“Since terrorist threats today are presumed to be Islamic, this new distressful piece of legislation will increase the fear of Muslims, increase injustice and discrimination against Muslims, produce alienation among the British Muslim communities, but I suppose will not save one single life from a recondite terrorist attack. ”
Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia
Muslim parents to blame for children turning to extremism
Dr Farhan Nizami CBE, a key adviser on Islam to the Prince of Wales, accused British Muslims of failing to make sure their children learn to speak English or supporting them in their education. He said this leaves them alienated from mainstream society and exposed to being groomed by radical Islamic groups.
It is the first time Dr Nizami, the director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, which has links with Oxford University, has spoken out about the failure of Muslims to integrate with British society. His comments come just weeks after the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, warned that radical Islam is filling the “moral vacuum” created by the decline of Christian values in Britain. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Dr Nizami said Muslims would never play a full role in British society until they improved their education, language and aspirations.
Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “There is really no question regarding the central importance of parents taking an active interest in the better education of their children. But we need to be cautious of putting too much blame on parents for the actions of their children. As we have seen in the cases of the 7/7 bombers and terrorists who have been convicted since then, many of them were extremely adept at deceiving their closest family relatives about their intentions.”
See Azad Ali’s comments at Between the Lines, 11 June 2008
Ireland: intercultural adviser warns against hijab ban
Banning the hijab or other religious symbols which are important to minorities is “likely to result in tension with those communities where no tension existed before”, according to the director of the State’s advisory body on intercultural affairs.
In a detailed intervention in the debate over whether Muslim pupils should be allowed wear the headscarf in State schools, Philip Watt of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism said most schools had already found their own “sensible and sensitive compromise” by allowing it to be worn provided the colour was consistent with the school uniform.
Mr Watt suggested that those advocating a ban on the hijab “may, or may not, have fully considered the consequences of such a ban, for example in respect of all religious symbols and obligations in Irish schools”. While much of the focus had been on the Muslim headscarf, other religious symbols were worn in Irish schools, including the Sikh kara (a bangle), the Sikh patka (a scarf worn by boys and young men), the Jewish kippah or skullcap and Christian crucifixes. The pioneer badge, the sacred heart and crucifixes are worn by some teachers.
“The banning of religious symbols or obligations solely aimed at one religious community or indeed all religious faiths is potentially discriminatory and likely to be tested in Irish law,” Mr Watt said. “In 2004 the French government considered the issuing of a ban on the wearing of the hijab in French schools, but after legal considerations decided that the only way that such a ban would be legal would be to ban virtually all religious symbols and obligations, including large crucifixes.”
Fine Gael education spokesman Brian Hayes and his Labour counterpart Ruairí Quinn said separately last week that they opposed the wearing of the hijab in the country’s secondary schools, though Mr Hayes made a distinction between State-run VEC schools and those run by religious orders, which decide their own rules. “There is enough segregation in Ireland without adding this to it. Segregating in this way is not helpful to Muslims and not helpful to anybody,” Mr Hayes said.
In yesterday’s statement, Mr Watt also sought to correct the impression that all Muslims are recent immigrants. Just under a third of the 32,500 Muslims in the Republic are Irish.
An Irish Times/ TNS mrbi poll conducted last week found that 48 per cent of people feel the wearing of hijabs should be allowed in State schools. Some 39 per cent disagree and 13 per cent have no opinion.
MCB joins coalition to oppose extension of pre-charge
“The Muslim Council of Britain joins human rights groups, a growing body of thinkers and policymakers dealing with our security, together with a large proportion of the British public who oppose the extension of pre-charge-detention. Any further extension of pre-charge detention risks being counterproductive, damaging community relations and undermining the UK’s moral authority around the world. We oppose terrorism in all its forms. We are all concerned about the right to security, free from terror, but this proposal serves to compound the problem, not resolve it.
“We do not believe that the government has made a convincing case for extending the pre-charge detention period from 28 days to 42 days. We are very concerned about the negative impact that this proposed legislation could have on relations between younger members of the Muslim community and the police. Of course it is right that we take proper precautions against the threat of terrorism, however, it is our view that this legislation will be counterproductive and will play into the hands of extremist groups,” said Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain.
Friendswood principal backed in Islam flap
About 200 Friendswood residents, divided over a junior high principal’s decision to let an Islamic group make a presentation to students last month, packed Tuesday night’s school board meeting as the governing body considered whether to ban any future religious presentations by outsiders.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations in Houston sought permission to address the mostly Anglo student body at Friendswood Junior High after a Muslim student was stuffed head-first into a trash can by a classmate. Principal Robin Lowe agreed to the 40-minute PowerPoint presentation on the basic beliefs of Islam, which drew howls of protest from some parents, talk radio hosts and Christian clergy.
Last week, Lowe requested and received a new central administration job because she felt the controversy made continuing at the junior high impossible, Superintendent Trish Hanks said.
Most who spoke Tuesday blasted the school board and Hanks for not supporting Lowe.
“I ask that you as a board take certain actions — reinstate Robin Lowe with a suitable and public apology,” said longtime Friendswood resident Tom Burke, drawing a loud burst of applause and whoops of approval from the audience. “Pledge to listen to the wishes of the large, but all too silent majority, and close your ears to the vocal minority. This community has been embarrassed. You can turn that around and make yourselves and your community proud.”
Other speakers, however, accused CAIR of having links to terrorism.
Houston Chronicle, 10 June 2008
See also “R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Religious persecution, not lessons in tolerance and diversity, should spark outrage”, Houston Chronicle, 7 June 2008
Robert Kennedy assassination – ‘the beginning of Islamic terrorism in America’
Alan Dershowitz on the shooting of Robert Kennedy: “I thought of it as an act of violence motivated by hatred of Israel and of anybody who supported Israel. It was in some ways the beginning of Islamic terrorism in America. It was the first shot.”
“Sirhan, a Christian Palestinian immigrant, said he was angry at Kennedy because he supported Israel in the 1967 war over the rights of the Palestinians. This was an instance of one Christian killing another Christian for political, not religious, reasons. Why does Dershowitz conflate Palestinian with Islamic, other than to spread fear of Muslims?”
Letter in the Boston Globe, 9 June 2008
Ireland: 48% support right to wear hijab in schools
Almost half of people feel the wearing of hijabs or headscarves by Muslim students should be allowed in State schools, according to the latest Irish Times /TNS mrbi poll. While 48 per cent agree with their use in State schools, 39 per cent do not and 13 per cent have no opinion.
A breakdown of the figures show that while a clear majority of younger people agree with the use of hijabs, older people are more likely to be opposed.
Green Party voters are among the most likely to agree (69 per cent), followed by Sinn Féin and Independents (57 per cent) and Fianna Fáil (48 per cent). Labour and Fine Gael voters are split evenly.
Women are more likely to agree (55 per cent) compared with men (42 per cent).
People are also divided on whether the Government should produce guidelines on the wearing of hijabs in State schools. A total of 49 per cent agree that the State should provide guidelines, while 41 per cent feel the State should not get involved in the issue and 10 per cent have no opinion.
The poll was conducted last Tuesday and Wednesday among a representative sample of 1,000 voters in face-to-face interviews at 100 sampling points in all 43 constituencies.
Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe has said that the Government will consider whether to issue guidelines on the wearing of the hijab in schools when it drafts an intercultural education strategy later this year.
Some teachers’ groups and the State’s advisory body on interculturalism have signalled that national guidelines should be avoided and the issue should be dealt with on a case by case basis.
The poll indicates that there is little difference on the issue between rural and urban areas. When broken down by social class, people from better-off backgrounds were more likely to agree with the use of the headscarf or hijab.
The Danish disease
Ellen Brun and Jacques Hersh analyse the mainstreaming of Islamophobia in Denmark.
US Muslim leader labelled possible terror suspect
NEWARK, N.J. — To one North Jersey counterterrorism task force, Mohammad Qatanani was considered an essential ally – a moderate Muslim leader known for inviting FBI agents into his congregation to conduct seminars on terrorism prevention. Fifteen miles away, in Newark, a different counterterrorism task force labeled Qatanani a possible terror suspect who had been categorized as a “person of interest” on his application for a green card.
His deportation trial – testimony concluded Monday and a ruling is due in September – has raised questions as to how smoothly counterterrorism efforts are coordinated in New Jersey, and about the ability of immigration authorities to get information from other agencies or check a person’s background in their country of origin.
Qatanani, a 44-year-old Palestinian, has been the spiritual leader at the Islamic Center of Passaic County since 1996. The mosque is in Paterson, the heart of New Jersey’s Arab American community and home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the region.
Qatanani’s 1999 bid for U.S. residency was rejected, and he is facing deportation by U.S. immigration authorities who say he failed to disclose on his green card application a 1993 arrest and conviction in Israel for being a member of the militant group Hamas.
Qatanani has denied being a Hamas member and said he was never made aware of any charges against him. At his deportation hearing, he testified that he had been detained – not arrested – by the Israelis and subjected to physical and mental abuse in detention.
Since the proceedings began in early May, a number of witnesses have testified on the imam’s behalf – including a rabbi and several high-ranking New Jersey law enforcement officials. Hundreds of his supporters have maintained a vigil outside the federal courthouse in Newark for the duration of the trial, often using a megaphone to conduct prayers and plead for justice.
BNP jibe at lawyer who opposed veiled judges
A barrister who argued that Muslim judges in Britain should never wear the veil in court has been accused by a fellow barrister of deploying the arguments of the British National Party. Barbara Hewson was commenting on guidance issued to judges earlier this year by the Judicial Studies Board. Miss Hewson, writing in the Bar Council’s magazine Counsel, said it was worrying that the board’s advice contemplated the possibility of veiled judges. Describing the guidance as “astonishing and subversive”, she said: “The United Kingdom is not a sharia state.”
Responding in the magazine, Fatim Kurji wrote: “As for veiled judges and the suggestion that the ‘United Kingdom is not a sharia state’, this is what I call ‘the BNP argument’. It implies a woman who wears a niqab comes at the erosion of British values. Such an astonishingly offensive remark undermines the long-enduring libertarian values.” Miss Kurji said she was no fan of niqab but even less so of a legal system “that restricts access to justice on the basis of religious expression”.
We don’t have access to a copy of Counsel, but a correspondent informs us that Hewson’s article is a rehash of the piece published in Spiked back in February, though from the quotes in the Telegraph it would appear to be even more hardline and offensive.
Update: Thanks to a supporter in the legal profession we have the text of Barbara Hewson’s Counsel Magazine article.