In an article for Al Jazeera Bob Lambert criticises the home secretary’s disgraceful decision to arrest and deport Raed Salah, leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel.
See also ENGAGE, 1 July 2011
‘No mosque here!’ Vlaams Belang protests against ‘Islamisation of Antwerp’
Some members of Vlaams Belang, an intensely xenophobic Flemish nationalist group, occupied the roof of an Antwerp building that the municipal authorities will turn into a mosque.
The protest against “the Islamisation of Antwerp” and the “supermosque” (as Vlaams Belang leader Filip Dewinter defined it) may continue next week with a pork barbecue in the same building.
Muslim weightlifter wears right to wear hijab
The International Weightlifting Federation has modified its rules and will allow athletes to wear a full-body, tight-fitted unitard during competition, the group said.
Wednesday’s rule change was prompted by an Atlanta woman, who wanted to take part in competitions governed by IWF rules but still adhere to the modest dress of her Muslim faith.
“Weightlifting is an Olympic Sport open for all athletes to participate without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, or national origin in accordance with the principles of the Olympic Charter and values,” Tamas Ajan, IWF president, said Wednesday. “This rule modification has been considered in the spirit of fairness, equality and inclusion.”
Before the change, the IWF’s technical and competition rules said weightlifting outfits – officially called “costumes” – had to be collarless and not cover the elbows or knees.
Kulsoom Abdullah, a 35-year-old with a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering, is not an Olympic athlete, but enjoys lifting weights. She generally wears loose, long pants past the ankles, a long-sleeve, fitted shirt with a loose T-shirt over it, and a hijab, or head scarf, covering her hair. “It’s what I believe in. It’s what I’ve chosen to do,” Abdullah told CNN this month about her decision to wear modest garb. “I’ve always dressed this way publicly.”
The review was prompted by the Atlanta resident wanting to take part in tournaments in the United States, including one coming up in July. But USA Weightlifting informed her that those events are governed by IWF rules, which at that time precluded her dressing in keeping with her beliefs.
Abdullah says she understands the need to make sure she isn’t wearing anything under her clothes to give her a competitive advantage. She says judges could check to make sure she is not wearing something on her elbows, for example, that might help her.
Abdullah told CNN her effort is not just about herself. “I should at least try,” she said, “if not for me then maybe for other women who – if they have my faith or another faith – dress a certain way.”
Tories demand Livingstone be banned from Pride
LGBTory, the Conservative LGBT group, today called for Ken Livingstone to be banned from this weekend’s London Pride.
They claim he should not be able to attend unless he repudiates his friendships with people infamous for their extreme views against gay men and women, including banned Muslim cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
The move comes after Livingstone publicly criticised Boris Johnson for falling short on gay equality issues. Now, the Chairman of LGBTory, Matthew Sephton, says that the Labour Mayoral candidate is using the high-profile event as a political tactic.
He told PinkPaper.com: “Mr Livingstone’s record on LGBT equality is shameful, proved time and time again by his close friendships with barbaric, anti-gay regimes and repugnant characters who believe homosexuality is not only a crime but that gay people should be killed.
“He should not be allowed to hi-jack and exploit this weekend’s parade and risk undermining core values of such Pride events unless he ditches his links with such regimes and unsavoury characters.”
Hundreds turn out for North London Central Mosque open day
Hundreds turned out for the open day at the North London Central Mosque in Finsbury Park on Sunday.
A history of Islam, a chart of British-Muslim celebrities, and Muslim contributions to academic achievement were all on display in the mosque’s main reception hall. MP Jeremy Corbyn and Islington Council leader Catherine West were all in attendance.
Imam Ahmed Saad, who took over leadership of the mosque in 2006, gave visitors a tour of the building including the men’s and women’s prayer rooms. He said: “It’s good that people come and see what Islam is about. We just want to pray in peace. We are associated with a certain history, but the management and leadership have changed and we have no connections to anything all, but peace.”
The former Finsbury Park Mosque, in St Thomas’s Road, was first opened in 1994 by Prince Charles. It gained notoriety when its members appointed extremist cleric Abu-Hamza al-Masri as Imam. But it now attracts a diverse range of worshippers, and plays an important part in successfully integrating Muslims into north London life.
Vet comments on Dutch ritual slaughter ban
Yesterday’s vote in the Dutch parliament to ban the no-stun slaughter of livestock could halt production of kosher and halal meat in the Netherlands, and is likely to inspire similar campaigns in other European countries.
The argument seems straightforward: if we have scientifically proven standards for animal welfare that we believe in, we should stick to those standards. And indeed, it would be a simple argument if the people affected by the ban were a random mix of a wide variety of the population.
The problem with the outright ban is that the only people affected are religious minorities: in the Dutch case, one million Dutch Muslims and 40,000 Jews. This makes it easy to claim that anti-minority sentiments are the hidden reason for the legislation. When far right anti-Islamic parties like Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party strongly support the ban, it’s easy to believe that the motivation may not always be just to protect animal welfare.
Our society is becoming increasingly secular, with the mainstream regarding religious faith as unproven and therefore unsupportable: the atheistic viewpoint dominates. How far do we want this to continue? Do we want to live in a state where people are jailed for their religious beliefs?
Qualified vet Pete Wedderburn writes in the Daily Telegraph, 29 June 2011
Brighton mosque targeted in wave of hate crime
A Sussex mosque was targeted in a nationwide wave of hate attacks. The Brighton Al-Quds Mosque in Dyke Road received a suspicious package in what police are treating as a racially or religiously motivated crime.
It was one of several Islamic centres to be targeted in London, Dorset, Merseyside, Birmingham and Gloucestershire since June 9. In Birmingham the package contained what was reported to be bags of white powder – triggering fears of an anthrax attack. None of the parcels contained any dangerous substances.
Police were called to Dyke Road on June 11. Officers in protective clothing removed the package. A spokesman for the force said it was “suspicious but non-hazardous”.
The Metropolitan Police, which is investigating the packages, said in a statement: “We are investigating malicious communications sent to a number of addresses in London and other parts of the UK. Inquiries are ongoing. No arrests have been made.”
Via ENGAGE
The journey from young radical to old conformist
Kevin Blowe has a posted a response to Unmesh Desai’s Guardian article defending Prevent. (See also the reply to Desai by ENGAGE.)
East London Mosque replies to Andrew Gilligan’s latest smears
East London Mosque Statement Concerning Homophobia Stories
Following on from the recent corrections that The Telegraph newspaper had to issue over its London editor’s erroneous reporting of the Ashraf Miah paedophile story, we once again note that Andrew Gilligan is twisting facts and editing context in order to attack our institution. Considering his London-wide brief, his fanatical interest in us seems to border on obsession.
In his blog of 27 June ‘East London Mosque breaks its promise on homophobic speakers after just eight days‘ and follow-up report of 28 June ‘The lies go on‘ Mr Gilligan disingenuously tries to link a local parental campaign over sex education with our institution ‘apparently’ campaigning for active homophobia.
The story Mr Gilligan presented was that of an extremist sect coming to our mosque, with our blessing, to campaign against homosexuality and promote homophobia in ‘clear breach’ of undertakings he claims we have made.
If Mr Gilligan bothers to read the local newspaper, he can see a rather more mundane (and accurate) version of events, with no attempt to hijack the story.
The facts are these:
- A set of local Muslim parents have been concerned about aspects of sex education in their children’s primary schools.
- Specifically, they have objected to animated scenes of (heterosexual) intercourse being shown to their children as part of science education lessons. They want to exercise their right to excuse their children from those particular lessons and feel their concerns have not been listened to.
- A meeting was called by a Christian organisation, the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, alongside a local Islamic group, SREIslamic, to debate these concerns. Our director chaired the discussion.
Mr Gilligan did not present these facts. Instead, he attempted to turn a small local story into a national story, by editing the facts to whip up the gay community’s fears over apparent rampant homophobia in Tower Hamlets. (As has been pointed out elsewhere, the number of homophobic incidents has actually risen higher in areas such as Islington and Westminster than in Tower Hamlets.)
US Muslim woman sues Abercrombie over hijab ban
A US Muslim woman sued Abercrombie & Fitch, accusing the clothing retailer of firing her for refusing to remove her religious head scarf, a Muslim advocacy group said.
Hani Khan of San Mateo, California, alleged that store managers had told her to remove her hijab as part of the clothing chain’s “Look Policy,” the Council of American-Islamic Relation (CAIR) said in a statement. Khan was fired from her job at an Abercrombie & Fitch store in California in February 2010, after working there for four months, when she refused to comply with the managers’ request, according to CAIR.
“When I was asked to remove my scarf after being hired with it on, I was demoralized and felt unwanted,” Khan said. “Growing up in this country where the Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of religion, I have felt let down.”