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.
Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia
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.
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.
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. ”
‘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
Religious groups counter anti-Muslim ad campaign in DC
The placement of Pamela Geller’s anti-Muslim “savages” ads in the District of Columbia have spurred a wide range of religious groups to counter the ads’ message. A coalition of 157 religious groups from across the DC Metro-area signed onto a letter to the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority, pressing them to take stronger steps to work against hate speech.
In the letter, the coalition requested that WMATA pursue greater outreach to communities before publishing possibly inflammatory advertisements in and on the area’s public transit, add disclaimers to such ads that they do not represent WMATA’s views, and allow free ad space to counter hate speech.
Bounty hunting, Islamophobia and blaming the victims
“Why do they hate us?” is the perpetual refrain of American politicians and other advocates of US foreign policy. Felicity Arbuthnot provides some answers.
French rightwing hijacks the pain au chocolat
CCIF member distributes pain au chocolat in Paris
First Cornish pasties shook Westminster, now Paris faces its own baked-goods political storm after the humble pain au chocolat was hijacked by rightwing politics.
It began at a rally on the Côte d’Azur this weekend when the hardline Jean-François Copé, fighting a tough race to take over Nicolas Sarkozy’s rightwing UMP party, served a pastry-related anecdote that has been repeating on him ever since.
Having already complained of what he called “anti-white racism” on French estates, Copé said he identified with “exasperated” parents who, after a hard day’s work, got home to find their child had had his pain au chocolat “snatched” from him outside the school gates by “thugs” who said: “There must be no eating during Ramadan.” He then tweeted: “There are neighbourhoods in France where children can’t eat their pain au chocolat because it’s Ramadan.”