The Hay festival was treated to yet another cliched debate about the supposed incompatibility of Islam and democracy, argues Soumaya Ghannoushi.
Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia
Students protest headscarf ban
BRUSSELS – Hundreds of students of the Koninklijk Atheneum Andrée Thomas demonstrated in front of their school this morning against the planned ban on headscarves at the institution.
The administration of the school, which has a great many Muslim students, has decided to ban all outward signs of religious convictions, including the headscarf.
The pupils were protesting because they regard the ban as a violation of free expression and freedom of religion. A number of protestors carried banners that stated that they would leave the school if not allowed to wear a headscarf.
The school administration defends its decision claiming it will contribute to social integration and encourage respect for different ways of life.
BNP wastes police time with complaint about Muslim demo
Lancaster UAF suggests that West Midlands BNP should be charged with wasting police time over their complaint about propaganda for the “Muslims rise against British oppression” demonstration planned for 15 June outside Downing Street, which the fascists claim constitutes “an incitement to violence”. Well, they’d know all about that, wouldn’t they?
(It might be added that the posters announcing the protest have already been condemned by Adam Yosef of the Saltley Gate Peace Group as an attempt to “disrupt the harmonious relations between people of various faiths”, though like Lancaster UAF he points out that the material “doesn’t glorify or promote terrorism”. Hizb ut-Tahrir have also spoken out against the posters, arguing that “the posting of such material damages community relations and does nothing to create harmony between the city’s residents”.)
Lecturers oppose witch hunt against Muslim students – Torygraph not happy
Academics are threatening to derail a Government drive to root out Islamic extremists on university campuses.
The University and College Union, will ask its 120,000 members to refuse to take part in the Government-led “witch hunt”. It insists that Muslims are being “demonised” because of new guidance that asks staff to look out for students falling under the influence of radical preachers.
The Department for Education and Skills has warned university staff to log suspicious behaviour amid fears that campuses are being infiltrated by fanatics recruiting for so-called jihad. In a 20-page report published in December, ministers warned of “serious, but not widespread, Islamic extremist activity in higher education institutions”.
It asks lecturers to vet Islamic preachers who have been invited to campuses, ensure that “hate literature” is not distributed among students and report suspicious behaviour to police.
But at the UCU annual conference in Bournemouth, lecturers will warn of a “recent rise” in racism and its “apparent promotion by Government policies”. Academics at the union’s London Metropolitan University branch will say that “increasingly restrictive measures and the xenophobic language surrounding them” has led to an increase in racist attacks on Muslims.
“Islamophobia and the attempts at increased surveillance on Muslim communities are not only encouraging racist and xenophobic tendencies in Britain but are also leading to measures that threaten civil liberties,” they will warn. A motion to the conference will condemn Government attempts to use “members of staff for such witch hunts”.
See also BBC News, 30 May 2007
Yet more on the ‘mega-mosque’
The Times reports on the proposed Abbey Mills mosque, under the headline “Setback for Muslim sect’s ‘mega-mosque’ in London“. See also the government’s response to the BNP-inspired petition warning that the building of the mosque would “only cause terrible violence and suffering”.
See also Radical Muslim which urges support for a “Build the mega-mosque” petition.
For the background see Islam Online, 27 May 2007
Anti-Islamic writer stirs hatred, Muslims warn
A visit to Sydney by a controversial Somali writer who calls the prophet Mohammed a pedophile and says Islam is inferior to Western culture has outraged Muslims, who accuse her of inciting hatred. Ayaan Hirsi Ali will arrive in Sydney today amid tight security normally reserved for foreign dignitaries or royalty. Her writings and talks focus on what she calls the backwardness of Islamic culture and the persecution of Muslim women.
University of Technology Sydney Islamic law lecturer Jamila Hussain said Hirsi Ali’s ideas were extreme and stigmatised Muslims. “I think she’d be better staying where she came from,” Ms Hussain said. “I’ve read enough of her thoughts. It’s a narrow and radical opinion, and I don’t agree with it. She’s obviously had some dreadful experiences, but they’re not typical.”
Reid prepares to throw out human rights
Reid prepares to throw out human rights
By Louise Nousratpour
Morning Star, 25 May 2007
Home Secretary John Reid was lambasted by peace campaigners yesterday for proposing an opt-out of international human rights treaties to let the government impose tougher anti-terror measures.
It was the first time that the government has indicated its intention to “derogate” from the European Convention on Human Rights so that it can put terror suspects under conditions which breach their human rights.
Answering an emergency Commons question on three terror suspects who have gone missing while under control orders, Mr Reid said that he will introduce a new counter-terrorism Bill to Parliament before stepping down in June.
Both Mr Reid and outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair used the opportunity to attack Parliament for voting down plans to extend detention without trial to 90 days. A compromise last year resulted in upping the limit to 28 days.
A spokesman for Mr Blair arrogantly declared: “What this is down to is Parliament not backing us in the first place in terms of the length of additional period we wanted and in limiting the effectiveness of control orders.”
Campaigners attacked the “outrageous” plans to opt out of the international treaty and condemned politicians, police and the media for treating the terror suspects – Lamine Adam, his brother Ibrahim and Cerie Bullivant – as convicts.
Stop the War Coalition convener Lindsey German pointed out: “These men have not been charged with anything. They are suspects and being a suspect is not the same as being convicted. They should be charged if there is any evidence against them or released immediately.”
Ms German stressed that the “much bigger question is the rise in terrorism which has been linked to this government’s foreign policies. If Britain and the US had not invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, we would not have threats of terrorism,” she argued.
“Reid wants to usher in more repressive laws rather than own up to the government’s role in all this. To defeat terrorism, the government must back justice for Palestine, withdraw all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and change its foreign policy. That is what we will be demanding from Gordon Brown when we demonstrate at his election conference in Manchester on June 24,” Ms German added.
Inayat reviews ‘The Islamist’
Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain reviews Ed Husain’s book The Islamist which has enjoyed such an adulatory reception from the likes of Melanie Phillips.
Absorption or exodus: The future legacy of British anti-terror laws
“‘We will kill every f***ing one of you Muslims’. One could be forgiven for believing this to be an excerpt from a BNP Party Political Broadcast. It is not. In fact, it is the horrifying taunt hurled by armed police officers with guns drawn at 34-year old London Underground worker ‘Abdul Rahman’ as he knelt before them cringing in fear for his life. Moments earlier, ‘Abdul Rahman’ had been pushed to the ground by 3 armed officers who subjected him to physical and verbal abuse, having intercepted him on his journey home from work. It was about half past four on a bright summer afternoon in full view of on-lookers.”
Fahad Ansari writes: BLINK, 22 May 2007
The Muslim cricket test
School teachers are to force Muslim children to take sides with lessons involving imaginary terrorist plots. Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly wants to change the national curriculum so that pupils will be asked where they stand if a friend wanted to launch a “holy war” attack on a local supermarket.
Community leaders are outraged by ministers plans to target Muslim schools with questions to kids about what they would do if Islamic extremists sought to buy fertilizer for a bomb plot. The proposals raised fears of a creeping surviellance culture in which teachers could come under pressure to reveal the identities of Muslims children who sympathised with terrorism.
Critics pointed out that the government did not seek to “educate” Catholic children in Northern Ireland about the dangers of sectarian violence but instead moved to achieve a political settlement. The government needed to deal with real causes of terrorism, such as the war on Iraq and Afghanistan and segregation caused by economic policies, rather than brand young kids as terrorist sympathisers. Muslim organisations voiced concerns that the plans are based on an assumption that Muslim schools are teeming with budding terrorists.
Lester Holloway reports: BLINK, 23 May 2007