Belgian court overturns headscarf sacking of teacher

Belgium’s highest administrative court has overturned the sacking of a Muslim woman teacher by two schools because she wore a headscarf, national press reported Friday.

The State Council found that the two schools had abused their powers by firing the woman, who wore the headscarf in the school grounds but not in the classroom, reported the dailies De Standaard and Het Laatste Nieuws.

The woman was teaching Islam temporarily at two suburban Dutch-language schools in the capital Brussels in 2005 and 2006, but she refused to take off her headscarf after the schools’ management asked her to do so.

The tribunal said the schools had not shown “that wearing the headscarf outside of the classroom would have a negative effect on the way the teacher was doing her work,” the newspapers said.

Expatica, 11 July 2009

Islam-basher will not speak at American Library Association conference

Robert Spencer 4The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) announced that Robert Spencer, one of the nation’s leading Islam-bashers, will not speak today at the annual conference of the American Library Association (ALA) following intervention by CAIR and concerned librarians, and the withdrawal of the other scheduled panelists who protested Spencer’s participation.

Librarians from across the country contacted the ALA questioning the appropriateness of inviting Spencer to speak on a panel titled “Perspectives on Islam: Beyond the Stereotyping” because of his history of intolerant views. The other speakers invited to join the panel withdrew after hearing of Spencer’s scheduled participation.

“We thank all those who stood up for tolerance and mutual understanding to challenge Robert Spencer’s Islamophobic views,” said CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab, who had written to the ALA questioning why an anti-Islam bigot was invited to a panel on dispelling stereotypes about Islam.

“Because stereotyping of Islam is such an important issue, we hope a future panel on this topic can be arranged with credible scholars and representatives of the American Muslim community,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “We strongly support open and honest discussion of difficult issues, but Mr. Spencer’s agenda-driven polemics promote the very stereotypes that the ALA event sought to dispel.”

CAIR press release, 12 July 2009

France: Racist campaign against burqa threatens democratic rights

“Though disguised under a hypocritical cover of secularism and protecting women’s rights, the anti-burqa campaign is a racist assault on basic individual liberties. It is also particularly dangerous in that it sets precedents whereby the state can outlaw political or religious beliefs it deems contrary to its interests.

“No credence can be given to claims that Muslim women’s rights can be defended by whipping up an anti-Muslim atmosphere and forcing women to modify their beliefs and conduct under the threat of punishment by the state.”

World Socialist Website, 14 July 2009

Mail on Sunday apologises to Inayat Bunglawala

InayatThe Mail on Sunday has today printed an apology to Inayat Bunglawala – Advisor on Research and Policy at ENGAGE – following a scurrilous story it ran about him on March 15 2009. The MoS apology – which also appears on the MoS website – reads as follows:

On March 15 we suggested that Inayat Bunglawala’s stabbing an intruder at his home questioned his suitability as a Government adviser on terrorism.

In fact Mr Bunglawala acted entirely in self-defence and no charges were brought against him.

Also, Mr Bunglawala does not support Al Qaeda or Abu Qatada as the article may have suggested.

We apologise to Mr Bunglawala for the distress caused and have agreed to pay him damages.

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BNP’s Griffin: Islam is a cancer

BNP Islam Out of BritainThe BNP leader Nick Griffin has described Islam as a “cancer” that should be removed from Europe by “chemotherapy”.

In an interview with Channel 4 News, Mr Griffin, who has just been elected to the European Parliament, said there was “no place in Europe for Islam”.

He added: “Western values, freedom of speech, democracy and rights for women are incompatible with Islam, which is a cancer eating away at our freedoms and our democracy and rights for our women and something needs to be done about it”.

The BNP leader said he agreed with a candidate for the Flemish far right party, Vlaams Belang, who had declared: “We urgently need global chemotherapy against Islam to save civilisation.”

Channel 4 News, 9 July 2009