“A girl was unlawfully excluded from school for wearing a traditional Muslim gown, Appeal Court judges have ruled. Lord Justice Brooke said Denbigh High School in Luton, Beds, denied Shabina Begum, 16 – now at another school – the right to manifest her religion.”
What if all Muslims weren’t terrorists?
“Each time there is an atrocity or outrage, Muslims are expected to apologise as if each and every one is somehow complicit. Given this it is not surprising that Muslims are lumped together in the public consciousness with illegal immigrants and asylum seekers to create one blurry unwelcome mass of people whose values are antithetical to mainstream liberal democracy. What I find most curious is that it is only Islam which tends to be criticised and condemned for being outdated and incompatible with modern society.”
Sarfraz Manzoor in the Guardian, 2 March 2005
Statement from Yasmin Qureshi on the school dress ruling
Commenting on the ruling by the Court of Appeal over the right of a Muslim student to wear the jilbab to her school,Yasmin Qureshi, the Mayor of London’s Human Rights Advisor, said:
“This is a landmark ruling for Muslims and people of all faiths. It is a basic issue of human rights that individuals can observe their religion. As a city with such a diverse multicultural population, London has an interest in seeing such basic human rights upheld everywhere, not just in this ruling today but also in the rest of Europe. It is essential institutions including schools respect the right of people to wear religious and traditional dress. I hope that schools throughout the country will take note of this case and ensure that their policies reflect this judgement.”
Muslims face increased stop and search
Hazel Blears, the minister responsible for counter-terrorism, said yesterday that Muslims will have to accept as a “reality” that they will be stopped and searched by the police more often than the rest of the public.
Ms Blears told MPs that “there was no getting away from it”, because the terrorist threat came from people “falsely hiding behind Islam”.
Her comments, on the day when leading British Muslim groups met to hammer out a strategy on maximising the Islamic vote for the election, provoked immediate condemnation from Islamic leaders.
Massoud Shadjareh, chair of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said: “She is demonising and alienating our community. It is a legitimisation for a backlash and for racists to have an onslaught on our community.”
See also “Muslim police stops ‘more likely'”, BBC News, 2 March 2005
Why Tariq Ramadan?
Firas Ahmed analyses Tariq Ramadan’s exclusion from the US and the role of Daniel Pipes.
IHRC condemns Hazel Blears’ Islamophobic politics of fear
“IHRC condemns in the strongest terms the dangerous comments made by Home Office minister Hazel Blears that Muslims should be ready to be disproportionately targeted by anti-terror laws. Ms Blears stated that since the terror threat facing Britain is coming from ‘people associated with Islam’, it was only right that Muslims should become disproportionate victims of stop and search and other anti-terror powers.”
Discrimination bill snubs gays to save Muslim vote
“Gay rights campaigners have been snubbed by the government for fear of upsetting Muslim voters who are regarded as more important to Labour’s election campaign. This week a new bill giving Muslims protection against religious discrimination will be published, but there will be no equivalent right for gays, as had been planned by ministers. Downing Street fears that Muslims, whose votes could be the key to saving the seats of many Labour MPs, might feel offended if they were ‘lumped together’ with homosexuals.”
Favoring Islamists over gays and Jews
Daniel Pipes takes up the Sunday Times article which asserts – on the basis of no evidence at all other than hearsay – that the government is backpedalling on gay rights specifically to appease Muslim voters.
Spain: Islam directly associated with terror
Another story directly equating Islam as a religion with terrorism. The Spanish government wants to introduce stricter controls over mosques and “democracy lessons” for imams.
More anti Qaradawi propaganda from the Sunday Times
“In favouring Muslim voters at the risk of upsetting gays, Labour is following in the footsteps of Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London. Livingstone has assiduously courted the Muslim vote, even at the expense of goodwill among the gay community. He invited the Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi to London despite the sheikh’s views. Al-Qaradawi condemns homosexuality, advocates wife-beating and describes suicide bombers as ‘martyrs’. ”