EU-DIGEST

Labels: Burka, EU, France, Islam, Religion

There are an estimated 20 million Muslims among the 500 million people comprising the European Union, with some of them native, mainly in the Balkans. Many of them are already second or even third generation Muslims such as in France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, among others, have even accepted more recent arrivals. Islam is now Europe’s second largest religion, a fact that cannot be wished away.

Islam has always remained a potent issue in European consciousness. But it would be facile to suggest that the Swiss decision points to Europe facing an identity crisis. The Swiss, like the French, or Germans or British are clearly worried about the Muslims living in their countries. But this would certainly not be tantamount to facing an identity crisis. Much rather, it shows fear and intolerance that made the Swiss react in the way they did.

It would be instructive to note that in the past, debates about Islam in Europe involved issues other than religion. The 2004 French ban on headscarves in schools was more about the submission of women in society, and the 2005 publication of the Danish cartoons lampooning the Prophet was about free speech. French President Sarkozy’s hard line against the hijab this year was on the grounds of “full veils and face coverings” being “a sign of women’s debasement” and hence unwelcome in French society. And the burqua, also under attack in France, is rationally viewed. The popular Le Monde editorialised that this apparel, “however offensive it may be to a woman’s dignity, is hardly a threat to secularism”. It is worn today by exactly 367 French women.

Labels: EU, Islam

Gamal al Banna, a brother of the founder of Egypt’s Ikhwan al Muslimun -- the Muslim Brotherhood -- says “the veil is not an Islamic tradition, but a pre-Islamic one, when Arab women covered their heads and left the upper parts of their chest uncovered.” He thinks the relevant Quranic verse commands women to cover their chests, not necessarily their heads.

Unfortantely, the Arab world has gone where the Saudi conservatives wanted it to go. Nasserism in Egypt was followed by veiled female students at Al Azhar University in Cairo demanding the imposition of Shariah, and soon there were youths belonging to Gamaa Islamiyya willing to thrash women who refused to veil themselves in public. When the Arabs came to Afghanistan in 1996 to fight for the Taliban, the call for “true Islam” was already a slogan that was heard loud and clear in Pakistan. Ironically, “true Islam” usually applies to women and had begun spreading with General Zia’s Hudood Ordinance, ordaining that women anchors and announcers on PTV cover their heads. But the ulema on the right of Zia wanted more. In fact they wanted nothing short of a “shuttlecock”, a brutally punitive covering that renders women half blind.

The hijab or burqa are not required by Islam. The only requirement is to dress modestly. Today in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East, Iran, Somalia, Afghanistan, Turkey and throughout the world, most Muslim women have no choice but to wear the hijab or burqa with only their eyes showing due to cultural and Man-made traditions. The object of the hijab and burqa is essentially to control women. This idea may have worked in medieval times. However, in today’s world, where contribution by both sexes is essential, it ends up violating a woman’s rights.

Labels: Burqa, Hijab, Islam

They toasted to progress in Europe’s capitals last week. On Tuesday, the Treaty of Lisbon went into effect, bringing the nations of the European Union one step closer to the unity the Continent’s elite has been working toward for over 50 years. But the treaty’s implementation fell just days after a milestone of a different sort: a referendum in Switzerland, long famous for religious tolerance, in which 57.5 percent of voters chose to ban the nation’s Muslims from building minarets. Switzerland isn’t an E.U. member state, but the minaret moment could have happened almost anywhere in Europe nowadays — in France, where officials have floated the possibility of banning the burka; in Britain, which elected two representatives of the fascistic, anti-Islamic British National Party to the European Parliament last spring; in Italy, where a bill introduced this year would ban mosque construction and restrict the Islamic call to prayer.

Note EU-Digest: Fortunately this is only one opinion. What needs to be addressed in the EU, howeve, is that freedom of religion, in the case of its Muslims citizens, does not mean liberty to use their places of worship to promote activities favorable to Shari Law - a law which does not fit in any modern secular society, and more so a law which is degenerating to women. The sanctity of the Mosques can also not be allowed to plan terrorist acts or to promote aggressive behavior against any other country. European governments must legislate zero tolerance laws on this issue and categorically not accept these kind of activities by any religion. The referendum in Switzerland showed that the European voter will take action in their own hands when Governments show weakness by not daring to stop what can only be described as provocative religious behavior in a secular environment.

Labels: EU, Islam, Sharia law

Switzerland this week revealed its dark side in voting for a ban on the construction of minarets. The campaign, initiated by right-wing populist parties, was hardly subtle. Posters featured minarets as missiles on a national flag, and a burqa-clad woman. How could the civilised Swiss succumb to this absurdity?

One theory has been advanced by Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss professor of contemporary Islamic studies at Oxford University and one of the big names at Melbourne's Parliament of the World's Religions. The populists' strategy was to play up the idea that the Swiss were under siege from Muslims, he said. "Spread a sense of victimhood among the Swiss people," wrote Ramadan in The Guardian. A sound theory, but he then goes further. "Every European country has its specific symbols or topics through which European Muslims are targeted. In France it is the headscarf or burqa; in Germany, mosques; in Britain, violence, cartoons in Denmark; homosexuality in the Netherlands — and so on."

Labels: freedom of religion, Islam, Switzerland

Labels: EU, Islam

The Turkish government fears a scheduled visit by Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders, saying it could dent Turkish relations with the Netherlands and Europe. The Turkish government says it fears a scheduled visit by Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders, saying it could dent Turkish relations with the Netherlands and Europe. But many secular and religious Turks say they would welcome a debate with the polemic politician.

"Normally, the army belongs in the barracks. But I will make an exception for Turkey." Wilders wrote. "The Turkish army is the greatest defender of Kemal Ataturk's legacy, the man who compared Islam with a rotting corpse. Without the corrective influence of the army, Turkey would already be a second Iran." This position is incomprehensible and indefensible, said Mustafa Akyol, a columnist and deputy editor of the Turkish Daily News and a practicing Muslim. "Wilders forgets that Ataturk in his time (the 1920 and 30s) turned Turkey's face to the West, but that the West wasn't a very pleasant place at the time. Many of the European fascist and nationalist ideologies of the time, like that of authoritarian one-party states, were thus imported to Turkey and the secular Turks have held onto them until now.''

Note EU-Digest: Mr. Wilders, a one dimensional politician, who usually is completely off the track when it comes to conventional political activities and historical research, certainly read up well about Turkish history and Ataturk's legendary vision about Islam and the dangers of Islam or any religion as a State imposed religion.

Labels: Ataturk, EU, Geert Wilders, Islam, The Netherlands, Turkey

The oldest US Mosque dedicated Feb.1934 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa

For the complete report from The National click on this link

Getting corporate America to recognise the purchasing power of Muslims, rather than running scared because of stereotypes, was difficult but not impossible, said Michael Hastings-Black, the co-founder of the Desedo Advertising Agency, which specializes in minority markets. Addressing more than 200 delegates at the American Muslim Consumer Conference recently, he recounted a tale illustrating the high passions generated by a television advert last year by Dunkin’ Donuts, which did not even specifically address Muslims.

The American Muslim Consumer Conference, held at a conference hall at Rutgers University in New Jersey, was billed as the first of its kind by its volunteer organizers, a group of US Muslim professionals. Their aim was to educate non-Muslim businesses about the demand for Islamic products and encourage Muslims to exert their market power.

Note EU-Digest: There are between 6 and 7 million Muslims in America today. Muslims outnumber some Christian denominations and are equal to the number of Jews. America now has about 1,209 mosques, most of which were constructed very recently. Thirty percent of these mosques were built in the 1990s, and 32% were built in the 1980s. Other statistics show that in 1994, the total number of mosques in America was 962; in 2000, there was a 25% increase in this number. Islam is said to be the US's fastest-growing religion, fueled by immigration, high birth rates and widespread conversion. One expert estimates that 25,000 people a year become Muslims in the US.

Labels: Islam, Muslims, US Economy

The right to wear a burka - by Brian Lilley

In Western culture we are used to being able to see the face of someone coming towards us, the military salute even grew out of the custom of knights raising their visors with an open hand to show they were unarmed and to reveal their eyes to the person they were approaching. While I doubt that any of the covered women I pass by in Wal-Mart have weapons hidden under their flowing robes, not being able to see their eyes or the expressions on their faces as you pass them in the aisles strikes me as odd. Yet still I can't support the move to ban the burka launched last week by the Muslim Canadian Congress and supported by my colleague Tarek Fatah.

If Muslims choose to leave behind such practice of their own volition, so be it, but governments should not be entering into the fray using the heavy hand of the law.

Note EU-Digest: One could agree that it is not up to Governments to establish an acceptable dress code. Corporations, institutions and places of study, however, do have the right to do so, given their independent status.

Labels: Burka, Islam

EU says Turkey-Armenia pacts will ease regional tensions

The European Union and the United States have welcomed deals signed by Armenia and Turkey aimed at ending decades of hostility between the two countries. "The European Commission warmly welcomes the signature by the Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers... of the protocols on establishing diplomatic relations and developing bilateral relations, including the opening of the common border," an EC statement said. "The Commission considers it a courageous and far-sighted step forward towards peace and stability in the South Caucasus region and a truly historic decision showing readiness to compromise on both sides." The EU Swedish presidency also praised the action by the two countries on Saturday as "an important contribution" to security and stability throughout the region.

Labels: Armenia, Christianity, EU, Islam, Turkey

Muslims begin Ramadan holy month

The Islamic holy month of Ramadan has begun across most of the Muslim world, ushering in 30 days of dawn to dusk fasting and extra prayer. The timing of Ramadan varies according to the first sighting of the New Moon. The ninth month of the Muslim calendar, Ramadan marks the time more than 1,400 years ago when the first words of Islam's holy book, the Koran, are believed to have been revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. During this month, the gates of heaven are said to open and the gates of hell are closed. The world's estimated one billion observant Muslims will abstain from food, smoking and sex during the daylight hours and hold extra prayers at night. Ramadan ends with the first sighting of the new moon and culminates in the three-day festival of fast-breaking - Eid-ul-Fitr.

Labels: Islam, Ramadan

New Book Stokes Fear of a Muslim Europe- by Bruce Lawrence

This is a full-throttle polemic, a meanspirited book meant to raise alarms, stoke fears, and tame a danger at once unseen and misunderstood yet pernicious and widespread.The danger is Islam, the villains are Muslim immigrants, the terrain is the West, and the outcome is certain defeat for European culture—unless the tide of Muslim immigration, which threatens to become a tsunami, can be stemmed. But how? This book, despite the myriad cases set forth in its 350 pages of rant and rave, offers no explicit steps to stem the Muslim immigrant tide allegedly sweeping Western Europe, ravaging its European culture, and threatening the future of Western civilization.

For those who thought that Samuel Huntingon was an alarmist, Christopher Caldwell makes him look like a benign, minor prophet. The latter appears to be saying: “It’s not about the clash of civilizations, dummy, it’s about the near-term victory of the enemy stranger over the helpless native.

Labels: EU, Islam

Labels: EU, Islam

Is the glass half empty or half full? - A fifth of Europe Union will be Muslim by 2050 - by Rick Morren

Statistics show that last year, five per cent of the total population of the 27 EU countries was Muslim and that rising levels of immigration from Muslim countries and low birth rates among Europe's indigenous population will increase that figure to 20%. The report also noted that data gathered from various sources indicated that Britain, Spain and Holland will have an even higher proportion of Muslims in a shorter amount of time.

Should this, as many right wing politicians and more radical Christians proclaim, be a reason for concern? It all depends if you consider the glass half empty or half full. Those of us who look at every issue with the pessimistic "half empty glass" attitude will obviously find all kinds of reasons to "cry wolf". On the other hand the "half full glass" folks will actually be far more optimistic about this trend, and usually also life in general. They are also the people who do not judge other people by their religion, the colour of their skin, their culture or their sexual preference. They are also the ones who are realizing that immigration is the only way the EU can survive over the long haul.

The question which arises is what can we do about making change happen? For starters, if we take all religious groups in the EU together who believe in one God, and remove the stigma of religious doctrine out of the discussion, we probably can count on 70 percent of the EU population who basically think along the same lines when it comes to believing in a Higher Being. So the suggestion would be that instead of hiding in their comfortable Churches, Mosques and Synagogs, religious leaders in the EU should be encouraged to play a far more active and creative role in helping immigrants integrate into the EU.

The importance is not what is being instructed from Mecca, Jerusalem or Rome, but rather to follow a more enlightened vision, whereby denominations actually become part of the European integration process. It means working together, instead of jealously protecting their "religious turf", or only providing lip service to the idea of eucomenical cooperation. For those of us who belong to religious denominations it might be good to remember that God has no permanent representative on earth, but rather that he lives in all of those who believe. Organized religion and their political counterparts can not be allowed a free hand in deciding the future of Europe based on religious doctrine.

Labels: EU, Integration, Islam, Politics, Religion

'Muhammad Knows Nothing About Football': Muslims Angered by Verse in German Soccer Club Song

The verse "Muhammad Was a Prophet Who Knows Nothing About Football" in the official song of German soccer club Schalke 04 has sparked more than 100 complaints from Muslims. The club says it's looking into the matter. German Bundesliga soccer club Schalke 04 has received more than 100 complaints from Muslims about its club song which contains the verse: "Muhammad was a Prophet who knows nothing about football."

The song with the title "White and Blue, How I Love You" has been around for decades but only recently came to the attention of Turkish media which said it insults the Prophet.

Labels: EU, Germany, Islam, Schalke 04, Sports, Turkey

Labels: EU, Islam

Turkey: 200 suspected Islamists detained

Turkish police say they have detained around 200 suspected members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an outlawed pan-Islamist party, in an operation carried out in 23 provinces across the country on Friday. A statement made by Turkish police said that this operation is part of an ongoing investigation to track down members of the party. Police said they have uncovered a number documents during the investigation that link those detained to the Islamist group. The Hizb ut-Tahrir movement was established in 1952 in Jerusalem. The group's aim is to 'unite' all Muslim nations within an Islamic caliphate ruled by Sharia law. It has not yet been determined if the group has been involved in any sort of violent terrorist attacks. The group claims its means are wholly peaceful.

Uzbekistan blames Hizb ut-Tahrir for bombings in the capital in 2004, an accusation the group denies.

Labels: Islam, Turkey

Top ten reasons why sharia is bad for all societies - by James Arlandson

Traditional Muslims who understand the Quran and the hadith believe that sharia (Islamic law) expresses the highest and best goals for all societies. It is the will of Allah. But is Islam just in its laws that Muhammad himself practiced and invented? The article in the American Thinker by James Arlandson says no for ten verifiable reasons.

No one should be fooled into believing that these harsh and excessive laws were invented in the fevered imagination of extremists who came long after Muhammad. These harsh and excessive laws come directly from the founder of Islam in his Quran and in his example in the hadith.

James Arlandson concludes in his article in the American Thinker: "The purpose of these links is not to condemn Islamic countries or to assert that the West is better than they are. Facts say that the West has many problems. Rather, the purpose is to demonstrate that Islamic countries have their share of problems as well. This means that Islamic countries are also decadent. This means that Islamic punishments do not work entirely (except by scare tactics), but they can drive the sin or crime underground."

Labels: Islam, Sharia law

Hu Leaves G-8 in Italy After Deadly Clashes in China - by Alan Cowell and Elisabetta Povoledo

President Hu Jintao of China cut short a trip to Italy on Wednesday to fly home after the deadly ethnic clashes in the northwestern Xinjiang region continue, abandoning plans to attend the Group of Eight summit meeting as news reports spoke of continued unrest.The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on its Web site that Mr. Hu was returning “given the current situation in Xinjiang,” where state media say at least 156 people have died in China’s worst ethnic clashes in decades between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese.

Hu's absence from the G-8 meeting is also significant for the Obama administration which is expected to unveil a forceful new message on climate change. While the European G-8 members welcome the shift in American policy on global warming, they are also fearing that the United States is working toward a separate deal with China outside the global negotiating framework. China will now be represented at the meeting of the world’s leading industrialized economic powers by State Councilor Dai Bingguo at the meeting in the central Italian city of L’Aquila.

Labels: China, EU, Islam, Italy, Muslim Uighurs, Xinjiang region

Creeping Islamism in Turkey-by Richard Shulman

The Islamist ruling party in Turkey [AKP] has “a strategy for a creeping Islamization that culminates in a Shari’a (Islamic law) state not compatible with a secular, democratic order. The AKP does not advertise this agenda and often denies it.” Turkish courts confirmed the secret agenda. However, in the name of democracy, the U.S. and the EU demand that countervailing Turkish circles accept the AKP positions subverting the military, judiciary, and educational system. This Western pressure is naïve, for it betrays the democratic elements in Turkey to the Islamists, who, as they consolidate power, crimp democracy. Democracy is not just rule by the majority but allows civil rights, minority opinion and cultural freedom consistent with constitutional order. In Turkey, democracy is a cover for creeping Islamism and the ending democracy.

Labels: APK party, Islam, Political, Turkey

Radical Muslims Abuse Western Lawfare Systems to Advance their Jihad Agenda - by Dr. Sami Alrabaa

If Christian and Jewish religious symbols are criticized and satirized, most people do not care. Nobody takes to the street to demonstrate violently against the “culprits.” A long history of enlightenment and freedom of expression has tamed the majority of Christians and Jews. They accept religious freedom as a civilized fact of life. This, however, does not apply to radical Muslims. They exploit liberal Western lawfare systems and, most recently, blasphemy laws, especially in Europe, to advance their Jihad agenda.Over the past decade the number of Islamist lawsuits against critics of radical has been on the rise and more often than not successful. The tactic is very clear: silence critics of Islam.

Arab and Muslim thinkers and writers turn to the Internet to criticize radical Islam and jihadists. Check out “Al Hiwar Al Mutameden.”

Labels: EU, Islam

Immigrants to rally in Athens over defaced Quran

Muslim immigrants and rights advocates gathered in central Athens for a demonstration to protest a police officer’s alleged defacement of an extract of the Quran during an identity check on an Iraqi man. Immigrant groups and human rights organizations scheduled the rally in central Omonia Square for Friday evening, a week after a similar demonstration degenerated into clashes with police, leaving 14 people injured, dozens of cars smashed and 46 people arrested. The protesters want police to apologize for the incident last week in which they say an officer tore and stomped on an extract of the Quran during an identity check for Muhammad Attiq. Police say they are investigating the allegation. Attiq has filed a lawsuit against the officer.

Labels: EU, Greece, Islam

When a Muslim woman puts a headscarf on, she manifests her humility toward God, not man

A paranja or a hijab has become the symbol of sexual humiliation for the Christian world. Unlike a Christian woman, a woman in Islam does not symbolize a demonic instigation, which constantly misleads men. A hijab is a symbol of piety and modesty. When a Muslim woman puts a headscarf on, she manifests her humility toward God, not man. In addition, Muslim women want to be appreciated for their character and good deeds – they prefer it more in comparison with sex appeal appraisals. Quran tells woman to cover her head, neck and chest to protect her honor and dignity - a Muslim woman is not an object of sexual attraction. She is free to walk naked in front of her husband. Furthermore, the religion tells woman to do her best to make her husband like her. The missionary position is said to be considered the only decent sexual position in Christianity. Quran does not prohibit any positions in sex: “Your wives are your field. You may walk on that field as you like,” the book says.

Labels: EU, Islam

The Islam and the Environment - The Environmental Crisis is also a Spiritual Crisis

It's rather unusual for Islam and environmental protection to be mentioned in the same breath. What sort of environmental concepts does Islam have to offer? There are regulations known from the Islamic regions from former times that one could describe as instruments for nature and wildlife conservation and attempts are now being made to try to revive these. Among these are the so-called harim and hima zones, for example. They include the idea of having protective zones around springs and watercourses, where, for example, no settlements are permitted, so as to keep the water from becoming polluted. Also, in the words and deeds of the prophet and the early Muslims, which have come down to us, there are examples to be found that tell us we should be sparing and prudent in our use of natural resources and provide well for our animals. They provide an example to be followed by later generations.

Labels: Environment: climate change, Islam

Labels: EU, Islam, Turkey

The Integration Of Muslims In Europe - from Oxford Analytica

"As Muslims are the fastest-growing group in Europe (by 2025, Muslims will make up 10% of Europe's population, from 4% today), it is important that they are socially, politically and economically integrated. If not, the result will be the human and economic waste of unemployment, bitterness and possibly further radicalization and violence. There are two standards against which the incorporation of Muslims in Europe can be judged: economic (how people are doing in terms of earnings and employment); and attitudinal (how people feel). In both France and the United Kingdom, Muslims' economic integration has been poor. In both, unemployment is high (above 20% and sometimes approaching 40%) among Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and North Africans. Earnings are also weak: According to 2000 data, male Bangladeshis were earning about three-quarters the average wage. To read the detailed report on the above report go to the site of Oxford Analytica by clicking on this link

Labels: EU, Islam

Muslim Leaders' Initiative to Bridge the Gap in Europe

"The European Assembly of Muslim Imams and Spiritual Guides is deeply concerned with Muslims in the West and their affairs as well as the good representation of their Imams before the European decision makers. On its way towards achieving such goal, the delegation of the assembly's leaders, headed by Sheikh Wanis Al-Mabrouk, visited the European Union headquarters in Brussels, on January 30, 2009. They had an appointment with the European Commission Advisor for Dialogue with Religions, Churches and Communities of Conviction, Mr. Jorge César Das Neve. The delegation included Dr. Haitham Rahma, Chairman of the assembly's Board of Trustees; Sheikh Khedr Abdull Mo'ti, a Member of the Executive Office; Dr. Kareem Shimlal, President of the Association of Muslims in Belgium. Dr. Haitham Rahma addressed some issues, most important of which are the following: "In our work, we are inspired by our citizenship. Also, we have to explain for the Muslims how to fulfill their duties as they demand their rights."

Labels: EU, Islam

There Is No "Muslim World" - by Aloysious Mowe

Tempting as it might be to adopt Samuel Huntington's Manichean view of global conflict or some variation thereof, President Obama has to resist the impulse to speak of Muslims as a single bloc. This master of language knows that words matter. It may be convenient to speak of the "Muslim world" in a speech, but there are dangers in painting with so broad a brush when it comes to the articulation and implementation of policy. It makes no sense to speak of a "Christian world" as though it were possible to extrapolate, from their religious affiliation, the shared values of all Christians everywhere. Even within a major denomination such as Roman Catholicism, there are major disagreements as to how the hierarchy of values should be stacked. Some U.S. bishops made opposition to abortion the one and only criterion for how one was supposed to choose a candidate to vote for in the recent elections. The outcome of the elections showed that the majority of U.S. Catholics had greater moral discernment than some of their shepherds. There is no Muslim world, only a variety of nations with Muslim majorities. Some of these call themselves Islamic states, but the extent to which even these are governed according to Islamic principles and under Islamic law is a matter for debate.

Labels: Barack Obama, Islam

Anti Geert Wilders cartoon

For the complete report from the BBC NEWS click on this link

Islam film Dutch MP Geert Wilders to be charged

A Dutch court has ordered prosecutors to put a right-wing politician on trial for making anti-Islamic statements. Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders made a controversial film last year equating Islam with violence and has likened the Koran to Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.

"In a democratic system, hate speech is considered so serious that it is in the general interest to... draw a clear line," the court in Amsterdam said. Mr Wilders said the judgement was an "attack on the freedom of expression". "Participation in the public debate has become a dangerous activity. If you give your opinion, you risk being prosecuted," he said.

Note EU-Digest: Even though we have expressed indignation about the Geert Wilders Islam movie, it is unacceptable in a democratic society to prosecute someone for expressing his or her opinion. Freedom of expression also includes the above cartoon of Mr. Wilders head being chopped off. If we accept these kinds of legal procedures in a democratic society we can just as well start chopping off hands Saudi Justice style of people who have been caught stealing or the head of someone who has committed adultery?

Labels: EU, Geert Wilders, Islam, Legal System, Netherlands

Fethullah Gülen's Grand Ambition - Turkey's Islamist Danger - by Rachel Sharon-Krespin

As Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) begins its seventh year in leadership, Turkey is no longer the secular and democratic country that it was when the party took over. The AKP has conquered the bureaucracy and changed Turkey's fundamental identity. Prior to the AKP's rise, Ankara oriented itself toward the United States and Europe. Today, despite the rhetoric of European Union accession, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has turned Turkey away from Europe and toward Russia and Iran and reoriented Turkish policy in the Middle East away from sympathy toward Israel and much more toward friendship with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Syria. Anti-American, anti-Christian, and anti-Semitic sentiments have increased.

Behind Turkey's transformation has been not only the impressive AKP political machine but also a shadowy Islamist sect led by the mysterious hocaefendi (master lord) Fethullah Gülen; the sect often bills itself as a proponent of tolerance and dialogue but works toward purposes quite the opposite. Today, Gülen and his backers (Fethullahcılar, Fethullahists) not only seek to influence government but also to become the government.

Labels: Fethullah Gülen', Islam, Radical, Religion, Turkey

Islam's Challenges To 'Universal Human Rights' - by Jeffrey Donovan

Sabatina James has one wish. She wants to enjoy the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which is 60 years old this week. But the 26-year-old Austrian of Pakistani heritage, in hiding since becoming Christian, is at the center of a storm between Islam and international human rights law. After converting from Islam a few years ago, James had to flee from a father who wanted her killed for apostasy -- and from Austrian authorities who instead of protecting her, suggested she resolve the conflict by returning to Islam. James, who uses a pseudonym, grew up in Linz, a city near the Alps more famous for chocolate than disputes between Islamic and international law. But when she renounced Islam, her father's verdict was clear. "He said, 'In two weeks you have to become a Muslim again or you're dead,'" says James, who fled to Germany, where she now lives under police protection

Labels: EU, Human Rights, Islam

Labels: EU, Islam

The Cordoba Great Mosque

For more reports related to Europe click on this link

Europe's Muslim Legacy

In a fascinating book, God's Crucible: Islam and the making of Modern Day Europe, by David Levering Lewis one will quickly agree with the author that it took two ingredients to make Europeans believe in themselves as the center of civilization. One was the creation of the vast Holy Roman Empire by Charlemagne. The other was the development of the Muslim culture in what is now known as the region of Andalusia, Spain. The Arabs called it al-Andalus with the Great Mosque as the most striking physical example of this Muslim foothold in Europe. What probably was even more impressive, leaving a lasting mark on Europe were the Muslims intellectual and cultural achievements. Hundreds of mosques, thousands of palaces, scores of libraries were build in Córdoba alone. Towards the end of the ninth century, those libraries had acquired hundreds of thousands of manuscripts. Nothing else on the continent of Europe could compare. Just imagine the university of Córdoba was established more than one hundred years before the one in Bologna, Italy, considered today as the first European university.

Al-Andalus was already a truly regional cosmopolitan agglomeration of cities, when the rest of Europe was still a feuding environment of country estates and small towns. Towards the end of the millennium, Córdoba had a population of more than 90,000, many times the size of any town in the territories occupied by Charlemagne. Those Andalusian cities also became a great ethnic melting pot of Jews, Muslims, Christians, Arabs, Berbers, Germanic, Slavs, and countless other cultures. These eventually spread throughout the continent and transformed a barbaric Europe into a more enlightened and modern European society.

Maybe Europe's far right politicians, including Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, French "Front National" leader Jean-Marie le Pen and Belgian far-right politician Filip Dewinte should take the time to read God's Crucible: Islam and the making of Modern Day Europe, by David Levering Lewis. Who knows, they might realize al-Andalus showed Europe that what must empower man should always be compassion not hate.

Labels: Andalusia, Christianity, Cordoba, EU, Europe, Filip Fewinte, Geert Wilders, Islam, Jean-Marie le Pen, Spain

The Muslim World and the Global Financial Crisis - by Terry Lacey

By the time a new President is elected the United States will be a different country in a different world. There will be no going back and no return to business as usual. What began as the sub-prime housing market crash has become a generalized banking crash, leading to a world financial crisis, and then into a world economic recession. There is no avoiding the impact of this series of financial and economic downturns and the associated stock market crashes and wild currency fluctuations. However for the developing economies of Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, and even for Africa, these changes represent new opportunities as well as short-term problems. These events are symbolic of a changing global balance of power where the United States and Europe have to adjust to the rising economic power of Asia, the Middle East and the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China). This is a crisis of capitalism and even the greatest advocates of the free market are forced to face reality that when capitalism fails it has to be bailed out by the state. It is capitalist when it goes up and socialist when it comes down.

This does not mean, as suggested by the Indonesian Vice President Kalla, that sharia banking can suddenly present the comprehensive alternative to capitalism. The reality is that so far Islamic finance has been very integrated into global capitalist structures, with little emphasis on extending the more radical and unique profit and loss sharing concepts to poorer Muslims in poorer countries.

Labels: Global Economy, Islam, Sharia banking

Netherlands: William of Orange, a practicing Muslim

A report about a Leiden historian who claims that William of Orange was a practicing Muslim (NL) has spread like wildfire on the (Dutch speaking) internet. According to the report historian 'Tjalling Wenselaar' claims that William of Orange should appear in the history books as Yusuf Ibrahim of Orange Nassau. William's conversion to Islam, occurring in the spring of 1582, was 'strategic'. "In return for his conversion to Islam and Islamisizing the Dutch provinces, the Moorish khalif Abdul Abu Uzrim promised William military aid in in fight against the Spanish," according to Wenselaar. Since William was killed shortly afterward and his son loved wine and pork too much, it did not bring about the Islamization of the Netherlands. The Oranges tried to erase all traces of the conversion of their ancestor.

Labels: EU, Islam, Netherlands

Labels: Christianity, Islam

Labels: EU, Islam

Labels: EU, Islam, Terrorism, US

Europe or Eurabia? - by Daniel Pipes

The future of Europe is in play. Will it turn into "Eurabia," a part of the Muslim world? "Will it remain the distinct cultural unit it has been over the last millennium? Or might there be some creative synthesis of the two civilizations? The answer has vast importance. Europe may constitute a mere 7 percent of the world's landmass but for five hundred years, 1450-1950, for good and ill, it was the global engine of change. How it develops in the future will affect all humanity, and especially daughter countries such as Australia which still retain close and important ties to the old continent. I foresee potentially one of three paths for Europe: Muslims dominating, Muslims rejected, or harmonious integration."

Labels: EU, Immigration, Islam

What Islam did for Europe - by Jason Webster

Until very recently, suggestions that western civilisation owed much to Islam were rejected out of hand. "Europe", according to the orthodox model, was born out of a marriage of classical and Judaeo-Christian cultures. The missing element in this formula - the Islamic component - was ignored. During the first half of the 20th century a number of Arabists challenged this view, but their opinions made little popular headway. Today, however, thanks largely to the current friction between Islam and the west, new efforts are being made to understand and interpret the influence oriental culture has had, mostly via Spain, on its occidental cousin.

Labels: EU, Islam

Labels: EU, Islam

When free speech offends Muslims

"Everybody favours free speech in the slack moments when no axes are being ground," 20th-century American journalist Heywood Broun once wrote. The real test of mettle is allowing free speech to thrive while axes aggressively grind. Just ask Canadian publisher Ezra Levant and author Mark Steyn.

"For a government bureaucrat to call any publisher or anyone else to an interrogation to be quizzed about his political or religious expression is a violation of 800 years of common law, a Universal Declaration of Rights, a Bill of Rights, and a Charter of Rights. This commission is applying Saudi values, not Canadian values."

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation recently did something it was too craven to do two years ago. During a news segment regarding the HRC, Canada's public broadcaster aired – briefly, fleetingly – the Danish cartoons. This is heartening. Much of the Canadian – and Western – left has seemed far too eager in recent years to buckle in the face of, and even sympathize with, Islamist extremism. Let's hope these cases bring about an understanding of what's at stake.

Labels: Canada, EU, Islam, Muslims

Intimidation and censorship are no answer to this inflammatory film

Too many Dutch and international leaders have leapt to deplore Wilders' film without first excoriating those who threaten him with death. Particularly egregious is a statement by the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, which, in explicitly condemning the film (but not the death threats), actually says "the right of free expression is not at stake here". That's a truly idiotic claim. Mr Ban has no right to make it on our behalf.

The second question is whether Fitna should be banned by law, as the ambassadors of 26 Islamic countries have recently urged the Dutch government to do. Unlike the murder issue, I accept that this is a matter for legitimate debate in a democracy, but my answer remains an unequivocal "no". The film is inflammatory but not, I think, across the line to incitement - and so far, the Dutch justice ministry seems to agree. Wilders' own position here is ludicrously self-contradictory.

Labels: EU, Islam

The lost history of the Crusades - by Robert Sibley

Western guilt over, and apologies for, the Crusades ignores one crucial fact: The West actually lost.Like many postmodern westerners, the politician suffers from a peculiar psychic disturbance -- western-guilt syndrome -- that regards the history of the West as an unmitigated horror show of slaughter, conquest and imperialistic domination. The Crusades are cast as among the darkest of dark episodes in the history of European civilization. Too bad it's wrong. "The crusades are quite possibly the most misunderstood event n European history," says historian Thomas Madden. "The Crusades were in every way a defensive war. They were a direct response to Muslim aggression -- an attempt to turn back or defend against Muslim conquests of Christian lands." The West may now dominate the Islamic world, but that has only been the case since the late 18th century, when a young general, Napoleon Bonaparte, conquered Egypt and temporarily imposed French rule. This initial European penetration into one of the heartlands of Islam was "a terrible shock" to Muslims, says historian Bernard Lewis. Until then, they had thought of themselves as the victors in the Crusades.

Labels: Islam, The Crusades

Labels: EU, Islam, Muslims

Christianity - Easter: Pope Baptizes Prominent Italian Muslim

Italy's most prominent Muslim, an iconoclastic writer who condemned Islamic extremism and defended Israel, converted to Catholicism Saturday in a baptism by the pope at a Vatican Easter service. An Egyptian-born, non-practicing Muslim who is married to a Catholic, Magdi Allam infuriated some Muslims with his books and columns in the newspaper Corriere della Sera newspaper, where he is a deputy editor. He titled one book ``Long Live Israel.''

As a choir sang, Pope Benedict XVI poured holy water over Allam's head and said a brief prayer in Latin.``We no longer stand alongside or in opposition to one another,'' Benedict said in a homily reflecting on the meaning of baptism. ``Thus faith is a force for peace and reconciliation in the world: distances between people are overcome, in the Lord we have become close.''

Labels: Christianity, EU, Islam

Bin Laden Threatens Europe Over Mohammed Cartoons

In a new message, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden warned Europe of a "reckoning" for publishing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed. Intelligence officials said there was no indication when a possible attack might occur. Bin Laden's audio message, heard over a video image of him holding an AK-47 automatic rifle, coincided with the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. It was posted on al Qaeda's Web site on Wednesday, March 19, which is also the day observed in the Muslim world as Mohammed's birthday. The militant leader said publishing the controversial caricatures of the Muslim prophet was a greater offense than the "bombing of modest villages that collapsed over our women and children," in a reference to the invasion of Iraq by US and European forces.

Note EU-Digest: Mr. Bin Laden who calls himself a Muslim would do himself and the world some good in reading what the Qur’an (القرآن ‎ al-qur'ān) says about violence. Any Muslim who accepts Mr. Bin Laden as the spokesperson for Islam is probably just as crazy and fanatical as he is. Mr. Bin Laden has got the blood of many innocent civilians, including large numbers of Muslims on his hands. Finding him (if he is still alive) and bringing him to justice is essential.

Labels: Bin Laden, Europe, Islam, Muslims

Europe idle as US battles meltdown - by Ambrose Evans - Pritchard

It is the first time since the Great Depression that the US Fed has stepped in directly to absorb credit losses, crossing a line deemed unthinkable just months ago. The dramatic late-night move on Sunday required dredging up Article 13 (3) of the Federal Reserve Act, which allows the Fed to shower money on almost anybody it wishes by a vote of five governors in "unusual and exigent circumstances".Jean-Michel Six, chief Europe economist at Standard & Poor's, said the Europeans were in no mood to rescue America. "There is monetary war going on. The ECB view is that Fed is a victim of its own mistakes and should pay for its past crimes. Frankly, they don't see why they should be cutting rates when inflation (3.3pc) is accelerating," he said.

There are now echoes of October 1987 when the German Bundesbank (and therefore Europe) refused to ease monetary policy, even though the dollar was in freefall and Wall Street was fragile. The spat was the backdrop to the Black Monday crash.

Note EU-Digest: The ECB is on the right track, the problems of the US economy are of the US her own making. If the ECB cuts the interest rates in Europe, inflation would rise and Europe's economy would also spiral into disaster.

Labels: Britain, Christianity, Energy, EU, EU Economy, euro, France, Gas Supplies, Healthcare, Iraq war, Islam, Italy, Romance, Russia, Sarkozy, Sex Appeal, Turkey, US, US Economy

Living in a secret location with 24-hour bodyguards, Dutch far-right MP Geert Wilders faces even tougher security after his film on Islam prompted an increased terror alert even before its release. The 44-year-old politician with a striking mane of blonde hair thrives on the publicity he gets calling for an end to immigration from Muslim countries and for Turkey to be kept out of the European Union.Wilders started his political career in the rightwing liberal VVD party. He became a deputy in 1998 but left the VVD in September 2004 saying it was not rightwing enough. He created his own Freedom party before elections in 2006. The party's hardline position on immigration helped the Wilders' group win nine seats in the 150 member parliament.

Wilders is married to a Bulgarian whom he admits "sometimes does not agree with my ideas". He lists his hobbies on his website as reading and writing.

Labels: EU, Geert Wilders, Islam, The Netherlands

EU-Digest Report

The Netherlands: Stop Wilders Committee formed in the Netherlands by Dutch Citizens

Anyone who does not agree with the anti-Koran movie Fitna by Dutch right-wing parliamentarian Geert Wilders in the Netherlands can now indicate that by wearing an anti-Wilders T-Shirt reports the Dutch Telegraaf newspaper.

The organizers of this protest campaign are non-Muslims who have no sympathy for any type of extremism in the Dutch society and who feel that the road chosen by Wilders to express his personal feelings about Islam is not correct and will only lead to more violence. The organizers of the protest noted, "We want to provide an outlet for ordinary people who are upset about the Wilders movie. Wilders, because of his public privileged position is able to walk around as "an elephant in a China cabinet" on this issue, while the silent majority in the Netherlands, which does not agree with the airing of his movie, is forced, to stay silent.

For additional information about the campaign see also http://wwww.stopwilders.com The organizers of the campaign are planning to start handing out the anti-Wilders T-Shirts in all the major Dutch cities during the coming days.

Labels: Fitna, Geert Wilders, Islam, The Netherlands

For the complete report from Radio Netherlands click on this link

The Netherlands - Europe should explain Wilders to world - by Erik Hesen

Dutch MP Alexander Pechtold wants the Netherlands to form a common front with other European countries to explain to Muslims around the world why the anti-Qur'an film by right-wing MP Geert Wilders has not been banned. The leader of the democrat party D66 wants the Dutch government to do more to spell out what democracy and freedom of expression exactly stand for in Europe. The debate surrounding Mr Wilders' anti-Islam movie focuses too much on the Dutch context, according to Mr Pechtold. "The cabinet constantly warns Mr. Wilders about the film's consequences. We should address ourselves more to other countries. Here we are accustomed to democracy and freedom of expression but not everyone abroad is. Elsewhere fundamentalists seize on these sort of films to preach hatred against the West. We have to explain what our fundamental rights represent. Maybe the prime minister should explain the matter on Al Jazeera. Or Mr Ahmed Aboutaleb [the deputy minister for social affairs], who speaks Arabic. Maybe things won't be so bad, because we are dealing with them now. It's hard to say. It all depends on how foreign regimes will exploit the movie. Foreign regimes often have double agendas. Iran's authorities are using this incident to try and counter economic sanctions. The thing to do, therefore, is to reach people directly, bypassing governments, to explain what democracy entails. I really regard democracy as an export product. We shouldn't just pursue economic interests but also strive to make people aware of our democratic values." Mr Pechtold stresses, however, that it's Mr Wilders' own responsibility to decide whether or not to broadcast the film. The Public Prosecutor only can determine whether the film breaches any constitutional rights once it has been shown. Mr Wilders appears undeterred by all the commotion. He dismissed the prime minister's warnings accusing the cabinet of capitulating to Islam, something he vowed he will never do.

Note EU-Digest: Mr. Pechtold is right. Freedom of expression and tolerance is the issue, not what is being said. Blackmail is not acceptable.

Labels: EU, Geert Wilders, Islam, Musllim, Netherlands

The First Muslim-Born Leader of the West - Europe preparing itself for Muslim takeover - by Thomas Landen

If I had been asked two months ago “Which Western country runs the greatest risk of electing a Muslim-born leader and how soon do you think this is going to happen?” I would have bet on the Netherlands somewhere in the next decade. Today, it looks as if the first Western country with a Muslim-born leader might very well be the United States next year, when President Barack Hussein Obama enters the Oval Office.

Two weeks ago, in an attempt to explain Europe’s enthusiasm for Mr. Obama, the left wing German weekly Der Spiegel pointed out that the Illinois senator is the most “European” of all the candidates in the U.S. presidential race. “Many in Europe would like nothing more than a ‘European’ America […] Obama personifies Europe’s hopes for a modern America: black, socially minded and gentle,” the German magazine wrote. As if Europe is black, socially minded and gentle… Last week, Algemeen Dagblad, a newspaper in the Netherlands, asked the 150 members of the Dutch House of Representatives how they would vote in the U.S. elections if they could. Mr. Obama got 58 votes, Mrs. Clinton 40, while a mere 23 Dutch parliamentarians – fewer than those who said they had no opinion – would vote Republican. America, sadly, does not even seem to have noticed that there is a problem. It called Mr. Romney to account for his Mormonism but has yet to ask Mr. Obama for his views on Islam.

Labels: EU, Islam, Obama

Homosexuality is not a comfortable, much less a popular, topic among Muslims. Broach the subject in the Middle East, and you’re likely to hear a response like the one Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave US audiences last year: “In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals, like in your country.” At best, society adopts a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ approach – do what you will, just don’t advertise it. A controversial new documentary, A Jihad for Love, is shattering that taboo by interviewing homosexual Muslims, including an Egyptian gay man ‘outed’ by his arrest during the 2001 Queen Boat raid and an Egyptian lesbian still hiding her sexuality from society. Filmmaker Parvez Sharma had dual motivations: first, to challenge the mindset that Muslim and gay are mutually exclusive, and second, to challenge the Western world’s own Islamophobia.

Born and raised in India, 34-year-old Sharma is currently touring the world, screening his 81-minute documentary in Canada, South Africa and Europe. Released in September 2007, A Jihad for Love is his first venture and an emotional opus; it cost $2 million and took six years to complete, with filming in four continents, 12 countries and nine languages.Hendricks’ research included interpretation of the Qu’ran in a modern context and studies of inconsistencies in the hadith. He eventually came to the conclusion that consensual homosexual relationships were permissible in Islam. Hendricks now travels around the US giving workshops to Muslims about homosexuality in Islam and offering a critical look at hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad [PBUH]), from which most of the condemnations of homosexuality come.

Labels: Egypt, Gays, Islam

God's Crucible' examines how Islam shaped Europe (David Levering Lewis) by Lisa Montanarelli

In "God's Crucible," Levering Lewis explores Islam's seminal role in shaping Europe. From 711 to 1492, emerging Europeans shared a landmass with a far more sophisticated Islamic civilization. This Muslim world transmitted its own innovations and much of classical culture to Europe. Yet traditional "Western Civ" courses skip blithely from Rome to the Renaissance, barely footnoting Islam. "God's Crucible" opens with the Muslims' meteoric conquests. For the first six centuries of the Common Era, denizens of the Arabian Peninsula stood on the sidelines as imperial Rome and Iran exhausted themselves in "history's longest demolition derby," leaving a Fertile Crescent power vacuum. After Muhammad died in 632, the newly converted Muslims roared out of Arabia "motivated as much by the spoils of war as by religious zeal ... ancient greed soldered to a new ideology." They gave their adversaries a choice: convert to Islam, don't convert and pay a head tax, or fight. Upon hearing these terms, many potential foes sheathed their swords. Within 15 years of the Prophet's death, Muslims had vanquished Persia, whittled down Byzantium and built an empire whose size rivaled imperial Rome's at its height.

Labels: Islam, Religion

Belgium ?Netherlands: Right-wing groups launch anti-Islamisation campaign - by Vanessa Mock

Far-right groups are calling for a ban on the building of new mosques as part of a new campaign to stop the spread of radical Islam in Europe. Belgium's far-right Vlaams Belang party teamed up with radical groups from Austria and Germany on Thursday to launch a Charter to 'fight the Islamisation of West-European cities'."We are not opposed to freedom of religion but we don't want Muslims to impose their way of life and traditions over here because much of it is not compatible with our way of life," Vlaams Belang's Filip Dewinter told Radio Netherlands Worldwide. "We can't accept head scarves in our schools, forced marriages and the ritual slaughter of animals." Aside from Austria's Freedom Party (FPö), there was a notable absence of other political heavyweights during the press conference in the Flemish city of Antwerp. A spokesman for Italy's Allianza Nazionale said he was unaware of the Charter, though his party too was looking at the issue of the new mosques. Dutch right-wing maverick politician Geert Wilders, who is currently producing a film about the danger of the Koran, also stayed away. But Mr Dewinter seems unruffled by the paltry political support: "This movement may be small today but I am convinced it will grow into something major." News of the Charter was greeted with dismay in Antwerp's Borgerhout, a multi-cultural neighbourhood counting over 90 nationalities. "It's pure provocation," shrugged Said El Fetri, a Moroccan shopkeeper. "I have Belgians, East Europeans, Jews and Muslims coming in and out of my shop, there are no problems with integration here." Standing next to his counter of Halal meat, he added: "I am a Muslim but that doesn't mean that I don't live by the rules of this country." However, another local shopkeeper, Mohammed, was gloomier: "I've lived here for almost 40 years. Me and my children are perfectly integrated but these kinds of campaigns worry me. In ten years' time, it won't be possible for us to live side by side like this anymore."

Note EU-Digest: Even though these kinds of provocative expressions and declarations by populist right wing groups, represented by Wilders, Dewinter and other like minded politicians are deplorable, they are acceptable within Europe's laws related to the freedom of expression. A possible way to combat these right wing movements is initially to call for massive peaceful demonstrations, in every major city of Europe. to support integration and multiculturalism . This, in addition to starting a well coordinated long term campaign of dialog on these issues at schools, universities, religious centers, in the press, and on TV and Radio. Best of all, the voters should make sure that these right-wing politicians are kept from winning in elections, by voting against them. Europe, on the other hand, should not allow any Grand Mufti to threaten Europeans about the risks involved if they allow people like Wilders or DeWinter to use or abuse the European Citizen's right of free speech. In that case we must remind these Muftis that in Europe we have a democratic society, where free speech and womens rights are paramount parts of the system and cover every citizen, including European Muslims.

Labels: Belgium, DeWinter, EU, Extreme Right, Free Speech, Geert Wilders, Islam

Germany - Gay Muslims Pack a Dance Floor of Their Own - by NICHOLAS KULISH

Six men whirled faster and faster in the center of the nightclub, arms slung over one another’s shoulders, performing a traditional circle dance popular in Turkey and the Middle East. Nothing unusual given the German capital’s large Muslim population.But most of the people filling the dance floor on Saturday at the club SO36 in the Kreuzberg neighborhood were gay, lesbian or bisexual, and of Turkish or Arab background. They were there for the monthly club night known as Gayhane, an all-too-rare opportunity to merge their immigrant cultures and their sexual identities. European Muslims, so often portrayed one-dimensionally as rioters, honor killers or terrorists, live diverse lives, most of them trying to get by and to have a good time. That is more difficult if one is both Muslim and gay. “When you’re here, it’s as if you’re putting on a mask, leaving the everyday outside and just having fun,” said a 22-year-old Turkish man who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear that he would be ostracized or worse if his family found out about his sexual orientation.

One of the regular D.J.’s, Ipek Ipekcioglu, 35, said she got her start rather suddenly, when one of the founders of SO36 walked up to her and said: “You’re Turkish, right? You’re lesbian, right? Bring your cassettes and D.J.” Ms. Ipekcioglu spins everything from Turkish and Arabic music, to Greek, Balkan and Indian, a style she calls Eklektik BerlinIstan. She has been a full-time professional D.J. for six years and performs all over the world.

Labels: EU, Gay Community, Germany, Islam, Muslims

In two best-selling autobiographies—"The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream" and "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance"—Mr. Obama, born in Honolulu where his parents met, mentions but does not expand on his Muslim background, alluding only to his attendance at a "predominantly Muslim school." His father was black and came from Kenya. Mr. Obama’s mother, the daughter of a farmer, came from Wichita, Kansas. Mr. Obama's parents divorced when he was two years old. His father returned to Kenya. Later, Mr. Obama's mother married an Indonesian student and the family moved to Jakarta. Mr. Obama returned to Hawaii when he was 10 to live with his maternal grandparents. The sources said the background check concerned Mr. Obama's years in Jakarta. In Indonesia, the young Obama was enrolled in a Madrassa and was raised and educated as a Muslim. Although Indonesia is regarded as a moderate Muslim state, the U.S. intelligence community has determined that today most of these schools are financed by the Saudi Arabian government and they teach a Wahhabi doctrine that denies the rights of non-Muslims.The young Obama was given the name Hussein by his Muslim father, which the Illinois Democrat rarely uses in public.

On the role of government in economic affairs, Obama has written: "We should be asking ourselves what mix of policies will lead to a dynamic free market and widespread economic security, entrepreneurial innovation and upward mobility. We should be guided by what works." Speaking before the National Press Club in April 2005, he defended the New Deal social welfare policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, associating Republican proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security with social Darwinism.In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Obama spoke out against government indifference to growing economic class divisions, calling on both political parties to take action to restore the social safety net for the poor.mShortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama told the health care advocacy group Families USA: "I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country." Note EU-Digest: The fact that Mr. Obama has had a foreign education and knowledge of Islam can only be helpful to America in case he would be elected President.

Labels: Elections, Islam, Obama, US

Islamic Like Me: When The Veil Is A Threat - Danielle Crittenden

My series about my adventures in a Saudi burka generated a lot of fascinating comments by Huffposters. Yesterday I replied to those who insisted that our Western culture was more sexually oppressive than the burka. Today I'll deal with the frequently-made-observation by readers: If a woman wants to wear a burka in a democratic society, what's it to us?" Go to the link to the Huffingtom Post at the beginning of this EU-Digest report to read all four parts of Danielle Crittenden series and the subsequent debates. Also to see a video of her experience, which appeared in Canada's National Post.

Labels: Burka, Islam, Religion

In a Europe torn over mosques, French city offers accommodation - by Molly Moore

CRETEIL,France - On a recent Friday, 200 Muslim worshipers crowded into a former carpentry workshop in Creteil for noon prayers. The men knelt on red carpets in a first-floor hall, the women squeezed into the tiny administrative office upstairs.But next June, Creteil Muslims are scheduled to move into a new, $7.4 million mosque with room for more than 2,500 worshipers. The nearly finished building, with its 81-foot minaret, stands on a knoll overlooking the town's picturesque lake, within sight of City Hall and the local police station. The mosque will make Creteil something of an exception in Europe. From London to Cologne to Marseille, governments and residents are fighting the rise of minarets on their skylines in campaigns that underscore cultural, religious, and ethnic divides within a continent undergoing its most dramatic demographic change in half a century. Islam is now Europe's second-largest religion after Christianity, and its fastest-growing. But Creteil's city government is helping Muslims build and finance what will be one of France's largest new mosques.

Labels: EU, Islam, Religion

Ex-Muslims gather in The Hague on 9/11

The heads of several European committees for former Muslims are due to sign a 'European Declaration of Tolerance ' in The Hague on September 11. With the declaration, the ex-Muslim committees of Britain, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden want to draw attention to what they say is "the lack of freedom of religion within Islamic culture." In its press release on Thursday, the Dutch committee of ex- Muslims said September 11 - the anniversary of the terror attacks on the United States - was chosen symbolically to condemn terror and the intolerance of political Islam.

Labels: EU, Ex-Muslims, Islam

'Dutch left must be more articulate in Islam debate' - by Michel Hoebink

Dutch Parliamentarian Geert Wilders and other right-wing Islam critics in the Netherlands imply that 'pure' Islam contradicts democracy and human rights. A moderate or liberal Islam, does not exist in their view. The PvdA, the party with the largest Muslim following in the country, failed for a long time to counter this right-wing rhetoric with its own articulate view. It aligns itself with the liberal Islam that according to its right-wing opponents does not exist. The model for this new approach is the Malaysian Muslim thinker Farish Noor, who flew in last weekend from Berlin to talk to prominent Labour party members such as Integration Minister Ella Vogelaar and Secretary of State Ahmed Aboutaleb of Social Affairs. Farish Noor believes that the moral principles of the Koran are valid for eternity, but that verses such as those calling for the discrimination of women and corporal punishment are no longer valid and have to be understood in their historical context. Noor is shocked by the state in which he finds the Netherlands.

"Right-wing politicians and Islam critics imply that Muslims have to choose between fundamentalist Islam on the one hand and democracy and human rights on the other. Progressive Muslims like myself offer an alternative: We try to show Muslims and the rest of the world that you can be a Muslim and a democrat at the same time. By supporting us the Labour party can break down the right-wing monopoly in the Islam debate and create space for young Muslims to participate in modern life while maintaining their Muslim identity. Are you Muslim and gay? Then the Labour party should support your right to be both at the same time.

"This does not mean that the party should turn its back on traditional Muslims. The party should protect the right of traditional Muslims to be themselves as long as they abide by the ground rules of secular democracy. Religious schools are not a problem but we cannot tolerate imams who tell their audience to beat up gays. Hate speech should be the limit."

Labels: EU, Islam, The Netherlands

Secularism and Islam: the Turkish experience

Most Turks - including, apparently, many of those who vote for the AKP - are proud of their country’s secular tradition. Earlier this year, when Gul’s presidential candidacy was initially proposed by the AKP, large numbers of them were led to believe that this tradition was somehow under threat. Their suspicions were not entirely unfounded. For instance, a dozen years ago Gul had talked about wishing “to end secularism” - although, not long afterwards, he had also spoken of wanting to see the “Islamic headscarf and the miniskirt walking hand in hand”.

However, it wasn’t so much his utterances that his opponents picked on: they appeared to be piqued by the fact that his wife, Hayrunisa, sports such a headscarf. As do millions of other Turkish women. And, of course, there are large numbers who don’t. Anyhow, back in May there were massive anti-Gul demonstrations in Ankara and Istanbul. In Turkey the president is elected by parliament, and an opposition boycott led the Constitutional Court to annul Gul’s election, because it deemed the assembly inquorate. The decision was handed down after the military made it clear where it stood via a message posted on its website. With only a little bit of exaggeration, it has been described as the world’s first internet coup.

Labels: EU, Islam, Secularism, Turkey

Europe's de-Christianization : Who Is Allah? - by Soeren Kern

Europeans love to mock the salience of religion in American society, but they won't be laughing for very long. The de-Christianization of Europe in the name of "tolerance" is rapidly driving the spiritually shiftless continent into the arms of Islam. And now, amidst the postmodern theological confusion that defines contemporary Europe, even Catholic clergy are jumping on the Islamomania bandwagon.

Indeed, just because Christianity, Judaism and Islam are called "monotheistic" faiths, it does not follow that Christians, Jews and Muslims pray to the same God. So for those pre-postmoderns who believe that words still mean something, a quick survey of archaeology, history and theology-accompanied by a dose of common sense-can answer the question of whether the Allah of Islam is really the God of the Bible.

The irony is that the real danger from Islam stems not so much from ordinary Muslims as it does from sickly Europeans who have subverted their Judeo-Christian heritage in search of secular hedonism. Because they live only for the moment, they are willing submit to anything, including Islam, as long as it doesn't interfere with the pursuit of pleasure today. It has been more than 50 years since the late Christian apologist C.S. Lewis first warned about Western Civilization's disastrous lurch into post-Christianity. But even he would be surprised to see how quickly Islam is filling the religious and cultural vacuum that is post-Christian Europe. It's not that Europeans haven't been forewarned. It's that they couldn't care less.

Labels: Christianity, EU, Islam

"Why I Left Islam" by Ali Sina

"I am often asked, Why I left Islam? As absurd as it may be, some Muslims cannot even allow themselves to think that leaving Islam is an option, or even possible. They rather think that those who leave Islam are paid Jewish agents than accept the fact that people have freedom to think and some may even think that Islam is not for them. The following are my reasons: Until few years ago I used to think that my faith in Islam was not based on blind imitation but rather was the result of years of investigation and research. The fact that I had read a lot of books on Islam, written by people whose thoughts I approved of and delving into philosophies that were within my comfort zone, emphasized my conviction that I had found the truth. All my biased research confirmed my faith. Just like other Muslims I used to believe that to learn about anything one has to go to the source. Of course the source of Islam is the Quran and the books written by Muslim scholars. Therefore, I felt no need to look elsewhere in order to find the truth, as I was convinced that I have already found it. As Muslims say "Talabe ilm ba'd az wossule ma'loom mazmoom". The search of knowledge after gaining it is unnecessary.

Now I realize this was a mistake. What if we want to learn the truth about one of these dangerous cults? Is it enough to depend only on what the cult leader and his deluded followers say? Wouldn't it be prudent to widen our research and find out what other people have to say about them? Going to the source makes sense only in scientific matters, because scientists are not "believers". They do not say something because they have blind faith. Scientists make a critical analysis of the evidence. It is very much different from religious approach that is based entirely on faith and belief."

Labels: EU, Islam

Abdullah Gül: The Man Who Would be Turkey's President

"The constitution will be my guide," Gül said during the announcement of his second bid to become Turkey's new president last week. "The Republic of Turkey is a democratic, secular and social state based on the rule of law. My primary objective will be to protect and further strengthen these principles…"

In the first round of voting, Gül received 341 votes from the 550-seat house, 26 short of the two-thirds majority of 367 needed in the first round. The second round of voting is scheduled for Friday.

Labels: Elections, EU, Islam, Turkey

Turkey: Mr. Erdogan received the benefit of the doubt from the electorate, but not more than that - by Rick Morren

Turkey’s election results have become part of some interesting discussions about the state of secularism in that country.

Looking at the EU, it also supposedly is secular, but it still has a variety of Christian Democratic parties and Governments in control. So with Turkey in mind the question can be asked: "what makes Muslims any different from Christians when it comes to respecting secularism, democracy and an omnipresent God as one package?" In today’s world, tradition, culture, history, or track-records are weak arguments to separate these two major religions on this issue.

The recent elections in Turkey were part of a well established democratic process, and no doubt, so will be the upcoming Presidential election. Mr. Erdogan’s party won the general elections fair and square and should be given the benefit of the doubt.

One thing can be sure,every move Mr.Erdogan and his government make will be closely watched by friend and foe alike. Turkey is one of the very few, if not the only Muslim Nation which has chosen a secular and democratic road to the future. Any deviation from that course will result in turmoil for the whole region and particularly for Europe. The EU must make sure they continuously keep reminding Mr. Erdogan of this.

Labels: Erdogan, EU, Islam, Secularism, Turkey

"A Strange Feeling" - by by Michael P.F. van der Galiën

"During my stay in Turkey, I have visited several mosques. Last week Friday and today I did not just visit mosques: I went there with a Muslim and joined the men in prayer. Some of my Christian brethren might be shocked by this, but I did not have a big problem with praying with Muslims and praying like they do. In fact, I found the praying to be… comforting. I obviously prayed to God as in the Christian God, and I did not silently pray the same prayer the Muslims prayed: I prayed to the Christian concept of God and chose my own words / thoughts… But it was comforting nonetheless. When praying, I was - today and last week friday as well - overwhelmed by a very positive, peaceful feeling. Or perhaps peaceful or positive energy is the best word to describe this feeling."

Labels: Christianity, EU, Islam, Religion, Turkey

Labels: EU, Islam

Dutch cabinet minister: Netherlands will be Islamic - by Thomas Lifson

Unbelievable as it may seem, the Dutch 'Minister voor Wonen, Wijken en Integratie' (Residence, Neighbourhoods and Integration (I'm not making this up)), Ella Vogelaar, today has declared in an interview (in Dutch newspaper Trouw) that The Netherlands will be Islamic at some point in the future. She feels that The Netherlands should adapt to Islam, and subsidise Islamic institutions. What will emerge, according to her, is a "Christian-Jewish-Islamic culture". As if Christianity and Judaism aren't 100% opposite to Islam's teachings. The stupidity of the statement is mind boggling.

Labels: EU, Islam

What Can Turkish Elections Bring? by Orhan Tarhan

"On July 22 Turkey is going to have parliamentary elections. This year, the election is very important, because the laicists (secularists) will try to stop the Islamist AK Party of Recep Tayyip Erdogan to secure its hold on the Turkish state and on life in Turkey. This election will decide what kind of country Turkey will be in the future: a secular, survivable country following Ataturk’s modernizing reforms or an Islamic country that has no future. Let us be clear on one thing: The Islamist AK Party is not made of the “good guys” as the American and European press are portraying them to be. They are the slow-movement acting kind of the same Islamists like those we are fighting against. Their only difference with the followers of Bin Laden is that they are no terrorist. Erdogan is not a democrat, as he is masquerading to be. By his own words, to him “Democracy is a means, not an aim.” And the laicists (secularists) Turks are not authoritarian people. They are the real democrats in Turkey, “the good guys” who consider democracy as an aim. I do not understand why American and European media turn things upside down."

Labels: Islam, Turkey

Pious Turks find their place in the sun

By day the Turkish women strip down to bikinis and belly-dance by the swimming pool. But at night they swathe their new suntans in headscarves and join their menfolk for dinner. The Bera Alanya is a five-star hotel on Turkey's Mediterranean coast where men and women have separate swimming pools and alcohol is not served – but female customers enjoy freedoms they often do not find in the public sector. The hotel is part of a growing sector in Turkey that caters for devout wealthy Muslims who want to enjoy the beach without compromising their beliefs – a conservative social class whose support will be key for the ruling AK Party at elections this month.

Behind the success of hotels such as Bera Alanya is an economic boom from which many religiously conservative Turks have greatly benefited. Islamic banks have also seen a boom.

A study by Resort magazine, published by the Mediterranean Hoteliers Associations, shows there are 27 hotels like this one on the coast. Most of them have opened since 2004.Many guests rejected the fears of Turkey's secularists, saying the AK Party has not taken any steps to increase the profile or role of religion in public life. Although they are not all AK Party supporters, many hope that a second term in office – which polls show is likely – will bring reforms to make life easier for devout Muslim Turks.

Labels: Islam, Secularism, Turkey