Spain: Parliament rejects general burka ban bill

Via AP:

Spain’s Parliament on Tuesday rejected a proposal to ban women from wearing in public places Islamic veils that reveal only the eyes.

However, the Socialist government has said it favors including a ban on people wearing burqas in government buildings in an upcoming bill on religious issues to be debated after parliament’s summer vacation break.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

Following a lower chamber debate, 183 lawmakers opposed the ban, 162 voted for it and two abstained.

The nonbinding proposal had been put forward by the leading opposition Popular Party, which portrayed it as a measure in support of women’s rights. The ruling Socialist Party opposed the ban.

“It is very difficult to understand how it is that our troops are defending liberty in Afghanistan and the government doesn’t have the courage to do so here, in Spain,” said opposition spokeswoman Soraya Saenz de Santamaria in Parliament.

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“This has been used politically in a search for electoral support,” said Mansur Escudero, president of the Islamic Commission of Spain. He said he last saw a woman wearing a burqa in Spain 10 years ago in the southern city of Marbella, where Saudi Arabia’s royal family and other wealthy Arab clans own large homes and estates.

Escudero said the woman could have been a tourist. The only woman he knew who regularly wore a burqa had lived in the southern city of Cordoba and died about a decade ago.

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Netherlands: Gov’t finances ‘Ground Zero mosque’ organizations

Dutch blog Dagelijkse Standaard reports that the Dutch Foreign Office is financing a project which is sponsored by the Cordoba Initiative and the American Society for Muslim Advancement. The two organizations are involved in the ‘Ground Zero mosque’ project.

The Dutch government allocated the Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE) project 1,000,000 euro.

I don’t know how MMW does it, but contributor Diana just posted a very timely article entitled ‘Coverage of “Fashionable” Muslim Women Cramps Our Style’ which you can read here.

Diana discusses the recent media of coverage of hijab bloggers and designers, including Hijab Style. This was my comment in reply to her post:

“Thanks for writing this. As a hijab blogger and one of those mentioned in the BBC article you linked to and many others; dealing with the media can be a bit frustrating. Somehow our words are always distorted (and sometimes simply even made up) to fit the sensationalist agenda of the article. But I guess that happens with most things Muslim-woman related anyway.

P.s. I really cannot stand the word ‘hijabistas’…who calls themselves that anyway?”

I’d love to hear from you too; what do you think about the way the media discusses Muslim women’s clothing?

Macedonia: Wahabists taking over mosques

Via EU Observer:

Western diplomats and religious experts have voiced concerns about the spread of radical Islam among Muslim communities in the Balkans, after it transpired that alleged Wahabist radicals are operating and increasing their influence in Macedonia.

The foreign-inspired religious group is active in the area around Skopje, Macedonia’s capital. It has tried to perform a putsch in the Islamic religious community (IRC) after an incident in the Isa-Bey Mosque in Skopje last week.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

The Isa-Bey Mosque has turned into a stronghold of radical Islam, Ibrahim Shabani, Skopje’s highest Islamic clergyman, recently warned. His accusations followed a fight during which Shabani was physically assaulted and expelled from the mosque while trying to hold prayer.

Ramadan Ramadani, the Imam of the Isa-Bey Mosque, rejected the claims that his mosque is the flagship of Wahabism – a branch of Sunni Islam which is the official religion in Saudi Arabia.

The head of the IRC, the Reis-ul-ulema Sulejman Rexhepim Rexhepi, had so far denied Macedonian mosques had been taken over by radical elements. But he has confirmed that information now.

“Wahabists control four mosques in Skopje. The Internal Affairs Ministry gives us only verbal support but rests passive,” he told the Albanian service of Radio Free Europe. He admitted the IRC had been trying to hide the Wahabi presence until now, hoping the radicals would withdraw and disappear again. “This didn’t happen and we are going to name them for what they are,” he said.

For his part, Mr Shabani also urged justice to deal with what he says is a radical Islamist group. “Last week’s coup was prepared by Islamic radicals operating in Skopje. This criminal Wahabist gang is known for its radical actions and harassment of Muslim believers. We will ask the competent authorities to stop these radical groups and bring them to justice. This was proof that Wahabist structures act against the Constitution of the Islamic Community, the rules of procedure and hierarchy,” he said.

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Source: EU Observer

Leeds: ‘There are still feelings there that triggered the bombings’

Via This is London:

A leader of the Muslim community in Leeds today said that the anger that fuelled the four bombers is still felt among some young men in the area.

Akhlaq Mir also called on the Government to “face up” to its responsibilities and help them fight terrorism.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

Mr Mir said: “There are still feelings there that triggered the bombings. As far as the Muslim youth are concerned, our soldiers are out in Afghanistan killing people every day and they are angry and they are frustrated.”

Mr Mir, chairman of an education centre in the Chapeltown area of the city, added: “We try to educate them, we tell them what Islam says.

“But the fear is always there that some of them will follow a path that they shouldn’t.

“The Government needs to do more, to provide projects like ours with funding and also give some of these young people a voice, so they can vent their anger and feel like they are being listened to without resorting to violence.”

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Fahad Khan, 23, who works with Muslim teenagers in Beeston, said: “The bombers hijacked the Islamic faith in a negative way. We don’t want July 7 to be a legacy of Beeston or Leeds and so we are working hard to change that. Everyone wants to move on.”

A friend of the families of Tanweer, Hussain and Khan, said today was the day for the 52 innocent people killed but said the families “can’t understand how their sons could have done this and they will never get the answers to their questions”.

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Source: This is London

Netherlands: Muslim orgs to boycott Israeli dates

A large number of Muslim organizations, including the Council of Dutch Moroccan Mosques (RMMN), the Islamic Foundation of the Netherlands (ISN) and Milli Görüs are urging Dutch Muslims not to buy Israeli dates during Ramadan.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

The protest campaign will be launched Friday after the Friday prayers at the Ulu mosque in the Utrecht neighborhood of Lombok, the organizations announced on Tuesday. The boycott is a response to the Israeli attack on the aid convoy for the Palestinians in late May. Nine activists were killed in the raid and several dozen were wounded, including two Dutch.

The launch is a month before the beginning of the Ramadan. During the month of fasting, Muslims eat a date with milk after the daily fast, in the tradition of the prophet Mohammed.

Source: Telegraaf (Dutch)

Italy: Debate over Muslim symbols on horse race banner

The Palio, the famous breakneck, bareback horse race around Siena’s main piazza, has been clouded by a debate over this year’s official banner which features Islamic, Jewish and Christian symbols.

The banner was painted by Lebanese-born artist Ali Hassoun and is to be awarded to the winner of Friday’s big race.

The painting features St. George wearing what appears to be a black and white checkered keffiyah. Above him is a picture of the Madonna, featuring a crescent moon — one of the most prominent symbols of Islam — the Jewish Star of David and a cross on her crown, surrounded by Arabic writing.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

[ed: If I'm not mistaken, the Arabic writing says "Sura Maryam"]

The city of Siena has called the painting “beautiful.” But right-wing groups and at least one conservative newspaper have called it blasphemous.

Il Palio

On Thursday, Siena’s Roman Catholic diocese said the Islamic and Jewish symbols on the Madonna’s crown were “problematic” but said it hoped the debate that has ensued would recall the Christian traditions of the Palio.

Hassoun said his painting was an expression in favour of dialogue and finding common ground among cultures, according to the CnrMedia news agency. “I note that the cross is higher up than the other symbols, because this is the tradition of the country where we live,” he said.

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Source: Canadian Press

Catalonia: Parliament rejects burka ban

Catalonia’s parliament rejected Thursday a move to ban the wearing of the Islamic burqa in public places across the Spanish region after reversing an initial vote.

A resolution moved by conservatives and centre-right nationalists was passed, but opponents said there had been a technical error and some absentees at the moment of the vote.

After the session was suspended, the parliamentary speaker ordered the vote to be put again, prompting a walk-out by the motion’s supporters and a victory for its left-wing opponents.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

The motion would have called on the government of the northeastern region to ban the Islamic women’s garment which conceals all but the eyes, in the street as well as in public buildings.

Right-wing deputy Rafael Lopez said it was a question of values, of voicing opposition to clothing which he said kept women in a “degrading prison.”

Left-wingers said they did not approve the wearing of the burqa but called the motion politically-motivated with regional elections coming up this year.

Nine municipalities in Catalonia, including Barcelona, have banned the use of face-covering Islamic veils in public or are considering doing so.

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Source: AFP

Bosnia: Officer killed in attack on police station

A police officer was killed and another seriously injured on Sunday when a bomb exploded behind the police station in the central Bosnian town of Bugojno, reported Radio Sarajevo.

Police arrested Haris Causevic, a member of a radical Islamic Wahhabi movement, who was caught fleeing the scene of the explosion. According to police sources, he admitted to detonating the bomb. While being pursued, Causevic reportedly threw a second bomb at a police patrol, which resulted in minor injuries to five additional police officers.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

Four accomplices to the attack were arrested soon after the attack, with a fifth person arrested later in the day. Police recovered a large bag containing explosives, along with masks and gloves, at the scene.

The attack on the police station was reportedly timed to coincide with a meeting of police officers responsible for security during the ‘Ajvatovica’ religious celebrations. Ajvatovica Days’ is the largest Islamic religious event in Europe, and located near Prusac in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Wahhabism is an extremist Islamic sect, with roots in Saudi Arabia, which regards itself as the only true Islamic movement.

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Source: Xinhua (English)

Malta: Muslims and Catholics unite against ‘negative’ media and same-sex marriage

Archbishop Paul Cremona this morning called for the State to help couples prepare for marriage due to an increase in couples deciding against faith marriages.

Speaking at the opening session of a seminar intended to discuss the role of the family from a Muslim and Christian perspective, organised by the World Islamic Call Society, he also said that the media needed to be used to promote messages in favour of marriage stability.

This article was prepared by the Islam in Europe blog – islamineurope.blogspot.com

He said moral support should be offered to people who are trying to overcome difficult moments in their marriage, not only those who want to separate.

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Meanwhile, Ammar Hreba, head of the Islamic Centres and Propagation Bureau, said that even according to the Muslim tradition, marriages were based on the male and the female.

“If we let the family collapse, thanks to the negative directions of the media, this will lead to catastrophes and destruction. Same-sex marriages, for instance, destroy the entity of how family began with Adam and Eve.”

He said negativity in the media leads to violence, but the Divine Call enables human beings to maintain the human race.

He called for the cooperation of the Church in Malta so that in a spirit of dialogue they could safeguard the family, by cooperating also with the government.

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Source: Times of Malta