On Monday, the Oklahoma State Senate passed legislation that would prevent the use of religious or foreign laws in American courts.
Considered by some to be the “anti-Sharia” bill, House Bill 1060 passed the Oklahoma Senate on a vote of 40-3. An amendment to the bill was added. That amendment must be approved by the bill’s author before going to the desk of the Oklahoma governor.
The Fourth Annual International Conference on the Study of Islamophobia will be held on 19-20 April at the University of California, Berkeley. A live stream of the proceedings will be available. See here for further details of the conference.
“I am a proud Muslim-American woman, and I am tired. I am tired of being told that I am oppressed. That I have no voice. That I need to be liberated.
“I am tired, and I am speaking out for the rights of my and other fellow Muslim sisters to be able to dress and be how they wish to be.”
Laila Alawa rejects FEMEN’s claim that they are working for her liberation.
North Carolina state Rep. Michele Presnell (R-Burnsville) linked Islamic prayer to terrorism in an email sent to a constituent, the News & Observer reported Tuesday.
In an email exchange obtained by the Raleigh newspaper, Presnell was asked by a constituent if she would support an Islamic prayer being said before a state legislative meeting.
“No, I do not condone terrorism,” Presnell responded, according to the report. “We just need to start taking a stand on our religious freedom or it will be whisked away from us.”
Huffington Post, 10 April 2013
See also “GOP must repudiate NC lawmaker who compared Islamic prayer to ‘terrorism'”, CAIR press release, 10 April 2013
Rabbi Michael White and Rabbi Jerome Davidson condemn the decision to invite anti-Muslim hatemonger Pamela Geller to speak at the Great Neck Synagogue in Long Island next weekend.
They write: “We state unequivocally that Geller’s inflammatory rhetoric does not represent us or the great majority of Jews in Great Neck and on Long Island. Hate speech has no place in synagogues. Synagogues should be places for worship, positive dialogue and reasoned political debate. The right of free speech is vitally important, but Geller crosses the line from political to hate speech. In sharp contrast, Judaism teaches us to respect the traditions and values of other faiths.”
Well, so Stephen Lennon claims. For some reason, the police chose to arrest him rather than the “armed Muslims”. But then, that’s your two-tier system for you, innit?
Sheila Musaji exposes the lying propaganda of Jihad Watch and FrontPage Magazine.
Florida lawmakers are poised to pass a controversial law banning courts from using foreign law, after a split Senate committee signed off on the measure.
The bill (SB 58) would ban courts or other administrative authorities form using religious or foreign law in deciding matters related to family law, including divorce and child custody. The House approved a similar measure last year but it died on the Senate floor.
The Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee approved the bill by a 5-4 vote, with one Republican voting against it and one Democrat voting in favor, surprising opponents of the bill, who expected it to fail.
Keziah Ridgeway reports from Philadelphia where, you may recall, Daniel Pipes claims the city has been suffering from a “burqa crisis“.
Getting together in an unusual setting, Chicago Muslim women gathered inside an Evanston church to debunk stereotypes about their faith and hijab, correcting increasing misconceptions about Islam.