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26 April 2012

52% Of Canadians Distrust Muslims, According To Latest Poll

A new poll shows that more than half of all Canadians distrust Muslims.

The nationwide survey indicates that as many as 52 percent of Canadians feel Muslims can be trusted "a little" or "not trusted at all." The poll showed that 48 percent of respondents said Muslims can be trusted "a lot" or "somewhat."

What's more, 42 percent of Canadians said discrimination against Muslims is "mainly their fault."

Muslims registered the lowest levels of trustworthiness of the religious groups asked about in the survey. [TheHuffingtonPost.com] Read more

15 April 2012

This is Why - Part 7

A continuous survey of causes of “Islamophobia”. It concentrates on news concerning Beliefs and Practices, Freedom of Speech, Religious Freedom, Integration or Multiculturalism, Organisations and Politics, Sharia, and Women and Islam. The “War on Terror”, Terrorism, the Israeli/Palestinian issue and ongoing conflicts in Muslim countries are excluded. See here for explanation of survey.

April 2012

American Muslim Group Warns Muslims Against Working in Law Enforcement, Becoming "Pleased with a Legal System That Does Not Come from Allah"

Imam speaks against Women's Day

Kuwait MPs okay death penalty for cursing God

Tunisian jailed for desecrating the Koran

University to have alcohol-free areas for Muslims

12 Christians in Iran await verdicts after Easter Sunday apostasy trial

'A Koran in every home' project makes waves
A project by Salafist Muslims to give away 25 million German-language Korans across the country – by post and in town centres, has been slammed by a conservative politician calling it a disturbance of the religious peace.

Mosque in gay-hate row opens a new fee-paying school where pupils will memorise the Koran and speak Arabic
Pupils will be expected to memorise the Koran and wear traditional Pakistani uniforms when it opens in Birmingham this September, with fees of £3,500 a year.

Handshake Muslim loses court case
Enait had applied for the job at the social services department but said he would not shake hands with women on religious grounds. However, he would greet them in another respectful fashion, he said.

Religious right in Egypt hoping for Islamic law
The men gathering outside the yellow mosque agreed: Adulterers should be stoned to death, the hands of thieves cut off.

Egypt: Christian jailed for insulting Islam
An Egyptian Christian teenager has been sentenced to three years in prison for allegedly insulting Islam.

Arab Christians are being driven from places where they have lived peacefully for centuries

Leicestershire councillor facing probe over message criticising Muslims

Two Tunisian men sentenced to seven years in prison for blasphemy

Islam Conquers European Football
.... Real Madrid, has removed a Christian cross from its official logo as a way to strengthen its fan base among Muslims in Europe and the Middle East

Muslim Brotherhood candidate says introducing sharia in Egypt is his main goal

Egypt jails Christian student to three years in jail for insulting Islam

'Toulouse killer is one of us’
.... grandchildren of North African immigrants are turning to Islam as a form of social protest.

British Muslims define themselves according to foreign policy

Sex and Sharia: Muslim women punished for failed marriages
... her gender prevents her from unilaterally divorcing her husband, instead the Imam told her to return to her husband, perform her wifely duties and maintain the abusive marriage that she was forced into.

Two teachers arrested over blasphemy
Police in Bangladesh said yesterday they had arrested two school teachers on suspicion of staging a drama containing blasphemous remarks about the Prophet Muhammad.

March 2012

Extremists control hundreds of Tunisia’s mosques: religious affairs minister

Cashier uncomfortable handling handling pork or alcohol
.... They’ve put up a sign asking customers buying pork or alcohol not to use a particular checkout line when a Muslim teenager is on duty as the cashier.

Malaysia in religious row over 'threat of Christianity'

Forced marriage: Girl aged five among 400 minors helped

Italy: Man who beat daughter for reciting Koran incorrectly broke law, court says

And not a woggle in sight: The new Scout uniform for Muslim girls
Looks like integration has gone out the window then, along with Scouting tradition. Bending over backward to appease the minority, yet again, how typical.

MPs [in Kuwait] move to toughen penalty for blasphemy
.... “the death penalty or life imprisonment to those who publicly insult God Almighty (Divine Entity) or Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) or his wives by words, writings, drawings, or pictures or any other means of expression ....

Kuwait arrests man over Prophet Mohammad tweets
Kuwaiti authorities arrested a man late on Tuesday for insulting the Prophet Mohammad via his Twitter account

400 women and girls held in Afghanistan for 'moral crimes'
The report by Human Rights Watch found many inmates had fled a forced marriage, or violent husbands and in-laws.

Muslim girls must swim with boys: Swiss court
A Muslim family in Basel has been fined 1,400 francs ($1,550) for refusing to let its daughters participate in mixed swimming classes.

We will insist on applying Sharia in Egypt, Islamist MP says

Letchworth taxi driver cautioned after refusing Stevenage blind man’s guide dog
.... he was told by Mr Hasan he would not take the dog because he was a Muslim and wouldn’t breathe in dog hairs.

Thousands rally in Tunis to demand Islamic law

Now they'll have to tell us if we're eating halal: Ministers prepare to change law

'Pull her by the ear, beat her by hand or stick': How the Islamic guide to a happy marriage advises husbands to treat their wives

Tariq Ramadan: Mohamed Merah not “driven by racism and anti-Semitism”
.... Any Western failure to make the adjustment, acceptance and recognition is proof of misunderstanding of Islam and victimisation of Muslims. Islam has nothing to learn from the West, but the West must learn from Islam.

Book tells Muslim men how to beat and control their wives

Danish school fined for forcing Muslim to eat pork

Woman died after Muslim nurse refused to help as he was praying

‘Destroy All the Churches’
.... Abdulaziz ibn Abdullah Al al-Sheikh, the grand mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, declares that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches in the Arabian Peninsula ....

Bangladesh to shut Facebook pages for blasphemy

Sharia Law in the UK: Threat to Women and Children
.... 'Polygamy is already happening,' she said. 'It means Britain has two parallel legal systems, one which does not permit bigamy and the other which does.’

More than half of Canadians mistrust Muslims, poll says

Muslim juror removed from jury after refusing to take off veil

French women's match called off over headscarves

Massacre of emos in Iraq goes to core of a damaged society
.... Starting last year, mosques and the media both began raising the alarm about youthful immorality, calling the emos deviants and devil worshippers. In early February, somebody began killing people.

Keep corrupt regimes out of British culture
.... The British Museum's current Hajj exhibition charts the history of Mecca as a destination for pilgrims with the wariness of a conscript crossing a minefield. The exhibition sticks to the authorised version of "religious scholars".

Hundreds of Muslim lawyers block blasphemy alleged Christian victim’s lawyer entering court in Egypt

Court gives life-term for blaspheming

Muslim Persecution of Christians
.... some 100,000 Christian Copts have fled their native Egypt since the overthrow of the Mubarak regime; and in northern regions of Nigeria, where the jihadi group, Boko Haram, has been slaughtering Christians, up to 95% of the Christian population has fled.

Europe's failure to integrate Muslims

Swedish court disallows teen's Sharia marriage

Islamic halal meat: It 'slams against Quebec values'

Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America Cautions Muslims Against Participating in American Legal System; Urges Them to “Hate It in Their Hearts”

Christian woman arrested for blasphemy as petition goes to UN on Asia Bibi's behalf

One rule for Jesus, another for Muhammad?
.... the satirical musical depicted Jesus as a petulant overgrown baby in a nappy, I put it to him that the BBC wouldn't dream of broadcasting something comparably satirical about the Prophet Muhammad.

Egyptian MP proposes Sharia punishments for murder, theft crimes

Moroccan girl commits suicide after being forced to marry her rapist

Sharia Law and Middle Class Feminism
.... the quotes condoning domestic violence and marital rape from 'judges' of both the Islamic Sharia Council and the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal

Muslim Cab Drivers Claim Employer Barred Them From Praying

Message to Iran: Free Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani

Proposal of Islamist MP forces hijab on all women

At least 14 youths stoned to death in Iraq for wearing Western-style ‘emo’ clothes

Freedom of speech under fire?
.... a man from Gainsborough has been given a one year prison sentence for displaying posters critical of Islam. It is claimed that he ‘plastered his front window with vile anti-Islamic hate literature’:

Towering new Derby mosque may be blocked by city planners

Doublespeak from the East London Mosque

Imam detained for preaching violence against "errant" wives

Freedom of speech according to the BBC
.... "for a Muslim, a depiction…of the Prophet Mohammed might have the emotional force of a piece of grotesque child pornography." He added that "secularists" fail "to understand…what blasphemy feels like to someone who is a realist in their religious belief."

Spanish imam under investigation after calling on Muslims to ‘discipline’ misbehaving wives

French PM criticises halal as campaign heats up

Founder of Tunisian 'religious police' explains how to promote Islamic behaviour

Sharia law in Australia already a reality
.... A Muslim man who divorces his wife is supposed to give her a financial settlement but many ignore this; while a woman who seeks a divorce against her husband’s wishes has no financial rights and, worse still, has to pay back the dowry he paid when they married

Fireman Sam and the day freedom went up in smoke
.... Here are the words: ‘If I was wearing this scarf over my face, I wonder what would happen.’

Olympic mega-mosque opposition campaign relaunched in West Ham

Australian Muslim women must show faces for identity checks under new law

Halal - are non-muslims losing the right to choose?

Fears for imminent execution of Iranian pastor

Woman tortured for ‘anti-Islam views’ in Pakistan

No special consideration for Muslims like halal meat in schools

Saudi culture to blame
It seems that when the green flag of Saudi Arabia is paraded at the London Olympic Games opening ceremony, it will be followed by men alone

Egypt jails Christian for six years for religious contempt

Moroccan Muslim sentenced for beating his wife for not wearing her hijab

February 2012

Saudi women seek right to play sports despite Muslim clerics’ veto

Tattoo photo puts Malaysia newspaper on defensive
The publishing of a photo that included an American singer tattooed with the Arabic word “Allah” has forced Malaysia’s the Star newspaper to apologize after anger fomented in the country.

Father tries to set 23-year-old daughter alight
.... The father was apparently annoyed that the woman planned to go out with a group of friends that evening and considered her "too emancipated". The newspaper quoted a source describing him as a "Muslim fundamentalist."

Christianity gets less sensitive treatment than other religions admits BBC chief

Censorship persists: Egypt authorities ban screening of 'taboo' movie
Egyptian film-makers and critics denounced the authorities on Monday for blocking the screening of a "taboo" film about a love story between a Christian woman and a Muslim man.

Nearly half of Europeans see Islam as a threat to their identity

The terror continues in Iran
…. the security authorities of Iran have been taking action against the growth of Christianity and house church movement in Iran and have arrested many believers.

Marseillais: 'Muslim culture is definitively taking over the lower levels of society'

Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani to be hanged

Is Sharia Law Compatible with Democracy?
.... The question has arisen of whether legal decisions based on cultural values at odds with democratic principles be accepted and incorporated into laws of democratic countries in the name of religious freedom.

A Global War on Christians in the Muslim World?
Inter-religious and inter-communal tensions and conflicts from Nigeria and Egypt and Sudan, to Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia have raised major concerns about deteriorating rights and security for religious minorities in Muslim countries.

The London-based campaign to hang a Pakistani Christian

How "Islamic" government works in London
.... The PCC ruled that it was "not misleading" to describe Rahman as “closely linked” to the extremist Islamic group, the Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE), who control the East London Mosque.

Muslim University's library out of bounds for undergraduate girls

France: 'Suburbs becoming Muslim land', says journalist

The Mega Mosque - Tablighi Jamaat casts on a new application

Kuwaiti MPs call for ban on construction of churches

Egypt’s Baha’is face more attacks from Salafists

British cleric in heated debate, tells Muslim apostate he should be killed

First Islamic Version of Facebook Aims to Create 'Halal' Field for Muslims

Toronto’s million-dollar ‘radical mosque’

After surviving sectarian mob, Egyptian Christians expelled from village

Purifying girls
…. over 90% of women in Egypt have undergone Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) - the highest rate anywhere in the world.

Religious police swoop on Valentine's Day lovers
.... The religious authorities say Muslims who take part in Valentine's Day are in fact weak, lacking imagination, and far removed from the "sublime and virtuous" objectives of their religion.

The bloodlust faced by the 'blaspheming' Saudi journalist

After revolution in Egypt, women's taste of equality fades

Top Muslim scholar says any one who insults Prophet should be killed

Saudi writer may face trial over Prophet Mohammad tweets

The toxic legacy of British Multiculturalism

The Problem of Sharia Law in Britain
.... deep concerns about the discrimination Muslim women suffer in Sharia courts, particularly in cases involving child custody and domestic violence.

Saudi writer Hamza Kashgari faces charge of blasphemy after tweets about Muhammad

Morocco: Weeklies Censored for Depicting God, the Prophet Muhammad

Muslims jailed over gay-hate leaflet
Three men have been jailed after becoming the first to be convicted of stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation for handing out a leaflet calling for gay people to be executed.

Muslims told Valentine’s Day can invoke wrath of God

Taj Hargey renews attack on Tablighi Jamaat over Newham 'mega-mosque'

Prison sentence for man who attacked Muslim girls for wearing bathing suits

Islamists in Egypt halt filming of TV series
The students had objected to the "indecent" clothing, it said, and "categorically refused" to let the filming continue unless the costumes were changed.

Islam and Free Speech: Islamic countries vs. Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Egyptian Presidential Candidate Says No Freedom in Islam
.... being a Muslim is like being a member of the military; you must obey all its dictates, including dress codes.

Journalist Flees Saudi After Tweet on Prophet

The Global War on Christians in the Muslim World

Saudi activists sue government over driving ban
Two Saudi female activists have filed law suits against the government for refusing to issue them driver's licences and banning them from driving a car.

Islam, honour, murder
.... the Shafia case and the murder of four innocent women, some of them mere girls, by their Muslim father, their Muslim mother, and their Muslim brother.

Iranian Court Upholds Death Sentence for Software Designer
.... Malekpour is charged with "insulting the sanctity of Islam" and "corruption on earth," two regularly invoked grounds for execution in Iran ....

Muslim arbitration in Germany
Mediating disputes is an age-old tradition in the Arab world, which is also practiced in Germany. But experts warn of the danger of a parallel, Muslim judiciary.

Egyptian film star sentenced for insulting Islam

Veiled Muslim Woman Denied Gas Wants Chevron Apology

Calls to Behead Indonesian Atheist Alexander Aan
.... Muslim extremists have called for Aan to be beheaded but fellow atheists have rallied round, and urged him to stand by his convictions despite the pressure

Muslim cab driver refuses guide dog in Letchworth

January 2012

Muslim teenagers must not mix with non-Muslims

Sharia creep at the LSE
.... “The London School of Economics [LSE] Student Union has passed a motion effectively making it impossible for students on campus to criticize Islam.”

Canadian jury finds Afghan family guilty of 'honour killings'
Prosecutors said the defendants killed the three teenage sisters because they felt they had dishonoured the family by defying its strict rules on dress, dating, socialising and using the internet.

Indonesian atheist might embrace Islam after arrest, police say

Saudi Arabia: Christians Arrested at Private Prayer

Saudi Arabia to allow women into sports stadiums

Over 3000 Muslims Attack Christian Homes and Shops in Egypt, 3 Injured

Death threats for singer of burqa song

Totalitarianism of Yusuf Al-Qaradawi’s Islamic utopia

Muslim car-pool service
.... he thought of the idea because of complaints he heard that regular carpools don't implement gender discrimination.

Why Salman Rushdie's voice was silenced in Jaipur

'Strict Muslim' raped four women at knifepoint to 'punish them for being on the streets at night'

Tunisia’s Blasphemy Law Sparks Mob Violence
Karoui .... is charged with “violating sacred values” and “disturbing public order” for airing Persepolis, the award-winning animated film about the 1979 Iranian revolution that depicts God as a bearded old man.

LSE Students Union “being manipulated by determined activists” over Mohammed cartoon

Islamophobia is used to scaremonger people into silence

Norway: Two Iranian converts attacked, called 'kuffar'
Two Iranians who converted from Islam to Christianity were stabbed by masked me in Haugesund last week. The attacker shouted 'Kuffar' (Arabic for non-believer) during the attack.

Strong religious belief is no excuse for intimidation
.... Most people in the UK don't condone violence, but a worrying number think we should be careful around individuals with strong religious beliefs

Indonesian atheist attacked, charged with blasphemy after denying God’s existence on Facebook
Indonesian police say a civil servant who posted “God does not exist” on Facebook faces a maximum penalty of five years behind bars for blasphemy.

Rushdie cancels India visit after death threat warning

Islamist hatemongers face jail for saying gays should be killed

Denmark: Schools drop Christmas traditions out of consideration for Muslim students

Why British Muslim women can’t find a Muslim marriage partner
As a white male, if my essential criteria for marrying someone was that they be white and of the same religion then the Guardian would consider me something of a bigot would it not?

Iranian actress told not to return home after posing naked for magazine

Dangerous tightrope that Saudi women walk
A woman must carry around a permission slip from a man to function in Saudi society.

How Islam supresses Muslim women’s rights in the United Kingdom

Haitham Al Haddad’s Sharia “Court” in the News
.... the senior cleric of Britain’s main Islamic sharia court, Abu Sayeed considers it “not Islamic” to classify non-consensual marital sex as rape and prosecute offenders.

Islamist stops university debate with threats of violence

Iran's morality police crack down on Barbie

Growing use of Sharia by UK Muslims
''We have spoken to many women and all of them tell us the same story; Sharia law is not providing them with the justice they seek. The councils are dominated by men, who are making judgements in favour of men''

Criminalizing Religious Criticism: UN Resolution Threatens Freedom of Speech

British worker faces jail in Abu Dhabi for making comment “insulting Islam”
A British engineer is facing a month in jail after he told colleagues in a meeting, 'When will we finish with the damn mosques?'

Hundreds protest plan for new Sunderland mosque

Scientific proof that women cannot talk and remember at the same time
.... under Sharia law a woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man’s so you always need two women for every man, not just in financial transactions – as its proponents deceptively say (as if that’s not bad enough)....

Egyptian Islamists Demand "Morals Patrols"

Blasphemy law is at the rotten core of Pakistan

Large numbers of young Muslims in jail because imams are out of date and some don’t speak English

Egypt Copt tycoon faces trial for religious tweet
.... faces trial for insulting religion after tweeting a caricature of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse in Islamic garb.

How Punjab governor's killer became a hero
"We are just grateful that God chose a member of our family to protect the reputation of the Prophet."

Religiously Sanctioned Paedophilia
The Director General of the Census Bureau in Hormozgan announced that there had been five marriages of girls under the age of 10 in the Iranian province.

Muslim jailed for holding ex-wife prisoner on the toilet – he saw her western knickers as SATAN

Secular Egyptian leader to stand trial for cartoons of Minnie Mouse in a burka

Iran Begins Internet Crackdown, Preps Countrywide 'Halal' Intranet

Iranian cleric calls Facebook 'un-Islamic', membership a 'sin'

Iran Mounts New Web Crackdown

Battle over bikinis looms for Egyptian tourism

Maldives luxury resorts face ban on spas after Muslim protest

Christians face waves of persecution

Islamic preacher calls for ministry for 'promotion of virtue'

MPs and peers reject demands to serve halal meat at Westminster

December 2011

Christian student jailed in Egypt for anti-Islam images on Facebook

The joys of multiculturalism: Christian head of Muslim school claims he was dismissed because of his religion

Veiled woman given driving fine

Egypt Muslim group orders Christian TV station off air

Bosnia's Muslims urged to "boycott New Year"
By taking part .... they would "violate Allah's boundaries, and do something their master hates and despises".

Muslim Extremists in Uganda Throw Acid on Bishop

Nigerian man’s hand amputated for theft

Iran does not have necessary facilities to stone Sakineh to death so want to hang her instead

Women are not for battering
The physical chastisement of a woman is widely regarded in our society as a man's entitlement and a woman's just desert.

Iran Detains Sunday School Kids Celebrating Christmas
Iranian authorities raided a church that was celebrating Christmas and detained everyone in the building, including children attending Sunday school, a U.K.-based Christian charity said.

Ahmadinejad steps into Iran’s dress-code debate
Though leading Shiite Muslim clerics advise women to wear chadors — the traditional head-to-toe cloak, usually black — Iran’s urban fashionistas increasingly prefer tight-fitting coats and scant head scarves.

Muslim cadets WILL be allowed to wear hijab after 14 year old forced to quit

Arabic school textbooks show children how to chop off hands and feet under Sharia law

Muslim man jailed for punching nurse who tried to remove his wife's burqa during childbirth

The persecution of Christians sweeping the Middle East

Extremist Teachings Remain in Saudi Textbooks Despite Kingdom's Claims of Reform
…. the textbooks call for homosexuals to be put to death "because they pose a danger at society, as the Saudi school books teaches.

Quebec accused of caving over guard’s hijab, will allow Muslim head scarf in prisons

Muslim kindergartener permitted to block out music
.... the principal of Bienville School decided to grant the accommodation request made by a Muslim family and allow their daughter to block out music at school.

Denmark: Schools drop Christmas traditions out of consideration for Muslim students

Saudis urged to stop amputation sentence

Clinton says women sidelined in Egypt transition

A happy extremist Christmas at the East London Mosque
One of his previous appearances there was at an event to pronounce music a “social ill.” Haitham has also described music as a “prohibited and fake message of love and peace.”

Bangladeshi Muslim cuts his wife's fingers off because she wanted an Education

Islam’s abominations are too obvious for you to excuse
Proponents will dishonestly say that stoning is not mentioned in the Koran knowing full well that is mentioned in the Hadith and that it is part and parcel of Sharia law

What’s Islam Got to Do with It?
He advocated that Muslims begin by transforming the states in which they live into “Islamic states.”

It’s his culture; he can’t shake your hand

Indonesian police crackdown to promote strict moral values

Senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader says Turkey’s secularism not suitable for Arab states
Turkey’s model of “secular Islam” was a version of western liberal democracy and is unacceptable for countries going through an “Islamic awakening”

Free speech mustn't be squelched to protect religion

Top Islamic scholar objects to women running in election

India: pastor who baptized Muslims appears before sharia court

Salafist party vows to ban alcohol, beach tourism in Egypt

Pakistan Blasphemy Law Continues to Victimise Christians and Others

Inside a Muslim primary school
Jonathan Romain of the Accord Coalition tells Khan of his fear that such schools ghettoise children and fail to prepare them for a multicultural society

Saudi woman beheaded for 'sorcery'
A Saudi woman was beheaded Monday after being convicted of practising sorcery, which is banned in the ultra-conservative kingdom, the Interior Ministry said.

Independent Muslim schools are not divisive says headmistress
Yes, religious based schooling worked so well in Northern Ireland when it came to healing the divides in society.

Face veils banned for citizenship oaths
The government is placing a ban on face coverings such as niqabs for people swearing their oath of citizenship, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said Monday.

Muslim Brotherhood's Yusuf al-Qaradawi calls for "gradualism" in applying Sharia
.... after all, now that you have allowed this, why not that? Or, oh, wait: we can't fully exercise the power we've been allowed without this or that additional authority.

Protesters calling for religious tolerance attacked with stones, threatened with death

Contrary to Sharia
.... a number of clerics issued a fatwa .... which stated that defining an age for marriage is contrary to Sharia and that “God had legitimized marriage to safeguard births and their protection.”

Turkish government's filter censors "evolution"
Sites that include the words "evolution" or "Darwin" are filtered if parents select the child-friendly settings on the filter, as though it's porn.

Hertz to fight Muslim workers' suit over prayer breaks
Hertz says the drivers, all of them Somali natives, refused to clock in and out for the 10-minute paid breaks they took twice daily, as required under their union contract, and abused their breaks by failing to return to work promptly.

Can traditional Islam adapt to the needs of western Muslims?
.... Muslim clerics have a long way to go in order to make Islam relevant to the needs of the diasporic communities of the west.

How calling someone a "white bitch" is not racist and being a drunken Muslim saves you from jail
They were spared a jail sentence after their defence lawyer claimed that as Muslims they were unused to drinking.

Malaysian Muslim thought police ban Lee Kwan Yew's book that suggests that Muslims should be 'less strict'

Democracy is heresy, says Salafi Nour Party

Silent Victims: Apostasy and Blasphemy Laws Worldwide
Numerous Islamic clerics have declared that if the government will not follow through on her death sentence, they themselves will finish the job.

Niqab case: Religious freedom vs. right to fair trial?
During the preliminary inquiry, she asked to testify with her face-covered, based on her Muslim beliefs - a request denied by the judge.

Australian man sentenced to 500 lashes for blasphemy
An Australian man has been sentenced to 500 lashes and a year in prison after being convicted of blasphemy by judges in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi 'study' that finds all women drivers on the road to immorality

Australia's Victoria state says no to Sharia courts

Belgium: Teacher suspended for discriminating against students without headscarves
One student said that Mohammed had told her that her mother would burn in hell because her mother was Catholic. Another that the teacher reproached her, a Muslim girl, for walking hand-in-hand with a boy.

A French minister of Arab origin says ‘there is no such thing as moderate Islam’
“There are no half measures with sharia,” she added. “I am a lawyer and you can make all the theological, literal or fundamental interpretations of it that you like but law based on sharia is inevitably a restriction on freedom, especially freedom of conscience.”

BBC reveal huge scale of honour attacks in Britain, fails to mention "islam"

Islam, evolution, and the denial of science

Muslims call for women only exercise facilities
MUSLIM women are calling on Hounslow Council to provide more female only exercise facilities. They say that due to religious constraints they can not exercise when there is a man about, even if he is the instructor.

Saudis fear there will be ‘no more virgins’ and people will turn gay if female drive ban is lifted

Tunisian secularists protest at Islamists on campus
Tunisian universities went on strike and nearly 3,000 people protested against Islamist influence Thursday after religious hardliners occupied a campus to demand segregation of male and female students.

November 2011

Thousands of Muslims Attack Christians in Egypt, 2 Killed, Homes and Stores Torched

Appeasing Islamist radicals imperils Western freedoms
The source of this growing movement against free speech is the anti-blasphemy laws that are being passed in predominantly Muslim countries.

'Excessively strict' discipline problem in UK madrassas
Researchers said the imposition of hard-line rules on behaviour instilled a sense of “spiritual fear” in young people, marking them out from mainstream schools.

Should animals be stunned before slaughter?
A study of the issue commissioned by the Dutch government in 2008 concluded that "ritual slaughter has a number of negative aspects for the animals when compared to conventional procedures where a stun is performed prior to slaughter".

Egyptian shaykh says it is forbidden for women to participate in the Olympics
He also described it as a slippery slope which could lead to women taking off their hijabs or tightening their clothes.

Muslim medical students walk out of lectures on evolution because it goes against the Koran

Sweden Democrats adds opposition to Islam to party program

Democrats must welcome the rise of political Islam
This is a bit like saying in the 1930s that the nazis were going to be a major force in Germany so we should all learn to "work with them".

Azerbaijani critic of Islam and Iran dies after stabbing

Arab Spring turning into a winter of Islamic jihad
For far from paving the way for freedom and pluralism, the uprisings have led only to more intolerance, authoritarianism and division.

Man avoids jail after religiously aggravated attack on sister’s non-Muslim boyfriend

Muslim handbook is divisive
.... there is no similar handbook for other religious or ethnic groups, not for Buddhists, Taoists, Germans, Greeks, Sikhs, Mormons or vegans. Why encourage one group of people to maintain an identity separate from other Australians?

Islamism, tolerance, freedom of speech and so-called 'honour culture'

‘Jesus Christ’ among words banned in text messages

Even among men?
In general, singing is completely prohibited. Islamic law prohibits singing because it constitutes falsehood. Singing includes all kinds of lyrics that attribute false things to the other…

Kashmir pastor arrested for baptising seven Muslims

“Don’t Vote for Those Who Don't Accept Allah as their God, Islam as Their Religion and Mohamed as Their Prophet”- Qaradawi

Saudi Islam and the abrogation of personal responsibility
Where clerics demand the covering of women’s eyes – their eyes – because this is supposedly the only way to stop men from committing sin, they have effectively admitted that the entire belief system they promote is utterly ineffective.

Very Little to Debate at ‘Human Rights in Islam’ Discussion

"Women Are Deficient in Intelligence and Religion, and It Is Not Permissible for Them to Be in Authority"

Brussels: One of Europe's largest Muslim cities
25% of the residents of Brussels are of Muslim origin, which makes Brussels one of the European cities with the largest Muslim presence, comparable to Birmingham in the UK.

'Muslims need to assimilate into Europe'
European culture and Islamic culture have different ethos and both are bound to collide unless there is assimilation and compromise.

Nude photo of Egyptian blogger is a scream against Islamism
.... posted naked pictures of herself on her blog to show her “screams against a society of violence, racism, sexism, sexual harassment and hypocrisy”.

Luxembourg: Ministry proposes allowing separate gym classes, prayer rooms

Saudi moral committee threatens to cover “tempting” women’s eyes

Turkey: many violations of freedom of expression

Baroness Warsi: Anjem Choudary and co are not Muslims
.... the argument that there is somehow a "proper" form of Islam that can be contrasted with extremist forms....

Sharia warning
...The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that sharia law is not compatible with democracy.

Women-only swim beginning of Sharia law in America

Saudi woman to be flogged for driving car

Arab Women Face an Uphill Struggle for Equality

Judge rejects Sharia push
Sharia Law would not take into account what Australian family law regards as "the child's best interests".

Combating Islamic Apostasy & Blasphemy Codes

Cairo Islamists protest French paper's prophet cartoon

Malaysian states with Islamic law eye harsher punishments for Muslim gays

Police Detain, Beat Converts from Islam in India
Police in India’s Kashmir Valley detained and beat converts from Islam and were expected to arrest Christian workers after Muslim leaders alleged that Muslim youth were being “lured” to Christianity.

US Commission: Pakistan Schools Teach Hatred
The report specifically said Pakistani teachers view religious minorities, especially Hindus and to a lesser extent, Christians, as "enemies of Islam."

Extremism is a problem and we need to get better at discussing it
.... There is an element of truth to the claim British Muslims have traditionally been reluctant to publicly condemn extremism unconditionally.

Americans Suddenly Discover That Pakistani Schools Inculcate Hatred Of Hindus (And Other Non-Muslims)

The Penalty for Apostasy Is Death; Only "Boozers and Druggies" Say Otherwise

Airline rules Muslim women don’t have to remove burqas on plane despite nationwide ban

Denmark: Muslim women face trouble getting divorced
.... The report confirms that there are Muslim women in Denmark who experience violence, harassment and social isolation because their husband won't give up on the religious marriage.

Charlie Hebdo & the taboo on criticising Islam
.... Islam will continue on its present retrograde path, increasingly dominated by conservatives and those who use the religion as a vehicle of political power.

Death threats increase as newspaper escalates Mohamed cartoon row

FOSIS has 'failed to challenge extremist ideologies'
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg made an unexpectedly strong attack on the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (Fosis) during his speech to the Community Security Trust.

Muslim students “demanding that the school provide them with prayer rooms without Christian symbols"

French paper reprints Mohammad cartoon after fire-bomb
A French satirical weekly whose office was fire bombed after it printed a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad has reproduced the image with other caricatures in a special supplement distributed with one of the country's leading newspapers.

Commissioner blocks Muslim sacrifice of goats and lambs

'Be God's curse upon you!': the dangers of mixing satire and Islam

October 2011

“Moderate Islamism?” Does It Exist?

Unstunned slaughter to continue in Australia
On the agenda was calls by animal welfare groups for the removal of exemptions that allow 12 Australian abattoirs to slaughter animals without prior stunning on religious and cultural grounds.

Warning! The Organistion of Islamic Countries Wants to Silence Free Speech Around the Globe

MP 'threatened at mosque surgery'
…. it happened at North Finchley mosque in north London as he met constituents on Friday afternoon. Mr Freer said about 12 people forced their way inside, with one of them calling him a "Jewish homosexual pig".

mypeace on TV - "islamic values"
.... this verse is followed by and conjoined to a verse which calls for killing, crucifying, and chopping off fingers and limbs of those who oppose Allah and Muhammad 'in the land'.

Swedish court bans niqab-wearing women

Malaysia's minorities fear Islamic law changes
There are two Malaysias. One for the Muslim majority - the other for Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and non-Muslims.

It's not bigotry to criticise Islam
.... some Muslims in Britain are creating enclaves governed largely according to their own rules; and that smaller, more radical elements are advocating an Islamic society under sharia law.

Tunisia's secular women fret over rise of Islamism

Pakistan judge Pervez Ali Shah 'flees death threats'
A Pakistani judge who convicted a Muslim extremist of murder has fled to Saudi Arabia after getting death threats, his colleagues say.

Britain's mosque schools - beatings, humiliation and lessons in hating Britain

Call to ban Elton John Malaysia concert

In The New Libya, Polygamy To Be Legalized

Students protest after Hackney college bans segregation curtain used by Muslims

20 March 2012

More than half of Canadians mistrust Muslims, poll says

More than half of all Canadians believe Muslims can't be trusted and nearly as many believe discrimination against Muslims is ``mainly their fault,'' according to the results of a new national survey released ahead of Wednesday's International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The online poll of 1,522 Canadians, commissioned by the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies and Toronto-based Canadian Race Relations Foundation, also highlights how Canadians see the Internet as by far the leading conduit for racism in the country, and that more than one-third of respondents say they've ``witnessed a racist incident'' in the past year. [Postmedia News] Read more

09 March 2012

BNP and UKIP voters' views on Muslims and Islam

What are their attitudes towards Muslims and Islam? At the 2010 general election, the BNP and UKIP pitched to citizens anxious over the role of Islam in society, by pledging to ban the burqa, deport radical preachers and (in the case of the BNP), end immigration from Muslim countries.

In our sample, both BNP and UKIP supporters expressed high levels of anxiety over Muslims and the 'threat' from their religion, Islam.

.... These results would suggest that supporters of the BNP and UKIP are not only deeply concerned about the issue of immigration, but also feel deeply uncomfortable about the perceived threat from Islam, and by extension the presence of its religious institutions at the local level. In short, large majorities in our sample appear absolutely convinced that Islam is threatening Western civilisation. [Islamophobia Watch] Read more

01 March 2012

Muslims in Germany - Study Hints that Mutual Suspicion Is Slowing Integration

.... This year's discussion was kicked off on Thursday with the publication of a study carried out by Germany's Interior Ministry, which sought to gauge how Muslims living in the country view German culture and their attitudes to integration. The result? A significant minority encompassing 20 percent of Muslims in the country are skeptical when it comes to integration.

Perhaps more concerning, among Muslims in the age group between 14 and 32, "there exists a subgroup that could be described as 'strictly religious' with strong antipathy to the West, a tendential acceptance of violence and no willingness to integrate,'" the study says. Among Muslims with German citizenship, this group encompasses 15 percent, among non-citizens, it is 24 percent. [Spiegal Online] Read more

Many German Muslims 'refuse to integrate'

Nearly every fourth non-German Muslim rejects integration, questions western values and tends to accept violence, according to a study commissioned by the German Interior Ministry and released late Thursday morning.

“Germany respects the background and cultural identity of its immigrants. But we don’t accept the importation of authoritarian, anti-democratic and religiously fanatical points of view,” Friedrich told the Bild newspaper. [The Local] Read more

24 February 2012

Nearly half of Europeans see Islam as a threat to their identity

French polling agency IFOP published the results of a survey on Europeans and Islam. The survey 'How Europeans see Islam' was conducted April 9-18, 2011 through online questionnaires in Germany, the Netherlands, France and the UK, with relatively low samples of 600-800 people in every country.

In those four countries, a plurality think that the presence of a Muslim community in their country represents a threat for their country's identity (47% in the UK, 44% in the Netherlands, 40% in Germany, 42% in France).

In France and more so in the UK, a higher proportion of youth under 35 tended to regard the presence of Muslims as a factor of cultural enrichment. In Germany the Netherlands the youth were more critical of Islam then those over 35. [Islam in Europe] Read more

13 December 2011

A Place for Pride (or Not)

The Daily Mail ran “Muslims 'are more patriotic than most British people'” The Sunday Times said “Muslim's prove to be Britain's greatest flag wavers”. And the Daily Star shouted “MUSLIMS TOP PRIDE CHARTS”.

All this sprung from survey results published in November by Demos, a think-tank “focused on power and politics” according to its website.

If you visit the Demos website press release that was issued with the publication of the report, A Place for Pride, containing the referenced research you, will find the following has been added:

“One of the press releases …. made reference to the fact that 83 per cent of Muslims covered by the poll responded that they were 'proud to be a British citizen', comparing that figure to a baseline - drawn from the whole sample [of 2086 British people] - of 79 per cent. This aspect of the Demos report was widely reported in the press.

…. It should be noted, however, that the sample size for British Muslims was relatively small, just 48 people, and it is questionable whether confident statements can be made on that basis about one group being more proud of their British identity than another.”

48 Muslims! Anyone with any knowledge of statistics or market research will cringe at this. Even people with a modicum of common sense might do the same.

Comparing 83% of 48 with 79% of 2086 is statistical nonsense. And statistics apart, there is the enormous difficulty of recruiting representative samples which Demos doesn’t mention. Exactly how representative of the British Muslim population might these 48 be!

Based on my personal experience of Muslims I am willing to believe that most of my Muslim fellow British citizens are as patriotic and as proud of their country as the next man.

There will be differences - different understandings of patriotism, and pride in one’s country, and people will come to it in different ways.

Various factors play a part. History is important for some; your country’s achievements, what earlier generations endured and came through, what individuals did. The character of its people and their social mores may be important. You can also be proud of your country because it is a decent place to live here and now.

And there is no reason why two citizens of equal patriotism, pride in their country, cannot still hold starkly different views on good and bad behaviour and what is best for their country.

The Demos report is all about patriotism and the role of personal and national pride and the “misreporting” concerning Muslims is a minor feature.

A more interesting result is 88 per cent of Anglicans (and Jews) agreed that they were “proud to be a British citizen” alongside 84 per cent of non-conformists (and the 83 per cent of Muslims already mentioned) compared with 79 per cent for the population as a whole (p39). One assumes there were more than 48 Anglicans. It is a fact that religious people are more likely that non-believers to be proud of their country.

It is a tedious read (a 90 page pamphlet!) but you can also hear one of the authors, Max Wind-Cowie, and Telegraph columnist Charles Moore discuss some of the issues here.

Amongst a range of findings which the report itself admits “your granny could have told you” and opinions, it criticises what it believes is the right wing attitude to patriotism.

…. the right’s pantheon of patriotism is largely determined by a narrow, historical and sometimes mythological set of beliefs about Britain, which are unbendable, unchanging and increasingly inaccessible. The royal family, spitfires, the Houses of Parliament and the Union Jack …. (p76)

Those on the right have insisted that people attach their pride to a set of institutions and persons that are less and less relevant to people’s experience of Britain or to the sources of their everyday pride. (p79)

This isn’t the result of dodgy sample analysis, it is the prejudice of the authors.

They should have specifically surveyed right wingers. They might have found that where symbols are concerned they symbolise something, more often than not what people have done, those spitfire pilots for example.

Indeed, the research for the report shows what people do is of paramount importance. Behaviours and actions make people feel proud of their community or country; volunteering, for example.

I didn’t know until I read this report that the British are among the most likely people in the world to give up our time to volunteer. We have significantly higher levels of social action – and a greater independent charitable sector – than most European countries.

They quote one respondent saying “When you ask about what’s best about being British I think of all the people that give up their time to help other people, or to do good things in the community. That’s what makes me proud of this country.”

Also on the positive side the report makes some useful recommendations highlighting the importance of oral history, what older people have to tell children about their experiences of events. Though one’s enthusiasm for what Demos have in mind is somewhat blunted by the examples they give.

My grandson, he doesn’t know anything really about my life. The Miner’s Strike, the Winter of Discontent, even the referendum on Europe – he’s never been taught about any of it. Ask him about the Victorians and he could tell you though. (p56)

The research work for the pamphlet, the poll of 2080 citizens and an (unspecified) number of focus groups, produced several findings which Demos have not publicised, though in the body of the text they say “This is a worrying set of results”.

They concern integration and the poll result that “Only two in five people believe ‘immigration contributes to Britain’s culture’.

…. they too [the focus groups] highlighted genuinely held concern that local and national pride are being damaged by mass immigration and, particularly, by a perceived failure of arrivals to fully integrate into British life and the communities to which they move. (p30)

British people associate their pride heavily with actions and behaviours rather than with esoteric concepts …. social action, common manners and customs are vital to British people understanding and celebrating their communities and national sense of self: the perceived lack of integration among migrant communities therefore is a real threat to collective pride: (p32)

In a report summary Demos say “…. patriotism does not, and should not, come from either top-down narratives about Queen and country nor from so-called ‘progressive’ notions based on values.” Demos seem to have mixed feelings about values.

But, values do come in to it. The report reveals “82 per cent of respondents agreed that the naturalisation process should include a ‘values test’. Our qualitative research reinforced this. …. Far more important, they argued, was that the [citizen] test should ensure a person shared British values and was involved in British society. (p53/54)

Regarding integration and values we can return to those headlines at the beginning. The Gallup Coexist 2009 survey is quoted by some sources as confirming them. The Gallup survey is based on a sample of 500 British Muslims, not an enormous number but a big improvement on Demos. Gallup also interviewed 1000 non-Muslims. It did similar Muslim non-Muslim surveys in France and Germany

The Gallup survey claims 80% of British Muslims are loyal. It doesn’t define or explain what is meant by loyalty. Patriotism, pride in one’s country, may or may not have been a factor. It comes up with other, quite specific, results too, that show there are serious differences between many British Muslims and their fellow citizens.

Even though hiding your face in public is considered rude unless you are ill, in mourning or it’s very cold, British Muslims don’t care. See here. Only 12% think not wearing the veil is a necessary condition of integration. For French and German Muslims, 32% and 29% see it as necessary.

British Muslims show less respect for other religions than Muslims in France and Germany. See here. Almost 80% of German Muslims strongly agree that they respect other religions but only 50% of British Muslims feel the same.

There is a striking difference between British Muslims and the British public over freedom of speech. See here. Only 9% of British Muslims agree that integration means accepting public comments they perceive as offensive about their faith.

British Muslims are the least integrated in Europe. See here. Using a battery of related questions Gallup determined that only 10% of British Muslims are “integrated”. Gallup give a definition of integration. In France and Germany Gallup found 46% and 35% of Muslims respectively are integrated.

Who's proud of this?