France: Hollande’s Algerian advisers Via The North Africa Journal : In Rabat, the Moroccan government showed no significant worries as François Hollande was declared the winner of the Presidential race. However, we picked up some signs of concerns as usually Morocco finds a more open-door policy among France’s right wing leaders and lot less accommodating Socialists
Belgium: Moroccan Expatriates to Back Development Initiatives at Home Via StarAfrica : IOM and the Belgian Embassy in Rabat have signed an agreement to launch an innovative project aimed at encouraging Moroccans living in Belgium to start businesses back home in Morocco. The EUR 1.2 million, two-year programme seeks to encourage Moroccan expatriates to invest their savings, knowledge and expertise into the setting up of private ventures that will further the development of impoverished regions in the north and east of the country.
UK: Muslim leaders warn of far right exploitation of Rochdale child sex case Via the Guardian : Muslim groups say they have seen an upsurge in hate mail and abusive phone calls since the trial ended this week and community leaders are bracing themselves for more Islamophobic attacks on individual Muslims and mosques across the UK. “We are already receiving hate mail and hate phone calls even though we issued a very strong statement condemning those involved,” said a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain. “If it can happen to MCB, you can just imagine what ordinary Muslims are facing as they go about their day-to-day business.” ( source )
Denmark: Islam debate cooling down Via Aftenposten : Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten reports that the Islam debate in Denmark has calmed down. The newspaper totaled the media usage of twelve words common in the immigration debate.
Sweden: City slammed for ’special treatment’ of Muslim kids Via the Local : A Swedish school district has sparked outrage for striking a deal with local Muslim groups ensuring Muslim students can skip out on overnight class trips and Muslim girls don’t have to be naked when showering at school. “My first reaction after reading was total shock: how can schools so casually force children into more segregation and social exclusion?” women’s and equal rights activist Bahareh Andersson wrote on the Swedish opinion website Newsmill. Her comments came in response to reading a document outlining an agreement between education officials in Jönköping municipality and local Muslim groups ensuring special treatment for Muslim children enrolled in area schools
Germany: “Germany will not allow anybody to impose religious wars on us” Via Reuters : Germany is considering a legal ban on ultra-conservative Salafist Muslim groups, its interior minister said on Wednesday after violent clashes with the police, one of which was provoked by German ultra-rightists. (…) “We will use all the possibilities at the disposal of a constitutional state to oppose them (violent Salafists) wherever they fight against…
Germany: Cop suspended for radical Islamist beliefs via the Local (h/t Jihad Watch ): Western German police chiefs have suspended an officer after they discovered he belonged to a branch of Salafist Muslim fundamentalists, and had been distributing radical religious material, it was reported on Tuesday. “Disciplinary action is underway, with the aim to dismiss the man from the police force,” North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Ralf Jäger confirmed on Tuesday
UK: Muslim woman scared secret boyfriend would send explicit pictures to her devout parents cried rape Via the Daily Mail : A Muslim woman who pretended she was raped by her boyfriend, leading to his prolonged torture by a gang, because she thought he would show explicit photos of her to her devout parents has been jailed. Sonia Begum, 21, had complained to her cousin Shahen Ahmed, 21, that the man had sexually assaulted her. Ahmed then rounded up a gang who kidnapped and set fire to the 22-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Germany: Foreigners can’t pick new German names, court rules Via Reuters : A German court has refused to allow a family to shed their “foreign-sounding” names for new German ones they said would protect them from discrimination and aid integration into a country becoming attractive for immigrants. The family, living in Germany under asylum after fleeing Azerbaijan, were given the opportunity to take on German versions of their names, some of which carry Islamic associations, the administrative court in Goettingen, in the state of Lower Saxony, said in a document
UK: The truth about ‘Asian sex gangs’ Via the Guardian : In January 2011 the Times proclaimed a “conspiracy of silence” around groups of Pakistani men sexually exploiting white British girls. Political correctness and fear of appearing racist had trumped child protection, the paper claimed.