Author Archives: Bob Pitt

Tory MP calls for end to Sharia councils

Posted on by Bob Pitt

General ElectionMark Pritchard, Tory MP for The Wrekin, blogs at ConservativeHome.

And yes, it’s the usual stuff about the supposed threat from a “parallel legal system” which undermines women’s rights and social cohesion.

Needless to say, as is invariably the case with this sort of attack on Sharia councils, Pritchard makes no mention of the Beth Din courts that operate on exactly the same basis in the Jewish community.

The Centre for Social Cohesion recently published a study of the Beth Din (pdf here). In answer to the question “Is the Beth Din a recognised legal court – does it offer a parallel legal system?”, the CSC report stated:

“No, in neither arbitration cases nor religious judgements, is the Beth Din recognised as a legal court nor does it offer a parallel legal system; Beth Din rulings or advice can only be reflected in UK law if both parties freely agree and the decision is approved by the civil courts.”

As is the case with Sharia councils too. Indeed, we look forward to a report from the CSC which presents a similarly balanced analysis of faith-based arbitration in the Muslim community.

And if Pritchard is worried about women’s rights (not a traditional Tory concern, it must be said) he might take this up with the Sephardi Beth Din which in July 2008 divorced a Jewish woman without her consent, on the grounds that she “dressed provocatively in public, worse than a common harlot” and “danced in nightclubs late into the night”.

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Quilliam Foundation witch-hunts Osama Saeed

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Osama and AlexThat latest “Quilliam alert” from Ed Husain and his mates is headlined “Scottish National Party to endorse Islamist candidate“.

It is a disgraceful attack on Osama Saeed, of the Scottish Islamic Foundation, who has been selected as the SNP’s parliamentary candidate for Glasgow Central. Even by Quilliam Foundation standards this really is the pits.

It is increasingly clear that Quilliam are pursuing an hysterical witch-hunting agenda against mainstream Muslim political figures that is almost indistinguishable from the sort of vile propaganda you get from Harry’s Place or the Centre for Social Cohesion.

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Wilders announces ‘Son of Fitna’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Geert Wilders extremistPopulist broadsheet De Telegraaf reports that Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders is going to produce a sequel to his anti-Islam film Fitna.

Wilders said his new film, which will be finished by 2010, is intended to show the Western world how far Islamisation has progressed. “It is not going to be a copy ofFitna,” said the Freedom Party leader who warns that the film would be “no less controversial than the first film”.

The first film was mainly an indictment of the Qur’an, but “I now want to show people the consequences of mass immigration from Islamic countries, for which we have opened the door here.”

The MP also said professionals from the US will assist him in the production of the film. “I have received offers from people from New York and Hollywood, people who in the past have made films that were screened in the Netherlands.”

However, De Telegraaf writes that Wilders refused to name any names, and has yet to find sponsors to finance his latest production. He will travel to Florida next week to raise funds and talk about his film.

Expatica, 16 April 2009

Meanwhile, over David Horowitz’s Front Page Magazine we find an enthusiastic defence of Wilders:

“To label Wilders a racist, a xenophobe or a fascist is false. Instead, he should be seen as a democrat who seeks to protect modern democratic societies against the realistic threat of a stealth Islamic revolution, evolving from mass immigration, step by step introduction of Sharia law, and restriction of freedom of speech.”

Maajid Nawaz and Qaradawi

Posted on by Bob Pitt

We should have posted on this earlier, but last week’s Any Questions on Radio 4 featured an exchange over Yusuf al-Qaradawi, when Maajid Nawaz of the Quilliam Foundation was invited by the chair, Jonathan Dimbleby, to have a go at Ken Livingstone over the welcome he gave to Qaradawi back in 2004.

“That man justifies suicide bombing”, Nawaz asserted. “… He justifies killing women and children in market places in Israel. And that is absolutely unacceptable. There is no justification for targeting women and children.”

Which only goes to show that in this, as in much else, the Quilliam Foundation merely echoes the lies of anti-Muslim propagandists. As indeed do the “left” Islamophobes at Shiraz Socialist, who have hailed Nawaz’s “impressive performance“.

For an answer to the charge that Qaradawi supports the targeting of Israeli civilians by suicide bombers, see here.

Austria: Strache to demonstrate against mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader Heinz-Christian Strache has vowed to take part in protests against the planned extension of a mosque, warning it will spread “religious indoctrination”.

Strache said yesterday (Weds) he would participate in a demonstration against the extension of the Islamic Cultural Centre in Vienna-Brigittenau, adding: “This (Islamic) Centre (on Dammstraße) is inappropriate in such a densely-populated area. The centre will have programmes of religious indoctrination.”

Hannelore Schuster, a spokeswoman for Citizens’ Initiative, which is organising the anti-mosque demonstration, said: “We do not oppose Islam but are against further construction (to extend this centre). I cannot forbid anyone to be at our side. It is appropriate for other parties to consider the issue.”

Social Democrat (SPÖ) district chief Hannes Derfler said: “It is typical of the FPÖ to condemn all members of a religious group.” The Greens’ David Ellensohn added: “Strache is again trying to get radical right-wingers involved and offending Brigittenau’s residents.”

City officials have already authorised the construction.

Strache, who participated in an anti-mosque demonstration last September, has regularly claimed that Muslims want to create a parallel society in Austria. The FPÖ leader is expected to give priority to that issue and the alleged dangers posed by immigrants in general during the run-up to the Vienna election to be held next year 2010.

Austria Times, 16 April 2009

Tariq Ramadan not homophobic, Rotterdam rules

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Tariq Ramadan 5The city of Rotterdam is extending its contract with Tariq Ramadan for another two years, dismissing claims that the Swiss philosopher made homophobic and misogynistic statements.

Last month, the Gay Krant, a newspaper for the homosexual community in the Netherlands, accused Tariq Ramadan of making homophobic and misogynistic statements on tapes in Arabic destined for the immigrant communities in Europe.

Ramadan (46), a Swiss philosopher and theologist of Egyptian descent, was hired by the city of Rotterdam two years ago to “help lift the multicultural dialogue to a higher level”. He dismissed the Gay Krant‘s accusations as slander.

The city of Rotterdam has since carried out its own investigation, the results of which were presented on Wednesday. The city had 54 Arabic-language cassette tapes translated and examined. According to council executive Rik Grasshof of the Green party GroenLinks, the Gay Krant‘s reporting was incomplete and inaccurate.

As a result, Ramadan’s contract with the city will be extended for another two years, during which he will lead public debates in an effort to bring the various communities in Rotterdam closer together.

The right-wing liberal party VVD, one of four coalition parties in the city government, had demanded Ramadan’s resignation following the Gay Krant‘s accusations. “He can think what he wants but he cannot spread homophobic ideas in the name of the city of Rotterdam,” VVD council member Bas van Tijn said.

Van Tijn also questioned what Ramadan brought to Rotterdam. “How can someone who doesn’t speak Dutch bring the communities in Rotterdam together? Especially if that someone is constantly accused of having a double discourse?” Van Tijn asked.

NRC International, 15 April 2009

FBI recruiting Muslim spies, group says

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Michigan Muslim organization said Thursday it has asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate complaints alleging the FBI is asking followers of the faith to spy on Islamic leaders and congregations.

The Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan sent a letter last week to Holder after mosques and other groups reported members of the community have been approached to monitor people coming to mosques and donations they make.

Sandra Berchtold, a spokeswoman in the FBI’s Detroit office, had no immediate comment.

Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said such complaints aren’t new, but concerns grew after a recent revelation the FBI planted a spy in a Southern California mosque.

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Racist escapes terror charge after threat to behead and bomb Muslims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Neil MacGregorThe Crown Office has been accused of double standards by Scotland’s biggest Islamic group for not bringing terrorism charges against a man who threatened to blow up a mosque and behead Muslims.

The Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF) has written to Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini querying the decision to prosecute Neil MacGregor for a breach of the peace, not terrorism offences.

MacGregor, 35, has admitted threatening to blow up Scotland’s biggest mosque and to behead one Muslim a week until every mosque was shut down. He will be sentenced at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Friday.

“There has been criticism for the lack of exposure this case has got, but this stems from how the case was originally handled,” SIF chief executive Osama Saeed said. “Had he been a Muslim, we suspect that counter-terror police would have been involved from the outset, and it would have been processed in a completely different manner.”

Mr Saeed drew a parallel with the case of Mohammed Atif Siddique, a student from Alva, Clackmannanshire, who was jailed for eight years for internet-related terrorist crimes.

“No-one seems to have looked into the internet habits that radicalised MacGregor to take copycat revenge for (British hostage] Ken Bigley’s assassination in Iraq,” he said. “We can be sure if he had been Muslim and had been inspired to replicate it, the result would have been quite different.”

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‘St George banned but it’s OK for Muslims to abuse our troops’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Paul RayPatriotic Brits blasted a council yesterday for barring a St George’s Day parade – after letting Muslim fanatics abuse our soldiers.

Anyone wanting to stage an event in Luton, Beds, has to seek permission from the council’s Safety Advisory Group. But while fanatical Muslims were given the green light to gather and scream insults when the Royal Anglian Regiment returned from Iraq last month, an application for a St George’s Day celebration this month was turned down.

Approval has also been granted for events to mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed and the death of his grandson.

Daily Star, 15 April 2009

Of course, the Daily Star omits to mention that the individual who applied to organise the St George’s Day parade was Paul Ray, author of the far-right Lionheart blog, who is currently on bail facing a charge of incitement to racial hatred. See here and here.

See also Tabloid Watch which comments:

“What is so disconcerting about all this is the way the Star is fuelling the delusional hate-filled rantings of people like Paul Ray with stories like this. The story is clearly supporting his agenda in the way it frames this story. It pushes a false claim about St George being banned despite a weekend long event dedicated to him and sets up a ‘them and us’ clash against Muslims. The Star sides with Ray, Ray sides with the BNP. So where does that leave the Star?”

Update:  The Star has now amended its headline to remove the reference to St George being “banned”.