EU: Syrian embassies attacked by protestors

The Syrian embassy in London was attacked Saturday by a small group of angry protestors. Similar scenes played out in the past couple of days in Athens and Berlin.

London: Fifteen arrested after EDL supporters clash with locals

Via the Guardian:

Police have arrested 15 people after violence between far-right activists and local youths outside a mosque in east London.

Witnesses said the clash near the East London Mosque in Whitechapel erupted after supporters of the English Defence League chanted anti-Muslim slogans. Scotland Yard said one man was injured and taken to hospital with “non life-threatening injuries”.

“The incident involved several hundred people,” a police spokesman said. “Bottles and other items were thrown.”

(source)

UK: ‘Muslims are not betraying Islam in embracing liberal democracy’

Via the Guardian (by Turkish journalist Mustafa Akyol):

It is far better to propose Islam than impose it, for if there is no liberty there can be no genuine religiosity

Last week, during a book tour in London, I spoke to a large group of British Muslims on Islam and liberty. A few of the questions that I received from the audience indicated why discussion on this topic is much needed. “If the state gives the people the freedom to do what they want, then they will follow their temptations,” said one Pakistani gentleman. “That’s why the Saudi religious police, which you oppose, is a very good system.”

In return, I asked him why he relies on state policing, and not individual responsibility, to uphold the morals of Islam. “Isn’t is better to propose Islam rather than impose it,” I added, “since state dictates can lead not to sincere piety but hypocrisy?”

(…)

In my new book on Islam and liberty, I draw upon such oft-forgotten historical and theological sources to argue that Muslims need not need to betray their faith in order to embrace liberal democracy. By accepting other people’s “freedom to sin”, and “freedom from Islam”, I even argue, they will be laying the right ground in which their own faith can flourish. For, as I said to that Pakistani gentleman in London, if there is no liberty, there is no genuine religiosity as well.

(source)

UK: 47% increase in ‘honour’ crimes

Via AFP:

More than 2,800 so-called honour attacks — punishments for bringing shame on the family — were recorded by Britain’s police last year, according to figures released on Saturday.

At least 2,823 incidents of “honour-based” violence took place, with the highest number recorded in London, the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO) found.

The figures were compiled from 39 out of the 52 British police forces. The others were unwilling or unable to provide data. Eight areas recorded at least 100 incidents, the figures showed.

The attacks included murder, mutilation, beatings, abduction and acid attacks.

Compared with 2009 figures released by 12 police forces, there was a 47 percent rise in incidents.

(source)

London: Schools to tackle genital mutilation

Via Deutsche Welle:

It is estimated that some 20,000 girls in the UK could be subjected to FGM. Each year, 6,500 girls in central London alone could face FGM, making it the city with the highest number of girls at risk in Europe.

Now London hopes to curb the practice by raising awareness through the integration of FGM education in secondary school curriculum. The London Metropolitan Police have teamed up with the agency Kids Taskforce and the local Lilian Baylis School to create a video featuring young girls learning about FGM’s consequences through interviewing various authorities. The video is part of an FGM resource pack for teachers and students, and can be downloaded by schools using a password.
“I think it’s absolutely vital that boys and girls know about this subject,” said Detective Sergeant Vicky Washington from the London Metropolitan Police. “It may not be that they are at risk, but they could be exposed to someone who is. It’s also about educating young people that this is happening and that it’s child abuse and violence against women and has horrific debilitating effects, both short and long-term.”

(source)

UK: Muslim medical students boycotting lectures on evolution

Via the Daily Mail:

Muslim students, including trainee doctors on one of Britain’s leading medical courses, are walking out of lectures on evolution claiming it conflicts with creationist ideas established in the Koran.

Professors at University College London have expressed concern over the increasing number of biology students boycotting lectures on Darwinist theory, which form an important part of the syllabus, citing their religion.

(source)

Moscow: 40% want to forcibly expel foreigners

Via Russia Beyond the Headlines:

Sociologist Lev Gudkov, director of the Levada Center polling agency, believes that as many as 60 percent of Russians support the nationalist slogan, “Russia for the Russians,” while about 50 percent of Moscow residents support limiting the flow of migrants from the Caucasus and Central Asia to the city. “The problem is not even the spread of xenophobic sentiment from the lower classes to the general public, but the fact that social resistance to xenophobia is weakening,” Gudkov said.

(…)

“Europe has institutions and public movements that officially oppose this; there is heated public debate, which to a large extent alleviates the aggressive nature of nationalism. Russia has none of that,” said Lev Gudkov.

Furthermore, European nationalism is aimed at restricting the inflow of immigrants. “In London, Lisbon, and Paris no one is saying that new migrants should be expelled,” Gudkov added, whereas according to Levada Center data, up to 40 percent of Muscovites are in favor of the forced expulsion of foreigners from the city.

(source)

Denmark: Students visit London to learn about Islam

Via Favrskov Posten 1, 2 (Danish, h/t Snaphanen):

28 students from the 8th and 9th grades of the Regnbueskolen high-school in the Aarhus suburb of Hammel visited the London Central Mosque as part of their London trip.

“It was a great experience! It was experiencing the religion from within, gave us insight into Islam in a totally different way than we had imagined. We think everybody should try it, especially those who are repulsed by other religions, since it was an experience we’ll never forget. To visit the mosque made us understand that people can easily live side by side while respecting each other, but without the same faith and beliefs,” write two of the students, Kristine Frandsen and Alma Fjeldsted.

The visit was organized in advance, and an imam awaited at the mosque’s entrance when the school arrived. Half the students were girls, and they wore headscarves out of respect for Islam. The students took their shoes off and were then brought into the prayer hall where they were impressed by the serenity. Here the imam, proud, calm, and with a sense of humor, enthusiastically told the students about Islam, and answered questions that poked at the belief, in a positive way.

The students then visited the mosque’s museum, where they were shown the similarities between Christianity and Islam. In the museum the imam offered the girls and female teachers to visit the ladies balcony. A friendly young Muslim woman then showed up to answer their questions on gender equality, Denmark’s headscarf debate, and the conditions, marriage and dress of Muslim women.

“Men aren’t better off then women, but we all have different roles in society. Women are responsible for teaching their children and making food, while men are responsible for honorably providing for their family. I wear a headscarf of my own free will, not because I’m forced to. I don’t have a right to decide who are real Muslims and who aren’t, but I think it’s disrespectful and see no reason to show off my body in tight pants and low-cut shirts.”