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 1 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.