Tennessee: Republican politician delivers anti-Islam rant as hundreds of Muslims protest at state capitol

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on state and national GOP leaders to repudiate a lengthy rhetorical attack on Islam and the Quran by a co-sponsor of a Tennessee bill that, in its original form, would have effectively outlawed basic Islamic principles (Sharia).

During a hearing today of the Tennessee House Judiciary Committee, State Rep. Rick Womick (R) claimed the proposed Material Support to Designated Entities Act is “not about religion,” then launched into a lengthy attack on Islam and its revealed text, ultimately comparing the faith to Nazism and white supremacy. Womick stated:

“[A Tennessee Muslim leader] says that the Quran does not support violence and that he denounces all violence. I believe him. But he is an exception, because those who truly hold the Quran for every word that it speaks cannot believe that…

“With Islam there is no freedom of religion allowed within or outside of Islam. There is no freedom of speech or thought, no freedom of artistic expression, no freedom of the press, no equality of peoples, because non-Muslims are never equal to Muslims. There is one set of laws for Muslim men and different laws for women and non-Muslims. Under Islam, women are to be beaten…

“It’s when you … demand that our Constitution take an exception to your beliefs, whether it be Sharia law or Nazism or white supremacy, it doesn’t make a difference.”

“Representative Womick’s hate rhetoric makes it clear that Islam and Muslims are the true targets of this bill,” said CAIR Staff Attorney Gadeir Abbas, who has helped challenge similar anti-Islam bills in other states. “His rant is evidence of the hateful paranoia that will inevitably lead to this bill being used against peaceful American Muslims.”

“Mr. Womick’s extremist views are obviously based on distortions, misinformation and misconceptions about Islam and Muslims that must be repudiated by fellow Republicans,” said Abbas.

He said the original form of the legislation was reportedly written with the assistance of David Yerushalmi, head of the anti-Islam hate group Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE).

On its now password-protected website, SANE offered a policy proposal that would make “adherence to Islam” punishable by 20 years in prison, called for the immediate deportation of all non-citizen Muslims and urged Congress to declare war on the “Muslim Nation,” which SANE defined as “all Muslims.”

CAIR press release, 26 April 2011

See also ” Hundreds of Muslims Protest at State Capitol”, WSMV, 26 April 2011

Muslim community denounces document describing Montreal mosque as terror hub

Posted on by Bob Pitt

MONTREAL — New WikiLeaks documents that describe a Montreal mosque as a terror hub are defamatory, says a local Muslim spokesman.

The newly leaked U.S. documents claim a Mauritanian terror suspect being held at Guantanamo Bay was the leader of a Montreal-based al-Qaida cell that planned terror attacks in the United States.

The secret documents, released by WikiLeaks on their website last weekend, also claim that members of al-Qaida were recruited and trained at Montreal’s Al Sunnah Al Nabawiah Mosque, where the terror suspect served briefly, possibly as an imam.

But the chairman of the Muslim Council of Montreal said the documents serve as an example of how the community’s institutions are unfairly targeted by authorities.

“Our allegations are certainly correct that we’ve been targeted and this is biased targeting,” Salam Elmenyawi said in an interview. “None of the information is based on evidence. It’s rather based on intelligence analysis and this analysis has certainly ignored any other facts that contradicted the conclusion.”

Elmenyawi said the documents defame the mosque and show a blatant bias against the Muslim community.

Canadian Press, 26 April 2011

Update:  See “WikiLeaks: Montreal mosque ‘is a top Al Qaeda recruiting zone'”, Daily Mail, 27 April 2011

Needless to say, the Mail fails to quote the views of the Muslim Council of Montreal.

The paper also takes the opportunity to publish a photo of the North London Central Mosque in Finsbury Park, with the caption “Finsbury Park Mosque in London was named by WikiLeaks as another Al Qaeda recruiting ground”. Yesterday’s Mail did the same, with another photo of the mosque captioned “‘Haven for extremists’: US intelligence experts describe Finsbury Park Mosque, in north London, above, as an ‘attack planning and propaganda production base'”.

Disgracefully, there is no mention in either article of the fact that this charge dates from the time when Abu Hamza al-Masri and his followers were in control and that the mosque has been under new management since 2005.

See NLCM press release.

Counter-protest against EDL in Weymouth on Saturday

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Keep the EDL out of DorsetDorset Police have announced they will be separating two protests being held on Saturday as concerns grow over anti-Muslim feelings in the town.

The English Defence League (EDL) is a right-wing group that is against Islamic extremism and “radical Islam’s encroachment into the lives of non-Muslims” as well as the introduction of Sharia law into Britain. They announced a march after BBC3 screened a film about a former Weymouth lad who converted to Islam and was radicalised.

A peaceful counter protest will be held at the same time, 1pm, organised by people behind the Facebook page, Keep The Racist EDL out of Dorset, who are rallying people to join them in opposition to the EDL “bringing its hatred and violence to a diverse, tolerant Dorset”.

Assembly points for both groups have been designated at either end of the Esplanade in Weymouth, with the EDL due to meet at the pier bandstand and counter-demonstrators opposite the Pavilion.

Lord Knight of Weymouth, former Dorset South MP Jim Knight, has penned a blog voicing his fears that the EDL are “a bigger threat than the BNP”.

He says: “At a time of high unemployment, housing shortage and cuts to the welfare state we are particularly vulnerable to the rise of far right fascism. The possibility of that particular poison reaching somewhere as peaceful as Weymouth makes me anxious. That is why I will join others in publicly expressing our opposition to the English Defence League in Weymouth.”

Weymouth People, 27 April 2011

Sarrazin pardon sparks fierce SPD backlash

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sarrazin rassistThere was mounting resentment Tuesday among centre-left Social Democrats against the party’s decision not to expel Thilo Sarrazin over his incendiary statements on immigration.

Prominent Social Democratic Party (SPD) politicians across the country have begun to air their deep dissatisfaction over the party leadership’s decision, announced last Thursday, to abandon expulsion proceedings against the former Bundesbank board member and Berlin finance minister.

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BNP youth leader arrested over campaign against Bletchley mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Kieren Trent BNPKieren Trent, leader of the British National Party’s “young adults” organisation Resistance, was arrested by Thames Valley Police yesterday (Sunday), according to a report on a far-right activist’s blog. His computer equipment was seized.

The arrest followed a demonstration in Wolverton, Milton Keynes, against a local councillor who voted in favour of granting planning permission to Bletchley mosque. Councillor Mike Galloway, a Liberal Democrat, is a member of the Milton Keynes Development Control Committee, which deals with planning applications, and chair of the Local Development Framework Advisory Group.

Bletchley mosque has been the target of BNP opposition since last autumn, with Trent leading several protests.

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Rachid Ghanouchi rejects association of Islam with violence and terrorism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of TunisiaPARIS — A noted Tunisian Islamic thinker urged the world’s Muslims on Monday to reject extremism and restore the true nature of Islam.

Rachid Ghanouchi, a founder of Tunisia’s once-banned Ennahdha, or Renaissance, party, gave the closing speech at an annual Muslim gathering outside Paris in his first visit to France in more than two decades.

Extremism takes root in injustice, but must be fought, he said. “Today, Islam is associated with violence, terrorism … with refusing religious and political diversity, (being) against women’s rights. Today, it is presented as a plague,” Ghanouchi said.

But, he insisted, extremism “isn’t a legitimate child of Islam. … Our challenge is to respond to restore the image of Islam.” He spoke in Arabic through a translator to a crowd of several thousand at the annual meeting of the Union of Islamic Organizations of France, which brings together Muslim fundamentalist associations.

Ghanouchi’s Ennahdha party was branded a terrorist group by Tunisia’s autocratic leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali who was toppled in a monthlong uprising and fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14.

Ghanouchi, 69, himself spent two decades in exile in London after being convicted twice of terrorism-related offences. Today, scholars consider him a moderate.

He was the star speaker at the four-day gathering and his speech drew cheers from a crowd that feels unfairly targeted by French authorities enforcing the nation’s secular foundations, including the recent ban on burqa-style veils. Only a tiny minority of Muslims wear them, and few were seen at Monday’s meeting.

Ennahdha, made legal in Tunisia on March 1, is now among more than 50 political parties formed since Ben Ali fled.

Ghanouchi said the Tunisian revolution, which has sparked uprisings in the Arab world, succeeded because values were shared by an entire population, underscoring the importance of social cohesion. The same case applies to Egypt, which ousted President Hosni Mubarak, he said.

On the other hand, “One cannot imagine that an entire people or nation” follows extremist thought, he said, adding that Islam “insists on balance” and “finding the middle path.”

There are abiding concerns that Islamists in Tunisia could undo women’s rights in the North African country or impose a strict Islamic code. However, Ghanouchi insisted that “Islam marries well with democracy” and respect for equality between men and women.

Associated Press, 25 April 2011

The Challenge of Islamophobia – press release from NUT conference

Posted on by Bob Pitt

NUT logoChristine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“The NUT is proud to be at the forefront of campaigning for equalities for all our children. Schools can provide the space and time to debate and learn about other cultures in an open and non-threatening environment.

“It is therefore extremely important that teachers have the training and resources to tackle issues that face modern society in order to deal with them in a constructive and informed fashion.

“The NUT believes respect should be accorded in our multicultural society, regardless of race, religion, gender, disability or sexuality. Many schools are excellent examples of how children and young people from all walks of life can work together in an environment that fosters pride and equality for everyone.

“Islamophobia has become a prevalent issue in recent times. Teachers need the knowledge and resources to address this issue with students.”

NUT press release, 25 April 2011

Jones’ anti-Islam rally reset for Dearborn city hall

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Rev. Terry Jones, controversial Florida pastor whose church burned a Qur’an last month, has rescheduled a protest for 5 p.m. Friday in front of Dearborn City Hall, this time protesting “the denial of our First Amendment rights.”

A protest against “radical Islam, Sharia, and jihad” had been scheduled for last Friday outside the largest mosque in North America, but was postponed after Pastor Jones spent most of the day and part of the evening in Michigan’s 19th District Court. The city had denied him a permit to speak outside the Islamic Center of America and a jury on Friday evening determined that Mr. Jones was “likely to breach the peace.”

Judge Mark Somers then set bond of $1 each for Mr. Jones, pastor of Dove World Outreach Center, and his associate, the Rev. Wayne Sapp, and barred them from going near the Islamic Center. The two ministers were jailed after telling Judge Somers they would not post the $1 bond, but were released several hours later after posting bond.

Dearborn’s City Hall is one of the city’s four “free speech zones” where anyone can speak or protest without requiring a permit.

Toledo Blade, 26 April 2011

See also “Terry Jones says he’ll sue over his arrest”, Detroit News, 25 April 2011

‘He’s an Arab’ – Denis MacEoin explains why you can’t trust Gilbert Achcar

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Denis MacEoin, who was responsible for the discredited Policy Exchange report The Hijacking of British Islam among other axe-grinding anti-Muslim “studies”, has posted a “customer review” of Gilbert Achcar’s book The Arabs and the Holocaust on the Amazon website.

Not that MacEoin has actually bought the book, still less read it. But he has no hesitation in warning potential purchasers that Achcar is an unreliable historian, beginning with the charge that “He’s an Arab….” As one of the comments on MacEoin’s “review” points out: “One can imagine the uproar from you and your ilk if the assertion you make was followed by ‘He’s a Jew’.”