The debate on Islam and secularism in Egypt

The intellectual crisis agitating muslim minds today centers on the relationship between modern Muslims and their past. For the last two centuries, Muslims have found themselves caught up between authenticity (attachment to their values and culture) and modernity.

They view most Western ideas, ideologies and institutions as a threat to Islamic law, values and culture. Among these foreign imports, secularism seems to represent the greatest danger. As separation of religion and state, secularism was first championed by Christian writers like Ya’qub Sarruf, Faris Nimr, Nicola Haddad, Salama Musa and others. [The Spittoon] Read more

Spain: Most Muslims tolerant, Western and liberal

A study by the Spanish Justice, Interior and Labor ministries concludes that the Spanish Muslim community - 767,784 people - is particularly tolerant, Western and liberal, and holds opinions that are not substantially different from those of Spanish citizens.

.... results from interviews of 2,000 foreign Muslims living in Spain. The vast majority of the respondents said they feel at home in Spain, believe it is perfectly possible to be good Muslims and good Spaniards and think that Islam is perfectly compatible with democracy and human rights. [Islam in Europe] Read more

Belgium: Muslim associations distance themselves from call for Sharia law April

In response to the political storm caused by the Sharia4Belgium organization. Several Muslim associations published a joint press release expressly distancing themselves from the call to implement Sharia.

"Supporters of these provocative statements only represent themselves. Therefore, the representative and recognized representation of Muslims in Belgium firmly and vehemently distances itself from this statement," it says. [Islam in Europe] Read more

Secularism Is Not Islamophobia

.... The week before last, my good friend and City colleague Rosie Waterhouse had a piece published in the Independent in which she argued that Islamist extremism on university campuses is a growing and under-acknowledged threat to liberal academic values.

Contentiously, the article called for a ban on campus on the wearing of the niqab, the full-face veil that fundamentalist Muslims believe should be compulsory for women. [Harry’s Place] Read more

Nurse loses crucifix appeal

.... But Cranmer is in complete agreement with the Tribunal chairman: the wearing of a crucifix is not a requirement of the Christian faith.

But neither is the wearing of a hijab a requirement of the Muslim faith. There are many different interpretations of what quranic 'modesty' requires.

And neither is the wearing of a kara a requirement of the Sikh faith. There is no decalogue: there are many different interpretations of the Khalsa requirements.

But time and again Muslims and Sikhs win such cases of 'religious discrimination' in tribunals up and down the land. Their garments and symbols of religion are considered such important expressions of their religious adherence that deliberately to remove or hide them does indeed, in law, 'violate' their faith. [Archbishop Cranmer] Read more

Danish Psychologist: ‘Integration of Muslims in Western Societies is Not Possible’

Danish integration problems with Muslims became public worldwide in 2006 when the newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons of the prophet Mohammed. Exactly two years later riots broke out again because of the reprint of the Mohammed cartoons by all major Danish newspapers.

Currently 70 percent of the prison population in the Copenhagen youth prison consists of young man of Muslim heritage. Is this recent violence and general violent tendency among Muslims solely coincidental, or is there a direct connection? [FamilySecurityMatters.org] Read more [via The Iconoclast]

Islam vs. Islamism: Is there such a thing as moderate Islam?

Charles Krauthammer caused grave unhappiness among some of his admirers last month when, speaking on Fox News, he attacked the Dutch politician Geert Wilders. At issue was Wilders’s campaign against the “Islamization” of Europe, particularly in the Netherlands. “What he says,” Dr. Krauthammer charged, “is extreme, radical, and wrong”: [The New Criterion] Read more [via The Iconoclast]

Middle-class Muslims fuel French halal boom

Few things define the traditional good life in France better than champagne and foie gras, but few would have thought them symbols of social integration – until now.

A boom in sales of halal products, including alcohol-free bubbly and goose liver paté approved by Islamic law, is being driven by the emergence of an affluent middle class of young Muslims. [guardian.co.uk] Read more

Jailed Dubai kissing pair lose appeal over conviction

A British man and woman jailed in Dubai for kissing in public have lost their appeal against their conviction. Ayman Najafi, 24, and Charlotte Adams, 25, were sentenced to a month in prison with subsequent deportation and fined about £200 for drinking alcohol. [BBC] Read more

Does Britain want to integrate with you?

ok, we have all heard the mantra. Its almost religious now, reaching feven pitch. You will even read it in The Revival Magazine, since our editor seems to be big on the idea. The mantra I am speaking of is one of integration - "Muslims, you gotta integrate, get with the times. "If you're not a part of the solution, your a part of the problem." seems to be the idea. [The Revival] Read more [via MPACUK]

FGM: 'traditional practice' in 32 countries, of which 29 are OIC States -- 3 million girls mutilated worldwide each year, 95% of Egyptians

.... We decided to speak out again on a "traditional practice", whose religious links are vociferously denied, despite irrefutable UNICEF facts and figures. FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) is spreading in Europe with some migrant populations that practise it traditionally.

There are now over 1,500 cases in Geneva and nearly 10,000 in Switzerland, with hundreds of thousands in European Union countries. This won't cease until it is strongly penalized, backed by an unambiguous fatwa from the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar (Cairo) stating, unambiguously, that this 'cultural relativism' is forbidden by all legal traditions in Islam - unfortunately, this is unlikely. [Jihad Watch] Read more

Criticism does not exclude Muslims from the political process

.... the authors of the letter you published (Islamophobia is a threat to democracy, 25 March) are quite wrong to equate legitimate concerns about the leadership of the East London Mosque and the Islamic Forum of Europe with anti-Muslim bigotry.

To do so betrays those who have genuinely suffered discrimination. The East London Mosque has frequently allowed intemperate clerics to speak on its premises, some of whom have promoted values antithetical to those required in a tolerant and progressive society. [guardian.co.uk] Read more

FIFA ban Iranian women footballers from wearing hijab

FIFA banned the Iranian women’s football team wearing hijab from participating in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) which will be held from August 14 to 26 in Singapore. FIFA at first invited the Iranian team to take part in the games but unexpectedly decided to forbid wearing hijab (Islamic covering) in the games.

President of Iran Football Federation Ali Kafashian wrote a request to the world football governing body to reconsider their decision. [Mehr News Agency] Read more [via Islam in Europe]

2 held over Muslim prayer ban

The trouble broke out on Wednesday when six members of a group of 118 Muslim tourists who were visiting the cathedral in the south-western city of Cordoba knelt to pray and were promptly ordered to stop by security guards.

As they refused to stop praying, they were "invited to continue with their visit or leave the cathedral", the diocesan office said in a statement. [News24] Read more [via Islam in Europe]

Two arrested as 100 Christians start praying inside the Hagia Sophia -- no, wait... Actually, it was 100 Muslims praying inside the Cordoba cathedral. When asked to stop, they attacked the security guards.

Of course the ban on Muslim prayer should remain inside the Cordoba cathedral -- at least until the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople becomes a cathedral again. [Jihad Watch] Read more

Saudis 'give Lebanese sorcerer stay of execution'

A Lebanese man sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for sorcery has been given a temporary reprieve, his lawyer says. Ali Sabat's execution was scheduled for Friday but his lawyer, May el-Khansa, told the BBC she had been assured by a Lebanese minister it would not happen. [BBC] Read more

Sharia Councils ‘undermine social cohesion’

Since the 1996 Arbitration Act, Government ministers have allowed Islamic tribunals around Britain to rule on a range of financial disputes, provided both parties agree to accept the court’s decision.

But in recent years, these tribunals have developed into fully fledged Sharia Councils – allowed to settle new disputes, such as divorce, family law, and faith issues. These powers go well beyond the letter and spirit of the original legislation and whilst they provide new ways of dispensing cheap justice they do not always dispense fair justice. [The Shropshire Star] Read more [via Jihad Watch]

Closure of London university’s Muslim prayer room annoys Islamic students

A GROUP of disenchanted Muslim students at City University in London have taken to praying outside in the street following the university’s decision to close their prayer room. According to this report, it was replaced by a multi-faith room – which simply isn’t good enough for some of the some of the university’s pork-dodgers. [The Freethinker] Read more

Extra protection for Cultural Center after 'Islam cartoons' incident

Three immigrant youth were caught Thursday while trying to steal two cartoons from an exhibition in the De Bogaard cultural center in Sint Truiden (Limburg, Belgium), since they thought they offended Islam.

An employee managed to get the cartoons from them, after which the three threatened harsher measures. The De Bogaard center is getting extra protection since. [Islam in Europe] Read more

An Enthusiastic Defender of Freedom

.... Necla Kelek later admits that certainly not all Muslims pose a problem for democracy in Germany. In fact most of them certainly don't -- but there are still the few who do and they are the ones she has chosen to focus on. It's the problems she is concerned with, she says.

Kelek, 52, a German woman with Turkish roots, is sitting in the cultural center in Achim, a town near Bremen in northern Germany. She has just finished a reading from her new book, "Himmelsreise" ("Journey to Heaven"). [SPIEGEL ONLINE] Read more [via Islam in Europe]

Muslim Youth group cancels hate preacher

Sweden's biggest Muslim youth organization, Sweden's Young Muslims (SUM), decided to cancel the appearance of Abdullah Hakim Quick at their annual conference.

Quick has called Jews 'dirty' and preaches that the punishment for homosexuality, which he calls an unnatural disease, is death. [Islam in Europe] Read more

Belgium aims to tighten citizenship laws

The Belgian government on Friday endorsed a proposed law that would make it harder to obtain citizenship. The law states that people who want to obtain Belgian nationality would have to demonstrate their “willingness to integrate” into society. [RFI] Read more [via Islam in Europe]

Malaysian woman escapes caning over drinking beer in public

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a mother of two, received a letter from the Pahang state Islamic department informing her that the state's sultan had decided to spare her the caning, her lawyer, Adham Jamalullail, said.

The order is likely to cool down a fiery debate over whether Islamic laws should intrude into people's private lives in the Muslim-majority country. Many people had condemned the punishment, saying it showed conservative Islamists were gaining influence over the justice system. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more

Belgium prepares to impose nationwide ban on face-covering veil

The face-covering veil is set to be banned within weeks in Belgium, making it the first country in Europe to make the wearing of Muslim clothing illegal. Women who flout the ban will face from one to seven days in jail or a fine of €15 to €25.

While President Sarkozy is encountering obstacles to his plans to outlaw the face-covering niqab in France, Belgium’s main parties are united behind the move and the influential home affairs committee voted for it unanimously yesterday.

A vote in the full Belgian parliament is expected on April 22 and a “yes” vote seems assured given the political consensus. [Times Online] Read more

Apostasy and the IFE

.... If we really want to know the IFE’s views on apostasy, we have to dispose of the bogus ’subtleties’ of Shaykh Abdullah Adhami and go straight to the real source of the IFE’s ideology, to Sayyid Abu Ala Mawdudi the godfather of Islamism. Mawdudi’s political ideology is the bedrock of Jamaat-e-Islam (which he founded), its politics and those of its British offshoot, Islamic Forum Europe.

Mawdudi’s views on apostasy were formulated in a treatise called The Punishment of the Apostate According to Islamic Law which has been translated into English from Urdu by Syed Silas Husain and Ernest Hahn. Mawdudi used this work to expound the penalty of apostates by death, which he defended as the “traditional” view and argued against religious freedom to protect the interests of Islam. [The Spittoon] Read more

The Islamic Forum of Europe and Political Participation

.... The IFE and its parent organisation the East London Mosque (ELM), have since been protesting against accusations of extremism. Despite this, senior IFE member, Azad Ali, wrote a blog yesterday in which he suggested an ideological affinity between his group and Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT).

In his most recent article on the IFE's ‘Between the Lines' blog, Ali discusses the subject of Muslim political participation. He argues that it is a duty for Muslims to become politically active, which on its own it something to be applauded.

But what one must ask is, for what purpose do Azad Ali and the IFE promote political participation? Is it so that British Muslims can feel they have more of a stake in the running of their country? Or is it so as to eventually achieve something which is an anathema to liberal democracy? [Standpoint] Read more