Yes, when it comes to hysterical articles about the supposed threat posed by shariah law, the white supremacist forum Stormfront evidently finds much to admire at the self-styled voice of the “decent left”. Given the readiness of the increasingly unbalanced David T to label political activists from the Muslim communities as fascists, it’s interesting to see how much common ground he and his friends at HP have with actual fascists.
Category Archives: UK
Tory peers warn of threat of sharia law
Baroness Park of Monmouth told the House of Lords: “My concern is with the effects on civil society and community relations arising from the existence of two parallel legal systems: Sharia law with its own courts, and our own civil law, the law of the land. We are, however, tacitly accepting the formal Muslim view that Sharia itself must be regarded as the ultimate criterion of justice when measured against the law of the land….
“This situation exists because we have for some years been more concerned to respect other cultures than actively to protect the interests of citizens of this country…. my objective today is to remind us that there are aspects of Sharia law which do active harm in terms of the national interest, in particular, in the increasingly combustible area of civil society.
“When we condone the practice of allowing girls to be withdrawn from school from 12 years old onwards so that they may be sent to Pakistan to marry and thus facilitate the entry of a young husband who may be illiterate and innumerate, we are not only allowing her to be unlawfully deprived of education, when she is required by law to be educated up to the age of 16, but the country is losing a potentially skilled and valuable citizen. This is being done with the connivance of the schools on the grounds – as I was told when I visited a school in Bradford – that the council believes we must respect the culture of the Muslim community….
“Respect for the right of the Muslim communities to conduct their lives according to Sharia law should be matched by equal respect for our own Christian religion…. We should note the lack of support shown by many local authorities, and indeed by Government sometimes, to Christians of every denomination.”
Her fellow Tory, Baroness Verma, concurred: “I would be very wary of the slow creep of Sharia law into our legal system…. The noble Baroness, Lady Cox, is absolutely right to point that out. We have a twin-track system developing in this country.”
See also Daily Mail, 20 June 2008
Bushra wins!
“Discrimination in all its forms is unacceptable. The Zeitgeist is Islamophobia and given this fact we applaud young Bushra Noah’s determination to seek justice.
“A lot of nonsense has been said by people who ‘wouldn’t get their hair cut from a hairdresser who’s hair you can’t see’. Well there are a lot of bald hair dressers out there such as Trevor Sorbie and you don’t see customers fearing they are about to shave their heads.
“The attacks on Bushra are nothing other than Islamophobia unleashed against a young Muslim female trying to earn an honest living.”
Over at the increasingly demented Harry’s Place Brett Lock of OutRage! offers his entirely predictable take on the case:
“Why should a hairdressing salon carry even the risk of losing business because an irrational third party who as [sic] decided that showing hair is sinful and thus must be covered up at all times wants to work in the trade? Surely the the person making bizarre lifestyle choices based on their irrational fears and superstitions should carry the consequent risks and inconveniences – and and not expect someone else to?”
Lenin’s Tomb hails Bushra’s victory as “a boost for workers everywhere, particularly female workers who are often the target of sexist dress code policies that insist they wear a skirt and so forth. Previous challenges to such policies have been difficult to sustain, but this lays down a precedent. So, not just a victory against blatant employer Islamophobia, but also something that working people will find useful if they want to challenge their employers on discriminatory dress codes.”
‘Killing Muslims, blowing up mosques’ – Nazi’s plan for race war
A Nazi fanatic with a terrorist’s armoury in his flat was preparing to wage a race war to stop Britain becoming a multi-ethnic society, a court heard today. Martyn Gilleard, 31, was a white supremacist who idolised Adolf Hitler and urged sympathisers to “stop talking and act” or the “purity of the white race will be lost forever”.
When police raided his flat they found a terrifying arsenal of weapons, including four nail bombs hidden under his bed, bullets and an assortment of bladed weapons including swords, knives and a machete, Leeds Crown Court heard. They also discovered DIY bomb manuals, a guide to how to make your own sub-machine gun and internet instructions on “how to assassinate people and get away with it by using poison”.
Detectives found a document in his flat which was a “blueprint” for the formation of an extremist group with its own “mobile strike force”. In a notebook they found a speech aimed at racist sympathisers. He wrote: “Be under no illusions, we are at war. It’s a war we are badly losing. I am sick and tired of hearing nationalists talking of killing Muslims, blowing up mosques and fighting back only to see these acts of resistance fail. The time has come to stop the talking and start to act.”
Christian Right intervenes in Birmingham ‘no go’ area
Christians from all over the country were gathering in Birmingham today following claims that two ministers were ejected by police for preaching the word of Jesus. Followers from Christian Voice have accused West Midlands Police for turning the predominately Muslim area of Alum Rock into a no-go zone for non-Muslims.
The Carmarthen-based group was heading into Alum Rock today to distribute Christian leaflets and share the Gospel with passers-by. Stephen Green, national director of Christian Voice, said: “We are coming to preach the Gospel and to show West Midlands Police that they cannot create a Muslim ghetto for the Gospel.”
A spokeswoman said: “West Midlands Police would like to reiterate its reassurance to all communities that there are not any ‘no go’ areas in the West Midlands Police area and we will defend the rights of all individuals’ lawful rights to freedom of expression and religion.”
Faith leaders also stood side by side to deny that Alum Rock had become a no-go area for non-Muslims. Members of the Church of England, Catholic and Islamic faiths issued a message of solidarity to say a lot of work had been done to bring the communities together. Diane Dawson, a volunteer at Our Lady of the Rosary and St Therese Church, said: “We live in a community of different beliefs.”
Atheism as a cover for racism
“I don’t much care if people think I’m thick because I believe in God. But what’s really nasty here – and it’s a part of a growing phenomenon – is the way religion is being used as a subtle code for race.
“Belief in God is alive and well in Africa and in the Middle East and declining in western Europe. Writing about the intelligence of religious believers has, for some, become a roundabout way of commenting on the intelligence of those with darker skins whilst seeking to avoid the charge of racism. Religion is being used with a nod and a wink, cover for some rather dodgy and dangerous politics.
“The BNP, for example, has started using religion as a category of racial designation so as to deflect charges of racism. For instance, they seek to defend something called ‘Christian Britain’. But what they really mean is ‘no Muslims’ – and that really means ‘no Asians’. The fact that these categories are not in any way equivalent does not detract from the message the BNP is sending by using them in the way they do….
“The debate between believers and non-believers – a debate that gets terribly hot on this site sometimes – is not made any more civil by the addition of this unpleasant inflection. Which is why believers and unbelievers (even those who think people like me are idiotic enough to have given their life to the great flying spaghetti monster) ought to unite against this way of thinking about our differences. ”
Giles Fraser at Comment is Free, 12 June 2008
Losing the hearts, upsetting the minds: Brown’s 42-day detention
“Since terrorist threats today are presumed to be Islamic, this new distressful piece of legislation will increase the fear of Muslims, increase injustice and discrimination against Muslims, produce alienation among the British Muslim communities, but I suppose will not save one single life from a recondite terrorist attack. ”
Murad Qureshi on the Brian Donegan trial
“Last week I was at Southwark Crown Court to observe the harrowing trial of Brian Donegan who last August launched a vicious unprovoked attack on the Imam of Regent’s Park mosque, Sheikh Mohammed El-Salamouni. Sheikh El-Salamouni was left lying on the floor of the mosque with horrific injuries and is now blind for life. In its symbolism to those in the Muslim community, the attack would be comparable for Roman Catholics to an attack on an archbishop at Westminster Cathedral. To add to the local community’s distress, the fall-out from the attack is that Imams from Al-Azhar University who have provided us with the Imams at Regent’s Park for many years could now leave London if the Egyptian authorities do not feel they will be adequately protected in London.
“It is of scant consolation to Sheikh El-Salamouni, but Brian Donegan will be imprisoned indefinitely in a secure hospital after he was declared insane by the court. His punishment and the fact he will spend the rest of life behind bars needs needs to be properly explained to the local community and users of the mosque, some of whom are concerned that the lack of a traditional ‘guilty’ verdict means Mr Donegan has somehow got off lightly. This of course is not the case. It would take the intervention of the Home Secretary for Mr Donegan’s sentence ever to be revisited – something I do not envisage happening and something I will do everything in my gift to prevent.
“I have written to Jacqui Smith the present Home Secretary to press home this fact and to emphasise to her that the likes of Mr Donegan must not be allowed to harm our excellent record of harmonious community relations here in London.”
The Qureshi Report, 11 June 2008
It is worth examining the context to the attack on the sheikh.
On 8 August the West Midlands Police and the Crown Prosecution Service accused the makers of the Channel 4 documentary “Undercover Mosque” of distorting evidence in order to portray UK mosques as centres of extremism. One of the mosques so portrayed was the London Central Mosque at Regent’s Park.
On 9 August the right-wing press denounced the police and CPS and weighed in behind “Undercover Mosque”. An angry editorial in the Sun declared that the programme was “in tune with authoritative surveys showing how young Muslims are being persuaded by imams and preachers to sympathise with terrorists” and called on the police to “crack down on the fanatics who really are trying to stir up murderous feelings by turning gullible young Muslims into killing machines”.
On 10 August Brian Donegan launched his vicious attack on Sheikh Salamouni.
‘Britain’s virtual caliphate takes shape’
“Extremist Muslims are making ingenious use of the internet to create a ‘virtual caliphate’ in Britain, according to a scary report by a former Al-Jazeera journalist published today. The report – produced by the Centre for Social Cohesion, a dynamic new think tank – demonstrates a crucial paradox: that the UK’s most barbaric medieval religious creed [sic] is also its most modern, in terms of its understanding of technology.”
Damian Thompson at Holy Smoke, 11 June 2008
Muslim parents to blame for children turning to extremism
Dr Farhan Nizami CBE, a key adviser on Islam to the Prince of Wales, accused British Muslims of failing to make sure their children learn to speak English or supporting them in their education. He said this leaves them alienated from mainstream society and exposed to being groomed by radical Islamic groups.
It is the first time Dr Nizami, the director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, which has links with Oxford University, has spoken out about the failure of Muslims to integrate with British society. His comments come just weeks after the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, warned that radical Islam is filling the “moral vacuum” created by the decline of Christian values in Britain. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Dr Nizami said Muslims would never play a full role in British society until they improved their education, language and aspirations.
Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “There is really no question regarding the central importance of parents taking an active interest in the better education of their children. But we need to be cautious of putting too much blame on parents for the actions of their children. As we have seen in the cases of the 7/7 bombers and terrorists who have been convicted since then, many of them were extremely adept at deceiving their closest family relatives about their intentions.”
See Azad Ali’s comments at Between the Lines, 11 June 2008