Canada in landmark move to strike out "hate speech" law

Free speech advocates are hailing a move by the Canadian Senate this week to abolish a highly controversial section of Canada's Human Rights Act which, critics say, has been used to stifle the opinions of right-leaning journalists such as Mark Steyn and Ezra Levant.

.... Commenting on the move, Steyn, who had been a victim of Section 13 due to his writings against Islamism and terrorism, said:

"So victories against the state’s encroachments on free speech are protracted and difficult, but still just about possible. I am honored to have played a small role in a modest victory for liberty in Canada, and I hope my friends in London, ashamed by what their government has done, will take heart." [The Commentator] Read more

Turkey – Erdogan Global Twitter Conspiracy

Having been accused of being a paid part of the global conspiracy to destabilise Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey I thought it was time to revisit Turkey via the foreign media angle which has included twitter for as Erdogan said:

“There is now a scourge that is called Twitter. The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society.” [Homo economicus] Read more

Topless Femen activists target Swedish mosque

Three women from the feminist activist movement Femen entered a mosque on Södermalm in central Stockholm on Saturday morning, baring their breats and chanting "No sharia" and "Free women".

The women entered the main central Stockholm mosque at around 11am on Saturday.

Mosque employees called the police who dispatched several units to the scene. Shortly after their arrival they emerged with the still bare-breasted women and walked to a transport vehicle. [The Local] Read more

Blasphemy convict: Aasia Bibi’s appeal at least two years away

Aasia Bibi, the Christian woman on death row whose blasphemy conviction was decried as unjust by slain former governor Salmaan Taseer, faces a wait of at least another two years behind bars before her appeal is likely to come up before the Lahore High Court.

Bibi, 45, has been jailed since June 19, 2009, when her neighbours in a village near Nankana Sahib accused her of making derogatory remarks about the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). An additional district and sessions judge convicted and sentenced her to death in November 2010, pending confirmation of the decision by the LHC.

The case attracted the attention of then Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, who visited Bibi in jail and denounced her conviction as well as the blasphemy law. A couple of months later, Taseer – and any hope Aasia Bibi had of a quick release was killed in a hail of bullets fired by his own bodyguard. [The Express Tribune] Read more

Shia And Sunni Tensions In Syria Threaten To Split British Muslim Community

On the surface, it was a demonstration in support of the rebels in Syria. In reality, the objective was to intimidate members of the minority Shia Muslim community in the UK, Muslims whom followers of Choudary's brand of extreme Salafist Sunni Islam do not consider true believers.

Activists carried banners rallying against the "Shia Enemies of Allah" and police had to be called to the scene when members of the group apparently attacked a man who was Shia, hitting him almost a dozen times.

The demonstration is the first time that bitter Muslim sectarian tensions, now one of the driving forces behind the war in Syria, have bubbled to the surface, leading to violence on the streets of London. [The Huffington Post UK] Read more

Halifax primary may fight block over hardline Islam fear

A CONTROVERSIAL free school allegedly linked to hardline Islamic views may challenge the Government’s decision to block its plans to open in September.

A statement from Northern Lights Educational Trust said “all possible options” were being considered after the Department for Education (DfE) withdrew approval for a primary free school in the Park ward area of Halifax.

The DfE launched an investigation after Calderdale Council and Halifax MP Linda Riordan raised fears about community cohesion. Schools Minister Lord Nash told Ms Riordan concerns around “inclusiveness” formed one of the reasons behind the decision. [Yorkshire Post] Read more

Why is the left so blinkered to Islamic extremism?

.... People only see what they want to see and shut out anything uncomfortable which contradicts their world view. Evidence is no longer evidence at all but rather white noise to be filtered out, or ammunition to be twisted and used against the other side.

The existence of a large amount of this type of confirmation bias in politics is a conclusion one is bound to draw after reading a new report by the One Law for All campaign: Siding with the Oppressor: The Pro-Islamist Left.

In the past decade or so some progressives have found themselves - either through political expediency or something worse - on the side of the far-right. [independent.co.uk] Read more

HRW: Lynching of Shiites in Egypt follows months of negative rhetoric

Human Rights Watch expressed alarm on Thursday over the lynching of four Shiites by a mob led by an Egyptian Salafi Sheikh in Greater Cairo on Sunday.

The rights group said the violence in the village of Abu Musallim comes after months of anti-Shiite rhetoric.

“The brutal sectarian lynching of four Shiites comes after two years of hate speech against the minority religious group, which the Muslim Brotherhood condoned and at times participated in,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at HRW.

“This horrific incident in Abu Musallim shows that Shiite can’t even gather in the privacy of their homes to celebrate and heightens fear of persecution among all religious minorities in Egypt.” [Al Arabiya] Read more

Half of Britain’s mosques have been attacked since 9/11

.... Despite the warning signs, a senior Government adviser told The Independent that there remains a “lack of political will” to take on the rise of Islamophobic attacks in Britain.

The adviser, who did not want to be named, said that attempts to “tackle this issue – even before Woolwich – struggled to attract buy-in,” with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, identified as the primary source of frustration. [independent.co.uk] Read more

Obama Courts Jihad Apologists

.... As jihad watchdogs have reported, the administration has rolled out the red carpet for dozens of Muslim Brotherhood officers, flacks, and sympathizers. IPT noted last year: “White House visitor logs show that top U.S. policymakers are soliciting and receiving advice from people who, at best, view the war on terrorism as an unchecked war on Muslims.

These persons’ perspectives and preferred policies handcuff law enforcement and weaken our resolve when it comes to confronting terrorism.” [National Review Online] Read more

Turkish PM's treason claims against BBC reporter chills other journalists

Selin Gerit, a London-based presenter for BBC's Turkish service, was until last week relatively unknown in her home country. However, that changed when Recep Tayyip Erdogan told parliament she was guilty of treason over her coverage of the anti-government protests sweeping the nation.

The prime minister's condemnation has triggered concerns among fellow journalists, who believe Erdogan – who accuses the media of fanning the demonstrations – is attempting to stifle dissent. [guardian.co.uk] Read more

Saudi Arabian Women's Conference... With Not A Female In Sight

An image of a conference in Saudi Arabia on the topic of “women in society” – with not a single female present - has gone viral.

The picture features row upon row of men in traditional headscarves and white thobes. A single Westerner in a flannel shirt is the only person breaking up an otherwise uniform sea of what appear to be Arab men. [Huffington Post UK] Read more

Saudi police stop wedding in park

Saudi Arabia’s religious police raided a park in the Gulf Kingdom and stopped a wedding they considered as a violation of conservative local traditions.

Hundreds of visitors to the park south of the capital Riyadh surrounded the newly-wed Egyptian couple to take part in the party before members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice entered the park and stopped the event.

“A source in the Commission said the wedding was stopped because it violated local traditions as the bride was not covering her face and the groom was holding her hand and hugging her sometimes,” Ajel newspaper said. [Emirates247.com] Read more

Theresa May's ban on Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller reveals a troubling relativism

.... Even an Imam had to recently admit that Spencer knew his stuff. Don't believe me? Listen to this interview of his with the BBC Asian Network last week. And also, weep at how uninformed Nick Lowles of the Hope Not Hate group is. And before you claim, "OMG you're endorsing Robert Spencer!" No I'm not. I'm just saying, he's not as "out there" as people claim. And he's certainly not ban-worthy.

But anyway, it doesn't really matter if I agree with them or not. And that's the point, isn't it?

Britain likes to trumpet itself as a 'tolerant' country. The government and politicians certainly do. It sounds lovely, doesn't it? We're incredibly 'tolerant' over here, don't you know?

But not so much that we can tolerate people who have a critical reading of Islamism and Islam, it seems. No. That'd be too much. Deport the atheists (like me) while you're at it. Because we think all religions are cuckoo. So perhaps the Home Secretary's rationale for banning Gellar and Spencer (being 'not conducive to the public good') would extend to all of us, too? [THE COMMENTATOR] Read more

A gross double standard over hate speech

According to the Home Office if you are a non-Muslim and you make the following statement your presence will be deemed ‘not conducive to the public good’ and you will be barred from entering the United Kingdom:

‘It [Islam] is a religion and a belief system that mandates warfare against unbelievers for the purpose for establishing a societal model that is absolutely incompatible with Western society. Because of media and general government unwillingness to face the sources of Islamic terrorism these things remain largely unknown.’ [The Spectator] Read more

Brotherhood inciting hate

Human Rights Watch accused Egypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood Thursday of inciting religious hatred that led to the lynching of four Shiites in Cairo this week.

Residents of the suburb of Zawiyat Abu Musallem surrounded a house where a prominent Shiite preacher had arrived Sunday for a religious festival.

They attacked the guests, killing at least four and mutilating their bodies. [The Daily Star] Read more

The British government's jihad against free thought

By banning from the country as extremists the American anti-jihadis Robert Spencer and Pamela Geller, the Home Secretary Teresa May has not only made herself look ridiculous but has sent the enemies of the United Kingdom the message that they have it on the run.

I do not support the approach taken by either Geller or Spencer to the problem of Islamic extremism. Both have endorsed groups such as the EDL and others which at best do not deal with the thuggish elements in their ranks and at worst are truly racist or xenophobic. [Melanie's blog] Read more

OIC Opens Office in Brussels to Fight "Islamophobia" in Europe

The primary objective of the OIC, headquartered in Saudi Arabia and funded by Islamic countries around the world, has long been to pressure Europe and the United States into passing laws that would ban "negative stereotyping of Islam."

The establishment of a permanent OIC presence in Brussels implies that the group intends to redouble its lobbying efforts aimed at outlawing all forms of "Islamophobia" [a term invented by the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1990s] within the 27-member EU, where restrictions on free speech regarding Islam-related issues are already commonplace (see here, here, here and here). [Gatestone Institute] Read more

Banning of Geller and Spencer from UK will only build grievance

.... This is the problem with banning people such as Geller and Spencer, Islamic preacher Zakir Naik and others: Once we have an established principle that we can ban people who have not actually committed a crime in this country, on the grounds that what they say may not be conducive to the public good, then we risk an ever higher stakes game: the next time a controversial Muslim preacher passes through the country, there will be cries that that person was allowed in but not Geller; likewise when the next Geert Wilders enters, it will be asked how come he can enter, but Zakir Naik cannot? And on it goes, grievances building.

If these people break the law while in the country, and are prosecuted and barred, whether for hate speech, incitement to violence or relevant criminal offences, then at least it can be said that we are all subject to the same law, and the law has been broken. But this pre-emptive extra-judicial move is a strategy that risks undermining cohesion and entrenching bitterness in an already vicious argument. [Index on Censorship] Read more

Good news: "Behead Those Who Disrespect Our Prophet P.B.U.H" has a Facebook page!

This is what real hatred and incitement to violence looks like: the page is here. But note that none of those who are so exercised about "Islamophobia" and who smear our work against jihad and Islamic supremacism as "hateful" have a word to say about this.

It is not "hate" when it's a Facebook page. It only becomes "hate" when I report about it. [Jihad Watch] Read more

Islam At War -- With Itself

.... Somewhere in or near Quetta a group of men chanted with pride, Allah-u-Akbar (God is great), eulogizing the female suicide bomber for killing the very women who held the most promise for Pakistan. Their spokesperson called the news outlets to claim responsibility for the attack on unarmed women. Later, at the Bolan Medical Complex in Quetta, another group of men, armed with AK-47 and wearing suicide vests, engaged the security personnel in a standoff that left several more dead, including four nurses who were attending to the wounded from the earlier blast.

This was all done in the name of Islam. This will be repeated sooner than later. Some would argue this is not the "real" Islam. Does it really matter what real Islam is when its true followers cannot stand up to those who use religion to commit genocide? [TheHuffingtonPost.com] Read more

Sectarian killing rattles fearful Egypt

Egypt's president, accused of fuelling sectarian hatred, promised swift justice on Monday for a deadly attack on minority Shi'ites as he tried to quell broader factional conflict to avoid a threatened military intervention.

The army, which handed power to elected Sunni Islamists a year ago after decades of oppression, have warned Mohamed Mursi - and his liberal opponents - to end an increasingly violent deadlock or see troops back on the streets to impose order. [Reuters] Read more

Sadiq Khan has unwittingly highlighted the problem of Islamic extremism

.... So – here’s the thing. Sadiq Khan has attempted to patronise Charles Moore, say he knows nothing about what he is writing about and says that, in any case, it’s all in hand because although there are some rotten apples they are being rooted out.

Should the rest of us – Muslims and non-Muslims alike – take Mr Khan’s word for this? Is it appropriate for us to all turn away?

Or would it be rather more appropriate for us to keep saying, ‘How’s the “rooting out” and “tackling” of that “very small number” of extremists going?’ [The Spectator] Read more

Statement regarding BBC reporters in Turkey

The BBC is very concerned by the continued campaign of the Turkish authorities to discredit the BBC and intimidate its journalists.

A large number of threatening messages have been sent to one of our reporters, who was named and attacked on social media by the Mayor of Ankara for her coverage of the current protests. [BBC] Read more

Muslim prison numbers soar as staff warn of Islamic “gang culture” in jails

Prison officers have warned of Islamic “gang culture” in jails after ­figures showed the number of Muslim inmates has rocketed compared with other faiths.

Stats obtained by the Sunday People reveal convicts in England and Wales who say their religion is Islam have passed the 11,000 mark for the first time.

The total for Christians is 43,235, ­according to data given out under ­freedom of information laws.

Prison officers’ association ­general secretary Steve Gillan said: “The POA are aware that some ­individuals are bullied into conversion. [MIRROR.CO.UK] Read more