Danish parliament bans the wearing of face veils in public

June 1, 2018 Article

Denmark has banned the wearing of face veils in public, joining France and other European countries in outlawing the burqa and the niqab worn by some Muslim women to uphold what some politicians say are secular and democratic values.

Parliament voted on Thursday for the ban proposed by the centre-right government, which says veils are contrary to Danish values. Opponents say the ban, which will take effect on Aug. 1, infringes women’s right to dress as they choose.

Under the law, police can instruct women to remove their veils or order them to leave public areas. Justice Minister Soren Pape Poulsen has said that officers would in practice fine them and tell them “to go home”.

Fines would range from 1,000 Danish crowns ($160) for a first offence to 10,000 crowns for a fourth violation.

France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have all imposed some restrictions on full-face veils in public places.

Denmark has struggled for decades with how to integrate non-Western immigrants into its welfare state. Public debate intensified in 2015 with the arrival of large groups of refugees from conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere.

The anti-immigrant Danish People’s Party became the second-largest party in an election that year and now supports the coalition government in parliament.

Zainab Ibn Hssain, who lives in Copenhagen and has been wearing the niqab for the last year, told Reuters: “It’s not nice. It will mean that I won’t be able to go to school, go to work or go out with my family.”

“But I won’t take my niqab off so I have to find another solution,” the 20-year-old added.

Pape Poulsen, who leads the conservative party in the coalition, has described keeping one’s face hidden in public as “incompatible with the values ​​of Danish society or respect for the community”.

Ibn Hssain rejected suggestions that wearing the veil symbolised the rejection of Danish values or oppression of women. “It has nothing to do with integration or that we’re oppressed. For me it is a war on Islam,” she said.

Human rights group Amnesty International called the ban “a discriminatory violation of women’s rights … All women should be free to dress as they please and to wear clothing that expresses their identity or beliefs”.

Ibn Hssain, who says she has been yelled at and spat at in public for wearing the niqab, will stay for now in Denmark despite the ban. “If I leave Denmark the politicians win. I feel what they deep down want is for Muslims to leave Denmark,” she said.

 

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Categories: Denmark, face veil, News, veils in public, wearing the niqab

We Welcome the Landmark Ruling Against Alison Chabloz

May 25, 2018 Article

Today is a landmark judgment that has been brought against Alison Chabloz who was convicted of two counts of causing obscene material to be sent and one of sending obscene material. These incidents occurred in 2016. It is another line that is drawn on those who think that freedom of expression entitles them to make grossly offensive and menacing statements: in Chabloz’s case, denying the Holocaust and accusing Jewish people, including Holocaust survivors, of fabricating claims of genocide.

Holocaust denial is far more than a false presentation of history. So-called Holocaust ‘revisionists’ are motivated by their own Jew-hatred.  Their aim is to expose the Jewish people to further hatred by making the indefensible claim that Jews are lying about a historical reality which destroyed the lives of more than a third of the world’s Jewish population.

I have seen the impacts of the Holocaust first-hand having visited the death camps in Poland and the Yad Vashem memorial to the Holocaust’s victims.  I saw the personal items of those who walked to their deaths in the vain hope that they were having a shower. They were killed because they were Jews.  Seeing the shoes, the wedding rings, the photographs and confiscated property left an indelible mark on me. It is our duty to never forget the victims and to educate the generations that come after us about the vicious consequences of antisemitism.

The sad reality is that people like Chabloz are adept at exploiting people and playing off communities against each other to further their malicious aims. Chabloz even attempted to use the national project opposing hatred against Muslims, Tell MAMA, to pursue her vendetta against Jewish people.  In 2013 and 2014, she sent written reports to Tell MAMA in the hope that this would lead to the investigation and humiliation of Jewish people for pushing anti-Muslim hatred.  In reality, she didn’t care about the Muslim community or the Tell MAMA project.  This was a disguised attempt to target Jews, because they were Jewish. In September 2014, when we learned of Chabloz’s disturbing antisemitic views, we cut off all communication. I am glad to see that today justice has been served.   

There’s a lesson for all of us here.  In the fight against hatred and discrimination, not everyone who offers help and assistance is a friend. Their smiles may hide other motives, reinforcing the need for enhanced due diligence and vetting of sources.  Alison Chabloz’s antisemitism and Holocaust denial show her true colours, which run totally contrary to the values of Tell MAMA, which works closely with groups like the Community Security Trust.

That’s why Tell MAMA and Faith Matters have added layers of compulsory internal due diligence checks on all those who communicate or engage with us. Whilst this has increased our admin load, rigorous vetting is essential in today’s world. Chabloz’s attempt to divide the Muslim and Jewish communities has also resulted in us seeking to work ever more closely with Jewish communities in the fight against antisemitism. We are partnering with the Jewish community to ensure that the younger generation understand what antisemitism is and that it is an affront not only to the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, but also the dignity of Jewish communities today.

We must send out the strongest possible message that no-one can take sides in the battle against hate. There is no ‘picking and choosing’. In the end, antisemites have no problem abusing both Jews and Muslims – something we must never forget.

To effectively fight anti-Muslim hate we must all of us learn about the unique hatred that is antisemitism. I, for one, have sought to further my understanding of Jewish history, culture and heritage. I think it’s important that everyone travels to the sites in Europe where the crimes of the Holocaust were committed and pays homage to the memories of those Jewish brothers and sisters that were murdered only because they were Jewish. Seeing what the Jewish people endured only 70 years ago has helped me see why we should never allow the flags and symbols of terrorist groups that have a history of kidnapping and murdering Jews to be displayed on the streets of London.

We must protect the memory of the Holocaust, highlight it, shout about it.  It’s everyone’s responsibility to tackle anti-Semitism wherever it is found.   Hatred against Jews is an attack on our society as a whole and an attack on our common values. It’s our responsibility to show our Jewish brothers and sisters that they are not alone.

Fiyaz Mughal was the Director of Tell MAMA from 2012-2017 and is the Director of Faith Matters

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Categories: Alison Chabloz, Antisemitism, Holocaust, Holocaust Denial, Jewish communities, Jewish people, Judgement, Landmark ruling, News, Yad Vashem

Janusz Korwin-Mikke – Speaking in London. The Worrying Trend of Entryism into Polish Communities

May 22, 2018 Article

This Sunday, Janusz Korwin-Mikke will be speaking in London in Hyde Park. Previously a member of the European Parliament, he is no stranger to controversy. Korwin-Mikke has previously stated that Hitler knew nothing about the Holocaust.

Korwin-Mikke will be returning to speak in London again on the 8th of July with one Stanislaw Michalkiewicz. Michalkiewicz has previously stated on Catholic Radio Marja that, “(Poland was) being outmanoeuvred by Judeans (Jews) who are trying to force our government to pay extortion money disguised as compensation”

This is another turn in the worrying trend of speakers from Poland who are entering into the UK with such views. Faith Matters has raised concerns before, since people with such comments are not assisting integration or supporting cohesive communities in the UK. Their past history and their comments simply cause divisions and there is a real attempt to inject these views into the UK context and sphere where there are between 700,000 to 800,000 people of Polish heritage in the UK.

Some of Korwin-Mikke’s statements are breath-taking. He states that the best way to deal with Muslims in Europe is to keep them out and ban them from building mosques and “if need be, oppose them militarily”. Commenting on the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in France, he said that the terrorists “exaggerated” (their response), as they should have only given the Charlie Hebdo ‘blasphemers’, a few lashes instead of killing them. Had they done that, “half of Europe would have applauded them”. In the same tweet he added, “It’s the same thing fighting against anti-Semitism. The Jews exaggerate and then they are surprised anti-Semitism is on the rise. And as usual, it will end with pogroms”.

His view of Muslims is also demonstrated in the following comment, where he stated that, “our enemy is not in Moscow. Our enemies are in mosques. In the mosques of Paris, in the mosques of Marseilles.” He has also gone onto say that, 

“I have no doubts that your daughters and grand-daughters will end up in harems. Muslims despise us, we are doormats to them. Why? Because in modern Europe, life is the highest value. I don’t understand it. To be honest, Muslim civilisation is closer to me than the European Union which is just savage. When the Muslims come, at least they will abolish the VAT tax. They might chop some heads off, but at least they won’t allow any gay parades”.

Korwin Mikke’s has also suggested that Germany should introduce religious apartheid as a solution to problems caused by Muslims.

Racism

It is not just Muslims or Jews who are at the brunt end of Korwin Mikke’s statements. He has stated that, 

“The world is collapsing. 150 years ago, we white people, ruled the world. Today, we are being colonised…….We colonised Africa, it wasn’t the Negroes who colonised Europe. It’s something to be proud of. I am proud of my civilisation”.

During a debate on youth unemployment in the EU Parliament, Korwin-Mikke referred to black people on several occasions as “niggers”, stating that the “minimum wage should be destroyed as we would be treating 20 million young Europeans like niggers”.

Talking about racial segregation, he stated, 

“It’s just like when women can’t enter a male toilet. What’s wrong with black people not being allowed to enter a toilet for whites?”

These are just the array of comments associated with the former EU Parliamentarian. Yet it brings to light again how such people are being invited to speak in the UK and to possibly normalise these views into settled communities of Polish heritage.

Faith Matters has highlighted the issue of entryism into settled communities of Polish heritage in the UK. What we are seeing is a co-ordinated effort by groups and speakers to enter into the UK and poison the minds of people. This is not just unacceptable, it is time that the Her Majesty’s Government seriously look at this issue and the various groups and speakers we have highlighted.

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Categories: anti-Muslim hate, Communities of Polish heritage, Entyrism, Hyde Park, Janusz Korwin-Mikke, News

Muslim Convert Says ‘Enough of the Denial: It’s time to face the ugly truth of extremism’

May 20, 2018 Article

I’ve been a Muslim for a few years now and from day one I knew that Islam did not promote terrorism. Before I became Muslim, I was already well-informed about Islam as a whole through self-learning and I was also explicitly taught by everyone I knew and encountered in my journey that terrorism was unequivocally un-Islamic. There was no question about it: Islam is about peace, faith, love and humanity. 

However, several years later, I’ve become shocked and quite frankly tired – incredibly tired in fact – at just how widespread extremist ideology is within certain segments of the British Muslim community. Certain bodies, speakers and publications are pushing harmful, divisive, reactionary and toxic narratives. Time and time again they have been found to express extremist beliefs and proved links to extremist individuals and groups. Yet time and time again, no one says anything. 

I have been on a long path of discovery and I know I am not alone in saying that this extremism ranges from the intolerant to the violent. It’s not simply about those in on the front page when a terror attack hits. It’s a wide, long path that is not being exposed and redirected. From sectarianism – vilifying Shia and Ahmadiyya Muslims – to rampant anti-Semitism, homophobia and sexism, I find myself questioning more and more, how can the government deal with this? And more so, why is nothing being said? More importantly, beyond the government, there’s the role of civil society. Yet there’s sadly a lack of inward reflection and dialogue by certain segments of the Muslim community. 

I’m in fact shocked at how much of these beliefs and behaviours are being ignored both within and outside the Muslim community. Ignorant, intolerant, extremist views are not only existent among certain segments of the community but in fact often normalised, with some Muslims even in denial of the disturbing and irrational nature of these doctrines. These leaders and individuals promote a self-proclaimed message of peace and harmony on the face of it – or at the very least denounce acts of terror – but on their terms, as at the same time they accept and promulgate vile, morally abhorrent or at best completely outdated beliefs. 

This is a serious issue. Young men do not suddenly wake up one day and decide to take up arms and join ISIS out of the blue. It’s a slippery slope. Just as the path to genocide is a slippery slope of “otherising”, discrimination and exclusion, so is the blackened slope of extremism. It’s marred with self-victimisation, ignorance of Islam and social, political, geographical and cultural complexities – as well as of course other key factors such as racism and socio-economic exclusion. In the end though, healthy mature adults accept the dark path of jihadism for themselves. No matter what circumstance we are under, as long as we are healthy, mature and of full age, the way we think, believe and ultimately react is down to us.   

And this is where it becomes quite clear. We cannot sit back and simply just blame other people. Having spoken to Muslims from a variety of Muslim countries across the globe, I can quite honesty unequivocally state that some are shocked at the extremism rampant in this community, choosing not to attend mosques. How very sad yet telling this is…

We are confronting debates that are not even apparent overseas. Yes, as a human rights campaigner, I am all too aware of the issues within Muslim countries themselves, including the demonisation of political and social dissent as it becomes labelled automatically as “terrorism” and the lack of freedom of belief and association. This however does not negate the issues so widespread here in a free democratic society. Whilst we not should look to these nations as an example of freedom and democracy, on a social level we can examine how faith is practiced. At times, I am indeed shocked by certain levels of intolerance yet on other occasions I have witnessed a much more nuanced, intellectual and rational version of Islam – regardless of the level of “religious practice” or not.  

Here in the UK, I’ve seen babies – yes babies – in headscarves. I’ve witnessed horrible cases of anti-Semitism and I’m tired of a complete black and white naivety when it comes to conflict in the Middle East. Freedom of choice and belief is paramount, as is diversity of opinion – and also the crucial “middle path” as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) declared himself so many years ago.   

Freedom of belief covers all range of faiths and teachings. Yet I am not simply talking about the need to accept differences of opinion and religious practice – which are in fact part of a rich yet often unheard of intellectual and theological diversity in Islam. No, instead I am talking about understanding, accepting, allowing and promoting basic freedoms, rights and levels of tolerance. I am speaking up against the vilifying of Jews (referred to as “pigs”), the exclusion of Ahmadi Muslims (called “Qadanis”) and the behaviour of certain Muslim men and women who excuse rape and victim blame by expressing at how women who are uncovered or “dressed “provocatively” are a “problem”. No. I am instead talking about those who openly denounce democracy in both implicit and explicit terms.  

I have myself been unfortunate to have visited a mosque where a fellow “brother” openly denounced democracy as un-Islamic. Yes. This is 2018. Yet, you’d think we’d gone back to the time of the Spanish inquisition or crusades. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was an embodiment of the Qur’an, where Allah Almighty tells us Himself: la ikra fii deen – there is no compulsion in religion (2:256). So, tell me: where have such people lead themselves to?

Cultural patriarchal attitudes, religious sectarianism and Wahhabi-style teachings imported from overseas across the globe to Britain are avow. I can count on more than one hand the number of preachers, mosques and bodies who have a murky history and who I alone have to avoid/reject or sever links with. This isn’t hearsay. These issues relate to things that they have explicitly said, platforms they have shared and beliefs that they promote.

For example, whilst many Muslim men and women alike – including myself – continue to speak out about cultural misogyny, declaring cultural practises such as forced marriage as un-Islamic, we’re not really tackling the elephant in the room. We’re not grabbing the bull by its horns. Religious ultra-orthodoxy is an issue. All religions have different groups, doctrines and beliefs. We should not try to stifle diversity yet the fact is that there are people out there that who – according to their interpretation of Islam – believe that homosexuals should be executed and that homosexuality should be criminalised here in the UK. Likewise, there are people (respected preachers) who openly state that FGM/C is a “recommended practice” (even if not “compulsory”).

Likewise, certain Muslims cannot distinguish between anti-Semitism and the defence of human rights in Israel/Palestine. And yet they enjoin in the religious freedom we all cherish as they live their faith freely here in the UK. At the same time, there are many who also reject the same rights for Ahmadi Muslims, as for example those British Muslims who called for a recent Ahmadi advertisement to be withdrawn. Large segments of the Muslim community refuse to engage left, right and centre with this peaceful community. How sad that when attending a Muslim-led interfaith engagement, you’re joined solely by “Sunni majority” Muslims for example amongst members of other faith communities. Likewise, when attending an Ahmadi event as a friendly ally keen to engage with members of other faith traditions such as Christianity and Hinduism, there are no other Muslim representatives in the room. Would they attend? Quite simply no. Yet I ask, can we not see the blatant hypocrisy in standing for interfaith unity when there is such a blanket refusal to promote intrafaith cohesion?

One question I ask myself time and time again is: when you’re (again quite rightly) speaking out against human rights violations in places such as Myanmar and Palestine/Israel where other faith communities are involved (albeit the conflict/issues being political): where is your criticism of Saudi Arabia? Are you speaking out about the bombing and starvation of innocent Yemeni men, women and children before you enjoin in travels to KSA? Are you campaigning against forced veiling in Iran when you protest (again rightly so) about discrimination against Muslim hijabi women in non-Muslim countries? Furthermore, are you fighting against human trafficking when you visit the Gulf States – often practically built on modern slavery? 

I reiterate, Islam is a blessing of mercy. It is not a violent curse. God calls upon us to use our minds, to rationalise, to be merciful, to think, to reason – not to bellow, to curse others or to alienate brothers and sisters in faith and humanity. And before you cry “Islamophobia!”, let me stress: I am Muslim. I stand against anti-Muslim hate. I stand against Islamophobia and I stand against the far-right. I also however stand against anti-Semitism, homophobia, racism of all kinds and quite crucially the abuse of human rights across the globe. Yet at the same time, I have also been met with slurs such as “oreo” (although I’m “white”), “whore” and “munafiq” (hypocrite) when speaking out against Islamic extremism and intolerant practices. Well, no. I am none of these. What I am in fact is honest – honest to my heart, my soul, my mind and to God. 

So, to conclude, I stand up and say: when will so many of those who do not question open their eyes, their ears and realise that they speak for themselves? There can be no double standards. Human rights are for all. Islam is a humanistic universal faith. Islam does not stand for hatred, violence, bloodshed and exclusion. It stands for justice, self-sacrifice, tolerance, love and unity. We cannot keep simply blaming the media, government, colonialism and not look within our own community. We too must play our part. Ultimately, either you stand for everyone or you stand for no one.

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Categories: Ahmadi, Muslim, Opinions, Segments of the Muslim community, terrorism

Muslim Communities Can Help Keep Us All Safe By Re-Integrating Convicted Islamist Terrorists

May 14, 2018 Article

TACT Offender Ressttlement Report - The 'Sunnah' Programme 2018

Report by Ian Acheson, Former Prison Governor and Reviewer of Islamist Extremism in Prisons, Makes the Case.

This report – “Faith, Hope and Clarity”, commissioned by Faith Matters, and published today makes the case that Muslim communities, working in a unique new partnership with statutory services, can reduce risk of released extremist prisoners re-offending through a community re-integration programme called the ‘Sunnah’ concept.

This concept empowers a core of carefully selected community based supporters who provide a ‘virtuous circle’ around the offender. These core supporters carry out a number of functions. They can challenge Islamist ideology, ensure behaviour is appropriate, monitor risk and provide practical help. In this way the community is given formal responsibility for helping resettle offenders with more prospects for them abandoning toxic behaviours and beliefs than the state creates on its own.

Acheson is a former prison governor with a long track record of work in the extremism field. He was responsible for the ‘landmark’ 2016 independent review of the threat posed by Islamist extremism in the criminal justice system and is the architect of the separation units for highly subversive extremist offenders. He writes extensively for the media continues to advise government nationally and internationally on combatting violent extremism.

The report highlights:

  1. That terrorism trials and convictions are rising,
  2. That the offender profile is changing as the police and security services get better at detecting and disrupting plots at an early stage
  3. Better detection and disruption can mean shorter prison sentences or in a rising number of cases, community penalties.
  4. Our national security depends on the state but the state alone can’t keep us safe from future harm. We need to look imaginatively at other models including greater use of communities to resettle ex-extremist offenders successfully.
  5. We need to mobilise communities to help people convicted of extremism stop being a threat to us and change their hateful beliefs for good.
  6. The vast majority of those convicted of extremism offences are Muslims inspired by Islamist extremism. The faith communities they return to after custody have a potentially huge role to play in partnership with the state to keep us safe.   
  7. The ‘Sunnah’ concept is a radical way to apply tried and tested thinking on sex offender management in the community to extremist prisoners.

Speaking on the launch of the report, Ian Acheson said:

‘Considerable numbers of terrorist offenders are now on the criminal justice conveyor belt. Most of them will return to their communities and increasing numbers are being given short sentences or community penalties. Many of these offenders will face unique and specific difficulties reintegrating with the communities they have come from and harmed. It’s not clear to me that the state should carry the burden of managing this risk or even if it can get ideologically extreme behaviour and beliefs changed on its own.  

I’ve argued that a partnership of community and statutory authorities is the best approach to reintegrating terrorist offenders and keeping all of us safe in the long term. It requires imagination and courage to take this approach but if the prize is safer communities who have a stake in protecting our national security, it’s worth exploring seriously. This is what I hope Government will do”.

Notes

  1. Download the report HERE.
  2. 695 people in this country have been convicted after facing terrorism charges since September 11th 2001.
  3. As of September 2017 (the latest available statistics), 213 are currently in custody.
  4. The remaining 482 will have served their sentences and are in the community.
  5. 20 terrorist related offenders were released from custody between Jan 15 and September 17..
  6. Non-custodial sentences for terrorist related offences is climbing steadily  – it’s now 9% of all terrorist sentences – underpinning the need for community based solutions.

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Categories: Criminal Justice System, Former Reviewer of Extremism in Prisons, Ian Acheson, News, Prisons, Publications / Reports, Sunnah Programme, TACT Offenders

In Tunisia, Jews gather at Africa’s oldest synagogue under tight security

May 3, 2018 Article

Under tight security at Africa’s oldest synagogue, Jewish pilgrims on Wednesday staged their biggest religious ceremony in Tunisia since a 2011 revolution undermined security in the North African country.

Mainly Muslim Tunisia is home to one of North Africa’s largest Jewish communities. Though they now number less than 2,000 people, Jews have lived in Tunisia since Roman times.

In 2011, after the uprising that toppled former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali the annual celebration was cancelled, and in following years only a few hundred attended, fearing attacks by hardline Islamists.

This year, revellers chanted and danced in a two-day pilgrimage to the El Ghriba synagogue at the popular tourist island resort of Djerba 500 km (310 miles) south of Tunis.

“The security situation is excellent here and this has encouraged us to come back … Today we feel safer in Tunisia than in Paris,” Isabel Guez, a Jewish visitor from Paris, told Reuters.

“This celebration is a great opportunity for approchement between Muslims, Jews and other religions and an opportunity to call for peace and love across the world,” she added.

Some 5,000 pilgrims attended, organisers said, a significant increase on 2,000 last year. Tunisia has not seen a major militant attack since scores of foreigners were killed in two strikes claimed by Islamic State in 2015.

Hundreds of pilgrims prayed, lit candles and wrote wishes on eggs. Others celebrated by sipping glasses of boukha, a liqueur made from figs.

In 2002 militants linked to al Qaeda attacked the synagogue with a truck bomb killing 21 Western tourists.

Authorities took no chances this time with hundreds of police, soldiers and members of anti-terror units patrolling streets. Checkpoints were set up around the synagogue.

“With the good security situation now, the number of visitors exceeds 5,000 from Israel, Russia and Europe,” said Perez Trabelsi, the head of the Jewish community in Djerba.

The El Ghriba synagogue, home to most of Tunisia’s Jews, is built on the site of a Jewish temple that is believed to date back almost 1,900 years.

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Categories: el ghriba synagogue, Jews, Muslim, News

Germany needs to do more to combat anti-Semitism, official says

April 28, 2018 Article

Germany must do more to tackle anti-Semitism and should set up a national database to record anti-Semitic incidents that are not included in crime statistics, the country’s first anti-Semitism commissioner Felix Klein said on Friday.

The former diplomat, who will take up the newly created position next month, also said anti-Semitism was still rooted largely in extreme right-wing ideology and was not only being driven by Germany’s growing Muslim population.

Anti-Semitism is a highly sensitive issue in Germany, whose Nazi-era government murdered more than 6 million Jews during the Holocaust.

“There are many things going on to combat anti-Semitism but all the efforts have to be coordinated and sharpened,” Klein told Reuters.

“I hear from Jewish communities that they feel that anti-Semitic attacks and incidents have risen but that there is not yet a serious database that underlines and supports that perception.”

He said a national database should include everything that is not considered criminal, such as vulgar behaviour and “stupid” comments. By drawing a more detailed picture, that would help authorities devise measures to combat anti-Semitism.

Last week, an Israeli Arab who wore the Jewish cap, or kippa, in Berlin as an experiment was subjected to verbal abuse by three people and was lashed with a belt by a Syrian Palestinian. A video was posted on the internet.

That followed reports of bullying of Jewish children in schools. Thousands of Germans wearing Jewish caps took part in nationwide rallies on Wednesday to show solidarity with the Jewish community.

Official figures for the first eight months of 2017 showed nearly 93 percent of reported anti-Semitic crimes were linked to far-right extremism, despite predictions that a big jump in the Muslim population since Europe’s 2015 migrant crisis could fuel attacks or discrimination against Jews.

Klein stressed that anti-Semitism had been a problem in Germany long before the refugee influx and added that Jewish institutions here and in other countries had needed police protection before migrants started coming in large numbers.

“Anti-Semitism is not only Muslim-driven in Germany,” he said. “Of course we have a new challenge and new forms of anti-Semitism which we have to address and combat, but the great problem also rests with right-wing anti-Semitism and we have to develop good strategies to combat that, as we did before.”

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Categories: anti-Semitism, combat anti-Semitism, Fascism, Felix Klein, Germany, Muslim, Muslim population, News

Christians should not be second-class citizens, cardinal tells Saudi Arabia

April 27, 2018 Article

A senior Vatican official who last week made a historic visit to Saudi Arabia says he told authorities in the kingdom, where non-Muslim worship is banned, that Christians cannot be considered second-class citizens.

French cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran’s trip, the first by such a senior Catholic figure, raised hopes of more openness in the kingdom, which is home to Islam’s holiest sites but bans the practice of other faiths. It included a meeting with King Salman, his first with a Catholic official.

“I think all religions are faced with two dangers: terrorism and ignorance,” Tauran, who is head of the Vatican’s Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, told Vatican Radio.

“During my meetings, I insisted very much on this point, that Christians and non-Muslims are spoken of well in schools and that they are never considered second-class citizens,” he said.

Tauran, 75, who signed a cooperation accord with Saudi authorities, said he sensed that they wanted “to show that even in Saudi Arabia there is the possibility of discussion, and therefore of changing the country’s image”.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has promised to promote interfaith dialogue as part of his domestic reforms in the deeply conservative kingdom.

The young prince has rocketed to the pinnacle of power, pushing a reform agenda called Vision 2030 aimed at weaning the country off oil and introducing social changes.

As part of his push for a more moderate Islam, the crown prince has loosened social restrictions, scaling back the role of religious police and permitting public concerts. The government also announced plans to allow women to drive this year.

“The new generation can really help ‘change gears,’ in a certain sense,” Tauran said.

Tauran’s visit followed a flurry of meetings between senior Saudi figures and representatives of other Christian denominations.

Last month in London, the Crown Prince met the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who is spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican communion.

Lebanon’s Christian Maronite Patriarch visited Saudi Arabia in November. Patriarch Beshara al-Rai heads the Maronite church, which has a presence in Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus and follows an Eastern rite of the Roman Catholic church.

Most Christians in Saudi Arabia are migrant workers and diplomats. Since churches are banned, they worship in private homes.

In 1995, on the same day Rome’s first mosque opened with the Vatican’s blessing, the late Pope John Paul pointedly noted in a speech that “In some Islamic countries, similar signs of recognition of religious freedom are lacking”.

The post Christians should not be second-class citizens, cardinal tells Saudi Arabia appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Christians, Crown Prince, King Salman, News, Saudi Arabia, Vatican

Stafford Event for Polish Families is Deeply Troubling Because of Links

April 23, 2018 Article

An event for Polish families in Stafford on May 12 will feature a lecture by a controversial historian who has links to the neo-fascist National Radical Camp (ONR) group in Poland, a Faith Matters investigation has revealed.

The speaker, Leszek Żebrowski, was labelled an antisemite in a 2016 article published by Gazeta Wyborcza.

The event, hosted by the White Eagle Club, promises bouncy castles, a barbeque, and face painting, will also see an appearance from the controversial GROM Legion group.

 

A Facebook event page has already attracted interested.

The event poster also sees sponsorship from the Ogniwo (The Link) which promotes itself as a self-styled ‘patriotic group’ but whose membership attracts neo-Nazis.

Rafal Pankowski, an academic who works for the Polish anti-hate charity Never Again, noted that Żebrowski continues to deny Polish involvement in the anti-Jewish pogroms in Jedwabne and Kielce.

Żebrowski appeared in a photograph of the Irish chapter of the ONR following a brief speaking tour in May last year which included events in Dublin, Cork, and Limerick.

 

He appeared in an ONR promotional video concerning the March 1 march to commemorate the ‘cursed soldiers’ and by organising such rallies, allows the extreme right to posit themselves as torch-bearers for this form of Polish patriotism, according to the historian Rafał Wnuk. Żebrowski was also photographed at an ONR rally last year. 

Commemorations for this event in Slough, London in February 2017, included an event where the extremist former priest, Jacek Międlar, infamous for his antisemitic and anti-Muslim views, was listed alongside Żebrowski as guest speakers. Międlar has twice failed to enter the UK to attend two Britain First rallies in February and June and remains banned due to his extreme views.

A video of the Slough event, uploaded by Piotr Szlachtowicz to YouTube, confirms Żebrowski’s presence, at the timestamp of 7:21.

The views of Szlachtowicz do also appear in the Faith Matters report.

Razem Londyn, the London branch of the left-wing Polish political party Razem (Together), condemned the potential presence of Żebrowski and Międlar in Slough in a Facebook post on February 22, 2017.

Leszek Żebrowski shared a flyer for the same commemorative event in Slough a year earlier.

On Facebook, Żebrowski promotes the Holocaust revisionism of Jan Peczkis, who writes long screeds on Amazon and other obscure blogs. In one example Peczkis  wrote: “All attention is focused on the suffering of Jews and almost completely ignores crimes committed on the Slavic nations like Poles, treating them as second-class victims.”

Nor does this view exist in insolation, our report into contemporary and historical forms of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred and racism in Poland highlights how parts of the Polish right attempt to use historiography to reshape a collective memory which favours and exceptionalities Polish suffering collectively under Nazism. This form of revisionism also serves to erase discussions about how some Poles were complicit in antisemitism and antisemitic violence before, during, and after the Second World War.

This view has found ground in more mainstream circles, including in the works of Richard Lukas, who is not without controversy and has been accused by one eminent Holocaust scholar of publishing a book which ‘borders’ on antisemitism.

Peczkis has made various antisemitic comments in his Amazon reviews, including “THE USA AND EUROPEAN UNION AS TOOLS FOR PROMOTING JEWISH INTERESTS AT POLAND’S EXPENSE.” It is, therefore, no surprise to see Żebrowski promoting such views to his large Facebook audience.

The post Stafford Event for Polish Families is Deeply Troubling Because of Links appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Grom Legion, Leszek Żebrowski, National Radical Camp, Never Again, News, ONR, Rafal Pankowski, White Eagle Club, Zebrowski

Free Speech of the Ahmadi Community in the UK Curtailed by Bigotry

April 8, 2018 Article

We have learnt that the Ahmadi community in the United Kingdom have had their right to free expression curtailed once again.

The online site, Christian Today, mentioned the following in their article about the obstructions that were put in front of the Ahmadi community in their recent campaign. Their site stated:

“An email template seen by Christian Today and sent to Ahmadi opponents claimed ‘the billboard incites hatred, it is deeply offensive and hurtful to millions of British citizens’. The email urges other Muslims to write to the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency), the Metropolitan Police and the Charity Commission asking them to take the billboards down”.

Following on from this, Farooq Aftab, a spokesperson for the Ahmadi community, contacted Faith Matters and said, “We had booked a number of digital billboards with Primesight for our ‘Messiah Has Come’ Campaign.  Initially you will recall that we started with Glasgow earlier in the year but due to complaints by Muslims they took off.  After the ASA said there was no offence committed they were restarted.”

He went onto say:

“In the past few weeks we booked a number of billboards which Primesight, (the billboard advertising agency), recommended to us. Inadvertently one was near Birmingham mosque which we were not aware of.  Due to complaints, particularly from some Muslims in the area, the billboards were taken down and also in locations such as Barnet, Lambeth, Leeds and Birmingham.

“When we contacted the company we were told that they were taken down because of ‘security’. In one instance we were told that when the Merton billboards were being put up, the person putting them up was threatened, so he stopped.  When asked why the police had not been informed of this, there was no response”.

Aftab also spoke to the Chief Executive Officer of Primesight and was told that they had taken down the billboards after complaints and he was challenged by Aftab that the basic beliefs of the Ahmadi community were not being respected and they had to right to advertise a peaceful message since they were not harming anyone. He even suggested that other Muslims could put up billboards saying that the ‘Messiah has not come’.

Aftab also showed Faith Matters Whatsapp messages that had been circulating which included the following text:

“Salam everyone. We have managed to speak to the advertising agency regarding the Ahmadiyya sign boards in Birmingham and they have promised to remove ASAP. But at the same time they have asked members of the Muslim community to visit their website and log their complain. Can I request all of you to visit this website and forward it to your contacts to act immediately.  www.primesight.co.uk”

Aftab finally stated the following:

“The True Islam Campaigns purpose is to educate people on the true and peaceful teachings of Islam as practised by the Holy Prophet, Muhammad. The Billboard Campaign, ‘The Messiah Has Come’ aims to educate the public on the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Ahmadi Muslims believe in the finality of prophethood in accordance with the Holy Quran and the sayings and practices of the Holy Prophet Muhammad and to suggest otherwise is incorrect. Every individual and group has the right to manifest and profess their faith and to curb this would not only be a breach of basic human rights but contrary to the values of freedom of speech and expression which we cherish in this country. 

“Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community are Muslims and the community in the UK is one of the oldest and well integrated in society, contributing at all levels and has not had one incident of radicalisation or extremism. It is clearly doing something right. Further, it is not for states, authorities or organisations to interfere in religious matters. There needs to be a clear separation of State and Church so to speak, otherwise we will go down a very slippery slope with groups or people trying to monopolise religion. No one can determine someone’s faith. This is a matter between God and the individual and the hallmark of a pluralistic and democratic society.” 

The post Free Speech of the Ahmadi Community in the UK Curtailed by Bigotry appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Ahmaddiya, Ahmadi, ahmadi community, Billboards, Messiah, News, Primesight