EU: ‘Being too Western’ reason for 71% of ‘honour’ killings Via the Irish Independent : Yes, it’s a cultural rather than a religious thing, stemming from some nasty tribal customs of South Asia and the Middle East, but though Hindus, Sikhs and the odd Christian might be perpetrators, the blunt truth is that honour killings are mainly Muslim-on-Muslim (91 per cent worldwide, 84 per cent North America, 96 per cent Europe).
France: Fearing attacks, Jewish students masquerade as Muslims Via the Jerusalem Post : 2 generations ago, some Jews sought to protect themselves by masquerading as Aryans.
Belgium: Self-immolation in apparent attempt to escape forced marriage Via Het Nieuwsblad (Dutch), RTL (French): A 16 year old North African girl set herself on fire in the La Louvière hospital Thursday. The girl had felt unwell at the end of the school day and had come to the hospital with her parents. Shortly before the hospital released her she slipped away
Duisberg: Muslim fight for Catholic churches Pastor Michael Kemper (r) and mosque association chairman Mohammed Al Via Catholic Church Conservation (translated from Der Westen ) In the north of Duisburg, the Catholic Diocese wants to close five or six of their churches – including, possibly, St. Peter and Paul in Marxloh. As a result, there is interest from the association of the neighbouring Merkez Mosque: “Regardless of whether its a church or mosque – it’s about a house of God,” said the association chairman Mohammed Al.
France/Belgium: Veil arrests In Belgium three people were detained when they tried to stop police from checking a woman wearing a niqab (Via VRT ): Police detained a woman in the Brussels borough of Schaarbeek on Tuesday because she was wearing a niqab. The garment is a full veil sometimes worn by Muslim women that only leaves the eyes uncovered.
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.
North Rhine-Westphalia: Islamic studies gain foothold in state schools Via the Local : German Education officials are making moves to establish Islamic studies as a regular subject in North Rhine-Westphalia’s public schools, in line with other religious courses about Catholic or Protestant Christianity.
France: Qatar creates 50 mn euro fund for suburb start-ups ( French Arab officials in Qatar ) Via AFP : Qatar has set up a 50-million-euro ($67-million) fund for entrepreneurs from France’s often-deprived suburbs to set up businesses, the Gulf nation’s ambassador to Paris said Friday. “Qatar is not just words. We must act.
Germany: ‘The Government Must Make It Easier to Work in Germany’ Via Spiegel : Experts are warning that Germany faces a shortage of skilled labor that could become an increasingly serious threat to its economy in years to come.
EU: Tunisian Islamist party wins 50% of European vote Najoua Bennaceur, a French-Tunisian who ran for the North-France district Via AP and gulfnews : According to preliminary results announced by the Tunisian Independent Higher Commission for the Elections (ISIE), Islamist party Ennahdha won 8 of the 16 seats on the constituent assembly allocated for Tunisian expatriates in Europe and the Americas. The breakdown is as follows: Italy: 2 of 3 (66%) France: 4 of 10 (40%) Germany: 1 of 1 (100%) Americas and Europe: 1 of 2 (50%) This is the first time in which Tunisian expatriates get to vote for their own representatives.
