http://youtu.be/ozXRdBFl24s
Andrew Kirell exposes another exercise in anti-Muslim hysteria at Fox & Friends.
Hijab for a day: Non-Muslim women who try the headscarf
BBC News reports on World Hijab Day.
Update: Mad Maryam Namazie offers her thoughts on the subject: “Today is World Hijab Day! What next? Maybe we can all try to mutilate our daughters on World Mutilation Day or marry off our girls on World Child Marriages Day? How about a day when our male guardians can track our whereabouts to make sure we aren’t leaving the country.”
Qaradawi ‘scholar of the year’ again in OnIslam poll
Winning 39.9 percent of votes, Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, is chosen for the second consecutive year as the Scholar of the Year by OnIslam visitors. The selection reflects the great impact of Dr. Al-Qaradawi in the fields of Islamic scholarship and da`wah and the high esteem he is held in.
Despite his old age, Al-Qaradawi, 86, is remarkably known for his active involvement in the events touching the Muslim Ummah,whether in person or through the organizations he heads, such as the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS). That goes in line with his deep belief in Islam as a comprehensive way of life and his conviction that the role of scholar is far greater than retreating to a mosque and teaching people about the devotional rituals of Islam.
The atrocities committed by the Syrian dictator, Bashar Al-Asad, and the massacres of Muslims in Myanmar, along with the challenges facing the Egyptian revolution were among the major events in 2012 that had much of Dr. Al-Qaradawi’s concern and effort. Besides, in the scholarship arena, Dr. Al-Qaradawi continues to add to his list of books, that has exceeded 170. He is working now on a new, more elaborate edition of his famous book Al-Halal wal-Haram fil Islam (The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam).
BNP campaign fails: Oswestry’s first Muslim centre gets go-ahead
An example of British National Party propaganda against the centre
Controversial plans for Oswestry’s first Muslim centre have been given the go-ahead. It will be sited in a 19th century former Presbyterian church.
The bid to change the church in Oswald Road, into a Muslim prayer centre sparked more than 70 objections and led to the town being targeted in a leafleting campaign by the British National Party.
But more than 40 people wrote in support of the bid by Oswestry Muslim Society and permission was given by Shropshire Council planning officers under delegated powers.
Threats against Muslims prompt extra security at Texas capitol
AUSTIN — A string of threats is prompting a boost in security at the State Capitol.
The threats are directed at hundreds of Muslims who are in Austin for ‘Muslim Day at the Capitol.’ They represent Islamic organizations and mosques from across the state of Texas.
According to the Texas Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), threats were posted online and also came in over the phone. Law enforcement stepped up protection, making additional Department of Public Safety troopers visible along the south steps of the building.
The Texas Muslims are visiting the Capitol to meet with lawmakers and ignite positive interactions. There have been similar rallies at the start of a new legislative session for a few years now. However this year, threats against the group escalated.
According to CAIR people started posting messages on a blog site called Bare Naked Islam a few weeks ago. Some people threatened gun violence. Others wrote about killing and capturing participants.
EDL supporter gets suspended prison sentence for racist tweets about Muslims and Pakistanis
A financial adviser who aimed grossly offensive tweets at Muslims and Pakistanis was told he had “thinking deficiencies and old racist views”.
Ricky Lee Davies of St Thomas, Swansea, committed the Twitter offence after watching a television documentary about Muslim extremism.
BBC accused of ‘extraordinary’ censorship after cutting honour-killing references from radio drama for fear of offending Muslims
That’s the headline to a report in the Daily Mail.
Speaking at an Index On Censorship conference, playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti has complained that she was asked by BBC editors to remove a single line from a radio play she has written on the subject of an honour killing in a Muslim family. The reason given was that “we don’t want to suggest the entire Muslim community condones honour killings”, which sounds like a perfectly reasonable concern in the present climate. (See also the Independent, the Telegraph and Jihad Watch.)
It’s Islamic? Don’t panic
Parts of the media like to whip up fear about Islamisation. Their arguments are rooted in prejudice, David Shariatmadari argues.
Dawkins responds to critics of his ‘Islamic barbarians’ tweet – ‘perhaps 1st language not English’
Not content with upsetting the Jewish religion, Professor Richard Dawkins, the celebrated atheist, has now annoyed some Muslims.
Speaking about the damage caused to the library in Timbuktu, in Mali, he described those who burnt it down as Islamic Barbarians.
His comments have been interpreted as being derogatory to Islam and insulting to followers of the religion by some on the social networking site Twitter.
The best selling author of The God Delusion and Oxford Professor, Tweeted that “Like Alexandria, like Bamiyan, Timbuktu’s priceless manuscript heritage destroyed by Islamic barbarians”.
His comments were met with a backlash with many people condemning him of unfairly attacking Islam and ignoring the many acts of vandalism carried out by Christians.
But he hit back saying: “Some people (perhaps 1st language not English) think I was calling ALL Muslims barbarians. No. I was calling Islamic BARBARIANS barbarians.”
Daily Telegraph, 30 January 2013
Perhaps Dawkins should try describing an act of Israeli state terrorism as the work of “Jewish barbarians” and then attempt to justify this comment on the basis that he was “calling Jewish BARBARIANS barbarians”. The objections to his remark about the God of the Old Testament would pale into insignificance.
FBI asked to investigate agents who allegedly intimidated Somali man
MINNEAPOLIS — An advocacy group for Muslims in Minnesota has asked the FBI to investigate claims that some of its agents repeatedly tried to intimidate a Somali man.
Lori Saroya, executive director of the Minnesota chapter for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the Somali accuser alleges that two FBI agents tried several times to enlist him as an undercover informant. When the man refused their offers, the agents allegedly threatened the man, Saroya said.
“They told him if he didn’t work for them, if he did not become an informant, that the agents would delay his immigration – his immigration papers,” Saroya said. “They told him they would spread a picture of him all over the community. And after they did that, everyone in the community would be scared to talk to him.”
An FBI spokesman said the agency’s Minneapolis branch is investigating the claim.
Minnesota Public Radio, 30 January 2013
See also “CAIR-MN welcomes FBI probe of alleged abuses by agents”, CAIR press release, 30 January 2013