Category Archives: Women

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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Quebec Muslims defend religious rights

Posted on by Bob Pitt

QMDL press conferenceThe 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.

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Ontario: Young woman leaving mosque is assaulted – attackers demanded ‘Isn’t it against your religion to be out here?’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A teenage girl roughed up by a trio of girls while walking from the mosque on Geneva St. says she always felt safe in the community until now. The 17-year-old received a bump on her head, scrapes and minor injuries to her hands and nose after the confrontation. “I’ve never seen them in my life,” she said. “I felt safe walking by myself.”

Niagara Regional Police said the teen was walking on the sidewalk at Geneva Square parking lot just before 6 p.m. on Sept. 17 when three girls walking behind tried to pass, made a comment, got in an argument and pushed and hit her. The three girls ran away.

Two 16-year-old girls have since been charged with assault in relation to the incident. A third female youth was not charged. Their identifies are protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

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Vlaams Belang stunt backfires

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Vlaams Belang Freedom or Islam posterLast 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?”

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Student thinks she knows better than Muslim women what form of dress their religious beliefs require

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A student asked not to wear her cap in Bromley College says she won’t agree unless Muslim women remove their headdresses as well.

Caroline Powell, of Sevenoaks Way, Orpington, is attending Greenwich University, which uses facilities in Bromley College, Rookery Lane. While inside the Bromley College buildings, the 39-year-old has been told repeatedly to remove her cap, but believes that, while Muslim women are allowed to wear headdresses, this represents “double standards”.

The 39-year-old told News Shopper: “It started in September last year when I got stopped at the door by a woman and she said ‘you need to take your cap off’. It is a small black leather cap but it’s part of my identity. She said ‘you need to take it off, they are the rules’. A Muslim woman walked in behind me and I asked if she was going to ask her to take off her headdress. I’ve read the Koran, and it doesn’t say they have to wear it, it is a choice.”

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Muslim woman verbally abused by racist yob – twice in a week

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Muslim woman was told to get back to her own country twice in a week by a racist yob – despite her being white and British.

Police said it appeared the woman’s headscarf attracted the attention of the man. She was subjected to abuse on two separate occasions within days. The lady was walking in the Beaumont Park area with her son when she was verbally attacked.

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NSS thinks allowing Muslim employees to wear hijab is giving in to ‘Islamist demands’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Yesterday it was reported that the clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch had lost two lawsuits brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after the company sacked one young Muslim woman and refused to employ another because they wore headscarves. The company announced that it had now changed its policy and would allow employees to wear the hijab.

Most of us would think this was a welcome victory against discrimination. But how does the National Secular Society report it? Under the headline “Abercrombie & Fitch accede to Islamist demands”. It’s the sort of response you would expect from the likes of Pamela Geller.

Abercrombie to let workers wear hijab

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Trendy clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) has agreed to make religious accommodations and allow workers to wear head scarves as part of a settlement of discrimination lawsuits filed in California, lawyers announced Monday. The retailer will now allow hijabs, the traditional head scarves worn by many Muslim women when in public.

One judge determined the company fired a Muslim worker from a California store, while another judge said it refused to hire another woman in the state because of their refusal to remove their hijabs during work. The rulings came after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed lawsuits on behalf of both women.

In court papers filed Friday, Abercrombie agreed to pay the women a combined $71,000 and unspecified attorney fees. Additionally, it has established an appeals process for workers who believe they were denied religious accommodations.

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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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New York: Muslim woman assaulted, called ‘terrorist’ at pro-democracy rally

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today reported an apparently bias-motivated assault on a New Jersey Muslim woman taking part in a pro-democracy rally in Times Square on Saturday.

CAIR-NY reports that the woman, who wears an Islamic headscarf (hijab), was called an “f**king terrorist” during the assault. The incident and the arrest of the alleged perpetrator were caught on video.

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