Muslims are well-integrated in Britain – but no one seems to believe it

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“In Britain today there is a mismatch between how non-Muslims often perceive Muslims and how Muslims typically perceive themselves. This disconnect is down to a tendency by non-Muslims to assume that Muslims struggle with their British identity and divided loyalties.”

Leon Moosavi writes at Comment is Free. He lists the following statistics:

• 83% of Muslims are proud to be a British citizen, compared to 79% of the general public
• 77% of Muslims strongly identify with Britain while only 50% of the wider population do
• 86.4% of Muslims feel they belong in Britain, slightly more than the 85.9% of Christians
• 82% of Muslims want to live in diverse and mixed neighbourhoods compared to 63% of non-Muslim Britons
• 90% of Pakistanis feel a strong sense of belonging in Britain compared to 84% of white people

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Luton Muslims discuss Islamophobia – EDL leader whinges that they wouldn’t let him in

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Members of Luton’s Muslim community packed into the Crescent Hall in Bury Park on Saturday night for a meeting aimed at tackling Islamophobia.

Guest speakers included journalist Yvonne Ridley, and Cherie Booth’s sister Lauren Booth, both converts to Islam. Also speaking was political commentator Mohammed Ansar, and Luton Borough Council leader Hazel Simmons.

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Murfreesboro judge won’t let new mosque open

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Rutherford County judge is continuing to block a local mosque from receiving a certificate of occupancy.

Chancellor Robert Corlew issued the injunction last month after ruling that county officials did not provide sufficient public notice for the May 2010 meeting where the mosque’s construction plans were approved.

The county has argued that it treated that meeting like any other and has appealed the ruling to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

County attorneys on Monday told Corlew he should stay his injunction on the certificate of occupancy while the appeal is pending. Corlew declined to do so, saying that a stay would gut his decision that voided construction approval.

Construction of the new Islamic Center of Murfreesboro has been ongoing throughout the dispute and is nearly complete.

Associated Press, 2 July 2012

Posted in USA

Norton, Ohio: Muslim police officer files religious discrimination lawsuit

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Norton PD patchFired Norton police officer Nicholas Matheny has filed a federal lawsuit, contending city officials discriminated against him and violated his civil rights by terminating him because of his Muslim faith.

The suit, seeking job reinstatement, a court injunction to end the alleged discrimination and damages for lost pay, was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Cleveland.

Matheny, 30, adopted the Muslim faith in early 2010 and initially kept the conversion quiet, according to the suit, because of anti-Islamic sentiment in the police department, including emails he said he received from his direct supervising officer.

But in September 2010, when Matheny handed out wedding invitations to two colleagues, with the heading “May Allah Bless This Marriage,” the alleged discrimination came to a head, the suit said. Just as Matheny was ending his final shift before his wedding, the suit said, Chief Thad Hete told him he would be fired.

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Fox News host can’t get enough of guest’s inflammatory anti-Muslim comments

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Fox News’ Eric Bolling continued his campaign against American Muslims today, endorsing the views of a filmmaker who claimed Islam is “the worst, most deadly idea in the history of the world.” Bolling’s guest was Eric Bell, a filmmaker who produced a documentary on a mosque in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Bell claimed he originally saw “the Muslim community as victims” and that he had an “inclination to stick up for them.” Bell further claimed that after doing “some serious research about Islam” he found that Islam is “a radical, savage religion” and “the worst, most deadliest idea in the history of the world.” Not only did Bolling not push back on Bell’s inflammatory rhetoric, he responded to Bell by saying he would “[l]ove to have you back and maybe expand on it a little bit more.”

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Austria celebrates ‘model’ law on Islam

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Austria has had a checkered history when it comes to relations with Muslims, but its 100-year-old Law on Islam is seen as a symbol of tolerance. The law gives Muslims the same rights as other officially recognised religions in Austria, such as Catholicism, Lutheranism, Judaism and Buddhism.

At the weekend senior members of the Austrian government and the country’s Islamic Community attended ceremonies to mark the centenary.

The Law on Islam, described as unique in Europe by members of the Austrian Islamic Community, guarantees Muslims in the country wide-ranging rights including religious education in state schools, administration of internal affairs and public worship.

In a speech at Vienna’s neo-Gothic town hall, the head of Austria’s Islamic Community, Fuat Sanac, described the law as an example for the rest of Europe. Islam in Austria, he said, was seen by most people as an enrichment, not as a danger.

BBC News, 3 July 2012

See also “Austrian President: We are very proud to have recognized Islam for 100 years”, Today’s Zaman, 25 June 2012

Muslims stoning Christians in Michigan? Not quite…

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bible Believers anti-Islam protest (2)

Last month a right-wing Christian group called Bible Believers demonstrated at the Arab International Festival in Dearborn, brandishing anti-Islam banners and shouting abuse at those attending the event. Some of the younger attendees responded to this abuse by throwing water bottles and pop cans at the protestors.

The Islamophobic Right, Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer prominent among them, have been promoting the sensationalist story that Christians were “stoned” by Muslims. This accusation is backed up by a dishonestly edited YouTube video produced by a group called The United West, which is “dedicated to defending and advancing Western Civilization against the kinetic and cultural onslaught of Shariah Islam”.

Loonwatch has a piece debunking the story.

Update:  See also “Tensions at Dearborn festival written up as attack on Christians”, Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion, 3 July 2012

EDL attempts to build links with extremists in Sikh community

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sikhs Against EDL
Luton, February 2011: Sikhs demonstrate against the EDL

The national press has belatedly latched on to the English Defence League’s attempt to exploit a Sikh protest that took place in Luton over a month ago. The Mail on Sunday has published an extended piece on the issue (“The far-Right leader in a Sikh headscarf and a very disturbing anti-Muslim alliance: EDL joins protesters angry at ‘grooming of girls'”) and the story has also been taken up by the Daily Mirror.

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EDL thug facing prison after firework attack in Newcastle

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL thug Anthony Crawford was today facing prison after hurling a firework at peaceful protesters.

Crawford lit and then lobbed it at anti-jubilee protesters as they gathered for a rally. It landed in the hood worn by Barnaby Drew, from Byker, Newcastle, who was left with burns after it exploded on his shoulder and set fire to his hair.

Crawford, of Elmway, Chester-le-Street, County Durham, has been warned he could face custody after launching the terrifying attack.

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