Category Archives: Right wing

12 percent of Americans think Barack Obama is Muslim

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Despite a large controversy not long ago about Barack Obama sitting in a church listening to Jeremiah Wright preach for 16 years, 12 percent of Americans still believe that Obama is Muslim.

The breakdown shows that 12 percent of Democrats, 12 percent of Republicans and 11 percent of Independents still hold that belief.

The poll also shows that Democrats that share that misconception about Obama are “significantly less likely to support Obama.”

Among the 12 percent that still believe that Obama is Muslim, despite evidence to the contrary, 51 percent back McCain and 37 percent back Obama. Among those that believe that Obama is a Christian, those numbers reverse themselves, with 52 percent backing Obama and 32 percent backing McCain.

DigitalJournal.com, 18 July 2008

See also “Belief that Obama is Muslim is durable, bipartisan – but most likely to sway Democratic votes”, Pew Research Center, 15 July 2008

Evicted Milan Muslims pray at stadium ‘mosque’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

SantancheItalian police were out in force Friday at a Milan stadium converted into a makeshift mosque by Muslims who were forced to abandon their previous place of worship. Organizers of the Friday prayers said they expected some 5,000 Muslims at the Vigorelli velodrome which also contains a disused cycling track.

The decision by Milan’s town hall to allow Muslims to use the facility on a temporary basis has triggered protests from local residents, raising concern of possible attempts to disrupt the prayer session. On Friday, several dozen protesters, including far-right political leader, Daniela Santanche, gathered near the stadium. “We are here to prevent a symbol of Milanese sport from being transformed into a mosque,” Santanche, who leads the opposition party, The Right, said.

Earlier this month, Italy’s centre-right government ordered the closure of the so-called Jenner mosque – the converted garage where for over 20 years, thousands of Muslims in Italy’s financial capital attended prayer sessions. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the decision was based on public order and health concerns – worshippers often spilled out on the street – and complaints from local residents. Maroni, a member of the anti-immigration Northern League, drew sharp criticism for the move, with one prominent Catholic cleric, Monsignor Gianfranco Bottoni, who deals with inter-faith issues in Milan, describing it as “fascist”.

Earth Times, 18 July 2008

Archbishop ‘has lost the plot’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Rowan Williams (2)The Archbishop of Canterbury was under fire last night after declaring that Christian doctrine is offensive to Muslims. Dr Rowan Williams also criticised Christianity’s history for its violence, harsh punishments and betrayal of peaceful principles. His comments were condemned by MPs and religious commentators.

Tory MP Philip Davies said: “The archbishop has lost the plot. He is supposed to be leading the Church, not apologising for it. What kind of leadership is this? People are sick to death of this handwringing about things from long ago. Dr Williams should be proud of his Christian beliefs.”

Mike Judge, spokesman for the Christian Institute think-tank, said: “It’s radical Muslims who are the biggest threat to liberty. Why apologise for things that happened hundreds of years ago? You can hardly compare what happened under the Inquisition with problems in the modern world.”

Dr Williams caused controversy earlier this year when he said aspects of Islamic sharia law had a place in our legal system.

Daily Express, 17 July 2008

See also “Archbishop of Canterbury ‘should be trying to convert Muslims’” in the Daily Telegraph.

The same paper also has “Archbishop bridges Muslim divide” by George Pitcher, who writes: “Christians who attack Dr Williams for trying to reach a mutual understanding with Muslims might dwell on how they would react if Muslims condemned their leaders for trying to engage in dialogue.”

Mosques increasingly not welcome

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Cologne mosque protestEuropeans are increasingly lashing out at the construction of mosques in their cities as terrorism fears and continued immigration feed anti-Muslim sentiment across the continent.

The latest dispute is in Switzerland, which is planning a nationwide referendum to ban minarets on mosques. This month, Italy’s interior minister vowed to close a controversial mosque in Milan.

Some analysts call the mosque conflicts the manifestation of a growing fear that Muslims aren’t assimilating, don’t accept Western values and pose a threat to security. “It’s a visible symbol of anti-Muslim feelings in Europe,” says Danièle Joly, director of the Center for Research in Ethnic Relations at the University of Warwick in England. “It’s part of an Islamophobia. Europeans feel threatened.”

The disputes reflect unease with the estimated 18 million Muslims who constitute the continent’s second-biggest religion, living amid Western Europe’s predominantly Christian population of 400 million, Joly says. The clashes also represent a turnaround from the 1980s and ’90s, when construction of large mosques was accepted and even celebrated in many cities. “I think the tide has turned,” Joly says.

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Blears justifies IslamExpo boycott

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hazel BlearsIn Hazel Blears’ speech today to a seminar organised by the right-wing think tank Policy Exchange, she outlines “the Government’s strategy for engagement with different Muslim groups”:

“As a minister dealing with this every day, I can tell you there is no easy answer to the questions of when, who and how to engage with different groups. When my predecessor Ruth Kelly became Secretary of State, she made it clear that the Government would not do business with any groups who weren’t serious about standing up to violence and upholding shared values, and that has been our approach ever since.

“Take the Islam Expo at the weekend. I was clear that because of the views of some of the organisers, and because of the nature of some of the exhibitors, this was an event that no Minister should attend. Organisers like Anas Altikriti, who believes in boycotting Holocaust Memorial Day. Or speakers like Azzam Tamimi, who has sought to justify suicide bombing. Or exhibitors like the Government of Iran.

“Not because the vast majority of Muslims at the event were not decent citizens; they were. But because the organisers were trying to influence the audience in certain directions. And by refusing to legitimise the event for these specific reasons, we would hope to isolate and expose the extremists and ensure they were not part of the event next year. Our policy is designed to change behaviour.

“Our strategy rests on an assessment of firstly whether an organisation is actively condemning, and working to tackle, violent extremism; and secondly whether they defend and uphold the shared values of pluralist democracy, both in their words and their deeds. By being clear what is acceptable and what isn’t, we aim to support the moderates and isolate the extremists.”

So Blears is opposed to any official contact with representative Muslim figures like Anas Altikriti and Azzam Tamimi. But she will happily lead a seminar organised by Policy Exchange, a body headed by the raving right-wing anti-Muslim extremist Dean Godson.

Not content with imposing a government boycott of one of the most popular and mainstream Muslim events of the year, Blears chooses to announce her justification for this disgraceful decision from the platform of a Tory think tank notorious for its hostility to British Muslims.

It’s difficult to see this as anything other than a conscious provocation directed against the Muslim community. Either that, or Blears is even more stupid than I’d imagined.

Update:  Read IslamExpo’s response to Blears here.

French minister denounces burqa

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Amara and SarkozyA Muslim member of the French government has backed a court’s decision to deny citizenship to a Moroccan woman who wears the burqa. Urban Affairs Minister Fadela Amara said she hoped last month’s ruling would “dissuade certain fanatics from imposing the burqa on their wives”.

“The burqa is a prison, it’s a straightjacket,” she told Le Parisien. “It is not a religious insignia but the insignia of a totalitarian political project that advocates inequality between the sexes and which is totally devoid of democracy.”

Ms Amara, who is also a prominent women’s rights campaigner, said she made no distinction between the veil and the burqa, describing both as symbols of oppression for women.

BBC News, 16 July 2008

See also Reuters, 15 July 2008

As one critic notes about Fadela Amara:

“She says she speaks for women, but she only speaks for women who share her vision of what women should be. Does she speak for the Muslim sister? … The average French Muslim sister just trying to live her day? Like me? I mean nothing to feminists like Fadela Amara or anyone from Ni Putes Ni Soumises simply by dint of my belief that a woman in a headscarf, or a woman in a burqa, deserves the same presumption of free will and sound mind as some braless chick with a visible thong.

“I will never abide by the belief that headscarf=the patriarchy. In fact, men telling me what to wear=patriarchy. I know I have the free will to decide what I will wear in the morning, and I use that free will. I only wish people would ‘assume’ that Muslim sisters in fact are woman enough to have free will when it comes to dressing ourselves. We’re not toddlers….

“And regardless of how I feel about niqabs or burqas, the bottom line is that this sister met the requirements and they said no based on her clothes. You can’t tell me a man would be refused nationality for his clothes. For me, the decision is anti-feminist, unacceptable and sets a bad legal precedent….

“The reasoning behind the judgement alleges that this woman can’t possibly be thinking with her own brain, which is an anti-feminist insult in itself. Fadela calls herself a feminist but what she and the rest of the people involved in this decision are really doing is reinforcing the patriarchy in keeping this mother down. Shame on her. Shame on them.”

So what is this threat Martin? Do tell us

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Martin Bright 2Martin Bright responds to Soumaya Ghannoushi. According to Mart, the UK media have generally been very fair in their coverage of Muslims, which will certainly come as news to the overwhelming majority of Muslims.

He concludes: “It is true that not all Islamists are violent. Nor should al-Qaida be put in the same category as the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian parent organisation of Hamas. There are important distinctions to be made here. But the Islamist ideology promoted by the British manifestations of the Brotherhood, such as the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, the British Muslim Initiative, the Muslim Association of Britain and IslamExpo itself brings its own dangers. These do not threaten British democracy but they do have a pernicious effect, especially on young Muslims in this country who fall under their influence. This is where the danger lies and the threat is very real.”

Of course, Bright doesn’t feel under any obligation to spell out precisely what that danger and threat might be. As Inayat Bunglawala observes in the comments:

“The Muslim Brotherhood have good and bad points but I am curious to know what you identify here as their negative influence on UK Muslims. Whenever I have spoken with their members they always seem to encourage British Muslims to play an active role in British society and also to learn more about their own faith. Please do expand on your own views.”

Answer came there none.

Update:  Over at Harry’s Place, in an attack on Demos for agreeing to participate at IslamExpo, the inimitable Nick Cohen helpfully provides an explanation of the threat posed by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is “a far right movement”, according to Cohen, “which was founded by the admirers of European fascism, which propagates the theories of Adolf Hitler, and wishes to suppress the women, murder the Jews, homosexuals, socialists and apostates and establish an inquisitorial dictatorship”. So, thanks to Nick, next time you meet a member of the British Muslim Initiative or FOSIS you’ll know what their objectives really are.

Rowan Willams welcomes A Common Word

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Rowan_WilliamsThe Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has welcomed A Common Word and provided a substantial reflection on it in a letter sent to Muslim religious leaders and scholars. The Archbishop’s letter, entitled ‘A Common Word for the Common Good‘, comes after a period of world-wide consultation within the Anglican Communion and across the Christian denominations, most notably in last month’s meeting of Church representatives and scholars in London.

Dr Williams has announced that, in collaboration with Cambridge University, he is inviting a group of Christian and Muslim leaders and scholars to a conference in October that will mark the anniversary of the publication of A Common Word. In a context of scholarly engagement with the issues the gathering will seek to consider a programme of practical steps to deepen mutual understanding, action and friendships.

In his letter Dr Williams said “We are deeply appreciative of the initiative you have taken and welcome A Common Word Between Us and You as a significant development in relations between Christians and Muslims”. He reflected on what he calls “the hospitable and friendly spirit” of the original letter, acknowledging it as a timely initiative “given the growing awareness that peace throughout the world is deeply entwined with the ability of all people of faith everywhere to live together in peace, justice, mutual respect and love.”

The Archbishop explores how the Christian understanding of love of God and love of neighbour – seen as a response to God’s love for humankind and his creation – provide the basis on which Christians and Muslims can take practical steps together for a “radical, transforming, non-violent engagement with the deepest needs of our world and our common humanity”.

Anglican Communion News Service, 15 July 2008

The Daily Telegraph reports this under the heading “Christian doctrine offensive to Muslims, says Archbishop of Canterbury”, while the Daily Mail has “Archbishop of Canterbury: ‘Christian doctrine is offensive to Muslims'”. This is based on a single phrase in the letter in which Williams refers to Muslim disagreement with the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

Predictably, this misleading right-wing spin on Williams’ letter has been taken up by the BNP.

Watch Islamophobic video rant by fascist leader Nick Griffin here.

‘Dangerous company’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Osama and Alex“This is Alex Salmond, First Minister of the devolved Scottish Executive embracing Osama Saeed, CEO of the Scottish Islamic Foundation (recent recipient of £215,000 from the Scottish executive) and SNP candidate for Glasgow Central.

“Mr Saeed is also an Islamic fundamentalist (read: EXTREMIST)…. Mr Saeed suggests that there is no reason the West should oppose the creation of a united Islamic state – the caliphate….

“It’s no surprise that Mr Saeed’s choice of political party is the SNP. What do the SNP want? To name but a few – Unilateral disarmament, pacifism (read – appeasement beyond ridicule) and the breaking of the greatest Western democracy, the only one in Europe that stood alone against Fascism, survived and won – the UK. From the mind of an extremist – it must make complete sense….

“Scotland has a First Minister that embraces a person whose very intention is to oppose Western Power.”

SNP Watch, 15 July 2008

And, disgracefully, this right-wing drivel is partially reproduced over at Labourhome, under the heading “Alex Salmond and Islamic Extremism“. As one critic points out in the comments: “this is politics of the gutter and gives our party a bad name…. It’s disgusting and I’m ashamed to see it on a Labour website”.

Nor is the “politics of the gutter” restricted to Labourhome. Over at Chris Paul’s Labour of Love blog the SIF is described as a “Salmond-funded ginger group for the Caliphate”. See also Glasgow South Labour MP Tom Harris’s blog, which approvingly quotes raving right-wing Islamophobe Dean Godson’s attack on Osama Saeed.

Update:  It has since been claimed that SNP Watch is run by one Ricky Simpson, who stood as a Labour candidate in Aberdeen in the 2007 council elections. Simpson himself has objected to our describing his attack on Osama Saeed as “right-wing drivel”, stating that he is in favour of “social democracy and redistribution”.