Category Archives: State Oppression

Burka ban proposal splits Danish government

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The governing party has rejected a proposal from its coalition partner, the Conservative Party, to ban people from covering their face with clothing such as burkas and niqabs.

“We do not want to see burkas in Denmark,” said Naser Khader, the integration spokesman for the Conservatives. Khader, who immigrated to Denmark from Syria and who helped established the Modern Muslims group, said the burka symbolised the Taleban and oppression of women. It had nothing do to with Islam. “The modern burka was instituted by the Taleban when it came to power. I see it as a symbol of the Taleban,” he said. Khader said the burka was “un-Danish” and should be completely banned in this country.

The Conservatives’ proposal received the support of the Danish People’s Party, a key government ally, and the opposition Social Democrats. But the party’s government ally, the prime minister’s Liberal Party, said legislating against certain types of clothing was a step too far.

Islamic Faith Society spokesman Imran Shah said the ban was unnecessary as only three or four women in Denmark wore the burka, while 30-40 women wore the niqab.

Copenhagen Post, 17 August 2009

Flying while Muslim – Bollywood actor detained at US airport

Posted on by Bob Pitt

My Name is KhanA case of life imitating art has left American diplomats scrambling to soothe relations with Bollywood’s leading film star after he was detained as he entered the United States because, he said, of his Muslim surname.

Shah Rukh Khan was held at Liberty international airport in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday. He said that he was questioned for two hours by an official who apparently had no idea that he was grilling one of the world’s most famous men.

The actor, known as King Khan to hundreds of millions of fans across the sub-continent, told reporters: “I was really hassled at the American airport because my name is Khan. While all around people from India and Pakistan were vouching for me, these guys just wouldn’t let me through.”

Mr Khan’s eagerly awaited next film, My Name is Khan, is about an innocent Muslim’s experiences of being mistakenly identified as a terrorist in the United States in the wake of 9/11.

The suggestion that the real Mr Khan, who was named one of the world’s 50 most influential men by Newsweek magazine this year, fell victim to the same kind of racial profiling depicted in the film, has provoked outrage in India. A headline in The Times of India said: “My name is Khan? Too bad. SRK feels the heat of American paranoia.”

Times, 17 August 2009

French minister urges burka ban

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A ban on the wearing of the burka in France would help stem the spread of the “cancer” of radical Islam, one of its female Muslim ministers has said.

Urban Regeneration Minister Fadela Amara told the Financial Times that a veil covering everything but the eyes represented “the oppression of women”. Ms Amara said she was “in favour of the burka not existing in my country”.

The comments come as French MPs hold hearings on whether to ban the garment, which covers the body from head to toe.

BBC News, 15 August 2009

Swiss move to ban minarets as ‘symbols of Islamic power’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

SVP advertThe normally sleepy Swiss country town of Langenthal has become the focus of a virulent right-wing campaign to ban minarets from all mosques in the Alpine republic on the grounds that they symbolise ideological opposition to the country’s constitution.

Switzerland’s “stop minaret” movement is backed by the influential ultra-conservative Swiss People’s Party (SVP), which was re-elected in 2007 with its largest ever share of the vote after mounting an anti-foreigner campaign that was denounced by the United Nations as racist.

Ulrich Schüler, an SVP parliamentarian and leading member of the anti-minaret movement, says the edifices are political rather than religious. “They are symbols of a desire for power, of an Islam which wants to establish a legal and social order fundamentally contrary to the liberties guaranteed in our constitution,” he said.

Thomas Rufener, the town’s mayor, said about eight per cent of Langenthal’s residents were Muslims. “All the main parties have given their approval for the mosque,” he said. The regional canton of Bern has given approval in addition for the construction of a domed mosque. That will stand alongside the planned minaret which will be little more than 30 feet high.

An anti-minaret campaign has now lodged a formal complaint with the canton, claiming that the planned mosque amounts to an “ideological intrusion”. Daniel Zigg, a campaign spokesman, said the building would attract more than 100 Muslim believers a day during the Ramadan fast because it was the only one of its kind in the canton.

The anti-minaret campaigners are hoping to force Bern to rescind its approval for the minaret and score an important victory in the run-up to the November referendum. “There may be different laws governing this kind of thing in certain part of Paris or Berlin, but we don’t want them in Switzerland,” Mr Schüler said.

Two years ago his party fought a general election with famously xenophobic campaign posters depicting a flock of white sheep kicking a black sheep out of Switzerland.

Independent, 14 August 2009

Prevent scheme is alienating Muslim communities and should be scrapped

Posted on by Bob Pitt

NLGN Stronger TogetherThe Government’s flagship scheme on tackling extremism is alienating Muslim communities and should be scrapped according to a new report. The New Local Government Network (NLGN) think tank is calling for the £45million scheme to focus on tackling all extremism – including far-right extremists – rather than just focusing on Islamic extremism.

The Government set up the Prevent scheme in 2006 to help local councils to tackle violent extremism at a local level. Currently 94 local authorities receive funding from the scheme. NLGN’s independent report argues that whilst the scheme has helped in some areas, overall it risks alienating some local communities and particularly Muslim communities.

The report calls for the Government to allocate resources to tackle all extremist ideologies, arguing that the recent increase in far-right extremism is as much of as a challenge for local communities as Islamic extremism. In July this year Scotland Yard warned that far-right extremists are planning a “spectacular” terrorist attack in Britain to try to stoke racial tensions and that more resources need to be targeted to tackle this form of extremism.

NLGN press release, 10 August 2009

See also Bradford Telegraph & Argus, 10 August 2009

Update:  Over at Harry’s Place the inimitable David T urges the government to broaden the definition of extremism even further, in order to combat organisations like the Socialist Workers Party and Socialist Action! Harry’s Place itself, that haven for anti-Muslim bigots and Islamophobic witch-hunters, is of course an instrument for marginalising extremists and promoting harmonious relations between the UK’s diverse communities.

‘We’ll ease up on Muslim fanatics’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Labour slammed the brakes on its war against violent extremism yesterday – amid fears it had upset Muslim voters. Millions spent preventing Asian kids becoming terrorists will now be used to tackle right-wing racists in WHITE areas. Community cohesion minister Shahid Malik admitted he was softening his stance because Muslims felt stigmatised.

More than £45million a year has been spent on measures to prevent Al-Qaeda recruiting young Muslims in the UK. It included action to break up Islamic ghettos and stop university hate preachers.

Mr Malik, the first British-born Muslim MP, yesterday unveiled plans to broaden the scope of the campaign. He announced: “We shall be putting a renewed focus on resisting right-wing racist extremism. We cannot dismiss or underestimate the threat.”

Mr Malik told Sky News: “You speak to any Muslim in this country and they are as opposed as you and I are to extremism and terrorism. The frustration is they are constantly linked with terrorism as a community as a whole.”

His action contrasts with the tough stance of ex-minister Hazel Blears. She broke links with Muslim groups that failed to denounce extremists. Her adviser Paul Richards said: “The good work by Hazel is being undone in the name of political correctness.”

Former shadow home secretary David Davis said: “This has been watered down for purely political reasons. Labour has always seen Muslim voters as its own property.”

Sun, 10 August 2009

The Daily Mail, for its part, reports Shahid Malik’s interview under the headline “Labour ‘weakens’ fight against Muslim extremism”.

The Daily Express goes with “£45 million war against extremism is ‘soft on Muslim youths'”. The headline is based on a comment by Paul Richards: “There is a real danger that if ministers relax the focus on Muslim youth, then it dilutes efforts to tackle terrorism.”

Richards goes on to warn that there is “also now a chance that ministers could invite the Muslim Council of Britain back into Whitehall after relations were frozen with the organisation earlier this year”.

See also the Daily Telegraph, 10 August 2009

Update:  See the NLGN’s new report Stronger Together: A new approach to preventing violent extremism, which underpins the change of emphasis by DCLG.

And the interview with John Denham here.

And Inayat Bunglawala’s comments here.

And MCB press release here.

Eastern Eye interviews John Denham

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Phrases that ‘label’ Muslims hurt fight against extremism

By Aditi Khanna

Eastern Eye, 7 August 2009

The government is to undertake a major re-labelling drive to redefine its relationship with Muslim communities.

The reason behind the plan is because phrases like “Preventing Violent Extremism” as part of its anti-terror strategy seem to be alienating the very groups it plans to work with, according to communities secretary John Denham.

The newly-appointed minister for communities and local government is taking a personal interest in matters concerning race equality and cohesion. He said his key focus would be on a clear policy shift away from defining the government’s relationship with Muslims entirely around tackling extremism.

Denham told Eastern Eye: “I am very concerned at the extent to which the relationship between the government and Muslim communities is defined by the issue of international terrorism and extremism.

“Muslims want to engage on a range of wider issues and while we are committed to that, it may not always come across as such. They are communities of high aspirations, and need to feel that we consider issues of social mobility and access to professions as absolutely crucial.

“It has been brought to our attention that some of the labelling around government policy may be working as a disincentive. Some local authorities have already dropped the phrase ‘pre- venting violent extremism’ because they feel it identifies them as part of the problem.

“We want the Muslim community to play a positive role. If labelling is preventing them from participating in our efforts, then it defeats the entire purpose.”

A new, revised guidance around preventing extremism is being drawn up and will be re-launched in the coming months.

The communities and local government department is also working on a document aimed at addressing the rise in “white racist extremism”.

Denham added: “We have had a formal police warning recently about the threat of terror attacks from extremist far-right groups. We are determined to have a consistent approach towards extremism wherever it exists.

“There is not just one type of extremism that raises concerns. The recent European elections say more about voter abstention than support for far-right groups like the BNP.

“But a major push in tackling far-right extremism is high on our agenda. We will make sure unfairness, whether real or perceived, is tackled.”

At least 100 council wards in England will be identified for the scheme. Measures include meetings for residents to express concerns about immigration and ensuring councils are transparent about housing allocation.

The initiative comes after the British National Party won two seats at the European Parliament elections for the first time in June.

More Tory hysteria over HT

Posted on by Bob Pitt

HizbFurious residents are demanding to know why a Muslim extremist organisation they say is “peddling divisive hatred” was allowed to hold a conference for 2,000 people in London’s East End.

They contacted Tower Hamlets councillors about Hizb ut-Tahrir taking over Stepney’s Troxy theatre for the conference last Sunday (July 26), with police being deployed outside.

“It is extremely dangerous that this organisation is coming to the East End,” council Tory Opposition deputy leader Tim Archer told the East London Advertiser. “Hizb ut-Tahrir is known for peddling hatred and violence that can be divisive in the community.”

East London Advertiser, 31 July 2009

In reality, Hizb ut-Tahrir is a peaceful if highly sectarian organisation that poses no threat whatsoever to the people of East London. But what else can you expect from the Tories, given that David Cameron is on record as calling for HT to be made illegal?

Needless to say, Cameron isn’t calling for a ban on the far-right British National Party, even though no HT members have been convicted of the sort of violent crimes that BNP members have. Clearly the Tories apply different standards to white fascists than they do to brown Islamists.

Only 367 Muslim women in France wear full veil – report

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Only 367 women in France wear Islamic veils that cover their faces and bodies, a newspaper reported on Wednesday, undermining the position of politicians who are pushing for a ban on the garments.

A panel of legislators is studying the issue of whether the number of women wearing such veils is on the rise and why. The panel is expected to say in coming months whether it backs a ban on the veils in public places, as advocated by some politicians.

The influential newspaper Le Monde said that in light of the tiny number of women concerned, the idea of a ban should be dropped. “Do we need to legislate for fewer than 400 people, legislate for an exception? … Given the risks, including the stigmatisation of Islam … the answer is no,” it said in an editorial.

The intelligence reports cited by Le Monde suggest that the reality of women who cover their faces in France, and why, is quite different from the description given by politicians.

The reports say most women who wear full veils are under 30 and do so to make a political point. Outraged by what they see as widespread anti-Muslim sentiment, they want to defy society and, in some cases, their own relatives.

French converts to Islam account for around a quarter of wearers, the newspaper said, quoting the reports.

Reuters, 29 July 2009

Judge clears way for lawsuit by 6 imams arrested at Minneapolis airport

Posted on by Bob Pitt

In a strongly worded ruling, a federal judge on Friday cleared the way for a lawsuit by six Muslim men who claim they were falsely arrested on a US Airways jet in Minneapolis three years ago to move forward.

“The right not to be arrested in the absence of probable cause is clearly established and, based on the allegations … no reasonable officer could have believed that the arrest of the Plaintiffs was proper,” U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery ruled Friday.

The case of “the flying imams” has sparked ongoing debate about the power of law enforcement to override personal rights in the name of security.

The imams were arrested in November 2006 as they were returning home from the North American Conference of Imams. A passenger had passed a note to a flight attendant noting what he considered suspicious activity.

FBI Special Agent Michael Cannizzaro and airport police officers had argued that the arrest and removal of the imams was valid because there were reasons to be suspicious of a crime. They argued that a law passed by Congress to protect people who report suspicious activity from being sued also extends to them.

But Montgomery’s opinion and order stated that they were bound by longstanding rules requiring probable cause before arresting someone.

Being of Middle Eastern descent, praying aloud before their flight and asking for seat belt extenders did not constitute reasonable suspicion to arrest the Muslim spiritual leaders, Montgomery ruled. The officers are not immune to being held accountable for their actions, she said. She did dismiss a false arrest claim against Cannizzaro.

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