The slick US drama Homeland, now into its second series on Channel 4, draws praise from critics and viewers, but its ridiculous view of Arabs and Islam is a distortion of Middle Eastern realities, argues Peter Beaumont.
Yearly Archives: 2012
CAIR unveils advertising campaign to counter Geller’s ‘savage’ ads
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today unveiled an advertising campaign designed to counter anti-Muslim “savage” advertisements sponsored by a designated hate group that are now on display in Washington, D.C. , metro stations.
CAIR’s counter ads feature a verse from the Quran stating: “Show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant.” (The Holy Quran, 7:199) The CAIR 16-foot banner ads, which are scheduled to go up next week and stay up for a month in stations featuring the hate ads (Glenmont, Georgia Avenue/Petworth and U Street), also direct metro riders to the organization’s “Explore the Quran” initiative.
Charlottetown: Muslims reach out to Islanders with education
In the wake of perceived threats against a mosque in Charlottetown, P.E.I.’s Islamic community asked Prince Edward Islanders to learn more about their culture Thursday night.
The Muslim Society of P.E.I. invited Jamal Badawi, professor emeritus at Halifax’s St. Mary’s University, to give a lecture at UPEI introducing Islamic culture. About 100 people attended.
“We hope this to be part of a process of dialogue and outreach to people from different faiths and cultures, so that we can share with them our beliefs,” said Zain Esseghaier, a spokesperson for the Muslim Society of P.E.I.
Terry Jones barred from entering Canada for debate
The U.S. pastor behind “International Burn a Koran Day” said he would “possibly” try again to enter Canada after border officers turned him back Thursday as he was on his way to speak in Toronto.
“We will see,” Terry Jones said in an interview. “We were looking forward to coming there and we were looking forward to speaking. … We were definitely disappointed and we were surprised.”
Rotherham: police reject ban on EDL march
Police have defended their decision not to ban two opposing groups staging marches through Rotherham town centre on Saturday – sparking fears there could be clashes.
U.S.: Pushback against growing Islamophobia
Faced with a rise in anti-Muslim sentiment and a well-funded campaign to promote Islamophobia, a coalition of faith and religious freedom groups Thursday said it will circulate a new pamphlet on frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Islam and U.S. Muslims to elected officials across the United States.
The initiative, which coincides with the appearance in subway stations in New York City and Washington of pro-Israel ads equating the Jewish state with “civilised man” and “Jihad” with “savages”, is designed to rebut the notion that Muslims pose a threat to U.S. values and way of life.
Woman gets community order for ‘vile’, unprintable Facebook messages about Azhar Ahmed
A girl who posted offensive comments in response to a man’s Facebook rant about dead soldiers, has been sentenced by a court and told she can’t hide behind the “virtual world” of the internet.
Amy Wilby, 20, admitting posting grossly offensive messages on the social networking site, when she appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court in Huddersfield. Her comments were made in response to Azhar Ahmed’s rant that “all soldiers should die and go to hell”, made two days after the deaths of six British soldiers in Afghanistan.
Wilby’s comments are too extreme to print in full in a family newspaper. But they saw her slapped with a community order after District Judge Marie Mallon told her that she could not hide behind a “virtual world” when airing her views.
Mehdi Hasan takes on David Aaronovitch over ‘Innocence of Muslims’ and Charlie Hebdo cartoons
Mehdi Hasan, political director of The Huffington Post UK, called for a crackdown on the culture of Islamophobia and argued freedom of speech was not an “absolute right” during a debate on Thursday.
Speaking opposite Times columnist David Aaronovitch at a HuffPost/Polis debate, on the right to offend, Mr Hasan argued free speech was being “fetishized” and claimed many free-speech campaigners in the west were guilty of “brazen hypocrisy. ”
UEA’s Islamic Centre to remain open
Controversial plans to close the Islamic Centre at the UEA have been put on hold, and plans have been lodged to renew temporary permission for it to remain on campus until 2014.
The university planned to shut the centre and adapt the existing multi-faith chaplaincy building to meet the needs of its Muslim students. But following protests by students, the university has decided to keep the centre open. The building is used for Friday prayers by Islamic students at the UEA, plus members of the local community.
‘Am I really telling football clubs what to do?’
Muslim Council of Britain assistant secretary Ibrahim Mogra replies to the Independent report claiming that he and the MCB had instructed Newcastle United’s Muslim players not to wear a new shirt advertising the Wonga loan company.
See also “Newcastle United, Wonga.com and Muslims”, MCB news report, 12 October 2012