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 )

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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.

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

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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

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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.

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Switzerland: Swiss residents join jihad groups Via Swiss Info : Several Swiss residents last year travelled abroad to join jihadist terrorist groups, the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) said on Tuesday, noting that an increase in jihad-motivated travel had been observed generally across Europe. Releasing its annual report on Switzerland’s security situation, FIS said it was aware of several former Swiss residents who are currently in “a jihad area like Somalia or Afghanistan/Pakistan in order to take part in hostilities”. However, the report said that while an increase in jihad-motivated travel movements had been observed across Europe – including in Switzerland – last year, the number of cases remained small, making it difficult to determine if there had been an increase in travel specifically from Switzerland.

Malmo: Man charged with shooting immigrants Via the BBC : A Swedish man accused of shooting immigrants in the city of Malmo has been charged with three accounts of murder and 12 accounts of attempted murder. Peter Mangs, 40, was arrested following a tip-off from a member of the public and months of investigation. Chief prosecutor Solveig Wollstad says the motive for the attacks is not clear but most of the victims had a foreign background.

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Germany: Foreign Minister calls for international campaign against Internet terrorism Via AFP : Germany’s foreign minister on Friday called for international efforts to eradicate “virtual hiding places” for terrorists who use the internet to plan attacks. Speaking at a UN Security Council debate on terrorism, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said: “The Internet is increasingly abused by terrorist groups for incitement and recruitment.” He highlighted a case in Germany where an extremist group had used the internet “unnoticed for many years” to “plan vicious attacks and recruit supporters.”

Austria: Kurz tackles immigration at school level Via the Austrian Times : Integration Secretary Sebastian Kurz, 26, was at the ministry of interior affairs this week discussing with educationalists whether schools were failing in their mission of integration. (…) Going further, he stated how: ‘In the capital, the percentage of people of migrant stock rises to 39%. Vienna like many other European capitals has 150 languages spoken in its schools

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Belgium: Homophobic murder might be xenophobic hate crime as well Update to this story: Belgium: Moroccan killed in first homophobic murder VRT news reports as follows : The four suspects have all been apprehended. Just like the victim, all four are of foreign descent. Three have a Belgian passport, one a Turkish passport

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