French ban praying in streets

Claude Guéant said that ban could later be extended to the rest of France, in particular to the Mediterranean cities of Nice and Marseilles, where "the problem persists".

He promised the new legislation would be followed to the letter as it "hurts the sensitivities of many of our fellow citizens".

"My vigilance will be unflinching for the law to be applied. Praying in the street is not dignified for religious practice and violates the principles of secularism, the minister told Le Figaro newspaper. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more

Greek Government caves in to pressure to build a mega-mosque in Athens

A CONTROVERSIAL plan to build a mega-mosque in Athens – at taxpayers’ expense – was given approval last week

The move, according to this report, was driven by the fear of an uprising by thousands of Muslim residents of the city. Rather than face a violent situation, the Greek Parliament voted on September 7 to meet Muslim demands for the mosque. The vote as supported by 198 out of 300 deputies from the left, right and centre. [The Freethinker] Read more

FBI Teaches Agents: ‘Mainstream’ Muslims Are ‘Violent, Radical’

The FBI is teaching its counterterrorism agents that “main stream” [sic] American Muslims are likely to be terrorist sympathizers; that the Prophet Mohammed was a “cult leader”; and that the Islamic practice of giving charity is no more than a “funding mechanism for combat.”

At the Bureau’s training ground in Quantico, Virginia, agents are shown a chart contending that the more “devout” a Muslim, the more likely he is to be “violent.” Those destructive tendencies cannot be reversed, an FBI instructional presentation adds: “Any war against non-believers is justified” under Muslim law; a “moderating process cannot happen if the Koran continues to be regarded as the unalterable word of Allah.”

These are excerpts from dozens of pages of recent FBI training material on Islam that Danger Room has acquired. In them, the Constitutionally protected religious faith of millions of Americans is portrayed as an indicator of terrorist activity. [Wired] Read more [via loonwatch.com]

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood criticizes Erdogan’s call for a secular state

.... “Do not be wary of secularism. I hope there will be a secular state in Egypt,” Erdogan said.

He stressed that people have the right to choose whether or not to be religious, adding that he is a Muslim prime minister for a secular state.

Dr Mahmoud Ghuzlan, the spokesman of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, considered Erdogan’s comments as interference in Egypt’s local affairs.

Ghuzlan was quoted by an Egyptian newspaper as saying that the experiments of other countries should not be cloned. “Turkey’s conditions imposed on it to deal with the secular concept,” he said. [Al Arabiya News] Read more

Imam calls to kill converts on Radio Sweden

"It is the duty of every Muslim to kill those who leave Islam." This statement was made on Radio Sweden recently when an Imam from Rinkeby (Stockholm) was allowed to speak about how people should act against Somalis who convert to Christianity.

The program with the death threats against converts was broadcast by the Somali department of Radio Sweden and was a follow-up on a previous segment about a group of Christian Somalis who came to Rinkeby Square to evangelize. [Islam in Europe] Read more

Islamists take aim at Libya rebels' secular leaders

.... On Tuesday, a prominent Islamist scholar denounced Jibril and his allies as "extreme secularists" who seek to enrich themselves via "the deal of a lifetime."

Jibril and his associates were guiding the nation into "a new era of tyranny and dictatorship," Ali Salabi told the satellite news channel Al Jazeera in comments posted Tuesday on its website. The cleric charged that the new administration could be "worse than Kadafi." [Los Angeles Times] Read more

Christian-Muslim tensions simmer in Malaysia, minorities worried about rights

A raid on a church by Muslim authorities has raised religious tension in Malaysia and could cost Prime Minister Najib Razak votes in an election set for 2013 but which many expect to come much earlier.

The raid has sparked an angry verbal battle between Christians and the majority Muslims, forcing Najib to seek what may be an elusive peace between the ethnic Malays and minorities, both of which believe the government isn’t doing enough to safeguard their rights. [Reuters Blogs - FaithWorld] Read more

"Denmark, as we know it, can be destroyed in 10-15 years"

"Sharia law already operates in several neighborhoods. In Nørrebro there are some places where you have a parallel society, where religious dogmas run things next to the Danish," integration consultant and anti-terrorism expert Mohammad Rafiq tells Ekstra Bladet.

"This way we'll have many neighborhoods where you as a Dane and democrat won't have any chance to object," says Rafiq, who has visited many of the countries extremist neighborhoods.

"We have a big problem, because the different fundamentalists are able to get all the power in those areas, because the system isn't able to intervene. Denmark, as we know it, can be destroyed in 10-15 years," says Mohammad Rafiq. [Islam in Europe] Read more

Iran bans half-naked men, love triangles on TV

Iran has banned TV programs showing half-naked men and love triangles, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Monday, in the latest sign of a conservative crackdown on media in the Islamic state.

It was not clear what prompted the ban. Iran TV, which has a monopoly in the country, dedicates large parts of its schedule to religious shows and announcements from the government.

But viewers were gripped a few years ago by a locally-produced soap opera called Forbidden Fruit which told the tale of an old man who decided to leave his wife after falling in love with a young girl. [Reuters] Read more

School prayer protests heat up

Faith groups are ramping up protests against Muslim students praying in Toronto public schools as they vow to make the controversial practice an election issue in Ontario.

A demonstration took place Sunday night outside the Toronto District School Board on Yonge St., and another is planned for Sept. 18 at Queen’s Park to demand an end of the prayer service.

The protests stem from a decision to allow Islamic prayer sessions every Friday in the cafeteria at Valley Park Middle School, on Overlea Blvd., which have been going on for more than a year.

Local imams lead a 40-minute service — non-Muslims are banned from the cafeteria during that time — to prevent about 400 students from leaving the school in the middle of the day to go to prayers, during which boys sit in front of the girls. [Toronto Sun] Read more

Ten Years On: Saudi Textbooks Yet to be Cleaned of Violence!

.... We learned that Saudi Arabia has long been indoctrinating its students in an ideology of religious violence, which key U.S. intelligence officials have linked to facilitating and supporting terrorists.

Ten years on, Saudi textbooks, disseminated on websites and translated here, have yet to be cleaned up.They continue to teach:

.... We also learned that the U.S. government has been unwilling to take on the ideological challenge posed by Saudi-sponsored education. Over two administrations, it has annually praised Riyadh for the “glacial” (as a Wikileaks cable put it) pace of reform. Meanwhile Saudi Wahhabi extremism spreads in Somalia, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Algeria, the Balkans, the U.K., and elsewhere. [The Iconoclast] Read more

Western, Muslim societies ‘irreconcilable’: poll

A majority of Canadians believes conflict between Western nations and the Muslim world is “irreconcilable,” according to a new national survey that revealed a strong strain of pessimism in the country leading up to Sunday’s 10th anniversary commemorations of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

The survey of 1,500 Canadians, conducted over three days last week for the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies, showed 56% of respondents see Western and Muslim societies locked in an unending ideological struggle, while about 33% — just one-third of the population — held out hope that the conflict will eventually be overcome. [National Post] Read more

Imam Rauf’s Da’wa Spin on 9/11

.... Imam Rauf performs the usual editing of Sura 5:32 when he writes that the Qu'ran "says that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he killed all mankind."

It is always best to go to the foundational text. The Sura reads: " For that cause WE decreed for the children of Israel that whoever killeth a human bring for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and who saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and who saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he has saved the life of all mankind."

What is "corruption in the earth"? It refers to those who do not follow the eternal, perfect and unalterable words of Allah through the final prophet Muhammad. [The Iconoclast] Read more

Muslim group wants Harper apology over 'Islamicism' remark

The Islamic Supreme Council of Canada is urging Muslims to speak out against Prime Minister Stephen Harper's recent remarks about their religion.

Harper told CBC this week that "Islamicism" poses the most pressing threat to Canada's security, and that the country's intelligence service is mostly preoccupied with Islamic extremism.

Harper's spokesman later clarified to CBC News that the prime minister was "referencing Islamic terrorism — the Islamists" in his remarks.

The council is urging Harper to apologize for the comments, saying the actions of fanatics do not represent Islamic beliefs. [The Canadian Press] Read more

Muslims Blockade Christian Village in Egypt, Demand Demolition of Church

Christians in the Upper Egyptian village of Elmarinab in Edfu, Aswan province, have been forbidden to leave their homes or buy food until they remove the dome of St. George's Church, which was rebuilt in its previous location. Village Muslims, backed by Muslim Salafists from neighboring villages, have threatened to demolish the church on Friday September 9 after prayers and use it as a mosque.

Despite the presence of security forces, Muslims have blocked the roads to the village, refusing passage of any Christians under any circumstance.

Yesterday the military governor in Aswan was contacted as Christians were starving in their homes. Security officers were sent and accompanied two Christian youths to buy food for the villagers. Muslims at the entrance of the village tried to stop the two security cars. "Failing that they threatened that this would be the last time," said one villager. "It was heart-breaking to see the elderly running with the children to get a loaf of bread." [AINA] Read more

Sharia court sentences two to amputation for theft

An Islamic sharia court in Zamfara State has sentenced two men to amputation of their right wrists for stealing a bull, with the amputation to be carried out in public if it is given final approval.

The sharia court in the village of Nassarawan Mailayi in the northern state of Zamfara on Thursday ordered that Auwalu Abubaka, 23, and Lawalli Musa, 22, have their right hands chopped off for stealing a bull worth 130,000 naira ($867, 628 euros).

However, the two men have 30 days to appeal their sentence and the state governor must approve any amputation. Such sentences have only rarely been carried out in Nigeria. [AFP] Read more

New Libya should be governed by sharia: imam

Speaking to thousands of worshippers attending weekly Muslim prayers in Martyrs' Square, formerly known as Green Square, Sheikh Abdel Ghani Abu Ghrass said "we must underline the Islamic character of the new Libyan state." He added the future Libya "should be governed in conformity with sharia." [Sapa-AFP] Read more

Germany: 'The problem is with the Muslims'

.... The problem is with the Muslims. It’s not the people who constitute the problem, but Islam. And Islam comes with Muslim people. They build active groups that promote Islam and advocate the establishment of Sharia law.

And Sharia law, particular its criminal section, is absolutely impossible for European relationships. We have religious pluralism in Europe and not a single religion is dominant. But Islam is the religion that tolerates another religion as long as it has no power. [Islam in Europe] Read more

Poll: American views on Islam closely follow party affiliation

.... Some 47 percent of all Americans, according to the poll, believe that the values of Islam are at odds with American values and way of life. And the splits along ideological lines reveal a deeply divided public.

Large majorities of Republicans (63 percent) and people who identify with the Tea Party (66 percent) say that Islamic values are in contrast with American values. At the same time, however, a majority of Democrats (55 percent) and independents (53 percent) disagree with that view. [Examiner.com] Read more [via Islamophobia Watch]

Western Muslims will beat al-Qaeda

.... Over the past decade, the idea of the “Islamist state” has been devalued among Muslims in the West. But that is not to say that the benefits of secular democracy have been accepted.

Secularism remains a dirty word in Islamist political parlance. And there is still a yearning among some British Muslims for a state ruled by sharia, as they understand it. A small minority suggest that this should be in Britain, but others wish to see this fantasy state emerge somewhere in the greater Middle East.

Still, calls among young activists for an “Islamist state”, or for the use of violence to create it, are symptoms of deeper social issues. A Muslim population that feels at home in and with the West will not produce people who wish to undermine it.

Yet Muslim leaders in Britain and America are still struggling to articulate confidently a form of Islam that is in harmony with the modern world. Too often, Islam becomes a political rallying cry, and not the devotional, contemplative religion that it ought to be. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more

WikiLeaks discloses Qaradawi’s extremism

The latest batch of US embassy cables leaked by the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks have uncovered further evidence of the extremist views of the prominent Sunni cleric Yousuf al-Qaradawi. Coverage of Qaradawi tends to omit his extremist views, emphasising instead the respect with which he is held in the Muslim world.

Examples of this include The Guardian’s reporting of his fatwah against Colonel Gaddafi, which portrayed him as a pro-democracy moderate, and the BBC’s coverage of his appearance at a rally in Egypt, which simply described him as ‘influential’.

The leaked embassy cables appear to reveal Qaradawi’s support for Hamas, suicide bombings against Israel and the stoning to death of those found guilty of ‘collaboration’ with the Jewish state. They also reveal his contempt for inter-faith dialogue. [JustJournalism.com] Read more

Fear of being labelled as extremists forces Muslims into silence

.... I have lost count of the number of British Muslim students, activists and imams who have told me of their fear of being labelled as extremists or terrorists if they dare take an unconventional, unorthodox or radical position on a political or religious issue.

It is ironic, if depressing, that a doubling of the number of Muslim MPs in parliament and the appointment of a Muslim woman to the cabinet has been matched by a narrowing of the range of opinions and views expressed by ordinary British Muslims in public.

[A COMMENT] Western Muslims that integrate and don't try to force their beliefs on others do well. Those whose beliefs are at odds with the 21st century probably should never have moved to a Western country in the first place.

Like it or not, and for any number of sociological and political reasons that I won't delve into here, British Muslims are generally more radical than their counterparts in the US, Canada, France, Germany, or Australia. [Guardian Cif] Read more

Extremists exploit taboos

.... Professor Jytte Klausen, a Dane, is professor of comparative politics at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, an expert on Muslim communities in Europe and author of the book The Cartoons That Shook the World.

She believes there is no doubt the cartoon controversy has led to more self-censorship: ''The bottom line is that on this issue, the extremists won.''

.... ''The unfortunate thing is that religious hatred laws have created this expectation in [Muslims'] minds that their religion can't be insulted,'' he says.

''Whereas anyone interested in free speech would say people should be protected but ideas should not be protected; that religions should be open to scrutiny and sometimes should be mocked … but now a new 'right not to be offended' comes into play.'' [The Sydney Morning Herald] Read more

Outrageous: NY Times Op-Ed Defends Sharia Law … in America

.... Of course, what Stern was serving up here was the familiar (and absurd) conceit that in the Western world today, Muslims are what Jews used to be — the supreme victims of unjust prejudice from all quarters.

No, Muslims are not the Jews of today; on the contrary, in both Europe and North America, everybody from writers, journalists, and professors to politicians, judges, and police officials tend to tiptoe around explosive truths about Islam in order to avoid offending adherents of the faith — a courtesy that these same parties extend to no one else, certainly not Jews. [Pajamas Media] Read more

Spanish town bans burka

A small town on the Spanish resort island of Mallorca has banned women from wearing burkas or face-covering Islamic veils in public places, even though only two women living there are known to do so.

Mayor Biel Serra of the town of Sa Pobla said last night's vote was not about cultural or religious discrimination but rather an issue of public safety and having people show their faces so they can be identified. [independent.co.uk] Read more