Category Archives: Right wing

BNP jibe at lawyer who opposed veiled judges

Posted on by Bob Pitt

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”.

Daily Telegraph, 6 June 2007

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.

Continue reading →

The Islamification of Britain (part 756)

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“The Islamification of Britain continues apace. Word reaches me of a Smile With The Prophet initiative being run by the NHS in Bradford. According to the local primary care trust: ‘Using a specially developed syllabus, mosque leaders and teachers help to spread the word about oral health, encouraging youngsters to brush their teeth daily through the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) and Islam.’

“Is there an equivalent programme tailored to the individual oral hygiene challenges faced by Anglicans, Catholics, Hindus, Sikhs or Seventh Day Adventists? … Still, anything which keeps children out of the dentist’s chair has to be welcome, though I can’t see how the oral hygiene needs of Muslim children are any different from those of another faith. Mind you, it can’t be easy brushing your teeth in a burqa.”

Richard Littlejohn in the Daily Mail, 6 June 2008

Netherlands: 65% support ban on large mosques

Posted on by Bob Pitt

According to a large survey prepared by TV program Netwerk and newspaper Nederlands Dagbald, 65% of the Dutch ‘agree’ or ‘completely agree’ that there should be a stop to the building of large mosques.

Most Dutch are concerned about the growth of Islam in the Netherlands and its influence on society.  At the same time, a majority are also concerned about the negative manner in which Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom (PVV) speak about Islam.

59% of the Dutch think that in 40 years Islam would be at least as an important aspect of the Netherlands as Christianity is today.  57% say the increase in the number of Muslims threatens Dutch culture, and 53% say it threats freedom of religion.

The concern about Islam crosses political boundaries.  56% of Labor Party voters, 65% of Socialist Party voters, 67% of Christian Union voters and 87% of Political Reformed Party (SGP) voters, support stopping the building of large mosques.

Islam in Europe, 5 June 2008

Principal reassigned over Islam presentation

Posted on by Bob Pitt

FRIENDSWOOD, Texas — A junior high school principal who allowed a group to make a presentation about Islam to students is no longer on the job. Robin Lowe “has accepted another administrative position effective immediately,” the school district said in a statement late Wednesday.

Lowe was the principal of Friendswood Junior High when the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Houston gave a presentation described as “Islam 101” to about 875 seventh- and eighth-grade students last month, the district said.

Council president Tarek Hussein said he contacted Lowe about the educational presentation after hearing from a father who said his son was physically attacked at the school because he is Muslim. Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Muslim students often get teased and called terrorists, Hussein pointed out. But community members and parents of children at the predominantly Anglo and Christian school complained about the assembly.

David Bradley, a member of the State Board of Education whose district includes Friendswood, said parents have been contacting him to express outrage about the presentation. He said an assembly about Islam was a waste of tax dollars and was not an appropriate response to an attack on a student.

“There’s a personal incident between two students and as a result of that we’re going to yank everyone out of class?” he said. “I got beat up in junior high. Did my dad go down and force all the kids to sit through sensitivity training in their P.E. class? No, that’s absurd. The coach gave us licks and sent us home. That was the end of those incidents.”

Houston Chronicle, 4 June 2008

Update:  See “R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Religious persecution, not lessons in tolerance and diversity, should spark outrage”, Houston Chronicle, 7  June 2008

And “Friendswood principal backed in Islam flap”, Houston Chronicle, 10 June 2008

Blame terrorism on multiculturalism says Torygraph

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“One reason we face our current difficulties is that the so-called progressive elements, which dominated politics and much of the media, failed for too long to understand the damage they were inflicting on our country through the concept of multiculturalism.

“In the Nineties, when many of the problems with which the Government is now grappling were taking root, not only were the extremist tenets of fundamentalist Islam rarely challenged, the multiculturalists even coined an insult – Islamophobia – to damn those who did. And no one took seriously enough the report into the 2001 riots in some northern cities, that exposed the “parallel lives” being led by different ethnic and religious communities.

“When four British Muslims perpetrated the worst act of terrorism on British soil in July 2005, the country was finally shaken from this state of denial. Now, Labour ministers – once ardent cheerleaders for multiculturalism (not least because they imagined there were votes in it) – espouse respect for the monarchy, demand that immigrants learn English and praise British history and identity.

“It has taken a long time for the Government to assess properly the nature of this threat and there are signs that ministers remain unwilling to ditch their old instincts and grasp that, in a battle for hearts and minds, it is important to emphasise the superiority of your own values.”

Daily Telegraph, 4 June 2008

‘Symbolism of hijab’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Remember this article calling for the hijab to be banned from Irish schools? And this report that Ireland’s opposition parties backed the proposal? As a contribution to the “debate” the Irish Independent has published a letter from a US reader in support of a ban: “Like it or not, the hijab is a symbol of a culture that promotes the murder of innocents and mutilation…. The culture of the hijab is against the liberal principles of Western culture…. Ireland has an opportunity to take an early stand against a culture that threatens the West with violence and aggression.”

The Islamisation of Europe (part 697)

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“In 1683, a Turkish army reached the suburbs of Vienna. The outcome trembled in the balance until Jan Sobieski of Poland arrived with his army, threw back the Ottomans and finally freed western Europe from the threat of Muslim domination, thus completing the work begun by Charles Martel at Poitiers in 732.

“Or did he? Today, there are plenty of Europeans who would say: ‘Charles Martel, Jan Sobieski, you are needed at this hour.’ There are widespread fears that Muslim immigrants, reinforced by political pressure and, ultimately, by terrorism, will succeed where Islamic armies failed and change irrevocably the character of European civilisation.”

Bruce Anderson in the Independent, 2 June 2008

Ireland: Opposition calls for school ban on hijab

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Muslim girls should not be allowed to wear a headscarf in public schools, the two main opposition parties said last night.

Labour’s Ruairi Quinn said immigrants who come to Ireland need to conform to the culture of this country. “If people want to come into a western society that is Christian and secular, they need to conform to the rules and regulations of that country,” the Labour spokesman on education and science told the Irish Independent.

His comments come amid mounting controversy over guidelines on the wearing of the hijab, commonly worn by Muslim girl in state schools.

His stance on the issue was backed by his Fine Gael counterpart Brian Hayes, who says it makes “absolute sense” that there is one uniform for everyone.

Mr Quinn said immigrants should live by Irish laws and conform to Irish norms. “Nobody is formally asking them to come here. In the interests of integration and assimilation, they should embrace our culture,” he said. He added: “Irish girls don’t wear headscarves. A manifestation of religious beliefs in such a way is unacceptable and draws attention to those involved. I believe in a public school situation they should not wear a headscarf.”

Mr Hayes said Ireland should not be going down the route of multiculturalism.

Last night, a spokesperson for Integration Minister Conor Lenihan said he had no problem with students wearing the hijab. “For those that wear the hijab, it’s an issue of modesty. It’s not so long since Irish women wore headscarves to church, so we have to respect that,” the spokesperson said.

Irish Independent, 2 June 2008

Muslim speakers at Texas school outrage parents

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Friendswood Junior HighFRIENDSWOOD — A presentation to Friendswood junior high students about Islam has ignited a furor among some parents. Parents of Friendswood Junior High School students started a letter campaign to school officials in protest of a presentation meant to combat hate and bullying.

On May 22, two Muslim women gave a 30-minute presentation about Islamic culture as part of a yearlong study at the school of respect, tolerance and culture, according to a statement from district officials.

Principal Robin Lowe had “best intentions”, said Karolyn Gephart, district spokeswoman. The guest speakers discussed Muslim culture, including topics such as food, religion, dress, beliefs and famous Muslims, Gephart said. “If you pulled a book about Islam from the library, you would find the same stuff in the book,” Gephart said. “There was no proselytizing.”

Parents, however, were not told about the presentation. By district policy, parents are supposed to be informed about the purpose and content of presentations so that they can keep their children out of the presentation if they think the material might be offensive or inappropriate. Not informing parents beforehand was a mistake that would not happen again, Gephart said.

Kim Leago, whose son is in the eighth grade at the junior high, said she’s still upset that her child was exposed to the “inappropriate” presentation. Choosing to teach about Islamic culture was the “worst choice” of any religion, Leago said. “I’m not a prejudiced person … but Muslims, from what I know of the faith, don’t want to be incorporated with Americans,” she said. “Look at what’s going on in the world right now, with the war and with 9/11.”

Dr. Ahmed Ahmed, a member of the board of directors for the Galveston Islamic Center, said there’s a common misperception that Muslims are somehow un-American. The few Muslims that have tainted the faith as terrorists have helped spread the myth that Islam is violent and extremist. “Muslims in the U.S. are Americans, not intruders,” he said. “They are not invaders; they are not outsiders. We are all Americans, and we are all working toward a better America.”

Galveston Daily News, 31 May 2008

World Net Daily for its part, in an article entitled “Islam-promoting principal defied order to protect kids”, reports that the two speakers were associated with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the most mainstream of US Muslim organisations. WND quotes a statement by an organisation called the Houston Area Pastor Council:

“The failure of the principal of Friendswood Junior High to respect simple procedures requiring parental notification for such a potentially controversial subject, to not only approve but participate personally in a religious indoctrination session led by representatives of a group with well-known links to terrorist organizations and her cavalier response when confronted, raises serious questions about her fitness to serve in that role.”

More anti-Muslim scaremongering from the Express

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Now Muslim clerics to teach our childrenMoves to allow Muslim clerics into classrooms to address pupils were condemned yesterday. The latest scheme put forward by Schools Secretary Ed Balls was greeted with derision. Critics branded the proposals by the under-fire minister unworkable and unnecessary.

The package of measures, to be published next week, will set out a proposal to invite British-born imams into schools to speak about growing violent extremism among young people.

Under the plans, the imams would teach citizenship so that pupils learn about the Koran and Islam in the context of a multicultural society. But last night the scheme was described as yet another worthless Government gimmick. Opponents said the plans would simply provide another opportunity to deliver “faith-based citizenship lessons” on Islam.

The National Union of Teachers caused an outcry in March by suggesting that Muslim clerics and other religious leaders should be sent into every school as an alternative to having specific faith schools. Head teachers and other critics warned that this could allow extremists to target pupils. Now the proposals by Mr Balls appear to take the move a step further.

Daily Express, 31 May 2008