In The Flight of the Intellectuals, Paul Berman argues that it is not violent Islamists who pose the greatest danger to liberal societies in the West but rather their so-called moderate cousins, such as Tariq Ramadan.
Such a reading of contemporary Islamism, however, misses the many nuances of the movement and the real battles between reformers and Salafists.
The ever-excellent Marc Lynch takes on Berman over Islamism, Tariq Ramadan and Qaradawi.
The Spanish Senate on Wednesday approved a motion urging Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s government to ban Islamic all-body veils in public places.
The government needed to take legal measures against the niqab, which covers the entire body except for the eyes, and against the burqa, which hides even the eyes, the motion said.
It was approved with the narrow majority of 131 votes against 129, with two conservative parties backing it, while Zapatero’s Socialists and others voted against.
Spain should outlaw “any usage, custom or discriminatory practice that limits the freedom of women,” said the document, which was drafted by the main conservative opposition People’s Party (PP).
The Socialists, on the other hand, argued that the use of all-body veils was best opposed through education and by using the current legislation, which already prohibits people with covered faces from entering public buildings.
Eight Spanish municipalities, located mainly in the north-eastern region of Catalonia, have outlawed or are planning to outlaw all-body veils in public places. The Senate is now seeking a nationwide ban.
Critics say the Spanish debate on the burqa and niqab is only political point-scoring, because all-body veils are rare in the country.
Lawyers representing an Indian Muslim preacher banned from entering the UK say the move was rushed and he was not given a proper chance to respond to it.
Majeed Memon, representing Mumbai-based television preacher Zakir Naik, described the move by the UK government as “barbaric and inhuman”. Mr Memon said the move was all the more extraordinary because Dr Naik was granted a five year UK visa in 2008.
The Islamic Research Foundation, based in Mumbai, India, said on Saturday that it was seeking a judicial review of the decision in the London High Court. Dr Naik said the move to exclude him was more of a political decision than a legal one.
His lawyers say that complimentary references he made in a speech about Osama Bin Laden were uttered in 1996 – and not 10 years later as detailed in the exclusion order made by the British government. Mr Memon said the comments were made before the 9/11 attacks and “should not be read into”. He accused the newly-elected British coalition government of making a “political decision to gain political mileage”.
Dr Naik – who is based in Mumbai (Bombay) and works for the Peace TV channel – is president of the Islamic Research Foundation. He has won support for his campaign against the exclusion order from Bollywood film maker Mahesh Bhatt, who praised him for “locking horns with the might of the British empire”.
Update: Zakir Naik has apparently been told that he will be refused entry to Canada, where he was due to speak at a conference in Toronto early next month. See the Toronto Star, 22 June 2010
Further update: See also “Muslim preachers, Zakir Naik & Bilal Phillips, denied entry into UK”, Muslim Matters, 23 June 2010
French lawmakers will begin on July 6 to debate a government proposal to ban the Muslim full-face veil from public spaces, a minister said on Tuesday.
The lower house National Assembly will read the bill before it passes to the Senate in September and it could be adopted into law soon after, said Henri de Raincourt, the minister for parliamentary relations.
Europe’s largest intergovernmental human rights watchdog has warned that intolerance toward Islam and Muslims in Europe has been increasing in recent years and urged immediate action to stem violence against Muslims.
In a report titled “Islam, Islamism and Islamophobia in Europe“, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) noted with deep concern that in many of the Council of Europe’s 47 member states, Muslims feel socially excluded, stigmatized and discriminated against, stressing that they become victims of stereotypes, social marginalization and political extremism because of their different religious and cultural traditions.
PACE made recommendations to the Council of Europe saying, “Discrimination against Muslims must not be tolerated in Europe, as it violates the European Convention on Human Rights.” “Freedom of religion of Muslims must be fully guaranteed, but this freedom must not be used to deny other fundamental freedoms and human rights, in particular the right to life by non-Muslims, the right to non-discrimination by women or minorities, the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom of religion by non-Muslims,” it also added.
The report lambasted some member states where far right-wing parties have changed their traditional hostile campaign against immigration and foreigners and now exploit the public fear of Islam. The PACE report underlined: “Their political campaigns encourage anti-Muslim sentiments and the amalgamation of Muslims with religious extremists. They advocate the fear of Europe being swamped by Muslims.”
It listed political parties such as the French National Front, the Dutch Party for Freedom, the Belgian Vlaams Belang and the Swiss People’s Party, which have been very successful in running campaigns against Islam and largely contributed to the stigmatization of Muslims
Christian Democratic Party MP Fred Nile has succeeded in introducing a bill to ban the wearing of the burqa in the NSW Upper House. Mr Nile introduced his private member’s bill, seeking to ban the wearing of the burqa and other face veils in public, shortly after 8pm (AEST) on Tuesday.
Last month, a debate on the same bill was voted down by the NSW Upper House.
Greens MP John Kaye said only the four Greens MPs and Family First MP Gordon Moyes voted against introducing the bill on Tuesday. “Last month the coalition and the government did the right thing and said no, they would not allow the Upper House to be home to this kind of racist dog whistling,” Mr Kaye told AAP on Tuesday. “This time they caved in.”
Mr Kaye said Mr Nile’s bill has opened the door to a “dangerous and divisive attack on one of NSW’s communities”.
“Letting loose the ugly bigotry that lies behind this bill will only encourage hostility to the Muslim community,” he said. “While no woman should be forced to wear a burqa or any other form of clothing, this absurd bill will do nothing to enhance the rights of women.”
The bill has been adjourned until September 2010.
See also Sydney Morning Herald, 23 June 2010
An Ann Arbor group announced Monday it has filed a request with a federal court seeking to require a metro Detroit bus agency to run ads aimed at Muslims who want to leave Islam.
The Thomas More Law Center, a conservative legal group, filed a motion for a temporary restraining order on Thursday that asks a federal judge to side with a New Hampshire-based group that often criticizes Islam. The Thomas More center had filed a lawsuit against SMART last month on behalf of the American Freedom Defense Initiative, Pamela Geller of New York and Robert Spencer of New Hampshire.
Robert Muise, an attorney with the Thomas More center, said the bus agency is a government entity and so it violated the First Amendment by not allowing the ad to run. He said that similar ads have run on buses in Florida and New York. He said that SMART’s own policy says it may “not censor free speech” and is “required to provide equal access to advertising.”
Local Muslim leaders support SMART’s decision. “They surely have the prerogative to deny carrying anti-Muslim ads in a locality which has one of the largest Muslim populations in North America,” said Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Two Birmingham councillors have lodged official complaints with the Independent Police Complaints Commission claiming they were deliberately misled over a hugely controversial project to tackle terrorism.
Sparkbrook Respect Party councillors Mohammed Ishtiaq and Salma Yaqoob have written to the IPPC demanding action is taken against senior officers who they said told them the prime focus of a £3million project would be to prevent crime in Sparkbrook and Moseley and not to spy on Muslims.
Police and council leaders were last week forced to put bags over 216 CCTV and ANPR equipment, which were installed in April, after accepting they had failed to consult community leaders from the wards affected.
Coun Salma Yaqoob said: “The way they went about it was very misleading and makes us lose confidence and trust. This is the only way to bring to light what’s gone on.”
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Citing what he sees as “religious bigotry” and “hatred,” Ibrahim Ramey, the human and civil rights director for MAS Freedom National – the advocacy arm of the Muslim American Society – penned an open letter today regarding opposition to a plan to build a mosque at the former St. Margaret Mary’s R.C. Church convent in Midland Beach.
Racists launched a vicious attack on a Muslim woman who was struck on the head and almost had her headscarf torn off. They also hurled racial abuse at the mother and her young daughter as they walked through the city.
The shocking assault has been condemned by the city’s Muslim community, along with religious leaders across Exeter. Hayat Kaddouri Roddy, of Polsloe Road, Exeter, has spoken of the frightening attack in which she describes her attackers as “animals”.
The 37-year-old was with her 13-year-old daughter Huda when the assault happened in Edmund Street, in the St David’s area of Exeter, close to the subway, at around 12.30pm on Tuesday. Both were wearing hijab head-dresses, and Hayat also had on a traditional Muslim jilbab – a long dress.
Moroccan-born Hayat, who has lived in the UK for 17 years and in Exeter for several years, and her daughter were stopped by two teenagers, a boy and girl aged around 17 to 18, who refused to let them pass. They racially abused the woman before a man aged around 27 joined in the attack.
Police are investigating the incident and are appealing for witnesses to contact them.
Hayat said: “This couple stopped us and said they weren’t going to let us pass. They said ‘you don’t belong to this country’. I kept really calm and there was a man behind me and I told him the couple wouldn’t let me pass.
“I thought maybe he would be supportive and help but all of a sudden, he stopped next to me and hit me on the head and tried to pull off my headscarf. He didn’t manage to pull it off completely but he really pulled it hard. And he was saying nasty words to me.”
Via London Muslim