Britain's proxy debate on immigration

.... The political class and the media know that public concern predates the coming of the eastern Europeans. But such concerns were always sniffily dismissed by a self-righteous political class and a liberal media that believed immigration should not be a matter of democratic choice.

For western liberals, Third World immigration to western welfare states was always seen as an entitlement owed to the world’s poor. The working-class taxpayer in Britain had no say in the matter. Again, he or she was a "bigot" if they even raised the subject.

But for the liberal/left, eastern European immigration is different. The Poles and Lithuanians have recently thrown off the shackles of communism and are not likely to be impressed by the Polly Toynbee, Guardianista style patronising of the working class. Why, many of these eastern Europeans are good Christians! Many even want a Christian education for their children!

Yes, the political class and the left are happy to debate that 30 percent of immigration to Britain – provided the debate stays clear of the remaining 70 percent. [The Commentator] Read more

Canada: York University Gender Segregation Allows No Group Work

Professor Grayson has my every sympathy and support in denying a request from a student to be excused from group work so that he would not mix with female students, on non specified religious grounds. Both Islamic and Judaic scholars found no cause for this to be upheld:

"The Judaic scholar found no problem with an Orthodox Jew attending a co-ed group session. One of the

Islamic scholars, in turn, declared simply, “unless he is asked to be physical with a female student, which I assume he isn’t, there is absolutely no justification for not interacting with females in public space.” [Homo economicus' Weblog] Read more

Nine of the Ten Countries Ranked Most Oppressive Towards Christians are Muslim Countries

Nine out of the ten countries ranked the most oppressive for Christians to live in were due to Islamic extremism, according to Open Doors' annual World Watch List, which was released Wednesday.

With the exception of North Korea – ranked No. 1 for the 12th year in a row – every other country on the top 10 list had as its source of persecution, Islamic extremism. [Answering Muslims] Read more

One in ten children under five in England and Wales is from a Muslim family, census figures show

Nearly one in ten children under the age of five in England and Wales now comes from a Muslim family, analysis of census figures has shown.

.... Illustrating the impact of birth rate, the near 10 per cent proportion of children under five identified as Muslims is almost twice as high as the fraction of the general population that are Muslims, which stands at less than five per cent. In the over 85 bracket, just one in 200 were Muslim.

Ibrahim Mogra, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said he “wouldn’t want our fellow citizens to be alarmed by an increase in number,” adding that British Muslims “feel very much this is their home”.

“It’s not about Britain becoming a Muslim country but about Britain enabling the practice of Islam, which gives confidence to the vast majority of Muslims. It’s a great country to regard as our home,” he said. [The Independent] Read more

York University standing by choice to excuse student from group work with women over religious beliefs

York University appears to be standing by its controversial decision to permit a student to be excused from a group project because the presence of women interfered with his “firm religious beliefs.”

In a statement Thursday by provost Rhonda Lenton, the university affirmed its commitment to “gender equity, inclusivity and diversity,” but did not retract an October order authorizing the much-criticized “religious accommodation.” [National Post] Read more

French court upholds controversial burqa ban

A French court Wednesday convicted a young woman for wearing a full-face Islamic veil in public and threw out her bid to have the country's controversial burqa ban declared unconstitutional.

Cassandra Belin, 20, was also convicted for insulting and threatening three police officers at the time of her arrest, which sparked two days of rioting in the town of Trappes, near Paris, in July, 2013.

She was given a one-month suspended prison sentence for the clash with the police and a 150-euro ($200) fine for wearing the veil.

Her lawyers, who argued that the burqa ban impinges on religious freedom and unfairly target Muslims, had asked for an emergency ruling on the constitutionality of the ban before sentencing. [Expatica] Read more

Muslim Woman Convicted For Wearing Veil

A French Muslim woman has been fined €150 (£124) for wearing a full-face veil.

Cassandra Belin was also given a one-month suspended sentence for insulting police officers who arrested her in the Paris suburb of Trappes last year.

The confrontation between Ms Belin, her husband and police when she was stopped and given a ticket for breaking the ban on wearing the face covering, triggered riots in the area.

The lower Paris also rejected a request from Belin's lawyer for the ban, which has been in place since 2011, be referred to the Constitutional Court. [Sky News] Read more

How people in Muslim countries prefer women to dress in public

An important issue in the Muslim world is how women should dress in public.

A recent survey from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research conducted in seven Muslim-majority countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey), finds that most people prefer that a woman completely cover her hair, but not necessarily her face.

Only in Turkey and Lebanon do more than one-in-four think it is appropriate for a woman to not cover her head at all in public. [Pew Research Center] Read more

Student’s refusal to work with women sparks rights debate

A York University student who refused to do group work with women for religious reasons has sparked a human rights tug-of-war between a professor and campus administration.

While the professor wanted to deny the student’s request, a university dean ordered him to comply.

Professor Paul Grayson is now blowing the whistle on what he sees as a hierarchy of freedoms at York — religious rights trumping women’s rights.

“In order to meet an instance of a religious requirement we have tacitly accepted a negative definition of females,” Grayson told the Star. “That’s not acceptable.” [Toronto Star] Read more

Mauritania court convicts young man of apostasy

A young Muslim man in Mauritania is facing a possible death sentence after being convicted of apostasy and jailed for having written an article criticising the prophet Mohammed (PBUH), a judicial source said Monday.

He was arrested on Thursday in Nouadhibou in the northwest of the country, an Islamic republic, and "was convicted of lack of respect for the prophet," and jailed, the source said. [Middle East Online] Read more

Saudi survey shows men blame women for rising cases of molestation

Saudi men believe women are to blame for the rising cases involving molestation of females on the grounds they are seduced by women’s excessive make up.

The findings were included in a survey conducted by the Riyadh-based King Abdul Aziz Centre for National Dialogue and involved 992 males and females. [Emirates247.com] Read more

Germany Adds Lessons in Islam to Better Blend Its Melting Pot

For the first time, German public schools are offering classes in Islam to primary school students using state-trained teachers and specially written textbooks, as officials try to better integrate the nation’s large Muslim minority and counter the growing influence of radical religious thinking.

The classes offered in Hesse State are part of a growing consensus that Germany, after decades of neglect, should do more to acknowledge and serve its Muslim population if it is to foster social harmony, overcome its aging demographics and head off a potential domestic security threat. [The New York Times] Read more

The Islamization of France in 2013

The Muslim population of France reached an estimated 6.5 million in 2013. Although France is prohibited by law from collecting official statistics about the race or religion of its citizens, this estimate is based on the average of several recent studies that attempt to calculate the number of people in France whose origins are from Muslim majority countries.

This estimate would imply that the Muslim population of France is now approximately 10% of the country's total population of around 66 million. In real terms, France has the largest Muslim population in the European Union.

Not surprisingly, Islam and the question of Muslim immigration were an ever-present topic in newspaper headlines during 2013. In practical terms, the debate over Islam in France centered mainly on questions about French identity, secularism and security-related issues.

What follows is a chronological review of some of the main stories about the rise of Islam in France during 2013: [Gatestone Institute] Read more

Cambridge student submits legal note against gender segregation to Universities UK

Radha's legal submission makes it unmistakably clear that despite UUK’s protestations, the law could scarcely be more unequivocal on gender segregation.

The practice is specifically condemned by the Equality Act as amounting to less favourable treatment of women. We hope it will be noted that this condemnation applies equally to ‘voluntary’ segregation, a notorious misnomer used to pressure students to comply with ‘Mixed’ and ‘Segregated’ zones.

The existing rights legislation recognises that gender segregation undermines the dignity of both men and women and creates a hostile, degrading and humiliating environment.

We hope Radha’s representations will remind UUK of its Public Sector Equality Duty towards the imperatives of eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations between those who share protected characteristics. [LSE Students' Union] Read more

Tunisia enshrines gender equality in constitution

Tunisia’s constitutional assembly voted on Monday to enshrine equality between men and women in its draft constitution, safeguarding the country’s status as having the Arab world’s most progressive laws on women’s right.

The text enshrining gender equality was approved by 159 lawmakers out of the 169 who voted. Women's rights activists in Tunisia hailed the provisional approval of article 20, which states that "all male and female citizens have the same rights and duties. They are equal before the law without discrimination". [France 24] Read more

Lebanon Library Torched, 78,000 Books Burned By Islamists

Ancient books in a historic library in the Lebanese city of Tripoli have been torched by Islamist, after a pamphlet purportedly insulting religion was found inside one of the books.

Security sources say that up to 78,000 books, many irreplaceable ancient Muslim and Christian texts and manuscripts, are now unsalvageable, according to Agence France Press.

The Al-Saeh library in the Serali neighborhood was set a-blaze after a local gang to objection to a sheet apparently insulting to the Prophet Mohammed, found hidden in the pages of one of the library books. [The Huffington Post UK] Read more

Death threats disrupt Tunisia constitution debate

Death threats against Tunisian secular lawmakers on Sunday disrupted voting on a new constitution, underscoring tensions over the role of Islam and the transition to democracy three years after the nation's revolution.

Tunisia's parliament started voting last week on the new charter, which is meant to put democracy back on track after deadlock between ruling Islamists and secular parties since the 2011 fall of autocratic leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

Approving the constitution is a key step before a caretaker government takes office to end the crisis between Islamists and secular opponents and prepare for new elections later this year. [Reuters] Read more

Get outraged over radical Islam

.... And why aren’t more people angry about the fact a woman has had to go underground simply because she drew a cartoon?

It’s hard to say what’s a bigger scandal: That a bunch of humourless Islamists still want to kill someone for drawing a little cartoon three years ago? Or that there are so many people out there who won’t even acknowledge the situation?

Shame on everyone who didn’t stand up for Molly Norris.

She should be living freely right now, drawing whatever cartoons suit her fancy. [THE TORONTO SUN] Read more

Tripoli mobilizes after historic library torched

Lebanese officials and religious figures mobilized Saturday to prevent a renewal of tensions in the northern city of Tripoli after unknown assailants torched a historic library owned by a Greek Orthodox priest.

Civil Defense teams struggled to put out the flames which engulfed the bookstore owned by Father Ibrahim Srouj in the old Serail neighborhood in the city, turning one of Lebanon's most renowned libraries into rubble.

Unknown assailants torched Al-Saeh library, destroying "two thirds of some 80,000 books and manuscripts housed there,” AFP reported. [The Daily Star] Read more

Tunisia MPs reject Islam as main source of law

Tunisia's Islamist-dominated constituent assembly compromised Saturday in rejecting Islam as the main source of law as it voted on a new constitution for the country that spawned the Arab Spring.

But while it established Islam as the state religion, it promised freedom of conscience, despite one MP warning that "satanists" and "idolaters" would be practicing in public and criticism by a rights group it was too vague. [AFP] Read more

Religion on IDs needed to prevent 'unlawful' marriage

Deputy Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar defended on Friday the controversial decision to keep religious affiliation listed on every citizen’s identification card, saying it was important for preventing unlawful interfaith marriages.

“Elimination of religion on ID cards would bring more detriments than benefits,” Nasaruddin said, as quoted on the ministry’s website.

“A Muslim marriage, for example, would be considered illegal under fiqih XXXIslamic lawYYY if the groom did not know the religion of his bride. The child of such a marriage would be called a zina XXXillegitimateYYY child,” he added. [The Jakarta Post] Read more

Tajikistan: Rap music banned from buses

According to US-backed Radio Ozodi, mayor Makhmadsaid Ubaidulloev signed a decree outlawing music that is "alien to national and universal human values".

The ban includes rock and rap music which "glorifies criminality, sexual content and music that propagates non-traditional Islam".

Apparently a public hotline has been set up to report transgressors. Speaking to the US-backed radio station, local minibus drivers said they were resigned to the ban. [BBC] Read more

Primary school gives children a two-week October half-term so pupils can go to Asia

A primary school adding an extra week to its October half-term holiday so Asian families can take their children abroad when temperatures are cooler there.

The Church of England academy has announced it will be breaking up for a fortnight – instead of the usual week – during the autumn term following requests from parents.

Wensley Fold Primary School in Blackburn has around 300 pupils, a high proportion of whom come from Asian backgrounds.

The school, which until now has had a week off for the October half-term, said the changes would be introduced as a trial for the new school year in September. [Daily Mail] Read more

More than 300 Bibles are confiscated in Malaysia

Islamic authorities in Malaysia have seized more than 300 Bibles from the Bible Society because they use the word Allah to refer to God, officials say.

Bible Society officials told Reuters that two of their members were briefly detained following the seizure.

A court ruled in October that non-Muslims could not use the word Allah to refer to God.

The appeals court said the term Allah must be exclusive to Islam or it could cause public disorder. [BBC] Read more

Malaysia's Islamic authorities seize Bibles as Allah row deepens

Islamic authorities in Malaysia on Thursday seized 321 Bibles from a Christian group because they used the word Allah to refer to God, signaling growing intolerance that may inflame ethnic and religious tension in the Southeast Asian country.

The raid comes after a Malaysian court in October ruled that the Arabic word was exclusive to Muslims, most of whom are ethnic Malays, the largest ethnic group in the country alongside sizeable Christian, Hindu and Buddhist minorities. [Reuters] Read more