An article on illegal boat people by the publisher of Australia’s main Jewish newspaper has ignited a storm of protest, with some critics savaging it for “vilifying Muslims” and promoting “xenophobic, Islamophobic and heartless sentiments.”
Titled “Curb your compassion,” Robert Magid’s article published in last Friday’s Sydney and Melbourne editions of the Australian Jewish News argued that illegal Muslim boat people are queue jumpers who deprive sanctuary to legitimate refugees.
Vandals have attacked an Islamic centre in Horley. The centre on the corner of High Street and Yattendon Road was vandalised in the early hours of Sunday. Alcohol and eggs were thrown at the building and graffiti was sprayed across its main door.
A police spokesman said the graffiti was later removed by people at the centre.
Specialist Neighbourhood Sergeant for Horley Simon Ward, said the attack had “deeply upset” the town’s Islamic community. He said:
“Specialist Neighbourhood Officers from the Reigate and Banstead Safer Neighbourhood Team are assisting detectives from CID with a thorough investigation into finding those responsible. This incident has deeply upset the Islamic community in Horley who have an excellent relationship with their neighbours and others in the town.”
A London-based retailer forced a Muslim employee to resign after she wore a headscarf to work, because it wanted to retain its “trendy” image, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Ms Farrah brought a claim for unfair dismissal and direct religious discrimination against her former employer, Global Luggage Co, after the company moved her to a different store to maintain its “trendy” image and later forced her to resign.
The Islamic Center of Murfreesboro was granted a temporary 30-day certificate of occupancy Tuesday morning by officials with the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Islamic Center leaders said they plan to apply for a local occupancy certificate Tuesday afternoon at the Rutherford County Building Codes Department. “We plan to submit the paperwork to (Rutherford) County this afternoon,” said Essam Fathy, chairman of the board for the Islamic Center.
The parents of a 17-year-old girl, jailed for attacking her because she was going out with a black man, have been called “disgraceful” by a judge.
David Champion, 50, from Swansea, and his wife Frances, hit daughter Jane for “bringing shame” on the family. The father also abused her boyfriend Alfonce Ncube with racist language before grabbing and kicking him.
Champion was jailed for 12 months at Swansea Crown Court, and his wife to nine months. Both admitted assault.
The father also admitted a charge of racially aggravated assault against Mr Ncube. Frances Champion admitted using threatening, abusive or offensive words or behaviour to cause racially aggravated fear or provocation of violence towards Mr Ncube.
A reminder that “honour-based violence” is not a phenomenon restricted to communities of recent migrant origin. The Daily Mail has covered this story – but, oddly enough, doesn’t regard the religious beliefs of the convicted parents as at all relevant to the case. Another of those “what if they were Muslim?” moments.
Initial reactions to the appalling violence at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin prominently featured the suggestion that Sikhs had been confused with Muslims by the killer and had suffered “collateral damage” from 9/11. On the face of it, that appeared to be a plausible explanation, as Sikhs in the United States have certainly been attacked by ignorant racists who can’t tell one predominantly non-white faith community from another.
The obvious conclusion is that Sikhs and Muslims should join together to oppose Islamophobia. The right-wing response, however, is to try and set the two communities against each other by suggesting that whereas hostility towards Islam is legitimate and a significant number of Muslims are indeed violent extremists, Sikhs are unfairly tarred with the same brush.
A mosque in southwest Missouri burned to the ground early Monday in the second fire to hit the Islamic center in little more than a month, officials said.
The fire at the Islamic Society of Joplin was reported about 3:30 a.m. Monday, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office said. The sheriff’s department said the building was a total loss. No injuries were reported and no charges have been filed.
The English Defence League protesting in Keighley on Saturday
Five people were arrested during a demonstration by the far-right English Defence League (EDL) against alleged sexual grooming, police said today.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said the arrests were all for “public order offences” and came either during or after the extremist group held its protest in Church Green, Keighley, on Saturday. Those arrested have now been released on bail pending further inquiries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=D4ZQ9O3JvOQ
Press TV reports from a demonstration in Gennevilliers against the sacking (since withdrawn) of four Muslims workers at a summer camp run by the local authority. They were dismissed on the grounds that their fasting for Ramadan supposedly made them unfit to carry out their duties and they represented a threat to the safety of the young people they were supervising.
Gennevilliers has a Communist mayor, Jacques Bourgoin, who initially supported the sackings, and his position was strongly supported by the far-right Front National who stated: “Those who oppose this wise decision are making a mockery of the principles of safety and secularism.”