Category Archives: Right wing

French minister wants to deny citizenship to Muslim women wearing veils

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Eric BessonFrance’s immigration minister said Wednesday that he wants the wearing of Muslim veils that cover the face and body to be grounds for denying citizenship and long-term residence.

Eric Besson said he planned to take “concrete measures” regarding such veils, which are worn by a small minority of women in France but have become the object of a parliamentary inquiry into whether a ban should be imposed. Besson spoke during a hearing before the panel of lawmakers as their nearly six-month inquiry draws to a close.

Besson said he believed a formal ban on veils that cover the face and body seemed to him “unavoidable,” with a ban in public services as a minimum step. Whether such veils are banned or not, he said he intends to personally move forward to ensure that women wearing such veils and seeking French nationality or residence cards are denied.

“I want the wearing of the full veil to be systematically considered as proof of insufficient integration into French society, creating an obstacle to gaining (French) nationality,” he said. He said he would advise prefects, the highest state representative in the various French regions, that the wearing of such veils is a motive for not delivering 10-year residence cards.

Besson said he was prepared to put the measures before parliament to make them law. In November, Besson ordered a nationwide debate on the French identity, to conclude by the end of January with possible measures.

Associated Press, 16 December 2009

French debate on national identity turns into culture war

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Comments by a French junior minister about young Muslims in France have provoked a firestorm of criticism and put the spotlight on a controversial debate on national identity that threatens to spin out of control.

In one of the many local debates scheduled to be held as part of the nationwide discussion on what it means to be French, the junior minister for families, Nadine Morano, suggested Tuesday to a young Muslim that he should change his behaviour. “What I want of a young Muslim is that he loves France when he lives here, finds work and does not speak in slang. And that he doesn’t wear his cap back to front.”

“This brings back the ethnic vision of the nation, the one that took place at (the pro-Nazi puppet government of) Vichy,” opposition Socialist law-maker Arnaud Montebourg said. The president of the NGO Movement Against Racism (MRAP), Mouloud Aounit, told the online edition of the daily 20 Minutes that Morano’s words “are especially dangerous and extremely violent … I think today there is a terrible increase in Islamophobic statements.”

Criticism also came from conservatives who are growing increasingly afraid that the debate on national identity is turning into a clash of cultures between mainstream France and the large French Muslim community, which numbers about 5 million.

Monsters and Critics, 16 December 2009

See also Nabila Ramdani’s post at Comment is Free, 16 December 2009

France to ban full face veil, says ruling party chief

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jean-Francois CopeFrench President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party, the UMP, says it will push for a law banning the full-face Islamic veil, according to its parliamentary leader Jean-François Copé.

“The issue is not how many women wear the burqa,” Copé wrote in an article in the right-wing newspaper Le Figaro. “There are principles at stake: extremists are putting the republic to the test by promoting a practice that they know is contrary to the basic principles of our country.”

RFI, 16 December 2009

Express promotes campaign against Brick Lane minaret

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Brick Lane MosqueA decision to build a huge rocket-shaped minaret and two giant arches in the style of Muslim headscarves on one of Britain’s most historic streets is sparking outrage and risks escalating racial tension, according to community leaders.

Council chiefs in the east London borough of Tower Hamlets are using millions of pounds of public money to push through the bizarre scheme in Brick Lane, a symbolic melting pot of immigrant communities for more than 400 years.

The odd looking minaret has just been put up outside London’s most famous mosque, a building whose appearance until now has remained unchanged during previous spells as a Huguenot church, a Methodist chapel and as a Jewish synagogue. The structure will be joined soon at either end of the street by two arches that have been designed to look like Muslim hijabs.

Some consider it “cool”, while others have likened to a tower of washing machine drums. However, it is the symbolism of the minaret and the arches that has upset others. They believe it is disrespectful to Brick Lane’s history, with Clive Bettington, who runs the Jewish East End Celebration Society, going further.

“It shows absolute contempt for other religions,” he said. “People who come on my tours to respect what used to be a synagogue will be outraged. The arches are clearly meant to be Muslim in character and we are now objecting in the strongest possible terms.”

Sunday Express, 13 December 2009

Britain is ‘more sympathetic towards Islam than other European countries’ (no thanks to the Daily Mail)

Posted on by Bob Pitt

More than a million Muslims have migrated to Britain because it is more sympathetic towards Islam than other European countries, a study has found. There are now some 1.1million Muslim immigrants in the UK, according to the report by IPPR, the Blairite think tank. It means around 46 per cent of Britain’s 2.4million-strong Muslim population were not born in this country.

The IPPR report found that over the past decade, there has been an increase of 275,000 in the number of British residents born in Pakistan or Bangladesh – twice the population of Oxford. The number of Somali-born residents has also shot up, from fewer than 40,000 in 1999 to 106,700 this year.

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch, said: “The rapid rise in the Muslim population is just one way in which mass immigration promoted, even encouraged, by this Government has affected the whole nature of society.”

Daily Mail, 14 December 2009

A Congressional campaign based on religious hatred

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Torgerson for Congress

Over at The American Muslim Sheila Musaji exposes the hate campaign being waged by Minneapolis attorney Lynne Torgerson, who is standing against incumbent Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to be elected to the US Congress, in next year’s congressional elections.

Torgerson’s website features an extended, bigoted rant against Muslims. She writes:

“The Quran actually teaches Muslims to kill people not of their faith, which are labeled infidels, which includes Christians and Jews, as well as people of other faiths…. Further, evidently, the goal of Islam is to Islamize the entire world, or, global Islam. I believe there is a term, ‘umrah’ [sic] that reflects this goal…. Islam also oppresses women.”

Torgerson asks “what do I know of Islam?” (A good question, you might think.) She answers: “Well, I know of 911. Nineteen (19) men from Saudi Arabia, all Muslim, hi-jacked planes, and flew into the two (2) World Trade Towers murdering thousands of people, and tried to fly into our Pentagon, and some believe they also tried to fly an airplane into our White House. From this, what I perceive is Islam conducting an act of war against my country….

“What else have I heard about Muslims? Fort Hood. What was the result of the teachings of Islam on a Muslim, who was an officer in the United States’ military? Well, the result was him killing, I believe, 13 American soldiers, and injuring many others. Not one person killed or injured was a Muslim. In another book I am currently reading, entitled Muslim Mafia, it is suggested that Muslims want to infiltrate our police departments, our governments, etc., with the goal of Islamizing America….

“And who does all of this bring us to? Keith Ellison. Who is Keith Ellison? He is my opposing candidate for the Fifth Congressional District seat. Keith Ellison is a Muslim….”

Franklin Graham repeats attack on Islam

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today requested a meeting with Christian evangelist Franklin Graham to discuss his latest remarks attacking Islam.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said it has received a number of complaints from concerned Muslims who watched an interview last night on CNN during which Graham stated in part: “…we have many Muslims that live in this country. But true Islam cannot be practiced in this country. You can’t beat your wife. You cannot murder your children if you think they’ve committed adultery or something like that, which they do practice in these other countries… I don’t agree with the teachings of Islam and I find it to be a very violent religion.”

SEE: Franklin Graham Repeats Attacks on Islam (Video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByovBdIRV2o

In 2002, Graham said terrorism is part of “mainstream” Islam and claimed the Quran, Islam’s revealed text, “preaches violence.”

In 2001, Graham stood by remarks he made about Islam at the dedication of a chapel in North Carolina. At that event, he said: “We’re not attacking Islam but Islam has attacked us. The God of Islam is not the same God. He’s not the son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It’s a different God, and I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion.”

CAIR press release, 11 December 2009

Cameron’s accusations against Islamic school dismissed

Posted on by Bob Pitt

David Cameron’s allegation that a school was linked to Islamic extremism has been dismissed by authorities. Investigations by Haringey Council found no evidence of “inappropriate influence” at the Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation school, in Tottenham, north London.

The probe was launched several weeks before Mr Cameron attacked the Prime Minister during Question Time, claiming the ISF was an “extremist Islamist foundation” and was a front for radical Muslim group, Hizb ut Tahrir.

A spokesman for the authority said: “No evidence was found to suggest inappropriate content or influence in the school. The school is taking steps to make sure that pupils learn about different cultures and traditions, including joint work with a local Church of England primary school.”

Nursery funding for the school – which was suspended during the inquiry – has resumed, the spokesman added.

Press Association, 11 December 2009

Update:  See “Cameron stands by school claims”, Metro, 12 December 2009

‘Hizb ut Tahrir: new tentacles spreading in London’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Andrew Gilligan joins the Centre for Social Cohesion in calling for a debate at Queen Mary, University of London between Hizb ut-Tahrir and Brendan O’Neill of Spiked to be banned.

Daily Telegraph, 8 December 2009

No doubt all those people who hopped up and down in indignation at the ban on Geert Wilders will now be rallying to the defence of HT and its right to free expression.

Muslim woman ‘abused’ over dress by Christian hotelier

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Free speech for Ben and SharonA Muslim woman was asked by a Christian hotelier if she was a terrorist and a murderer because she was wearing Islamic dress, a court has been told.

Ericka Tazi told Liverpool magistrates she faced a tirade of abuse from Benjamin Vogelenzang and his wife Sharon, at their hotel on Merseyside. She said it was because she was wearing a hijab head covering and gown.

Mr and Mrs Vogelenzang deny using threatening, abusive or insulting words which were religiously aggravated. Members of campaign group The Christian Institute demonstrated in support of the couple outside the court.

Mrs Tazi, who converted to Islam 18 months ago, spent a month at The Bounty House Hotel on Church Avenue, Aintree, Liverpool, while attending a course at Aintree Hospital. Prosecutor Anya Horwood told the court Mr Vogelenzang, 53, called the prophet Mohammed a “warlord” and likened him to Saddam Hussein and Hitler. And his 54-year-old wife told Mrs Tazi her Islamic dress represented “oppression” and was a form of “bondage”, the court heard.

Mrs Tazi had worn European dress during her four-week stay, but the row flared after she came down on her last day in traditional Islamic dress. She said Mr Vogelenzang asked her “Why are you wearing those clothes?” and began laughing at her, the prosecutor told the court.

Ms Horwood said the hotelier then began to discuss his Christian faith but became angry – at which point his wife joined in. Mrs Tazi walked away but was followed by Mr Vogelenzang, who was acting like “a whirling dervish”, repeatedly asking her if she was a “terrorist”.

Giving evidence, Mrs Tazi told the bench that dressing in her hijab seemed to “trigger something” in the hotelier. The 60-year-old, who suffers from fibromyalgia and lives with chronic pain, said: “He just couldn’t accept the way I was dressed. He asked me if I was a murderer, if I was a terrorist. I’m a 60-year-old disabled woman, I couldn’t understand where it was coming from, it was shocking to me.”

Mrs Tazi said Mr Vogelenzang followed her into the dining room “flailing” his arms and “jumping up and down”. She added: “Sharon came running in, she was shouting ‘you started this with your dress’ and she was pointing in my face and I was frightened at this stage. I was absolutely traumatised by it all.”

Guests at the hotel told the court that Mrs Tazi was left distraught by the row. Pauline Tait, 52, a committed Christian, described it as “a very upsetting and volatile exchange”. Another guest, Shirley Tait, said she was in her bedroom when she heard Mr Vogelenzang shouting the words “Nazi” and “warlord”.

BBC news, 8 December 2009

Cf. Christian Institute, 8 December 2009, Daily Mail, 21 September 2009 and BNP news report, 20 September 2009