Category Archives: Right wing

Islamic school that doesn’t force pupils to wear veil is attacked by Tory politician … for forcing pupils to wear veil

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Madani Girls' SchoolA 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”.

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French magazine accused of inciting racial hatred

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Valeurs actuelles cover

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”.

Swiss canton votes to ban veil

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Giorgio GhiringhelliVoters in Switzerland’s Italian-speaking region on Sunday slapped a ban on wearing full-face veils, a move condemned by the country’s Muslim community and Amnesty International. Results from a referendum in the southern canton of Ticino showed that 65 percent of the electorate backed a proposal to forbid the covering of faces in public areas by any group.

Echoing bans in France and Belgium, the measure does not single out Muslims directly. It states that “no-one may mask or hide their face on the public highway, nor in places open to the public, except places of worship, nor those offering a public service”. But in a clear nod to the Islamic tradition of veils for women, it adds that “no-one may require another person to cover their face for reasons of gender”.

The measure was the brainchild of right-wing Ticino populist party “Il Guastafeste” – whose kingpin Giorgio Ghiringhelli [pictured] makes no secret of his criticism of Islam. “This is an historic vote for Ticino,” Ghiringhelli told Switzerland’s Italian-language broadcaster RSI. “And not just for Ticino, but also for Switzerland and abroad, where the Ticino example could spread.”

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Tony Parsons on tolerance

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Tony ParsonsBack in June, Tony Parsons wrote a column for the Daily Mirror in which he parroted the ignorant view expressed by Andrew Gilligan that there had been no significant upsurge in hate-crime against the Muslim community in the aftermath of the horrific killing in Woolwich on 22 May. Parsons assured his readers: “The ‘anti-Muslim backlash’ is somewhere between a grotesque exaggeration and a plain old lie. The British are a civilised, polite, tolerant people – and even after the hideous murder of young Lee Rigby, that is what we remain.”

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UKIP no longer proposes ‘burqa ban’ law

Posted on by Bob Pitt

UKIP logoUKIP deputy leader Paul Nuttall has stated that his party no longer proposes a state ban on the Muslim veil in some public places.

Nuttall told the Huffington Post yesterday that “our view is pretty much that if people need to see your face, then quite frankly it should be shown” – for example in a bank – but that the party would not bring in legislation to impose a ban, because they are “libertarians”.

Not so long ago, of course, UKIP did propose to legislate for such a ban. In its manifesto for the May 2010 general election the party pledged to “tackle extremist Islam by banning the burqa or veiled niqab in public buildings and certain private buildings”.

As Nuttall points out, that was under a different leader – namely Lord Pearson, who had close connections with the likes of Pamela Geller, the US Islamophobe who was recently banned from entering the UK because of her record of anti-Muslim hatemongering.

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Progress Islam attack hurts Norway party talks

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Christian Tybring-GjeddeOne of the Progress Party’s most controversial figures has warned that Norway’s immigration policy threatens to destroy the country’s culture, putting the party’s coalition negotiations under new strain.

Christian Tybring-Gjedde [pictured], who heads the party in Oslo, refused to renounce the phrase “creeping Islamization”, which was used by party leader Siv Jensen in 2009. “Creeping or not, it is Islamization that I totally renounce,” Tybring-Gjedde said. “If it is the phrase ‘creeping islamisation’ that they do not like, we can call it ‘adaptation to Islamic culture based on Sharia law.’ Maybe those are words that will make it more acceptable for the Christian Democrats to  talk to us.”

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School ends field trips to Nashville mosque after complaints

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Islamic Center of NashvilleA certain kind of field trip is now off limits in one Middle Tennessee school district after students and parents complained.

Some Hendersonville High School students came to the Islamic Center of Nashville as part of a world studies class field trip. The students took a tour of the mosque and were offered a copy of the Quran, and one parent isn’t too happy about that.

“If you can’t go to one, you shouldn’t go to any. I mean, if you are going to be fair and balanced about it, that’s the way you need to handle it,” said parent Mike Conner.

Conner’s daughter refused to go on the field trip. “[The teacher] couldn’t understand why we didn’t want our children to experience different cultures. Well, different cultures is fine, but in our opinion, non-tolerant religions is not something you want to take your kids to,” Conner said.

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CAIR report: Islamophobia network funded with $119 million 2008 to 2011

Posted on by Bob Pitt

CAIR Legislating Fear coverThe nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today released a report, “Legislating Fear: Islamophobia and its Impact in the United States,” which reveals that anti-Islam groups received more than $119 million in funding between 2008 and 2011.

The new report by the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also identifies 37 organizations dedicated to promoting anti-Islam prejudice in America. CAIR’s second report on the subject more fully identifies the “Islamophobia network” in the United States and exposes its funding.

“This report sheds light on the groups promoting Islamophobia in our society and reveals to the reader the impact those groups have on our nation’s discourse about Islam, pluralism and the future of the protections enshrined in the U.S. Constitution,” said Corey Saylor, who directs CAIR’s department to monitor and combat Islamophobia.

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