The importance of Yusuf al-Qaradawi

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Ken with Qaradawi“Yusuf al-Qaradawi is in the news these days, denounced on a daily basis on Saudi, Palestinian and Egyptian op-ed pages, forums and TV over his stances on Gaza, on Hamas and Abu Mazen, on Yemen, and more.

“Following those controversies is an excellent window into what divides and arouses passion in Arab politics today. Hate him or love him, the man has a keen sense of Arab opinion – whether he’s following or leading it – and has a proven track record of driving the debate. The fury of his adversaries on the other side of the so-called ‘new Arab cold war’ is a pretty direct function of the fact that his opinions, aired on al-Jazeera and spread through multiple online and real-world networks, matter….

“The Qatar-based Islamist is many things – a leading Islamist intellectual, a key figure in a wide set of interlocking global Islamist networks, a television star on al-Jazeera, a prolific author, a defender of Hamas, an Islamic internet pioneer…. His finely-tuned finger to the wind remains one of the most useful barometers of Arab public opinion.”

Marc Lynch analyses Qaradawi’s central role in political debates in the Arab world.

Foreign Policy blog, 21 January 2010

See also “Qaradawi slams attack against Egypt Christians”, The Peninsula, 23 January 2010

Mosque fire ‘not race hate crime’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Peter ClarkA teenager who petrol bombed a mosque has escaped a jail sentence after it was judged not to be a race hate crime.

Peter Clark, from Livingston, set fire to Livingston Mosque and Community Centre in West Lothian with a beer bottle filled with petrol. Members of the mosque stamped out the fire before police were called in.

Clark, 19, appeared before Livingston Sheriff Court and was fined £400. He was also ordered to pay the mosque £60 in compensation.

Fiscal depute Victoria Greening told the court that members of the mosque found the smouldering remains of the bottle smashed against a door at the back of the religious building on 17 August, 2008.  The bottle was taken away for analysis and the DNA proved a match to Clark who had earlier denied any knowledge of the fire.

In mitigation, Clark told the court that he had been having problems with his pregnant girlfriend and had also learned that his father was not his biological dad. Ms Greening said: “There is no indication that this was a racially motivated crime.” Clark’s solicitor, Ian Bryce, said his client was not a racist and he was not acting in a racist manner. “It was an act of profound foolishness, nothing more, nothing less than that,” Mr Bryce added.

Sheriff Alan Miller said: “You are very lucky really. This incident could have turned out to be so much more serious than it did had the fire really taken effect or had there been injury to people as well as damage to premises.”

BBC News, 22 January 2010

Ali Mangera on the failure of the Abbey Mills Mosque plan

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The architect who drew up plans for a huge mosque next to the Olympic Park in east London has said the scheme fell through because of Islamophobia. Ali Mangera, co-founder of emerging Anglo-Spanish practice Mangera Yvars, also criticised religious group Tablighi Jamaat, which was due to use the planned 12,000-seat mosque, for failing to engage in the planning process.

Tablighi Jamaat controversially dropped Mangera Yvars as architect in 2007, replacing it with Allies & Morrison.

Mangera said he was “disappointed” for Allies & Morrison, and blamed anti-Muslim sentiment for the collapse of his scheme. “A lot of the people who are opposing the scheme have questionable motives,” he said. “There’s Islamophobia.”

Newham Council wrote to Tablighi Jamaat last week after it failed to meet a deadline to submit a masterplan for the 7.3ha site.

Mangera, a Muslim himself, said the group should have also appointed a project manager to handle relations with the council and opponents. “I’m not surprised by what’s happened,” he added. “There was no one to manage the project. A sensitive and complex site requires quite a sophisticated approach. Tablighi Jamaat need to be a lot better organised. They need someone sophisticated to appreciate the design process and engage with the council and opponents.”

Building Design, 22 January 2010

See also “Mega Mosque cancelled: BNP victory”, London Patriot, 18 January 2010

Leeds bus driver arrested over ‘Muslim terrorist’ jibe claim

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Police have arrested a bus driver who allegedly called a woman passenger a Muslim terrorist and asked her if she had put a bomb on his bus. An investigation was launched by First Buses in Leeds after Turkish-born Hatice McGraffin, 29, claimed a driver made the inflammatory remarks as she boarded her bus on Thursday morning.

Cafe worker Mrs McGraffin claimed he said: “‘You are an Islamic terrorist – you have put a bomb on the bus’. I asked people on the bus ‘are you listening to this’ but they ignored me. I am not even a practicing Muslim and I am married to an Englishman. I got off the bus and went to work but I couldn’t work. I was crying so much and my hands were shaking, I had to go home. This is the first time this has happened to me in my life. There are lots of Muslim people living in this country, does he think they are all terrorists?”

Yorkshire Evening Post, 23 January 2010

Muslim community meets to raise concerns over growing anti-Muslim violence

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Imams and religious scholars from hundreds of Muslim organisations will gather in Birmingham on Saturday, 23rd January to discuss the rise in Islamophobia and anti-Muslim attacks in the UK and across Europe. We are pleased to announce that Wes Streeting, President of the National Union of Students and Salma Yaqoob, Birmingham City Councillor will be present and take part in the meeting.

Convened by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the meeting will note with deep regret and concerns that Islamophobia is becoming largely acceptable and tolerable due to the silence from our political leaders and by some sections of the media. This further enhances the legitimacy to ignore the concerns of the British Muslim community and increases the possibility of more anti-Muslim violence. Due to the lack of any clear policy or directive by the government, it has emboldened the far right groups, who are now increasingly targeting Muslims and their places of worship with virtual impunity.

MCB press release, 22 January 2010

All-faith stand against EDL march in Stoke-on-Trent

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Anti-EDL pledgeChristian, Muslim, Jewish and Sikh faith leaders have signed a pledge opposing a planned rally by The English Defence League (EDL) in Stoke-on-Trent. The faith leaders lit a candle and signed a pledge of unity against all racism outside Stoke Minster Church.

The Right Reverend Gordon Mursell, The Church of England Bishop of Stafford, said: “If Stoke-on-Trent is to have a good future, it is absolutely vital that all its citizens, irrespective of creed and background, work together for the common good. We believe that real diversity actually helps create a vibrant and attractive city. The EDL and BNP think the opposite. That is why we oppose them.”

The Right Reverend David McGough, the Roman Catholic Auxiliary Bishop for North Staffordshire, added: “We must all oppose any extremism that would play on peoples’ fears and anxieties to divide our city and set one section of our community against another.”

Gurmeet Singh Kallar, of the Sikh Gurdwarar, said: “As Sikhs we believe that all people are important to God and we are against the persecution of any group or minority.”

BBC News, 21 January 2010

Update:  See also “Midlands TUC condemns English Defence League presence in Stoke-on-Trent”, TUC press release, 23 January 2010 and “Leaders united against unwelcome extremists”, The Sentinel, 23 January 2010

Jewish leaders attack Muslim Council ‘deal’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Senior Jewish leaders have attacked the decision to restore relations between the government and the Muslim Council of Britain.

In a strongly-worded letter to John Denham, the Communities Secretary, the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council expressed their “deep regret” at his announcement last Friday bringing the MCB in from the cold after asking and receiving assurances of its opposition to all forms of racism, including antisemitism.

The letter, signed by Board president Vivian Wineman and JLC chair Mick Davis, provides a list of ongoing concerns, including the MCB’s reversion in 2009 to its “deeply offensive” policy of boycotting National Holocaust Memorial Day, its participation and joint-hosting of events “that incite the extreme hatred of Zionists” and its relationship with the Islamist East London Mosque.

It read: “[The] MCB’s current leadership have consistently shown themselves to have a deep-seated ideological Islamist bias that, in our opinion, should not be seen to be promoted in any way by government. It is our deep regret that government dialogue now with MCB’s current leadership is likely to weaken those many genuine moderates within the Muslim community.”

Jewish Chronicle, 22 January 2010

You can just imagine the outcry that would result if the MCB wrote to John Denham calling on him to break all links with the Board of Deputies, on the grounds that the BoD had publicly supportedIsraeli state terrorism against the people of Gaza.

See also “Why do we kowtow to the MCB?” by Jewish Chronicle editor Stephen Pollard, Spectator, 23 January 2010

Torygraph witch-hunts Wakkas Khan …

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Muslim activist advising the Government on religion is the former president of an Islamic student society, which has been linked to extremists. Wakkas Khan was praised by John Denham, the Communities Secretary, for his “outstanding track record of achievement” when he was appointed as a faith adviser. But the Cheshire-based dentist has a history of criticising the Government for its anti-terror policies, defending extremist groups and meeting radical Islamists.

Daily Telegraph, 21 January 2010

… and Daud Abdullah

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Daud Abdullah has been appointed to teach a 22-week course entitled “Introduction to Islam” at Birkbeck, a college of the university. The move will add to growing concern in the wake of the Detroit bomber case that London University is becoming a haven for Islamic radicals.

Houriya Ahmed, of the think-tank the Centre for Social Cohesion, said: “This is deeply worrying. It is bad enough when hardline preachers are invited on campus but to have soneone actually lecturing on behalf of the university is far worse. It is shocking they think that this man idea is suitable to introduce students to Islam.”

Daily Telegraph, 21 January 2010

NAMP questions ‘Prevent’ strategy

Posted on by Bob Pitt

NAMP_logoBritish values are under threat because the government’s attempt to combat terrorism has left whole communities “stigmatised”, the National Association of Muslim Police has told MPs.

The Prevent strategy, designed to stop radicalisation, focuses too much on Islamic extremism rather than the threat posed by the far right, claims the association, which represents more than 2,000 police officers.

“Never before has a community been mapped in a manner and nor will it be,” the association said in evidence to a Commons select committee on the strategy, known as Preventing Violent Extremism. “It is frustrating to see this in a country that is a real pillar and example of freedom of expression and choice. Our British system is a model for the world to follow, yet we have embarked on a journey that has put this very core of British values under real threat.”

It added: “The hatred towards Muslims has grown to a level that defies all logic and is an affront to British values. The climate is such that Muslims are subject to daily abuse in a manner that would be ridiculed by Britain, were this to occur anywhere else.”

The comments are contained in a memorandum to the committee stating that the growth of the far right and its ability to carry out terror acts should not be underestimated: “All forms [of violent extremism] – rightwing, separatist, so-called Islamist, green issues … need to be addressed as opposed to the current Prevent focus on Islam.”

There was a sense of frustration among Muslims and “some serious damage” may already have been done, it said. The government’s anti-terrorism policies could not “continue unchecked”, said the memorandum, and more thorough research should have been done before any consideration was given to the Prevent strategy being formulated. The result, it said, was a rise in Islamophobia.

Guardian, 21 January 2010

Meanwhile, over at the Telegraph website, Nile Gardiner offers his thoughtful response to the NAMP’s criticisms:

“It is wrong, according to the Muslim police association, to blame Islam for being the ‘driver’ of terror attacks in Britain…. The 2,000 strong National Association of Muslim Police is clearly in a state of denial regarding the motivation and inspiration behind the vast majority of terrorists in the UK…. Islamist militants pose the biggest threat to British security since the rise of Nazi Germany…. The notion that the thousands of terrorists currently based in the United Kingdom are not acting to advance a global jihad led by Osama bin London and his barbaric cohorts is ludicrous. Their goal is simple – the destruction of the free world and the establishment of an Islamist caliphate in the West.”

Update:  Writing on her Spectator blog, Mad Melanie Phillips claims that NAMP’s letter includes an “implicit threat of violence” and she observes that: “Rather than taming jihadi extremism in Britain, the cowardice of politicians has merely resulted in fracturing the thin blue line that protects us – and turning it into a potential weapon of the jihad.”