majority Muslim nations almost uniformly persecute. The only question is how virulent the repression. Believers are mistreated everywhere, but Christians most suffer in the birthplace of Christianity. The Iraq invasion and Arab Spring have loosed a campaign of religious cleansing across the Middle East.

In the case of the Islamic State death is the norm, though Shia Muslims and many others fare little better than Christians. Reported USCIRF: "When ISIL last June overtook Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, it immediately murdered 12 dissenting Sunni clerics, kidnapped Christian priests and nuns, and leveled ancient houses of worship." Even in relatively tolerant Muslim countries such as Kuwait Islamist radicals call for additional restrictions on non-Muslims. [The Huffington Post] Read more

Government Steps In To Replace Leadership Of ‘Extremist’ Mosque

.... The Masjid and Madrasah Al-Tawhid Trust, a charity which funds and controls the Salafist ideology Masjid al-Tawhid mosque in Leyton, East London, has been under investigation by the charity commission since 2012 over allegations it had links to terrorist and extremist groups.

Although the local Muslim community dismissed the accusations as stemming from bitter former members of the mosque spreading lies, the Charity Commission has now found grounds to remove a group whose claim to control the charity was substantiated by “procedural flaws”.

.... The al-Tawhid mosque has long been a source of controversy, welcoming a range of extremist speakers to address the congregation. A 2012 BBC London feature made when the enquiry started reported that extremist preacher Abu Qatada, deported from the UK for terror offences in 2013 has spoken there several times, as had senior Al-Qaeda man Anwar al-Awlaki. al-Awlaki, who prosletysed and recruited for al-Qaeda in Europe as well as wrote the terrorist organisation’s propaganda magazine Inspire, was killed by U.S. drone strike in 2011. [Breitbart] Read more

Why has scientific progress stalled in many Islamic countries?

.... For editor Jeremy Henzell-Thomas, research associate at the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies at the University of Cambridge, Muslims need to steer a path between two opposing dangers when it comes to higher education and science.

One is the “lame duck” mentality, which frames answers to questions “only in terms of ‘catching up’ with Western models of knowledge production, professionalism, quality assurance, critical thinking, research, liberal arts” and so on.

The opposite trap is “the ‘cosy corner’ mentality, which prefers to occupy a parochial corner in which everything which is not explicitly ‘Islamicised’ is seen as threatening or deviant”.

In his essay, Dr Zou’bi writes that in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf are many “multi-billion dollar educational and scientific projects”. All, however, are “totally dependent on expatriates” and “exist in a culture that is indifferent to science at best, or aggressively anti-science at worst”, as exemplified by a YouTube video of a Saudi theologian in Sharjah telling a large audience that the Sun revolves around a stationary Earth. [Times Higher Education] Read more