Socialist Worker (US) interviews Marwa Al-Radwany.
Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia
‘Radicalisation via YouTube’? Jonathan Githens-Mazer examines Roshonara Choudhry’s turn to violent extremism
First, we can definitively put to rest Tony Blair’s claims that foreign policy isn’t linked to terrorism at home. We can’t say that Blair’s analysis caused Timms to be stabbed, but we can say that this wishful thinking has been proven inaccurate.
Second, the transcripts elucidate the dangers of internalised political-religious outlooks. It is quite telling that Choudhry said that she only prayed at home, and talked to no one about what she was thinking or planning. For groups that I work with in my research into this area, this is the No 1 danger sign – being political but not participating in politics; not attending large scale gatherings of Muslims with groups that may (or may not) be Islamically inspired in character, but withdrawing from all forms of political engagement.
This contradicts many of the claims of those who brand organisations like the MCB and mosques such as East London and North London Central Mosque as dangerous. It is exactly these entities which have been proven to help to channel anger about foreign policy away from this internalised, isolating and potentially dangerous way of thinking about issues into heated, heartfelt, and challenging but ultimately constructive wider political debates. If you cut off these constructive release valves, these problems will only get worse.
This was exactly the kind of thinking that sat at the heart of Prevent thinking and the Home Office Channel project when they were first conceived. At the start, Prevent wasn’t about surreptitious traffic cameras in Muslim neighbourhoods. The precursors to Prevent, in activities such as the Muslim Contact Unit, were about empowering, through shared agendas and partnership, Muslim communities to address and tackle exactly these kinds of isolated individuals.
Wearing the veil in London
A balanced and informative article in the Evening Standard, of all papers, by Nosheen Iqbal. We look forward to a piece by Andrew Gilligan denouncing his former newspaper for capitulating to Islamic fundamentalism.
Court upholds ban on Zakir Naik
A court has upheld Theresa May’s decision to bar controversial Muslim public speaker from the country. The Home Secretary excluded Dr Zakir Naik from the UK on 16 June this year and today the court said it upheld that decision.
Theresa May welcomed the judgement: “I am pleased the court has upheld my decision to exclude Dr Naik. An individual will be excluded if their presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good. We make no apologies for refusing people access to the UK if we believe they might seek to undermine our society.”
She continued: “Coming to the UK is a privilege not a right and we are not willing to allow those who might not be conducive to the public good to enter the UK. Exclusion powers are very serious and no decision is taken lightly.”
The Home Office will be seeking its legal costs from the other side.
Home Office press release, 5 November 2010
Read the text of the judgment here.
No to racism, fascism and Islamophobia – demonstration tomorrow
North London Central Mosque statement on settlement with Policy Exchange
Policy Exchange admits NLCM clear of any wrong-doing
Following NLCM win right to appeal, Policy Exchange’s offer of out of court settlement accepted
On 27 October 2007, the Policy Exchange published a report entitled ‘The Hijacking of British Islam’ in which they named the North London Central Mosque Trust as one of a number of mosques in the UK which they alleged were purveyors of extremist and hate literature.
As is well known, the Trustees and management of the NLCM have worked hard since the take-over in 2005 to cleanse the Mosque from the violence, extremism and intolerance that it was linked with previously during the time it was controlled by people such as Abu Hamza. The ethos of the Mosque is to be embracing of all individuals regardless of their race, religion or gender, to work for social cohesion and to encourage Muslims to play a leading role in British society. The Management take-over was a pivotal event in the community which involved local Muslim community and organizations alongside the Government, the local Authorities, the Police and Members of Parliament. The allegations contained in the Report were therefore not only offensive and defamatory but undermined the huge and important efforts by all who were involved in the take-over.
The Mosque trustees and management have always emphatically denied the claims contained in the Report. Moreover, the Report appeared to be based on highly suspicious methods of research and the evidence on which the Mosque was named was entirely dubious as exposed by the Newsnight excellent investigative report by Richard Watson. The failure of Policy Exchange to sue Newsnight over Watson’s report, despite explicitly threatening to do so in front of millions of viewers, is telling how shaky the grounds Policy Exchange stands on regarding their report, the report they took off their website completely after settling with another mosque similarly accused in the report.
In 2007, a claim by NLCM was issued against the Policy Exchange, and the author of the Report, Denis MacEoin, for defamation. At the first stage in the High Court, the claim was struck out, not on the basis of its merit, which we maintain was strong, but on the technical capacity of unincorporated charities not being able to be claimants in defamation cases in their own right, a loop in the law we believe legislators should look at. In April of this year, the Court of Appeal, after hearing legal argument from the Mosque regarding charities and defamation law, gave us permission to appeal against the decision striking out our claim. The case would potentially have had far-reaching implications for unincorporated charities all across the UK. The appeal was listed for October 2010. We were confident of our chances of success; however, being trustees of a charity, we had to act in the best interests of the Mosque and decided that rather than continuing the risks of litigation, we would accept a request by Policy Exchange to settle out of court after we won the right to appeal. In the circumstances, the Policy Exchange has now published on their website the following statement:
In our Report ‘The Hijacking of British Islam’, published in October 2007, we stated that the North London Central Mosque was one of the mosques where extremist literature was found. Policy Exchange has never sought to suggest that the literature cited in the Report was sold or distributed at the Mosque with the knowledge or consent of the Mosque’s trustees or staff.
We are happy to set the record straight.
The Mosque is now cleared of any false accusations of being a purveyor of extremist literature.
We trust that no allegations of this nature will be repeated.
The Board of Trustees
03/11/2010
Cherie Blair defends Muslim women’s right to dress as they choose
Cherie Blair today launched a strident defence of Muslim women saying it was wrong to see those who cover their hair or their body as a threat. Speaking just two weeks after her sister Lauren Booth converted to Islam, the former Prime Minister’s wife stressed that it was essential to respect people’s right to dress how they choose.
“We use the appearance of women as a metaphor of our fear of a supposed Islamic threat,” she told Spain’s El Pais newspaper. “There are thousands of Muslims in Europe who participate in our way of life and intend continuing to do so and if they want to dress in a certain way because of their beliefs, we shouldn’t feel threatened.”
Mrs Blair’s comments were made in an interview ahead of the European Muslim Women of Influence Conference in Madrid.
She stressed it was important to fight against stereotypes that “above all affect Muslim women”. “We tend to believe they’re oppressed, insecure and incapable of thinking for themselves and that is not true,” she said. “One of the things I try to do is help to explain that Islam is an open religion in which women have influence, whether they hide their hair or not. I was educated by nuns who were completely covered up to their necks.”
Update: See also the Daily Express which quotes – yes, you guessed – Tory MP Philip Hollobone as saying: “Most people in Britain will disagree with Cherie Blair. We simply cannot have a situation where more and more women are covering their faces in public because effectively they are excluding themselves from normal everyday human interaction with everyone else.”
German Muslim leader calls for stand against Islamophobia
A prominent German Muslim leader expressed serious concern over the growing anti-Islam hysteria in his country, fuelled by right-wing populist politicians and the media.
Meeting with the Berlin-based foreign press Wednesday evening, the chairman of the Central Council of Muslims, Aiman Mazyek said, “I am concerned about the situation which we are facing.” He pointed out the animosity towards Muslims was “the fastest growing form of racism” in Germany. Mazyek said Islam bashing had become “socially acceptable,” even in German intellectual circles.
He added it was “frightening” to note that most Germans would support restricting the religious freedom of Muslims, according to a recent survey released by the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation, affiliated to the opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Mazyek warned that this hysterical anti-Islam debate would “ultimately damage Germany.” He criticized the nation’s media for not seriously questions some of the baseless assertions made about Islam. The official emphasized that it was “the duty of German society as a whole to confront this form of racism.”
The activist lamented the fact that German Muslims were facing “daily discrimination and hostility.” He referred to examples of an ongoing wave of anti-Muslim violence, including the recent brutal murder of an Iraqi Muslim by two neo-Nazis in the eastern city of Leipzig and the series of “almost monthly attacks against mosques” throughout the country. Mazyek said he had also received death threats and hate mail from right-wing populists.
He urged the government to address the challenge of Islamophobia before its gets out of control.
Lawsuit filed in Oklahoma against Sharia law ban
An Oklahoma Muslim filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday to block a state constitutional amendment overwhelmingly approved by voters that would prohibit state courts from considering international law or Islamic law when deciding cases.
The measure, which got 70 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s election, was one of several on Oklahoma’s ballot that critics said pandered to conservatives and would move the state further to the right.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City, seeks a temporary retraining order and injunction to block the election results from being certified by the state Election Board on Nov. 9. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges the ballot measure transforms Oklahoma’s Constitution into “an enduring condemnation” of Islam by singling it out for special restrictions by barring Islamic law, also known as Sharia law.
“We have a handful of politicians who have pushed an amendment onto our state ballot and then conducted a well-planned and well-funded campaign of misinformation and fear,” said Muneer Awad, who filed the suit and is executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Oklahoma. “We have certain unalienable rights, and those rights cannot be taken away from me by a political campaign.”
‘Muslims tell British: go to hell’
Thus the front-page headline in the Daily Express.
By “Muslims” the Express means Anjem Choudary’s minuscule extremist sect, and by “British” it means “non-Muslims” – or perhaps, more narrowly, “white people”.
For comment on right-wing press coverage of the Roshonara Choudhry case, see ENGAGE, Tabloid Watch and Five Chinese Crackers.
Update: See also “SPECIAL REPORT: The ‘DIY jihadists’ paid for by us… Roshonara Choudhry supporters are living on benefits”, Daily Mail, 5 November 2010
The report has produced the intended reaction, judging by the comments that follow it:
“Cultural enrichment … don’t you feel so much better for it ??”
“The bleeding heart liberals are the cause of all this.”
“Only in Britain could this madness happen, where we are funding the source of our own destruction.”
“Perhaps this low life should get his benefits stopped for deceiving the authorities. Won’t happen of course, can’t be seen to be upsetting the non-integrating squallor-living supporters of terrorism”
“Well done Labour you most be so proud of your Multiculturalism.”
“And YOU who keep voting for the Lib/Lab/Con are to blame! – Joe Bloggs, In the hell that was once England”
“where are all the other ‘Moderate’ muslims (If there is such a thing) who we never hear speaking out against these anti-british lunatics?”
“Welcome to Islamic Britain. Land of the FREE. Well FREE Benefit anyway.”
“This is typical of modern Britain. We invite the dregs of the world to our shores, those that want to murder the citizens of this nation and we pander to their every whim. We house them, feed them but still we invite more and more….”
“If Islam is so fantastic they should take the first flight to the nearest Islamic Republic. Enough of appeasing these people.”
“In a strange sort of way, these people should be admired. Why? Because they stick rigidly to their beliefs. Unlike the Judge and Police, who through fear bend over backwards to please them. And that’s why the battle is already lost. So we must all get used to a future Islamic Britain.”
“These vile scum SHOULD have been arrested and brought to trial for their stinking little antics …….IF IT WERE WHITE ANGLO SAXONS RANTING IN THIS WAY YOU CAN BE SURE THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE CASE !!!!!!!”
“Sick people? sick religion yet they take money from us all.”