Muslims ‘boycott’ Glasgow airport

Posted on by Eddie Truman

Muslim business travellers are boycotting Glasgow airport, according to a leading Scottish figure. Bashir Mann, from the Muslim Council of Great Britan, complained of heavy-handed and humiliating searches by anti-terrorist police officers.

Strathclyde Police said it was looking at training to raise awareness of cultural and religious sensitivities. Mr Mann said: “I’d never experienced anything like that before in Scotland. This was a show of sheer discrimination, victimisation of certain sections of the community in Scotland.”

BBC News, 23 July 2006

Newt Gingrich on the threat to Western civilisation

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Newt Gingrich“The nature of the threat – with Iran at the epicenter – is at its core ideological. The ideological wing of Islam that is irreconcilable to modern civilization. And while not operationally connected, the events of just the last seven weeks throughout the world share the common strategic goal of defeating the West and its values. It could be accurately described as a third world war. Just place these events on a map and a clear picture emerges.

“An Iran-Syrian-Hizbullah-Hamas terrorist alliance is waging war against Israel; seven bombings in Mumbai, India, killed more than 200 people; North Korea, launched seven missiles, including an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the West coast of the continental United States; seven Americans pledging allegiance to al-Qaida on video tape; a plot to bomb New York City subways and tunnels; 18 Canadians arrested with twice the explosive force used in the Oklahoma City bombing. Now add all the cities where previous events have occurred and a global campaign of terror is no longer deniable. The free world must stand up to the barbarism or be defeated by it.”

Comment is Free, 20 July 2006

And since when has the government of North Korea found its inspiration in the “ideological wing of Islam”?

Steven Emerson on US Muslims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Steven Emerson“Tonight, hundreds, if not thousands, of Muslims will convene in American arenas, conventions halls, and mosques. Steven Emerson, an internationally recognized expert on terrorism who will speak in Jackson Hole on July 27, has witnessed such meetings and has infiltrated these groups.

“He says these gatherings feature a speaker who will call for the worldwide extermination of Jews and Christians. The audience will respond with blood-curdling shouts of ‘Allah Akbar’ and ‘Destroy the West’, their fists and weapons raised high. Available will be instructional videos for sale on the proper handling of self-propelled grenades. Flyers will advertise boot camps in Turkey, Syria and Afghanistan. A coloring book entitled ‘How to Kill the Infidel’ will be available for kids.”

Self-styled “security expert” Steven Emerson offers the citizens of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, his insights into the life of the US Muslim community.

Planet Jackson Hole, 19 July 2006

Protest niqab ban in Norway

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Last month, the Directorate for Primary and Secondary Education of Norway gave permission for the niqab (which covers the whole face except the eyes) to be banned in schools. This law denies Muslim girls many fundamental rights including the freedom to practice one?s religion and the right to education.

Erling Lae, the leader of Oslo City Council, has decided to remove the veil in schools because it causes problems for teachers who cannot see their students’ faces. The ruling will now make it possible for the niqab to be banned from schools in other municipalities in Norway. The Oslo city councillor for schools and education has said that the niqab makes communication impossible between teachers and students and between students as well.

However, under Article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights, everyone has the right to freedom of religion unless it is in the interest of public safety and health. It is clear that wearing the niqab in classrooms does not pose any threats to other students and teachers. Furthermore, in some schools of thought within Islam, wearing a niqab is obligatory and so a ban is clearly an infringement on religious freedom.

France, and parts of Germany and Belgium have already prohibited the wearing of the headscarf in schools and unless effective action is taken, the ban will spread throughout the whole of Europe.

Please contact your political representative, the Foreign Minister of your country and the Norwegian Embassy in your respective countries to condemn the law.

IHRC alert, 19 July 2006

BNP backs Bright

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Predictably, the fascists are full of admiration for Bright’s Channel 4 documentary, Who Speaks for Muslims?, which of course fitted in neatly with their own propaganda about the threat posed by mainstream Muslim organisations in Britain: “Martin Bright of the New Statesman illustrated how the MCB which purports to be a ‘moderate’ organisation actually represents the most extreme and militant Islamic fundamentalists with links to the Jamaat al Islami [sic] and the Muslim Brotherhood which is itself linked to terror groups and has defended them.”

BNP news article, 18 July 2006

Bodi bashes Bright

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Faisal Bodi trashes Martin Bright’s recent Channel 4 documentary. He points out that Bright falsely attributes to democratic reformist Islamist organisations like the Muslim Brotherhood “a position at the beginning of a continuum of Islamist terror”.

Guardian, 18 July 2006

Over at the National Secular Society’s website, a link to Bodi’s article has been posted under the heading “We must listen to the murderous Islamic militants”. And there are still people who deny that the NSS is Islamophobic!

For further informed criticism of Bright, see Indigo Jo Blogs, 16 July 2006

Media blamed over Islam’s image

Posted on by Bob Pitt

UK Muslims blame Islamophobia on the portrayal of their religion in the media, a survey has revealed.

The research found that 40% of Muslims blamed anti-Islamic feelings on the media, while 74% of non-Muslims blamed Islamophobia on the 9/11 bombings.

The internet survey of 1,360 people was carried out by Global Market Insite, Muslim Voice UK, Queens University in Belfast and the University of Liverpool.

The report by Shaista Gohir, from online forum Muslim Voice UK, stated: “The Muslim-West relations have become increasingly strained due to a string of events such as the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Afghanistan war in 2002, the Iraq war, the London bombings in 2005 and the Danish cartoon row.

“In this current climate, it is essential to gauge Muslim and non-Muslim attitudes with a view to resolving differences.”

The research found that both sides agree that Muslims and non-Muslims “don’t understand each other” but have different concerns about the cause of the culture clash.

She sets out recommendations including action by the Muslim community and police; breaking down barriers to integration and misunderstandings; tackling discrimination and Islamophobia; measures to deal with extremism; reviewing foreign policy; protecting human rights and more responsible reporting by the media.

She said: “It was striking that Muslims feel more strongly about international issues than say, their treatment by police or discrimination in the UK.

“It also appears that Islamophobia, Western foreign policy and human rights abuses of Muslims are contributing substantially to the alienation of UK Muslims.

“On the other hand, non-Muslims are concerned about extremism, the lack of integration, Muslims not being proud to be British and the lack of tolerance by Muslims. However, the biggest threat to good Muslim and non-Muslim community relations is the misinformation on Islam in the media.”

Press Association, 18 July 2006

‘Terror link group to build London’s biggest mosque’, Gilligan reveals

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Terror link group to build London’s biggest mosque

By Andrew Gilligan

Evening Standard, 17 July 2006

PLANS for a giant “Islamic village” next to the London Olympic site, including Europe’s largest mosque, have moved a major step closer after Ken Livingstone’s London Development Agency and Newham council said they were “very much in favour” of the scheme.

The group behind the massive project is the Tablighi Jamaat movement, which has been accused by the FBI of being a recruiting ground for al Qaeda. Two of the London bombers are believed to have attended another mosque run by the organisation. Tablighi Jamaat itself says it is apolitical.

According to the website of the architects, Mangera Yvars, the Abbey Mills Islamic Centre will occupy 50,000 square metres of the lower Lea Valley at West Ham.

The first phase of the mosque alone will accommodate 10,000 worshippers, with further expansion later, said Abdul Kalik, project director for Tablighi Jamaat. “The original plan was for 40,000, but we need to be realistic,” he said. “If the requirement increases, we’ll increase the figure.”

Ultimately, it is envisaged that the mosque and surrounding buildings could accommodate as many as 70,000 visitors, only 10,000 fewer than the capacity of the Olympic stadium next door. The total project cost is put at £100 million, which will be funded by donations.

The mosque, intended as a new “Islamic landmark” in Britain, will be prominently visible from the Olympic site and to many travellers arriving in London by air. It will not be a traditional structure with domes and minarets, but a long, undulating building borrowing ideas from “nomadic structures and tented cities”. It will be illuminated at night by millions of translucent tiles and surrounded by an “Islamic garden, transposed on to modern-day London”, according to the architects.

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‘Fury over Halal Christmas dinner’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Fury Over Christmas DinnerParents expressed outrage last night over a school’s plans to serve pupils a Muslim Christmas dinner.

The headteacher announced that she intended to replace the children’s traditional turkey meal with halal chicken. She explained that eating poultry which had been slaughtered in the Muslim way would create an “integrated Christmas”.

But furious parents accused the school of undermining the Christian faith. They were backed by Labour MP Denis MacShane who demanded to know why the children were not being offered a choice.

After Mr MacShane’s intervention, Jan Charters, head of Oakwood School in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, backed down and youngsters will now be offered a choice of halal chicken or a traditional turkey dinner, costing £1.75.

Nick Seaton, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “Headteachers and school governors should not make this sort of mistake in the first place. There are a lot of these silly people around who undermine British culture.”

Daily Express, 18 November 2006

OutRage! leader backs Israel’s assault on Lebanon

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Brett LockBrett Lock of OutRage! applauds the fact that “… the governments of the US and the UK haven’t been hoodwinked by those pushing the ‘Israel is a Terrorist State’ bullshit. Hezbollah attacked Israel, Israel responded. The Lebanese government admits it’s impotent to deal with Hezbollah, so Israel is. It’s really as simple as that. Those peddling the meme of the day ‘collective punishment’ are only able to do so because they have long internalised their own infantilising of Middle Eastern Muslims.”

Lock’s position is that Israel should not simply punish Hezbollah – “what’s the point of punishing those who never learn” – but should completely destroy it.

Harry’s Place, 17 July 2006