Veil ban will increase Islamophobia, boost far right and oppress women

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Raphaël Liogier is right to point out the problems with France’s proposed ban on the veil (Comment, 27 January), which will pave the way for similar moves against other visible expressions of religion. Shutting down the right to choose to wear the veil will only further embolden Islamophobia, the far right and fascist parties. The debate has had the net effect of demonising a minority of Muslim women, who number less than 2,000 in France. It will mean the only option for many of these women will be to stay confined to their homes. All this, ironically, in the name of integration and the liberation of women. We are one society and many cultures; respecting and allowing all cultures freedom of expression, as long as this does not impinge on the rights of others, means all communities can fully contribute to society. The debate in France is already impacting here, with Ukip calling for a ban on the burka and niqab.”

Letter from Ken Livingstone and others in the Guardian, 29 January 2010

Tory MP says rapist was influenced by migrants’ ‘barbaric and medieval’ attitudes towards women

Posted on by Bob Pitt

David Davies MPDavid Cameron was last night challenged to deselect a Welsh Conservative MP who linked the case of a teenage Muslim rapist to “barbaric and medieval” views towards women “imported into this country”.

Monmouth MP David Davies made his controversial comments during a radio interview while discussing the case of Bilal Khan, 13, who was jailed for three years for raping a 20-year-old woman in a park at Stoke-on-Trent.

He said: “I think there is a wider question here. What is it about this young man’s upbringing, what about his community or his parental upbringing, that led him to think that women are second-class people whose rights can be trampled over like this?

“That is a very interesting question, and there are some sensitive issues here but there do seem to be some people in some communities who don’t respect women’s rights at all and who, I may say, without necessarily saying this is the case on this occasion, who have imported into this country barbaric and medieval views about women, and that is something that also needs to be addressed.”

Welsh Secretary Peter Hain said: “David Davies should be ashamed of himself. His was a knee-jerk reaction based on ignorance. Rather than concentrating on the facts of a shocking case, he chose to malign entire communities in a wholly unfair and divisive way.”

Naz Malik, chief executive of Awema, the All Wales Ethnic Minority Association, said: “By linking in this instance the rape case to undefined migrant communities, David Davies displays the thought processes of a racial bigot. I think it is time David Cameron reassured Britain’s ethnic minority communities by sending a very strong message to him that his remarks are wholly unacceptable. That could be achieved by deselecting him as a Conservative candidate in the coming general election.”

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, a group representing young Muslims, said: “We in our communities find what Bilal Khan has done evil and totally unacceptable in Islam and for Mr Davies to suggest that somehow these rapist attitudes are engrained in some parts of [black and minority ethnic] communities is deeply offensive and of no substance.”

Plaid Cymru AM Leanne Wood said: “These comments not only display a crass ignorance of different cultures, but are highly inflammatory. To suggest that ‘backward, medieval and barbaric’ views towards women are being ‘imported’ into the UK is dangerous and irresponsible. Discriminatory attitudes towards women have to be tackled in all communities, regardless of race or religion. For David Davies to claim otherwise, suggests he is either very ill-informed or trying to court the anti-immigration brigade.”

Wales Online, 29 January 2010

EDL calls for ban on veil – and on construction of mosques

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“The ‘English Defence League’ will now be calling for a total ban on the wearing of the Burkha, We view the Burkha as a significant threat to the national security of the UK as anyone can be wearing it without being identified, British people cannot wear balaclava’s into a bank so muslim women shouldnt be permitted to wear a Burkha either, The same rules should apply to all. We will continue to protest against the implementation of Sharia Law in the UK and Militant Islamists operating within our shores. We also call for the immediate halting of all construction on new mosques based on the fact our government has no idea who is living in this country and 80% of imams running these mosques cannot speak our language, We urge our government to launch an urgent investigation into the source of funding for all new mosques in the UK as we beleive Saudi sponsorship is funding the extreme wahhabi form of islam which is spreading around the UK, We shall never surrender!”

English Defence League statement, 27 January 2010

Spelling and grammar as in original.

Danish government urges use of existing rules to suppress veil

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Denmark’s government said Thursday that face-covering Muslim veils don’t belong in Danish society but no ban is needed because their use can be limited under existing rules.

The center-right government said the burqa – an all-covering dress – and the niqab face veil are “diametrically opposed” to the values on which Danish society is built. It called for the full use of existing rules that allow schools, as well as both public and private employers, to demand that students, teachers and workers show their faces.

“The use of the burqa or niqab … deprives women of the right to interact in the Danish society on equal footing with men and women who do not wear the burqa or niqab,” the government said.

The statement followed months of discussion about whether Denmark should ban burqas and niqabs – a debate also taking place elsewhere in Europe. While the debate in Europe is widespread, use of the veils is not. A report commissioned by the Danish government found that only two or three women in the country wear burqas, and perhaps 200 wear niqabs.

The nationalist Danish People’s Party – a key ally of the minority government – criticized the government’s stance and said stronger action was needed to curb the use of face-covering veils. “It is a pity that the government won’t do anything about it,” deputy party leader Peter Skaarup said.

Associated Press, 28 January 2010

Media and politicians responsible for rise in hate crimes against Muslims in London, study finds

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate CrimeA rise in the number of hate crimes against Muslims in London is being encouraged by mainstream politicians and sections of the media, a study written by a former Scotland Yard counter-terrorism officer, published yesterday, says. Attacks ranging from death threats and murder to persistent low-level assaults, such as spitting and name-calling, are in part whipped up by extremists and sections of mainstream society, the study says.

The document – from the University of Exeter’s European Muslim research centre – was written by Dr Jonathan Githens-Mazer and former special branch detective Dr Robert Lambert.

“The report provides prima facie and empirical evidence to demonstrate that assailants of Muslims are invariably motivated by a negative view of Muslims they have acquired from either mainstream or extremist nationalist reports or commentaries in the media,” it says. “Islamophobic, negative and unwarranted portrayals of Muslim London as Londonistan and Muslim Londoners as terrorists, sympathisers and subversives in sections of the media appear to provide the motivation for a significant number of anti-Muslim hate crimes.”

In his foreword, the rightwing journalist Peter Oborne writes: “The constant assault on Muslims from certain politicians, and above all in the mainstream media, has created an atmosphere where hate crimes, ranging from casual abuse to arson and even murder, are bound to occur and are even in a sense encouraged by mainstream society.”

The report is based on interviews with witnesses to and victims of hate crimes, as well as police officers and former members of extremist organisations such as the British National Party. It says: “An experienced BNP activist in London explains that he believes that most BNP supporters simply followed the lead set by their favourite tabloid commentators that they read every day. When these commentators singled out Muslims as threats to security and social cohesion, he says that it was perfectly natural for BNP supporters to adopt the same thinking.”

The report says the extreme right are directing their violence more against Muslims than black or Asian Britons. “Interviewees with long experience of extremist nationalist street violence in London are unequivocal in their assessment that Muslim Londoners are now a prime target for serious violence and intimidation in the way that Londoners from minority ethnic communities once were,” it says.

The study focuses on anti-Muslim violence in London, with its authors saying they will produce one covering the whole of the UK by this summer.

Guardian, 28 January 2010

The report, Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate-Crimes: a London Case Study, is available online from the European Muslim Research Centre website.

Update:  See Jonathan Githens-Mazer and Robert Lambert, “Muslims in the UK: beyond the hype”, Comment is Free, 28 January 2010

Objectors will have another chance to stop new mosque in Camberley

Posted on by Bob Pitt

No to mosque in CamberleyObjectors to Camberley’s mosque have a final chance to sway a planning decision that apparently allowed the controversial plans to go ahead.

Surrey Heath Borough Council apologised for the “confusion” on Tuesday, but pointed out that the mosque plan had not yet been agreed and would need a second hearing before a decision could be reached.

The announcement will come as a major embarrassment for the council after it appeared to many people at Monday’s planning meeting that the mosque plans had already been formally agreed.

The apparent decision to allow the mosque to be built, against the recommendation of Surrey Heath’s planning experts, led to a massive public outcry from people opposing it, many of whom had assumed the plans would be blocked.

Get Surrey, 26 January 2010

See also BBC Surrey, 28 January 2010

For an example of objections to the new mosque see the Facebook page “Say NO to mosque in Camberley!!!“

Posted in UK

Canada: Tories and Liberals reject veil ban, Muslim Canadian Congress supports it

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Conservative government will not follow France’s lead to consider banning the burka. “In an open and democratic society like Canada, individuals are free to make their own decisions regarding their personal apparel and to adhere to their own customs or traditions of their faith and/or beliefs,” said a spokesperson for Justice Minister Rob Nicholson. “We have no plans to introduce justice legislation in this matter.”

The Muslim Canadian Congress is calling on the feds to impose limits on the wearing of the full veil, suggesting “political correctness” is preventing politicians from tackling the sensitive subject. “It’s a control thing, identifying with Muslim brotherhood,” said senior VP Salma Siddiqui. “Basically it is a subservient tool.” Her group plans to lobby politicians from all parties in May.

Liberal MP Marlene Jennings said Canada’s charter rights protect religious freedom, and the Supreme Court has consistently ruled not to impose any limits. “Canadian women have the right, if they want, to wear a burka,” she said.

The controversy comes after France issued a report proposing a partial ban on the burka and niqab. The report called the wearing of full veil a “challenge” to the republic and a symbol of enslavement of women and extremist fundamentalism.

Nathalie Des Rosiers, general counsel for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said Canada must send strong messages about equality of women but reject calls to follow France’s lead. “It goes without saying they should not be subjected to pressures from their communities, but neither from their government,” she said. “It’s not the place of the government to dictate how women should dress.”

Toronto Sun, 27 January 2010

Government criticised over failure to tackle anti-Islamic hostility

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Daud Abdullah, Muhammad Abdul Bari, Inayat BunglawalaThere is growing disenchantment at the government’s “lacklustre response” to rising anti-Islamic hostility, the Muslim Council of Britain has said.

The council wrote to the home secretary on the “growing problem” after a march by the English Defence League (EDL).

Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), said there was a “growing disenchantment at the lacklustre response from our political leaders to speak out against anti-Muslim hatred” among many British Muslim communities.

His letter said: “Whether this exists in explicit form through the actions of far-right groups, or implicitly with hysterical headlines in our media, the policy response to any of these has been far from satisfactory. We ask you to take leadership in this matter, especially in a year where divisive elements may well flourish in the run-up to the next general election.”

The MCB accused political leaders of staying silent on the issue and said they had “ridden the wave of this disturbing trend” but failed to challenge hostility.

It hosted a meeting of Muslim groups at the weekend to discuss what it called “the growing trend of anti-Muslim hatred and violence”.

BBC News, 27 January 2010

See also MCB press release, 26 January 2010

Swiss basketball player fails to overturn headscarf ban

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sura Al-ShawkA Swiss basketball player has failed in her bid to have a court overturn a headscarf ban when she plays in league games.

A local court in the canton of Lucerne said in a ruling published Wednesday that the ban doesn’t breach the rights of the player, who is Muslim.

Sura Al-Shawk, a 19-year-old Swiss citizen of Iraqi origin who plays for STV Luzern, sought permission from the Swiss basketball association to wear a scarf. ProBasket said in August she can’t because it could increase the risk of injury and the sport has to be religiously neutral.

ProBasket said it followed the rules of FIBA, basketball’s world governing body.

Associated Press, 27 January 2010