Cultural & social affairs Department OIC islamophobia Observatory Monthly Bulletin – February 2013 I. Manifestations of Islamophobia: 1. UK: Conservative councillor suspended for alleged racism against Muslims – A Conservative councillor had been suspended and is under investigation after allegedly making anti-Muslim comments and sectarian remarks on a social media website. Chris Joannides’s Facebook page contained material comparing Muslim women who wore the burqa to rubbish bags. Another post included sexual remarks in a discussion about a flasher, and a comment that his work as a councillor was getting in the way of his social life. Joannides had been a councillor in Enfield, north London. News of the incident comes as David Cameron considered measures to try to increase the low levels of support the party received from ethnic minority voters. The Conservatives were trying to shed their “nasty party” image and appear more inclusive. His fellow Conservative councillors decided to suspend Joannides over the comments. Over a picture of a woman and child dressed in burqas, with a black binbag either side of them, Joannides appeared to have written: “I saw her standing there and I told her she had three beautiful children. She didn’t have to get all pissed off and threaten me … an honest mistake.” The Facebook page now appears to have been removed. Azad Ali, chair of the Muslim Safety Forum, said: “This is a shocking example of institutionalised and normalised Islamophobia…We expect the Conservative party to take a robust stand against this behaviour and prove that their drive to engage with black and minority ethnic communities isn’t tokenistic…Further, we will follow up with the Metropolitan police service and see that the full weight of the law is applied.” In: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/feb/01/conservative-councillor-chris-joannides-facebook, retrieved on 02.02.2013 2. US Officers Suspended for Islam Reversion – Two police officers had sued Washington Metropolitan police in Superior Court, accusing its officials of suspending them indefinitely for converting to Islam. The complaint filed at the District of Columbia, in Superior Court, was cited by Court House News on Friday, February 1st: “The investigation and suspension of the plaintiffs was initiated and conducted by defendant McGuire because of the plaintiffs’ religious affiliation and personal associations, statements of expression made by plaintiffs, and the plaintiffs’ respective name changes,”. Adham Numair-El and Ishmeal Heru-Bey, formerly Joseph Gibson and Jamal Adams, sued Metro Police Chief Cathy Lanier, internal affairs agent James McGuire and the District of Columbia, in Superior Court. The complaint was made “in retaliation for the plaintiffs complaining that their suspensions and the first effort to terminate their employment were acts of unlawful discrimination and violations of the plaintiffs’ constitutionally protected rights.” 1 Numair-El, who’s been on the force since 2004, and Heru-Bey, a police officer since 2002, both said they converted separately to Islam for spiritual peace and fulfillment. Finding Islam, they legally changed their names and received new government-issued identification.While Heru-Bey obtained a new Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) identification card and badge under his new name, Numair-El claims he was denied both documents. Numair-El added that he was fired from his part-time job as a security officer after losing his police powers. Facing trial board, the two officers said they were found not guilty of misconduct. Returning to work, they were suspended again, one day later. The officers claimed that McGuire caused the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration to investigate the lawfulness of their driver’s licenses, which bore their Islam names. Both said the MPD tried to fire them “at the urging and direction of defendants McGuire and Lanier, because of plaintiff’s religious affiliation and personal associations.” The two Muslim officers noted that their suspensions cost them the ability to work special events and overtime, and the complaint said: “Both plaintiffs have remained suspended (with pay but no overtime, no authorization to work part-time, and no ability to be promoted) for nearly two years since the trial board ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor and without notice of any allegations against them.” They sought reinstatement and compensatory and punitive damages totaling $16 million, for employment discrimination, civil rights violations and negligent supervision. In: http://www.onislam.net/english/news/americas/461155-us-officers-suspended-for-islam-reversion.html, retrieved on 02.02.2013 3. UK: Pork Traces Annoy UK Muslims – A supplier of halal meat in Britain had been suspending after traces of pork were found inside meat pies and pasties submitted to prison, sparking fury from Muslims. Justice Minister Jeremy Wright told Agence France-Presse (AFP): “This is an absolutely unacceptable situation and one which we regret greatly.” Traces of pork were found in food deliveries to prisons by a local halal meat supplier. Discovering the issue, Wright ordered all prisons to withdraw halal-labeled products immediately. He said: “Clearly this must be distressing for those affected and they can be reassured we are doing everything we can to resolve the situation…The Prison Service is investigating this as a matter of urgency.” The incident was made public after a spokeswoman for the Food Standards Agency said the halal meat supplied to prisons involved traces of pork, adding: “The FSA has been informed that a number of meat pies and pasties supplied to UK prisons which were labeled and served as Halal contained traces of pork DNA…The local authority (where the supplier is based) is investigating how this contamination came about and whether these products have been distributed further across the UK.” In: http://www.onislam.net/english/news/europe/461158-pork-traces-in-prisons-halal-food-anger-uk.html, retrieved on 03.02.2013 4. French mosque vandalized with anti-Islam graffiti - Officials said Sunday (03 February) that vandals had targeted a French mosque in a graffiti attack, tagging the worship centre with swastikas and anti-Islam slogans. The attack was discovered by worshippers arriving for morning prayer at the mosque in Ozoir-La- Ferrière, a small town 35 kilometres (20 miles) east of Paris. Photographs of the mosque show at least two swastikas painted on the façade, as well as an explicit anti-Islam slogan and “Long Live Gaul”, the ancient Roman-era name for France. Police were investigating the incident. 2 In the eastern city of Besançon, two mosques were also vandalized, where the Star of David had been painted on the walls. Interior Minister Manuel Valls condemned the attacks “with the utmost severity” and called them “foul and hateful”. According to statistics from an Islamic monitoring organization, 201 anti- Islam attacks were recorded in France last year, up 28% on 2011. In: http://www.islamophobia-watch.com/islamophobia-watch/2013/2/3/french-mosque-vandalised-with-anti-islam-graffiti.html, retrieved on 04.02.2013 5. Canada: Anti-mosque lawyer speaks in Ottawa despite protests – Gavin Boby, a controversial British lawyer, spoke in Ottawa despite protest from groups who opposed his opinion, which was that mosques should not be built in non-Muslim areas. He spoke in front of 40 people at the main branch of the Ottawa Public Library Monday evening as protesters stood outside the branch at the corner of Metcalfe Street and Laurier Avenue West. Boby, also an activist, had been known for using zoning regulations to try to stop mosques from opening in areas he considered “non-Muslim”. He told the CBC’s Simon Gardner before the speech he did not want views of Islam to dictate certain neighbourhoods, adding: “Increasingly what we are seeing now is self-declared Muslim areas where you get Muslim patrols saying you can’t walk a dog, wear a skirt.” A group that claimed it strived to “stop Muslims from taking over neighbourhoods” organized Boby’s speech. The Ottawa police hate crimes unit also monitored the talk. Ihsaan Gardee, executive director with the Canadian Council on American-Islamic relation, said the library should have cancelled the visit. But the library said it only rented the auditorium out to the group and it forced the group organizing Boby’s speech to sign an agreement not to violate criminal or human rights laws. Police were consulted on the issue as well, and encouraged groups to book the room for a speech on an opposing viewpoint. Library board chairwoman Jan Harder said she received hundreds of emails demanding she shut the event down, but she echoed the library’s sentiment it could only be stopped if a law was broken. She said it was important to preserve freedom of speech. In: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2013/02/04/ottawa-gavin-boby-anti-mosque-muslim.html, retrieved on 05.02.2013 6. US: Norwalk hires high-profile attorney to battle proposed mosque – A constitutional law scholar who had argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart was the city’s latest defense against a proposed mosque and community hall for 127 Fillow St. On Monday (04 February), U.S. District Court in New Haven granted the city’s request for Marci A. Hamilton to represent Norwalk (Connecticut) in the case of “Al Madany Islamic Center of Norwalk, Inc. v. Norwalk, et al”. Al Madany sued the city after the Norwalk Zoning Commission in June 2012 rejected a plan for a 27,000- square-foot mosque and community hall on the one-acre property. Robert F. Maslan, Jr., head of the city’s law department, said: “We believe that the city has done nothing wrong and we are going forward with our defense.