Over at Media Matters for America, Ari Rabin-Havt examines the hysterical right-wing response to today’s launch of Al Jazeera’s US television news service.
Law used to detain David Miranda frequently targets Muslims
Nearly half of those held under Schedule 7 of UK’s terrorism laws are of Asian or Asian British origin, Imran Awan points out.
EDL organiser threatens to hold another protest in Portsmouth
The leader of a fascist group has said there will be another protest. Mickey Bayliss [pictured], the English Defence League’s regional organiser for the south west, has announced another march against a Muslim school will take place in Portsmouth.
The call for a second protest comes after Mr Bayliss was unhappy with what Portsmouth City Council leader, Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, said after the weekend’s protest. Cllr Vernon-Jackson said it was unacceptable that fireworks were thrown during a supposedly peaceful protest.
Mr Bayliss said: “The council cannot not tell us what we can or cannot do. We have the freedom to do what we want and we will be holding another march this weekend. We will not be announcing when or where and we will not be co-ordinating with the police. The march will be against the Madani Academy again as well as the council.”
Tunisia’s Amina quits Femen, accuses group of Islamophobia
Amina Sboui, a Tunisian activist who was detained for nearly three months, said on Tuesday she had left the radical women’s protest group Femen, accusing it of Islamophobia.
“I do not want my name to be associated with an Islamophobic organisation,” she told the Maghreb edition of the Huffington Post. “I did not appreciate the action taken by the girls shouting ‘Amina Akbar, Femen Akbar’ in front of the Tunisian embassy in Paris,” Sboui said.
Those chants were a parody of Allahu akbar (God is greatest), a phrase frequently used by Muslims to express their allegiance to and praise of God.
Amina also criticised the burning of the black Tawhid flag, which affirms the oneness of God, in front of a mosque in Paris. “That offends many Muslims and many friends of mine. We must respect everyone’s religion,” she added.
Queensland parliamentary candidate in call to ‘eradicate mosques’
Ipswich Muslims have defended their faith in the wake of Rise Up Australia Party candidate Anthony Mackin’s calls to eradicate mosques and ban the burka.
Mr Mackin, a bible teacher, is the Blair candidate for a party that has banning the burka as one of its key policies. In an interview with The QT yesterday, Mr Mackin explained why he was opposed to burkas.
“Part of the problem is the obvious one, that you can’t identify who is underneath it,” he said. “I’ve seen recently on the internet that there have been suicide bombers disguising themselves in burkas.
“When we go into a petrol station the first thing a motorcyclist is asked to do is remove the helmet before the cashier will receive payment for the bill, for security purposes. Everybody is required to do this…but the people who are not assimilating to our laws and customs are not.”
Rupert Murdoch attacked for ‘irresponsible’ tweet about Muslims
Rupert Murdoch has backed comments from Britain’s chief rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, who says multiculturalism has “had its day”, with the media mogul adding that “societies have to integrate. Muslims find it hardest.”
The News Corp chief took to Twitter to make his remarks, which have caused anger among diversity campaigners in Australia. He tweeted: “Good for UK Chief Rabbi Sacks! ‘Let’s put multiculturalism behind us’. Societies have to integrate. Muslims find it hardest.”
Extra security on call for council planning meeting on Melbourne mosque
Police are set to be drafted into a controversial planning meeting next week as a council prepares to decide whether to give the go-ahead for a mosque to be built next door to a Christian church.
More than 1200 objections to the proposed mosque in Melbourne’s north have already been received and security guards will also be on hand at the meeting in a bid to keep the peace. Hume City Council is considering asking Victoria Police to send officers along over fears violence might break out between 1000 people who are expected to attend Monday’s planning meeting.
The council has received messages stating if the mosque gets planning approval there will be a “massacre”. Objections the council has received state that if the mosque is built it will lead to tension, violence and social disharmony in the area.
Vestal, New York: Pig’s head left outside mosque
Some residents are upset over the placement of a pig’s head near a mosque under construction in Vestal.
A resident said they spotted a severed pig’s head Sunday morning on Sheedy Road. The pig’s head remained there for most of the day. The nearby mosque is expected to open in April of next year.
Pennsylvania Governor hires birther who says Obama’s a Marxist, defended a Nazi memorabilia dealer, and fears creeping sharia law
Between plummeting polling and mounting ethics scandals, Tom Corbett is in a tough place politically. So it’s no surprise that he’s shaking up his staff, including a new chief of staff and secretary of legislative affairs.
One staff addition that isn’t receiving as much attention is Ana Puig, the founder of the Bucks County-based tea party group the Kitchen Table Patriots, who was just hired by Governor Corbett as the legislative liaison for the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.
Puig is as tea party as they come. In recent years, she has promoted an event featuring topics including “The Muslim Brotherhood and creeping sharia law in America” and “Pro-Islamic bias and indoctrination in our public school textbooks.”
Muslim woman ‘intimidated, humiliated’ when mall guard asked her to remove veil, lawsuit says
A Muslim woman who was asked to remove a traditional face covering, or niqab, by a shopping mall guard, has filed a lawsuit claiming discrimination against the guard and the mall’s owners.
Wakeelah Salaam, of Elizabeth, has filed a lawsuit against Bridgewater Commons mall, its owner, General Growth Properties, its mall security vendor, IPC International Corporation, and Marc Krause, a former mall guard.