On Saturday, September 28, a Muslim woman reported to the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) that she was physically escorted out of the Chisholm Baptist Church for attending the Annual Hibbing Area Women’s Retreat.
CAIR-MN says it will pursue legal options if any federal or state anti-discrimination laws were violated.
Good article by Haroon Siddiqui in the Toronto Star.
Hull North MP Diana Johnson has written to the Justice Secretary to express concerns at the “lenient” sentence given to an EDL thug who punched a man during a march. As previously reported in the Mail, John Claydon, 46, laughed as he left court after receiving an 18-month community order for attacking anti-fascist protester David Harding outside St Stephen’s shopping centre.
Claydon, who had a string of convictions for violence, was also ordered to do 100 hours’ unpaid work and pay £500 compensation. But Ms Johnson believes the sentence, passed by Recorder Michael Smith, was too lenient and has written to Justice Secretary Chris Grayling with her concerns.
Martin Lennon, Ms Johnson’s researcher, said: “Diana wrote to Mr Grayling because she was concerned by the sentencing guidelines employed by the judge in this case. Diana felt that there were several aggravating factors in this case that were not properly taken into account. This was a particularly vicious attack, which was not provoked. Moreover, Mr Claydon had a history of violence.”
The Virginian-Pilot has a forthright editorial condemning the hatred displayed last week when Virginia Beach City Council approved an application to build mosque.
It concludes: “Rather than allowing vile rumors and veiled threats to stand as the last word on this subject, Virginia Beach’s leaders and citizens should condemn such behavior and make clear that their community is better than that.”
A religious school in east London has been accused of requiring face veils for girls as young as 11 to be worn as part of its uniform policy. Conservative councillor Peter Golds said children should not be forced to wear the veil.
The dress code at Madani Girls’ School in Myrdle Street, Whitechapel, states that all pupils must wear a black burka and long black coat when outside.
Cllr Golds said: “I have concerns about children being forced to wear a garb for which there is no theological requirement. One would expect children at any school with a religious ethos to be dressed modestly, but not covered up. This is a decision that they should make as an adult.”
But in a statement, the school said it had been “misrepresented” and did not impose face veils on pupils. It said the word “burka” in its uniform policy refers to the jilbaab, which it described as “an outer garment, from shoulder to ankle length”.
The PQ’s proposed Charter of Values is continuing to raise a ruckus, as another group has announced its opposition to proposed legislation – making a demand for “inclusive secularism.”
The new group, Quebec Muslims for Rights and Freedoms, believes individuals should be free to wear whatever religious symbols they choose, and say the province should make policies without interfering with religious institutions.
The group represents 50 Muslim organizations across the province which collectively oppose the Charter that – if passed – would limit anyone wearing religious symbols from holding government positions.
An American-Islamic relations group released damaging information Wednesday that accuses the FBI of harassing friends of Ibragim Todashev. He’s the man an agent shot and killed in Orlando in May.
Deputies arrested Ashurmamad Miraliev on a warrant for threatening a witness in an Osceola County battery case from 14 months ago. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil liberties group, claims the real reason they brought him in was to question him about his friendship with Todashev.
The group said the FBI even asked some of Todashev’s friends to spy on local mosques and threatened to arrest them if they didn’t. “Didn’t ask him anything about the alleged charges. Just interviewed him for over six hours trying to get as much information on Ibragim Todashev as possible,” said Hassan Shibly, director of the Florida chapter of CAIR.
At approximately 12.00pm today the East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre management was contacted by police, alerting us to a possible bomb threat.
The entire complex was evacuated safely, whilst mosque staff assisted police in checking for any suspicious packages.
The buildings were declared safe an hour later, just before the midday prayers. Dilowar Khan, our Executive Director, later informed worshippers to report any suspicious behaviour or packages to staff.
We remain vigilant in the face of such threats.
This is the cover of the next issue of the French magazine Valeurs Actuelles, due to hit the newsstands tomorrow. It features Marianne, the symbol of the French republic, wearing an Islamic veil.
The Union des étudiants juifs de France (UEJF), the Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié entre les peuples (MRAP) et SOS Racisme have all issued protests against its publication. The UEJF has registered a complaint against the magazine’s editorial director for incitement to racial hatred, stating that the issue “contains an explicit exhortation to commit acts of discrimination or violence … against Muslims”.
Last year the Flemish far-right party Vlaams Belang launched a new front organisation, Women Against Islamisation, with a poster featuring party leader Filip Dewinter’s teenage daughter wearing a bikini and a veil.
Evidently pleased with the publicity generated by this stunt, last week VB followed it up with a new poster featuring a photograph of Anke Van dermeersch, the former Miss Belgium who is leader of the VB group in the Belgian senate, hitching her skirt up her legs. Various hem-lengths are marked, with “stoning” at the top and “sharia-compliant” at floor level. The photo is accompanied by the same slogan that appeared on last year’s poster – “Freedom or Islam?”