Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia

Far-right Islamophobe tries to exploit Sydney hostage crisis as Australian Muslims face racist backlash

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Ralph Cerminara stages publicity stuntRalph Cerminara, president of Australian Defence League, burst into an angry rant and had to be escorted away by police after an outburst near the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in central Sydney as the hostage crisis continued.

“Half the reason we’ve got this problem today is because of left wing bigots… These people may be murdered because of your left wing bigotry… It’s finally happened!” Cerminara shouted angrily before being taken away by police.

Cerminara’s flare-up was an ominous warning of the backlash the Muslim community could face when the siege is finally resolved. And a terrorism expert agreed, saying that racist attacks targeting Australia’s Muslim community are “quite likely”.

Ben Rich, a researcher into political violence at Monash University’s School of Social Sciences, said some Australian Muslims could face reprisal due to the incident in Sydney.

“I can’t say to what extent it’s going to be, but I’d say it’s quite likely,” Mr Rich said. He predicted that any violence would probably not be “organised by any particular political party” but was more likely to be “just a group of guys deciding ‘let’s go do something, let’s go attack someone’.”

Continue reading →

Orthodox Jews back scarf-wearing Muslim in Abercrombie & Fitch case

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Abercrombie-Fitch & Samantha Elauf

Seven Orthodox Jewish groups, a Muslim civil rights organization and a public interest law firm supporting religious freedom filed briefs this week with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a Muslim teenager who was denied a job at Abercrombie & Fitch because she wore a head scarf.

Samantha Elauf was 17 when she was rejected by a Tulsa, Okla., branch of the clothing store.

Employees acknowledged that she was turned down because her scarf didn’t meet the company’s “look policy” that requires its sales staff to be in keeping with its “classic East Coast collegiate style of clothing,” according to court filings.

The company said its employees did not know she wore the hijab for religious reasons.

Nathan Lewin, who filed a friend of the court brief for the Orthodox Jewish groups, said: “This is a common experience that a lot of other Sabbath observers or people wearing yarmulkes have had in terms of applying for a position and being turned down because it is just a nuisance to employers.”

“It is important that these Orthodox Jewish groups express support for this Muslim woman who has had a similar experience,” he said.

Continue reading →

Merkel condemns racism as Dresden anti-Islam marches grow

Posted on by Bob Pitt

PEGIDA placardChancellor Angela Merkel on Friday condemned anti-Muslim demonstrations centered on the eastern city of Dresden, saying there was “no place in Germany” for hatred of Muslims or any other minority.

In a speech at a party congress of her Bavarian allies in Nuremberg, Merkel also denounced an attack on buildings in a nearby town being turned into refuge for asylum-seekers. The structures were set on fire and daubed with swastikas.

“It is unbearable when homes of asylum-seekers are defiled, when people try to make radical slogans,” Merkel said, adding that everyone coming to Germany had the right to be treated decently.

Earlier on Friday, Merkel’s spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said: “In the name of the government and the chancellor I can say quite clearly that there is no place in Germany for religious hatred, no matter which religion people belong to.”

“There is no place for Islamophobia, anti-Semitism or any form of xenophobia or racism,” Wirtz said of the growing Monday evening marches in Dresden under the motto PEGIDA, standing for “Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West”.

Continue reading →

Parents protest about Islam lessons in California school

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Manhattan Beach Middle SchoolDespite brewing discontent over lessons related to Islam at Manhattan Beach Middle School and claims of indoctrination, the school district insists its curriculum follows state teaching standards that require students to learn about the major world religions.

Middle-school parents and others spoke out before the Manhattan Beach Unified School District board again this week, urging it to pull a middle-school social science textbook on medieval and early history and immediately discontinue any teaching about Islam.

The issue first arose in October, when Keith Johnson and his wife were approached by their middle-school son, who was concerned about an assignment for his history class.

“‘There is only one God – Allah.’ ‘People should submit to Allah.’ These are all phrases one would expect to hear uttered in a mosque, but, unfortunately, that’s not the case here,” Johnson told the school board Wednesday night. “These were all phrases our son was asked to write down in his seventh-grade social-science class.”

Johnson said the teacher and principal told him the lesson was part of learning about the history of the world. But what does presentation of the five pillars of Islam or testimony that Muhammad is the one true god have to do with history?” Johnson said. “The answer is absolutely nothing. It has more to do with religious dogma, which is strictly forbidden from being taught in public schools.”

Federal law does prohibit public schools from teaching religion to students – thus ensuring a separation of church and state – but the U.S. Supreme Court also has made clear that students can be taught about religion, especially its role in the development or progression of certain countries, district officials noted.

“Religion is essential in modern American history,” Superintendent Mike Matthews said. “You can’t teach about the settlement of America without knowing about the pilgrims and the Puritans. You can’t know about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. without knowing that he was a Christian minister. … We have an obligation to let our kids know about the various religions out there so they can better understand the world today.”

More importantly, the school district’s hands are tied by the state Department of Education in terms of what is taught in public schools, district officials said. And the district uses state-approved textbooks that are aligned with California teaching standards, Matthews said.

“We are completely following the state framework,” he said. “The five pillars of Islam, the Quran, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, quotes from Matthew and Luke are all in the textbook approved by the state.”

Continue reading →

Birkbeck College buckles to far right, cancels Islamophobia Conference booking

Posted on by Bob Pitt

IHRC logoAn academic conference tackling the alarming rise in Islamophobia in the UK has had to be relocated after the London University College hosting the event gave in to far right Islamophobes threatening to demonstrate outside the venue.

Birkbeck College has withdrawn the go-ahead it originally gave for the conference organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission citing its inability to arrange sufficient security in time for the event this Saturday. The conference will now be held at an alternative venue.

The turnaround came after calls were made on social media by Britain First, a xenophobic far right group which styles itself as the ‘British Resistance’, to demonstrate at the event. Britain First is being supported by another extreme right wing group, Casuals United, an alliance of football hooligans from various clubs, formed to tackle what they see as growing Muslim influence in Britain. In recent months the groups have adopted a policy of using bullying tactics to force venues to cancel Muslim-organised events and intimidate Muslim communities.

On Wednesday, IHRC staff who were on a routine site visit were dragged by college officials into an impromptu meeting to discuss the far right calls in which they were surprised to find local council PREVENT officer already in attendance. PREVENT is a key plank of the government’s CONTEST strategy which seeks to combat terrorism and is directed almost exclusively at Britain’s Muslim community. IHRC sees little reason for a council officer to be involved in a private matter between itself and the college. It seems odd that instead of tackling the immediate threats to a legitimate and peaceful event, the College appeared to be more interested in using the issue as an excuse to involve anti-extremism and radicalisation officials.

In fact during the meeting both parties seemed to be more worried about the prospect of a counter-demonstration by an anarchist and anti-fascist student group. The police involvement has also fallen a long way short of what is required. We find it hard to understand why local police were only in contact with the College about the event and did not see fit to discuss matters with IHRC until after Birkbeck College’s decision to cancel.

While IHRC believes that the safety of everyone is paramount it is not justifiable to allow threats and intimidation by a tiny minority to disrupt the normal flow of everyday life. The College has clearly bowed to Islamophobic pressure and may even have Islamophobic motives itself for cancelling the booking without sufficiently exploring other security options. The College even rejected IHRC’s offer to arrange its own security for the event.

Continue reading →

Bucket of urine placed at Muslim chaplain’s office at North Carolina university

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Khalid Griggs with flowersWake Forest University is rallying behind Imam Khalid Griggs, an associate chaplain at the university who found a bucket of urine in front of his office on campus last month.

The Rev. Tim Auman, the university chaplain, said that the incident was regrettable, but the aftermath fostered a sense of unity. “It is, in many ways, bringing out the best in Wake Forest students, faculty and staff by creating opportunities for conversation, education and greater understanding,” Auman said. “What speaks volumes is how the campus community has rallied in support of Imam Griggs.”

In a statement released by the university, Griggs said he appreciated the support he received “in the aftermath of the unconscionable act directed at me.”

The university released a picture Wednesday showing Griggs surrounding by dozens of flowers and cards sent to him from students, faculty members and Winston-Salem residents. “These deliveries,” Griggs said, “often cause my eyes to water, especially when students, heretofore unknown to me, hand me cards or flowers while tearfully articulating their sorrow and regret that such an incident had occurred.”

Auman described Griggs as a peacemaker and mentor and who supports Muslim life at Wake Forest. Griggs also serves as the imam of the Community Mosque of Winston-Salem on Waughtown Street.

Wake Forest University police are investigating the incident that occurred sometime between 5 p.m. on Nov. 7 and 8 a.m. on Nov. 10 when someone placed the urine at Griggs’ office inside Reynolda Hall, according to a police report. Investigators initially treated it as a breaking and entering and vandalism to property, the report said.

Wake Forest police have no suspects, said Cheryl Walker, a university spokeswoman. Police Chief Regina Lawson couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday. Griggs declined to comment on the matter.

The incident first came to light in a letter from a former student that was posted Dec. 5 to the website of the Old Gold & Black, the university’s student newspaper. The letter writer wondered why it took nearly a month before anyone knew what had happened to Griggs. “So how come you haven’t hear about it until now?” the student asked. “How come someone who doesn’t even go to Wake Forest anymore has felt obligated to make (the) campus aware because no one else would tell them?”

Continue reading →

Kennesaw council reverses course on proposed mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

KENNESAW, Ga. (WXIA) — Wednesday night, in a stunning reversal, the Kennesaw City Council said they plan to approve the new mosque that they rejected last week.

All five council members met in private for more than two and a half hours Wednesday at Kennesaw City Hall. They met in private with the mayor and with the city attorney.

Just after 9 p.m., they reconvened in public, and Mayor Mark Mathews announced that the council members who had voted against the mosque last week wanted to change their votes and vote for the mosque, at their next meeting, on Monday. That vote would allow Kennesaw Muslims to rent a storefront in a small shopping center just off of Highway 41 for their worship center.

Council members did not say why they were changing their votes to Yes. But they knew that the city was facing a certain, and expensive, lawsuit by the Muslims claiming that the city was violating their Constitutional rights. And the Mayor read a statement (see below) indicating that the mosque application fits with the city’s Vision and Mission.

So now the Muslims will not sue the city, and they will get their worship center.

“It’s been a very sensitive issue for everyone,” Mathews said. “Obviously, we all believe that Kennesaw’s a fantastic place to live, to work, to play, to worship, and we want to try to make sure than everybody is accommodated as best as possible.”

“It is exciting news,” said Amjad Taufique of the Suffat Dawat Center. “On a personal level, I really think that’s a very good thing that just happened, if the Council is going to go back on the decision and approve this thing. And this will give us an opportunity to invite our neighbors more, and understand us better, and be able to work together for the better community that we all live in.”

“I’m very disappointed,” said Kennesaw resident Carol Robertson. Robertson is against the mosque, but she criticized anti-Muslim picketers who demonstrated outside City Hall last week; they said they were afraid of Muslims using the mosque as a base for committing violent acts of terrorism against Kennesaw residents. Robertson said those protestors do not represent most Kennesaw residents.

Continue reading →