LANSING — A rally is planned for 8:30 a.m. at the state capitol Thursday to support a bill aimed at banning foreign laws in Michigan. The bills, HB 4769 and SB 701, have been called anti-Sharia legislation.
Its sponsor, Michigan Rep. Dave Agema (R-Grandville), said the bill is aimed at barring the implementation of foreign laws. While the law does not mention Sharia or Islamic law, local Muslim activists and others say the bill is aimed at Muslims.
The English Defence League (EDL) has supported a Bournemouth councillor who said online that it was the only group that “sticks up for the English”. Sue Anderson later apologised for the Twitter comment she made on Saturday. She also suspended herself from the Tory party and referred herself for disciplinary procedures.
Kevin Carroll, co-founder and joint leader of the EDL, said it seemed she had “bowed to pressure” from her party after expressing her views. He said: “She wouldn’t have said it if she didn’t believe it in the first place, but she’s bowed to pressure. There are a lot of politicians and MPs that feel the same way but are too scared to speak up.”
Melanie Phillips offers a characteristically thoughtful and nuanced response to the Rochdale “grooming” convictions.
The £2m trial of the Rochdale sex grooming gang was nearly derailed twice by far-right groups, it can now be revealed.
Before any evidence had been heard, demonstrations by the BNP and EDL prompted two defence barristers to pull out. With a jury sworn in at Liverpool Crown Court and the prosecution poised to open their case, Abdul Iqbal and Iran Safi decided to leave the case amid angry scenes outside.
Solicitors, barristers and some defendants reported being threatened. The jury had to be discharged and replacement barristers brought in. The trial was delayed for two weeks while the new lawyers acquainted themselves with the case and a second jury sworn in.
Over at Liberal Conspiracy Sunny Hundal draws our attention to remarks made by “Lord” Christopher Monckton, a leading figure in the UK Independence Party, on a right-wing Canadian radio talk show.
One of the hosts tells Monckton that Paul Weston of the British Freedom Party was a recent guest on the show and asks him for his opinion of the BFP. Monckton expresses his regret that former UKIP members like Weston have split away from the party to join the BFP and adds: “the British Freedom Party won’t really come to anything very much, I don’t think, and I would like them all to come back and join us and we stand together”.
At the Daily Beast’s Open Zion blog Raphael Magarik replies to Jonathan Tobin.
According to a poll of 10,000 voters carried out by OpinionWay-Fiducial for Le Figaro, 93% of Muslims voted for Socialist Party candidate François Hollande in the second round of the French presidential election and only 7% for Nicolas Sarkozy, La Vie reports.
In the first round 59% of Muslims voted for Hollande, while 23% voted for the Left Front candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon. 7% voted for the centrist François Bayrou and only 4% for Sarkozy.
Via Islam in Europe
Following overwhelming support at a public hearing Monday night, city plan commissioners unanimously backed construction of a mosque in Brookfield, sending the plans to aldermen for final approval.
The voice vote drew applause, handshakes and hugs among the approximately 30 people who stayed to hear the vote after the hearing that packed the Common Council chambers and two overflow areas.
Commissioner Gary Mahkorn, one of two aldermen whose district includes the mosque site, said he was “so proud” of the community for its support of religious diversity and freedom of religious worship, despite concerns some raised about Islam and terrorism. “We’re a welcoming community,” Mahkorn said. “I’m proud of this community. I’m proud of this country.”
A Bournemouth councillor has apologised “unreservedly” after saying online that only the English Defence League “sticks up for the English”.
Conservative councillor Sue Anderson said she had suspended herself from the party and referred herself for disciplinary procedures.
She made the comment via her Twitter account on Saturday.
The Interior Minister of Germany’s western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has blamed a far-right group that displayed lampooning cartoons of Prophet Mohammed (peace and blessing be upon him) outside mosques for a recent cycle of violence in the European country.
The actions of the extremist anti-Islam group, “Pro NRW”, in Bonn on Saturday had been a “deliberate provocation” that had triggered reprisals by Salafists, Ralf Jäger, the NRW Interior Minister, was quoted as saying by Deutsche Welle on Monday, May 7.
Gathering outside the Saudi Fahd Academy in Bonn’s suburb of Mehlem, “Pro-NRW” supporters showed caricatures depicting a man said to be the prophet.
Hundreds of Salafi Muslims gathered in response to protest the rightist rally, which developed into clashes that left 29 policemen injured. More than 100 Salafist protesters were briefly arrested.
See also Spiegel Online, 7 May 2012