The Montreal Gazette has published an excellent letter from a Canadian now resident in Richmond responding to Quebec premier Pauline Marois’s attack on multiculturalism in Britain.
Category Archives: UK
Judge allows woman to wear full-face veil in court
A judge has reached a compromise with a woman who refused to remove her full face veil when appearing in court.
The Muslim woman, who denied a charge of witness intimidation, had previously been told by Judge Peter Murphy that she would have to show her face to enter a plea so she could be conclusively identified.
The Londoner, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had argued that she was unable to remove the face covering – called a niqab – in the presence of men for religious reasons.
The same judge today backed down and allowed her to enter the dock to plead not guilty while wearing a niqab after a female police officer, who saw her face when she was photographed after her arrest, had a private viewing with her in a room at Blackfriars Crown Court in London. The officer then swore on oath that it was the same woman.
Judge Murphy said: “I would be satisfied for the officer giving evidence, having seen the defendant backstage so to speak in a private setting, saying she could identify her.”
The judge will give directions on Monday as to whether the woman can stand trial while wearing a veil that shows only her eyes.
Nick Clegg ‘uneasy’ about ban on Muslim veils in school
Nick Clegg has backed teachers who feel uncomfortable about pupils wearing full-face Muslim veils, but says he is “uneasy” about a college that has brought in a blanket ban.
The deputy prime minister said he could “totally understand” teachers who did not want full-face veils in the classroom as they needed to make “eye contact and face contact with pupils”. However, Clegg said these were “exceptional circumstances” and he generally supported people’s right to wear whatever religious clothing they liked.
“I’m really quite uneasy about anyone being told what they have to wear,” he said on LBC 97.3. “I think I’ve set the bar very high to justify something like that because one of the things that is great about our country is that we are diverse, we are tolerant.
“People do dress differently, people do have different faiths, people do have different convictions and that is reflected in what they wear, in how they present themselves.”
‘Multicultural celebration’ against EDL demonstration
A “peaceful multicultural celebration” is to be held on the same day as the English Defence League is planning a protest in Sheffield.
The EDL is holding a demonstration at Sheffield Lane Top on Saturday, September 21, about plans to convert The Pheasant pub into a mosque – even though the proposals have been withdrawn.
The ‘counterjihad’ movement finds a new ally
Two weeks ago the self-styled Free Press Society and its Danish/Swedish publication Dispatch International announced that they have invited Stephen Lennon and Kevin Carroll to visit Scandinavia for a speaking tour later this month. The English Defence League leaders are to address meetings in Malmö and Copenhagen where they will explain “why they oppose England’s Islamization and how they go about it”.
Dispatch International was launched in August 2012, with Ingrid Carlqvist and Lars Hedegaard as editors, to serve as an organ of the international “counterjihad” movement. The far-right Sweden Democrats party (which observed that it had “many connections … both personal and ideological” with the Free Press Society) was so impressed with the new publication that it sent a free copy to each of its six thousand members. Challenged at a press conference over whether he was happy distributing a newspaper that compares Islam to Nazism, Sweden Democrats spokesperson Richard Jomshof said he thought this was “a perfectly reasonable comparison”.
Birmingham MP attacks city college veil ban
A Birmingham MP has attacked a city college’s controversial decision to ban students from wearing Muslim veils.
Shabana Mahmood, MP for Ladywood, said she was “shocked” and “deeply concerned” at the policy introduced at Birmingham Metropolitan College. She spoke after the Mail revealed students had been banned from wearing all face coverings, including the niqab – which leaves only the eyes visible. Ms Mahmood is now demanding an urgent meeting with college leaders about the decision, which has sparked a furious backlash from some Muslim girls.
“For those that chose to wear the full veil, it is an important article of faith,” Ms Mahmood said. “I would like to know how many students are affected and a full explanation as to why the compromise suggested by students at the College, that the veil is removed for security staff to check and verify identity before being put back on, was not accepted by the College.
“I am deeply concerned that other colleges may follow suit, as a result of which increasing numbers of women will be locked out of education and skills training. We must not allow this to happen.”
Alan Sked defends multiculturalism, opposes veil ban, accuses UKIP of ‘dog whistle policy to racists’
Amanda Kelly of Global News has interviewed Alan Sked, the founder and former leader of UKIP, to get his perspective on Quebec’s Charter of Values.
EDL leader’s Oxford Union appearance cancelled
English Defence League founder and leader Tommy Robinson’s planned appearance at the Oxford Union has been cancelled amid security concerns. The institution, which had faced criticism over the event, said it could not afford the security to welcome him. Mr Robinson said the union had bowed to “threats of violence” but provided no specific details.
Mosque plan dropped but EDL protest to ‘go ahead’ in Sheffield
Proposals to turn a Sheffield pub into a mosque have been dropped – but the English Defence League still plans to hold a protest at the site.
Firth Park Cultural Centre had made enquiries about buying the former Pheasant pub at Sheffield Lane Top, which is for sale, and rename it Firth Park Masjid. But the group now says the £330,000 price tag is “too expensive” and it will be looking for an alternative site.
The English Defence League, which last gathered in Sheffield in June to lay a wreath “in tribute” to murdered soldier Lee Rigby, has organised a protest against the plans. The “peaceful” demonstration is to take place outside The Pheasant on Saturday, September 21 – and anti-fascist protesters are planning a presence.
When told the mosque proposal had been dropped, a spokesman for the EDL’s Yorkshire region, said: “The demo will still go ahead. There’s still a plan for a mosque somewhere in the area and we will be having a general protest.” He added several hundred members of the group are planning to attend the demonstration.
The protest was condemned by Sheffield Council deputy leader Coun Harry Harpham. He said: “The EDL are a right-wing organisation based on hate, and they are not the type of people we want coming into the city.”
Muslim students banned from wearing veils at Birmingham Metropolitan College
Angry Muslim students have hit out at college chiefs after being banned from wearing religious veils for “security” reasons.
All students, staff and visitors to Birmingham Metropolitan College have been told to remove any face coverings so individuals are “easily identifiable at all times”. But the controversial ban of the niqab – a veil that leaves only a slot for the eyes – has sparked fury among some Muslim girls, who say they are being discriminated against.
The policy was revealed just days after politicians discussed banning the burka. Kettering MP Philip Hollobone – who refuses to see constituents who will not lift their veils – raised the issue in a Private Member’s Bill, saying it “goes against the basic part of the British way of life”.