Monthly Archives: April 2011

Qaradawi opposes Egypt’s Salafi movement, calls for ‘civil, democratic and pluralistic state’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Qaradawi at Tahrir Square rally
Qaradawi addresses mass rally in Tahrir Square, February 2011

The prominent Islamic scholar Youssef al-Qaradawi leveled severe criticism at Egypt’s Salafi movement, describing its thinking as both stagnant and extreme. Al-Qaradawi, who heads the International Union of Muslim Scholars, blamed the rise of Salafis on the absence of a genuine role for the moderate Islamic institution Al-Azhar.

Salafi groups have called for drafting laws based on the Quran and the Prophet Mohamed’s teachings. Though they have abstained from politics in the past, Salafi leaders announced they were considering a political role following the 25 January revolution.

Until the 1970s and prior to leaving Egypt, al-Qaradawi was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. He considers himself a moderate Islamic scholar.

In an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm, he accused Salafis of adhering to literal interpretations of the Quran and tradition, even though religious fatwa should change to accommodate new issues. Muslims should not be confined to the interpretations contributed by scholars from past eras, he said.

Al-Qaradawi added that the Salafi movement opposed the 25 January revolution and accused the revolutionary youth of deviating from Islam by disobeying authority. “Strangely enough, they now present themselves as the heroes of the revolution and its defenders,” he added.

Egyptians have lost their confidence in Al-Azhar, he said, because its scholars obeyed the old oppressive regime.

Al-Qaradawi said Egyptians want a civil, democratic and pluralistic state that respects religions but upholds Islam as the official religion of the state and the source of legislation and guidance.

Al-Masry Al-Youm, 4 April 2011

EDL returns to Shotton

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL Shotton

The Deeside division of the English Defence League have announced another demonstration against plans by the Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society for a mosque in Shotton, Flintshire. Have these ignorant bigots no sense of shame?

You may recall that the EDL staged a demonstration in January against proposals to convert the disused Shotton Lane Social Club into an Islamic cultural centre. The protest was poorly attended, with a mere 100 people participating, most of them from outside north Wales.

But the EDL’s efforts weren’t entirely wasted. Just over a week later the social club was burned to the ground in what was not unreasonably suspected to be an arson attack, and the building has since been demolished.

But evidently that isn’t good enough for the EDL. Last week Mohammed Munchab Ali, chairman of the Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society, was reported as saying that plans to establish a centre with a mosque in Flintshire remain in place despite the destruction of Shotton Lane Social Club.

So the EDL will be returning to Shotton on 21 May. Or as the EDL Deeside Demonstration Facebook page puts it: “Round 2, Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society get ready for EDL but this time BIGGER & BETTER than before.”

Of course, with the building that would have housed the Islamic centre now reduced to charred rubble, the EDL are deprived of a concrete object on which to unleash their hate. Still, they can no doubt hope that their next public demonstration of Islamophobic hysteria in Shotton will inspire some sort of violent attack on the Muslim community of north Wales.

Update:  The Facebook page “EDL Deeside Demonstration” has now been amended to “(UNOFFICIAL AT THE MOMENT) EDL Deeside Demonstration”.

Could the EDL leadership have concluded that a protest against an Islamic centre that has already been the object of an arson attack might be seen by the public as just a tad tasteless? More likely they have taken fright at the prospect of the North West Infidels muscling in on the event.

NWI Chester

It was reportedly the NWI’s activists (along with their co-thinkers in the North East Infidels) who clashed with supporters of the EDL leadership at the Blackburn demonstration on Saturday, and their presence at the Shotton protest would very likely lead to another punch-up.

Further update:  See “English Defence League supporters plan second Deeside demonstration”, Flintshire Chronicle, 7 April 2011

Campaign against Camberley mosque resumes

Posted on by Bob Pitt

No to mosque in CamberleyControversial plans to build a mosque with two towering high minarets next-door to Sandhurst will be aired at a public inquiry that begins tomorrow.

The £3million building would have had a clear view over Britain’s top military academy and is just 400 yards from its parade ground – prompting fears it could be a security threat.

Plans to demolish a listed Victorian school building to make way for the huge Arab-style building were initially approved last year. But, after the intervention of army chiefs, the local MP and education secretary Michael Gove, and 7,000 residents who signed a petition, Surrey Heath Borough Council changed their mind.

Now planning officials will make their final decision though a six-day public inquiry after an appeal by the Bengali Welfare Association, which worships at the former school in Camberley.

There remains fierce opposition and angry locals expected to queue from the early hours of tomorrow morning to get in the Camberley Theatre, which only seats 360.

The Save Our School group, which organised the anti-mosque petition, said it was planning to hire lawyers for the inquiry.

Local residents were outraged that the association wanted to knock down the historic building to make way for the new mosque.

They were also concerned at the scale of the proposed new building, particularly the 100ft-high minarets, which locals said were out of character with the district’s architecture.

Alan Kirkland, from Save Our School, told The Guardian: “There is nothing in the Qur’an that says you should have domes and minarets. They need a mezzanine floor that is for women only. To most people, that’s objectionable.”

Daily Mail, 5 April 2011

Police march EDL racists out of Halifax

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL in HalifaxFar-right demonstrators were marched out of Halifax by police after racist abuse was shouted at town-centre traders.

Scores of officers and dog handlers were deployed to Wards End and Horton Street on Saturday at around 5pm to deal with a mob of English Defence League (EDL) supporters on their way back from a rally in Blackburn. Protestors from factions in Halifax, Hull, Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Leeds gathered at The Courtyard pub on Wards End, hanging an EDL flag outside.

A worker at the nearby Chicken Grill House takeaway said three men had shouted racist abuse and staff at some shops were so worried they closed up. Assistants at Hot 4 U takeaway on Wards End said a fight started in the street and eight men had tried to get into their shop but police had marched them away.

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‘Son of Fitna’ loses Wilders votes

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Support for Geert Wilders’ far right Freedom Party has dropped by an equivalent of two seats in parliament, according to an opinion poll by Maurice de Hond’s peil.nl. The poll comes after Mr Wilders announced he would be making a sequel to his controversial anti-Islam film Fitna.

The two notional seats have shifted to the largest party on the right, Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s VVD. Freedom Party voters appear to be less enthusiastic about Fitna than they are about Mr Wilders other political ideas and proposals, say the pollsters. The percentage of Freedom Party voters who say they would vote for the party again has dropped to 79 percent, the lowest level in the polls since 2006.

Mr Wilders would win 24 seats in the 150-seat parliament if an election were held now, according to the poll. In fact this is the number of seats his party now actually holds – in the polls his popularity had risen since the last election. Senior coalition partner the VVD would gain two seats, three more than it currently holds.

On 1 April Mr Wilders announced he would be making Fitna II in 2012, about “the barbaric life of the sick mind of Muhammad”. Sixty-five percent of Freedom Party voters said they approved of the proposed Fitna sequel. However, the move only had the backing of 22 percent of those surveyed in total. Fifty-eight percent thought the new film would harm the Netherlands’ position internationally.

RNW, 3 April 2011

Blackburn: EDL supporters end up fighting each other

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL supporters fighting in BlackburnProtests by the English Defence League and opposing groups in Blackburn led to 12 arrests in a major police operation.

About 2,000 EDL supporters gathered for their protest near King George’s Hall on Northgate, according to police. Opposing protesters, who were kept about 150m (490ft) away, said their gathering was a celebration of multi-culturalism.

The 12 arrests made during the day included a 48-year-old man, from Blackburn, who was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer. Others were arrested on suspicion of offences including breach of the peace, affray, being drunk and disorderly and using threatening words or behaviour.

Skirmishes broke out among supporters during the EDL rally, despite an appeal for a peaceful event from the organisers. One man was punched to the floor, while coins and a pint glass were thrown. EDL spokesman Tony Curtis blamed the fracas on a more extreme splinter group. A small group of EDL supporters also broke away from the main demonstration area and were quickly brought under control by police, the force said.

BBC News, 2 April 2011

Update:  See Unite Against Fascism, 2 April 2011

 

Wilders announces second anti-Islam film

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders is planning to make a follow up to his anti-Qur’an film Fitna. This time he will focus on the Muslim prophet Mohammed.

The controversial MP announced on Friday that his film on “the barbaric life and the sick mind of Mohammed” will come out in 2012.

RNW, 1 April 2011

I’ve lost count of the number of times Wilders has announced a follow up to Fitna. He first did so two years ago and said it would be out in 2010.

Geller celebrates judge’s ruling on Detroit bus ads, claims she is inspired by feelings of love

Posted on by Bob Pitt

*May 25 - 00:05*

A national group that wants to advertise its anti-Muslim messages on Metro Detroit buses has won the right to display their ads on the sides of local buses.

The ads, which will soon be ready to go on the side of some local public buses, read “Fatwa on your head? Leaving Islam? Refuge from Islam.com. Got questions? Get answers!” The controversial ads from the New York City-based American Freedom Defense Initiative group are aimed at people who want to leave the Islamic faith.

Metro Detroit has one of the highest concentrations of Muslims in the nation.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Denise Hood granted a preliminary injunction against the Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority’s rejection of the ads, ruling SMART violated the group’s First and 14th Amendment rights. Both sides are due back in court April 11.

“This is a huge win, not just for us, but for the First Amendment,” Pamela Geller wrote on the American Freedom Defense Initiative’s website. “This is a direct refutation to all those who claim I am a hater or that my lawyers are ‘haters’ for representing me,” added Geller. “I love, not hate.”

Local Muslim activist Dawud Walid sees it differently. “The organization … is simply fomenting Islamophobia,” said Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Michigan). “(Geller) is simply engaging in fear mongering.”

Victor Begg, also a Muslim advocate, said the case is “is another example of a hate group taking advantage of our First Amendment.”

Detroit News, 2 April 2011