Political commentator Bob Beckel, the supposed liberal voice on Fox News’s daytime program “The Five,” said on Tuesday that there should be no more mosques built in the United States until every Muslim is cleared of any terrorist or violent activity.
The Collectif contre l’Islamophobe en France has condemned comments by UMP deputy mayor of Nice and former government minister, Christian Estrosi.
Asked whether he agreed with prime minister François Hollande’s statement during a visit to Tunisia that Islam and democracy are compatible, Estrosi replied: “Absolutely not! We can’t claim adherence to secularism everywhere and at the same time say that Islam and democracy are perfectly compatible.”
The expansion of a Clayton mosque has been approved by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal after residents who objected to the plan didn’t show at Tuesday morning’s hearing.
Muslims who show no interest in adopting Danish values ought to think about why they settled in Denmark in the first place, the immigration spokesperson for leading opposition party Venstre argued in an opinion piece published in Politiken newspaper today.
In her piece, Inger Støjberg criticises Danish Muslims who actively try to shield themselves from Danish values and norms and who think that their religious beliefs should not be allowed to be mocked. Støjberg pointed to a study of Danish Muslims in which 55 percent responded that criticising religion should be banned and 64 percent thought that free speech should be limited in particular circumstances.
“Denmark is the land of the Danes and you are more than welcome to become a Dane and take part in the work and community,” Støjberg wrote. “But to those Muslims who constantly work against us, constantly question us, are unsatisfied, encourage going to holy war in Syria, commit honour killings, belittle our values, flag or way of living – to all of you: Go and find somewhere else to live. No one is forcing you to stay. We accepted you and now it’s up to you to show the necessary respect for our society and the values it is built upon.”
Over at the Daily Telegraph, Con Coughlin draws the lessons from the departure of Abu Qatada to Jordan:
“While the Government’s focus is rightly centred on tightening up our liberal immigration laws, there is another area that requires urgent attention. The majority of this [sic] mosques in this country preach the traditional virtues of Islam, but there remains a minority that continue to subscribe to a more radical agenda, and are highly influential in persuading impressionable young Muslims – many of them British citizens who cannot be deported to places like Jordan – to take up the cause of jihad against the West.”
Perhaps Coughlin could provide us with a list of these mosques? Indeed, if he knows for a fact that such preaching is going on in the UK, doesn’t he have an obligation to inform the police? Or could it just possibly be that he has no evidence whatsoever for this inflammatory claim and made the whole thing up?
Writing in the Jewish Chronicle, David Aaronovitch replies to Douglas Murray’s recent article denying any parallel between Islamophobia and antisemitism, in which Murray claimed that “the word ‘Islamophobia’ is a crock” and is “used against critics of anything said or done in the name of Islam”. A sceptic might respond that Aaronovitch is not averse to promoting a bit of Islamophobia himself. All the same, he makes some good points here.
A UKIP councillor who admitted sharing offensive material about Muslims on Facebook will not face charges, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.
West Mercia Police said Eric Kitson, 59, was questioned but not arrested over “concerns raised by the public”. In May a computer was seized and a property in Stourport searched for evidence. The CPS said there was “insufficient evidence” to charge the former Worcestershire county councillor.
Police investigating racist graffiti on Muslim graves in Newport are pursuing a number of leads and the officer in charge of the case is positive the culprits will be caught.
Members of Newport’s Muslim community joined police officers and councillors at Christchurch Cemetery yesterday.
Vandals used white paint to write “Lee Rigby murder,” “white power” and drew swastikas on four gravestones at the weekend. Initials of the British National Party (BNP), the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the National Front (NF) were also smeared, as well as racist slogans.
Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right Front National, is expected to face charges of incitement to racial hatred in France after the European parliament voted to lift her parliamentary immunity.
The French state prosecutor in Lyon had asked the European parliament to lift Le Pen’s protection from prosecution as an MEP so she could face charges over a speech in 2010 in which she likened Muslim street prayers to the Nazi occupation of France.
The Sun reports: “Channel 4 yesterday said it will screen a Muslim call to prayer every day during Ramadan – because it is more relevant than the Diamond Jubilee.” The report helpfully adds: “Radical preacher Anjem Choudary, accused of encouraging terrorism, said he welcomed any move to promote Islam.”
The Sun quotes a UKIP spokesman as warning that the decision “will inflame community tension”. With coverage like that in the Sun, it very probably will.