Doctors who breach patient confidentiality must be dealt with, but Patricia Hewitt was wrong to single out Muslim GPs in this area, Rajnaara Akhtar argues.
Islamophobia: a call to confronting a creeping disease
Louay Safi on the rise of Islamophobia in the US.
And you thought there couldn’t be anyone worse than Ruth Kelly? Think again
John Reid has won a cabinet battle to become Britain’s “security supremo” under a plan for the Home Office to co-ordinate the fight against terrorism. A plan to split the Home Office into two separate security and justice departments is expected to be given the go-ahead by the Cabinet today.
Under the biggest changes to the Home Office in its 225-year history, the Home Secretary will take charge of counter-terrorism. Crucially, he will be responsible for all security threats to the UK, and the “contest” strategy against al-Qa’ida, now under the Cabinet Office.
The Home Office will also take charge of “winning the hearts and minds” of Muslims in Britain, currently shared with the Foreign Office and the Department of Communities and Local Government.
Belfast Telegraph, 29 March 2007
See also Financial Times, 29 March 2007
Stop bigots, voters urged
Voters have been urged by religious leaders to use the ballot box to help tackle racism. Representatives from the Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Jewish communities signed a declaration asking Greater Manchester people to reject all political parties that advocate racism in May’s local elections. The document was signed at Trinity United Church in Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester, which is used as drop-in centre for refugees and asylum seekers.
The statement reads: “We stand for a society of mutual respect and care where the hearts of all are heard and met through good neighbourliness at every level and in every circumstance. In particular, we regret that the British National Party now has 49 seats on local authorities in this country. Those who advocate racist policies cannot do so in the name of any of our faith communities.”
The community leaders were inspired by the similarities of their different faiths when they devised the statement. Dr Muhammad Junejo, Muslim representative for Greater Manchester, said: “We meet fairly regularly to discuss the important issues affecting our communities. One thing our religions all have in common is the commandment to love your neighbour. Racism is strongly at odds with this idea and we need to stand against it.”
Tory MP urges Muslims to fly Union flag
A Yorkshire MP has called on Muslims in Britain to fly the Union Jack from mosques as a show of national unity.
Shipley’s Conservative MP Philip Davies submitted an early day motion which says that it would “show everyone that those in the Muslim community are very keen to integrate and positively contribute to good community relationships in the UK”.
However leading Muslim figures in Yorkshire accused Mr Davies of singling out their community, described his comments as offensive and likely to do more harm than good. Rashid Awan, president of the Pakistani Society of West Yorkshire said: “To identify Muslims as needing to do this will aggravate the situation.” Shahid Malik, the Muslim Labour MP for Dewsbury said: “What this country need is not more flags flying above mosques but less irresponsible politicians.”
Davies, you may remember, figured in the entirely spurious Sun report about “Muslim yobs” wrecking the intended home of soldiers who had served in Afghanistan. He was quoted as saying: “This is outrageous. If there’s anybody who should fuck off it’s the Muslims who are doing this kind of thing.” Though the story was soon revealed to be false, Davies refused to issue a public apology for his provocative remarks. If we were looking for advice on how to improve community relations, Philip Davies MP is the last person we’d turn to.
Mind you, Davies does have his admirers.
Bertinotti removes anti-Muslim painting
Over at Jihad Watch, Robert Spencer posts an indignant report that “the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, the communist Fausto Bertinotti, has had removed a painting showing a scene from the Battle of Lepanto from the hall in which he receives visitors to this lower house of parliament…. Bertinotti says it is a gesture of peace and dialogue, the painting’s title being ‘Naval battle between Christians and barbarians’, but an anonymous insider reveals it was done to avoid offending Muslims”.
And good for comrade Bertinotti, we say. Voting against the funding of Italian troops in Afghanistan would have been even better, though.
Victory for reactionary racism: Quebec election
“The Quebec election was characterized by a great deal of discontent with the traditional establishment parties, the PQ and the Liberals. The remarkable thing about this election was that this discontent was successfully shifted from the policies that ostensibly pissed people off in the first place, onto to Muslims living in Quebec. Turning anger at unrelated issues into anger at immigrants is hardly a new political technique, but watching it happen here in Montreal is pretty astounding.”
The Dominion weblog, 28 March 2007
See also “Quebec state yields to right-wing provocation on eve of provincial election”, World Socialist Web Site, 26 March 2007
We can stop the mega-mosque, say fascists
“The Red-Islamic Alliance is looking for its biggest single advance so far with London’s anti-English Mayor Ken Livingstone pushing hard for the £100 million mega-mosque which one of Britain and Pakistan’s most hardline Islamic sects wants to build next to the Olympic stadium in East London…. The London Evening Standard is at present running an opinion poll on whether or not the Super Mosque should be built…. Please go to the Standard website and add your own ‘No’ vote. And please forward this email on to everyone in your address book.”
BNP news article, 27 March 2007
And we urge our supporters to do the same and vote ‘yes’. The Evening Standard poll is here.
Woolas calls for crackdown on ‘Islamic anti-semitism’ on campuses
Race hate laws should be used to crack down on extremist groups whose activities are prompting a rise in anti-Semitism at Britain’s universities, vice-chancellors are to be warned by ministers today.
Ministers are particularly concerned about the infiltration of campuses by Islamic extremist groups who have stirred up hatred against Israel. Vice-chancellors will be warned they must not ignore anti-Jewish activity on campuses and must prevent prejudiced lecturers, guest speakers and extremist political organisations stirring up hatred of Israel.
Phil Woolas, the communities minister, who will announce the Government’s measures, said the findings of the all-party parliamentary report on anti-Semitism were “very worrying”, adding: “Our response will be far tougher than anticipated. We are very worried about Islamic anti-Semitism on campuses. In this country we tend to see it as something of the past. It is not.”
The report by the all-party anti-Semitism group said that Jewish students felt “isolated and unsupported,” and that pro-Palestine debates were being used as a “vehicle for anti-Jewish language”.
Of course, cracking down on genuine racism is admirable, but defining anti-semitism according to criteria determined by the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism (pdf of their report here), who characterise MPACUK as an “extremist” group based on evidence provided by the likes of Lorna Fitzsimons and the Community Security Trust, is something else entirely.
And, if Woolas is really interested in combating racism, how about a crackdown on the appalling Islamophobia promoted by a section of the Jewish community? The sort of bigotry demonstrated by Melanie Phillips, for example, in mainstream publications like the Daily Mail and Jewish Chronicle has no parallel within the Muslim community outside of the tiniest and most sectarian Islamist groups.
For critical responses to the All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry on this site, see here and here.
Cordoba Cathedral ban continues
CORDOBA, SPAIN – Mansur Escudero knew the answer before he asked. Approaching the guard at Cordoba’s majestic once-a-mosque, now-a-cathedral, Escudero posed the question: May I say Muslim prayers inside? The slightly startled Spanish guard gave an emphatic no. This is a Catholic church, he said, and as such it is absolutely prohibited to pray in any other faith. Escudero persisted, but the guard was firm. This is a cathedral, the guard repeated, growing more agitated: “A CA-THO-LIC CHURCH.”