Cologne mosque gets go-ahead

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Moschee-Neubau in KölnAfter much controversy, Cologne City Council finally voted in favor of building Germany’s largest mosque in the city.

All parties except the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and the extreme right anti-mosque initiative Pro Cologne voted in favor of building the mosque, which will be Germany’s largest. Cologne Mayor Schramma, who has gone back and forth on the issue, in the end voted against his own CDU party in favor of the mosque’s construction Thursday.

The new mosque will now be built on a site in Ehrenfeld, an industrial section of Cologne where there is currently a working mosque operating out of an old factory.

“They can start tearing down the old factory building tomorrow,” Josef Wirges, the local council member for Ehrenfeld and member of the Social Democrats (SPD) told SPIEGEL ONLINE. “I think the new mosque will be such an architectural masterpiece that tour buses will take people to see it after they visit the Cologne Cathedral,” enthused Wirges.

But far-rightists have made a racket about this particular mosque since plans to build it were announced last year. The extreme-right Pro Cologne has held 5 of the 90 seats in the city council since 2004. They launched a vociferous campaign against the mosque – drumming up support from as far away as Austria and Belgium. Jörg Haider, head of the right-wing Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) supports the Cologne protesters and has launched an attempt to ban mosques in his native Austria.

The anti-mosque campaign has been under observation by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, because of its “sweeping defamation of foreigners is suspected of violating human dignity.”

Although mosque supporters have won this battle, the war over integration in Cologne is not finished. Pro Cologne has planned a controversial “Anti-Islamization Congress” for Sept. 19. The city expects an influx of prominent far-rightists from around Europe – and 40,000 counter-protesters.

Spiegel Online, 29 August 2008

‘End the silence over Islam’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Am I alone in my disquiet about our government’s courtship of the Scottish Islamic Foundation? In the 1970s, young women like me embraced multiculturalism; we were engaging with our oppressed sisters everywhere around the world. Or so it seemed at the time. Where are we now? And why are we so effectively silenced?

“Why do we have nothing to say about a sharia credit card? Have we really forgotten what sharia law means for women? While English clerics debate the pros and cons of introducing an element of sharia law into their legal system, where are our voices in this debate? Do we seriously think it won’t happen in Scotland? Look at their website. It’s happening already.

“What do we think about the headline ‘Muslim sprinter wins Olympic sprint dressed head to toe in hijab’ (from the Scottish Islamic Foundation website)? Or of Al Jazeera talking to Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy first minister, about a ‘Scottish division’ of their TV station. Why on earth would they want a Scottish division? I need to know.

“I am not opposed, in principle, to any of these, but I am opposed to the suffocating, politically correct silence that now surrounds any criticism of organisations such as the Scottish Islamic Foundation. We need to bring this debate into the open. I don’t fear the debate; I fear the silence.”

Letter in the Scotsman, 29 August 2008

Muslim woman wearing veil ousted from Italy museum

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The head of one of Venice’s most prestigious museums on Wednesday apologized to an Islamic woman who was asked to leave by a guard because she was wearing a head veil.

The episode, which sparked controversy in the Italian media and rows between centre-left and centre-right politicians, occurred last Sunday in Venice’s Ca’ Rezzonico museum, which houses 18th century Venetian art.

“I’m sorry for what happened and if she ever wants to return to our museum, she will be more than welcome,” director Filippo Pedrocco told Reuters by telephone from Venice. “She will be most welcome among all women,” he said.

The woman, who was visiting the famed museum with her husband and children, had already cleared security when she entered the building and had begun her visit. When she reached the second floor, a room guard told her she had to take off her “niqab”, a veil which leaves only the eyes visible, or leave.

“The room guard was over-zealous. He should not have done it. She already passed security and his only duty was to guarantee the safety of the artwork in his room,” Pedrocco said.

The woman was believed to have been part of a well-off family visiting Venice, one of Italy’s most expensive cities, from Saudi Arabia or a Gulf state.

She refused to take off her veil and left the building, which faces Venice’s Grand Canal and houses works by such 18th century Venetian masters as Giandomenico Tiepolo.

Reuters, 27 August 2008

Turning the tables

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“My sister has worn a face veil for six years. She lives in Birmingham, where it is common to see women shrouded in black, however the sight is more unusual in Southampton, where my parents live and where, at the weekend, my sister was called ‘a ninja woman’.

“This insult is neither the most hurtful – ‘fucking terrorist freak’ – nor the most spurious – ‘Osama-lover’ – to have been levelled at her over the years. But it wasn’t the name-calling that really rankled her and me.

“We challenged the man who made the remark, he denied saying it, even though he said it as I was passing him. My sister called him ‘a lying bigot’, which is all she could muster on a Sunday afternoon in Primark, en route to Clark’s to have her children fitted for new shoes, but she delivered it rather splendidly, to the bemusement of shoppers who, if they hadn’t noticed her before, suddenly found her rather interesting. Her children asked why mummy was shouting at a man.”

Riazat Butt in the Guardian, 27 August 2008

Sweden: Bank reported for discriminating against Muslims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Skandiabanken bank has been reported to the Swedish Ombudsman against ethnic discrimination (DO) for discriminating against Arabic sounding names.

When Ahmad Waizy from Lindome tried to complete an international payment transaction on Skandiabanken’s website, he was unable to complete the payment as the bank rejected his first name.

After ringing the bank, he was told that Skandiabanken’s online payments system has a bar against names that could be of Muslim origin. Over 4000 people have Ahmad as a first name in Sweden today.

Islam in Europe, 26 August 2008

But see also the same site for an interesting survey of Swedish attitudes towards Muslims, migrants and minority cultures which suggests that the majority population as a whole has become significantly more tolerant compared with a decade ago.

Abbey Mills Mosque: ‘No pledges have been broken’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Abbey Mills Mosque logoMosque developers this week denied breaking promises to keep neighbours abreast of the controversial project. Newham councillor Alan Craig, outspoken opponent of the proposals, had criticised mosque backers Tablighi Jamaat, who want to build a 12,000-capacity complex in West Ham.

“Tablighi Jamaat pledged an open day event during the summer at which we would view the work, see an exhibition and meet their architects and consultants,” said Mr Craig, leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance group. “It is now almost the end of summer with the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan just two weeks away, yet there is still no sign of the event.”

He added that worried locals have had five months “with the threat of this huge mosque hanging over their heads” yet still are given no information. “This silence is not golden. It represents yet another false claim and broken promise by Tablighi Jamaat.”

A statement from the developer’s PR company said: “The trustees have not changed their plans to stage two major consultation events. These will take place prior to making a formal planning application for this project.”

The statement expressed disappointment that progress has been slower than expected. “It is not the case that the trustees have broken a promise of any kind to the community. The trustees will ensure that all residents and those who have expressed interest through our website will be informed in plenty of time when the Work in Progress exhibition will be held.”

Newham Recorder, 26 August 2008

Terrorist – or just a curious teenager?

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Let’s look at what had Hammaad Munshi is actually said to have done. According to all accounts of the case, Munshi surfed the internet and is said to have downloaded material about the making of napalm and other explosives. He also had ‘al-Qa’ida propaganda videos’ on his PC.

“So what? That’s freedom folks. Just think how many British teenagers have got hold of the Anarchist’s Cookbook over the years and how much easier the internet has made it to seek out and read such material. How many of them went on to become terrorists? And if people want to download videos of US army tanks being blasted apart by Iraqi resistance fighters then that is surely their own business, right? Where have all the ‘free speech’ warriors gone now?”

Inayat Bunglawala examines the conviction of “Britain’s youngest terrorist”.

Comment is Free, 25 August 2008

Italy’s Northern League seeks to block new mosques

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Lega Nord posterItaly’s Northern League, the populist, xenophobic, sometimes separatist movement that is a key component of Silvio Berlusconi’s governing coalition, has proposed new legislation which would in effect halt construction of new Islamic mosques.

The bill, which the League’s chief of deputies Roberto Cota is expected to send to parliament next week, would require regional approval for the building of mosques. It would also require that a local referendum be held, that there be no minaret or loudspeakers calling the faithful to prayer, and sermons must be in Italian, not Arabic.

Chances of this being approved as it stands are slim, since it clashes with a number of constitutional rights and there was no immediate support from either Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party or from the ex-fascist National Alliance.

But there has been cautious support from the small, ultra-Catholic UDC party, and the proposed anti-mosque legislation undoubtedly reflects widespread feeling among Italians that some defence against a rapidly rising Islamic presence is needed.

Financial Times, 25 August 2008