France debates extending headscarf ban to universities

France's 2004 ban on headscarves in schools and 2010 ban on full face veils in public have alienated many of its five million Muslims. Rioting broke out in a Paris suburb last month after police checked identity papers of a fully veiled woman.

"This is one more step in the legal stigmatization of Muslims," the March 15 Liberty Committee, a Muslim group opposed to the school headscarf ban, said on Tuesday.

"The separation of church and state cannot be reduced, as some want it to be, to an arsenal of laws against Muslims."

Several politicians also weighed in, warning a new ban could fan tensions between the Socialist government, which stands for a strong defense of France's official secularism, and Muslims who feel such laws are aimed at isolating and punishing them. [Reuters] Read more

‘Iran Christian Sentenced To 10 Years Jail For Evangelical Activities’

An Iranian Christian convert has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on what his supporters say are false charges linked to his evangelical church activities, local activist said Tuesday, August 6.

Mohammad-Hadi (Mostafa) Bordbar, a 27-year-old resident of the city of Rasht, was "tried by Judge Pir-Abbasi on the morning of June 9, 2013 in branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran," amid a wider government crackdown on spreading Christianity in Iran said Mohabat News, an agency of Iranian Christian and activists. [BosNewsLife] Read more

Turkish Court Gives 19 Life Sentences

A Turkish court sentenced a former military chief and 18 other people to life in prison on Monday, concluding a landmark case that has divided the nation and come to symbolize the conflict between the Islamist-rooted government and the secularist-dominated opposition.

Ilker Basbug, the 70-year-old head of Turkey's armed forces until 2010, was among those given a life sentence along with 13 other military officers, a soldier, a journalist, a lawyer, a politician and an ex-publisher for plotting to overthrow the government. Of the 275 defendants, all of whom said they were innocent, all but 17 were convicted. [THE WALL STREET JOURNAL] Read more

'This is a Muslim area and we don't want to see that': Mob pelts brothers-in-law wearing mankinis on sponsored walk with stones and accuses them of being paedophiles

Two brothers in law who went on a sponsored walk wearing comedy mankinis had to be picked up by police - after they were pelted with stones and eggs by residents who told them 'this is a Muslim area' and demanded they leave.

Steven Ellis, 41, and Jason Hendry, 22, wanted to walk eight miles from Solihull to Birmingham city centre wearing the outfit featured in 2006 film Borat to raise money for Birmingham Dogs' Home.

But they ended up being escorted by officers after they were attacked as they passed through the Sparkbrook area of the city, claiming police said they had offended local Muslims during Ramadan. [MailOnline] Read more

Tories for Sharia - oh, and Enoch

.... And our banks are adapting to sharia by offering products which do not charge interest or make investments in alcohol, gambling or pornography. Indeed, Barclays, RBS and Lloyds Banking Group have all established subsidiary companies specifically for Muslim clients. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this: one may argue that it simply market provision.

Except that the increasing acceptability of sharia finance has the effect of legitimising other aspects of sharia law. How long before whole areas of cities are alcohol-free? Or the public advertising of women's underwear is banned? Or certain books are taken off the shelf because they offend? Or schools and restaurants serve everyone with halal meat?

How long before the non-Muslim population finds itself complying with sharia law, whether they like it or not?

Thankfully, the Ukip statement above is unequivocal: Nigel Farage rejects sharia law, presumably in its entirety.

Despite the rhetoric, David Cameron clearly supports aspects of it: there are Tories for sharia.

[Archbishop Cranmer] Read more

Assyrian Christians told 'If you want to come back, convert to Islam, or you will be killed'

According to the Assyrian International News Agency, Assyrian Christians who have fled from an area of Syria called al-Thawrah (also known as al-Tabqah), have been told by rebels, "If you want to come back, convert to Islam, or you will be killed."

.... "On February 11, rebel fighters from the al-Nusra Front took control of the city and its strategic dam, the largest of its kind in the country. They also seized control of the three quarters that housed dam workers - many of whom were Christian Assyrians.

"Whilst they allowed the dam's original staff to remain in the city in order to continue its operation, management and upkeep, those who were not Sunni Muslim were not afforded the same privilege. [Christian Today] Read more

Muslim veil ban urged in French universities

A French government agency responsible for maintaining the country’s secular values has recommended banning university students from wearing religious symbols such as crucifixes, Jewish skullcaps and Muslim headscarves.

In a report seen by French daily Le Monde on Monday, the High Council for Integration (HCI) said it was alarmed by “growing tensions in all sectors of university life” that were undermining the country’s secular values.

In 2004, France passed a law banning school children from wearing religious symbols in all educational establishments, except for universities. The move, the report noted, has been successful in reducing problems arising from religious differences in schools. [FRANCE 24] Read more

Britain’s Part-Time Wives

Aisha laughs out loud at the thought of how her colleagues and clients would react if they knew she shares a husband. The laughter makes her loose hijab slip slightly, exposing a few strands of dark hair. “They would be dumbfounded and probably prurient,” she sniffs.

As far as they are concerned, her 42-year-old factory-owning husband has only one wife—this thoughtful attorney sipping Earl Gray tea in the sitting room of a pleasant and very middle-class Edwardian house in a leafy residential road in northwest London.

Her immediate family and close Muslim friends know the truth: 41-year-old Aisha is a second wife and for three years has been conveniently—at least for her—sharing her businessman husband with his first bride. “It was my choice to marry him. There was no coercion.” With a wry giggle she says: “I wanted a partner and man-hunted for one using a marriage agency and this suits me.” [Daily Beast] Read more

More states move to ban foreign law in courts

A growing number of states are targeting what they see as a threat to their court systems: the influence of international laws.

North Carolina last month became the seventh state to pass legislation barring judges from considering foreign law in their decisions, including sharia. The bill awaits the signature of Republican Gov. Pat McCrory.

Six other states — Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Tennessee — have already enacted similar legislation since 2010, and at least 25 have introduced such measures, according to the Pew Research Center's Religion and Public Life Project. [USA TODAY] Read more

Algerians protest against mandatory fasting

About 300 people in a restive northern region of Algeria have joined a public lunch during Ramadan to protest against what they say is persecution of people who refuse to observe the religious fast.

The lunch on Saturday was highly unusual for North Africa, where people can be arrested for not fasting during the Muslim holy month.

It was held as a demonstration against the decision of security forces to question three young people who were eating outside last week in the Kabylie region during the 18-hour daily fasting period. [Al Jazeera] Read more

Arab Atheists, Though Few, Inch out of the Shadows

Rafat Awad fervently preached Islam at his university, encouraging his fellow students to read the Quran and pray. But throughout, the young Palestinian-born pharmacist had gnawing doubts. The more he tried to resolve them, the more they grew.

Finally he told his parents, both devout Muslims, that he was an atheist. They brought home clerics to talk with him, trying in vain to bring him back to the faith. Finally, they gave up. [Associated Press] Read more

Al-Qaeda leader says Egypt coup proof that Islamic rule cannot come through democracy

Al-Qaeda’s leader said Egypt’s military coup that ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi provides proof that Islamic rule cannot be established through democracy, and urged the Islamist leader’s followers to abandon the ballot box in favour of armed resistance.

In a 15-minute audio message posted online late Friday, Ayman al-Zawahri also lashed out at the Egyptian military, the country’s secular and liberal elites as well as the Coptic Christian minority, accusing them of conspiring against Morsi solely because he was an Islamist. [Associated Press] Read more

Gammongate: Hammed Up Story Hiding Bigger Picture

Many stories during Ramadan have come to media attention – the serving of pork actually occurred some months ago, but the story broke in the last few days. Bigger issues of children fasting seem to be in the background.

When the dinner lady story broke in the Sun regarding Alison Waldock serving Gammon to a child of Muslim parents, consumption of which was prevented by beady eyed headmistress Caroline Peet, some questions occurred. [Homo economicus' Weblog] Read more

Britain: Muslim Prison Population Up 200%

The number of Muslim convicts in British prisons has surpassed the 11,000 mark for the first time, according to data included in a new report produced by the British Parliament.

The statistics -- from a July 29 House of Commons research report entitled, "Prison Population Statistics" -- show that the number of Muslim inmates in England and Wales jumped to 11,248 in 2012, up from 3,681 in 1997. Stated another way, over the past 15 years, the number of Muslims in British prisons has jumped by more than 200%.

The rate of increase of Muslim inmates in British prisons is eight times faster than that of the overall prison population, and the numbers show a clear overrepresentation of Muslim convicts: Muslims, who make up roughly 5% of the British population as a whole, now make up 13% of the British prison population (compared to just 6% in 1997. [Gatestone Institute] Read more

Muslim woman asked to remove headscarf during bar exam in Springfield

On Wednesday and Thursday, law school graduates aspiring to practice in the Commonwealth gathered in Boston and Springfield to take the 16-hour bar exam, broken into several parts. During the morning portion of the test Thursday, recent graduate of the University of Michigan Law School Iman Abdulrazzak was handed a note from an exam proctor asking her to remove her headscarf.

As many Muslim women do, Abdulrazzak wore a hijab, covering her head and chest, during the exam held at the Western New England University School of Law.

The note, written in capitalized block letters read, "Headwear may not be worn during the examination without prior written approval. We have no record of you being given prior written approval. Please remove your headwear and place it under your seat for the afternoon session." [MassLive] Read more

Kafka in Saudi Arabia - When human rights "violate" God's law

I wrote recently about the Kafkaesque rules designed to restrict civil society activity in Bahrain, and I mentioned in passing that numerous Arab countries have similar laws.

Saudi Arabia, as might be expected, is one that keeps a firm grip on civil society organisations (CSOs) though it doesn't have a specific law for this purpose – yet. A law has been promised (or perhaps I should say threatened, because if it ever materialises it will probably be just as restrictive as that in Bahrain).

In the meantime, some CSOs (the sort the authorities approve of) operate under licences, while others exist without licences in a legal limbo, unable to raise funds, organise events or have their own premises to hold meetings. [www.al-bab.com] Read more

Unveiling Female Muslim Teachers So Students See Their Lips

The Philippines, Asia's only Catholic-majority country, has ordered Muslim women to remove their facial veils when teaching the government's experimental curriculum of Arabic language and Islamic values, because students benefit by "seeing the teacher's lips."

"Teachers handling Arabic Language and Islamic Values Education (ALIVE) are requested to remove the veil covering the face -- 'niqab' -- when teaching in the classroom," said Education Department Secretary Armin Luistro in an Official Gazette announcement dated July 24.

"This is to promote better teacher-pupil relationship, and to support effective language teaching since seeing the teacher's lips helps in the correct production of letter sounds," Luistro said. [Scoop Media] Read more

Nigel Farage attacks culture of political correctness amid growing sacked dinner lady row

.... Muslim groups have come out in support of Ms Waldock saying innocent mistakes should not be punished.

And during a discussion with Ms Waldock on ITV’s Daybreak programme this morning, Mr Farage said: “It's outrageous, isn't it?

“We've all made mistakes in our lives and in our jobs, and I can imagine 250 kids coming through chattering, it's noisy, you've got time pressures on you, and mistakes get made.

"The reason that Alison's been sacked is that we're so terrified in this country of causing offence to anybody, particularly the Muslim religion." [The Daily Express] Read more

Kohl Wanted Half of Turks Out of Germany

"SECRET," the top of the densely typewritten document reads. Underneath, an official had added a handwritten note: "NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION."

It was a controversial plan that the newly elected German chancellor, Helmut Kohl, confided to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher during her visit to Bonn, then the West German capital. "Chancellor Kohl said (...) over the next four years, it would be necessary to reduce the number of Turks in Germany by 50 percent -- but he could not say this publicly yet," state the secret minutes of the meeting dated Oct. 28, 1982.

It adds: "It was impossible for Germany to assimilate the Turks in their present numbers." Only four people were in the room at the time: Kohl, his longtime adviser Horst Teltschik, Thatcher and her private secretary A.J. Coles, the author of the document. [SPIEGEL ONLINE] Read more

Gang chanted ‘Lee Rigby’ as they kicked soldier in Exeter underpass

A SOLDIER was attacked in an Exeter underpass by a gang who chanted “Lee Rigby” as they kicked him on the floor.

The 18-year-old, known as Alexander, has been a member of the Coldstream Guards for six months.

But on route to his home in St Thomas, Exeter, he said he was targeted by the hateful mob as he is a serving member of the armed forces.

After a period of about two minutes he managed to escape after fighting off but fear his injuries could have been a lot worse. [Exeter Express and Echo] Read more

Family who got dinner lady fired after she accidentally served their child gammon are emigrating to Muslim country

The parents involved in the sacking of a school dinner lady who mistakenly served gammon to their daughter are to emigrate to a Muslim country.

Alison Waldock, 51, was accused of gross misconduct and says she lost her job after Zahid and Rumana Darr asked that she be dismissed.

Today it can be revealed that Mr and Mrs Darr and their three children are emigrating to the United Arab Emirates later this month. The family have chosen to move from their home in Cambridge to Sharjah, where alcohol is banned and there are the strictest decency laws in the emirates.

Mrs Darr, 33, wrote on her Facebook page: ‘So we’re leaving the country end of August for good … We’re moving to Sharjah. We want to go relax in a nice hot Muslim country where the kids know their identities as Muslims.’ [MailOnline] Read more

600 Lashes for Raif Badawi: Saudi Arabia’s Latest Savagery

Islamic authorities sentenced a liberal journalist to 600 lashes and seven years in prison, after he questioned the role of religion. David Keyes reports on the latest outrage in the Kingdom.

“I feel sick. I think I’m going to throw up,” a prominent Saudi academic told me yesterday. “I was waiting for something like this to happen but I didn’t think it would be Raif. I’m thinking of his wife and kids. I really feel sick.

On July 29, Raif Badawi, founder of the Free Saudi Liberals website, was sentenced to 600 lashes and seven years in prison. His crime? Insulting Islam, speaking ill of Saudi Arabia’s religious police and, most puzzling of all, “parental disobedience.” [The Newsweek/Daily Beast] Read more

Killing Christians

.... The attacks are incited by jihadist groups, Salafist imams, the Muslim Brotherhood, and even, at times, the security forces.

Their situation has become ever more perilous since Morsi’s ouster, with assassinations and kidnappings for ransom of individual Copts, the torching of a Coptic neighborhood, and mob attacks on several churches, all documented over the past month.

This is partly due to scapegoating, and partly due to the fact that Islamists with a religious-cleansing agenda take advantage of political disorder to provoke a mass exodus, as is occurring in Iraq and Syria. [National Review Online] Read more

Nigerian Senator: "So under Sharia law, any country that practices Sharia, age is not a defining factor for marriage"

Few things are more abundantly attested in Islamic law than the permissibility of child marriage. Islamic tradition records that Muhammad’s favorite wife, Aisha, was six when Muhammad wedded her and nine when he consummated the marriage:

“The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death)” (Bukhari 7.62.88). [Jihad Watch] Read more

1,000 Pakistani clerics seek pardon for Governor's assassin

.... The clerics belonging to different schools of Islamic thought signed a letter seeking a pardon for Qadri, and it was submitted to the President by Sunni Ittehad Council chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza.

In October 2011, an anti-terrorism court awarded the death penalty to Qadri, an Elite Force commando, for gunning down Taseer in Islamabad earlier the same year.

The policeman, who was part of Taseer's security detail, confessed to the murder and said he was angered by Taseer's calls for changes in Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law. [Business Standard] Read more