Category Archives: Freedom of Expression

Extremist to speak at University of East London

By Houriya | Published: June 17, 2009

UEL Islamic Society Annual Dinner advert
UEL Islamic Society Annual Dinner advert

East London Islamic Societies are at it again. University of East London Islamic Society (UEL ISoc) is hosting its annual dinner event today on UEL premises hosting ‘Sheikh’ Abu Usama Adh Dhahabee.

Abu Usama, an African American convert, advocates holy war (jihad) in an Islamic state; preaches hatred against non-Muslims; that apostasy and homosexuality is punishable by death; and women are inferior to men. He also spoke at two Queen Mary Islamic Society events in March and November 2008.

You may remember Dhahabee from Channel Four Dispatches’ documentary Undercover Mosque (2007) [See here for transcript]. His statements include:

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Also posted in Islamism, UK Politics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

The twitter interview in Tehran

By Shikwa | Published: June 15, 2009

News reports from Iran get worse. They are shooting protesters now.

Wilfried Schobeiri, an Iranian-American, has interviewed his uncle in Tehran about the situation there.

Here’s a snippet:

“Tell me whats going on with the election.”

Basically, the Iranian people want the following:

1. Take steps towards democracy

2. Have good and free relations with entire world (incl US)

3. Seek peace, as we are people who want peace with neighboring countries

4. seek progress, for a better situation and position in the world

5. These are all aims which Mousavi, Rezaee, and Karroubi desire.

We are told by Mousavi, Rezaee, and Karroubi that they are going to govern peacefully, strive for good relationships with other countries, and bring peace to the country. They support progress, and want good relations with other nations, even Israel and the US. They’d also like to stop giving economic support to palestinian terrorists [my emphasis].

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Also posted in Democracy, Human Rights, International Affairs, Politics | Leave a comment

Twitters from Iran

By Shikwa | Published: June 15, 2009

The news coming out from Iran after this weekend’s heavily disputed election is being massively censored. The BBC is just one agency who’s satellites are being jammed by Tehran, prompting the World Service editor Peter Horrocks to conclude:

[This] seems to be part of a pattern of behaviour by the Iranian authorities to limit the reporting of the aftermath of the disputed election. In Tehran, John Simpson and his cameraman were briefly arrested after they had filmed the material for this piece. And at least one news agency in Tehran has come under pressure not to distribute internationally any pictures it might have of demonstrations on the streets in Iran.

The people of Iran are resisting attempts to rob them of their election. Here is a list of twitter feeds coming directly out of Iran – a tweet on history, if you will. Follow them, encourage them. Reproduce this list on your own blog. (List courtesy of H3X).

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Also posted in Democracy, Human Rights, International Affairs, Politics | 1 Comment

Head to Head on Banning Extremists

By Retired | Published: June 11, 2009

David T of Harry’s Place and I went head to head yesterday on the question of whether it is right to ban extremist speakers from the country and, if it is not, what can be done to challenge extremist speakers such as those attending the iERA tour covered here over the last few days. (See here, here and here)

It is a massively important topic which rarely comes up for debate. So, what do you think?

Also posted in Anti Fascism | Tagged | 1 Comment

Bilal Philips on Tour

By Retired | Published: June 8, 2009

Habibi blogged yesterday about a “Dawah” tour being planned by iERA, the Islamic Education and Research Academy. They’re a new group launching themselves onto the scene with a series of events in Manchester, London, Leeds, Luton, Bristol and Brighton. In particular, Habibi examined the deeply unpleasant Hussein Ye, one of their speakers and a man who claimed “a group of Jews was so happy in America, they were having a party when the twin towers had been burned. They had a celebration, they had a party going on.”

iERA may be a new group, but one name associated with them will be very familiar. Bilal Philips, the man caught by Dispatches justifying marriage to 9 year-old girls in the modern world because Muhammad did so over a thousand years ago – a clear case of anthopological illiteracy -, is not just one of their advertised speakers, he is one of iERA’s advisors.

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Also posted in Homophobia, Islamism, Sharia, Terrorism | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Malaysian Islamists Against Women

By Retired | Published: June 7, 2009

Malaysian opposition party, the PAS (Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party), has requested that the National Fatwa Council declare the Islamic women’s rights group Sisters In Islam (SIS) haram “if its activities activities is (sic) found to be contrary to the Islamic teachings and principles”; a clear call for them to be banned.

The call was made in a motion that was tabled by Shah Alam division at the party’s 55th general assembly here yesterday.

The motion which was adopted without debate also called on the fatwa council to investigate in full the activities of carried out by the organisation.

The division in its motion said the SIS’ activities were dangerous as they could cause confusion among the Muslims.

“We are aware that their approach can easily be accepted by the Muslims and this is dangerous as it can twist their aqidah, especially the young and those who went through the secular education,” it said.

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Also posted in Human Rights, International Affairs, Islamism, Secularism | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Europe’s faith hinges on its secularism

By Houriya | Published: June 6, 2009

The question: Is Europe’s future Christian?

[My piece was originally posted in Guardian's Comment is Free: Belief]

The influx of people from a variety of cultures to Europe has seen Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and others practicing their faith as they see fit. Coupled with these relatively new religious practices there is an increasing sense of a lack of faith amongst Christians.

Before the 17th century, Christian religious wars tore Europe apart. Partly, this bitter history has meant that Europe’s post-Westphalian political order has been based on secular and liberal visions for the organisation of society, intended to eradicate the prospect of religious conflicts. Disagreements between peoples of different faiths and belief systems are no longer defined and debated in theological terms, but on the democratic plane.

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Also posted in Identity Politics, Secularism | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Won’t somebody please think of the children

By Retired | Published: June 5, 2009

Here we go again. The Times reports that there are “fears of Muslim anger” because an academic book critical of Muhammad’s marriage to A’isha, his third wife who was six or seven years old at the time of the marriage (according to traditional reports, although consummation did not occur until she was nine) is to be published soon.

This matter, questioning the sexual behaviour of a man held to be a prophet by 1.2 billion people, is unsurprisingly fraught: it is only a few weeks since the conviction of three men for attempting to diesel bomb the UK publisher of ‘Jewel of Medina’.

But it is not just historical novelists and academics who discuss Muhammad’s marriage to A’isha, some people who are not very keen on Islam also tend to focus on it. Here are a couple of examples taken from the comments threads at Harry’s Place.

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Also posted in Anti Muslim bigotry, Books | Tagged , , | 76 Comments

Diesel bombers convicted

By Faisal | Published: May 17, 2009
Beheshti, Mirza, Taj

Beheshti, Mirza, Taj

Three men, Ali Beheshti (41), Abrar Mirza (23) and Abbas Taj (31) who conspired to firebomb the residence of publisher Martin Rynja in September 2008, have been found guilty of recklessly damaging property and endangering life.

Rynja had been planning to publish a novel by US author Shelley Jones called the Jewel of Medina.

Fortunately all three men, who possessed the collective IQ of a cabbage, had been under police surveillance. Officers followed them on the night of the attack and arrested Beheshti, a former member of al-Mouhajiroun and Mirza at the scene. The fire was quickly put out. Taj was the driver of the getaway car.

The men were under surveillance by police who had warned Martin Rynja, 43, and his partner, to move out of their four-storey townhouse, which had an office in the basement.

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Also posted in Books, Crime | 8 Comments

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