Cultural & social affairs Department

OIC islamophobia Observatory

Monthly Bulletin – APRIL 2014

I. Manifestations of Islamophobia:

I.I. In the Americas:

1. Canada: Anti-Islamic pamphleteer gets nine months for promoting hate, but can still hand out flyers – A man charged for handing out anti-Islam flyers in Toronto was sentenced on 1st April to nine months in jail for promoting hate, among other charges, but was still allowed to hand out his flyers.

In February 2014, Eric Brazau, 49, was convicted of willful promotion of hatred, criminal harassment, mischief and breach of probation by failing to keep the peace. He was charged in September, 2012. The judge called Mr. Brazau’s conduct “despicable,” but rejected the Crown’s suggestion to stop Mr. Brazau from making and handing out the flyers because it would have imposed on him a higher standard than the Criminal Code’s section on the wilful promotion of hatred.

Justice Ford Clements said: “Brazau’s speech and pamphlets not only vilified Muslims but demonstrate prejudice, intolerance and insensitivity towards Muslims and their religious values.” Mr. Brazau had already served nine months in pre-trial custody and said he would be appealing the sentence.

Judge Clements said the court did not have the right to moderate Mr. Brazau’s views, “as repugnant as they are,” and excluded the Crown’s suggestion that his probation included counselling and community service. In: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/anti-islamic-pamphleteer-gets-nine-months-for-promoting-hate-but-can-still-hand-out- flyers/article17760151/, retrieved on 03.04.2014

2. US: Texas terror suspect planned mosque attack, officials say – Robert James Talbot Jr. considered himself a revolutionary seeking to create a different society by robbing an armored car, killing police and even blazing a bloody path though a service at a mosque where he would shoot men, women and children at prayer, officials said.

Talbot was ordered held without bond on 2nd April at a hearing in Houston, Angela Dodge, a spokeswoman for Kenneth Magidson, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of Texas, said in an email. Talbot, 38, of Katy, Texas, was arrested a week earlier, but government terror experts gave new details at April 1st’s hearing on what they said were his plans. When Talbot was taken into custody, prosecutors released documents outlining what they said was his effort to recruit five or six like-minded individuals “to blow up government buildings, rob banks and kill law enforcement officers. Talbot created a Facebook page titled “American Insurgent Movement,” the complaint alleged.

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His goal as stated on Facebook, according to the complaint, was to create “a Pre-Constitutionalist Community ... [for] those who seek True patriotism and are looking for absolute Freedom by doing the Will of God. Who want to restore America Pre-Constitutionally and look forward to stopping the Regime with action by bloodshed.”

The complaint alleged that in a 15 March Facebook post, Talbot said: “In a few weeks me and my team are goin active for Operation Liberty…I will not be able to post no more. We will be the revolution, things will happen nation wide or in the states. They will call us many names and spin things around on media. Just remember we fight to stop Marxism, liberalism, Central banking Cartels and the New World Order. In: http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-texas-terror-suspect-mosque-attack- 20140402,0,2322303.story#axzz2xoqoZRoK, retrieved on 03.04.2014

3. US: Falls police say they are looking for suspects in serious graffiti incident – Niagara Falls police were investigating the vandalism matter as a possible hate crime due to the content of the graffiti. B.F. Patel of Middle Eastern descent and the owner of the former Moore Business Forms headquarters building, in the 900 block of Buffalo Avenue, told investigators that sometime between 3 p.m. of 2nd April and 11:30 a.m. of the following day someone spray-painted racist graffiti on his property. Officers noted that three phrases were painted on the building in orange and blue paint. The phrases were, “(Expletive) you”, “Sand (Expletive)” and “(Expletive) with us now”. Falls Police Superintendent Byran DalPorto said: “We’re looking at this very seriously…Not only does graffiti do extensive property damage, when you use racist comments it could be considered a (criminal) harassment or even a terroristic threat.” DalPorto confirmed the case was being handled as a hate crime, adding: “Even if it’s (suspects) under the age of 18, it’s still a serious crime and we’re treating it that way…We will arrest them and they will have to answer for their acts.” Patel told police the cost to repair the vandalism would be high, perhaps as much as $30,000. In: http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2014/04/09/falls-police-say-they-are-looking-for-suspects-in-serious-graffiti-incident/, retrieved on 10.04.2014

4. Canada: Montreal Islamic centre gets axe thrown through window – The Assahaba Islamic Community Centre in Montreal’s East-End had an axe thrown through its window with an anti-Muslim note attached to it just after 7 April night’s provincial election. The note also said “F— Liberals,” the winning party.

Montreal Police spokesman Cmdr. Ian Lafrenière said investigators were treating the incident as a hate crime, but could not say so conclusively until they had more evidence, as “Maybe at the end of this we’ll find out it was only mischief, with a different intention, but we’re not taking any chances.” In: http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2014/04/08/montreal-islamic-centre-gets-axe-thrown-through-window/, retrieved on 10.04.2014

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5. US: Man made anti-Muslim remarks, spat on teenage girl on bus in Queens – Police on 15 April were asking the public to help them find a suspect who allegedly spat on a 15-year-old girl and raised his fist to her while making anti- Muslim statements on a bus in Queens.

The incident happened around 9 a.m. Monday, April 7, on a Q88 Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus at the Horace Harding Expressway (Interstate 495) and Kissena Boulevard, police said. The man walked up to the teenage girl and he made anti-Muslim statements, spat on her, and raised his fist as he threatened to punch her, police said. Police have released surveillance photos of the suspect. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/police-man-made-anti-muslim-remarks-spat-on-teenage-girl-on-bus-in-queens/, retrieved on 17.04.2014

6. US: Christian protestor promotes hatred in front of Dearborn Mosque – An unidentified woman who claimed to be Christian held up a large sign along an expressway in Dearborn, Michigan across from the Islamic Center of America Mosque in what was clear an act of provocation to insult and slander Muslims. A member of the Mosque named “Norman S.” approached the woman and urged her to come to the mosque and meet Muslims, but the woman refused.

The woman, who did not identify herself, kept repeating that she believed that Jesus had died on the cross and was risen again, and added, “And you, the Muslims are deceived.” Later she added, “I am not interested in a religion that fails” when the filmmaker repeatedly asked her to join him in visiting his mosque, noting that Muslims revere Jesus and praised Christianity as a “beautiful religion, too.” The woman held up a large white sign that appeared to be about four feet tall and three feet wide on the side of a highway near the Mosque, which is located at 19500 Ford Road (seen in the picture). In: http://thearabdailynews.com/2014/04/19/christian-protestor-promotes-hatred-front-dearborn-mosque/, retrieved on 20.04.2014

7. US: Islam at center of 9/11 Memorial criticism – Those behind the national 9/11 museum, yet to be opened, were learning, hard way, about the importance of choosing words carefully, as a seven-minute video on the backgrounds of the 19 hijackers discusses their affiliation with al-Qaeda was dubbed controversial. Some who had seen the video said it focused too much on Islam and unfairly implied an association between Islam and terrorism.

Peter Gudaitis, of the Interfaith Center of New York, said: “We object to the terms ‘Islamic terrorism’ and ‘jihadist’. There are not real terms. They’re invented terms. I don’t think this is political correctness. Others may disagree.”

The Rev. Chloe Breyer, of the Interfaith Center, said: “We’re challenging the museum to take another extra step in making sure there’s a distinction made between Islam and the identity of the hijackers.”

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The museum spokesman released a statement on 23 April: “A major part of preserving the history of September eleventh is to show who was responsible for the monstrous attacks on America ... the brief film, within the context of the surrounding exhibits, focuses on the roots of al-Qaeda. It does not purport to be a film about Islam or in any way generalize that Muslims are terrorists.” But some said its tone and choice of words, did make generalizations. One board member even resigned over it.

Gudaitis said: “Islam as a whole is not a violent religion. We don’t want to see them vilified or victimized.” Breyer said the center was just asking for more, as “We’re just saying, add to it a word about what Islam is for most of its adherents. We’re not suggesting the story be whitewashed or sanitized.”

By the time of this news item, memorial coordinators said they planned to leave the documentary as was when the exhibit opened later in 2014. In: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=9514510, retrieved on 25.04.2014

8. US: Islamic group accuses Republicans of fostering anti-Muslim sentiment – A Florida Islamic group was accusing some Republican Party lawmakers and local party organizations of fostering anti-Muslim sentiment. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, sent letters to almost every Republican Club or party extension in the state, asking the groups to stop bringing speakers who espouse anti-Islamic views. The letter said it represented the interests of more than 150,000 registered Florida Muslim voters.

Hassan Shibly, executive director for CAIR, based in Tampa, said such speakers not only inflamed anti- Islam tensions but had also led to discriminatory legislation: namely Senate Bill 386, which would ban foreign laws from being enacted in Florida; and House Bill 921, which allowed school districts to select textbooks instead of adhering to the statewide curriculum. Shibly said the textbook debate came about after a parent in Volusia County became uncomfortable with the number of pages in a history textbook that described Islam and organized a protest to persuade the school district to stop using the book. The Volusia School District noted that there were many more references to Christianity in the textbook than there were to Islam. Shibly said the letters were only sent to Republican lawmakers and groups because Republicans drafted and support these two bills and because no other party had invited anti-Islam speakers to give presentations. In: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20140424/ARTICLE/140429816?Title=Islamic-group-accuses-Republicans-of-fostering-anti- Muslim-sentiment, retrieved on 25.04.2014

I.II. In Europe:

1. France: Front National bans halal school meals – Far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen said on 04 April it would prevent schools from offering special lunches to Muslim pupils in the 11 towns it won in local elections, saying such arrangements were contrary to France’s secular values. France’s republic has a strict secular tradition enforceable by law, but faith-related demands have risen in recent years, especially from the country’s five-million-strong Muslim minority, the largest in Europe.

Le Pen told RTL radio: “We will not accept any religious demands in school menus…There is no reason for religion to enter the public sphere, that’s the law.” The anti-immigrant National Front had consistently bemoaned the rising influence of Islam in French pubic life. France had seen periodic controversies over schools that substituted beef or chicken for pork from menus to cater to Muslim children. Some of the FN’s new mayors had complained there were too many halal shops in their towns. The party won control of 11 town halls and a large district in the port city of Marseille in municipal elections on 30 March 2014, more than double its record from the 1990s. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/front-national-bans-halal-school-meals/, retrieved on 06.04.2014

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2. Denmark: CoE report confirms concerns about Islamophobia – A recent report released by the Council of Europe (CoE) stated that there was an increase in incidents of Islamophobia and hate speech against Muslims living in Denmark. The report, published 24 March 2014, was based on the examinations of Nils Muiznieks, commissioner for human rights of the CoE, during his visit to Denmark in November 2013. Muiznieks concluded that the high prevalence of racist and stigmatizing speech being used against Muslims in political life and in the media was a very problematic issue in Denmark.

The Report stated: “The commissioner encourages the Danish authorities to step up their efforts to combat hate speech, and in particular Islamophobia, which continues to be widespread in public and political debate. He particularly urges the authorities to condemn firmly and unequivocally all instances of racist and xenophobic political discourse.” In: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-344428-coe-report-confirms-concerns-about-islamophobia-in-denmark.html, retrieved on 13.04.2014

3. France: mosque files complaint after ‘letterbox threat’ - A mosque in the Paris suburbs said on 18 April it had filed a complaint with the police after slices of pork pate and a threatening letter were stuffed into its letterbox. The authorities at the mosque in Mantes-la-Ville, a town of 19,000 in the western suburbs of Paris, said the incidents reflected a “worrying climate” after the town in March 2014 elected a mayor from the far-right National Front (FN). The head of the association running the mosque, Mr Abdelaziz El Jaouhari, said about a dozen mouldy slices of pork pate were discovered in the letter box on 16 April. The next day, an anonymous letter arrived calling Muslims “cockroaches” and wishing “good luck” to the new mayor “because he has a lot of work to do for a good cleansing, in particular of the Muslim race”. In: http://www.nation.lk/edition/breaking-news/item/28227-french-mosque-files-complaint-after-letterbox-threat.html, retrieved on 20.04.2014

4. UK: BNP’s proposed election broadcast features vile anti-Muslim animation – Vile cartoons of Muslims swilling alcopops and chasing pre-pubescent girls, as well as graphic depictions of Lee Rigby’s murderer, were expected to be broadcast on the BBC and ITV in the last week of April 2014, submitted as the BNP’s official party election broadcast.The party could submit a five-minute broadcast to major channels ahead of the May 2014 European elections. An 10-second clip, leaked to The Huffington Post UK, showed an animation of a girl and the BNP’s bulldog mascot looking at a billboard which said ‘Muslim Grooming Gangs At Large’. She was then confronted with a gang of Muslims in traditional dress, swigging blue WKDs, as a background song to the tune of ‘All Things Bright And Beautiful’ mentioning how “there’s some who prey on little girls from takeaways and taxis”. The girl walks past a burqa-wearing Big Issue seller with a small boy, with a sign saying ‘Sale’ around his neck. She encounters a black silhouette, with blood red hands, a clear reference to Woolwich soldier Lee Rigby’s murderer Michael Adebolajo, as the song references those who “kill with knives and axes”.

The BNP had party election broadcasts scheduled ahead of May 2014’s European Parliament elections. Simon Darby, the BNP’s press officer, said the description of the clip matched that the party had submitted to broadcasters, though he said he was angry the video had been leaked ahead of time. The party had been teasing images of its cartoons on its website, counting down the days until the broadcast. The cartoons on the website matched the style of cartoon in the clip seen by HuffPost UK. The BNP website told members: “We’re counting down the days till it’s here… and believe the hype – it’s well worth the wait!”

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Nick Lowles, of anti-fascist group Hope Not Hate, told HuffPost UK he would be astonished if the clip were broadcast in its current form, as it was “…inconceivable this could be broadcast, especially since the BBC have rejected less extreme broadcasts in the past.” In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/bnps-proposed-election-broadcast-features-vile-anti-muslim-animation/#more-30768, retrieved on 27.04.2014

5. UK: EDL-supporting UKIP candidate claims ‘Islam is organised crime under religious camouflage’ – Ukip could be hemorrhaging candidates before the May 2014 elections with yet more derogatory and offensive comments revealed from its prospective councillors. A Ukip Camden candidate Magnus Nielsen [pictured] wrote on Facebook that most mosques in the UK had been “taken over” by “fundamentalists”. “Islam is organised crime under religious camouflage. Any Muslim who is not involved in organised crime is not a ‘true believer’, practising Islam as Mohammed commanded,” he wrote on his page. The UKIP leadership usually responded to embarrassing revelations about their candidates by claiming that they were unaware of the individual’s record. But they could hardly argue that in Magnus Nielsen’s case, as he had made no secret of his views. In 2010 the Guardian reported that Nielsen was a close acquaintance of English Defence League founder Alan Lake, with whom he had evident political sympathies: “Lake says he is exploring a political future for the EDL – and argues it should consider throwing its weight behind the UK Independence party. He later introduces me to Magnus Nielsen – a Ukip candidate in the general election – who has agreed to speak at forthcoming EDL rallies. Nielsen describes Muhammad as a ‘criminal psychopath’, ‘the first cult leader’ and ‘psychiatrically deranged’. Lake says there is ‘some synergy’ between the two groups.”

Hope Not Hate noted that Nielsen attended the EDL demonstration in 2010 in support of Geert Wilders and had also been active in the rabidly Islamophobic group Stop Islamisation of Europe.

Here is Nielsen’s Facebook post on Islam as organised crime:

In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/edl-supporting-ukip-candidate-claims-islam-is-organised-crime-under-religious-camouflage/#more-30804, retrieved on 28.04.2014

6. UK: UKIP candidate compares Islam to Nazism – A UKIP candidate defended tweets in which he said comedian Lenny Henry should immigrate to a “black country” and compared Islam to the Third Reich. William Henwood, standing in a council election, said he did not think the messages were offensive. He tweeted after Henry said there should be more black and ethnic minority people in creative industries.

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UKIP said it was a “non-racist, non-sectarian party whose members are expected to uphold these values”. Mr Henwood told BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins: “I think if black people come to this country and don’t like mixing with white people why are they here? If he (Henry) wants a lot of blacks around go and live in a black country.” On another occasion Mr. Henwood tweeted: “Islam reminds me of the 3rd Reich Strength through violence against the citizens.” In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/ukip-candidate-compares-islam-to-nazism/#more-30803, retrieved on 28.04.2014

7. UK: Paul Weston arrested on suspicion of religious or racial harassment – A European election candidate was arrested on suspicion of “religious or racial harassment” in a Hampshire city. Liberty GB candidate Paul Weston had been reading a Winston Churchill quote describing Islam as “militant” and “retrograde” through a megaphone outside Winchester’s Guildhall on the afternoon of 26 April.

Standing on the steps of the Guildhall, he addressed passers-by with an excerpt from former Prime Minister Churchill’s book The River War, written in 1899 while he was a British army officer in the Sudan. Police were called after complaints from members of the public, and the 50-year-old, from Dorset, was told to disperse but failed to do so.

A spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary said: “He was further arrested on suspicion of religious or racial harassment. He has been bailed pending further enquiries to report back to police on May 24.” He was one of three Liberty GB candidates standing to represent the South East as MEPs. His party’s six-point manifesto argued for a “rejection of the notion of Britain as a global no-man’s land upon which any of the world’s teeming millions may lay claim” and the upholding of “Christian ethics and Western civilization”.

Defending his actions, Mr Weston said: “I thought there was no point in competing with UKIP in terms of talking about the European Union, so I would talk to the people of Winchester about Islam.” But he had been heavily criticised by fellow MEP candidates. Liberal Democrat candidate Antony Hook described Liberty GB as holding “unpleasant and deeply Islamophobic” views. He said: “If someone has gone out and started to espouse their hatred then I think that is absolutely disgraceful.” In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/paul-weston-arrested-on-suspicion-of-religious-or-racial-harassment/, retrieved on 29.04.2014

I.III. Rest of the World:

1. Australia: Far right targets Muslims with hate campaign – Australia’s violent far right begun to stir again, targeting Muslims in a campaign that involved at least one shooting, death threats and intimidation. The worst of the anti-Muslim drive, led by the Australian Defence League, was joined by a small but widening base embracing the Australia First Party, a registered political party contesting local, state and federal elections, white supremacists, neo-Nazis and skinheads. A newly formed Australian branch of Greece’s fascist Golden Dawn had been supported by Australia First. Golden Dawn had a history of violence, used Nazi symbolism and regarded Adolf Hitler as a “great personality”.

Australia’s far right followed heavily on foreign mentors. The ADL grew from Britain’s violently anti-Muslim English Defence League, with others linked to an international network of fascists and white supremacists.

The domestic spy agency, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), said in its most recent report to federal Parliament that local groups were using protests to provoke violence. ASIO and police were then investigating rising tensions between the ADL and Muslim groups after an internet and social

7 media hate campaign, death threats and intimidation including public abuse of Muslims. ADL members in Sydney photographed Muslim women in city streets and on public transport, posting the images and accompanying abusive comments on the internet. This was supported by anti-Islamic harangues and pamphlets in shopping malls.

Islamic schools had also been targeted. Anti-terror agencies were alarmed by a video of Malek Fahd School in the western Sydney suburb of Greenacre, posted on Facebook and YouTube. The video claimed Malek Fahd, Australia’s largest Islamic school, was a centre for terrorism and should be destroyed.

The defence force had also investigated reports that the ADL had recruited within the military. The navy said none of its sailors were ADL members, but that several had been dismissed for inappropriate use of social media. Footage of navy ships had been used in videos made by heavy metal band Eureka Brigade formed by ADL member Shermon Burgess, whose lyrics proclaimed the riot between white Australians and Lebanese youths at Cronulla in 2005 “Australia’s Muslim holocaust”. Eureka Brigade’s inflammatory songs Border Patrol (supporting operations against asylum seekers) and ADL Killing Machine were posted on the internet.

Police investigations were continuing. Former ADL western Sydney president Nathan Abela was charged with offences including using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend. In: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11244781, retrieved on 30.04.2014

I.IV. On Geert Wilders:

1. Netherlands: 5000 Complaints Against Wilders For Racist Statements Against Moroccans – The Dutch public ministry announced on 2nd April that around 5000 complaints were lodged against populist leader Geert Wilders following his racist and provoking statements on Moroccan expatriates in the Netherlands. Over the past weeks before that date, thousands of Moroccans living in Holland, in addition to some Dutch people, headed for police departments across the country to file complaints against the leader of the far right party, known for his hostility to immigrants. These complaints were to be followed- up but it might take some time due to their huge number, the ministry said in a statement. Geert Wilders faced an unprecedented storm of protest after he told supporters he would ensure there were “fewer Moroccans” in the country. He was criticized by government members and politicians, including from his own party who distanced themselves from these remarks. Several MPs from Wilders’ Populist Party resigned to protest the statement. In: http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2014/04/127435/netherlands-5000-complaints-against-wilders-for-racist-statements-against- moroccans/, retrieved on 04.04.2014

2. U.S. Islamophobes stand by Wilders as his own party members defect – Dutch politician Geert Wilders had once again become the subject of controversy after he led supporters in an anti-Moroccan chant during a campaign rally in March 2014. Despite the mass condemnation he had received for the remarks, Wilders’ anti-Muslim counterparts in the United States were standing by his draconian approach to immigration.

While at the rally in The Hague, Wilders, the head of the Party for Freedom (PVV), asked the crowd: “Do you want in this city more or fewer Moroccans?” to which they chanted, “Fewer! Fewer! Fewer!” He responded with a wry smile: “We’ll take care of that.” Wilders later defended his comments and outlined his party’s plans to uphold his promise by “limiting immigration from Islamic countries, including Morocco” and promoting “re-emigration.” Wilders also planned on “deporting criminal Moroccans by revoking their Dutch passports” — as well as their dual-citizenship — and “sending them back to their country of their nationality.”

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However, many PVV members believe Wilders had gone too far with his latest spectacle, and had led to a crisis within its ranks. Many had chosen to resign and disassociate themselves from the party, including Laurence Stassen who represented PVV in the European Parliament. Despite the mass exodus from his own party, anti-Muslim activists in the United States continued to uphold Wilders as a symbol of resistance against the devastation they believed would come as a result of an increased Muslim population:

. Longtime anti-Muslim activist Daniel Pipes said although he didn’t agree with Wilders’ tactics, he sympathized with his goal of curbing immigration. “It is entirely understandable that the indigenous peoples of a country feel stress when large numbers of immigrants from an alien civilization, more than a few of them hostile, move in,” he said on his website. . Frank Gaffney took to his radio show to say Wilders is representing the “free world.” During the show, Gaffney described PVV’s policy as being a subscript for “describing the affliction that immigration, some of it illegal, has represented for a country like the Netherlands.”

. Islamphobic columnist Diana West joined Gaffney on his show and took issue with the negative media coverage Wilders has received. She implied she saw nothing wrong with his comments because “Moroccans top the charts in criminality” as well as in “social dependence.” In another column at the Columbia Daily Herald, West defended Wilders anti-immigrant stance by posing the question: “Is it ‘racism’ to oppose the demographic obliteration of a nation clearly underway?”

. David Horowitz Freedom Center fellow Bruce Bawer also defended Wilders at FrontPage Magazine. He said he doesn’t see him as a “bigot,” but instead as “the real thing: a brave, selfless man determined to steer the ship of state through turbulent waters safely into port.” He added: “The Dutch would be fools to throw him overboard.”

Wilders’ latest diatribe was rooted in an anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim platform that had made him one of the most prominent figures of the global Islamophobia movement. He had previously advocated against the construction of any new mosques in the Netherlands, claiming they were a “symbol of an ideology of hatred, violence and oppression.” He had also equated the Qur’an to Mein Kampf. Wilders spent the summer forming a new political alliance with France’s far-Right National Front party leader, Marine Le Pen. Their goal was to take on the European Parliament in 2014. Both parties blamed immigration and multiculturalism for Europe’s economic malaise and supposed loss of identity. In: http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2014/04/05/u-s-islamophobes-stand-by-wilders-as-his-own-party-members-defect/, retrieved on 09.04.2014

II. Positive Developments:

II.I. In the Americas:

1. US: Brandeis Cancels Plan to Give Honorary Degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Critic of Islam – Facing growing criticism, Brandeis University said on 08 April that it had reversed course and would not award an honorary degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a campaigner for women’s rights and a fierce critic of Islam, who had called the religion “a destructive, nihilistic cult of death.”

The university said in a statement released eight days after it had announced that Ms. Hirsi Ali and four other people would be honored at its commencement on 18 May: “We cannot overlook that certain of her past statements are inconsistent with Brandeis University’s core values.” The university said that the president of Brandeis, Frederick M. Lawrence, discussed the matter with Ms. Hirsi Ali on that day, and that she “is welcome to join us on campus in the future to engage in a dialogue.” Universities consider it important to make a distinction between inviting a speaker who may air unpopular or provocative views that the institution does not endorse, and awarding an honorary degree, which is more akin to affirming the body of a recipient’s work.

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At first, it was bloggers who noted and criticized the plan to honor Ms. Hirsi Ali, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Within a few days, a Brandeis student started an online petition against the decision at Change.org, drawing thousands of signatures. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights and advocacy group, took note, contacting its members though email and social media, and urging them to complain to the university.

On 08 April, a student newspaper, The Justice, reported on the controversy, and the Council on American- Islamic Relations sent a letter to Dr. Lawrence, referring to Ms. Hirsi Ali as a “notorious Islamophobe.” Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the group, said in an interview on the same day: “She is one of the worst of the worst of the Islam haters in America, not only in America but worldwide…I don’t assign any ill will to Brandeis. I think they just kind of got fooled a little bit.”

In its statement, Brandeis said, “For all concerned, we regret that we were not aware of” Ms. Hirsi Ali’s record of anti-Islam statements, though those comments have been fairly widely publicized. In: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/us/brandeis-cancels-plan-to-give-honorary-degree-to-ayaan-hirsi-ali-a-critic-of- islam.html?_r=0, retrieved on 10.04.2014

2. Cuba’s First Mosque Approved – Fulfilling an old dream for Cuban Muslims, the government approved plans for the country’s first mosque with a courtesy of the Turkish government, following a visit by a delegation from Turkey’s Religious Affairs Foundation to the Caribbean island.

Yuksel Sezgin, press adviser for Turkey’s Religious Affairs Foundation (TDV), a branch of the country’s top government-run religious organization, told Vocative on 25 April: “We thought the mosque would fit perfectly in Havana’s historic district with the neighborhood’s European architecture.”

Designed after the famous Ortakoy mosque in Istanbul, the mosque was being built to serve the city’s 3,500 Muslims and would be complete within a year. According to the plans, the Havana mosque would be 32,300 square feet with the capacity to serve 500 people. Land for the mosque had already been allocated in the city’s Old Havana district.

With no mosque available by the time of this news item, most Cuban Muslims prayed in their homes or, on Fridays, in the living room of Pedro Lazo Torre, the leader of Havana’s Muslim community. Luis Mesa Delmonte, a Cuban professor working on Middle Eastern studies at El Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City, said President Raul Castro’s government approved the mosque project as part of Cuba’s wider effort to inch open the Communist system.

The plan was part of a wider project by the TDV in building mosques for Muslims who lived in the Caribbean. A similar project in Haiti was due to be complete by the end of 2014. In: http://www.onislam.net/english/news/americas/471773-cubas-first-mosque-approved.html, retrieved on 27.04.2014

3. Obama: Myanmar won’t succeed if Muslims are oppressed – U.S. President Barack Obama said on 26 April that the rights of Myanmar’s minority Muslim population were not being fully protected and warned that the Southeast Asian country would not succeed if Muslims there were oppressed. On a visit to Malaysia, Obama praised political reforms under way in once-isolated Myanmar but said the danger of democratization was that it could unleash religious and ethnic conflicts and that such developments could move Myanmar in a bad direction. In: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-myanmar-obama-20140427,0,3162960.story, retrieved on 27.04.2014

Related: Malaysia: National Mosque Imam Wants Obama to End Oppression against Muslims Worldwide – National Mosque imam Tan Sri Syaikh Ismail Muhammad pleaded to the United States (US) President Barack Obama to end oppression against Muslims worldwide. He took the opportunity to

11 express his wishes to Obama while taking the US President on a 25-minute guided tour of the mosque and the Heroes’ Mausoleum, at Jalan Perdana in the morning of 27 April. In response Obama said “pray for me”, Ismail told reporters after the visit.

After Obama’s visit, Ismail held a brief meeting with United States Special Envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Rashad Hussain, which touched on Islamic banking, Muslim entreprenuers development programmes and halal hub. Ismail said Rashad had expressed US’s admiration for Malaysia’s Islamic banking system and was keen to learn more about it. In: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v7/ge/newsgeneral.php?id=1033992, retrieved on 28.04.2014

II.II. Rest of the World:

1. Australia: Bendigo Bank closes mosque opponents’ account – The Bendigo Bank was accused of discriminating against a group that was opposing plans for a mosque to be built in Bendigo.

The local Islamic community had put forward the plans for the mosque to be located near the Bendigo airport. In response, a group was formed to fight the plans. On 04 April, the Bendigo Bank issued a statement to say the closure of the protest group’s bank account was a considered decision. The bank further said that while it respected everyone’s right to voice an opinion, it wanted to do business with organizations whose values aligned with its own.

The announcement divided local opinion, and Bendigo councillor Elise Chapman was among the critics, saying on social media the bank’s decision was crazy and a case of shameful discrimination. In: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-07/bendigo-bank-closes-mosque-opponents-account/5371622, retrieved on 08.04.2014

2. South Africa Legalizes Islamic Marriages – After 300 years of campaigning, a South African Muslims’ long-awaited dream come true after first graduate imams from a pilot project were authorized as legal marriage officers for the Muslim community on 30 April. Being the first graduates of the pilot program, the new imams would work as official marriage officers for Muslims. The graduation ceremony was attended by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor, her deputy Fatima Chohan and leaders of the Muslim community.

All first-time Muslim marriages would then be recorded on the National Population Register, said Home Affairs spokesman Lunga Ngqengelele.

At the time of this news item, Muslims made up some 1.5 percent of South Africa’s 49 million-strong population, according to the CIA fact book. In: http://www.onislam.net/english/news/africa/472007-s-africa-legalizes-islamic-marriages.html, retrieved on 01.05.2014

III. Situation of Muslims

III.I. In the Americas:

1. US: Journalists’ guide to Islam called cave-in to political correctness – Founding dean of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University Lawrence Pintak (inset in the picture) recently co-edited an e-book meant to be a field guide for journalists when reporting on Islamic issues. However, the guide had been under fire from critics who said it sacrificed the First Amendment to political correctness.

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“Islam for Journalists”, an online guide from Washington State University, said coverage of the Muslim world could be fair, yet inoffensive without compromising journalistic principles. Yet it pointedly condemned publication of images of Muhammed, an act forbidden by the Koran, and seemed to equate it with violence carried out in the name of Islam.

Lawrence Pintak wrote in the introduction to the guide “Across the Muslim world extremists are wielding their swords with grisly effect, but the pen…can be just as lethal…Many Muslim journalists simply couldn’t understand why Western news organizations would republish the offensive images just because [of a legal right]. Journalism is not supposed to be a weapon [it is meant] to inform, not inflame.” The guide was endorsed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Pintak vehemently defended his support of press freedom in the guide, even as he seemingly making the case for censorship. He wrote before adding: “A commitment to press freedom is in my blood…Journalism is not supposed to be a weapon.”

Some experts supported his position. Kevin Smith, ethics chair for the Society of Professional Journalists, told FoxNews.com: “It is true to a degree. There does need to be some sense of moderation…I do agree that sometimes the way we may cover a story is to create harm, but sometimes there is help in the harm…We understand that sometimes we have to create harm, but it’s based in the intentions of bringing an issue to light…The real key in ethics is to ask how much can be minimized.” In: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/04/12/journalists-guide-to-islam-called-cave-in-to-political-correctness/, retrieved on 13.04.2014

2. U.S. right wing extremists more deadly than jihadists – On 13 April, a man shot and killed a 14- year-old boy and his grandfather at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City and then drove to a nearby Jewish retirement community where he shot and killed a third person. Police arrested a suspect, Frazier Glenn Cross, who shouted “Heil Hitler” after he was taken into custody. Cross, who also goes by Frazier Glenn Miller, a well-known right wing extremist, founded the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and the White Patriot Party.

If the suspect instead of shouting “Heil Hitler” after he was arrested, he suspect had shouted “Allahu Akbar”, only two days before the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings, this simple switch of words would surely have greatly increased the extent and type of coverage the incident received. Yet the death toll in the shootings in Kansas was similar to that of 2013’s Boston Marathon bombings, where three people were killed and the suspects later killed a police officer as they tried to evade capture. (Many more, of course, were also wounded in the Boston attacks; 16 men, women and children lost limbs.)

In fact, since 9/11 extremists affiliated with a variety of far-right wing ideologies, including white supremacists, anti-abortion extremists and anti-government militants, had killed more people in the United States than have extremists motivated by al Qaeda’s ideology. According to a count by the New America Foundation, right wing extremists had killed 34 people in the United States for political reasons since 9/11. (The total includes the latest shootings in Kansas, which was being classified as a hate crime). In: http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2014/04/15/u-s-right-wing-extremists-more-deadly-than-jihadists/, retrieved on 16.04.2014

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3. New York police disband Muslim ‘eavesdropping’ unit – The New York Police Department disbanded a secret programme designed to eavesdrop on Muslims to identify potential terrorism threats. The Demographics Unit had dispatched plainclothes detectives to listen to conversations and build files on places frequented by Muslims. The squad had been the subject of two federal lawsuits in the past, and drew ire from civil rights groups. It was also said to have sowed Muslim mistrust for law enforcement.

The office of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote in a statement: “This reform is a critical step forward in easing tensions between the police and the communities they serve, so that our cops and our citizens can help one another go after the real bad guys.”

The decision to stop the programme was reportedly made by new Police Commissioner William Bratton, and was viewed as a moving away from past intelligence gathering practices instituted after the 9/11 attacks.

The unit - in operation since 2003 and later renamed the Zone Assessment Unit - logged where Muslims worked, shopped, ate and prayed. Linda Sarsour of the Arab American Association of New York told the New York Times newspaper: “The Demographics Unit created psychological warfare in our community…Those documents, they showed where we live…They were able to see their entire lives on those maps. And it completely messed with the psyche of the community.”

Ms Sarsour along with several advocates reportedly met Mr Bratton and other police officials in the second week of April 2014 to discuss the shutting down of the covert unit. The squad’s detectives had since been reassigned, a police department spokesman said. In: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-27043912, retrieved on 17.04.2014

4. US: Film highlights Islamophobia in post-9/11 era – The 9/11 terrorist attacks left an indelible mark on the United States, resulting in discrimination against the Muslim population in specific. A recent film explored the ways that Muslims had suffered as a result of Islamophobia, or prejudice against Muslims, in the post-9/11 era.

On 22 April, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers presented a film screening of “The Test of Freedom” as well as a discussion with its director, Khaliff Watkins, at Alexander Library on the College Avenue campus to shed light on the pervasive anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States. Watkins said the movie raised questions concerning who “belongs” in this culture and what it meant to be unquestionably American. He said he had three reasons for creating the film. The first was his desire to expose how certain media and politics provided a misconstrued and biased image of Muslims. The second was his duty as a Muslim-American to tell his story and the personal stories of his peers. He also wanted to send a message of hope to youth. He continued to bring awareness to this topic by visiting various organizations, film festivals and universities. The film detailed the rise of Islamophobia and the forms of individual and collective action that counter this mindset. In: http://www.dailytargum.com/news/university/film-highlights-islamophobia-in-post--era/article_ea2dcd1e-ca97-11e3- a0e5-0017a43b2370.html, retrieved on 24.04.2014

5. US: House gives nod to Volusia-inspired textbook review bill – The Florida House, essentially reacting to a months-old protest over the portrayal of Islam in Volusia County school textbooks, passed a bill on 28 April that would give local school boards, parents and protesters more power over classroom materials. Hours later, a small but vocal group of demonstrators in Daytona Beach rallied to keep textbook selection free from political battles over religious and cultural differences.

The proposal, which still needed to go to the state Senate for approval, was the less dramatic of two textbook bills in the Legislature — the other a Senate bill that would have eliminated altogether the state’s role in short-listing and choosing books.

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The issue itself started in Volusia. A November 2013 School Board meeting was canceled because of security concerns when conservatives rallied to protest the use of the 10th-grade world history textbook they called pro-Islam. The book had a chapter about the rise of Muslim civilizations without a corresponding chapter on Christianity. In: http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2014/04/29/house-gives-nod-to-volusia-inspired-textbook-review-bill/, retrieved on 30.04.2014

6. US: Queens street renamed for Mohammed Salman Hamdani, a Muslim police cadet who died helping victims at the World Trade Center on 9/11 – A police cadet who died helping World Trade Center victims on 9/11 was honored on 28 April at a Queens street renaming — 13 years after being accused of involvement in the attacks. Residents and elected officials came together to formally rename 204th St. at 35th Ave. “Salman Hamdani Way” after Mohammed Salman Hamdani, the son of Muslim immigrants from Pakistan who lived a block from the Bayside street.

Talat Hamdani, the mother of the police cadet, who died at the age of 23, said: “It’s a joyous and victorious day. And it’s a turning point in America’s fight against prejudice and bigotry. It symbolizes that OK, American Muslims are also Americans, and we are an integral part of society.”

Hamdani’s name was initially tarred by leaks to the press from anonymous police sources suggesting he was suspected of ties to terrorists, but was eventually given a funeral with full police honors in April 2002, a month after his remains were found in the wreckage at Ground Zero.

ELI ROSENBERGVito Tautonico from Councilman Paul Vallone’s office formally unveils Salman Hamdani way on Monday in Bayside. In: http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2014/04/29/queens-street-renamed-for-mohammed-salman-hamdani-a-muslim-police-cadet- who-died-helping-victims-at-the-world-trade-center-on-911/, retrieved on 30.04.2014

7. US: Jewish Groups Urge National September 11 Museum: Don’t Fuel Anti-Muslim Sentiment – On 29 April, the coalition released the following statement:

The Jews Against Islamophobia Coalition deplores the refusal of the National September 11 Memorial Museum to edit its video, “The Rise of Al Qaeda,” to address the concerns expressed by its multi-faith advisory council, leading American Muslim and Arab American organizations, and community leaders. Protests by those within these communities have highlighted, for example, both the use in the video of problematic terminology that links Islam with terrorism and the failure to contextualize al-Qaeda. As a result, the video’s current script will reinforce a dangerous falsehood at the heart of the post-September 11 narrative: that all Muslims are responsible for the attacks on September 11.

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We have seen this misconception play out locally and across the country. Most notable in New York City was the virulent opposition in 2010 to the proposed building of Park51, a Muslim community center and mosque, several blocks from Ground Zero. Hatred and fear of all Muslims were clear in the chants and signs of protesters, the venom that filled the airwaves of the right-wing media, the statements of conservative politicians, the attacks on Muslims and Sikhs and their institutions, and the speeches and writing of anti-Muslim ideologues. The conflation of Islam with the radical beliefs of the September 11 attackers made possible the ugly confrontations and the media circus around Park51.

This conflation has helped drive an anti-Muslim backlash throughout the United States, with hate crimes against Muslims, and those assumed to be Muslims—Arabs, as well as Sikhs and other South Asians. But the backlash is reflected in far more than the attacks on individuals, mosques, and Sikh temples, or a compilation of hate crime statistics (gathered by government agencies that have themselves been busy spying on the Muslim community, planting informers in their institutions, and infiltrating their mosques). Most significantly, this backlash has been institutionalized, with the government funding the training of public security personnel by advocates of anti-Muslim conspiracy theories, Congressional hearings reinforcing the idea that American Muslims are a major threat to the country, and states passing laws, pushed by those who demonize Islam, against the mythical threat of “Sharia law” to the U.S. judicial system.

The Jews Against Islamophobia Coalition fully supports the Muslim community and others striving to create a country in which all people are respected and safe. We believe that all institutions—but especially those, like the National September 11 Memorial Museum, that receive government funding— have a responsibility to prevent misconceptions or propaganda that contribute to hatred, discrimination, and violence against members of any group. We are aware from our own history of the consequences of stereotyping, scapegoating, and dehumanizing people and believe it is imperative that the movie be edited. We hope that the Museum will reconsider its initial refusal to follow the recommendations of its own advisory council and respond to the issues raised by Muslim and Arab American leaders. In: http://www.jewsagainstislamophobia.org/?p=600, retrieved on 30.04.2014

8. US: Developer behind ‘Ground Zero mosque’ plans Islam museum near World Trade Center – The developer behind the scrapped “Ground Zero mosque” announced on 29 April that he planned to build a museum dedicated to Islam on the same site. Sharif El-Gamal wanted to construct a three-story museum devoted to Muslim arts and culture at his 45-51Park Place property, just blocks from the World Trade Center. The site would also include a sanctuary for prayer services and community programs. The new museum would be much smaller than the 15-story, $100 million house of worship he proposed in 2010, which failed under opposition from vocal critics including some 9/11 families, who argued that a mosque in the shadow of the World Trade Center was insensitive. El-Gamal opened a modest prayer center at the site in 2011 but earlier in April 2014 an application to tear it down was filed with the city. In: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/developer-behind-ground-zero-mosque-plans-islam-museum-wtc-article-1.1773758, retrieved on 01.05.2014

III.II. In Europe:

1. UK: Halal safe with me, says PM – With the debate about halal slaughter intensifying in recent weeks, Prime Minister David Cameron declared that as long as he was in power, halal would be safe. In the wake of Denmark’s ban on non-stun slaughter, Cameron had moved to assure UK Muslims that similar

15 action would not be taken there. However, the reaction from prominent figures in the halal industry had been mixed, with some claiming the statement meant little.

Speaking at the Muslim News Awards for Excellence in London, Cameron discussed the topics of religious slaughter and Islamophobia. He said: “Really tackling Islamophobia means making absolutely sure that no Muslim is held back from living their life or reaching their goals, simply because of the faith they follow. Soon the food will arrive and you will all be able to eat. Let me make it absolutely clear, that while I am Prime Minister of this country, halal is safe in Britain.”

The halal discussion exploded into public consciousness after Denmark announced a ban on non-stun slaughter in February 2014, with the Scandinavian country’s ministry of agriculture declaring that “animal welfare takes precedence over religion”. The British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) John Blackwell then appealed to the government to consider passing similar legislation, while the Muslim community fiercely defended the practice, with the Sharia Halal Board denouncing Blackwell’s comments as ignorant and disrespectful. In: http://www.meatinfo.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/16816/Halal_safe_with_me,_says_PM.html, retrieved on 04.04.2014

2. Greek official criticizes proposed Athens mosque referendum – A senior Greek official said on 04 April that a proposal for holding a referendum on the building of a mosque in Athens would damage Greece’s international reputation. In a written statement Yorgos Kalacis from the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, criticized the proposal from Aris Spiliotopoilos, the New Democracy Party’s candidate for mayor of Athens at May 2014’s local elections. Greek parliament approved a plan in 2011 to build a mosque in Athens, after demands from thousands of Muslim residents. Athens had been criticized by human rights groups such as Amnesty International for being the only European Union capital without a mosque. In: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/132788/greek-official-criticizes-proposed-athens-mosque-referendum, retrieved on 05.04.2014

3. Czech Republic: kids to learn more about Islam – On 07 April, local daily Lidové noviny (LN) wrote that a new project launched by the Muslims In Czech Schoolchildren’s Eyes group and approved by the Education Ministry, would offer free seminars and lectures that would acquaint pupils with Islam and the life and habits of Muslims.

The lecturers would explain to Czech children what a burka is and why some Muslim women wore it, and also what the Quran said about jihad. The seminars, including games, were to provide information to Czech kids and dismiss certain prejudices and stereotypes linked to Islam, as “School lessons do not pay sufficient attention to Islam. Pupils want to learn more about it,” the project’s co-author Shadi Shannah was quoted as saying.

The Education Ministry had granted its auspices to the project. It did so based on a previous expert assessment of whether the offered workshops and lectures were objective. The project’s sponsors included the U.S. Embassy in Prague and the Anna Lindh Foundation, an intergovernmental organization. The EU mission in Prague and the Prague Municipal Library also cooperated in it. The project reacted to a survey its authors had made in 2013 and in which pupils showed interest in learning more about Islam. In: http://www.praguepost.com/education/38202-czech-kids-to-learn-more-about-islam, retrieved on 09.04.2014

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4. Turkey’s EU minister warns against racism and Islamophobia – Turkey’s EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Mevlut Cavusoglu called for a halt to racist, xenophobic and Islamophobic political discourse ahead of the European Parliament elections in May 2014.

He explained at a conference on “the contribution of immigrant entrepreneurs to Europe’s growth” organized by the office of TUMSIAD, a Turkish businessmen’s association, in Brussels on 09 April: “Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and anti-semitism all over Europe ahead of the EP elections. Europe has suffered a lot from racism. The people of Europe still remember how the waves of racism led to wars and disasters. We need to acknowledge that European values which unite us today were established to prevent such incidences from happening again,” adding that the EU and the Council of Europe were established with this goal in mind.

He warned: “I have got to say that an increase in the seats of racist parties in the European Parliament would threaten the future of the EU. Today racist parties not only use hate speech against immigrants and Muslims; but they also act and speak in a way aimed at destroying the EU and its values. This must stop immediately.” Cavusoglu suggested that European politicians and political movements stayed away from populist discourse, and focused instead on sharing with the public their concrete solutions for the economic crisis, ageing population, frozen conflicts, Ukraine crisis and integration issues. In: http://www.worldbulletin.net/muslim-world/133396/turkeys-eu-minister-warns-against-racism-and-islamophobia, retrieved on 11.04.2014

5. UK: Nottingham’s first purpose-built mosque officially opens – Hundreds of people gathered to take part in prayer at the city’s first purpose-built mosque. The Jamia Masjid Sultania mosque in Sneinton Dale was officially opened on the afternoon of 13 April. The £1.2 million building can cater for roughly 800 people and as well as now being open for worship five times a day it is also a dedicated education centre.

The mosque had been built on the site of the former Jester pub and has the city’s first minaret which measured 14.5-metre-high and was installed in February 2014. Nottingham City Council granted planning permission for the building in 2011. Worship has previously been taking place yards away in Thurgarton Street, where houses have been used as a religious meeting place for 30 years. However, a mosque was needed due to the growing community. The mosque would be a place of worship for people from across the city. Inside the mosque there is a dedicated education centre where anyone is welcome to visit. Mosque leaders said they may apply for planning permission to issue the call to prayer from the structure, although they would not do so early in the morning to avoid disturbing nearby residents. In: http://www.nottinghampost.com/Nottingham-s-purpose-built-mosque-officially/story-20953465-detail/story.html, retrieved on 14.04.2014

6. France: On 14 April, John Vinocur, former executive editor of the International Herald Tribune, published an article titled “France, Islam and the ‘Spreading Hatred’” in the Wall Street Journal. Some of his arguments are as follows:

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There’s an area of French society bleak beyond any let’s-pretend action-plan or incantatory chorus about brotherhood. The country’s existential problem of coming to terms with more than five million Muslims in its midst—and how these immigrants and citizens accommodate (or flout) French law and custom—is deepening into a new phase of what is described as intolerance, seeming incompatibility, and political polarization.

…reality says France is knee-deep in racial and religious nastiness. It is widely perceived at schools, in the metro and on the streets. And it precludes evasion…But the problem doesn’t go in a single direction. It involves a dissolving and disputed notion of French identity.

As real as discrimination against Muslims has become, researchers describe the growth of Muslim communities at the edges of large French cities that are developing parallel cultures. They are said to demand an allegiance to fundamentalist Islam, thus antagonizing the national majority’s notion of the French way of life.

The result is a kind of double sense of victimization: Muslims are drawn by extremists into a rage about “Islamophobia”, while poor whites are lured toward the hard right with promises of understanding and protection by the National Front. …

When Prime Minister Manuel Valls took office March 31 [2014], as the head of a new government he was confronted with an alarmed official report on the decline of French tolerance. The report found an increase in tension in national life focused on “Arab Muslims”, who, it said, are perceived as being involved in criminality, taking advantage of the welfare system, refusing to respect the supremacy of the secular rules of the French state, and pressing aggressive religious practices.

The findings of the report from the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights were brutal. The commission’s poll found that 68% of respondents regard integration’s failure as the fault of the newcomers; 74% said they think there are “too many” immigrants in France; and 77% believe these immigrants are in France solely for its welfare benefits.

At the same time, in a book published last week titled “Passion Française”, Gilles Kepel, an Arabist and academic respected for his studies over 25 years of France’s Islamic communities, concentrated on what he called a new element moving at “lightning speed” into the identity equation. Mr. Kepel writes that the marked presence of Salafists, or Muslim puritans, in certain communities signals “a rupture in values with French society, a will to subvert it morally and juridically.” Mr. Kepel also describes public services in areas of Marseille as falling into the hands of local drug-dealing bosses.

All this creates an enormous challenge for Mr. Valls, who had previously dealt directly with the issue as interior minister…So the field of initiative is open for both Mr. Valls and for more determination. Still, because of the accompanying electoral risks, no one in a French government has ever attempted to install a national affirmative-action program favoring Muslim integration or a zero-tolerance police campaign aimed at reassuring the white majority. The new prime minister is unlikely to take either step. (…) All the same, Mr. Valls can be true to the spirit of what he has said concerning “Islamophobia” not being a legitimate complaint, but rather a concept employed by Islamic fundamentalists to make Muslims in France feel victimized by the state… (…) Muslims who contributed to the Socialists’ drubbing exposed the additional and difficult-to-resolve electoral concern for the party in its advocacy of gay marriage. The new prime minister is a supporter…Mr. Valls will have to do better. In: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303663604579501091034167048?mg=reno64- wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303663604579501091034167048.html, retrieved on 16.04.2014

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7. French Tours the World to Defend Islam – Combating misconceptions about Islam, a French Muslims globe trotter started a five-year-tour form the Far East to his home country to capture a film series that aims to show the true-face of Islam. The French globe-trotter Gibran Hasnaoui, told The National on 15 April: “I was in Malaysia when the controversial film about the Prophet Mohammed was released. Also, in France on the anniversary of 9/11, agitators started drawing offensive caricatures of the Prophet and of Islam. I thought: ‘OK, let’s arm every Muslim we can find with a camera and a microphone and invite them to represent themselves and fight all this hate through the medium of film.’”

Hasnaoui’s life changed forever when he was appointed as sales engineer in Dubai in 2010, as “It was here [Dubai] that I actually became connected with Islam. I was introduced to many wonderful brothers from different countries and through them I managed to learn more about my own religion. From Dubai I took a trip to the holy city of Mecca and in whatever I did from that point onwards, God played a more central role in my life.”

Living in luxurious Dubai, the French Muslim soon became disillusioned with city life, longing for something more fulfilling. He noted: “That was when I had the idea to start the Muslim World Tour [MWT] – where I backpack to 50 countries in five years, filming the various Muslim communities with the intention of both satisfying my own wanderlust and curiosity as well as to take my stories back to my home country, which is notorious for its anti-Islam agenda.” Launching his MWT project, the French globe-trotter aimed to reflect on the tenets of Islam through depicting the daily life of Muslims in the countries he toured. The short films and episodes are available at MWT YouTube channel.

The French explorer’s efforts to combat Islamophopbia extended beyond the MWT film series, launching the Islam-themed short film festival in Europe in 2013 under the title “the Mokhtar Awards”. The idea to launch the Muslim film festival was prompted by anti-Islam movies that aimed at defaming Muslims and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Based in France, the Islam short film festival had attracted dozens of enthusiast videographers from western and Muslim countries who ran for the award December 2013. It had also attracted many viewers, the festival tickets were sold out two months in advance.

Sponsored by several Muslim businesses in France, the award granted the first, second and third-place winners €10,000 as well as a paid trip to Makkah for Umrah and another trip to Istanbul. In: http://www.onislam.net/english/news/europe/471415-french-tours-the-world-to-defend-islam.html, retrieved on 17.04.2014

8. UK: Tony Blair says radical Islam a growing threat – The West should set aside its differences with Russia and China to focus on the growing threat from radical Islam, Tony Blair said on 23 April, in a speech that included a call to support Egypt’s military government against its Muslim Brotherhood opponents.

The former British prime minister said that tackling “a radicalized and politicized view of Islam” should be at the top of the global political agenda. He said many in the West seemed “curiously resistant” to face up to a force that “is undermining the possibility of peaceful co-existence in an era of globalization.”

In a speech in London, he said that “whatever our other differences, we should be prepared to reach out and co-operate with the East, and in particular Russia and China,” to combat Islamic extremism.

Blair’s political legacy in Britain is tarnished by his decision to lead the country into the divisive invasion of Iraq in 2003. He acknowledged the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan had undermined Western willingness to intervene in the Middle East. But he called for the West to engage with the region, saying “we have to stop treating each country on the basis of whatever seems to make for the easiest life for us at any one time.” In: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/04/23/tony-blair-says-radical-islam-growing-threat/, retrieved on 25.04.2014

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IV. On Burqah and Veil Related Issues:

1. US: Muslims, Sikhs object to headscarf ban at California go-kart parks – Three Muslim families filed complaints against an amusement park chain in California that they said barred them from riding go- karts wearing headscarves. Sammar Miqbel, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which filed the complaints on behalf of the families, said that the families claimed that Boomers! Parks in two locations in the state violated their civil rights with an unfair safety policy that banned all headgear on the rides. The United Sikh’s organisation said it was preparing to file a similar complaint on behalf of a Sikh family.

CAIR’s Miqbel said the families visiting Boomers' in the San Francisco suburb of Livermore and the Los Angeles suburb of Irvine had been allowed to wait in line for go karts, but were barred when they reached the front of the queue. The parks banned all headwear on go-karts rides because it could get caught and injure a rider, said Michele Wischmeyer, a spokeswoman for Palace Entertainment Holdings, owner of Boomers. Scarves and baseball caps alike were not allowed, she said. In: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-religion-headscarves-20140429,0,4074857.story, retrieved on 30.04.2014

V. On Dialogue among Civilizations:

1. US: Local religious leaders unite for change in immigration law – Several of Southern California’s most prominent Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders held a vigil for immigration reform in downtown Los Angeles on 04 April, underscoring a growing interfaith effort to change the nation’s laws. Immigrants who were in the United States illegally “need mercy and they need justice,” said Archbishop Jose Gomez, welcoming an array of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders to the gathering at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

Gomez, who had made changing immigration laws a hallmark of his three- year tenure leading the L.A. Archdiocese, described the current system as “totally broken,” adding that federal laws punished families and children unfairly. He added: “These are human souls, not statistics…These are children of God. We cannot be indifferent to their suffering.”

While the audience was sparse — with only a few dozen in attendance to hear the prayers for compassion, along with repeated calls for President Obama to act — the religious leaders on hand, from each of the three main Abrahamic traditions, stood strong and united.

Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, said: “Times have changed…Some have framed the issue as a monolithic issue of a particular denomination. But that is a myth. The immigration issue transcends all creeds, all colors, all languages. It does not matter whether my particular people are suffering. But we look at it as our people are suffering. And we stand with those suffering people.” In: http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2014/04/06/local-religious-leaders-unite-for-change-in-immigration-law/, retrieved on 09.04.2014

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2. Jordan: King patronizes world interfaith harmony week prize – His Majesty King Abdullah II, on Sunday, patronized a ceremony in honor of the winners of the King Abdullah Prize for the World Interfaith Harmony Week. In attendance were a number of royal family members as well as religious leaders and scholars from across the world.

The prize was launched last year to recognize three outstanding activities marking the world interfaith harmony week, which takes place during the first week of February each year. Proposed by King Abdullah II during the 65th United Nations General Assembly session in 2010, the World Interfaith Harmony Week was unanimously adopted by the UN, and is now being observed by countries worldwide though a variety of events.

The initiative seeks to spread the love of god and love of the neighbor, or love of good and love of the neighbor, irrespective of one’s belief, to promote peace, tolerance and mutual understanding among all nations worldwide. Over 400 events took place across the world, from lectures, seminars, workshops, films, and sporting events, to learning for peace through interfaith understanding worldwide.

Sixty-three applications were submitted for deliberation by the panel of judges, chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Areej Ghazi. Speaking on behalf of the winners, father Sebastiano from the Philippines said observing the world interfaith harmony week was mandated by a republic act and enjoyed wide participation despite the difficult political conditions in the country.

His Majesty handed the prizes to the winners, and received a medal from the panel of judges. The first prize went to the Silsilah dialogue movement in the Philippines. The second prize went to the center for peace and human rights in India. While the third prize was shared between the Jamal Farghaly secondary school for boys in Egypt, and the faiths together in Uganda. In: http://www.petra.gov.jo/Public_News/Nws_NewsDetails.aspx?Site_Id=1&lang=2&NewsID=149184&CatID=13&Type=Home>ype=1, retrieved on 28.04.2014

Compiled by: Abdula Manafi Mutualo, Secretary of the Observatory Culture & Social Affairs Department Email: [email protected]

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