Yearly Archives: 2011

Counter protest planned against English Defence League in Tower Hamlets

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Anti-EDL march Tower Hamlets 2010

Community and faith groups are planning a counter protest after a far right group announced plans to march in Tower Hamlets.

UK-wide group Unite Against Fascism has called on people to protest – under the banner of the East End’s No Place for Hate campaign – against the English Defence League’s plans to march through the borough. Ranging from community and faith groups to trade unions, they are joining forces as East End United for the counter event on August 27 – the same day as the planned EDL protest.

The EDL claims Tower Hamlets is under siege from radical Islamic forces and that someone has to take a stand. It’s a picture not recognised by chair of Tower Hamlets Inter-Faith Forum Rev Alan Green.

Rev Green, who is also chair of the No Place for Hate Forum, added: “It’s a chance for us to show we are a very diverse community and we have very good relations here. There are individuals who seek to cause trouble but they aren’t the majority.” He said even if the EDL march doesn’t go ahead it will be a good opportunity to show what is “good about life here”.

A spokesman for the East London Mosque said it will face the threat as part of the East End United coalition.

Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman said he wanted to reassure residents that attempts to create fear and instability in the community will not be accepted.

East London Advertiser, 17 June 2011

Statement by the Islamic Sharia Council on Baroness Cox’s bill

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Statement by the Islamic Sharia Council

Lady Cox recently proposed “The Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equality) Bill” to Parliament. This aims to tackle discrimination by shariah councils and introduces an imprisonable offence if anyone claims that shariah councils have legal jurisdiction in criminal law.

It is indeed a crime that Lady Cox has made no attempt to understand the workings of the shariah councils. She repeats the modern mantra that shariah law “is an inherent discrimination system which is causing real suffering to women”. Perhaps she could then explain why 90% of clients of these councils are women.

It is totally incorrect to suggest that shariah councils consider their judgements to be superior to the English Legal System. At the Islamic Shariah Council, we are concerned only with the religious aspects of divorce, such as the settlement of the dower. This is akin to couples having a religious marriage (Nikah) at the Mosque and then a civil marriage at their local Registry office. The religious marriage and divorce satisfy the religious needs of the community and do not encroach on the work of civil bodies. In many cases Muslim couples do not register their marriages and in the event of divorce, the wife is then left in an incredibly vulnerable position with no recourse to the law. Shariah councils are in the position to dissolve this marriage.

Domestic violence is just as condemned in Islam as it is in the English Legal System. If a woman suffers from such abuse and approaches the Islamic Shariah Council, she is in a strong position to obtain the divorce she seeks. The ISC does not advise abused women to return to their husbands.

In child custody issues, we advise clients to approach family courts to settle them. If both clients sign their agreement to hear the advice of the ISC, we will certainly offer such advice. It is however not a binding judgment. In most cases of divorce, it is the mothers who receive custody of their minor children anyway unless there is very strong evidence against her ability as a mother and primary carer.

We fail to understand why the issue of the testimony of a woman being half of that of a man is even mentioned in this context. Shariah councils deal with marriage and divorce, and so have no jurisdiction in such matters.

Furthermore, it is morally wrong to comment on such issues without knowledge of them. In legal disputes, Islamic courts require two male witnesses as well. A female witness in a financial case is required to have a second woman with her in a supporting role, but the primary witness will be responsible for her own testament.

Lady Cox has regurgitated common myths about the role of women in Islam in an effort to undermine the work of the shariah councils. For this she deserves little praise.

Issued by:
Dr. Suhaib Hasan
Secretary
The Islamic Sharia Council

ECHR head admits Islamophobia rising in Europe

Posted on by Bob Pitt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EKkgsAez1w

Lawsuits based on Muslim discrimination are on the rise in Europe.

That’s what Jean-Paul Costa, president of the European Court of Human Rights, pointed out when Press TV asked him about the spreading of crimes triggered by religious and ethnic hatred.

Costa was on an official visit to Bulgaria and state authorities declared before him that they intend to impose a special law to compensate victims of human rights violations, as well as to establish a governmental unit to enforce more effectively convictions toward Bulgaria.

The European Court of Human Rights has sentenced Bulgaria 63 times in 2010 alone. This makes it the 6th most convicted country among 47 members of the Council of Europe – and in the lead of the most convicted in the EU-27.

The most recent and brutal act of human rights violations in Bulgaria took place here, at Sofia Grand Mosque, where Muslim worshippers were attacked by far-right activists during a peaceful Friday prayer.

A month after the incident, the Parliament issued a declaration, condemning such provocations as threats to the ethnic peace and the national security. However, many Muslims say they still do not feel safe as the declaration has done little to protect them.

The demand was raised after a Muslim worshipper was beaten on his way to a morning prayer. His attackers also tried to break into the Mosque.

Ibrahim tells us he would gladly join any type of citizen patrols, he’s not afraid of attacks and won’t stop coming here for prayers.

Press TV, 17 June 2011

Terry Jones returns to Dearborn

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Terry Jones I Will Not SubmitTerry Jones, the Quran-burning controversial Florida pastor, called this afternoon for the United States to stop allowing Muslims to immigrate into the country.

In brief remarks witnessed by only a few people at the Dearborn City Hall, Jones also advocated the government regularly monitor mosques to make sure they are not a place of “propaganda of Islam.”

“Sharia must be banned in America,” Jones said, referring to the religious law practiced by some Muslims in other countries.

Jones spoke for about 20 minutes before a crowd of about 50. Many were protesters from the group By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), which has dogged Jones during his repeated trips to the area. Numerous media also were attending the event, which drew the attention of about two dozen police officers. Muslims were noticeably absent from the crowd.

Jones, wearing a bulletproof vest, was returning after his attempt to protest in from of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn in April was aborted by a court fight that resulted in his jailing after he refused to pay a $1 “peace bond” to the court.

Opposing Jones were protesters from BAMN who chanted “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Terry Jones has got to go” and carried signs, including some saying, “Honk against anti-Muslim Bigotry” and “Stop Terry Jones, Defend the Arab International Festival.”

Jones, who has said he will not burn a Quran while here, also plans to speak at the 16th annual Dearborn Arab International Festival.

Jones, the 59-year-old pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., is expected to be joined by Christian missionaries who have attended the festival in the past as part of their efforts to convert Muslims to Christianity.

Detroit News, 17 June 2011

See also Jeff T. Wattrick, “Anti-Islamic pastor Terry Jones calls for ban on Islamic immigration, claims free speech violates his free speech”, MLive.com, 17 June 2011

Update:  See “6 Arrested as mob rushes Terry Jones at Arab Festival in Dearborn”, Dearborn Patch, 17 June 2011

More right-wing conspiracy-mongering over Weiner scandal

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Following widespread ridicule of the suggestion that Anthony Weiner may have secretly converted to Islam as part of a socialist plot to orchestrate a Muslim takeover of the USA, the conspiracy-mongerers are now settling on the idea that Weiner’s wife Huma Abedin – who works as an aide to Hilary Clinton – may be a spy for the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Richard Bartholomew has the details.

See also Sheila Musaji, “Abedin/Weiner marriage and dumb ‘Muslim plots'”, The American Muslim, 17 June 2011

Police warn mosques about suspicious packages following anthrax scare

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Imam Ahmed SaadMuslim leaders across London are on high alert after fake anthrax was posted to five mosques by suspected far-Right extremists. Detectives from Scotland Yard’s Counter Terrorism Command are investigating after imams at the mosques received bags of white powder.

One package, sent to the Finsbury Park mosque, also contained “evil drawings” of the Prophet Mohammed similar to cartoons published in Denmark. TheEvening Standard understands up to five other mosques outside London – thought to be Luton and Birmingham – were targeted in the past 10 days.

Scotland Yard is so concerned about the threat to community cohesion that it has sent a warning to more than 200 mosques in the capital. An email from the Association of Muslim Police warns staff to avoid touching any mail they deem suspicious.

It says: “The inquiry relates to suspicious but non-hazardous packages sent to mosques. Inquires are ongoing and no arrests have been made at this stage. We recognise the distress and disruption caused by such incidents and will continue to investigate them, and any others which come to light, robustly.

“Anyone receiving an item they think is suspicious should treat it seriously and follow the following advice: Call 999; 1. Do not touch or handle it any further; 2. Remain calm; 3. Move everyone away to a safe distance; 4. Safely communicate instructions to staff and public; 5. Ensure that whoever found the item or witnessed the incident remains on hand to brief the police.”

Detectives are studying hours of CCTV footage as many of the packages did not have stamps and are thought to have been hand-delivered to the mosques. Some of the mosques were evacuated while specialist officers in protective suits checked the suspect material. When a package arrived at the Finsbury Park mosque last Thursday, police closed the building and surrounding roads for four hours.

Ahmed Saad, the imam at the mosque, told the Evening Standard: “Our security guard was in the office when I opened the letter and he called the police right away. He told me to wash my hands and face just in case the powder was dangerous. The police arrived with ambulances and evacuated the building. It could have been anything in the envelope, my first thought was that it could be anthrax, or it could be some kind of [other] poison. It was very frightening. Something like this should not happen, we live in a multi-cultural society.”

Mohammed Kozbar, the manager of the mosque, said: “We often get a lot of malicious communications but this is worse than anything that happened before. The envelope also had nasty, devil, evil drawings of the Prophet Mohammed and Muslim women in hijab clothing. It is very bad – we have worked hard to change the culture of the mosque since the case of Abu Hamza [the extremist former imam]. These racists won’t succeed and we will carry on with our work.”

Mr Kozbar believes the package was sent by someone with far-Right views.

Evening Standard, 17 June 2011

Another ‘peaceful’ EDL protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The first two English Defence League members charged after a town-centre demo have appeared in court. Peter Craven, 28 and Michael Riley 23, both from Hull, each admitted stealing a pool ball and possessing an offensive weapon.

The men admitted they were in Halifax for the EDL protest that engulfed the town centre on April 16. They were part of a 16-man group who left the main organisation and moved to the Beehive and Cross Keys pub in King Cross Street near Park ward – an area police were trying to shield from EDL members.

In the pub, EDL members chanted racist songs, snapped pool cues and hunted through waste bins for bottles. Police arrested the men outside the pub shortly after they left.

They will be sentenced at Bradford Crown Court July 19.

Halifax Courier, 16 June 2011

French court hears first case against women who refuse to accept veil ban

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Meaux veil court case
Hind (right) with supporters outside the court

A French court Thursday heard the country’s first case against women refusing to obey a new law banning the wearing of Islamic face veils in public.

The two women, who wear the niqab, were ordered to appear before the court in the town of Meaux, about 40 kilometres east of Paris, for going to the local town hall on May 5 with their faces veiled.

Both the women live in the Paris region. One of them could not be present at the hearing. The other woman, Hind, 31, a mother of a three-year-old, was barred from entering the courtroom after refusing to remove her veil for the duration of the hearing. “I accepted to undergo an identity check (by briefly showing her face). But they refused all compromise,” she told the German Press Agency dpa.

The two women were booked by police after showing up at Meaux town hall with a birthday cake for Mayor Jean-Francois Cope, who is also leader of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative ruling Union for a Popular Majority (UMP). The cake was made of almonds, a word which sounds like the French word for fines (amendes), and was meant as a dig at the government over the timid application by the authorities of the two-month-old law.

While several women have been booked by police, only one has been fined so far, according to Rachid Nekkaz, founder of Don’t Touch My Constitution, a group lobbying against the ban.

Hind said she hoped to be fined, so that she could challenge the law, which she sees as an attack on her freedom of religion, in the European Court of Human Rights.

DPA, 16 June 2011