World Community Takes On ‘Islamophobia’

Want to see just how far our lords and masters are willing to go in appeasing Islam? Take a gander at a recent report entitled Guidelines for Educators on Countering Intolerance and Discrimination against Muslims: Addressing Islamophobia through Education.

A joint product of the Council of Europe, UNESCO, and something called the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (otherwise known as OSCE/ODIHR), this document was put together in consultation with “education experts, teachers, civil society representatives and governmental officials” around the world. [FrontPageMagazine.com] Read more

Islamization of Europe: The Numbers Don’t Lie

.... any number of supposedly intelligent and well-informed critics have vehemently dismissed such prognostications as alarmist nonsense, noting that in this or that European country the Muslim percentage of the population is still quite modest, and suggesting that there is no reason to expect the current numbers to climb very drastically in the years to come.

The fact that these critics actually appear to buy their own arguments, and that they are able to persuade other reasonably intelligent people to believe them as well, only demonstrates the remarkable level of ignorance of basic math on the part of many individuals with pricey liberal educations. [FrontPageMagazine.com] Read more

Mali Islamists chop hands, feet off five suspected robbers

Islamist fighters in northern Mali cut the hands and feet off five suspected robbers in the northern city of Gao in what they said was the application of sharia or Islamic law, residents and a hospital official said on Monday.

Armed Islamist groups including the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJWA) have controlled the northern two-thirds of the vast arid nation since April, when they hijacked a rebellion launched by ethnic Tuareg separatists. [Reuters] Read more

The British child brides: Muslim mosque leaders agree to marry girl of 12... so long as parents don't tell anyone

British Muslim clerics are willing to carry out sharia marriages involving child brides as young as 12, an investigation has found.

Two imams said they would be prepared to officiate at the wedding of an underage girl to a man in his twenties, despite fears the pair would later have sex.

The revelations have led the Home Office to confirm that such ceremonies will be examined in the Government’s forthcoming Bill to outlaw forced marriages. [MailOnline] Read more

Christian pastor jailed in Iran for 3 years is freed, watchdog group says

Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who was originally sentenced to death in his native country for his Christian faith, was acquitted of apostasy charges and released from custody.

Nadarkhani, 32, was imprisoned for three years and waiting execution for refusing to renounce his Christian faith. His charges were lowered to evangelizing to Muslims, which carried a three-year sentence. He was released with time served, according to the American Center for Law and Justice, a Washington-based watchdog group that had been campaigning for the pastor's release. [FoxNews.com] Read more

52 murdered in two decades over blasphemy

Ever since the introduction of stringent amendments in blasphemy laws under General Ziaul Haq’s rule, more people suffered from communal clashes than ever in the sub-continent. Since 1990 alone, fifty-two people have been extra-judicially murdered on charges of blasphemy.

The number of blasphemy-related incidents shot up during Zia’s rule, during which 80 cases were reported to the courts compared to only seven such cases reported during the British rule from 1851 to 1947.

This information was revealed in a report titled: ‘Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan; Historical Overview’ launched on Friday by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS). [The Express Tribune] Read more

This is an ‘Islamic’ republic: You can’t sit next to your wife!

If you thought that of all the places to eat in Pakistan, McDonalds would be relatively safe from extreme behaviour, falsely made in the name of religion, sadly, you would be quite wrong. Unfortunately, I just found this out the hard way, and in an incident that left a worse taste in my mouth than the culinary abortions the burger joint had on offer.

.... Not a few minutes had passed when a McDonald’s employee came up to us and very politely asked us to move. Initially, I thought we were blocking other patrons from viewing the television, and quietly informed the missus that we were being asked to shift because we were obstructing the TV.

Confused, she moved to the booth adjacent, and as I tried to sit in beside her, the same McDonald’s employee told me that I wasn’t allowed to sit next to her, but rather, should sit on the chair opposite to her, across the table. [The Express Tribune] Read more

Stunning Arrogance

.... From ANSA’s mission statement, one could be excused for thinking that it is an organisation based in Pakistan, but sadly, this is not the case, for it is based here in the UK.

Many of us eat meat, and many do not, but even for those of us who do, it would seem perverse if anyone were to suggest that we should do anything other than minimise the suffering and distress of animals in the slaughter process; it is incumbent upon us to ensure that the most humane slaughter methods available are employed. [Musings of a Durotrigan] Read more

Freed Pakistani Christian girl 'will need armoured vehicle to protect her'

A lawyer representing a Pakistani Christian girl accused of desecrating the Qur'an who was granted bail on Friday said he will not push for her to be released from jail until her security can be guaranteed.

He claimed that Rimsha Masih, the 14-year-old accused by a neighbour of committing an act of blasphemy last month, will require an armoured vehicle and a substantial number of bodyguards to protect her.

"The prime concern of the defence team is her safety and her life," said Raja Ikram, one of the lead defence lawyers in a case that has put Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws under intense scrutiny. [guardian.co.uk] Read more

The myth of how the hijab protects women against sexual assault

.... Continuing to perpetuate the myth of the magical hijab only makes the problem grow. It doesn't actually solve anything. For that, we need to be able to openly talk about this problem, raise awareness, educate people, draft laws against it, and have law enforcement agencies that actually act upon criminal complaints against men who carry out these crimes. If that had been in place in the 1980s, maybe Neelo—or the millions of other victims like her—wouldn't have had to endure the pain she lived with for years.

To wear or not to wear the hijab is a personal choice that must be protected. Many women who wear it choose to do so and take joy in their gesture of modesty and piety. This, however, is not about the hijab or women's choice. It's about pseudo-science and misogyny.

It's about the fact that women who wear the hijab are not any safer than women who don’t. It’s about the fact that there needs to be real protection for women in Islamic societies, at home, on the streets, and in the workplace—not just miracle garments. [Women Under Siege] Read more

Kabul attack on female actors leaves survivors facing more 'punishment'

Even after the taunts and threats for appearing on TV, and whispered criticism of "immodest" outfits, the attack on actor sisters Areza and Tamana, and their friend Benafsha, came as a surprise.

The trio were minutes from moving out of a neighbourhood in which conservative locals had made them feel unwelcome, walking to meet a minivan full of their possessions, when six men surrounded them in a lane, lined with high-walled compounds. They left Benafsha bleeding to death outside a mosque with stab wounds, and the injured sisters desperately seeking help. [guardian.co.uk] Read more

Islam and Science – The Truth

Muslim apologists today like to talk a great deal about the ‘Golden Age of Islamic Science’ and the great contribution Islam and Muslims made to a number of important scientific fields. Some go so far as to suggest that it was the Muslims who gave Europe the Enlightenment.

It’s almost as though a glorious past is enough to compensate for an abject present and the mere mention of past achievements often helps to instil that much needed feel good factor.

So what is the truth about the relationship between Islam and scientific advancement? [Harry’s Place] Read more

Why is Polygamy Allowed in Islam? How is it Best Practiced?

.... Polygamy is a loaded, often polarizing topic and the overwhelming response (73 comments to date) to Qayyum’s article testifies to just how strong an emotional trigger this subject is. While I commend Qayyum for challenging herself and her readers by going beyond the knee-jerk Orientalist reaction to polygamy, the piece fails to discuss the practice of polygamy within an Islamic framework.

As a Muslim woman, I have personally observed many polygamous unions in the community in which I was raised, but my aim here is not to deny any shortcomings or promote any benefits of this marital arrangement. What I would like to do is to address the historical context of the permissibility of polygamy in Islam and take a look at how it is practiced in modern day Muslim societies. [altmuslim] Read more

Non-Muslims "in terror" in Pakistan, world churches say

Minority religious communities in Pakistan are living in "fear and terror" of Islamic fundamentalists amid abductions and forced conversions that the government is helpless to stop, the World Council of Churches (WCC) said on Wednesday.

A statement from the WCC's ruling Central Committee declared that Pakistan's small Hindu and Christian communities were increasingly subject to "persecution and discrimination", with mounting Islamisation of a formerly more secular nation.

"Today a significant number of young women of religious minorities ... face violence, including sexual assault, rape, threats and persecution," said the WCC - an influential global organisation of all Christian faiths except Roman Catholics. [Reuters] Read more

How to commit blasphemy in Pakistan

Joseph had been pursuing another case, in which an 11-year-old, Salamat Masih, along with his father and uncle, was accused of scribbling something blasphemous on the wall of the mosque. We don't really know what he wrote, because reproducing it, here or in court, would constitute blasphemy.

The boy's uncle, Manzoor Masih, was shot dead during the trial. The Masih case went to the high court, where a judge, Arif Bhatti, applied common sense and released him. A year later the judge was murdered in his own chambers, and his killers claimed that the judge had committed blasphemy by freeing those accused in the blasphemy case. [guardian.co.uk] Read more

Rimsha Masih and the march of unreason

.... This is a phenomenon that ought to worry us all – not so much the persistence of anti-Semitism, as the mainstreaming of unthinking bigotry. You can see it in Pakistan, where a Christian teenager, Rimsha Masih, is still rotting in jail as she faced trial for blasphemy – a capital crime.

She stands accused of burning pages from the Koran, despite the fact that she has learning difficulties and/or Down's Syndrome, and that the imam who provided the evidence has been arrested for attempting to frame her. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more

Maldives teenager faces lashing for pre-marital sex

The unnamed teenager was convicted on her confession under sharia law after her family complained that she has had sex with a 29-year-old man in July.

The man was given 10 years in jail during a court hearing in the remote Raa atoll on Sunday.

A court official said the girl, whose identity was not revealed, could refuse the public flogging and would then instead be subjected only to eight months house arrest under local laws. [telegraph.co.uk] Read more

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