Author Archives: Bob Pitt

How to ban the veil?

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Answer: find some co-operative Muslims who will agree with you, and promote their views as representative of the community. That way you neatly deflect accusations of racism. So we have the Express asserting that “both Muslims and non-Muslims” advocate a ban, while the Daily Mail wheels out Saira Khan, who writes in terms that could just as easily be found on some far-right website:

“In hardline Muslim communities right across Britain, the burkha and hijab – the Muslim headscarf – are becoming the norm…. Thanks to fundamentalist Muslims and ‘hate’ preachers working in Britain, the veiling of women is suddenly all-pervasive and promoted as a basic religious right. We are led to believe that we must live with this in the name of ‘tolerance’.

“… the growing number of women veiling their faces in Britain is a sign of creeping radicalisation, which is not just regressive, it is oppressive and downright dangerous. The burkha is an extreme practice. It is never right for a woman to hide behind a veil and shut herself off from people in the community. But it is particularly wrong in Britain, where it is alien to the mainstream culture for someone to walk around wearing a mask.

“So what should we do in Britain? For decades, Muslim fundamentalists, using the human rights laws, have been allowed to get their own way…. For the sake of women and children, the Government must ban the wearing of the hijab in school and the burkha in public places….

“My message to those Muslims who want to live in a Talibanised society, and turn their face against Britain, is this: ‘If you don’t like living here and don’t want to integrate, then what the hell are you doing here? Why don’t you just go and live in an Islamic country?'”

‘Take off burkas’ call by Lib Dem MEP

Posted on by Bob Pitt

chris davies(2).jpgA North West Euro MP has reignited a debate about Muslim women wearing the burka.

Liberal Democrat Chris Davies says the burka “does not belong in 21st century Britain” and is calling on Muslim women in Lancashire to take them off. He made the remarks after President Sarkozy of France this week attacked the burka as an assault upon the dignity of women. Mr Davies said:

“There is no mention in the Qur’an of the burka and it is a style of dress used principally in those countries where women are treated as mere chattels of men. I believe that it does not belong in 21st century Britain.

“I have a passionate belief that women and men are equals, and both sexes should be free to express their identity through the dress they wear. In my experience, the burka acts as a mask, reducing identity and discouraging women from developing their own skills and personality. If there are men who want to use the burka to impose their own will upon women in their family they should feel the full force of society’s disapproval.”

Salim Mulla, vice-chairman of Lancashire Council of Mosques, said: “It is absolute nonsense to say men force their partners, wives or daughters to wear the burkas. He probably needs to talk to people like myself and the Council of Mosques to educate himself about the issue. It is up to individuals if they want to wear the burka.”

Burnley-born Communities Minister Shahid Malik said: “It is not the job of government to dictate what people should or should not wear in our society – that is a matter of personal choice.

”This freedom to choose is one of the great values of our nation and why we are revered around the world. There are no laws stating what clothes or attire are acceptable and so whether one chooses to wear a veil or burka, a mini-skirt or goth outfit is entirely at the individual’s discretion.

”It is true that many Muslims feel the veil and its rationale are misunderstood and so sensible discussion provides an opportunity to create a better understanding and ultimately ensures we are more at ease with the diverse society within which we live.”

Lancashire Telegraph, 24 June 2009

See also Asian Image, 24 June 2009

French secularist defends hijab ban

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Agnes Poirier“… the burka and all ostentatious religious signs have already been banned in state-run schools since 2004. And in hospitals or municipal offices, anywhere where people interact as equal citizens, staff are not allowed to wear hijabs or burka, and patients or members will be told to unveil.

“The ban in schools was passed in 2004 as a reaction to the Socialist Government of Lionel Jospin, which was seen as violating the spirit of the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State. Its laissez-faire attitude allowed a handful of teenagers to start wearing the hijab in school, provoking national outrage and a debate that lasted until the 2004 law finally enforced the Republican principle.

“That such a debate is taking place again reveals the sturdy health of secularism in France, a tradition that doesn’t shy away from being confrontational even in a country with the largest Muslim and Jewish communities in Europe.

“Similar debates seem impossible in Britain. When Jack Straw dared to state the obvious in 2006 by saying that the burka and the niqab were ‘visible statements of separation and of difference’ before asking politely that women visiting his constituency surgery consider removing them, it provoked angry protests from Islamic associations and the British liberal-Left, always inclined, it seems, to defend the rights of liberty’s enemies.

“Seen from France, Britain’s tolerance of extremist views looks at best naive, at worse dangerous…. Seen from Britain, French principles of equality and secularism are often misinterpreted, and dismissed as authoritarian or prejudiced. But critics of the French approach don’t seem to understand that secularism is neutral – the State doesn’t recognise any religion in particular but protects them all, guaranteeing cultural and religious diversity by ensuring that one faith does not get the upper hand.”

Agnès Poirier in the Times, 24 June 2009

Yes, that’s the same French state that is so committed to observing strict neutrality towards all faiths that it banned the Islamic headscarf from schools but ordered flags on all public buildings to be flown at half mast to mark the death of the Pope.

And it’s the same Agnès Poirier who is so committed to the principle of public debate that she rejected an invitation to speak at Ken Livingstone’s “Clash of Civilisations” conference because she would have faced other platform speakers who disagreed with her narrow and dogmatic interpretation of secularism.

MCB statement on Sarkozy’s support for veil ban

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sarkozy Defies Universal Values as he tells Women What Not to Wear: French leader’s Burqa remarks are designed to whip-up further xenophobia against Muslims

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) criticised French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s intention to ban the wearing of Burqa – a garment worn by a minority of Muslim women in accordance with their religious belief. Reiterating its long established position that individuals must have the freedom to choose their attire on the basis of deeply-held religious beliefs, the MCB called upon the French President to desist from engaging in and promoting divisive politics towards its Muslim inhabitants. In this respect, the MCB echoes the US President Barack Obama’s caution that “it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practising religion as they see fit – for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.”

Assistant Secretary General of the MCB, Dr. Reefat Drabu said: “It is patronising and offensive to suggest that those Muslim women who wear the burqa do so because of pressure or oppression by their male partners or guardians”. She added: “Such suggestions can legitimately be perceived as antagonistic towards Islam. Instead of taking a lead in promoting harmony and social cohesion amongst its people, the French President appears to be initiating a policy which is set to create fear and misunderstanding and may lead to Islamophobic reaction not just in France but in the rest of Europe too”.

MCB press release, 23 June 2009

Update:  See also the Daily Telegraph, 24 June 2009

BBC supports Islam and attacks Christianity, claims former radio presenter

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Don MacleanOne of Radio 2’s most popular religious presenters has launched a stinging attack on the BBC suggesting the broadcaster is biased against Christianity. Don Maclean, 66, who hosted Good Morning Sunday for 16 years, said the broadcaster was “keen” on programmes that attack the Christian church.

He said programming chiefs were keen to take a “negative angle at every opportunity” in a way they do not with other faiths like Islam. He admitted that he was dismayed that the BBC recently appointed Aaqil Ahmed, a Muslim, as its new head of religious programming.

Mr Maclean said: “They’re keen on Islam, they’re keen on programmes that attack the Christian church. They seem to take the negative angle every time. They don’t do that if they’re doing programmes on Islam. Programmes on Islam are always supportive.”

The presenter claimed “the last thing we want is war on the streets” adding that “we need all the moderate Muslims to stand up and be counted”.

He added: “They’re all in private telling you how dreadful they think Islamic terrorism is, but they’re not forming together in a group and standing up against it. But it’s as big a threat as Nazism was in the 1930s when Germans stood back and didn’t stand up against that, and if they had maybe the Second World War wouldn’t have started.”

The presenter said when he had presented Good Morning Sunday he argued with bosses who claimed the show was a “multi-faith” programme. He added: “I said ‘No, it’s a Christian programme because the presenter is a practising Christian and this is a Christian country, so it’s a Christian programme’.”

Daily Mail, 22 June 2009

Veil is ‘not welcome on the territory of the French republic’ says Sarkozy

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Nicolas_SarkozyFrench President Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out strongly against the wearing of the burka by Muslim women in France.

In a major policy speech, he said the burka – a garment covering women from head to toe – reduced them to servitude and undermined their dignity. Mr Sarkozy also gave his backing to the establishment of a parliamentary commission to look at whether to ban the wearing of burkas in public.

“We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity,” Mr Sarkozy told a special session of parliament in Versailles. “That is not the idea that the French republic has of women’s dignity. The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic.”

A group of cross-party lawmakers is already calling for a special inquiry into whether Muslim women who wear the burka is undermining French secularism, the BBC’s Emma Jane Kirby in Paris says. The lawmakers also want to examine whether women who wear the veil are doing so voluntarily or are being forced to cover themselves, our correspondent says.

BBC News, 22 June 2009

For Yusuf Smith’s comments see Indigo Jo Blogs, 22 June 2009

Update:  See also ENGAGE, 23 June 2009

BNP – refugee-hating, Muslim-hating Nazis

Posted on by Bob Pitt

BNP dustbinBritish National Party supporters cheered for one of their candidates to be awarded a Nazi military medal at a Euro election after-party.

A member of the crowd made the call after learning that Charlotte Lewis had travelled to Calais to lead a protest against the refugee camp there, taking placards reading “Britain’s full up” and “Asylum seekers don’t unpack, you’re going back”.

Bob Bailey, 43, a BNP councillor in Barking and Dagenham, gave two talks at the event, with Lewis – a candidate for Waddon, South London – giving a third.

Talking about her trip to Calais, she said: “The invaders are dangerous and they are not people we want in England or Europe or anywhere in the civilised world.” She claimed they “swaggered” around Calais before recounting a story about her Afghan neighbour.

She said: “The Afghan who lives in the flat above me… well, I say that, he hasn’t been seen for two weeks, so I’m hoping him, Fatima and the brat have moved out.” After a pause, and to raucous laughter, she added: “I don’t think they could take any more of my penchant for playing heavy metal music at 1am. It’s wishful thinking that they have gone back to Afghanistan, but it’s more than likely they have been allocated one of numerous brand-new housing association flats in the area.”

Lewis then described people who work in soup kitchens to provide food for refugees as “idiotic dim-witted liberals”. It was after this that Bailey made his ridiculous pledge to give Lewis a medal if the BNP get into government.

Sipping a pint, he said: “Under the BNP people like Charlotte would get a medal… there is no doubt.” Someone in the crowd then shouted out “the Iron Cross”. The German medal is closely associated with the Nazis – Hitler reintroduced it and added a swastika.

Bailey then went into an anti-Muslim rant. He said: “We do not need Islam in Europe and we do not need it in the UK. In London we know the stark realities of Islam more than anywhere else. They bomb buses, they bomb trains, they have created terror here.”

Sunday Mirror, 21 June 2009

Police and media accused of double standards over anti-Muslim violence

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Scottish man who describes himself as a “proud racist” has admitted threatening to bomb Glasgow Central Mosque and engage in targeted killings of Muslims. Neil MacGregor has been convicted of a breach of the peace but there has been surprise in some quarters that he was not charged with terrorist offences. Critics have also said that the case would have attracted considerably more media interest if the man’s motivation had been Islamic rather than anti-Islamic.

In an email to Strathclyde police, MacGregor demanded the closure of all mosques in Scotland, threatening to kidnap and behead one Muslim each week if this demand were not met. He later called police to say that he had planted a nail bomb in Glasgow Central Mosque but police found nothing suspicious after evacuating 100 worshippers. MacGregor pleaded guilty and has been remanded in custody but sentencing was deferred yesterday by Glasgow Sherriff Court.

Comparisons have been made with the case of the Islamic militant Mohammed Atif Siddique, who was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in 2007 for collecting and circulating terrorist material. Siddique’s lawyer Aamer Anwar, suggested this week that the authorities would bring terrorism charges against Muslims but not against white racists.

However, a spokesperson for the Crown Office insisted that “The facts of the case made it clear that this was a hoax bomb threat which was racially aggravated. There was no evidence of terrorist motivation or intention.”

Osama Saeed of the Scottish Islamic Foundation responded by saying “It’s all too easy to dismiss MacGregor as a fantasist and lunatic – many of the Muslims convicted of terror offences could be similarly described.”

Saeed, who is also the Scottish National Party’s prospective Parliamentary candidate for Glasgow Central, criticised the lack of media coverage. “Imagine if a Scottish Muslim pleaded guilty to threatening to blow up Glasgow Cathedral and behead one Christian a week until all British troops were pulled out of Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said. “It would be splashed over every newspaper in the land.”

But the story has spread quickly in online discussions, not only amongst Muslims. “I just feel angry that a chance to convince the Muslim community that there is no bias against them has fallen flat on its face” wrote the Christian blogger Graham Martin yesterday. “This whole situation might actually be used to justify further violence.”

Ekklesia, 20 June 2009

Muslims snub drive against BNP

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Well, so the Jewish Chronicle claims:

“Muslim interfaith activist Fiyaz Mughal is upset at the non-attendance of MCB representatives at a meeting held under the aegis of Faith Matters at Westminster last Friday. Mr Mughal – the Faith Matters director who was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours – had invited 25 ‘key figures’ from ethnic and religious groups to discuss the way forward after the BNP had taken two seats in the European elections. The absence of MCB delegates was ‘disappointing because this was an opportunity to learn from other communities about dealing with a common enemy,’ he said.”

It’s only when you get to the bottom of the column that you find:

“An MCB spokesman said he was unaware of the invitation. He indicated that the council would consider becoming involved in the initiative if approached by the Board of Deputies.”