The British “debate” about meat, animal cruelty and ritual slaughter has become a proxy for deep fears about Muslims in our midst, argues Mehdi Hasan.
Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia
Germany weighs ban on Salafists after clashes
Germany is considering a legal ban on ultra-conservative Salafist Muslim groups, its interior minister said on Wednesday after violent clashes with the police.
Last weekend, Salafists turned on police protecting far-right anti-Islam protesters during a regional election rally in the western German city of Bonn, injuring 29 officers, two of them seriously. Police arrested 109 people. The far-right protesters had infuriated the Salafists by waving banners showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.
There have been similar clashes in other German towns in the past week, including in Cologne, where around 1,000 police were mobilized on Tuesday to keep Salafists and far-right activists far apart.
Anti-Sharia rally set in Lansing
LANSING — A rally is planned for 8:30 a.m. at the state capitol Thursday to support a bill aimed at banning foreign laws in Michigan. The bills, HB 4769 and SB 701, have been called anti-Sharia legislation.
Its sponsor, Michigan Rep. Dave Agema (R-Grandville), said the bill is aimed at barring the implementation of foreign laws. While the law does not mention Sharia or Islamic law, local Muslim activists and others say the bill is aimed at Muslims.
Mad Mel on Rochdale grooming case – “the horrific consequences of Britain’s ‘Islamophobia’ witch-hunt”
Melanie Phillips offers a characteristically thoughtful and nuanced response to the Rochdale “grooming” convictions.
Commentary whitewashes discrimination
At the Daily Beast’s Open Zion blog Raphael Magarik replies to Jonathan Tobin.
Brookfield mosque earns support of plan commission
Following overwhelming support at a public hearing Monday night, city plan commissioners unanimously backed construction of a mosque in Brookfield, sending the plans to aldermen for final approval.
The voice vote drew applause, handshakes and hugs among the approximately 30 people who stayed to hear the vote after the hearing that packed the Common Council chambers and two overflow areas.
Commissioner Gary Mahkorn, one of two aldermen whose district includes the mosque site, said he was “so proud” of the community for its support of religious diversity and freedom of religious worship, despite concerns some raised about Islam and terrorism. “We’re a welcoming community,” Mahkorn said. “I’m proud of this community. I’m proud of this country.”
EDL and UAF stage rival protests in Luton
Protests by the English Defence League (EDL) and Unite Against Fascism (UAF) in Luton have ended without major incident amid a huge police presence.
About 1,500 EDL supporters and 1,000 UAF protesters were involved in the protests. There were seven arrests. Officers said the arrests were for weapons offences and assault.
Both groups took part in a one-mile (1.6km) march earlier. The EDL supporters marched from High Town Road to St Georges Square, while the UAF group marched between Bury Park Road and Market Hill. Speeches were given in both squares, which are about half a mile apart, from about 1345 GMT.
Dudley: Labour condemns Tories’ anti-mosque leaflet
A contentious leaflet, distributed by the Conservative Party, has been slammed by Labour councillors.
The leaflet, which was sent out by the Tory party this week, in a last ditch attempt for votes, highlighted the controversial issue of the Dudley Mosque, which was rejected by High Court last month and suggested the Labour Party would be in favour of it if elected.
Muslim woman wins $5 million punitive damages from AT&T for discrimination
A Kansas City woman who converted from Christianity to Islam has been awarded $5 million in punitive damages by a jury who found the telecommunications giant AT&T created a “hostile work environment” after her conversion, according to a judge’s order issued Friday.
Susann Bashir, a 41-year-old married mother, sued AT&T unit Southwestern Bell for what she said was a pattern of offensive and discriminatory conduct by her supervisors that began when she converted to Islam in 2005, six years after she started working for the company as a network technician.
After Bashir started wearing a religious head scarf known as a hijab, and attending Friday mosque services, her managers and co-workers called her names including “terrorist,” and told her she was going to hell, said her attorney Amy Coopman. A manager repeatedly told her to remove her hijab, insulted her for wearing it, and once physically grabbed Bashir and tried to rip the hijab off her head, according to the suit.
‘Rejecting Islamophobia’ counter-conference overshadows bigotry
The Arab American News has an extensive report on Pamela Geller’s so-called “human rights” conference in Dearborn – which barred Muslim women and Arab Americans from attending – and on the counter-conference “Rejecting Islamophobia: A Community Stand Against Hate”.