State-sponsored Islam: Germany's first cohort of locally trained imams can't find work

State-sponsored Islam: Germany's first cohort of locally trained imams can't find work

    Monday, October 02, 2023   No comments

To counter what it describes as "the large number of foreign-trained Islamic religious leaders", Germany creates its own training school for imams, essentially participating in state-sponsored religious training. 

Germany announced four years ago that it would create a state-backed training center for Islamic leaders to help reduce the number of imams coming in from abroad, mostly Turkey. 

According to German authorities, “Germany currently has between 2,000 to 2,500 Islamic religious leaders, who tend to come to Germany for four or five years.”

Together, with French ban on Islamic dress in public schools, this state-sponsored religious training creates even more confusion as to whether Europe wants the state to distance itself from religion in the name of secularism or the state defining what kind of religion is allowed and who should religious institutions. These problems u underscore Europe's struggle with extending rights and freedoms to persons and communities who are from their former colonies. 

Ignoring the way Muslims are being treated in Europe, Western governments often criticize other countries for their treatment of Muslims. For example, China came under pressure from Western governments accusing the former of violating Chinese Muslims’ rights for forcing them to go through “re-education” programs. Apparently, it is not acceptable for China to “re-educate” Muslims, but it is acceptable for European governments to ban Muslims from public schools unless they dress like Europeans and create state-sponsored Imam training programs.

The instrumentalization of human rights by governments does not diminish the forced assimilations Muslims face.

 

Rights matters: Muslims right to education is superseded by France's commitment to secularism

Rights matters: Muslims right to education is superseded by France's commitment to secularism

    Tuesday, September 05, 2023   No comments

As the new academic year starts, Muslims’ right to education in Europe is denied in order to uphold and enforce secularism. This seems to be the logical conclusion of the events taking place in France this week: Muslim men and women who are wearing traditional clothes are denied entry to schools unless they take off such clothes and wear French style clothes; many refused to do so.

Agence French Presse reports the latest display of European religious tolerance in France with the banning of 67 girls from attending school for wearing the abaya on the first day of the school year. 

300 girls defied a ban on the wearing of the religious garment in protest to the recent ruling by the French government that the long robe worn by some Muslims breached rules on secularism in schools. 

French President Macron had earlier sought to link the wearing of religious dress with the murder of school teacher, Samuel Paty three years ago, saying "we cannot act as if the terrorist attack, the murder of Samuel Paty, had not happened". 

67 of the girls refused to change and were banned from attending classes, ensuring the safety of the Republic from modestly dressed observant school children.

  

Girls in a defiant scene wear abayas in schools despite the ban on the abaya in France..and the authorities send them back to their homes..and the French Council for the Islamic Religion considers banning the abaya an “arbitrary” decision

Late Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron defended this measure, stressing that it aims to defend secularism and the principles of the republic. He also mentioned the terrorist attacks that the country witnessed, especially the killing of Professor Samuel Paty, who was beheaded by a jihadist near his school.

In an interview with YouTuber Ugo Decrypt on his channel, Macron said, "We also live in our society with a minority, with people who change the direction of a religion and come to challenge the Republic and secularism." "Sometimes the worst happened," Macron added. We cannot act as if there had been no terrorist attack and there was no Samuel Paty."

On October 16, 2020, Professor of History and Geography Samuel Paty (47 years old) was stabbed to death in front of his school in the Parisian region, by the Chechen jihadist Abdullah Anzorov, who beheaded the teacher before the police shot him dead. This professor was killed days after he showed his students, during a class on freedom of expression, caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. The jihadist said in an audio recording that he had committed his act "in retaliation for the Prophet."

An association representing Muslims has applied to the Council of State, France's highest court for complaints against state authorities, to issue an injunction against the ban on the abaya and chemise, the equivalent dress for men.

The "Action for Muslim Rights" memorandum will be considered later Tuesday.

According to the law of March 15, 2004, which prohibits the wearing of signs or clothes that show religious affiliation, students in violation are allowed to enter the school, not the classroom, provided that a dialogue takes place between the family and the Ministry of Education. This includes Christian crosses, Jewish skullcaps and Islamic headscarves.

However, unlike the veil, the abaya was not clearly defined within this law.

For its part, the official body representing Islam in France considered on Tuesday that the recent ban on the cloak in schools in France is "arbitrary" and creates "high risks of discrimination" against Muslims.

In the name of the principle of secularism, the French government announced at the end of August the ban on wearing the abaya in schools because of its controversial religious nature. In France, it is forbidden to wear religious symbols in schools under a law passed in 2004.

The French Council for the Islamic Religion considered that the absence of "a clear definition of this dress creates, in fact, an ambiguous situation and judicial insecurity."

This body noted in particular that the abaya can sometimes be considered “Islamic” – and thus prohibited – and at other times “un-Islamic” and therefore permitted.

As a result, the council expressed its fear of “arbitrary control,” as the criteria for evaluating girls’ dress are based on “presumed origin, last name, or skin color.”

Therefore, the authority warns that it reserves the right to take legal action “if the concrete application of this prohibition leads to forms of discrimination.” She added that the cloak "was never a garment or a religious guide."

About 300 female students out of 12 million who started the school year wearing the abaya this week attended schools on Monday, and 67 of them were sent home because of their refusal to comply with the government decision, according to figures announced by the Ministry of National Education on Tuesday.

Banning the abaya in schools is controversial in France, where the left asserts that this measure hides more pressing problems in national education, such as a shortage of teachers.

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Media review: Islamic dress front and center in France again... He who wears a cape or a shirt will not enter his classroom on Mondays

Media review: Islamic dress front and center in France again... He who wears a cape or a shirt will not enter his classroom on Mondays

    Thursday, August 31, 2023   No comments

On Sunday, French Education Minister Gabriel Atal announced that he would ban the wearing of the "cloak" in French schools, indicating that wearing this Islamic dress is a violation of the strict secular laws applied in the field of education in the country.

"Wearing the abaya in school will no longer be possible," Atal said during an interview with French TV TF1. And he stressed his endeavor to set "clear rules at the national level" to be followed by school principals before the start of the new academic year in all parts of France, starting from September 4 next. 

Clearly, the universal values that Macron instructed his diplomats to promote exclude Muslims' rights to dress. 

Here are some of what the French media outlets have said about these issues and the topics they covered.

The French newspaper Le Figaro revealed that the Minister of Education, Gabriel Atal, confirmed today that students who wear the “abaya” for females and the “shirt” for males will not enter their classrooms with the start of the school season on Monday.

The newspaper pointed out that the minister made it clear - in an interview with Radio France International today - that these students will be allowed to enter only the schools that accept their reception and bear the responsibility of clarifying the goals of this government decision to them.

"Behind the cloak and the shirt, there are young girls and boys and families, people with whom we must dialogue through a clear pedagogical method," the minister said.

The French minister was keen to stress that French secularism is one of the main values for the French school, adding that his delay in announcing the details of the implementation of this decision is due to the fact that he entered into discussions and dialogues with directors of educational institutions who were waiting for a clear detail from the government on how to implement it.

The French newspaper stated that some schools include a number of students concerned with this decision, and therefore school officials were in need to clarify the government's position, to provide them with all guarantees for the implementation of the decision.

Le Figaro added that Minister Gabriel Atal confirmed that his ministry will send explanatory notes and a guide to all schools explaining how to implement the decision, along with messages that are supposed to be sent to families.

According to the French newspaper, the new decision to ban gowns and shirts is a continuation of the implementation of the March 15, 2004 law banning the wearing of clothes or symbols that show religious affiliation in French educational institutions.

Prominent French left-wing politician Jean-Luc Melenchon strongly criticized the decision, and called on officials to avoid provoking conflicts of a religious nature.

Le Figaro also quoted Manuel Bombard, coordinator of the France Fatherland Party - which is led by Melenchon - as saying that he would propose to the party's parliamentary group to reject this decision, which he described as dangerous and harsh, and to put it up for review before the Council of State with the aim of proving that it is a decision contrary to the constitution.

And in July of last year, Le Figaro published an investigation that revealed that despite the application of the 2004 law, there is a significant increase in the abayas worn by girls and shirts worn by males, so that they doubled in secondary schools, especially when Ramadan comes, so that some principals They expressed their dissatisfaction and began to wonder why such clothes were so popular.

An official French book defending French secularism had previously spoken of gowns and shirts, and said that the ban was not only related to “symbols or clothing that by nature show religious affiliation,” such as the veil, the Jewish skullcap, and the large cross, but rather related to all symbols or clothing that “do not indicate religious affiliation.” directly to religion, but wearing it is to clearly show religious affiliation.

And the French newspaper Le Point considered - two days ago - that the decision of the Minister of Education, Gabriel Atal, is not an easy decision from a legal point of view, and wondered on what legal basis this ban would be built and what risks could be taken in the event of an appeal before the administrative court.

The anthropologist of religions, Anne-Laure Zwilling, believed that the cloak is not associated with Muslim worship, but rather with "culture", while university professor Claire Geville denounced President Emmanuel Macron's vision regarding education, and saw that "the measure against the cloak may cause more conflict than it will solve a problem," and he said, " From my point of view, this issue, which comes to the fore and dominates everything else, is more a matter of a political agenda than a real educational issue.

For his part, Abdullah Zakry, Vice President of the French Islamic Council, expressed his surprise at the decision to ban the wearing of the abaya in French schools, and called on the French Ministry of Education to issue a statement explaining the reasons that prompted the decision to ban the abaya in schools, and denied that this dress is a religious symbol.

Abdullah Zakry said that the abaya is a form of "fashion" and not a religious garment, expressing his hope that the French Minister of Education had consulted religious authorities before making a decision to ban it.

A racist group hostile to Islam in Denmark burns the Holy Qur’an in front of the embassies of Islamic countries in Copenhagen and raises slogans against Muslims

A racist group hostile to Islam in Denmark burns the Holy Qur’an in front of the embassies of Islamic countries in Copenhagen and raises slogans against Muslims

    Tuesday, August 08, 2023   No comments

On Tuesday, the Danish capital, Copenhagen, witnessed new attacks against the Noble Qur’an.

The Anadolu Agency correspondent said that members of a group called “Danish Patriots” burned copies of the Qur’an in front of the embassies of Turkey, Algeria, Pakistan, Indonesia and Iran in Copenhagen.

He pointed out that the provocative actions took place under the protection of the Danish police, and that members of the racist and anti-Islam group chanted slogans against Muslims.

The members of the group also published the moments of the assault on the Noble Qur’an through live scenes from their pages on social networking sites.

Facebook had imposed restrictions on some of the group's videos.

Recently, in Sweden and Denmark, incidents of insulting the Qur’an by extreme rightists in front of the embassies of Islamic countries have been repeated, which sparked angry Arab and Islamic reactions, officially and popularly, in addition to official summons for the diplomats of the two countries in more than one Arab country.

On July 26, the United Nations adopted a consensus resolution, drafted by Morocco, condemning all acts of violence against the holy books as a violation of international law.

  

Supremacism in Europe: Third scandal hits Finland’s government in space of a month

Supremacism in Europe: Third scandal hits Finland’s government in space of a month

    Friday, July 28, 2023   No comments

The Garden of Prosperity has a problem: Is it racism or migration?

Last Thursday, July 27, the Finnish newspaper "Helsingen Sanomat" revealed the messages sent by Minister Wille Rydman (of the far-right "Finns Party") about 7 years ago (in 2016) when he was a member of parliament.

The newspaper said that it had obtained the messages in which he used "racist language against minorities" from his ex-girlfriend, "Amanda Blake", noting that she decided to reveal them due to the important ministerial position he holds.

At the time the letters were sent, Rydman was a member of the Constitutional Law Committee and the Administrative Committee, during which he helped pass anti-immigrant laws, according to the newspaper.

In one of his letters to his girlfriend, Redman likened the growth of a plant to the Somalis in the country, saying, "But as soon as you bring a lily-of-the-valley to this spot, you will find it everywhere, and it spreads and multiplies like the Somalis."

In another message, Rydman shared with his girlfriend a song written by his fellow parliamentarian, "Juho Irola", which inappropriately talks about a Muslim leaving his homeland. "Irola" had written it after many asylum seekers flocked to Finland in 2015, according to the deputy's statement to the newspaper.

Rydman suggested to his girlfriend that the song be used in student parties, and the minister commented in another message on previous news about the Belgian government allowing employers to ban the wearing of the veil, saying, "I prefer to prevent those who wear the veil over banning the veil alone."

The messages revealed Rydmans use of offensive terms such as "monkeys" or "desert monkeys", referring to Arabs or people of the Middle East.

In other messages, his girlfriend expressed her desire to give her child Jewish names, and he said in response to her, "We - the Nazis - do not like these Jewish names," and he also expressed his regret that Germany had left "its Nazi traces fading."

Media outlets quoted Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orbo as confirming that he did not support the language that Rydman used in his messages, but at the same time he confirmed his confidence in him and did not mention the existence of any measures against him.

It is noteworthy that Minister Rydman was appointed as a replacement for former Economy Minister Wilhelm Gonella, who resigned last June after only 10 days of taking office, due to his old pro-Nazi statements.

For his part, Minister Rydman stated in his response to the leaks that he was considering suing the newspaper "Helsingen Sanomat", and wrote on Twitter, "The writer of the story in the newspaper is already suspected of defamation against me, as well as his source mentioned in the story, and the police reported that the matter is under legal follow-up." .

"The real scandal is that the newspaper is a platform for those who lied to me, and the other scandal is that the letters exchanged years ago - whether true or not - were considered the subject of a story for a big newspaper," he added.

"The most difficult since World War II"... Sweden confirms the deterioration of security after insulting the Qur'an

The Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Christerson, announced that Sweden is facing "the most difficult security situation since World War II," after the activities of burning a copy of the Noble Qur'an.

Christerson said, after meeting with his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen, that his government discussed with the Danish government the situation over the insult to the Qur'an, adding, "We are currently facing the most difficult security situation since World War II."

The Swedish Prime Minister indicated that some countries "could take advantage of the deteriorating security situation in Sweden," stressing that the authorities of the two countries consider such a situation "dangerous" and will take the necessary measures.

On the first day of Eid al-Adha, a video clip spread showing the extremist Sloan Momica tearing up a copy of the Holy Qur’an at the Stockholm Central Mosque, after the Swedish police granted him permission to organize the protest following an official decision, and this was met with widespread condemnation from various countries and organizations.

Later, the Swedish police again agreed to organize a demonstration in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, in which the demonstrators, including the extremist Mumika, burned the Iraqi flag and a copy of the Noble Qur’an, which also sparked widespread condemnation.

In response, Baghdad severed its relations with Stockholm, and expelled the Swedish ambassador. A few days ago, the head of the Supreme Judicial Council in Iraq, Faiq Zaidan, confirmed the follow-up to Silwan Momica's recovery file.

The "Ansar Allah" movement also issued a decision to boycott Swedish goods by banning their import, and canceling the registered agencies for goods and products of Swedish origin.

In Denmark, a Danish far-right anti-Islam group burned a copy of the Holy Quran and the Iraqi flag, a few days ago, in front of the Iraqi embassy in Copenhagen.

The Danish government affirmed that "burning sacred texts and other religious symbols is a shameful act that does not respect the religion of others," stressing at the same time the need to respect what it called "freedom of expression and assembly," and supporting "the right to peaceful protest," as it said.

On the tenth anniversary of Muharram, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, affirmed that the governments of Sweden and Denmark and the whole world must understand that "we are a nation that does not tolerate aggression and abuse of its symbols and sanctities," calling on Muslims to punish those who abuse the Qur'an.

Likewise, the leader of the Ansar Allah movement, Sayyid Abd al-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, affirmed that "what the Jewish lobby in Western countries is doing, in terms of burning and tearing copies of the Qur'an, is the height of blasphemy and an assault on Islam and Muslims."

Mr. Al-Houthi called for severing diplomatic relations with countries that allow the burning of copies of the Noble Qur’an, in addition to boycotting them economically, stressing that “if the nation’s position does not live up to this possible ease, then it is a great failure towards the most important sanctity of Muslims.”

MP Geert Wilders: "The Netherlands is no longer the Netherlands"

MP Geert Wilders: "The Netherlands is no longer the Netherlands"

    Tuesday, May 23, 2023   No comments

Dutch Member of Parliament and far-right politician Geert Wilders ridiculed what he said was the increase in Muslims in the Netherlands, and added that watching them perform prayers in the streets of the Netherlands expresses the stripping of the Netherlands of its identity.

Zelenskiy uses Islam for war purposes

Zelenskiy uses Islam for war purposes

    Saturday, March 25, 2023   No comments

Zelenskiy uses “Ramadan” and uses the power of “prayer” to help him “cleanse Ukraine” of the evil of the “Russian atheist.” An attempt to evoke the literature of “jihad” and incitement with the weapon of religion.

The Russian-Ukrainian war takes on a religious character in addition to its political, economic, and social dimensions, and this is evident when the Ukrainian president tried to use the month of Ramadan to serve him and his regime, and to tarnish the image of his Russian opponent.

Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his Twitter account, a controversial tweet, taking advantage of the month of Ramadan, saying:

May the power of prayer in this holy month of Ramadan help us cleanse Ukraine of Russian godless evil, of those who truly believe in nothing, and that is why they are capable of such terror. Let the next Ramadan begin in peace and on the entire Ukrainian land free from Russia.

Zelensky is addressing the Ukrainian Muslim community, which is mainly represented by the Tatars residing in Crimea, which Russia has controlled since 2014, but according to commentators at the same time, he does not explain to the Muslims the reasons why his soldiers set out to burn the Qur’an, nor does he offer an apology or justification for them.

In his use of the description of the “Russian atheist,” Zelensky goes back to the inflammatory literature and descriptions that were used against the “atheist” Soviet Union in Afghanistan and the “jihad” against it, trying to incite Muslims against the current Russian regime, which no longer adopts atheism and communism as an approach, and embraces Muslims and their mosques. (Moscow's Grand Mosque was personally inaugurated by Putin), and he shares their religious events with them. Even the most prominent ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin is the "bearded Muslim" Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

Zelensky said in his tweet, which he published with a video clip: “A large part of Ukrainian society are Muslims, and we have the Crimean Tatars who are spending this blessed month in conditions of Russian persecution, and some of them are under other bombings on the fronts,” adding: “Let the month of Ramadan begin in peace and on peace... The entire Ukrainian land free of Russia.”

Activists and tweeters interacted with the Ukrainian president’s “religious” tweet, and some of them considered that the exploitation of religion in wars is no longer as effective as it was, while others found that the Kiev regime is far from caring and caring for Muslims, and a third said that the weapon of religion is imposed, regardless of the party we support.

Meanwhile, Kadyrov, visited with his troops, many of whom just returned from the frontlines in Ukraine, some will be going there soon. Here is his most recent release, a video, showing one of his elite units.

  

The following statement by Ramzan Kadyrov accompanied the video:

I took part in the ceremonial formation of the personnel of the 94th operational regiment of the 46th OBron of the North Caucasus Oblast of the VNG of Russia. The event was held on the occasion of the appointment of dear BROTHER Khasmagomed Magomadov to the post of unit commander. The corresponding order was signed by the Director of the Russian Guard, General of the Army, respected by us Viktor Zolotov.

⠀

I have known Khasmagomed Adikovich for many years. He showed himself excellently both while serving in the law enforcement agencies of the Chechen Republic, and in the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine. Khasmagomed has long proved in practice that he is a true warrior and patriot, for whom the interests of the Motherland are above all else.

⠀

Now, I am sure that under his competent and effective leadership, the 94th regiment will become one of the most combat-ready units of the National Guard. We will render full assistance to Khasmagomed in this task.

⠀

Being not only the head of the republic, but also the Colonel-General of the Russian Guard, I personally control the supply issues. I know perfectly well how much attention the director of the Federal Service for the National Guard Viktor Vasilyevich Zolotov pays to the issues of providing for the Russian Guards. We are deeply grateful to him for the comprehensive support of the units stationed in the Chechen Republic.

I sincerely congratulate Khasmagomed Magomadov on his appointment to the post of commander of the 94th operational regiment of the 46th OBron SKO VNG of Russia! I wish him good luck in his future service for the benefit of our great Motherland - Russia!

Commenting on Sweden's permission to burn the Qur'an, Turkish FM, Cavusoglu, says, Hate crimes are not freedom of expression

Commenting on Sweden's permission to burn the Qur'an, Turkish FM, Cavusoglu, says, Hate crimes are not freedom of expression

    Monday, January 23, 2023   No comments

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will denounce the Swedish authorities' permission for the leader of the far-right Danish "hard line" party, Rasmus Paludan, to burn a copy of the Holy Qur'an in the capital, Stockholm, and stressed that such crimes do not fall within the framework of freedom of expression.

Çavuşoğlu said that they "do not allow the burning of books of other religions, but when it comes to the Holy Qur'an and hostility to Islam, they immediately invoke freedom of thought and expression."

The Turkish minister stressed that hate and racism crimes do not fall within the framework of freedom of thought and expression, whether according to Swedish laws or decisions of the Council of Europe or the European Court of Human Rights.

He pointed out that Turkey was quick to take the necessary steps as soon as it learned that the Swedish authorities had allowed the extremist in Al-Wadan to burn a copy of the Noble Qur’an in front of the Ankara embassy building in Stockholm.

Davutoglu indicated that the Turkish Foreign Ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador to Ankara to the ministry's headquarters and issued the necessary warnings to him, explaining that the Turkish ambassador to Stockholm, Yonat Janzel, spoke directly with the Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Bilstrom in this regard.

He expressed his hope that the Swedish authorities would take the necessary measures at the last minute and prevent this racist and hate crime from happening, which would cause outrage in the entire world.

After the event, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed that Sweden should no longer wait for Ankara to take any step within the framework of accepting its accession to NATO, in light of the burning of the Holy Quran in Stockholm.

Erdogan added, "You want to support terrorist organizations, and you support those who are hostile to Islam, and you want us to support your joining NATO... This will not happen at all."

And the Turkish president added, "We say clearly... Sweden is no longer waiting for any support from us for its accession to NATO... We say clearly that no one has the right to insult our sacred values."

Last Saturday, the Swedish-Danish extremist Ramsos Paludan carried out what he promised to burn a copy of the Holy Qur’an in front of the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, amid great police protection and a large media presence.

Iran: Paris must observe the basic principles of international relations, such as respect, non-interference, and respect for the national and religious sanctities of others

Iran: Paris must observe the basic principles of international relations, such as respect, non-interference, and respect for the national and religious sanctities of others

    Sunday, January 08, 2023   No comments

Paris must observe the basic principles of international relations, such as respect, non-interference, and respect for the national and religious sanctities of others

The Iranian embassy in Paris responded to the recent abuse of the French newspaper "Charlie Hebdo". Stressing that this behavior contradicts the standards and controls of international law, and contradicts the principle of freedom of expression, and constitutes a violation of the sanctity of personalities and peoples, launching a campaign to spread lies, disgraceful expressions and hate speech, and is a clear example of the violation of human rights.

The embassy added, in a statement, that this measure indicates the selective and deceitful attitude in using the principle of freedom of expression, which this newspaper, which is proud of its disgraceful behavior and its hostility to religion and religious values, has been using since ancient times to justify its disgraceful behavior and its obscene expressions against peoples, their beliefs and sanctities.

The statement stressed that Charlie Hebdo, which falsely claims to defend women's rights, and by publishing very obscene and disgraceful pictures in its latest issue, as it committed the most heinous abuses against women, revealed its truth based on the use of women as a tool.

In its statement, the Iranian embassy also called on the concerned French authorities to take the necessary measures, as a matter of urgency, to prevent this newspaper from continuing its abuses and to stop spreading lies and hatred resulting from it, as this will definitely lead to bad and destructive results in terms of relations between the two peoples and the two countries.

Last month, the French magazine "Charlie Hebdo" launched an international competition for the best cartoon of the Iranian guide, with the aim of mocking him, saying, "We wanted to support the struggle of Iranians for their freedom by ridiculing this religious leader and returning him to the dustbin of history."

The magazine announced that it had received more than 300 cartoons and published a large group of them. As a result, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it had summoned the French ambassador to Tehran, against the background of the publication of “Charlie Hebdo” cartoons insulting to the Iranian leadership.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said: “The Islamic Republic of Iran does not accept insulting its Islamic and religious sanctities and national values in any way, and France has no right to justify insulting the sanctities of other Islamic countries and peoples under the pretext of freedom of expression.”

Kanani referred to “the black record of the French magazine in attacking the Prophet of Islam, the Holy Qur’an, and the religion of Islam,” stressing that “this hateful, insulting, and unjustified act is borne by the French government.”

French Police Violently Disperse Celebrating Morocco's Win Over Portugal

French Police Violently Disperse Celebrating Morocco's Win Over Portugal

    Saturday, December 10, 2022   No comments

The European handling of and reactions to a worldcup hosted by the first Arab and first Muslim country continues; now they are reacting the historic milestone set by an Arab and African nation.

French police violently disperse celebrating Morocco’s win over Portugal:

Nations from the Garden of Prosperity Do not Like Losing to countries of the Jungle

Nations from the Garden of Prosperity Do not Like Losing to countries of the Jungle

    Monday, November 28, 2022   No comments

Continuing the trend of politicizing the first FIFA World Cup ever hosted by an Arab country, which unveiled the prejudice and bigotry of many Western nation-states’ leaders and their media platforms, riots broke Brussels following Belgium’s World Cup loss to Morocco.

This event shows that peoples of the Global North grew accustomed to the sense of entitlement—a deserved abundance of wealth, health, and triumphs. As such, they do not react well to losing and cannot handle not being able to gratify their “wants”. They often refer to protests and riots that may take in countries of the Global South as being symptoms of cultural deficiencies or even biological underdevelopment in "those peoples". Yet, with the first test of loss or unmet want—not need—they find themselves exhibiting even more violent tendencies that they claimed to be part of the DNA of "other cultures"--not theirs.

This event follows other incidents that showed the West’s desire to dictate the conversation on issues that help them sidestep their record poor human rights record and focus on issues that are specific to their societies.

Just days before kickoff, FIFA’s president had to make a long speech defending Qatar’s human rights record and reminding his European friends of their double standard. By the second day of the tournament, he sat next to a German minister who wore the advocacy armband, OneLove, under her jacket and unveiled it once in the stadium, to protest Qatar’s ban on political activities inside the stadiums.

Two days before the match between Iran and the United States, the official US soccer authority scrubbed the word “Allah” from the Iranian flag, claiming that it was an act of solidarity with Iranian protesters. 

This comes after Josep Borell, EU Foreign Affairs And Security Policy Chief gave a speech in which he declaraed that "Europe Is A Garden... The Rest Of The World Is A Jungle". 

Women and politics: contextualizing why Iran cannot mandate that women wear head-covering in public places but Europe's high court is ok with ban on on women wearing head-covering in work places

Women and politics: contextualizing why Iran cannot mandate that women wear head-covering in public places but Europe's high court is ok with ban on on women wearing head-covering in work places

    Thursday, October 13, 2022   No comments

EU companies can ban headscarfs as long as it is a general prohibition that does not discriminate against employees, Europe's top court said on Thursday, the latest ruling on an issue that has divided Europe for years.

The case concerned a Muslim woman who was told she could not wear a headscarf when she applied to do a six-week work traineeship at a Belgian company.

 

The firm said it has a neutrality rule, meaning no head covering is allowed on its premises, whether a cap, beanie or scarf. The woman took her grievance to a Belgian court, which subsequently sought advice from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).  Read source article...

The court justified its ruling arguing that "the internal rule for any economic activity that prohibits the wearing of visible religious, philosophical or spiritual signs does not constitute direct discrimination if it is applied to all employees in a general and non-discriminatory manner." 

The court said last year that EU companies could prevent employees from wearing headscarves under certain circumstances if they had to present an impartial image to clients.

In Germany, the ban on headscarves for women at work has stirred controversy for years. Most of the cases concerned female teachers who aspired to work in public schools and women trained to advance to the judiciary.

France, which has the largest Muslim minority in Europe, banned the wearing of the Islamic headscarf in public schools in 2004.

This ruling is not unique or new. By 2021, EU court ruled that Muslim women wearing headscarf can be fired. The European Union's top court said then that companies can ban Muslim female employees from wearing the headscarf finding against two cases  two women who filed cases in Germany. The two were suspended from work after wearing the hijab.

The court stated that "the prohibition of wearing anything that expresses political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace may be justified by the employer's need to present a neutral image to clients or to prevent any social squabbles."

In November 2020, the German District Court of Dusseldorf announced a ban on wearing the niqab while driving, according to the "Amal Berlin" website.

The court upheld the county government's rejection of a woman's request to wear the niqab while driving, arguing that under road traffic regulations the face of the motorized vehicle driver must remain known, which does not conflict with the fundamental right to freedom of belief, noting that only the uncovered face enables the authorities to register violations traffic effectively.

In France, in 2004, the French national assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a ban on Islamic headcoverings (hijab) in state schools. The law took effect September 2, 2004, forcing more than 70,000  Muslim school girls who attend elementary and high schools to remove the hijab. Even the women and girls had swathed their heads in varying pieces of fabric were forced to remove them.

 

Since than, and in addition to France, more European states including Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, and Norway introduced and enforced restrictive laws that targeted Muslim women who would otherwise wear headcoverings.