The Shropshire Star has published an excellent comment piece condemning the racist backlash against the proposal to convert a disused former register office in Shrewsbury into a prayer centre (which has already resulted in two arrests).
Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia
Segregation on campus: Is it discrimination or inclusiveness?
The segregation by gender of Muslim students has been in the news this week, after a pressure group claimed the practice was widespread. Reyhana Patel, herself a Muslim, believes that gender segregation can actually be empowering for her and her sisters,
Metro Detroit: bigots lose campaign against sale of school building to Islamic group
A grand jury won’t be empaneled to investigate the Farmington Public Schools Board of Education’s sale of district property to the Islamic Cultural Association, the state attorney general’s office has decided.
The request for a grand jury investigation followed legal wrangling [see here and here] spanning more than two years over the $1.1 million sale of the Eagle Elementary School site in West Bloomfield to the ICA. Opponents alleged no other offers were considered. The FPS Board maintained that it received inquiries on the property but the Islamic group made the only purchase offer.
CAIR to file complaint over Minnesota judge’s questioning on ‘Sharia’
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said today that it plans to file a complaint against a Minnesota judge who inappropriately questioned defendants on their religious beliefs and equated mainstream Islamic principles with terrorism.
Before sentencing two Muslim women to lengthy prison terms yesterday, U.S. District Judge Michael Davis asked each woman if she supported “jihad, suicide bombings and Sharia law.” Judge Davis also asked, “Does she understand there are some Muslim women who wear dresses or short skirts?” Davis said he was trying to decide whether the defendants would “support terrorist causes” when they are released from prison. The questions reportedly drew audible reactions in a courtroom packed with Muslim spectators.
North Carolina: Sharia law ban heads to Senate
A proposal to ban the recognition of Islamic Sharia law in North Carolina courts is headed for the Senate after winning final House approval Thursday.
Rep. Rick Glazier, D-Cumberland, said House Bill 695 is unnecessary, would conflict with constitutional due process rights and would damage North Carolina’s image in the eyes of the international business community.
Bill sponsor Rep. Chris Whitmire, R-Transylvania, disagreed. “Take it as fact that this is a very, very present threat that must be dealt with,” Whitmire said. “We are making sure that the most fundamental basis on which we exist is protected.”
Rep. John Blust, R-Guilford, disagreed with arguments that the state and federal constitution already protect citizens against foreign law.
“I’ve always wanted to depend on our own constitution, but we have seen that document put in, frankly, grave danger,” Blust said. “In the United States, there is the Sharia law,” he said. “It is fundamentally at odds with U.S. jurisprudence. The two systems cannot be reconciled. Individual rights are not recognized.”
Blust said the goal of proponents of Sharia law is to infiltrate other cultures. He said Democrats should be aware of the threat. “Some of the groups of people that are championed on the progressive side are absolutely trod upon under Sharia,” he warned. “For example, homosexuals are stoned. I don’t want to see that creeping in here.”
Anti-Muslim foreign law bans have unintended consequences
A new report from the Center for American Progress and NYU’s Brennan School for Justice says that the anti-foreign law campaigns being waged in state legislatures throughout the United States are actually meant to target Muslims and may actually have an unintended effect of complicating legitimate legal disputes involving foreign countries and nationals.
“Although packaged as an effort to protect American values and democracy, the bans spring from a movement whose goal is the demonization of the Islamic faith,” write CAP’s Matt Duss and the Brennan Center’s Fazia Patel and Amos Toh. “Beyond that, however, many foreign law bans are so broadly phrased as to cast doubt on the validity of a whole host of personal and business arrangements.” The authors explain how the campaign originally began as an “anti-Sharia” movement and then evolved into a more focused push to ban foreign law.
Islamophobes discover ludicrous ‘hospital jihad’ plot
Over at The American Muslim, Sheila Musaji responds to the hysteria whipped up over the news that a Muslim doctor is planning to open a medical facility in an area of Chicago with a large Muslim population, which would be open to the general population but would specifically accommodate Muslim religious and cultural customs.
Mayor of Montrouge responds to protests over mosque closure
The Collectif contre l’Islamophobie en France reports the welcome news that following protests against the closure of a Muslim prayer hall in Montouge, under the slogan “Hands off my mosque!“, the mayor has withdrawn his order to close the mosque, pending proposals by the management association to address safety concerns.
Pamela Geller’s invitation to speak in Toronto angers Board of Rabbis
The Toronto Board of Rabbis criticized the Jewish Defense League of Canada for inviting Islam critic Pamela Geller to speak in the city.
The statement was issued just prior to Geller’s speaking engagement Monday sponsored by the group. She spoke at the Toronto Zionist Center without incident. A Chabad rabbi had uninvited Geller to speak at his suburban Toronto synagogue following intervention by police, forcing the change of venue.
EDL splinter group to protest against Lincoln mosque
East Midlands Anti-fascists report that an English Defence League splinter group called the East Anglian Patriots have announced they will be holding a protest in Lincoln next month against a plan to build a new mosque.
Appealing to their supporters to help “stop this muzzie infested building getting built”, the administrators of the “Stop the Lincoln Mosque” Facebook page state that although this will not be an official EDL demonstration they are “all edl on here pretty much”.