Monthly Archives: April 2011

EDL member charged with arson attack on Stoke mosque was in army

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A man charged after a fire at a Stoke-on-Trent mosque was a serving soldier in the Army at the time of the attack. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Simon Beech served with 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment and was discharged from the Army in February.

Mr Beech, of Hartshill Road, Stoke-on-Trent, has been charged with arson with intent to endanger life. Gareth Foster, also of Hartshill Road, has been charged with the same offence. Both men have been granted conditional bail and have been due to appear at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on 10 June.

An MoD spokesman said Mr Beech was in “the early stages of his Army career”.

BBC News, 4 April 2011

French interior minister accused of Islamophobia

Posted on by Bob Pitt

French Muslims protest

The interior minister Claude Guéant has been accused of Islamophobia and dishonouring France after saying the growing population of Muslims in the country “poses problems”.

His comments were made on the eve of a debate within his party, the UMP, on Islam and secularism in France. The debate, organised by party leader Jean-François Copé, is itself controversial, with many party figures finding excuses not to attend, including Prime Minister François Fillon.

“The question worries our citizens: there are many who think the rules of secularism are being stretched,” said Guéant on a trip to Nantes. “In 1905 [the year the separation of church and state was brought into law] there were few Muslims in France, today there are between five to 10 million. This growth of believers and certain types of practices pose problems. It is clear that prayers in the street shock a certain number of people and the leaders of major religions know that this type of practice affects them negatively.”

Socialist Party spokesman Benoît Hamon said Guéant “dishonoured” France. “The right is not debating secularism, it’s debating Islam,” he said. “I feel ill when Guéant speaks. He dishonours France and the French. The Socialist Party concerns itself with subjects that focus on people living together, the real issues.”

Green MEP Eva Joly said Nicolas Sarkozy was attempting to outflank Marine Le Pen on the right in advance of the presidential elections of 2012 by launching “an Islamophobic campaign”.

SOS Racisme is suing the minister. Its president Dominique Sopo said the words “stigmatised a population because of their origin” by targeting Muslim Arabs. He added that the speech was worse than anything from Brice Hortefeux, Géant’s predecessor, who was successfully sued for racism while a minister.

The Connexion, 5 April 2011

See also Nabila Ramdani, “Sarkozy’s debate targets Muslims”, Comment is Free, 5 April 2011

‘Security’ concerns over Camberley mosque are ‘irresponsible scaremongering’, inquiry told

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Camberley Islamic centre

Concerns that minarets overlooking Sandhurst Royal Military Academy pose a security risk have been described as “irresponsible scaremongering”, as a public inquiry considered controversial proposals to demolish a Victorian school and replace it with a purpose-built mosque.

The Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey Bengali Welfare Association is seeking to overturn a decision refusing planning permission for the demolition of a locally listed former primary school in Camberley and the erection of a £3m mosque complete with a domed roof and 30-metre (100ft) minarets in its place.

The contested site, which the association bought in 1996, is in Tory education minister Michael Gove’s constituency. It is also 350 metres away from Sandhurst. The proximity has alarmed a local campaign group, Save Our School, which believes the minarets are a security threat and one of several arguments against the proposals.

But lawyers representing the association on Tuesday rejected such security concerns, describing them as “irresponsible scaremongering”.

Christopher Lockhart-Mummery QC, momentarily breaking off from a scripted opening submission, told the inquiry at Camberley theatre: “I have seen what I regard as utterly irresponsible statements that there is clear view of the Royal Military Academy. It is not remotely and has never been the case.”

He said the current premises, on the A30 London Road, were “grossly unsuitable” for the Muslim congregation’s needs and that the association could “only marvel” at the “spacious facilities meeting precisely the worshipping traditions” of the congregation at a nearby Christian church.

Lockhart-Mummery also said a lack of space meant proper and respectful prayer was “difficult if not impossible”. “We have a gross inequality of opportunity between different racial groups. The council has demonstrably failed to discharge its statutory duty in these respects, plainly because it was wholly unaware of them.”

Should the appeal fail, Lockhart-Mummery said, the association would have no alternative but to “carry on in these grossly inadequate conditions, to the severe detriment of their own, and the wider, community”.

The association has encountered opposition from thousands of residents, many of whom have funded legal representation for Save Our School at the inquiry.

Barrister John Pugh-Smith said in his opening statement: “There is no religious reason for mosque design in the UK to incorporate domes and minarets and to be a naive replica of mosques found in the Indian subcontinent.”

The Save Our School lawyer drew applause from members of the public for condemning the association’s proposals for segregated facilities, saying such “sexist exclusion” ran contrary to the UK government’s gender equality initiatives.

Surrey Heath borough council and Save Our School also claim the mosque would cause significant harm to the conservation area and not positively contribute to the character and appearance of the local environment.

Guardian, 6 April 2011

You’ll note that the Save Our Schools lawyer took his arguments directly from Taj Hargey, who wrote: “there is nothing in Islamic theology that legitimises a misogynistic apartheid in the house of God…. There is no Islamic injunction that minarets are intrinsic to mosques.” (He added: “building two twin minaret towers, so close to a renowned military college, is a provocation.”)

Peter King comes to Albany? Democrats accuse lawmaker of holding anti-Islam hearings

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Senator Kevin ParkerState Senate Democrats are out with a release today blasting Republican lawmaker Greg Ball for holding a hearing which they claim is designed to “isolate and villify Muslims.”

The hearing, called “Reviewing our Preparedness: An Examination of New York’s Public Protection Ten Years After September 11” will be held Friday at 250 Broadway in Manhattan and will feature Nonie Darwish, a human rights activist who has attracted a good deal of controversy for her views on Islam, particularly the idea that the religion teaches its adherents to hate non-believers and to subjugate women.

The Democrats also blasted Senator Ball for inviting Frank Gaffney, a columnist who has questioned if Barack Obama was born in the United States. Ball said that Gaffney, in fact, will not attend.

“They are not people who are experts in security,” said Senator Kevin Parker of Brooklyn [pictured]. “They are folks who have developed their name by spending their time criticizing and attacking Islam, which is not where we think we ought to be as a legislature.”

New York Observer, 5 April 2011

See Senator Kevin Parker press release, 5 April 2011

Read the letter by Senator Parker and other Democrats to Greg Ball here.

Dutch Catholic schools ‘can ban headscarves’ court rules

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Imane MahssanCatholic schools are allowed to forbid Islamic pupils to wear headscarves. Such an item of clothing is in conflict with the Christian principles of the institution, which are protected by freedom of education, a district court in Haarlem ruled yesterday.

Don Bosco College, a Catholic secondary school in Volendam, forbade a 15 year old pupil, Imane Mahssan, to wear a headscarf. The girl then took the school to court, but has now lost the case.

According to the judges, the headscarf ban fits into the Catholic character of the school, whereby different expressions of faith are not allowed. The judge considers that the headscarf ban does not restrict freedom of expression and that the school is not discriminating on the basis of religion.

Don Bosco College introduced the headscarf ban last September, a few months after Imane had made a request to wear one. Because the girl received no response to her request for months, she started to wear the headscarf.

Don Bosco College said the school may not have indicated any headscarf policy in response to Imane’s request, but it was already in the school rules that pupils must respect the Catholic basis of the school. This was of importance in the ruling by the Haarlem court.

Earlier, the girl’s case was in fact upheld by the Equal Treatment Commission (CGB). This advisory court only makes non-binding rulings, though the courts usually do adopt the CGB conclusions.

NIS News Bulletin, 5 April 2011

See also RNW which reports: “Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-Islam Freedom Party, has been quick to congratulate the school on the verdict. On Twitter he wrote: ‘A just ruling! I hope many Christian schools will follow this example’.”

Veiled Muslim women are under attack in the UK claims new research

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Research into the experiences of veiled Muslim women is to be presented at a public event to be held at the University of Leicester on April 6.

Irene Zempi, from the Department of Criminology at the University of Leicester, is conducting postgraduate research into the victimisation of veiled Muslim women and their experiences as direct victims of Islamophobia in the streets of Leicester. With her in-depth qualitative research revealing the “hidden”, often “invisible” nature of Islamophobia, Irene will also identify ways to improve services and support offered to victims of anti-Muslim hate crime.

The research design employs interviews with female veiled victims. In particular, prospective research participants include British Muslim women who are descendants of immigrants from South Asia (in particular Pakistan, Bangladesh and India) and from other Muslim-dominated regions such as the Middle East, from African countries such as Somalia and Nigeria, as well as British converts to Islam.

Irene said: “My study is looking into the experiences of veiled Muslim women in order to raise awareness about the ‘true’ nature of Islamophobia that they face, and the consequences of the abuse and intimidation veiled Muslim women and their communities have to go through.”

“It is worrying that in a liberal democratic society such as Britain, Islamophobia is accepted and even expected. It is necessary to point out that Islamophobia is a new form of racism. As Baroness Warsi said in her speech at the University of Leicester about the ‘cancer of Islamophobia’: ‘When people get on the tube and see a bearded Muslim, they think “terrorist” … when they hear “Halal” they think that sounds like “contaminated food” … and when they walk past a woman wearing a veil, they think automatically “that woman is oppressed”‘.”

Irene highlights that public expressions of Islamophobia are invariably random in nature and so individual victims may be targeted when they are spotted in a public place such as streets, shopping centres, buses, and trains.

“Persistent staring, spitting, calling names, throwing of eggs or stones, and pulling women’s veils off are the overwhelming types of anti-Muslim hostilities, yet rarely reported to the police. As a result, this victimisation remains ‘invisible’ for police and local authority,” says Irene.

University of Leicester press release, 4 April 2011

Why EDL’s Guramit Singh should be excommunicated

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sikhs Against EDL 3Pickled Politics has picked up on the ultimatum issued by the Sikh community to Guramit Singh of the English Defence League, warning that they will call for his excommunication unless he renounces the EDL. Jai writes:

“As confirmed by the extensive list of signatories involved, this action is endorsed by the British Sikh population, including numerous influential Sikh temples & organisations across the United Kingdom, particularly in London and Birmingham. This includes the two largest Sikh temples outside India….

“In complete violation of core Sikh tenets, Guramit Singh has been heavily involved in the EDL’s persecution of ordinary Muslims en masse whilst explicitly representing himself as a Sikh and claiming to be acting in the name of Sikhism, including deliberately modifying & grossly distorting sacred verses by the Sikh Gurus in order to ‘inspire’ EDL members present during his foul-mouthed public speeches demonising Muslims, Islam and the Prophet Mohammad.

“Guramit Singh’s excommunication would therefore be entirely in line with historical precedents during the time of the Sikh Gurus along with the temporal authority permanently bequeathed to the Khalsa by the 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.”

Fresh attempt launched to introduce anti-burqa law in Belgium

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A committee in Belgium’s lower chamber of parliament approved Wednesday a law outlawing burqas and other kinds of Islamic face veils – relaunching efforts to introduce the ban nearly one year after they were thwarted by a government crisis.

The law seeks to punish anyone caught in public places with their face completely or partly covered – thus preventing their identification – with fines between 15 to 20 euros (21 to 35 dollars) and/or up to seven days’ imprisonment.

The draft law still needs to be approved by the full Chamber of Deputies and by the Senate, Belgium’s upper house.

A similar bill won backing from the Chamber last April, but was still waiting to be approved by the Senate when a linguistic squabble between Belgium’s French- and Dutch-speaking politicians led to parliament being dissolved, triggering early elections.

The bill was reintroduced by the centre-right French-speaking Mouvement Reformateur (MR), which stressed the need for a national law outlawing burqas after judges in January scrapped a local ban imposed in Etterbeek, a district of Brussels, the Belga news agency said.

Like last year, all other parties backed the proposal except for the French- and Dutch-speaking Green parties, which renewed calls for Belgium’s top administrative court to review the constitutionality of such a ban before it is introduced.

DPA, 30 March 2011

Via Islam in Europe