Rory Bremner says he’s afraid to joke about Islam

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Rory Bremner, the political impressionist, said he fears joking about Islam could lead to his death due to the “chilling” issue of fundamentalism.

Bremner said self-censorship was the biggest obstacle today for comedians addressing topical issues, due to fears of retribution by extremists.

His comments came as he discussed the future of satire with Sir David Frost on a BBC documentary, Frost on Satire, to be broadcast on Thursday.

Sir David professed himself “surprised” at Bremner’s comments that he feared a joke could put his life in danger.

Daily Telegraph, 15 June 2010

Posted in UK

Spanish government announces plans to ban veil

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Cruzada contra el burkaSpain’s government plans to ban the use of the Islamic burqa in public places under a proposed new law on religious freedom, the justice minister said Tuesday.

“We believe that there are things like the burqa which are hard to reconcile with human dignity and which especially pose problems of identification in public places,” Francisco Caamano told reporters. The new law “will have to include measures on these symbols which impede identification in public places” for reasons of “security”, Caamano said.

His remarks came a day after the mayor of Barcelona, Jordi Hereu, announced it would be the first large city in Spain to ban the use of the full-face Islamic veil in public buildings.

Two other towns in the northeastern region of Catalonia, Lerida and El Venrell, have recently imposed bans on the use of the Islamic veil in public buildings. Two more, Tarragona and Gerona, are considering similar measures, as is Coin in the southern region of Andalucia.

AFP, 15 June 2010

Anti-Islamisation ‘pork and wine’ Paris party slammed

Posted on by Bob Pitt

AperoAnti-racism activists have condemned plans to hold a “pork sausage and wine” party in a multi-ethnic Paris district to protest against what the organisers call the area’s “Islamisation”.

SOS Racisme called for the event scheduled for Friday in the Goutte d’Or area of north Paris to be banned because it sent out a “message of hate and of violence towards groups of people because of their real or supposed origins”.

The opposition Communist Party said in a statement that “this disgusting joke seeks to exacerbate the differences that make for the richness of the 18th arrondissement (district)”.

Sylvie Francois, a local resident, told French radio that she set up a Facebook page for the event to fight against what she saw as the increasing “Islamisation” of her area.

The project has been publicised on internet social networking sites by a small far-Right group that calls itself the Bloc Identitaire.

Paris police said they will meet with the event’s organisers on Tuesday to consider their official request for permission to hold the event.

AFP, 14 June 2010

See also France 24, 14 June 2010

Belgian election: Vlaams Belang loses ground to New Flemish Alliance

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A separatist party was on course to win the most votes in Flanders last night for the first time in a Belgian general election, increasing the prospect that the country will split into the Flemish north and French-speaking south.

The New Flemish Alliance, led by Bart de Wever, 39, was heading for about 29 per cent of the votes in Flanders on a promise to break away from Wallonia and become an independent member of the European Union.

Mr de Wever has made Flemish nationalism respectable by advocating a gradual process of independence for Flanders, rather than the revolution preached by the ultra-nationalist Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest), which gained about 12.5 per cent of the votes in Flanders, down 6.6 points on 2007.

Times, 14 June 2010

Spanish bishop says Muslims will not be allowed to worship in Cordoba cathedral

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Mesquita CordobaBishop Demetrio Fernández González of the southern Spanish city of Cordoba, once the seat of Muslim power in Spain, said that he will not permit Islamic worship at the city’s cathedral. The cathedral was formerly a mosque, which in turn had been built on the site of a Catholic church.

Sharing the cathedral with Muslims, Bishop Fernández González said in an interview, “is a euphemism which means: get Catholics out of here … The answer to the question about sharing the Cathedral is that no, we’re not, because this place has been a Catholic church 16 centuries, while Muslims have been four and half centuries.”

“If I let in the Muslims pray in the cathedral of Cordoba, it is equivalent to Catholics saying goodbye and good night; it would be irresponsible,” he added. “There are things that are shared and others that are not, and the cathedral of Córdoba is not shared with Muslims.”

Catholic Culture, 14 June 2010

For earlier coverage of this issue see here.

Ban on hijab in Norwegian courts rejected

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Norwegian judges and other court officials are to be allowed to wear religious dress including the Muslim headscarf or hijab during court sessions, the board of the National Courts Administration said Monday.

However, if a party in a case has objections to the use of such attire – which also includes the Sami national costume – the person wearing such clothing could be recused – in other words excused from the case – the board said.

The National Courts Administration had initially proposed that all religious attire be banned in court rooms but revised its proposal after hearing opinions from various agencies.

Current guidelines for judges stipulate that “a judge has to act in such a manner that there can be no reason to question the judge’s impartiality.”

The discussion about the attire in court rooms was linked to a similar debate within the Norwegian police force. A year ago, the justice minister dropped plans to allow women police officers to wear the hijab as part of their uniform. The Norwegian Police Federation said it opposed any form of religious headwear, saying the police force had to be viewed as neutral.

DPA, 14 June 2010

Muslim conference in Wembley target for EDL protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL in BirminghamA protest group that tours the country staging “anti-jihad” demonstrations is planning a rally in Wembley against a Muslim peace conference.

The English Defence League (EDL) is recruiting members for the demonstration outside Wembley Arena on Saturday, June 26. The protest is aimed at the Al-Khair Peace Convention 2010, being organised by Muslim charity the Al-Khair Foundation to “remove misconceptions, false fear and hate of Islam and Muslims globally”.

During the weekend, the internet has been flooded with EDL supporters spreading the word about the protest and recruiting people to come along.

EDL has picked out Dr Nakir Zair, president of the Islamic Research Foundation, an Indian-based charity set up in 1991 to try to raise awareness of the ideals behind Islam, for particular criticism. Dr Zair, a keynote speaker at the conference, is labelled by the EDL as an “Islamist apologist” who is responsible for organising “stealth jihad” under the pretense of talking about peace.

The EDL demonstration, planned between 2pm and 8.30pm, could face opposition from Unite Against Fascism (UAF), a protest group that regularly turns out to EDL events.

Brent Green Party member and UAF activist Martin Francis wrote on his blog: “The fact that the EDL wants to protest at an attempt at dialogue speaks for itself. Discussions on how to combat the EDL’s unwelcome presence in Wembley will be discussed over the next few days by Brent and Harrow Unite Against Fascism and other organisations.”

Harrow Times, 14 June 2010

Brooklyn: interfaith marchers in support of mosque are jeered and abused

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sheepshead Bay anti-mosque protestorA peace march in support of a controversial proposed mosque in Sheepshead Bay turned ugly on Thursday after residents jeered marchers, most of whom were from outside the area.

“This is a Jewish neighborhood – build a mosque in your own neighborhood,” yelled Stan Yunatanov, who lives across the street from the proposed house of worship and cultural center planned for Voorhies Avenue between East 28th and East 29th streets. Another woman, who refused to give her name, yelled, “[Muslims] don’t love America. They hate America.”

There were no arrests, but tensions – which were already high ever since the Muslim American Society purchased the property earlier this year – was definitely of Biblical proportions during the “Children of Abraham Interfaith Peace Walk,” the seventh annual march for the Park Slope-based group.

The peace group originally planned to have its march in Coney Island, but decided to have it in Sheepshead Bay to support the embattled mosque project. “It’s a show of support for the right of all faiths to worship,” said Rabbi Ellen Lippmann, one of the event organizers and the head of Kolot Chayeinu, a Jewish congregation that holds its services in a Park Slope church.

The show of support had a distinct “outsider” feel, however. Organizers said that they tried to get locals involved, but failed. “We tried to recruit local clergy, but nobody wanted to join the walk,” said Rev. Tom Martinez, another Park Slope-based cleric.

As a result, the march started on Voorhies and Ocean avenues. In all, about 200 children and adults – many waving American flags – walked peacefully down Emmons Avenue and up Bedford Avenue before turning down Voorhies, where they were greeted with the catcalls. Some opponents held photos of Muslims burning an American flag and denounced the mosque’s affiliation with the Muslim American Society, which has been tied to Hamas and Hezbollah.

The Brooklyn Paper, 11 June 2010

Protests continue against Staten Island mosque and community centre

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Midland Beach protest placardDozens gathered in Midland Beach on Sunday to protest a plan to convert a former neighborhood convent into a mosque.

Demonstrators wanted the New York Archdiocese to back out of a proposed deal with the American Muslim Society, which plans to build a house of worship and a community center for the south shore’s growing Muslim population.

Protesters said they are concerned the group may have connections to radical organizations, and that the project is out of scale with the neighborhood.

NY1, 14 June 2010