Muslim attitudes – the real story

Posted on by Bob Pitt

MayorA new survey released today by the Greater London Authority confirms that London’s Muslim communities shares common values and concerns with the wider community, repudiating the image of conflicting values portrayed by certain sections of the media.

The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said: “There has been much discussion about how to engage politically and socially with the Muslim community, but this survey shows that the vast majority of Muslims hold views in common with the rest of London about respect for the law, the value of democracy, the importance of mutual respect and equal opportunities, and debunking myths that are so readily perpetuated by some commentators and in certain sections of the media. The view that the Muslim community as a whole holds fundamentally different views to the rest of Londoners is shown by these figures to be totally untrue. That is why those who attempt to demonise the Muslim community do great damage. It is, on the contrary, necessary to work with the overwhelming majority of the Muslim community to isolate the small number of dangerous people. Co-operation with the Muslim community is vital for the intelligence the police need to safeguard terrorists who kille Muslims just as much as other Londoners.”

The survey shows that Muslims in London want a society based on mutual respect for different beliefs as much as other Londoners. More than three fifths of Muslims believe it is important to have the freedom to say what they believe is true (84 per cent of Muslims and 88 per cent of Londoners as a whole). Furthermore, 95 per cent of Muslims think everyone should be free to practise their religion openly, compared to 86 per cent of the public.

The Mayor added: “One in twelve Londoners is Muslim and London’s Muslim communities, in all their diversity, play an essential part in the life of our city, contributing to its success as a global city. These findings show that Muslim Londoners whilst valuing their faith, share the same values as other Londoners. I will continue to work to increase understanding combat some of the ignorance, prejudice and Islamaphobia stirred up by some sections of the media which is deeply dangerous to Londoners.”

GLA press release, 13 November 2007

Our liberty depends on defending Muslims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Many Irish Catholics across the UK supported, funded, harboured and cheered on the IRA men of violence. Some were passive supporters, thought bedfellows. I do not recall any collective punishment being meted out in the way we see with Muslims today. Nor was anyone tried and convicted for thinking the terrorists were right….

“Using the war on terror, our state is now ready to bend all citizens to its will. But remember unacceptable tactics approved for use on us Muslims today will be used on others tomorrow. And the terrorists will have achieved their biggest ambition – the death of British democracy.”

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown in the Independent, 12 November 2007

UK terror detention limit is longest of any democracy

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Charge or ReleaseBritain’s existing 28-day limit on holding terror suspects without charge is already far longer than that for any comparable democracy, according to a study to be published tomorrow.

The survey, by the human rights organisation Liberty, was carried out by lawyers and academics in 15 countries. It shows that the four-week maximum in Britain outstrips limits in countries that have also suffered al-Qaida inspired terrorist attacks in recent years, including the United States, Spain and Turkey. Although police in these countries also face increasingly complex terror plots with growing international dimensions, their maximum periods for pre-charge detention remain as short as 48 hours in the US, five days in Spain and seven and a half days in Turkey.

The findings are released as MPs await the publication of a new counter-terrorism bill that will propose extending detention without charge beyond 28 days. Shami Chakrabarti, the director of Liberty, said any extension of pre-charge detention would put Britain even further out of line with comparable democracies around the world.

Guardian, 12 November 2007

The strange journey of Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Ayaan Hirsi Ali“The former ‘liberal’ who becomes an outspoken right-winger has become an American political archetype. Ronald Reagan and David Horowiz are two prime examples of the breed….

“Recently, a related version of this turncoat persona – former Dutch Member of Parliament Ayaan Hirsi Ali – has emerged: a ‘reformed’ Muslim woman who favors crushing Islam under the boot of Western militarism. Once very devout in her Muslim beliefs, Ali has gained a great deal of media attention – including horrific tales of her abuse at the hands of Muslim men – and has transformed into an outspoken critic who bases her calls for the destruction of Islam on feminist and human rights principles….

“She is poised to become the most recognizable face of naked Islamophobia in America. Expect to see her as a ubiquitous guest on cable news channels and frequent contributor of op-eds reinforcing the worst stereotypes about the Muslim world. She’ll validate already disturbingly common narratives about the perfidy of Islam, and she’ll tout the vast superiority of Western thinking in stark terms that would be shocking coming from a more traditional (read: white, Christian) right-wing commentator….

“Hirsi Ali has become a darling of those who believe in the benevolence of Western hegemony; The Economist described her as a ‘cultural ideologue of the new right’…. Her outspoken advocacy on feminist ethical issues – roundly condemning ‘honor killings’ and female circumcision – has also made her a poster-girl for the aggressive brand of atheism typified by figures like Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens, all three of whom have held her life-story up as an example of the harms caused by religion in general, and Islam in particular. For them, she’s a living testament to the idea that rational liberal interventionists in the post-Enlightenment West have a moral duty to wage a new crusade against the Muslim world.”

Joshua Holland at AlterNet, 12 November 2007

Call to ban council staff from wearing the burka

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A group of councillors are proposing that staff at Calderdale Council be banned from wearing the burka and niqab.

Coun Allen Clegg has demanded staff be stopped from wearing the religious Muslim dress because “it intimidates people.” He likened the niqab – the face veil – and the burka, the garment that cloaks the entire body, often including the face, to outfits worn by the Ku Klux Klan.

He told the Courier: “Council workers are often facing the public and I don’t think the public feels comfortable or safe facing someone they essentially cannot see. It’s a matter of common sense. How would you feel if a social worker turned up at your door wearing something that resembled a Ku Klux Klan outfit?”

Halifax Evening Courier, 12 November 2007

An attack on liberty

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The case of the “Lyrical Terrorist” shows how far our freedom has been eroded by recent legislation, argues Inayat Bunglawala. He writes:

“There would appear to be something preposterously wrong with our criminal justice system if nearly five years after the Iraq war was launched and hundreds of thousands of wholly unnecessary deaths later, Tony Blair is able to just walk away from his responsibility for the ongoing carnage and unbelievably emerge as a Peace Envoy to the region, while a foolish young woman who did not harm anyone now faces a maximum 10-year term in prison for what can only be described as a thought crime.”

Comment is Free, 12 November 2007

‘Thought crime has come to Britain’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Thought crime has come to Britain. We knew that in principle, as wave after wave of legislation has pushed the scope of anti-terror laws from deeds and plans to words. The case of Samina Malik, the Heathrow airport worker and jihadi fantasist convicted on Thursday under the Terrorism Act, confirms it beyond reasonable doubt.”

Boyd Tonkin in the Independent, 12 November 2007

Tonkin draws attention to the existence “an inflammatory anthem crammed with sanguinary images of ‘scarlet standards’ and the ‘martyred dead’, sung by a British political conspiracy once dedicated to overturning the entire economic order of society. After a spine-chilling evocation of ‘martyrs’ who died in ideological battle, the sinister ditty (‘The Red Flag’) explains why this movement’s symbol is ‘deepest red’: ‘ere their limbs grew stiff and cold/ Their hearts’ blood dyed its every fold’. Truly chilling stuff. Surely, the leader of an organisation who sanctioned the singing of such a grotesque hymn to sacrificial death should at least have his hard drive examined by our Thought Police?”

Italian politician parades pig on mosque site

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Italy’s former deputy education minister has provoked a scandal by parading a pig, an impure animal for Muslims, on the site of a planned mosque in the country’s north, news reports said Sunday.

“We have ‘blessed’ the ground that the Padua authorities want to transfer for the mosque,” said Mariella Mazzetto, a member of the populist right-wing Northern League party in the city. She walked the pig on a lead accompanied by about 10 party members, Italian daily newspapers reported.

“It’s a question of defending Italian identity,” said Mazzetto, who was deputy education minister in 1994-95 under the former right-wing government of Silvio Berlusconi.

AFP, 12 November 2007