Minds of South Carolina anti-sharia legislators have fallen victim to ‘stealth-alien invasion’, critic suggests

A long list of S.C. lawmakers plan to send a message to Palmetto State courts: Don’t apply foreign laws here. A proposed law, which a House panel will consider later this month, is part of a growing movement in legislatures around the country.

Twenty other states are considering similar measures to ban judges from applying the laws of others nations, particularly in custody and marriage cases. Three states – Tennessee, Louisiana and Arizona – already have added the laws to their books. Oklahoma put it in its state Constitution in 2010, a move now being challenged in federal court.

Proponents say the S.C. measure will ensure only U.S. and S.C. laws are applied in Palmetto State courtrooms, and foreign laws do not trump constitutional rights guaranteed to Americans.

Opponents say the proposal addresses a nonexistent issue and, while not specifically naming Islamic Sharia law, smacks of anti-Islamic sentiment. They say such bills target the practice of Sharia, a wide-ranging group of Islamic religious codes and customs that, in some countries, are enforced as law.

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Demagogues lose ground in their bid to smear Muslim students

Amandla Thomas-Johnson of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies argues that the recent Home Affairs Committee’s report on the Roots of Violent Radicalisation debunks claims by the Centre for Social Cohesion/Henry Jackson Society and others that the UK’s universities are breeding grounds for extremism among Muslim students.

Huffington Post, 15 February 2012

Colorado student quits high school choir over Islamic song praising ‘Allah’

A Colorado high school student quit the school choir after an Islamic song containing the lyric “there is no other truth except Allah” made it into the repertoire.

James Harper, a senior at Grand Junction High School in Grand Junction, put his objection to singing “Zikr,” a song written by Indian composer A.R. Rahman, in an email to Mesa County School District 51 officials. When the school stood by choir director Marcia Wieland’s selection, Harper quit.

“I don’t want to come across as a bigot or a racist, but I really don’t feel it is appropriate for students in a public high school to be singing an Islamic worship song,” Harper told KREX-TV. “This is worshipping another God, and even worshipping another prophet … I think there would be a lot of outrage if we made a Muslim choir say Jesus Christ is the only truth.”

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Posted in USA

Islamic Society of Victoria to sue Australian security service for harassment

Preston Mosque MelbourneThe Islamic Society of Victoria is preparing to take legal action against ASIO [Australian Security Intelligence Organisation] for what it says is constant harassment and bullying.

Members of the Preston Mosque in Melbourne’s north claim intelligence operatives are approaching worshippers on a daily basis, offering them jobs and demanding personal information.

The secretary of the Islamic Society of Victoria, Baha Yehia, believes sermons are being monitored and he wants the harassment to stop. “We will go to Canberra if we have to. We will go to Canberra and we will complain directly to the Prime Minister,” he said.

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Murfreesboro: right-wing Islamophobe trains deputies

SEG

MURFREESBORO, TN — A group that states on their website that the “Islamic Movement” is a “threat to our civil liberties” is training deputies in Rutherford County this week.

Deputies from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department are getting three days of training from Strategic Engagement Group, a Washington-based nonprofit that says its purpose is to counter the Unified Islamic movement in the United States.

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‘Mosque-busters’ leaflet delivered by EDL activist in Purley

Law and Freedom Foundation logoThe man attempting to stir up fears over plans to build a mosque in Purley is a far-right activist and avid supporter of the woman accused of racially abusing people on a tram.

English Defence League member Frank Day proudly claims to have put leaflets through the doors of 600 homes in the area.

His “Does Croydon need a mosque here?” leaflet contains information about a proposal to build an Islamic centre at 5 Russell Hill Place.

It urges residents to fight the application in the belief it will cause traffic issues. But despite his apparent concerns over parking issues in Purley, Mr Day lives six miles away on the New Addington estate – and freely admits he would object to a mosque being built anywhere.

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Virginia: business groups block anti-Sharia bill

Last month, a bill intended to combat the nearly non-existent problem of courts citing Sharia law was cruising to passage in the Virginia House of Delegates. For the moment, however, the bill appears to be dead after numerous business groups stepped forward to oppose it:

One bill, HB825 from Republican Del. Bob Marshall of Prince William County, would have prohibited judges and state administrators from using any legal code established outside the United States to make decisions. […]

But when legislators started hearing from business groups concerned about how the proposal could affect their dealings abroad and foreign companies located here, they sent the bill back to committee.

“I had some business concerns,” said Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County, after making the motion Thursday to kick back the bill. “It’s just something that needs some work.”

It’s unfortunate, if far from unexpected, that similar protests from religious groups, both Islamic and otherwise, were not enough to kill the bill. Nevertheless, the emergence of business opposition to these sorts of bills is a very important development.

Think Progress, 13 February 2012

French draft law aims to ban hijab for child minders

Françoise Laborde

The controversy surrounding the Islamic headscarf in France is making headlines again as the French National Assembly studies a draft law that will ban religious symbols in all facilities catering for children, including nannies and childcare assistants looking after children at home.

The draft law was approved by the French Senate with a large majority on Jan. 17 and it was sent to the National Assembly to be ratified before being signed it into law by the president.

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