Sweden expels imams and associates, citing radicalisation concerns

Sweden has decided to expel six detained Muslim extremists from the Scandinavian country who “contribute to Islamist radicalisation and pose threats to the security of the kingdom”.

The six men, who are described by the government as central figures in the radical Islamist environment, were taken into custody during the Security Police offensive last spring.

They include Gävle mosque’s imam Abo Raad and his 34-year-old son Raad Al-Duhan, as well as four others with connection to the imam have been detained for six months. Both are Iraqi and immigrated to Sweden 1997 and 1998 respectively.

They also include an Iraqi Imam in the eastern city of Umeå, who immigrated to Sweden in 1998 and a Russian resident of Gävle, who according to his own information, was former imam in his home country before he immigrated to Sweden in 2011.

Among the expelled included an Imam in Västerås city, who is stateless amd immigrated to Sweden in 2001 and a school leader in Western Sweden, an Egyptian citizen who immigrated to the country in 1998. [The National] Read more

M&S answers demand for halal meat in ready meals

Marks & Spencer is to become the first major British retailer to sell own-brand halal ready-meals in response to the growing demand from Muslim customers.

From next week halal versions of six dishes, including chicken arrabbiata, chicken jalfrezi and chicken and mushroom tagliatelle, will be on sale in 36 stores from Bath to Wycombe Marsh.

The meals will also be stocked in Marks & Spencer international stores in Singapore and Dubai by its franchise partner Al-Futtaim. [The Times (£)] Read more

M&S is to become first food giant to sell own-label halal ready meals at stores that attract high number of Muslim shoppers

Marks & Spencer is to become the first mainstream food giant to sell own-label halal ready meals in stores with a large number of Muslim shoppers.

Most supermarkets already sell branded halal products, from names such as Shazans, while many takeaways, butchers and food chains sell only halal meat.

But M&S says its 'cruelty-free' products, which include chicken ready meals, ranging from curries to Italian dishes and a hot pot, are a first.

At the same time, the company is trying to broaden its range to attract others who want food that meets their own ethical approach with, for example, the Plant Kitchen range catering for the increasing number of vegans. [Daily Mail] Read more

Amsterdam refuses mosque’s request for loudspeaker call to prayer

In a 21st-century answer to a proposal with its roots in the seventh century, Amsterdam has rejected a plan by a prominent mosque to become the first in the city to broadcast its call to prayer over loudspeakers – on the grounds that it’s unnecessary in a world of mobile apps.

In a response that’s unlikely to be appreciated by the Muslim community, the mayor of the Dutch capital, Femke Halsema, said that given advances in technology, from alarms to apps, it was not necessary to use loudspeakers to remind the faithful when to pray.

The amplification of the call to prayer, Ms Halsema said, was fundamentally “not of this time” – a phrase widely described in the Dutch media on Wednesday as perhaps betraying a lack of sensitivity in relation to her view of Muslim tradition. [The Irish Times] Read more

School that couldn’t prove banned head was kept from classroom criticised by Ofsted

Ofsted has criticised a school that failed to prove its head teacher was being kept away from the classroom after she was temporarily banned from teaching.

Experts say the report into the Birmingham Muslim School highlights a concerning loophole in regulations that allow banned teachers to continue working in schools under supervision.

Janet Laws was given an interim prohibition order in February while her conduct was investigated, amid concerns that she might promote “views that undermine fundamental British values”, according to the report published on September 13. However, the school was unable to show that Laws, also known as Aisha Abdrabba, was properly supervised and kept away from teaching during the inspection in July. [Schools Week] Read more

The terrifying reaction to a panel debate on Islamophobia

Have you ever wondered why so few moderate Muslim voices are heard in the public debate? I used to, until I started to defend my faith against its extremist defamers. I then found out that any Muslim who ventures into this arena to stand up against hardliners is subject to fierce and immediate character assassination.

The process is exposed in a Civitas pamphlet, out this month, entitled ‘The No True Muslim’ fallacy. It provides examples of the attempts to silence people like Sara Khan and Fiyaz Mughal by those who have appointed themselves as Islam’s spokesmen. But I can offer another example: the reaction to a recent event at the last Tory party conference.

.... I flew a 6,700 mile round trip in 24 hours to make one key fact patently clear to the Conservative party: be under no mistake about what is at risk here. They should see the ‘Islamophobia’ campaign for what it is: what the late Christopher Hitchens referred to as a ‘cultural fatwa’, where all discussion of Islam let alone Islamism becomes off limits, followed by the formal criminalisation of exactly such discourse. [The Spectator] Read more

"Why Are You So Silent?": Persecution of Christians, August 2019

Boko Haram "has terrorised Christian communities in Nigeria for the last decade and has now splintered and spread its violent ideology into Cameroon, Niger and Chad." — Staff writer, Christian Today, August 8, 2019.

"They asked him to deny Christ and when he refused they cut off his right hand. Then he refused [again], they cut to the elbow again. In which he refused, before they shot him twice, at the head, the forehead, the neck, and chest." — Enoch Yeohanna, speaking on CBN News, August 29, 2019. Nigeria.

"Every year at least a thousand girls are kidnapped, raped, and forced to convert to Islam, even forced to marry their tormentors." — Tabassum Yousaf, a local Catholic lawyer, quoted in Newsbook MT, August 12, 2019. Pakistan. [Gatestone Institute] Read more

Iran authorities amputate man’s hand as punishment for thefts

An Iranian man charged with 28 counts of theft had his hand amputated at a prison in the northern province of Mazandaran on Thursday, the local judiciary announced.

A judicial statement from Mazandaran said the gruesome punishment had been carried out at Sari Prison in the northern Iranian province under Article 198 of the Islamic Republic’s Penal Code, according to Fars News Agency, an outlet close to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)

The man was also charged with possession and sale of drugs as well as selling stolen property. The judicial statement claimed the man had robbed 28 houses in the city of Mahmudabad.

“The policy of the judiciary is to seriously, without hesitation, confront those who disturb the public order and the security of the society and those who steal people’s properties,” the Mazandaran judiciary said. [Rudaw] Read more

France: The Headscarf Debate is Not about Headscarves

The headscarf is, of course, just a symptom of a deeper problem: many perceive it as the symbol of an invasion by an outside culture into the public sphere.

This behavior seems to worry many French people, who see it as a direct attack on their culture and identity, and a desire to live separately from the rest of society and according to other values.

Behind those claims, they see the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood or religious ideologies, whose ultimate goal seems to be to propagate these values and impose them on the rest of society.

In the end, however, the commotion created by the growing presence of the Islamic headscarf hides the more fundamental issues of how to deal with the rapidly increasing presence of a foreign culture that seems to keep demanding an ever-larger space in its host society. [Gatestone Institute] Read more

Iran cuts off man's fingers for theft

Amnesty International has condemned Iranian authorities for cutting off the fingers of a man convicted of theft.

The rights group said the amputation, carried out at a prison in the northern province of Mazandaran, was "an abhorrent form of torture".

Iranian officials said the man was found guilty of 28 cases of theft.

Iran's Islamic penal code says theft "on the first occasion" is punishable by the amputation of four fingers of the right hand.

Iranian authorities have defended amputation as the best way to deter theft despite protests by international human rights organisations.

However, reports of such punishments are rare.

Saleh Higazi, Amnesty's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement on Thursday that the premeditated "maiming and mutilation of individuals is not justice". [BBC] Read more

'Inadequate' Islamic school secretly stayed open after telling Government it had closed

A private Islamic school which had been rated "inadequate" secretly stayed open after telling the Department for Education it had closed, and repeatedly blocked inspectors from carrying out checks, it has emerged.

The Islamic Preparatory School Wolverhampton informed the DfE it had closed in September, but just days later Ofsted saw pupils entering and leaving the building.

The school was rated inadequate by Ofsted back in February, when an inspector found “several hazards” on the school site.

This included an “unlocked cupboard in the girls’ toilets” with “flammable and hazardous materials” inside, and a fire door which “opened out onto a small enclosed area”.

.... A new inspection report published this week reveals that Ofsted returned in September. According to Ofsted, Mr Raja informed the DfE on 23 September that his school had closed.

Ofsted visited the school two days later. During the visit, Mr Raja said there were 11 pupils receiving four hours tuition a day from Monday to Thursday, which he claimed meant it did not need to be registered with the DfE or inspected. Once again he denied the lead inspector entry to the school. [inews.co.uk] Read more

Jordan urged to stop imprisoning women for defying the wishes of men

Amnesty International has called on Jordan to end what it has described as an abusive system that jails women if they disobey their male “guardians” or have relationships deemed inappropriate.

Despite recent efforts to give women better protections, Amnesty said in a new report published on Wednesday that Jordan still allows the arbitrary detention of women, including when male family members – usually fathers or brothers – complain to the authorities that they have been absent without permission.

Under the male “guardianship” system, which Amnesty said is at the centre of a web of discriminatory provisions, men are empowered to control “women’s lives and limit their personal freedoms”, while women could be subjected to degrading practices such as “virginity tests”, aimed at determining whether they’ve had sex outside marriage. [The Guardian] Read more

The Ahmadi Abdus Salam and Muslim Nobel Prizes

.... Here’s a question for study and discussion: why? Why are there so few Muslim Nobels in the subjects that really count — the sciences? The three science winners received almost all of their education in the West, enjoying in their work the mental freedom that only the West, and not their countries of origin, could supply. Isn’t it plausible that there is something about Islam itself, its deep suspicion and discouragement of free and skeptical inquiry, while the habit of mental submission is encouraged, that accounts for this?

Could it be that all the time and mental energy that so many Muslims devote to learning the Qur’an by heart, some even memorizing the whole thing in order to attain the condition of hafiz, takes away from time that might be spent not on memorization, but on comprehension, analysis, discussion?

Is it possible that Islam stunts mental growth? Look at the confusion, illogicality, and hysteria of so many Muslim spokesmen, television guests and hosts, now on permanent view at www.memri.org. How many of us would wish our children to acquire what passes for an education in Muslim lands? Is it possible that, in addition to all its other unattractive features, Islam stunts mental growth? [New English Review] Read more

Iran parades jailed Instagram star on TV

Iranian TV has broadcast an interview with an Instagram star who was reportedly jailed for blasphemy in October.

Sahar Tabar gained worldwide fame on social media for her eerie likeness to American actress Angelina Jolie - a look she is rumoured to have achieved by having as many as 50 plastic surgeries.

She was arrested on 5 October on a raft of charges including blasphemy, instigating violence, insulting the Islamic hijab dress code and encouraging corruption among young people. The hardline Tasnim news agency reported at the time that her arrest was based on "numerous messages from the public calling for the case to be pursued". [BBC] Read more

MP Steve Baker takes Wycombe mosque petition to Parliament amid 'serious allegations of improper conduct'

The management of High Wycombe's largest mosque has been called into question by MP Steve Baker amid "serious allegations of improper conduct".

The Wycombe MP was approached in May by a member of the Wycombe Islamic Mission and Mosque Trust - which runs four mosques in High Wycombe, Micklefield, Castlefield, Townfield House and Jubilee Road - who Mr Baker said was "rightly concerned" about its governance.

It comes after a long-running dispute between the mosques' management committee and its members, who have urged them to resign and allow for a fresh election to be called.

.... It says that no elections have been held since November 2015, no AGM has taken place since the current management committee took office and makes allegations of a lack of "financial transparency, scrutiny and oversight" - even though the Trust reportedly had an income of more than half a million pounds in the last financial year.

The petition also makes claims of nepotism and adds: "Several individuals of the mosque management committee use their position to gain favour for their respective political parties and affiliations". [Bucks Free Press] Read more

Bangladesh: Muslim group seeks death for Hindu man over Facebook post

A Muslim outfit in Bangladesh on Monday demanded the death penalty for a Hindu man over an allegedly blasphemous post on Facebook.

The demand to enforce the death penalty against Biplob Chandra Baidya Shuvo, a Hindu youth, was made by the Shorbodolio Muslim Oikya Parishad. Thousands of supporters of Muslim groups participated in protests in Bhola district, over 100km away from Dhaka, on Sunday to demand action over the contentious Facebook post. Four people were killed when the police opened fire to disperse the protesters.

Biplob approached the police in Borhanuddin upazila in Bhola on October 19, to complain that his Facebook account had been hacked. The blasphemous post allegedly defamed Allah and Prophet Mohammad. Police took Biplob into custody and later also detained two Muslim youth—Emon and Sharif—who were suspected to have hacked Biplob's Facebook account.

Even though the police confirmed by Sunday evening Biplob was not behind the blasphemous post, the Muslim Oikya Parishad continued to demand the death penalty for him. [The Week] Read more

Hate preacher Anjem Choudary's banned terror group 'has revived since he was released from jail last year and is holding meetings again'

Hate preacher Anjem Choudary is inspiring his network of extremists and poses a renewed terror threat a year after he left jail, an analysis by experts has warned.

The firebrand cleric’s release has reinvigorated his outlawed jihadist group al-Muhajiroun, they found.

The ‘unrepentant’ father of five is back in his family home in east London where he previously masterminded the Islamist extremist network which helped radicalise terrorists, including London Bridge attack ringleader Khuram Butt, and Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, who murdered soldier Lee Rigby.

Experts from the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) say the decision to give Choudary, 52, parole should be reviewed in light of the findings, which they say show he is a threat to national security.

A study by the non-governmental monitoring organisation says his extremist network is understood to have restarted meetings. ‘Choudary remains a dangerous and influential figure,’ it says. [Daily Mail] Read more

Indonesia: Christian woman with schizophrenia to be tried for blasphemy after bringing dog to mosque

A Christian woman in Bogor, Indonesia, who suffers from schizophrenia, will be tried for blasphemy after bringing her dog to a mosque, angering Muslims.

According to Benar News, 52-year-old Suzethe Margaret could face up to five years in prison after she wore sandals and brought her dog into the Al Munawaroh Mosque in June. Dogs are considered unclean in Islam and bringing one to a mosque is seen as insulting.

In the video that went viral online documenting the event, Margaret was seen arguing with mosque caretakers. She can be heard saying that she is Christian and demanding to know about her ex-husband who was going to marry another woman in the mosque later that day. [The Christian Post] Read more

Iran: ‘Nine Christians Jailed For Leaving Islam’

An Iranian court has sentenced a pastor and eight fellow members of the big evangelical Church of Iran movement to jail for leaving Islam.

Church leader Matthias Haghnejad and the other believers were each sentenced to five years imprisonment after a short hearing on September 23, trial observers confirmed to BosNewsLife.

Pastor Haghnejad was detained by the feared Islamic Revolutionary Guard following a church service in February this year, said advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), which supports the Christians.

The other believers Shahrouz Eslamdoust, Babak Hosseinzadeh, Behnam Akhlaghi, Mehdi Khatibi, Mohammad Vafadar, Kamal Naamanian, Hossein Kadivar (Elisha) and Khalil Dehghanpour were reportedly taken into custody in the coastal city of Rasht in early 2019.

Confirmation about their sentences came days after jailed Church of Iran pastor, Yousef Nadarkhani, ended a three-week hunger strike, according to Christians familiar with his situation. [Pakistan Christian Post] Read more

4 killed, 50 injured as protesters clash with police over blasphemous Facebook post in Bangladesh

The violence erupted in the morning after hundreds of Muslims gathered in southwestern Bhola district, 116km from Dhaka, for a protest rally under the banner of ‘Muslim Tawhidi Janata'.

At least four people were killed and 50 others injured as Bangladesh police on Sunday opened fire on hundreds of Muslims protesting against an alleged blasphemous Facebook post by a Hindu man.

The violence erupted in the morning after hundreds of Muslims gathered in southwestern Bhola district, 116km from Dhaka, for a protest rally under the banner of ‘Muslim Tawhidi Janata’, demanding action against the Hindu man for his social media comments against Prophet Mohammed.

The Hindu man, who is in police’s protective custody, has denied making the comment, saying his Facebook account had been hacked. Following a complaint by him, police detained three people for allegedly hacking his Facebook account. [ The Hindu] Read more

Fury as government advisor and Labour member posts Islamophobic depictions of the prophet Mohammed on his Facebook page

A government policy advisor sparked fury after it emerged he posted Islamophobic depictions of the Prophet Mohammed online - but has not yet faced action.

Labour Party member Martin Bridgman shared offensive cartoons of Jesus and Mohammed, including ones that alluded to child rape.

At least four of the comic strips were posted on his Facebook page between November 2018 and March 2019, but only uncovered three months ago when a Muslim member of his local Labour party in Ilford, east London, reported them to party officials.

Mr Bridgman works as a policy advisor for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. [Daily Mail] Read more

Female Singers Sent to Jail as Women’s Rights Activist Goes on Hunger Strike in Iran

Six female singers were each sentenced to one year in prison for “unauthorized audiovisual activities, collaboration in making music and images, and airing them on anti-regime satellite networks,” the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran reported on Friday.

The verdicts were handed down by the 36th branch of the Revision Court of Tehran Province.

In May 2019, a female singer was prosecuted for solo singing during a tour of Abyaneh, a village in Isfahan Province, the state-run Fararu website reported on May 21, 2019.

Separately, Tehran’s Guidance Ministry Court summoned Matin Sotoudeh, a cinema, television and theater actress, on October 16, 2019, over the way she had dressed during the screening ceremony of a movie.

In August, the commander of Tehran’s State Security Force, Hossein Ashtari, declared that posting pictures of people wearing dresses not complying with the official dress code is a breach of law. He added, “It doesn’t matter who is breaking the norm; whether an artist, an actress or a celebrity, all of them will be dealt with accordingly,” the state-run ROKNA news agency reported on August 5, 2019. [NCRI] Read more

Council asks judge to extend ban on anti-LGBT protesters near Birmingham primary school

Anti-LGBT protesters in Birmingham could face a widened exclusion zone, after the city council asked a judge to extend a pre-existing ban.

Anderton Park Primary School has become the focal point of a long running battle over equality lessons taught within the city, which originally sparked protests at a different school back in February.

The five-day trial follows on from a temporary ban imposed back in June, which was later extended, and sought to protect the "safety and well-being of the staff, children, and parents of the school".

The original ban also specifically named three people from coordinating protests outside the school; Shakeel Afsar and his sister Rosina Afsar, as well as Amir Ahmed.

More than 300 people gathered outside the school gates back in May, with protesters carrying signs reading "let kids be kids" and "Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve". [inews.co.uk] Read more

Pakistani Man Jailed For Blasphemous Facebook Post

A Pakistani court Friday sentenced a man to five years jail and hard labour for a blasphemous Facebook post, in what is believed to be one of the first such cases under controversial cybercrime laws.

Sajid Ali was charged with posting blasphemous and derogatory content against revered Islamic figures on the social network in 2017.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in conservative Muslim Pakistan, where the laws can carry a potential death sentence for anyone deemed to have insulted Islam. Even unproven allegations have led to mob lynchings and murder.

Prosecutor Munam Bashir Chaudhry told AFP Ali's case is the first to be tried under a section of the cybercrime laws, which were passed in 2016, pertaining to hate speech.

There have been other cases of prosecution against "online blasphemy" in Pakistan, including one in 2017 that saw a man sentenced to death for sharing what the court said was blasphemous content on social media. [International Business Times] Read more

Maldives investigates activist group for 'slandering Islam'

The head of a Maldivian activist group said Thursday police contacted her as part of an investigation into a report published by her organization that has been accused of slandering Islam.

The Maldives government ordered the Maldivian Democracy Network to suspend its activities a week ago because of its 2016 report on religious radicalization in the Indian Ocean archipelago. The group's executive director, Shahinda Ismail said the report has been on the group's website for three years.

"I have been contacted by police. They wanted to have my address because they want to send me summons," Ismail said by telephone from Germany where she is studying. She said police asked her to present herself for an inquiry within 14 days of receiving the summons.

The government spokesman, Ibrahim Hood, could not immediately comment because he was in a meeting. [Daily Mail] Read more