Islamophobia Watch

McCain's 'spiritual guide' wants America to destroy Islam

2008-05-09T19:22:33Z

See Pastor Rod Parsley's views on Islam on YouTube

Why Ken welcomed Qaradawi – Daniel Finkelstein explains

2008-05-09T07:49:39Z

"Ken Livingstone spent my money – my money – welcoming Yusuf al-Qaradawi to City Hall as an honoured guest. He knew what he was doing. He did it largely to annoy Jews."

Daniel Finkelstein in the Jewish Chronicle, 9 May 2008

Islamic group offended by 'mosque' drill

2008-05-09T06:08:37Z

A U.S. Islamic group said an emergency drill at a simulated mosque in Irving, Ill., inaccurately stereotyped Islamic mosques as safety risks.

Nearly 30 government agencies took part in last week's drill, during which the village's Continuing Recovery Center was referred to as "Irving Mosque," a "home-base for a radical, heavily armed group with suspected terrorist ties," the Springfield (Ill.) State Journal-Register reported Thursday.

"It really was in poor taste, probably as a result of a lack of cultural prowess on the part of the person who made that choice," said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations'.

The drill used simulated blasts, hostage situations and nerve gas to train law enforcement officers how to respond to such situations.

Diana Holmes, coordinator of the Montgomery County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency, said she was unaware of the council's criticism, the newspaper reported.

UPI, 8 May 2008

Practising Muslims 'will outnumber Christians by 2035'

2008-05-08T10:04:09Z

By 2035, there will be about 1.96 million active Muslims in Britain, compared with 1.63 million church-going Christians, according to calculations by Christian Research, a think-tank. The figures are published in the latest in a series of reports entitled Religious Trends.

The think-tank has warned that 4,000 churches could close by 2020 if congregations continue to shrink at current rates. Christian Research describes its aim as encouraging "change in Christian culture so that by 2010 more churches are growing".

The Church of England moved to discredit the research last night, criticising its methodology and saying the results were "flawed and dangerously misleading". A C of E spokesman said: "These sorts of statistics, based on dubious presumptions, do no one of any faith any favours. Faith communities are not in competition and simplistic research like this is misleading and unhelpful."

The research does not compare like with like, according to the spokesman. The number of practising Muslims, for instance, is based on the number of people who said they were active in the 2001 census. If the same process were applied to Christians it would give a figure of 20 million active churchgoers, according to Church House, the headquarters of the C of E.

Daily Telegraph, 8 May 2008

'Hijab' should be woman's personal choice

2008-05-07T07:57:38Z

"We have a bad habit in Western secular society of thinking that we know best. And Western feminism often has an equally bad habit of thinking that its ideals are the right ideals for women of all cultures.

"In our society, the veils and scarves worn by Muslim women are commonly seen as symbols and tools of an oppressive Islamic patriarchy. This sort of establishment thinking makes feminism inaccessible for women of different beliefs, which robs the movement of its global power. Women who would like to be identified as feminists but choose to wear a headscarf don't always seem to have a place.

"Western stereotypes surrounding the hijab – the scarf that covers the neck and hair of Muslim women – include the assumption that women are wearing it because of subjugation and religious indoctrination. Some argue that such coverage is used to make women subservient and invisible. But what really makes them invisible is assuming that the women who choose to wear the hijab, the abaya or anything else did not make the choice themselves."

Amanda Teuscher in The Post, 6 May 2008

See also "Front Page news: Islamophobia makes you an expert on niqab" at Muslimah Media Watch