Switzerland: Radical Muslim group to launch TV station Via the Local : The Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS) has announced plans to set up an internet TV channel, while it is also in talks with various companies to provide its members with a Swiss-Muslim discount card. The new TV studios, due to become operational this summer, will play host to a political show, a weekly series on a range of topics seen from a Muslim perspective, and a sermon series, newspaper SonntagsZeitung reports.

Read more »

UK: Growing use of Sharia Via the BBC (h/t Islam in Britain ): An estimated 85 Sharia councils could be operating in Britain, according to a 2009 report by the think tank Civitas. Several bodies like the Islamic Sharia Council have seen a large increase in their cases in the past five years

Read more »

Athens: Appeal against plans to build mosque Via Today’s Zaman (h/t Qalam ) A group of Greeks that includes bishops, academics and military officers have appealed against a parliamentary bill that will allow the construction of a mosque in the Greek capital. According to the Greek press, a petition submitted to the Council of State in December was signed by Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, as well as a university professor, naval officers and five residents of the area in which the mosque is planned to be built. The appeal argues that the construction of a mosque would be in violation of the constitution and harmful for national unity

Read more »

France: Citizens forced to convert to Islam to get married Via Atlantico (French, h/t Observatoire de l’ islamisation ): French weekly VSD reports that French citizens who want to get married to foreign women from North Africa find themselves in a bizarre situation.

Read more »

Belgium: Teacher suspended for discriminating against students without headscarves Via De Standaard (Dutch): Mohammed G.

Read more »

Denmark: Minister working on solution for underage marriages Via Kristeligt Dagblad : Last yer Copenhagen reported a man to the police for conducting an Islamic marriage for a 14-year old Danish girl behind her parents back. But nothing happened and the authorities were criticized for leaving the young girls and their families to their fate.

Read more »

CoE: ‘Move from emotion to facts’ … except for the inconvenient ones In a speech at Leiden University Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, called for the debate on immigration in Europe to move from emotion to facts.

Read more »

Bern: ‘Jewish-star’ anti-Islamophobia protest Jewish-star protest, photo by ICCS Via Tages-Anzeiger (German): Several hundred Muslims gathered from across Switzerland Saturday for a protest against Islamophobia. The ‘Day against Islamophobia and racism’ was organized by the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS). In addition to booths offering information about Islam, there were numerous food and market stalls..

Read more »

Copenhagen: Group calls for Shariah zones “Do you want to take part in establishing Shariah in Denmark, or do you want to stand by? The choice is yours!” (from the group’s Shariah4DK video) Via Politiken : A small group of extremists wants to introduce patrolled Sharia zones in Denmark. A Danish group of Salafists calling themselves “Call to Islam” (Kaldet til Islam) plan to introduce round the clock patrols in Sharia zones they introduce in Copenhagen, and eventually other areas of Denmark, along the lines of a similar group in the United Kingdom.

Read more »

NAME AND PARENTAGE OF HADRAT ABU BAKR(R.A.) Hadrat Abu Bakr, as-Siddiq, (R.A.) was born in 573 A.D.

Read more »