Damian Thompson falls out with Pope

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“I don’t often have a go at Pope Benedict XVI,” Thompson writes, “but WHY is he supporting the United Nations conference on ‘racism’ in Geneva?” He quotes the Pope as stating: “We ask for firm and consistent action, at national and international level, to prevent and eliminate any form of discrimination and of intolerance.” Admirable sentiments, you might think. But Thompson is having none of it:

“With respect, Holy Father, it’s not an opportunuity [sic] to fight racism; like the disgusting fiasco in Durban in 2001, it’s an opportunity for African dictators and Jew-baiting Islamists to fulminate against Israel and the neo-Nazi, anti-Arab hordes that are sweeping across racist Europe, while dismissing any trifling Muslim assaults on other faiths as Islamophobic myths.”

Holy Smoke, 19 April 2009

Tory campaign to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir continues

Posted on by Bob Pitt

HizbA leader of a radical Muslim group which Tony Blair promised to ban four years ago has called on followers to support “jihad” against Israel at a rally in London. Dr Imran Waheed, told followers of Hizb ut-Tahrir that there could be “no peace” with Israel and urged them to “fight in the way of Allah”.

The remarks increased pressure on Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir. Patrick Mercer, the Tory chairman of the Commons Counter-Terrorism Subcommittee, said Dr Waheed’s comments appeared to represent “incitement to violence” and accused the Government of performing a U-turn on an earlier commitment to ban it.

A spokesman for the Home Office said that the group’s status was being reassessed in light of the latest remarks but said that the decision to proscribe an organisation must be “proportionate”.

But Mr Mercer said: “These comments strike me as inciting violence which is illegal. The Home Secretary must make up her mind as to whether the organisation is to be proscribed or not and if she is not going to proscribe it she has got to explain why the last Prime Minister said that it would be.”

Daily Telegraph, 18 April 2009

Tory MP calls for end to Sharia councils

Posted on by Bob Pitt

General ElectionMark Pritchard, Tory MP for The Wrekin, blogs at ConservativeHome.

And yes, it’s the usual stuff about the supposed threat from a “parallel legal system” which undermines women’s rights and social cohesion.

Needless to say, as is invariably the case with this sort of attack on Sharia councils, Pritchard makes no mention of the Beth Din courts that operate on exactly the same basis in the Jewish community.

The Centre for Social Cohesion recently published a study of the Beth Din (pdf here). In answer to the question “Is the Beth Din a recognised legal court – does it offer a parallel legal system?”, the CSC report stated:

“No, in neither arbitration cases nor religious judgements, is the Beth Din recognised as a legal court nor does it offer a parallel legal system; Beth Din rulings or advice can only be reflected in UK law if both parties freely agree and the decision is approved by the civil courts.”

As is the case with Sharia councils too. Indeed, we look forward to a report from the CSC which presents a similarly balanced analysis of faith-based arbitration in the Muslim community.

And if Pritchard is worried about women’s rights (not a traditional Tory concern, it must be said) he might take this up with the Sephardi Beth Din which in July 2008 divorced a Jewish woman without her consent, on the grounds that she “dressed provocatively in public, worse than a common harlot” and “danced in nightclubs late into the night”.

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Quilliam Foundation witch-hunts Osama Saeed

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Osama and AlexThat latest “Quilliam alert” from Ed Husain and his mates is headlined “Scottish National Party to endorse Islamist candidate“.

It is a disgraceful attack on Osama Saeed, of the Scottish Islamic Foundation, who has been selected as the SNP’s parliamentary candidate for Glasgow Central. Even by Quilliam Foundation standards this really is the pits.

It is increasingly clear that Quilliam are pursuing an hysterical witch-hunting agenda against mainstream Muslim political figures that is almost indistinguishable from the sort of vile propaganda you get from Harry’s Place or the Centre for Social Cohesion.

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Wilders announces ‘Son of Fitna’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Geert Wilders extremistPopulist broadsheet De Telegraaf reports that Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders is going to produce a sequel to his anti-Islam film Fitna.

Wilders said his new film, which will be finished by 2010, is intended to show the Western world how far Islamisation has progressed. “It is not going to be a copy ofFitna,” said the Freedom Party leader who warns that the film would be “no less controversial than the first film”.

The first film was mainly an indictment of the Qur’an, but “I now want to show people the consequences of mass immigration from Islamic countries, for which we have opened the door here.”

The MP also said professionals from the US will assist him in the production of the film. “I have received offers from people from New York and Hollywood, people who in the past have made films that were screened in the Netherlands.”

However, De Telegraaf writes that Wilders refused to name any names, and has yet to find sponsors to finance his latest production. He will travel to Florida next week to raise funds and talk about his film.

Expatica, 16 April 2009

Meanwhile, over David Horowitz’s Front Page Magazine we find an enthusiastic defence of Wilders:

“To label Wilders a racist, a xenophobe or a fascist is false. Instead, he should be seen as a democrat who seeks to protect modern democratic societies against the realistic threat of a stealth Islamic revolution, evolving from mass immigration, step by step introduction of Sharia law, and restriction of freedom of speech.”

Maajid Nawaz and Qaradawi

Posted on by Bob Pitt

We should have posted on this earlier, but last week’s Any Questions on Radio 4 featured an exchange over Yusuf al-Qaradawi, when Maajid Nawaz of the Quilliam Foundation was invited by the chair, Jonathan Dimbleby, to have a go at Ken Livingstone over the welcome he gave to Qaradawi back in 2004.

“That man justifies suicide bombing”, Nawaz asserted. “… He justifies killing women and children in market places in Israel. And that is absolutely unacceptable. There is no justification for targeting women and children.”

Which only goes to show that in this, as in much else, the Quilliam Foundation merely echoes the lies of anti-Muslim propagandists. As indeed do the “left” Islamophobes at Shiraz Socialist, who have hailed Nawaz’s “impressive performance“.

For an answer to the charge that Qaradawi supports the targeting of Israeli civilians by suicide bombers, see here.

Austria: Strache to demonstrate against mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader Heinz-Christian Strache has vowed to take part in protests against the planned extension of a mosque, warning it will spread “religious indoctrination”.

Strache said yesterday (Weds) he would participate in a demonstration against the extension of the Islamic Cultural Centre in Vienna-Brigittenau, adding: “This (Islamic) Centre (on Dammstraße) is inappropriate in such a densely-populated area. The centre will have programmes of religious indoctrination.”

Hannelore Schuster, a spokeswoman for Citizens’ Initiative, which is organising the anti-mosque demonstration, said: “We do not oppose Islam but are against further construction (to extend this centre). I cannot forbid anyone to be at our side. It is appropriate for other parties to consider the issue.”

Social Democrat (SPÖ) district chief Hannes Derfler said: “It is typical of the FPÖ to condemn all members of a religious group.” The Greens’ David Ellensohn added: “Strache is again trying to get radical right-wingers involved and offending Brigittenau’s residents.”

City officials have already authorised the construction.

Strache, who participated in an anti-mosque demonstration last September, has regularly claimed that Muslims want to create a parallel society in Austria. The FPÖ leader is expected to give priority to that issue and the alleged dangers posed by immigrants in general during the run-up to the Vienna election to be held next year 2010.

Austria Times, 16 April 2009

Tariq Ramadan not homophobic, Rotterdam rules

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Tariq Ramadan 5The city of Rotterdam is extending its contract with Tariq Ramadan for another two years, dismissing claims that the Swiss philosopher made homophobic and misogynistic statements.

Last month, the Gay Krant, a newspaper for the homosexual community in the Netherlands, accused Tariq Ramadan of making homophobic and misogynistic statements on tapes in Arabic destined for the immigrant communities in Europe.

Ramadan (46), a Swiss philosopher and theologist of Egyptian descent, was hired by the city of Rotterdam two years ago to “help lift the multicultural dialogue to a higher level”. He dismissed the Gay Krant‘s accusations as slander.

The city of Rotterdam has since carried out its own investigation, the results of which were presented on Wednesday. The city had 54 Arabic-language cassette tapes translated and examined. According to council executive Rik Grasshof of the Green party GroenLinks, the Gay Krant‘s reporting was incomplete and inaccurate.

As a result, Ramadan’s contract with the city will be extended for another two years, during which he will lead public debates in an effort to bring the various communities in Rotterdam closer together.

The right-wing liberal party VVD, one of four coalition parties in the city government, had demanded Ramadan’s resignation following the Gay Krant‘s accusations. “He can think what he wants but he cannot spread homophobic ideas in the name of the city of Rotterdam,” VVD council member Bas van Tijn said.

Van Tijn also questioned what Ramadan brought to Rotterdam. “How can someone who doesn’t speak Dutch bring the communities in Rotterdam together? Especially if that someone is constantly accused of having a double discourse?” Van Tijn asked.

NRC International, 15 April 2009