Author Archives: Yossarian

A year in jail and 100 lashes – for being raped

By Yossarian | Published: October 4, 2009

The Saudi Gazette reports:

JEDDAH – A 23-year-old unmarried woman was awarded one-year prison term and 100 lashes for committing adultery and trying to abort the resultant fetus.

The District Court in Jeddah pronounced the verdict on Saturday after the girl confessed that she had a forced sexual intercourse with a man who had offered her a ride. The man, the girl confessed, took her to a rest house, east of Jeddah, where he and four of friends assaulted her all night long.

The girl claimed that she became pregnant soon after and went to King Fahd Hospital for Armed Forces in an attempt to carry out an abortion. She was eight weeks’ pregnant then, the hospital confirmed.

According to the ruling, the woman will be sent to a jail outside Jeddah to spend her time and will be lashed after delivery of her baby who will take the mother’s last name.

Continue reading >>
Posted in International Affairs | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Fox Presenter Rants/Bear is Catholic in Woods

By Yossarian | Published: October 4, 2009

Posted in International Affairs, Secularism | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

No such thing as Islamism?

By Yossarian | Published: October 3, 2009

We are often told (by Islamists here in Britain) that there is no such thing as Islamism. It is just “politically active sincere Muslims”. Right, tell that to your Islamist buddies overseas.

The Moroccan security services also say Belliraj was the author of six assassinations in Belgium between 1986 and 1989, cases which the Belgian police failed to solve.

“I lived in Belgium for more than 40 years and no policeman came knocking at my door to accuse me of trafficking weapons or killing anyone,” Belliraj said during the trial. “I am an Islamist, but I have no plan to overthrow the regime.”

And:

Sarsur told journalists at a press conference recently that, “From an ideological perspective, we believe that government on earth, at least on Muslim and Arab lands, needs to be an Islamist government led by a Khalif (heir of Muhammad).”

Continue reading >>
Posted in Islamism | 39 Comments

Charles Farr on Countering Extremism

By Yossarian | Published: October 3, 2009

The Guardian yesterday reported on Charles Farr (director-general of the Office of Security and Counter-Terrorism) and a briefing he gave on 26th February this year to MPs on the topic of the government’s counter-terrorism strategy. It appears to have been online for a while but only recently to have been picked up on by the media.

The transcript of his briefing (at least a redacted and approved version thereof) is available online and it’s well worth a read. Here are some highlights (with emphasis added by me):

On RICU (the Research, Information and Communications Unit):

Continue reading >>
Posted in PVE, Terrorism | Tagged | 2 Comments

Anti-Muslim Bigotry in Manchester

By Yossarian | Published: October 3, 2009

Anti-Muslim bigotry is a serious problem in this country and it seems only to be getting worse. The BBC reports:

Muslim graves smashed by vandals

Up to 20 Muslim graves have been targeted and vandalised at a cemetery in south Manchester.

The vandals struck at the Southern Cemetery on Barlow Moor Road overnight on Thursday.

Staff found the Muslim section of the cemetery littered with broken headstones on Friday morning.

Det Con Rob Southern said: “Sadly, we are treating this as a hate crime. This sort of mindless, racist behaviour must be utterly condemned.”

Police appealed to anyone who has information to come forward.

‘Atrocious acts’

Det Con Southern added: “This is the worst sort of vandalism imaginable.

“The graves of your loved ones should be a place where they can rest peacefully and that is absolutely sacrosanct.

Continue reading >>
Posted in Anti Muslim bigotry | 1 Comment

ippr’s idea of “engaging with political Islamists” – CAPITULATE!

By Yossarian | Published: September 22, 2009

ippr have today published a report (pdf) marking the culmination of their two-year research project “on political Islam in the Middle East and North Africa”. It is not impressive.

There are two main problems with this report and, unfortunately for ippr, they are the two main assumptions underpinning it. Firstly, that engagement is always good and must occur with Islamists rather than anybody else (p16 and pp41-42). Secondly, that those poor little political Islamists are simply “misunderstood” and if only we understood them better (like wot ippr do) then everything would be AOK (p41 and p45).

Sorry, but engagement for the sake of engagement is not an argument. The onus is on ippr to argue why political Islamists should be engaged and particularly why they should be engaged ahead of anybody else. Secondly, it is not other people “misunderstanding” Islamism that makes them wary of engagement with Islamists – quite the opposite. A mere faint familiarity with the principal Islamist ideologues is enough to make you very wary of engaging them and their followers.

Continue reading >>
Posted in Islamism, PVE | Tagged | 33 Comments

Sexual assault prevention tips

By Yossarian | Published: September 22, 2009

Via the f word, some sage advice.

Please distribute this list. Put it up in your place of work, in your university’s library or wherever you think they might be read:

1. Don’t put drugs in people’s drinks in order to control their behavior.

2. When you see someone walking by themselves, leave them alone!

3. If you pull over to help someone with car problems, remember not to assault them!

4. NEVER open an unlocked door or window uninvited.

5. If you are in an elevator and someone else gets in, DON’T ASSAULT THEM!

6. Remember, people go to laundry to do their laundry, do not attempt to molest someone who is alone in a laundry room.

7. USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! If you are not able to stop yourself from assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you while you are in public.

Continue reading >>
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

An important video

By Yossarian | Published: September 21, 2009

As highlighted by Faisal a while back.

So I have to leave my country to have a free debate, what does that say about my country?

Posted in Freedom of Expression | Tagged , | 2 Comments

To ban or not to ban

By Yossarian | Published: September 19, 2009

One of the current government’s flagship tactics for “preventing violent extremism” is the sledgehammer-nut method of banning speakers deemed detrimental to the public good. From Dutch parliamentarians and American radio presenters to Israeli politicians and jihadist clerics, Her Majesty’s Government has wielded the visa-denying axe on a wide range of occasions.

This is a topic which I know other contributors to the Spittoon will not agree with me on, but I have written this brief piece in the hope that it will kick off a debate on this very important issue.

The argument goes that it is a privilege, not a right, for non-British people to come to the UK and therefore there is no hypocrisy in denying that privilege to certain (non-British) people for views they have expressed. This is without a trial and whilst boasting of Britain’s commitment to freedom of speech. Indeed, some fans of banning would say, what meaning does being British have if we give equal rights to non-Brits?

Continue reading >>
Posted in Freedom of Expression | 42 Comments

Anti-Muslim Bigotry, Plain and Nasty

By Yossarian | Published: September 11, 2009

This summer has been a bad one for people proud of Britain’s multiethnic, multifaith identity. Especially if you have any attachment to Birmingham where the actions of some anti-fascists have proved a propaganda boon for the far right anti-Muslim bigots of the English Defence League, BNP and Stop Islamisation Of Europe (SIOE).

Today there is a major risk of serious disturbances in Harrow and all, these organisations say, because they hate “Islamist extremism”.

A common criticism made of people who oppose Islamist extremism is that they blur the lines between Islam and Islamism so as to attack all Muslims. The Spittoon has often been accused of this, an accusation which we entirely reject. But the EDL and its anti-Muslim fellow travellers of the BNP and SIOE do not just blur the line, they ignore that such a line exists and trample it into the dust.

Continue reading >>
Posted in Anti Fascism, Anti Muslim bigotry, UK Politics | Tagged , | 24 Comments

  • Categories

  • Archives