Islamophobia Watch

"SOAS masters student Nasser Amin wrote an article in his university paper defending the right of Palestinians to resist occupation by violence. After the publication of the article Amin became the focus of a bitter witch hunt which resulted in him being reprimanded by SAOS University. The reprimand was published on the university's official website without even informing Amin. His article 'when only violence will do' was written in response to one published by Hamza Yusuf which said, in effect that Muslims in Palestine should 'turn the other cheek' when facing Israeli violent antagonism.

"The article was not extreme nor even unusual, and similar arguments have been used and promoted in academia e.g. by Professor Michael Neuman. The article was set in a context of open debate about the moral rights and wrongs of Palestinian resistance, and SOAS's response is at best bizarre."

IHRC action alert, 30 June 2005

"Everyone knows that many millions of the Muslims in the Arab world have a deep hostility towards Jews or 'the Jew'. It seems to have reached a metaphysical level or has debased into an irrational state of mind. The question is: where does it come from?"

Well, it turns out that Osama bin Laden (who "represents millions of average Muslims") is right – it's all in the Qur'an.

The American Thinker, 30 June 2005

Yet another plug from Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch for his forthcoming book 'The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)'.

Jihad Watch, 29 June 2005

The book description on Amazon reads: "Islam expert Robert Spencer reveals Islam's ongoing, unshakable quest for global conquest and why the West today faces the same threat as the Crusaders did – and what we can learn from their experience."

The back cover informs us: "Everything (well, almost everything) you know about Islam and the Crusades is wrong because most textbooks and popular history books are written by left-wing academics and Islamic apologists who who justify their contemporary political agendas with contrived historical 'facts'."

As distinct, presumably, from the scrupulous commitment to historical objectivity which characterises the writings of raving right-wing Islamophobes.

AMSTERDAM — Islam won't dominate the future because it is too aggressive, Archbishop Martinus Muskens of Breda has claimed. In the quarterly magazine of Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Roman Catholic bishop writes: "I saw early on that there was a lot of aggression in there (Islam)". Islam, he said, must contemplate on the violent aspects of its tradition. The bishop feels that there is currently too much emphasis on Islam in interfaith dialogue. "We are too obsessed by it," Muskens states.

Expatica, 30 June 2005

The transcript of the first sitting of the House of Commons standing committee on the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill is now online. Leyton & Wanstead MP Harry Cohen states: "Islamophobia is deep and serious. It is of great concern to many of my Muslim constituents. I suspect that Members with Muslim constituents know that very well. Where it is overt, the law must stand up against it and declare it illegal and unacceptable."

Report of proceedings, 28 June 2005

The Daily Telegraph (30 June 2005) reports: "Ken Livingstone is ever eager to ingratiate himself with London's gay community. But his antics appear to cut little ice with gay rights activist Peter Tatchell, who was attending the the mayor's Pride event on Monday night. 'This all about ticking boxes on a page', opined Tatchell, sipping on a glass of pink champagne. 'Ken just wants to be able to say he supports gay rights, but when it comes to the crunch it's all meaningless: he's still more than happy to welcome a homophobe like Yusuf al-Qaradawi to City Hall'."

And apparently also happy to welcome an Islamophobe like Peter Tatchell – who proceeds to knock back the free champagne and then denounce his host to the Tory press.

Perhaps Tatchell should ponder the comments of a member of Imaan, the lesbian and gay Muslim group: "It can be argued that over the years Ken Livingstone's record on empowering Gay and Lesbian Rights is more impressive than Peter Tatchell's, which frankly, at times, has been more self-indulgent than effective."

Socialist Worker asks the question, Ghayasuddin Siddiqui and Inayat Bunglawala offer opposing answers. Looks like the SWP is hedging its bets. The fact that these two writers are given equal billing is itself a bit of a cop-out. Inayat Bunglawala is media secretary for the Muslim Council of Britain, to which the overwhelming majority of British Muslim organisations are affiliated, whereas the Muslim Parliament is, how shall we put this, somewhat less of a mass movement.

Socialist Worker, 2 July 2005

A Kuwait court has cleared one of its citizens recently held at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Nasser Najr al-Mutairi was charged with committing an act of aggression against a foreign nation among others. On Wednesday the defendants' lawyer, Mubarak al-Shimmari, said: "The criminal court found Nasser Najr al-Mutairi innocent of all the charges against him because of a lack of evidence."

The public prosecution accused him of fighting against US forces in Afghanistan under the former government, for which he faced a minimum of three years in jail. Mutairi, the first Kuwaiti to be returned to his country from the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba, said he went to Afghanistan as a relief worker and does not know how to use arms.

Al-Jazeera, 29 June 2005

A British council has presented resource packs covering the basic teachings of Islam to primary schools across the London borough of Harrow in an effort to provide a better understanding of the Muslim faith, according to a local paper.

"The new resources will help school staff further develop their approach to high quality teaching of Islam – a religion that is far too often misunderstood," the Harrow Times quoted as saying Councillor Navin Shah, leader of Harrow Council, which has become the first to fully fund the teaching of Islam in primary schools.

Islam Online, 28 June 2005

Robert Spencer is understandably outraged that an extreme Islamist organisation like the Muslim Council of Britain should be allowed this opportunity to undermine the foundations of western society.

Dhimmi Watch, 29 June 2005

"This weekend's Gay Pride festivities in New York City climaxed with Sunday's 36th annual parade down Fifth Avenue. As usual, the raucous affair thrilled some and rattled others, but everyone walked away intact. One would have to fantasize about such an occasion, however, in most Muslim nations where homosexuality remains as concealed as a bride beneath a burqa.... While many liberals (and President G.W. Bush) call Islam a religion of peace, 'celebrating diversity' is hardly on its agenda."

No, not Peter Tatchell or Brett Lock. It's US right-winger Deroy Murdock.

Cato Institute, 28 June 2005

For further progressive political comment by Murdock, see here