The LibertyPhile

Islamic prayers in council meetings?

2012-02-11T10:04:00.000+01:00

.... Amidst all the assertions of the UK being a ‘Christian nation’, and Christian prayer having been ‘a part of council meetings for centuries’, and yesterday’s judgement constituting and ‘assault on Britain’s Christian heritage’, the Localism Act does nothing to strengthen the historic foundation of our liberties.

Indeed, there is a grave danger of this clause being (ab)used to undermine the very foundations which Mr Pickles believes it will underpin.

There have been numerous recent court judgements along the lines of Britain being multi-faith and the law not favouring one religion over another. Lord Justice Laws is of the opinion that Christianity deserves no protection in law above other faiths and to do so would be ‘irrational’, ‘divisive, capricious and arbitrary’.

He said: “The precepts of any one religion - any belief system - cannot, by force of their religious origins, sound any louder in the general law than the precepts of any other.” [Archbishop Cranmer] Read more

Today’s rally for free expression

2012-02-11T09:53:00.000+01:00

I’ve just come back from the Rally for Free Expression in London, organised by One Law For All. It was a beautiful day, and there was a good turn out – about 200 gathered to hear a great line up of speakers including A. C. Grayling and Richard Dawkins. Many of the other speakers will be familiar names to HP readers – Faisal Gazi, Maryam Namazie and Hasan Afsal for example.

Another voice was heard in absentia – Maryam Namazie delivered a message of support from ‘Mohammed Jones’, creator of Jesus and Mo. He invited us to consider when we had last interrupted a religious service, because we were offended by its message, and compared those objecting to atheist societies posting Jesus and Mo cartoons on Facebook to someone rudely interrupting a private conversation. [Harry’s Place] Read more

Interpol accused after journalist arrested over Muhammad tweet

2012-02-10T11:03:00.000+01:00

Interpol has been accused of abusing its powers after Saudi Arabia used the organisation's red notice system to get a journalist arrested in Malaysia for insulting the Prophet Muhammad.

Police in Kuala Lumpur said Hamza Kashgari, 23, was detained at the airport "following a request made to us by Interpol" the international police cooperation agency, on behalf of the Saudi authorities. [guardian.co.uk] Read more

Phoenix police say Iraqi mom beat daughter, padlocked her to bed

2012-02-10T11:02:00.000+01:00

An Iraqi woman has been arrested in Arizona accused of beating her daughter and padlocking her to a bed in outrage after she spoke to a male student at school in violation of the family's traditional values, police said on Friday.

Yusra Farhan was taken into custody after a struggle with officers on Wednesday at a Phoenix hospital where her 19-year-old daughter was being treated for minor injuries, Phoenix police spokesman James Holmes said. [Reuters] Read more [via The Iconoclast]

The Problem of Sharia Law in Britain

2012-02-10T10:50:00.000+01:00

British lawmakers are concerned about the pressure being exerted on women to accept the ruling of the Sharia courts. To this end Lady Cox in June 2011 introduced a bill in the House of Lords to acknowledge the primacy of British law; the bill will be discussed during the 2012 parliamentary year.

She and others have deep concerns about the discrimination Muslim women suffer in Sharia courts, particularly in cases involving child custody and domestic violence. The custody of children reverts to the father at a set time, usually the age of seven, regardless of what would be in the best interests of the children.

.... Under Muslim Sharia law, a man can divorce his wife by repudiation: a woman must provide justifications. Female evidence is not permissible in a Sharia court in the case of rape. Women cannot become judges in those courts. The general principle is the concept that human rights laws should take precedence over religious law. The immediate point is that women should be free of coercion, intimidation, and unfairness. [Stonegate Institute] Read more

Saudi writer Hamza Kashgari faces charge of blasphemy after tweets about Muhammad

2012-02-10T10:40:00.000+01:00

Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari was detained in Malaysia on Wednesday night and is likely to be extradited soon to Saudi Arabia, where he will be tried for blaspheming religion. Kashgari, 23, had fled the kingdom Monday after he received thousands of death threats. His crime? He posted on Twitter a series of mock conversations between himself and the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

“On your birthday I find you in front of me wherever I go,” he wrote in one tweet. “I love many things about you and hate others, and there are many things about you I don’t understand.” Another reads: “No Saudi women will go to hell, because it’s impossible to go there twice.” [The Washington Post] Read more [via Mick Hartley]

Morocco: Weeklies Censored for Depicting God, the Prophet Muhammad

2012-02-10T09:52:00.000+01:00

Morocco should stop banning publications on the grounds that they “harm Islam,” Human Rights Watch said, in a letter today to Communication Minister Mustapha Khalfi.

Khalfi said on February 3, 2012, that he had banned the February 2 issue of the French weekly Le Nouvel Observateur because it contains pictorial representations of God, which he said Moroccan law prohibits. Khalfi also banned a special issue of Le Pèlerin because it contained pictures depicting the Prophet Muhammad. [Human Rights Watch] Read more

Muslims jailed over gay-hate leaflet

2012-02-10T09:51:00.000+01:00

Three men have been jailed after becoming the first to be convicted of stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation for handing out a leaflet calling for gay people to be executed.

Ihjaz Ali, Kabir Ahmed and Razwan Javed gave out the pamphlet, entitled The Death Penalty?, which showed an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose and quoted Islamic texts that said capital punishment was the only way to rid society of homosexuality. [guardian.co.uk] Read more

Hijab ban driving women away from soccer

2012-02-10T09:47:00.000+01:00

Muslim women are being driven away from soccer by FIFA's ban of the hijab, with more likely to follow if rulemakers fail to reverse the decision at a meeting next month, Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein of Jordan told Reuters.

While physical Olympic sports such as rugby and taekwondo allow Muslim women to wear the headscarf in competition, soccer, the world's most popular sport, remains against its use, citing safety concerns.

Last year the Iranian women's soccer team were prevented from playing their 2012 Olympic second round qualifying match against Jordan because they refused to remove their hijabs before kick-off. [Reuters] Read more

Taj Hargey renews attack on Tablighi Jamaat over Newham 'mega-mosque'

2012-02-10T09:46:00.000+01:00

A Muslim scholar who has courted controversy in Islamic circles for his progressive views on women has stepped into the equally fiery territory of contemporary architecture.

Taj Hargey is an imam and the director of the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford who is best known for allowing men and women to pray together and for discouraging veils. He describes himself as a "thorn in the side of Muslim hierarchy".

Now he is risking a similar status in architecture after weighing into the long-running row over plans for a giant mosque on the Olympic fringes. [Islamophobia Watch] Read more

Muslims told Valentine’s Day can invoke wrath of God

2012-02-10T09:42:00.000+01:00

An invitation “to be my Valentine” on February 14 is against Islamic beliefs and would incur the wrath of Allah, Muslims were told today in the official Friday sermon prepared by the federal government.

The sermon warned Muslims against celebrating Valentine’s Day, which the federal Islamic authorities claimed was in breach of the tenets of their religion. [The Malaysian Insider] Read more

Farewell to Bradford headmaster Ray Honeyford - hounded for warning of the perils of multiculturalism

2012-02-10T09:41:00.000+01:00

.... What is so galling,’ he wrote, ‘is that what Trevor Phillips has been saying this week is what I was saying 20 years ago as the headmaster of a predominantly Asian school in Yorkshire. Trevor Phillips calls for integration, the teaching of English and the inculcation of British values, precisely as I did in the mid-1980s.’

The passing of time has shown that Honeyford was equally justified in his warning about Muslim separatism, which has dramatically accelerated in the 28 years since his Salisbury Review article. That process is reflected in the growth of Muslim faith schools and the informal official acceptance of sharia courts.

The Department for Work and Pensions even turns a blind eye towards polygamy in its lax distribution of benefits.

We have also seen the rise of Islamic extremism and domestic terrorism, as well as disturbing cases of practices such as honour killings and ethnic gang warfare.

When Honeyford wrote his article, he was branded a heretic. His words had to be suppressed, his influence crushed. But that did not stop him being right. [MailOnline] Read more

Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Religious Edicts wants Kashghari tried for apostasy

2012-02-10T09:39:00.000+01:00

In a new development in the case of Saudi writer Hamza Kashghari, who wrote a few tweets that were considered slanderous to Almighty Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him), the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Religious Edicts (Ifta) issued a strongly worded statement in which it said mocking Allah or His Prophet is a downright sacrilegious act, kufr (infidelity) and apostasy that should no go undetected, local daily Al-Eqtisadiah reported Thursday.

"Whoever dares make a mockery of Allah, the Prophet or the Holy Book undermines the religion and displays enmity toward it. It is the duty of the rulers to try such a criminal," the committee said, warning Muslims to stay away from such practices so as to avoid exasperating God. [ARAB NEWS] Read more

Prison sentence for man who attacked Muslim girls for wearing bathing suits

2012-02-09T10:48:00.000+01:00

32 year old Iraqi was sentenced yesterday in Leuven to four months in prison and a fine of 275 euro. The man had physically and verbally attacked four Moroccan girls in the Leuven pool on September 12, 2010.

The girls were wearing bathing suits, and the man told them that they shouldn't be wearing that according to Islam. One victim was slapped twice in the face and had to be taken to hospital. [Islam in Europe] Read more

Islamists in Egypt halt filming of TV series

2012-02-09T09:40:00.000+01:00

The students had objected to the "indecent" clothing, it said, and "categorically refused" to let the filming continue unless the costumes were changed.

Islamists have become a potent force in Egypt's already conservative society in recent years, and won more than two-thirds of the seats in the recent parliamentary elections.

Earlier this month, the Arab world's most famous actor, Adel Imam, was sentenced to three months in jail for "defaming Islam" in several roles on stage and screen. Imam said he would appeal the sentence. [AFP] Read more

Islamophobia is the real problem in America

2012-02-09T09:28:00.000+01:00

.... We are thrilled that an objective, comprehensive investigation has revealed that only a tiny percentage of American Muslims support violent acts. However, we remain concerned that the greater danger to America's civic union comes from an increasingly organised campaign that portrays all Muslims as potential terrorists and traitors.

Yes, there may be some Muslims who resort to violence; but it's clear that these individuals signify nothing more than a statistical aberration, and are no more representative of the Muslim community as a whole than Timothy McVeigh, Jared Lee Loughner, or Anders Behring Breivik represent Christianity.

[COMMENT] I think both the US and UK have been exemplary in their attitudes towards their fellow citizens who are muslim, and I find this article highly disengenous.

I can think of no other states in the history of the world who would have been more tolerant of a minority group in a time of ideological/religious conflict than the western nations have been in the treatment of their muslim citizens. Muslims go about their lives as they please and they are free to believe what they want and have the same rights as their fellow citizens, as they should. [Guardian Cif] Read more

Islam and Free Speech: OIC vs. Universal Declaration of Human Rights

2012-02-08T09:51:00.000+01:00

.... As a result of Islamic activity in recent years the question has arisen in Western countries whether tension or incompatibility exists between the two principles, freedom of speech and freedom of religion, and whether restrictions should be imposed on speech critical of religions or religious beliefs.

Should those beliefs and belief systems be protected from adverse comment? Equally should not those who may be offended by such comment tolerate the legitimate exercise of free expression in democratic societies?

In the contemporary world two general problems have arisen on this issue: Islamic attempts to ban criticism of their religion and its Prophet by sponsoring resolutions in international forums condemning "defamation of religions," and the increase in laws on hate speech and blasphemy. [Stonegate Institute] Read more

Egyptian Presidential Candidate Says No Freedom in Islam

2012-02-08T09:43:00.000+01:00

In a recent TV interview, Hazim Abu Ismail, a candidate for Egypt’s presidency with affiliations to both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis, made clear that the hijab, or veil for women, would be enforced under his leadership. More importantly, along the way, he exposed his views more generally—that there is little freedom under Islam.

Especially telling is the military analogy he used: being a Muslim is like being a member of the military; you must obey all its dictates, including dress codes. He fails to add, however, that, whereas much military service is voluntary, in Islam, if you are simply born to Muslim parents, then you have joined Islam—whether you like it or not. [Jihad Watch] Read more

Saudi king orders arrest of sacrilegious writer

2012-02-08T09:28:00.000+01:00

.... On Tuesday, Saudi Information minister Abdul Aziz Khowja was reported as telling all local newspapers and magazine not to carry any article by Kashgari for what he described as persistent offences against Islam.

“I have instructed all newspapers and magazines in the kingdom not to allow him to write any thing and we will take legal measures against him,” he said.

“When I read his articles, I wept and got very angry to have someone in the country of the two holy shrines address our Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) in this offending way,” he added without giving further details. [Emirates247.com] Read more

Journalist Flees Saudi After Tweet on Prophet

2012-02-08T09:23:00.000+01:00

An apology by Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari over his controversial tweet about Prophet Muhammad failed to dampen a Salafi campaign against him prompting him to flee his home country.

The issue has turned from a spontaneous reaction into an organized campaign run by a group of disturbed Salafis, which has included death threats.

That’s how a series of attacks quickly escalated against Saudi journalist Hamza Kashgari following his tweets on the Prophet Mohammad’s mawlid (birth), which was celebrated on Saturday. Kashgari fled in the wake of the campaign. There are conflicting reports about his current whereabouts. A new twitter account believed to be his claims he headed to Canada while other news reports say he is in Southeast Asia. [online@al-akhbar.com] Read more

India: How to silence a nation

2012-02-07T10:02:00.000+01:00

The Jaipur story has now taken a new turn, on Monday (6 February) two courts in the city began legal proceedings after complaints were filed by among others, members of an organisation that campaigned against Salman Rushdie’s participation in the Jaipur Literature Festival. They allege that the festival organisers and four authors who read from Rushdie’s novel, The Satanic Verses, hurt the religious sentiments of Muslims.

The four authors — Amitava Kumar, Hari Kunzru, Ruchir Joshi, and Jeet Thayil — read from the novel to express solidarity with the absent Rushdie, and as a mark of protest. Rushdie did not go to Jaipur after he received plausible information that security forces had evidence of death threats against him. Now the festival’s organisers are also being charged under provisions of India’s criminal laws, which date back to the colonial era. [Index on Censorship] Read more

The High Price of Telling the Truth About Islam

2012-02-07T09:44:00.000+01:00

.... We each have a responsibility to the other people on this planet, and especially to those whom we will leave this planet to after we are gone. And this sometimes means taking an unpopular stand in order to protect the rights of innocent people.

…. And by the way, I still believe that unless they break the law, the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro has a legal right to build their house of worship.

We don’t have to like it, but then again the First Amendment was designed not to protect popular ideas – as they don’t need protecting – but to protect unpopular ideas as well.

This is something you won’t find in any Islamic country and it is also something worth protecting – even when the so-called “religion of peace” tries to shut you down. [Front Page] Read more

The jihad industry

2012-02-07T09:36:00.000+01:00

The Muslim crisis of identity is linked to their inability to redefine themselves in today’s world. Most Muslim nations lack both political and economic stability. Oil-rich Arab nations have economic stability — thanks to oil revenues — but are autocracies. Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia, however, are steadily moving towards both economic and political stability but have not yet reached the stage where they could serve as role models for others.

In the 20th century, Muslim nationalists tried to create Western nation states in countries that have not one but many nations with distinct ethnic, linguistic and cultural features. The socialists — in trying to create model social states — clashed with religious groups that hurt both. [Dawn] Read more [via National Secular Society]

Erdogan fuels ‘secret agenda’ debate

2012-02-07T09:35:00.000+01:00

.... it was Prime Minister Erdogan himself who has fueled the “secret agenda” debate now. He did this with a speech to party members in Parliament last week, where he indicated that as a conservative party they wanted to raise not just conservative but also religious generations in Turkey. His remarks received rapturous applause from AKP deputies, but the response from secular quarters was hardly surprising.

For them Erdogan had let the proverbial cat out of the bag with remarks that amounted to a “confession.” “What if I don’t want my kid to be conservative and religious?” decried well-known columnists like Hasan Cemal and Can Dundar. Undoubtedly Erdogan also provided fodder for the anti-Islamic European right wing with these remarks. [Daily News] Read more

Haitham Al Haddad Will Not Appear At LSE ISOC

2012-02-07T09:24:00.000+01:00

This is the news from the London School of Economics: UJS and LSE Jewish Society today welcomed the cancellation of tomorrow’s event featuring Haitham Al Haddad at LSE.

Al Haddad is reported to have made inflammatory remarks branding Jews “the enemies of God, and the descendants of apes and pigs”, quoting the notorious antisemitic forgery the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and citing the declaration that “Jews and Christians to be kuffur, and the necessity of hating them, and avoiding them”.

It is also said that he has justified capital punishment for apostates and stated that “Muslims should rule the entire planet with this Islamic law”. [Harry’s Place] Read more