Cultural & social affairs Department

OIC islamophobia Observatory

Monthly Bulletin – March 2014

I. Manifestations of Islamophobia:

1. UK: Legoland cancels Muslim family fun day in fear of “guest and employee safety” – Legoland cancelled a family outing organized by a prominent Muslim scholar in fear of guest and staff safety after they received a number of threatening calls, emails and social media posts. The family fun day which was organised by Sheikh Haitham al Haddad of the Muslim Research and Development Foundation (MRDF) for Sunday 9th March and would not be going ahead after a barrage of violent messages were made by far- right Islamophobic extremists.

The English Defence League, Casuals United and other far-right groups vowed to hold a protest outside Legoland, many threatening to use violence to prevent the family outing.

Legoland issued the following statement:

The Legoland Windsor Resort prides itself on welcoming everyone to our wonderful attraction; however due to unfortunate circumstances the private event scheduled for Sunday 9th March will no longer take place. This was an incredibly difficult made after discussions with the organisers and local Thames Valley Police, following the receipt of a number of threatening phone calls, emails and social media posts to the Resort over the last couple of weeks.

These alone have led us to conclude that we can no longer guarantee the happy fun family event which was envisaged or the safety of our guests and employees on the day – which is always our number one priority. “Sadly it is our belief that deliberate misinformation fuelled by a small group with a clear agenda was designed expressly to achieve this outcome. We are appalled at what has occurred, and at the fact that the real losers in this are the many families and children who were looking forward to an enjoyable day out at Legoland.

We would like to apologies to them and to the organisers, and to thank them for their understanding. We hope that they will all be able to come to visit us during the season. In: http://www.5pillarz.com/2014/02/26/legoland-cancels-muslim-family-fun-day-in-fear-of-guest-and-employee-safety/, retrieved on 01.03.2014

2. US: New Anti-Sharia Legislation Introduced in Several States – The 2014 legislative year has already seen legislation proposed that would ban the application of Sharia law in state courts. By the time of this news, there were nine states that had introduced some variation of a bill aiming to block Islamic law. Most of the bills had carried over from 2013 with the exception of Vermont, which had introduced its first bill of this stature. The bills were intended to combat the perceived threat that Muslims were undermining the United States Constitution and imposing Sharia law. Although almost none of the bills mentioned Sharia or

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other religious law specifically, instead opting for more neutral language, such as “foreign” and “international” law, their intent to vilify Muslims remained very much the same.

The bills were modeled after legislation entitled American Laws for American Courts (ALAC), which was authored by anti-Muslim lawyer and activist David Yerushalmi. The decision to explicitly leave out words like Sharia and Islam reflected a recent court case in Oklahoma where a federal judge ruled that legislation directly targeting Sharia law was in violation of Muslims’ Constitutional rights. However, the bill was amended and secured Oklahoma as the sixth state to enact such a law

Listed below are all of the proposed 2014 anti-Sharia bills:

i. Florida has introduced Senate Bill 386. The bill’s sponsor is Sen. Alan Hays (R), who last year proposed SB 58, which died on the Senate floor. Hays has previously compared Sharia law to a “dreadful disease,” and its only vaccination is anti-Sharia legislation. ii. Georgia has introduced HB 895 and SR 808 prohibiting courts from recognizing foreign and international law. iii. Iowa’s House Bill 76 was carried over from 2013 and has been referred to a Judiciary House Committee. iv. Kentucky has introduced HB 43, which has been referred to a House Judiciary Committee. v. Missouri has re-introduced SB 619. The bill’s sponsor is Republican State Senator Brian Knieves, an anti- immigrant legislator and member of the State Legislators for Legal Immigration. SB 619 was vetoed last summer by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon. vi. South Carolina has introduced three bills: HB 4494, which specifically bans Sharia, and SB 60 and 81, both of which were carried over from 2013. Sen. Bright is responsible for SB 81. vii. Mississippi has introduced HB 44, which has been referred to a House Judiciary Committee. viii. Vermont has introduced SB 265 and is the state’s first anti-Sharia bill. ix. West Virginia has introduced SB 2116, which is currently in a Judiciary House Committee. x. Washington has introduced SB 6118 and HB 1392, which carried over from 2013.

Legislation outlawing Sharia law in state courts remained unnecessary and a distraction from more pressing matters. The background of the laws and its fringe sponsors showed their true intent and had no place in our legislative process. In: http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2014/03/01/new-anti-sharia-legislation-introduced-in-several-states/, retrieved on 02.03.2014

Related: Texas Lt. Governor Candidates Will Support Anti-Islam Legislation Crafted by Islamophobes – During introductory remarks, Patrick made a quick jab at how Dewhurst travels with a security detail and then introduced the crowd to what he called his own. Patrick said: “That’s my wife, Jan…She’s a great driver and has her CHL. She’s a crack shot.” The two eventually ended up in a back and forth over a failed bill last session to prohibit the application of Sharia law in Texas courts. Dewhurst said he supports such measures “101 percent” but acknowledged the bill last session died in a Senate committee. He pledged on 21 March to switch committee chairman mid-session in if the bill languishes again next time the Legislature meets in 2015. Patrick said the failure of the Sharia bill lied squarely with Dewhurst because “Sharia law should have come out” of committee,” Patrick said. “When there’s a law, there’s a bill, legislation … that’s the difference-maker, the lieutenant governor. You don’t blame things that don’t happen on senators and take credit for things that did happen that senators passed.” In: http://www.islamophobiatoday.com/2014/03/24/texas-lt-governor-candidates-will-support-anti-islam-legislation-crafted-by-islamophobes/, retrieved on 26.03.2014 2

3. UK: Another scaremongering headline from the Daily Star – The source of the headline was in fact a recent report by CAGE, The Prevent Strategy: A Cradle to Grave Police-State, which condemned the targeting of Muslim children as potential extremists under the Channel programme. The CAGE report stated: “The ambiguous definitions and loose understanding of Islamic political causes has inevitably led more people to be viewed with suspicion. Muslims are being referred simply due to their religious or political views that pose no danger to society. There have been a number of cases of Muslim school children being reported simply for making innocent or unprovocative comments after hearing TV news regarding the Muslim world.” The report adds: “A nine-year-old schoolboy in east London, who was referred to the authorities after allegedly showing signs of extremism – the youngest case known in Britain. He was ‘deprogrammed’ according to a source with knowledge of the case.”

The Daily Star Sunday front page spin that to suggest to its readers that Muslim children posed a genuine extremist threat. The accompanying text stated: “A nine-year-old boy has been reported to the authorities as Britain’s youngest Islamist extremist. The youngster was one of more than 2,600 so extreme they were sent on a Government de- radicalisation scheme.” The “full story” inside the paper did say that CAGE claims its findings “are part of the ‘criminalisation’ of the Muslim community in the UK and have led to Britain becoming a ‘Security state’ for followers of Islam”. But that hardly serves as an adequate balance to the screaming front-page headline. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/another-scaremongering-headline-from-the-daily-star/#more-29382, retrieved on 03.03.2014

4. UK: Six arrested after firework thrown at Whitley Bay Islamic Centre – A firework was thrown at an Islamic centre in Tyneside. Around eight people were inside the Whitley Bay Islamic Cultural Centre, on Hillheads Road, and were praying at the time of the attack just before 2.30pm on Wednesday (05 March) afternoon. No one was injured. Police arrested two men aged 29, and four other men aged 27, 25, 23 and 19, who were then helping police with their enquiries. Police insisted that it was an isolated incident. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/six-arrested-after-firework-thrown-at-whitley-bay-islamic-centre/#more-29543, retrieved on 08.03.2014

5. Germany: Der Spiegel Covers Germany’s “Islamophobia Boom” – Der Spiegel, a prominent weekly German news magazine has covered the boom in Islamophobia in Germany (h/t: Stürzenbergers “Freiheit” stoppen). The article written by Hubert Gude, Maximillian Popp, JÖrg Schindler and Fidelus Schmid noted jarring trends in German society and the extent of Islamophobia’s reach in the political, cultural and social sphere.

The article highlighted the success of the Islamophobic German website, “Politically Incorrect,” which by the time of the article was getting up to 120,000 visitors daily, the foundation of another anti-Muslim political party, Pro-Deutschland (Pro-Germany), a study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation showing that, “56 percent of Germans consider Islam to be an “archaic religion, incapable of fitting into modern life” and many believe religious freedom for Muslims should be “substantially restricted.”

The article also pointed out particular anecdotes involving attacks on mosques which had increased in the past several years and the increase in neo-nazis stirring up hatred of Muslims and Islam.

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There were a few glaring issues with the article. While the title included the term “Islamophobia,” the body of the article did not include the word once though in fairness it did use “anti-Muslim” three times. Instead, for some odd reason, the writers relied on the term “anti-Islam,” using it 9 times to describe the activities and or to characterize the activists of Far-Right groups.

This was in fact an adoption of the terminology (and underlying narratives) of Islamophobes who claimed they were only “critiquing” a religion. The information provided by the writers themselves should have been enough to challenge this odd editorial decision. It was clear that Islamophobes opposed Muslims and also held a whole host of irrational, bigoted and hateful beliefs about Islam. The only problematic paragraph in the article was when the writers gave some reasons which they claimed may explain the rise in Islamophobia. In doing so they described “third generation Germans” as “immigrants,” such a mindset was part of the problem. The most troubling portion of the paragraph was that it passed off bold assertions as fact:

There are several potential explanations for the rising skepticism of Islam in Germany. For one, many third-generation Muslim immigrants are living more strictly than their parents did, making them more conspicuous. Also, in some neighborhoods in large German cities, Muslim girls are afraid of going outside without wearing a headscarf. There have also been several reports in the German media recently of ethnic-German men converting to Islam, radicalizing and going to Pakistan for terror training. Just this past week, the Minister of the Interior warned that a total of 300 German Jihadists have left Germany to fight in Syria.

The rest of the article is rather good and is enough of a rebuttal to the above explanations: the rise in Islamophobia has to do with propaganda and far-right movements fearing the “new visibility” of Muslim institutions and symbols in society. In: http://www.loonwatch.com/2014/03/der-spiegel-covers-germanys-islamophobia-boom/, retrieved on 07.03.2014

6. UK: Islamophobic hoax exposed – Tahir Alam, who had been the target of an Islamophobic campaign, originating in the Sunday Times and subsequently taken up by a number of other media outlets including BBC News, which claimed that there was a “Islamic plot” to take over Birmingham schools and even that this was a case of “terrorism in the UK”, issued a press release refuting the allegations. Responding to the “leaked” letter outlining the supposed plot, Tahir Alam condemned “the baseless and false assertions that have been made in this anonymous, unsigned and undated document, the authenticity of which any decent and fair-minded person would question and quite quickly conclude as a hoax”.

Indeed, as even the most cursory read through the document would confirm, it was quite obviously faked. The fact that it was taken seriously in the news media is a worrying reflection of the extent to which anti- Muslim prejudice in the UK had destroyed journalists’ capacity for critical thinking when it came to evaluating spurious Islamophobic propaganda. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/islamophobic-hoax-exposed/, retrieved on 11.03.2014

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7. UK: UKIP’s alliance with extreme-right Islamophobes – Members of Nigel Farage’s political group in the European parliament had compared childbearing Muslim women to Osama bin Laden, spoken at a rally with the BNP’s Nick Griffin, and defended some of the far-right views of the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik. Farage had been facing a decision after the May 2014 elections over whether to keep Ukip in the Europe for Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group, an alliance of parties from different countries of which he is co-president, amid criticism of the extreme positions of some of its MEPs and examples of anti- Islam rhetoric on its website. Ukip argued that all British political parties were forced to have “strange bedfellows” in Europe as it allowed parties to qualify for more speaking time in the EU parliament. However, MEPs in any such alliance must have “political affinity” or risk being disbanded by the EU and losing their funding.

Some anti-Islam comments appeared on the EFD’s own website. In one video, Magdi Cristiano Allam, an MEP from the I Love Italy party, was translated as saying that Islam was not a religion but an ideology “that preaches hatred, violence and death, but that is something we’re not allowed to say”. His comments were made in response to a speaker at an EFD “study day”, who argued against “caving in” to Muslims in Europe and warns of the threat of “Islamisation” of western society.

One politician in the EFD, Slavi Binev from Bulgaria, spoke at Ukip’s conferencein 2014. An interview with Binev on his website says: “If Osama bin Laden symbolises the cruellest aspect of the Islam for the Americans, then the Muslim woman with her numerous children are his European equivalent.”

The group also contained Frank Vanhecke, a Belgian MEP, whose former party Vlaams Blok was disbanded after a court found it violated anti-racism legislation in 2002. Vanhecke, then became an independent, appeared at a student rally with Griffin, the BNP leader, in 2010 and told the Guardian he believed “Islamisation” was a serious problem for Europe.

Another politician in the group is Morten Messerschmidt, a Danish MEP whose youth organisation was given a conviction for incitement to racial hatred in 2002 after it argued crime such as rape was a product of a multi-ethnic society.

Arun Kundnani, an academic at New York University and author of The Muslims are Coming!, said it was worrying that a mainstream party such as Ukip has links to people who have expressed ideas of the Islamophobic far right. “The argument that Islam is not a religion but a totalitarian ideology is the standard line of the US far-right Islamophobic conspiracy theorists,” he said. “The term ‘Islamisation’ also has the same pedigree.” In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/ukips-alliance-with-extreme-right-islamophobes/#more-29729, retrieved on 12.03.2014

8. South Korean girl band slammed for misusing Qur’anic verses in song lyrics – South Korean girl band 2NE1 angered Muslims all over the world after it was discovered that they used a verse from the Qur’an as lyrics in a track from their latest album. The Korea Muslim Federation on 12 March demanded that the band apologized for the misuse of the Qur’anic verses and revise the song lyrics. On inspection, Muslims realized the lyrics were taken from verses 32-34 of the 78th chapter in the Qur’an. The track, which went viral on the internet, offended many Muslims, who considered it blasphemous to use the Qur’an for purposes other than the worship and remembrance of God. YG Entertainment, the firm responsible for producing the track, said that they were willing to delete the segment. In: http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/130938/south-korean-girl-band-slammed-for-misusing-quranic-verses-in-song-lyrics, retrieved on 14.03.2014 5

9. Canada: Anti-Islam Facebook post forces PQ candidate to drop out – Jean Carrière, Parti Québécois candidate for LaFontaine, dropped out of the Quebec election race after an anti-Islam Facebook post came to light. Although Jean Carrière said image was meant to be pro-feminist, party- leader Pauline Marois confirmed in the morning of 13 March that Jean Carrière was no longer running in his LaFontaine riding.

The candidate came under fire for an image he shared on his personal Facebook page. The image, dated 26 January 2014, showed a women holding up her middle finger, with a caption: “F--k Islam”. Carrière’s personal Facebook page was deactivated on 12 March night, and his Twitter account was no longer available. His profile on the PQ’s website was also pulled down, showing a 404 “Page not available” error message in the morning of 13 March. In: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-votes-2014/anti-islam-facebook-post-forces-pq-candidate-to-drop-out-1.2571031, retrieved on 14.03.2014

10. New Zealand: Man attacks mosque, head-butts police car – Members of the Islamic community in Hamilton have been abused while cleaning a mosque in the city in preparation for morning prayers on 14 March. Inspector Greg Nicholls said a 48-year-old man faced three assault charges and two charges of intentional damage after allegedly assaulting one man and spitting and swearing at others at the mosque before head-butting a police car. He praised the behaviour of victims for showing restraint in the face of a racial attack, as “Instead of retaliating, the victims phoned 111 and responding police located the offender at a park across the street.” In: http://news.msn.co.nz/nationalnews/8814454/man-attacks-mosque-head-butts-police-car, retrieved on 15.02.2014

11. Spain: Catholic Church accused of hiding Cordoba Cathedral’s Islamic history – Spanish campaigners accused the country’s Catholic Church of trying to cover up the Islamic history of Cordoba Cathedral, a world heritage site that was originally a mosque. It is one of the most famous Islamic sites in Europe, but those coming to learn about that are left none the wiser by the information leaflets given out to tourists, critics say.

Antonio Manuel Rodriguez, a law professor at Cordoba University, said: “For the citizens of Cordoba, what has hurt our feelings is that they have cut off the name and the memory of the monument”. He had been a member of a secular group of local campaigners who had gathered 146,000 signatures on a petition demanding that the common Islamic and Christian heritage of the site be recognized. The acclaimed British architect Norman Foster was among the signatories, as well as many Spanish writers and scientists and moderate Catholics.

A historical jewel in the southern city that was a capital of Islamic Spain in the Middle Ages, the building with its cobbled patios and minaret draws more than a million visitors each year. The entry ticket visitors receive bids them “welcome to the Santa Iglesia Cathedral”, but does not mention that the building, now administered by the church, was a mosque for centuries. However, the “Save the Cordoba Mosque” petition said: “Over the past few years, the Diocese of Cordoba has erased the term ‘mosque’ from all the information leaflets of what is recognised worldwide as a symbol of cultural harmony,”. This “offers millions of tourists a distorted historical account, which crudely adulterates the essence of a complex building and an emblem of diversity.”

The visitors’ leaflets pointed out that a mosque was built on the site of a Visigoth church in the eighth century, but skims over its next 500 years as a place of worship for Muslims at the height of the Islamic rule in southern Spain. UNESCO, in its listing of Cordoba’s historic centre as a world heritage site, highlighted its place in the Andalusia region’s golden age, which began with its conquest by the Moors in the eighth century. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/catholic-church-accused-of-hiding-cordoba-cathedrals-islamic-history/#more-29765, retrieved on 16.03.2014 6

12. US: Mosque cemetery to be challenged in court – Plaintiffs opposed to the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro graveyard approval sought a court order “to halt the construction and improvement of the cemetery”, and they were to take their case before Chancellor Robert Corlew III on 24 March at the Rutherford County Judicial Building. He was the same judge who ruled by June 2012 that the county failed to provide adequate public notice before approving the ICM site plan on 24 May 2010 to build a larger center on Veals Road off Bradyville Pike to replace a much smaller one on Middle Tennessee Boulevard near South Church Street. Since then, higher state courts had over-ruled Corlew, but the plaintiffs in that case sought an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court.

ICM board member Saleh Sbenaty questioned a new group of plaintiffs seeking to stop his congregation from having a cemetery, as “The county has already wasted $343,000 on this previous lawsuit, which is basically chasing ghosts,” said Sbenaty, a 21-year engineering technology professor at MTSU who grew up in Syria and became an American citizen after moving to Middle Tennessee to pursue his education and career 32 years before. He added: “This is another lawsuit, which is following its predecessor. It’s witch hunting. It’s going to cost our taxpayers additional money that would be taken away from education, our law enforcement and other needed items for our county.”

The plaintiffs in the ICM graveyard case were challenging the Rutherford County Board of Zoning Appeals decision to approve the cemetery without caskets and burial vaults in a 3-2 vote in January 2014. They contended that the BZA should not have taken action while the other plaintiffs were still hoping to appeal the case to the nation’s top court.

No decisions had been made by the U.S. Supreme Court on whether to hear the case. The plaintiffs in the cemetery case also questioned if the BZA gathered enough evidence to examine the cemetery concerns before making a decision to allow the graveyard on about 1.5 acres of the overall 15 acre IMC property. In: http://www.dnj.com/article/20140317/NEWS05/303170039/Mosque-cemetery-challenged-court?nclick_check=1, retrieved on 19.03.2014

13. Italy: mosque vandalized, Qur’an burnt – Italian officials expressed solidarity with the Muslim community after a mosque in the Italian city of Rieti in the Lazio region was damaged by vandals, where unknown people burned the sacred Koran, stole money, destroyed the paintings and writings relating to Islam and turned upside down the place of worship inside the mosque.

The assault took place on 16 March evening when vandals attacked the Mosque of Peace, located 80 kilometers from Rome, destroying its property and burning copies of the Noble Qur’an. The mayor of the city expressed his solidarity with the local Muslim community, calling on the city’s officials to “respond collectively to the provocations of those who seek to undermine peace and tolerance in the city.” The leaders of the local Muslim community in charge of the “Mosque of Peace” through the association “Salsabil” also denounced the “act of vandalism” that would “undermine the coexistence between different communities on the territory of the province of Rieti.” In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/italian-mosque- vandalised-quran-burnt/#more-29906, retrieved on 19.03.2014

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14. UK: EDL disrupts Islam Awareness Week event at Bournemouth University – Bournemouth EDL members caused a stir during an event of Islamic Awareness Week held at Bournemouth University. A large group of men, claiming to be from counter-terrorism think tank Quilliam, attended the talk and posed some difficult questions to converted Muslim speakers Hussein Thomas and Musa Ugandhi. However, a video uploaded to the Bournemouth EDL YouTube channel confirmed that they were in fact members of the English Defence League.

Soon after the last of the two speakers had finished his address at the event, organized by BU’s Islamic Society, the group of English Defense League members entered into a heated debate with members of the society. The EDL members posed queries about female genital mutilation (FGM), sharia law and the oppression of women in regard to the hijab, the head decoration that many female Muslims wear. Speaker Musa Ugandhi defended his religion, stating: “What you see on the news is not from Islam,” he said. “Your disapproval is with certain cultures, it’s not Muslim culture. FGM happens in certain places in Africa and Asia, but it doesn’t just happen with Muslims; it happens with Christians as well, therefore your issue is with the culture.” One of the Bournemouth EDL members agreed, saying that FGM was wrong “no matter who does it”.

The representative recording the talk justified their presence. He said: “The reason we’ve come here today is because we’re concerned that people have come to Bournemouth University to talk about Islam and there are components of Islam that are a threat to us and we’re concerned for our children who are of the age to be in university.”

The debate became so heated that one of the Bournemouth EDL members stepped outside the lecture theatre and paced back and forth before more members entered. Audience members became particularly agitated when the men suggested that the Muslim women in the room were oppressed due to their decision to wear the hijab. One woman shouted “do I look oppressed?” and another said that the EDL members were “oppressing us right now”. A female Muslim in the audience urged the Bournemouth EDL members to do more research. “You’re judging Muslims by the actions of minorities,” she said. The debate ended with shouts and jeers from both sides.

In the YouTube description attached to the video, the Bournemouth EDL members described the Islamic Awareness Week event as “A Night of Cultural Terrorism at Bournemouth University”. They went on to say that they had no cause to disrupt the event, but “would have emptied the building by whatever means necessary” in the event of discussion around jihad or the promotion of sharia law. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/edl-disrupts-islam-awareness-week-event-at-bournemouth-university/#more-29883, retrieved on 18.03.2014

15. US: Muslims booted from Empire State Building for praying – A Muslim family from Long Island slapped the owners of the Empire State Building on 17 March with a scathing $5 million lawsuit that claimed they were booted from the building’s observation deck for praying. Fahad and Amina Tirmizi of Farmingville said their civil rights were violated when they were “assaulted, battered and forcibly removed” from the famed observatory in July 2013.

The suit, filed against Malkin Properties, security company Andrews International Inc. and others, claimed that Fahad, 32, and his 30-year-old wife were unfairly targeted because they were Muslim and wearing traditional Muslim attire. Fahad said: “We weren’t doing anything wrong…We just wanted to enjoy the view like everyone else.” The couple and their two children were on the 86th-floor outside deck when they walked over to a quiet spot to recite evening prayers. Although Amina briefly prayed without incident, a security guard quickly confronted Fahad and “menacingly poked” him and loudly told him he was not allowed to

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pray on the deck. Another guard joined the fray and told all the family members that they had to leave, and “forcibly escorted” them down to the lobby and out of the building, the suit says.

Fahad told The Post that he had prayed in public before and tried to be respectful, adding: “Earlier that same day at the Staten Island Ferry terminal, I needed to pray the afternoon prayer and wanted to make sure I’m not in the way…I confirmed with a police officer who was standing right there to make sure it was a good spot. The officer responded, ‘Go for it, it’s not illegal to pray.’ ”

The Tirmizis’ lawyer, Phil Hines, said the family outing became an experience of intolerance. Representatives for Malkin Properties did not immediately return messages. In: http://nypost.com/2014/03/18/muslims-booted-from-empire-state-building-for-praying-suit/, retrieved on 20.03.2014

16. UK: Jury shown videos of Michael Piggin throwing firebomb and spraying anti-Muslim graffiti – A jury was shown a video of a teenager accused of planning a repeat of the Columbine massacre throwing a molotov cocktail in an alley. Michael Piggin was accused of arming himself with guns and explosives as he plotted a terrorist attack on staff and pupils at his former school in Loughborough, Leicestershire. The teenager, who was 17 when he was arrested but can now be named after turning 18, also identified his college, Loughborough mosque, a local cinema, Loughborough University and the town’s council offices as potential targets, the Old Bailey heard.

The jury was shown a video of Piggin lighting a rag stuffed inside a bottle of flammable liquid and then throwing it. It exploded leaving a trail of flames on the ground and up an exterior wall. Piggin then inspected the small fire and poured cola on it before walking away swigging from the drink bottle. A second video was shown to the courtroom of Piggin writing anti-Muslim graffiti on a wall. The teenager is seen spray-painting “No More Mosques!” in large black letters. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/jury-shown-videos-of-michael-piggin-throwing-firebomb-and-spraying-anti-muslim-graffiti/#more-29977, retrieved on 22.01.2014

17. Germany: Femen protestors disrupt Berlin Islam Week event – A German religious forum took an unexpected turn on 20 March when three topless protesters had to be dragged out of the building. The Berlin Islam Week event, held in one of the city’s town halls, was stopped in its tracks by members of extreme protest group Femen, who charged into the hall with slogans attacking “religious oppression” and Sharia law daubed on their bodies. Femen, which began in Eastern Europe, is notorious for using nudity to promote their message of female emancipation and protest against governments and organisations with which they disagree.

Berlin Islam Week was open to atheists and those of other religions as well as Muslims, according to promotional material, which described the event as “an important part of inter-religious dialogue process”. The description said 2014’s event aimed to “provide a platform for exchange and to strengthen dialogue” and mentioned talks with “religious, inter-religious, social and historical themes”.

Following the event, Femen posted a statement online which attacked the Muslim system of law and claimed that the event was part of a culture which “is responsible for many crimes”. It said: “Femen is outraged that

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the city of Berlin offered a public platform and support to the community that openly spreads inhuman ideology and calls for violence and incitement… Femen calls western government [sic], do not ignore the fact that the violent form of Islam found its niche in the western democratic society. It operates in the parallel world in the midst of our society and is responsible for many crimes. We want to encourage all women to free themselves from patriarchal structures! You are worth as much as your fathers and brothers, you have a right to physical integrity, you have a right to make your own decisions, you have a right to self- determination, to love and freedom!” In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/femen-protestors-disrupt-berlin-islam-week-event/#more-29980, retrieved on 22.03.2014

18. UK: Fascist group entering mosques and handing out inflammatory literature – A group purporting to be on a ‘Muslim anti-grooming campaign’ were entering mosques and handing out inflammatory literature. In the latest video posted on the Britain First website, led by chairman and former British National Party member Paul Golding, members of the group could be seen standing inside a mosque in Bolton. They then hand over inflammatory and anti- Muslim leaflets to a mosque member.

On the website it stated that the team visited mosques in Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale and Burnley. They ended the video by visiting the home address of Gordon Birtwistle MP, Burnley MP who was quoted in an article earlier in March 2014 criticizing the group. As well as the Golden Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre in Rochdale, members of the group visited the Jamiyat Tabligh-ul-Islam mosque in Oldham and the Madina Mosque in Bolton. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/fascist-group-entering-mosques-and-handing-out-inflammatory-literature/#more-29986, retrieved on 22.03.2014

19. UK: Neo-Nazi who plotted to blow up Mersey mosques branded ‘evil’ by judge – Ian Forman, a neo-Nazi who plotted to blow up Merseyside mosques, was branded “evil” by a judge on 25 March. He was terror suspect who planned to explode home-made devices packed with nails and ball-bearings. He downloaded pictures of two mosques near his home and labelled them “targets” before making a string of YouTube posts threatening to “blow them up”. He stockpiled potassium nitrate, sulphur and charcoal, and drew up a shopping list of bomb components after months of internet research. The Hitler obsessive then created spreadsheets for the prices of chemicals needed for homemade bombs, and where they would be stocked. Forman, who frequently expressed his racist ideology and views against the disabled to friends and workmates, also posted on YouTube about “Mosques lighting up the sky to keep us warm in the winter”.

On 25 March, a jury of seven men and five women at Kingston Crown Court found Forman guilty of engaging in conduct in the preparation of terrorist acts. Judge Paul Dodgson said: “The defendant had, in my judgement, very extreme and evil thoughts – I think the word evil is appropriate. As the jury found he at some points had the intention of carrying those evil thoughts out. For his sentencing there must be a message sent out by the court that this behaviour is regarded with extreme gravity. But, on the other hand, I must mitigate this by the acknowledgement that his intention wasn’t carried out to effect.” In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/neo-nazi-who-plotted-to-blow-up-mersey-mosques-branded-evil-by-judge/#more-30103, retrieved on 26.03.2014

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20. France: French airforce sergeant who planned to shoot Muslims has case dismissed – The Collectif contre l’Islamophobie en France drew our attention to reports that Christophe Lavigne, a sergeant in the French airforce with far-right links, would not be prosecuted. Lavigne was arrested in August 2014 and charged with planning an armed attack on worshippers at the Al Forqane mosque in the Lyon suburb of Vénissieux to coincide with the end of Ramadan.

Judges had already dismissed the charge against Lavigne of possessing ammunition in connection with a terrorist enterprise, on the grounds that the bullets were of a grade permitted for collectors of historical weapons and so were not illegal. This ruling had then been confirmed by the court of appeal in Paris. Lavigne would stand trial in June 2014 on a charge of desecration of a place of worship in connection with a terrorist enterprise, having reportedly confessed to an earlier firebomb attack on a mosque in Libourne. The CCIF comments: “There is no doubt that he represents a real terrorist threat, as he has already shown in practice by throwing a Molotov cocktail at the mosque in Libourne in August 2012. So how could this armed, dangerous and recidivist Islamophobe have been able to escape conviction and not be expelled from the French armed forces either?” In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/french-airforce-sergeant-who-planned-to-shoot-muslims-has-case-dismissed/, retrieved on 26.03.2014

21. US: Shooting Death of Sacramento Muslim Man Eyed as Possible Hate Crime – The Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a press conference on 27 March for Hassan Alawsi, a Sacramento- area Muslim man shot and killed in the parking lot of Home Depot off of Florin Road on 16 March. CAIR’s Basim Elkarra said: “Hassan Alawsi left war-torn Iraq for a better life. To provide. Now, he will return in a casket.”

At first, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department thought Alawsi’s murder was random but information from the family of the alleged shooter, Jeffrey Michael Caylor, lead them to believe it may have been racially motivated. Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Jim Barnes said: “It seems he has a dislike for what he describes as a Muslim community.”

Investigators had Caylor, 44, in custody. Video of the suspect showed him stalking Alawsi in the minutes leading up to the shooting. Still, the Sheriff’s Department would not confirm Alawsi’s death to be a hate crime. In: http://fox40.com/2014/03/27/shooting-death-of-sacramento-muslim-man-eyed-as-possible-hate-crime/, retrieved on 28.03.2014, emphasis added.

22. Ireland: Outrage as judge claims: ‘Muslims feel they can beat their wives’ – A judge caused outrage after saying he thought “Muslims feel they can actually beat their wives” during the trial of a Somali man accused of burglary at his former wife’s house. Judge Anthony Halpin’s comments made before a packed courtroom on 27 March caused a government minister and the Immigrant Council of Ireland to say he needed to immediately clarify or withdraw the remark made during a criminal case.

The judge made the statement just days after telling Tallaght Court he was to be reassigned elsewhere, saying he “may have stepped on some toes”.

Junior minister Joe Costello said “on the surface it sounds insulting and gratuitous and he should immediately clarify the remarks”. The Irish Independent understood that Judge Halpin was being transferred to the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) in Dublin. He announced that his last day would be Monday, 14 April 2014. His comments about Muslims in the busy courtroom was the latest controversy sparked by his outspoken views. In: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/outrage-as-judge-claims-muslims-feel-they-can-beat-their-wives-30133991.html, retrieved on 29.03.2014 11

23. UK: Muslim prayer room signs vandalised at King’s College London – Muslim prayer room signs were vandalized at Guy’s campus, with one sign having “Muslim” scratched out and other with a “#jewish” sticker over the same word.

Students, who spotted the signs on 27 March night, had expressed fear of “threats and violence” that may be used against them from the blade used to deface the board. The College had been called on to look through CCTV to find those responsible, in what had been described as a “clear violation of safe space policy”.

Sebastiaan Debrouwere, President of the university Students’ Union, said: “This defacement is awful and disgraceful, and in no way furthers the healthy climate of interfaith dialogue we strive for on campus. We will be raising this issue with College and asking the university to follow up on it with the greatest expediency.” In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/muslim-prayer-room-signs-vandalised-at-kings-college-london/#more-30181, retrieved on 29.03.2014

24. US: Clarion Fund’s new Islamophobic film, ‘Honor Diaries’ – Richard Silverstein, a Seattle based Jew and self-described “Jewish progressive” and creator of the Israel Palestine Forum, a progressive forum dedicated to discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reviewed the Clarion Fund’s latest exercise in Islam- bashing:

The Clarion Fund (now the ‘Clarion Project–#1 news site on the threat of Islamic extremism’) rides again. After producing three classic Islamophobic films, Obsession, Third Jihad and Iranium, T-H-E- Y’R-E B-A-C-K with a new one, Honor Diaries. The new project focuses on honor killings and Islam’s supposed hatred of women. One has to ask why a film about the purported abuse of Muslim women was produced by Jews, and ones with a distinct ideological agenda at that.

Honor Diaries calls itself a “woman’s film” (it was launched on March 8th, International Women’s Day) when its focus is decrying the alleged backwardness and misogyny of Islam. Here is the blurb from the film’s website in which you can see the sly manipulation of feminism for the purpose of Muslim-bashing:

The film gives a platform to exclusively female voices and seeks to expose the paralyzing political correctness that prevents many from identifying, understanding and addressing this international human rights

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disaster. Freedom of movement, the right to education, forced marriage, and female genital mutilation are some of the systematic abuses explored in depth. Spurred by the Arab Spring, women who were once silent are starting to speak out about gender inequality and are bringing visibility to a long history of oppression. This project draws together leading women’s rights activists and provides a platform where their voices can be heard and serves as inspiration to motivate others to speak out.

More than a movie, Honor Diaries is a movement meant to inspire viewers to learn more about issues facing women in Muslim-majority societies, and to act for change.

The words “Arab Spring” above are the “hook” for the film. Its producers erroneously saw the Arab Spring as a revolt against Islam. So they devised this film as a wedge to further divide the mass of westerners against Islam. If the Arab Spring represented democracy, feminism, and turning toward western values, then it offered a perfect tool to discredit traditional Islam. Of course, this analysis of the Arab Spring is totally wrong. It did represent a turn toward populism and even democracy in some national contexts, but it in no way rejected Islam.

Another aspect of the marketing of this film is quite devious and sophisticated. Instead of taking on Islam head-on as it did so outlandishly in the previous three films, here the trash-talking is downplayed. It doesn’t preoccupy itself with terrorism or claim that all Muslims are terrorists as the earlier films did. Instead, it embraces a subject as American as apple pie: women’s rights. We all agree that oppression of women is wrong. So if Clarion can paint a picture of Islamic societies as oppressing women, then it’s achieved it’s goal of discrediting Islam, but done it through the back-door as it were. In: http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2014/03/27/clarion-funds-new-islamophobic-film-honor-diaries/, retrieved on 30.03.2014

I.I. On Islamophobic Behavior by US Military & Police:

1. New Jersey Muslims Appeal Ruling on NYPD Surveillance – On 21 March, a group of New Jersey Muslims represented by Muslim Advocates and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) appealed a federal district court’s dismissal of Hassan, et al v. City of New York, which challenged the discriminatory New York Police Department (NYPD) spying program that targeted innocent American Muslims because of their faith. In February 2014, Judge William Martini ruled, in a summary, 10-page opinion and without oral argument, that any harm the plaintiffs suffered was not the result of NYPD surveillance of the American Muslim community, but of Pulitzer Prize-winning reporting by the Associated Press revealing the secret practice. Judge Martini also dismissed plaintiffs’ claims of discrimination as implausible because, in his words, the “[NYPD] could not have monitored New Jersey for Muslim terrorist activities without monitoring the Muslim community itself.”

Glenn Katon, Legal Director of Muslim Advocates, said: “Today, we take this important legal fight against police discrimination to the next round…Just as many historic civil rights cases have required appeal from lower court rulings to address systemic discrimination, we are not surprised that the Hassan case needs to push through to the higher courts. These brave American Muslims are determined and ready to stand up for their rights and every American’s right to equal treatment, regardless of faith.”

Hassan v. City of New Yorkis the first lawsuit challenging the NYPD spying program, initially filed by Muslim Advocates and later joined by CCR, and representing a broad group of American Muslims from a variety of backgrounds – including a decorated Iraq war soldier and the former principal of a grade school for Muslim girls – who had been subjected to invasive spying. Since 2002, the NYPD had spied on at least 20 mosques, 14 restaurants, 11 retail stores, two grade schools, and two Muslim Student Associations on college campuses in New Jersey. This monitoring had included video surveillance, photographing, and

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community mapping. Moreover, internal documents, including a list of 28 “ancestries of interest,” reveal that the NYPD used racial and ethnic backgrounds as proxies to identify and target adherents of the Muslim faith. Not a single lead has come out of the extensive spying program. In: http://www.enewspf.com/latest-news/latest-national/latest-national-news/51236-new-jersey-muslims-appeal-ruling-on-nypd-surveillance.html, retrieved on 22.03.2014

I.II. On Offences to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH):

1. US appeals court permits YouTube to display anti-Muslim video with changes – Google had been allowed by a court to keep a controversial film trailer that mocked the Prophet Muhammad on YouTube, but the video had to be scrubbed to remove the performance of actress Cindy Lee Garcia, who claimed infringement of her copyright.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld its earlier order, asking Google to take down and prevent new uploads of the trailer, but did not preclude the posting or display of any version of ‘Innocence of Muslims’ that did not include Garcia’s performance. The court had earlier ruled that YouTube should take down the controversial video which sparked off protests in a number of countries in 2012. Garcia had argued that the video would cause her irreparable harm if there wasn’t an injunction on it, as she was subject to death threats. Google then asked the court to allow it to retain the trailer online until the disposition of its upcoming petition for a full-court rehearing of the earlier decision. In: http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=41F30D27-0B2E-4EC5-C5BD7D612EBA857E, retrieved on 04.03.2014

I.III. On Geert Wilders:

1. Australia: Anti-Islam party to contest next poll – An anti-Islam party based on the hardline views of Dutch politician Geert Wilders planned to field candidates at the next federal election, raising fears among moderate Muslims of a rise in extremism. Mr. Wilders, an influential far-right figure expected to shape the results of 2014’s European elections, told followers in a video message that the Australian Liberty Alliance was being formed to “offer civil minded Australians fresh political vision and better policies”. In: http://www.updatednews.ca/2014/03/04/australia-anti-islam-party-to-contest-next-poll/, retrieved on 05.03.2014

2. Dutch politician referred to prosecutors for anti-Moroccan remarks – Dutch anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders was referred to prosecutors on 13 March after making anti-Moroccan remarks at a campaign rally. Wilders, whose hard-right, euro-skeptic Freedom Party (PVV) lead opinion polls before municipal elections on 19 March 2014, told supporters in The Hague he wanted fewer Moroccans there.

The PVV was competing in two municipalities in the March 19 poll, The Hague and Almere. It was expected to emerge on top in the Netherlands in elections for the European Parliament in May 2014. The most recent opinion poll, published in early-March 2014, indicated the PVV would be the single largest party in the Dutch parliament if national elections were held then. Wilders told supporters on 12 March they should vote “for a city with fewer problems, and if it’s at all possible, a few fewer Moroccans.” In a later interview with broadcaster RTL Z, Wilders said “Moroccan scum” should leave the Netherlands, and that Moroccans were over-represented in crime statistics and in the number of people receiving social benefit.

A public anti-discrimination watchdog said it had received three complaints and passed them on to public prosecutors. The prosecutors confirmed they would consider the matter. In: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/13/us-dutch-wilders-moroccans-idUSBREA2C1JS20140313, retrieved on 14.03.2014

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II. Positive Developments:

1. Netherlands: Dutch Muslim politician launching new Islamic party – Arnoud van Doorn, a former far-right Dutch politician who later accepted Islam and became a Muslim, announced his plans to launch a new Islamic party in his native Holland. The Islamic Party for Unity would be contending for three seats in the upcoming municipal elections on 19 March.

Doorn, who once co-produced the anti-Islamic film ‘Fitna’ along with former friend and notorious anti- Muslim propagandist Geert Wilders, told the NL Times on 2nd March that it was ‘only logical’ for Muslims to have political representation as “Our standpoints are based on the Islam. We come up for minorities and the welfare of animals.” Asked about what his party’s stance would be on homosexuals, Doorn said that all acts of affection in general were private affairs and thus should be kept private. In: http://www.worldbulletin.net/muslim-world/130103/dutch-muslim-politician-launching-new-islamic-party, retrieved on 04.03.2014

2. UK: Man charged on Milton Keynes mosque arson – A 30-year-old man had been charged with arson and a “racially aggravated” offence after a fire at a mosque in Milton Keynes. Thames Valley Police said a fire was started at the back of the mosque on Manor Road, Bletchley, at about 01:00 GMT on 08 March. Richard Bevington, of North Street, Bletchley, was charged with arson with intent to endanger life and had been remanded in custody. No-one was hurt in the incident.

Mr Bevington was also charged with a “racially and religiously aggravated section five public order offence”. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/milton-keynes-mosque-arson-man-charged/, retrieved on 11.03.2014

3. US: CIA Director defends Koran, defines Islamic teaching – In the analytical and supposedly sectarian-neutral Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), its director John Brennan publicly declared that the al- Qaeda terrorist network was improperly and purposefully misinterpreting the sacred writ of the followers of Mohammed, as reported by the right-of-center Cybercast News Service on 11 March.

While responding during the question and answer segment of his visit to the Council on Foreign Relations, Director Brennan was asked of “the ‘war of ideas’ surrounding Islam, which the questioner said many Americans tend to equate with violence.” The intel honcho delved into the actual definition of what was the correct and incorrect tenets of Islam vice an analytical study of combating a known rather viscous terrorist group known to target not only American men, women and children, but those of their allies as well. In his response, Brennan referred to al-Qaeda and presumably their numerous affiliates as: “A perverse and very corrupt interpretation of the Qur’an. One of the things that I'm struck with when I travel throughout the Middle East and I meet with leaders, military and civilian – these are individuals who are Qur’anic scholars themselves and they are the ones who are most annoyed at how al-Qaeda has hijacked their religion and how they have really distorted the teachings of Mohammed, you know, for violent purposes.” In: http://www.examiner.com/article/cia-director-defends-koran-defines-islamic-teaching, retrieved on 13.03.2014 15

III. On Muslims in US and Americas:

1. Muslims Welcome St. Paul Police Hijab – CAIR-MN welcomed the new policy for Minneapolis’ St. Paul police which allowed Muslim policewomen to don Islamic headscarf or hijab. CAIR-MN Executive Director Lori Saroya said in a statement obtained by OnIslam on 2nd March: “We congratulate Chief Smith and the St. Paul Police Department for creating a welcoming, inclusive environment for Muslim employees. This decision will enable more Muslim women to consider serving their community through a career in law enforcement.”

On 1st March, in the morning, Kadra Mohamed was recognized as the first Somali-American woman to join the St. Paul Police Department. Mohamed was recognized at the police’s Western District building during a graduation ceremony for youth who recently completed the East African Junior Police Academy. Mohamed said she contacted St. Paul police a few months before to learn about becoming an officer. She said she expressed concerns over not being able to wear a hijab on duty.

In December 2013, the police service in Edmonton, Ontario, approved the option for female officers of Muslim faith to wear a police-issued hijab. St. Paul police Sgt. Tina Kill said St. Paul police contacted the Edmonton police, and they provided input on a hijab suitable for duty -- the final product of which Mohamed wore at 1st March’s ceremony. In: http://www.onislam.net/english/news/americas/469835-muslims-welcome-st-paul-police-hijab.html, retrieved on 03.03.2014

2. Kumar, Kundnani and Alim deliver talk on Islamophobia in America – On 27 February, the UMass Amherst International Socialist Organization facilitated a free lecture titled “Islamophobia, Racism, Surveillance and Empire.” Guest speakers Dr. Deepa Kumar, the Associate Professor of Media Studies and Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers University, and Arun Kundnani, author of “The End of Tolerance: Racism in the 21st Century Britain” and “The Muslims Are Coming!,” spoke at the event about their work and the social stigma surrounding the Muslim community today.

The seminar focused on the state of national security in the U.S. and chronicled the existence of Islamophobia in the United States both before and after 9/11. Much of the seminar focused on the imprisonment of Ayyub Abdul-Alim, a Springfield man who was charged for an alleged firearms and ammunition after a random stop-and-frisk by Springfield police. Abdul-Alim, a half African-American, half Puerto Rican man raised in a Muslim family and the owner of the store Nature’s Garden, in December of 2011 he was stopped and searched by police officers outside of a convenience store and detained for allegedly having firearms and ammunition. Instead of serving a 15 year sentence, he was offered freedom in exchange for becoming an informant within the Muslim community. Abdul-Alim refused and received the 15 year sentence in the Hampden County Correctional Center where he awaited trial.

During the seminar the student leaders of the ISO called Abdul-Alim and had him speak to the audience about his incarceration and the struggles of being Islamic in America. He encouraged the audience to never stand for the injustices like those he had seen when he said “Silence is a form of consent.”

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While none of the speakers encouraged violence in any form, they do preached a form of hyper-activism meant to protect minorities from police brutality and protect their own rights. They encouraged people of all races to speak out against any injustices they saw and to see past the discrimination they were confronted with every day.

Abdul-Alim, Kumar and Kundnani all saw Islamophobia as a form of institutionalized racism meant to drive the expansion of the United States as an empire. In response to the tragedy on 9/11, the Bush administration launched a “war on terror” that exacerbated the anti-Muslim sentiments already in place in the U.S. The speakers believed that the goal of this war was not peace in the Middle East, but rather to spread western culture throughout the world. The ISO believed Islamophobia was perpetuated by the government to justify the surveillance, discrimination and abuses of power needed to create an empire. In: http://dailycollegian.com/2014/03/03/kumar-kundnani-and-alim-deliver-talk-on-islamophobia-in-america/, retrieved on 04.03.2014

3. Montreal rally unites faiths against ‘secularism’ charter – With his fuchsia skullcap and sash, Catholic Bishop Thomas Dowd stood out in the crowd at Shaare Zedek Congregation on Sunday. Speaking to nearly 500 people at the synagogue in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Dowd said he purposely wore his most ostentatious outfit to the multi-faith rally against the Parti Québécois government’s proposed secular charter. Bill 60, which would bar all public sector workers from wearing “ostentatious” religious symbols like the Muslim head scarf, Jewish skullcap or Sikh turban, died on the order paper in the last week of February 2014 when Premier Pauline Marois dissolved the National Assembly to call an election. But speakers, who included local politicians and representatives of six faiths, said that was no reason to stop protesting, since the PQ had vowed to adopt the charter if it wins a majority on 7 April.

The rally was “a chance to show to the world that religion did not need to be seen as a source of division,” but can also be a source of unity, said Dowd, who added he had come “to build bridges with all of you.” Organized by Norman Simon, a retired teacher who founded a Facebook group called “Canadians for Coexistence”, the event also included members of the Sikh, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist communities. Liberal MNAs Lawrence Bergman and Kathleen Weil, N.D.G. Mayor Russell Copeman and Pierrefonds- Roxboro Mayor Jim Beis attended, along with representatives of the English Montreal School Board. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/montreal-rally-unites-faiths-against-secularism-charter/#more-29702, retrieved on 11.03.2014

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3. Canadian University Hosts Islam Awareness Week – For years, the campus building of Canada’s University of Windsor had been hosting Islamic awareness week, allowing its Muslim students to present a true message about their faith and dispel media misconceptions. Hanan Khaled, Muslim Student Association (MSA) executive member told Windsor Star: “This whole week of events is meant to counteract the negative depictions of Islam. Our dedicated volunteers are there to explain what Islam is all about to those who have any questions.”

Held at the CAW student centre, the event from March 11 to 15 was to include displays, literature and presentations about Islam. The first day of the Awareness Week, which opened on 11 March, included presentations titled “Why I Became a Muslim” by four reverts who shared their own experiences. On 13 March, a lecture by Munir El-Kassem was to illustrate the unique features of the Islamic scriptures under the title “Qur'an: A Light Amidst the Darkness.”

Rima Khaled, the director of the annual Awareness Week, told Windsor Star: “Our goal is to raise awareness and be available to address negative perceptions. There are a lot of misconceptions because of the media but we’re here to say that we are normal, just like you.” She argued that many people had a negative image of Islam believing that it oppressed women’s rights, although Muslim women have “…the whole set of rights and freedoms.” Khaled refuted the allegations that said Muslim women were obligated to cover and wear hijab as they “…choose to wear the hijab…Many people believe women are forced to wear the hijab and are oppressed…That’s a hot topic but it’s completely not true. It’s not a way to dress, it’s a way to act and has to do with character and attitude. It encompasses so much.” In: http://www.onislam.net/english/news/americas/470201-canadian-univ-hosts-islam-awareness-week.html, retrieved on 13.03.2014

4. ABC Family Scraps ‘Alice in Arabia’ Following Muslim Outcry – The recently ordered pilot came under fire from Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization Council on American-Islamic Relations and after Buzzfeed on 21 March that it had obtained a script for the show, which was “about an American teenage girl kidnapped by her extended royal Saudi Arabian family and forced to live with them.” CAIR said earlier in that week that it had asked ABC Family to meet with leaders in the Muslim community to discuss “concerns about potential stereotyping in the pilot,” and on that day evening the network said it had nixed the pilot, as “The current conversation surrounding our pilot was not what we had envisioned and is certainly not conducive to the creative process, so we’ve decided not to move forward with this project.”

Following ABC family’s decision, CAIR expressed happiness in a statement issued early on 22 March, welcoming “…ABC Family channel’s decision to respond to community concerns by canceling plans for a program that had the potential to promote ethnic and religious stereotyping.”

When the pilot order was announced on 17 March, Alice in Arabia was described as a high-stakes drama about an American girl who -- after tragedy befell her parents -- was unknowingly kidnapped by members of her extended family, who are Saudi Arabian. The character was to be a virtual prisoner in her grandfather’s royal compound, but would find herself intrigued by her new surroundings and its people, who were to have surprisingly diverse views on the world and her situation. Alice would need to depend on her independent spirit and wit to find her way back home and survive life behind the veil. The Alice in Arabia pilot was written by Brooke Eikmeier, a U.S. Army veteran who worked as a cryptologic linguist in the Arabic language, trained to support NSA missions in the Middle East. She concluded her military service in September 2013 as a rank E-4 specialist. In: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/abc-family-scraps-alice-arabia-690400, retrieved on 23.03.2014

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IV. On Muslims in Europe:

1. French Muslims Protest Islamophopic Laws – On 15 March, a protest was organized by the Campaign of Elimination of Islamophopic Laws aimed at overturning Islamophopic status in France by highlighting Muslim rights to freedom of expression and religious practices. Citing anti-Islam campaigns led by difference factions of French politicians, Muslim activists expressed concerns that with a broad political backing of anti-Islam laws, it was not easy to counter what they dubbed as ‘discriminatory laws’.

These political groups include the far-right National front, the conservative UMP and even the ruling Socialists. In: http://www.islamicinvitationturkey.com/2014/03/17/french-muslims-protest-islamophopic-laws/, retrieved on 19.03.2014

Related: Lyon demonstration against Islamophobia – On 15 March, the Coordination contre le Racisme et l’Islamophobie organised a demonstration against Islamophobia in Lyon, to mark the tenth anniversary of the introduction of the hijab ban in French state schools. The CRI pointed out that the law was the first in a series of legal restrictions on, and judicial and administrative rulings against Muslims, including the 2011 ban on the niqab, a 2013 court decision upholding the sacking of a childcare assistant who wore a headscarf to work, the adoption this year by the Senate of a bill that would extend the hijab ban to childcare workers who work at their own homes, and the prevention of hijab-wearing mothers from joining their children on school trips.

The demonstrators called for the cancellation of all Islamophobic laws. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/lyon-demonstration-against-islamophobia/#more-29895, retrieved on 19.03.2014

IV.I. On Muslims in the United Kingdom, Including Australia & New Zealand:

1. Islamic museum opened in Melbourne, Australia – Australia officially opened its first ever Islamic Museum on 3rd March in Melbourne, presenting a unique insight into Islamic culture and civilization in order to address the many misconceptions prevalent in society. Moustafa Fahour, the Islamic museum co-

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founder, told ABC news: “I think art is more universal and can really bring people from all faiths and cultures together and once you learn and understand you’ll actually celebrate these differences,” adding it was about creating a “fusion between Australian infrastructure but a lot of Islamic principles, from traditional calligraphy to geometric tile patterns.”

The $10 million project included many galleries and exhibition displays dedicated to Islamic creed, engineering, architecture and arts, working to enhance “the social cohesive and multicultural landscape,” of Australia, Fahour said, as well as providing “a window into the Islamic life and the Australian Muslim history and contributions they’ve made to Australia and to civilization.” The opening of the museum was attended by many notables including Yusuf Islam, formerly known as the musician Cat Stevens. He was quoted by SBS: “It is a fantastic project and it is going to grow… it is just going to grow”. In: http://www.worldbulletin.net/todays-news/130183/islamic-museum-opened-in-melbourne-australia, retrieved on 05.03.2014

V. On Burqah and Veil Related Issues:

1. FIFA lifts ban on head cover – Football’s world governing body FIFA authorized the wearing of head covers for religious purposes during matches. That would allow female Muslim players who wore a hijab in everyday life to cover their heads during matches as well. FIFA added that male players would also be authorized to do so following a request from the Sikh community in Canada. The wearing of head covers had been banned until 2012, with FIFA saying that they posed too great a risk of injury to the head or neck. However, the IFAB then allowed them to be tested out over a two-year period following a request from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), a trial which proved to be successful.

FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke said “It’s a worldwide authorization,” and confirmed that the hosting of the 2016 women’s under-17 World Cup by the Arab kingdom of Jordan played a part in the authorization being introduced, adding: “It was a plus for them to have authorization from the IFAB for women to be able to play (wearing head covers). It was a request from these (Muslim) countries that said it would help support women’s football there.” In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/fifa-lifts-ban-on-head-covers/#more-29351, retrieved on 02.03.2014

2. US: Colorado girls’ soccer team takes stand against hijab ban - Earlier in March 2014, FIFA lifted its ban on headscarves, allowing female Muslim players to wear hijabs while playing soccer. But that did not stop high school soccer referees in Aurora, Colorado, from prohibiting Samah Aidah to play with her head covered.

On 13 March, in response, the Overland High School girls soccer team took an inspiring stand in support of their teammate and her freedom of religious expression by donning headscarves representative of Aidah’s hijab. With more than 40,000 retweets and favorites by the time of this news item, teammate Divine Davis’ photo of the team in headscarves was making a loud statement about equality. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/colorado-girls-soccer-team-takes-stand-against-hijab-ban/, retrieved on 18.03.2014

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3. Finland: Helsinki clothing store bosses fined over headscarf sacking – Helsinki District court fined managers at a Helsinki clothing retailer for discriminating against an employee on the basis of religion. They received 20 day-fines for sacking a Muslim worker who was told she should not wear a headscarf. The new worker, who had been hired on a one-month contract, was fired on her first day at work when managers realized she wore a headscarf. She had been hired over the phone, and told to turn up wearing a t-shirt and denim overalls. The store manager forbad her from wearing the headscarf in the store, and after discussing the matter with a senior manager fired the new employee. The defendants denied that their decision was discriminatory, saying that a scarf that ensured only the worker’s face was visible did not fit the company’s brand. That view was not shared by the district court, which ruled in favour of the prosecutor and fined the defendants. In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/helsinki-clothing-store-bosses-fined-over-headscarf-sacking/, retrieved on 25.03.2014

4. US: Planet Fitness kicked Muslim woman out for wearing head scarf: lawsuit – A New Mexico woman was claiming Planet Fitness was not always ‘judgment free.’ The American-national budget-friendly gym chain promised members an atmosphere free of “gymtimidation.” But Tarainia McDaniel, a Muslim woman, said a gym in Albuquerque booted her out because she was wearing a head scarf. The woman reportedly told staff at the gym that the head scarf was an essential part of her Muslim faith. In return, she was told to go find a baseball cap.

McDaniel, a Muslim convert, grew up with her parents Roman Catholic and Jehovah’s Witness. The woman began practicing Islam when she was a 16-year-old student at Sidwell Friends School in the Washington, D.C. area. Islam is now a big part of her identity. In fact, she’s raising her two kids as Muslims. The 37-year-old woman did not expect any problems when she joined the gym on a two-year contract. McDaniel said she had gone to another Planet Fitness in her area a number of times with her colorful head scarf on and never had a problem.

But 3rd October 2011, staff members at the Irving Boulevard location tried to turn her away. She was told that the informal head covering she was wearing did not meet the gym’s dress code. McDaniel said she informed staff about her religious requirements and offered to come back wearing a more formal head covering known as the hijab. The gym reportedly denied her requests.

McDaniel’s civil lawsuit, filed under the New Mexico Human Rights Act and the Unfair Practices Act, alleged that Planet Fitness illegally based the decision to deny her access upon her religion, or alternatively upon her race — as an African-American — and that the gym had no legitimate reason to deny her entry. Planet Fitness denied those claims. The company’s attorney Erika Anderson said the head covering McDaniel was wearing violated the gym’s dress code policy. Planet Fitness prohibited members from wearing “jeans, work boots, bandanas, skull caps or revealing apparel.” In: http://www.islamophobiawatch.co.uk/planet-fitness-kicked-muslim-woman-out-for-wearing-head-scarf-lawsuit/, retrieved on 25.03.2014

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VI. On Dialogue among Civilizations:

1. Christians, Muslims join anti-slavery campaign – Christians and Muslims joined to try to help free millions of men, women and children held in modern-day slavery, forced to work as maids, prostitutes, child soldiers and manual laborers. The Global Freedom Network launched on 17 March at the Vatican aimed at eradicating slavery by encouraging governments, businesses, educational and faith institutions to rid their supply chains of slave labor.

The initiative was the brainchild of billionaire Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest, who founded the Walk Free Foundation in 2012 to mobilize a grass-roots movement to end slavery. Forrest, ranked 270th on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people, used personal contacts to bring the 1.2-billion strong Catholic Church, 85-million strong Anglican Communion and al-Azhar university in Cairo, the world’s foremost seat of Sunni learning, on board with the initiative. Representatives from all three gathered at the Vatican to sign an agreement to launch the project, which would be based at the Vatican and have a chief executive responsible for implementing a five-year business plan. Objectives included getting the G20 to condemn modern-day slavery, persuading 50 major corporations to commit to slavery-proofing their supply chains and convincing 160 governments to endorse a seven-year, $100 million fundraising effort to implement anti-slavery programs globally.

The Walk Free Foundation in 2013 published the “Global Slavery Index,” a country-by-country breakdown which found that some 29.8 million people were then enslaved around the globe: child laborers harvesting cocoa in Ivory Coast, women sold for sex in Moldova, and Haitian children trafficked and forced into begging. The report also said that everyday items used in the developed world — soccer balls, bricks, diamonds and flowers — were often produced or extracted using slave labor.

The presence of al-Azhar at the Vatican for the launch was particularly significant given that relations between the Holy See and al-Azhar collapsed during Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy. In: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/christians-muslims-join-anti-slavery-campaign/2014/03/17/ab7aa046-adbf-11e3-b8b3- 44b1d1cd4c1f_story.html, retrieved on 19.03.2014

2. Qatar: Doha interfaith meeting calls for an end to hate speech – Experts, scholars and leading religious figures from 50 countries gathered in Qatar ahead of the 11th Doha Interfaith Dialogue Conference to call for the rejection of intolerance and incitement to violence on the basis of religion or belief.

Participants at the “Doha Meeting for Advancing Religious Freedom Through Interfaith Collaboration”, held 24-25 March, focused on the need for all people to have the freedom to practice their religion and build places of worship in all communities. The meeting was part of the “Istanbul Process”, spearheaded by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to advance the implementation of UN Resolution 16/18, which protects the right to freedom of religion or belief and expression.

Meeting participants said a clear line needed to be drawn between freedom of expression and hate-inciting speeches, and that defamatory, disparaging and provocative phrases that fueled religious intolerance and lead to violence must be avoided in order to protect religions. Participants condemned religion-based genocide in all instances, noting that the principle of tolerance is advocated by all monotheistic religions. A global challenge

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OIC secretary-general, Mr. Iyad Madani, said that religious intolerance was one of the biggest global challenges, adding: “The OIC has worked in past years to stop the persecution of minorities through the issuance of a resolution criminalizing religious discrimination.”

Participants discussed the rights of minorities, rejection of intolerance, promotion of tolerance, and the role of the OIC in the fight against religious discrimination and hatred, and adopted an action plan which called for incidents of intolerance and persecution of minorities to be reported to the UN Human Rights Council. This would facilitate the implementation of UN Resolution 16/18, which “recognises that open and constructive discussion and interfaith co-operation at the national level will play a role in the fight against incitement and intolerance based on religion”, said US special envoy to the OIC Rashad Hussain.

The Doha Interfaith Dialogue Conference, which this year sought to encourage young people to engage in interfaith dialogue, concluded on 27 March. In: http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/2014/03/27/feature-01, retrieved on 28.03.2014

VI. General Issues:

1. Christians join Muslims in condemning Russell Crowe's new £75million blockbuster Noah for its portrayal of Biblical figure – The Hollywood epic about Noah’s ark managed to unite Christians and Muslims. Members of the two religions - at odds for more than a thousand years - were singing with one voice to condemn the £75million film Noah for its take on the Biblical hero. The blockbuster had already been banned in three Arab countries after religious leaders complained that it depicted the Biblical figure - who is also a prophet in the Qur’an.

Due to première at the end of March 2014, the film would not show in Qatar, Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates and several other countries were expected to follow suit. But it appeared that America’s devout Christians were also annoyed about the portrayal of the antediluvian patriarch, claiming after test screenings that director Darren Aronofsky had made him ‘too dark’.

In exchange for his eight-figure budget, the auteur filmmaker was forced to allow backer Paramount to conduct as many as half a dozen test screenings to test the waters while work was still in progress. A representative of an Australian pentecostal megachurch present for one warned The Hollywood Reporter: ‘If you’re expecting it to be word for word from the Bible, you’re in for a shock. There can be an opportunity for Christians to take offence.’ Another viewer at a separate test screening was blunter, saying it depictued Noah as a ‘crazy, irrational, religious nut’ who was obsessed with apparently modern day problems like overpopulation.

The criticisms came as of the world’s most respected Islamic institutions issued a fatwa against the Hollywood epic because it ‘contradicts the teachings of Islam’. Islam forbids representing holy figures in art, instead using conceptual line patterns and lettering to adorn the walls of mosques. A whole chapter of the Koran is devoted to Noah, who legend tells built an ark which saved himself, his family and many pairs of animals from a great flood. He also features prominently in the Biblical book of Genesis and is revered by Christians and Jews.

The fatwa - a ruling or injunction under the laws of Islam - was made by the influential Al-Azhar institution in Egypt’s capital Cairo, a centre of Sunni Islam thought which was founded in around AD970 and includes a university and a mosque. The statement read, in part: “Al-Azhar... renews its objection to any act depicting the messengers and prophets of God and the companions of the Prophet (Mohammad), peace be upon

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him.” The fatwa added that the depictions “provoke the feelings of believers... and are forbidden in Islam and a clear violation of Islamic law”.

A spokesman for Paramount Pictures said: “Censors for Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE (United Arab Emirates) officially confirmed this week that the film will not release in their countries. The official statement they offered in confirming this news is because ‘it contradicts the teachings of Islam’,”adding the studio expected a similar ban in Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait.

Jerry A. Johnson, president of a conservative National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) group, said in February 2014 that he wanted to “make sure everyone who sees this impactful film knows this is an imaginative interpretation of Scripture, and not literal.” Paramount responded by agreeing to issue a disclaimer on advertising for the film, which reads: “While artistic license has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide.” In: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2578931/Christians-join-Muslims-condemning-Russell-Crowes-new-75million-blockbuster-Noah-portrayal- Biblical-figure.html, retrieved on 13.03.2014

2. Iran Launches “Islamic Nobel Prize” – The presentation of what was dubbed the ‘Islamic Nobel Prize’ for science and technology was held on 10 March in the Iranian capital’s Pardis Technological Park. The Mustafa Science and Technology Prize, in honor of one of the 201 names (”the chosen one”) of Prophet Mohamed (PBUH), aimed at encouraging scholars from Muslim countries and those of the south-eastern Mediterranean to promote and elevate their works. The prize intended to create a platform for scientists and specialists to present their latest works and to increase scientific and technological collaboration in the Islamic world. The prize included 500,000 dollars, a medal and a certificate, and would be given by Pardis in three sectors: life sciences and medicine, nanosciences and nanotechnology, and information and communication technologies. A fourth prize, for the Best Muslim Scientist, would also be assigned.

For the first three categories, the candidates would have to be citizens of a Muslim country, while to compete for the fourth the scientist must simply be a Muslim. There would be 257 universities, academies, research centers and technological parks conducting the pre-selection, a list of which was made available on the prize website.

The deadline to submit candidatures to these institutes for the first edition of the prize was set to 14 June 2014. The awards ceremony would take place on 4-9 January 2014 and would be flanked by a series of events, including a five-day ‘Islamic Nations Festival of Science and Technology’. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) – the “largest credit institute in the Islamic world” – would be funding the construction and maintenance of a building in Iran to house the Mustafa Prize. In: http://www.onislam.net/english/health-and-science/news/470227-iran-launches-islamic-nobel-prize.html, retrieved on 16.03.2014

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

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