Islam in Europe

Sweden: Proposed legislation to outlaw forced marriages

2012-05-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

Sweden: Proposed legislation to outlaw forced marriages

Via The Local:

Anyone in Sweden who forces someone else to get married against their will can be sent to prison, according to proposed legislation presented Thursday which aims to criminalize forced marriages.

"We want to criminalize child marriage and forced marriage. It should also be a punishable offence to take a child out of the country and marry them off there," Göran Lambertz, who heads the government inquiry tasked with drawing up new legislation, told Sveriges Television (SVT).

(source)

Hesinki: First Mosque for Shia Muslims Opens in Finland

2012-05-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hesinki: First Mosque for Shia Muslims Opens in Finland

Via ABNA:

The first mosque and cultural center for Finland’s Shi’ites was inaugurated in the capital Helsinki earlier this week.

Managers of Islamic centers from Sweden, Denmark and Norway, Muslim scholars including Hojat-ol-Islams Hakim Elahi, Khademi, and Razavi, Iranian ambassador to Finland Seyyed Rasoul Mousavi, head of Finnish prime minister’s office, and a number of cultural, religious and social personalities attended the inauguration ceremony of the center, which is named after Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra (SA).

(source)

France: 3 mosques vandalized, Muslim group urges politicians to speak out

2012-05-24T07:02:00.000-07:00

France: 3 mosques vandalized, Muslim group urges politicians to speak out

Via AP:

A leading French Muslim group says three mosques have been vandalized over the past week and is urging authorities to punish the perpetrators.

The French Council of the Muslim Faith, or CFCM, said racist insults and Nazi slogans were scrawled on a mosque in the southeastern town of Tarascon and another in the eastern city of Strasbourg on Tuesday and Wednesday. It said the mosque in the southern town of Draguignan was vandalized May 17.

(source)

Immigrants in Spain feel more integrated than those in Northern Europe

2012-05-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

Immigrants in Spain feel more integrated than those in Northern Europe

Via ThinkSpain:

According to the latest survey of immigrants carriedou by the King Balduino Foundation and the Migration Policy Group, legal immigrants in Spain feel more integrated than those in Northern Europe thanks to the ease with which they can handle bureaucratic matters, like requesting residence permits or family reunification; find work and learn the language.

(source)

Greece: Police clash with anti-immigrant mob

2012-05-24T04:06:00.002-07:00

Greece: Police clash with anti-immigrant mob

Via the Telegraph:

The protesters, which reportedly included members of the far-right group Golden Dawn, gathered outside an abandoned factory where homeless migrants have taken refuge.

They threw stones at riot police and set fires to garbage bins in Greece's western port of Patras.

A 30-year-old Patras resident was fatally stabbed outside his home on Saturday following a dispute with three men, believed to be Afghan nationals.

(source)

Netherlands: Dual nationality and burqa bans are still on the cards, says minister

2012-05-23T04:09:00.000-07:00

Netherlands: Dual nationality and burqa bans are still on the cards, says minister

Via DutchNews:

It is up to MPs to decide whether to drop the proposed bans on dual nationality and the burqa, not the cabinet, home affairs minister Liesbeth Spies told parliament on Tuesday evening.

Spies said two weeks ago in an interview with the Volkskrant that as far as she is concerned, both pieces of legislation can be dropped.

(source)

France: Mosque desecrated with Nazi graffiti

2012-05-23T02:37:00.000-07:00

France: Mosque desecrated with Nazi graffiti

Via France3: The El Mouhsinine mosque in Tarascon (southern France) was tagged with Nazi graffiti Monday night.

France: Veil ban 'increased hostility towards Muslim women'

2012-05-23T01:04:00.002-07:00

France: Veil ban 'increased hostility towards Muslim women'

Via Asian Image:

New research shows that that there is a link between the banning of the veil in France and increased levels of hostility towards veiled Muslim women.

The Research from the Department of Criminology at the University of Leicester suggests that the veil ban stigmatises veiled Muslim women as ‘criminals’ and fosters Muslim ‘otherness’.

Even if not explicitly inciting hate-motivated violence, the law in its application contributes to a climate of intolerance of Islam in the West.

(source)

Switzerland: Anti-Islam group must be protected

2012-05-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

Switzerland: Anti-Islam group must be protected

Via the Local:

The Federal Court says an anti-Islam group has the right to give out leaflets from an information booth if it wants – and the local authorities must protect them.

Fribourg Council banned the group – The Movement Against the Islamization of Switzerland – from setting up an information booth Place Georges-Python during the anti-minaret campaign in 2009.

It said it refused to give permission because of a fear that violence and unrest would break out as a result, provoking a legal challenge.

(source)

Italy: Muslims mobilise to help quake victims in northeast

2012-05-22T08:25:00.000-07:00

Italy: Muslims mobilise to help quake victims in northeast

Via AKI:

Muslims in Emilia Romagna have mobilised to help victims of the powerful earthquake that struck the northeastern region early on Sunday, killing at least seven people and leaving thousands homeless.

"Some 10,000 Muslims have been affected by the earthquake that hit Emilia Romagna, and last night we managed to set up a field camp of tents which can each accommodate 150 people," the president of the Italian Islamic Confederation, Wahid al-Fihri, told Adnkronos International.

"We have helped 500 people in Cento di Ferrara alone," he said.

(source)

Netherlands: Immigration minister plans speedier and tougher asylum process

2012-05-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

Netherlands: Immigration minister plans speedier and tougher asylum process

Via DutchNews:

Immigration minister Gerd Leers is planning to tighten up the procedure for vetting asylum seekers and make it faster by cutting out several layers of the current process, he told the Volkskrant in an interview on Tuesday.

Leers wants asylum seekers to be vetted on all grounds, such as family life, medical condition and the situation in the country of origin, in one go. Their asylum claim could then be considered in one day, the minister says.

(source)

France: Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, The official "face" of the new French government.

2012-05-22T05:43:00.000-07:00

France: Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, The official "face" of the new French government.

Via The Independent:

Thirty years ago, a four-year-old Moroccan girl emigrated to France to join her father. Yesterday, she became the official "face" of the new French government.

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, 34, is the youngest member of the cabinet which assembled yesterday under the chairmanship of President François Hollande. She is the Minister for Women's Affairs and will be the official spokeswoman for the government and, therefore, the mouthpiece for "Hollandism".

(...)

A married mother of twins, Ms Vallaud-Belkacem is a "non-practising Muslim". After winning scholarships to elite colleges, she calls herself a "pure product of the [egalitarianism] of the [French] Republic". She insisted yesterday, however, that she wanted to be judged on her abilities, not on her "triple symbolism" as a young female of North African origin.

(source)

Germany: Online terrorist threat against far-right party, magazine

2012-05-22T04:34:00.001-07:00

Germany: Online terrorist threat against far-right party, magazine

Via AP:

German officials say they’ve taken security measures at a popular German magazine and for members of a small far-right party after a known terrorist called for them to be attacked in a video online.

(...)

In it, Bonn-born Yassin Chouka, who is believed to be with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, calls for Muslims to kill Pro NRW members.

He also calls for the murder of Der Spiegel employees for printing pictures showing the cartoons.

(source)

UK: Leicester, Ealing's first Muslim mayors

2012-05-20T06:26:00.000-07:00

UK: Leicester, Ealing's first Muslim mayors

Via OnIslam (h/t Islam in Britain):

An Indian-origin Muslim councilor Abdul Razak Osman has been sworn in as the first ever Muslim mayor in the multi-cultural town of Leicester, the post seen as a challenge as Britain prepares for the Olympic Games.

(...)

“I'm proud to be the first Muslim councilor to hold the position – we've had Christian, Hindu, Sikh and now I'm able to bring the Islamic faith to the office which is a great honor," Osman added.

(source)

Via Ealing Gazette:

ONE of the first Pakistanis to set up shop in Southall became Ealing’s first Muslim mayor this week.

Councillor Mohammad Aslam was hailed by colleagues across the political spectrum in a rare show of unity at Ealing Town Hall on Tuesday night.

The Southall businessman and Norwood Green councillor said he always dreamed of becoming mayor and was ‘excited’ to finally take up his robes and chains.

(source)

UK: Sikhs, Hindus complain of use of 'Asian' label in grooming cases

2012-05-20T05:14:00.000-07:00

UK: Sikhs, Hindus complain of use of 'Asian' label in grooming cases

Via the BBC:

The joint statement was released by the Network of Sikh Organisations UK, The Hindu Forum of Britain, and The Sikh Media Monitoring Group UK.

It says the reluctance of the media and the government to discuss the "disproportionate representation of Muslims in such cases" and the fact victims are "almost always non-Muslim girls" is adding to the cause of far-right groups such as the BNP.

It said blanket use of the word "Asian" was "unfair to other communities of Asian origin".

"We believe that in this case the government itself is sanctioning the use of term Asian as a way of clouding responsibility," the groups say.

(source)

Groningen : Asylum seekers' protest camp grows

2012-05-20T03:42:00.000-07:00

Groningen : Asylum seekers' protest camp grows

Via Expatica:

A campsite in the province of Groningen inhabited by rejected asylum seekers continues to grow as more people join the protest.

Around 300 asylum seekers are living in tents in Ter Apel. The group has gathered to protest their impending deportations; a spokesperson for the applicants said he expects the camp to continue to grow.

(source)

Netherlands: Moroccan 'lover boys'

2012-05-20T01:13:00.000-07:00

Netherlands: Moroccan 'lover boys'

Via Al-Jazeera (h/t Snaphanen):

As part of his research, Bovenkerk sent a group of field researchers to talk to prostitutes in De Wallen, Amsterdam's red light district.

They discovered that a significant number of women had been recruited as young girls by second- and third-generation immigrant boys, largely in places where youngsters gather in outlying villages.

And a series of interviews with convicted 'Lover Boys' suggested some of them had been influenced by American TV images and video clips glamorising relations between pimps and their girls.

The interview evidence, coupled with an analysis of police CCTV footage, led Bovenkerk to estimate that there were around 100 'Lover Boys' operating in Amsterdam. In all likelihood, he concluded, 'Lover Boys' usually run more than one girl at a time so there could in fact be several hundred 'legal' prostitutes working for them.

Bovenkerk insists that although 'Lover Boys' do exist, media reports are often exaggerated and hard to prove. And, with such issues quickly picked up by right-wing groups, their existence becomes a convenient tool for those with an anti-immigrant agenda.

(source)

UK: Tory cabinet minister Baroness Warsi calls on mosques to act after Rochdale grooming gang scandal

2012-05-19T12:10:00.001-07:00

UK: Tory cabinet minister Baroness Warsi calls on mosques to act after Rochdale grooming gang scandal

Via the Daily Mail:

Muslim cabinet minister Baroness Warsi today dramatically hit out at the 'small minority' of Pakistani men who see white girls as 'fair game' for sexual abuse.

In comments following the Rochdale grooming scandal involving nine Muslim men, the Conservative Party co-chairman admitted that race was a factor.

She urged Muslim leaders to address the issue and ensure that men who regard white women as 'third class citizens' are isolated by their communities.

(source)

EU: German sues Macedonia for rendition

2012-05-17T06:13:00.000-07:00

EU: German sues Macedonia for rendition

Via AP:

A German citizen took his claim that the CIA illegally whisked him to a secret prison in Afghanistan to Europe's human rights court Wednesday in what could be the final chapter of a case that has shed light on U.S. practices in the war on terror.

Khaled El-Masri, who is of Lebanese descent, says he was brutally interrogated at a secret CIA-run prison in Afghanistan for more than four months after being kidnapped from Macedonia in 2003, apparently mistaken for a terror suspect. He says he went on a hunger strike for 27 days and was eventually flown back to Europe and abandoned in a mountainous area in Albania.

(source)

Turks in Germany, ‘We won’t allow a cover up’

2012-05-17T04:52:00.000-07:00

Turks in Germany, ‘We won’t allow a cover up’

Via Hürriyet Daily News (h/t Turkish Digest):

The discovery of a neo-Nazi cell that was apparently able to go on a nationwide spree of racially motivated murders of 9 immigrants over several years, under the noses of the German intelligence services, has sent shock waves across the country.

“German ministers said they were shocked. We told them we are surprised that they are surprised,” said Hilmi Kaya Turan, deputy head of the Turkish Community in Germany, or ATT, one of the hundreds of nongovernmental organizations representing the 3 million-strong Turkish-German community. “The fact that they are surprised actually frightens us,” he told a visiting Turkish parliamentary group, invited by the German government.

(source)

Germany: Five Yazidi siblings jailed for 'honour' killing

2012-05-17T03:31:00.000-07:00

Germany: Five Yazidi siblings jailed for 'honour' killing

I reported about this murder in the past, but I did not realize the family was Yazidi.

Via Postmedia News:

A court in Germany jailed five Kurdish siblings on Wednesday for the "honour killing" of their 18-year-old sister after she left home to live with her German boyfriend.

The court in the western city of Detmold was told the family was furious when Arzu O chose to live her life her own way, following German customs, instead of the immigrant family's Yazidi traditions, and broke off contact with her parents.

(source)

In my 'In Other News' feed I reported last month about another Yazidi honor killing, this time in Sweden: Maria Barin Aydin (19) was knifed to death in her apartment in Landskrona on April 23. Her brother (16) was arrested for her murder, and her mother was arrested for incitement to murder. Maria Barin had previously turned to help after getting threats from her family.

Switzerland: Muslim cemeteries seen as 'long-term investments'

2012-05-17T02:08:00.002-07:00

Switzerland: Muslim cemeteries seen as 'long-term investments'

Via WRS:

TUNGER: “At one point, earlier or later, you have to tackle this question, because the Muslims are there. They have the constitutional right for a decent burial. What experience shows is that more than a dozen municipalities in Switzerland have found a solution by a process in which local authorities and local Muslims sit at a table and discuss what possibilities do we have, what solutions do we have. Almost everywhere a solution has been found.”

Cornel Suter at Lucerne’s cemetery says working with the local Muslim association has been helpful for a number of reasons—pointing out religious requirements, helping with language, or even mediating cultural differences. He is thankful for that.

Researcher Andreas Tunger sees this example as paramount:

TUNGER: “What we have seen until now is very much goodwill on this very grassroots level, which the populist tendencies cannot so easily exploit for national campaigns.”

(source)

Sweden: PM slammed for 'ethnic Swedes' comment

2012-05-16T06:30:00.000-07:00

Sweden: PM slammed for 'ethnic Swedes' comment

Via the Local:

Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt is facing a storm of criticism from several quarters after using the term "ethnic Swedes" in response to a question about Sweden's high level of unemployment.

“It is not correct to describe Sweden as a country in a situation of mass-employment. If one looks at ethnic Swedes at the prime of their life, we have very low unemployment,” Reinfeldt said to a reporter from news agency TT on Monday.

(...)

Reinfeldt's choice of words soon kicked off a political firestorm with commentators on both sides of the political spectrum questioning his use of the term "ethnic Swedes" and speculating as to what he might have meant.

(source)

Switzerland: Language programme aims to boost integration

2012-05-16T05:19:00.000-07:00

Switzerland: Language programme aims to boost integration

Via SwissInfo:

The Federal Migration Office has launched a language training system specifically defined around the integration needs of migrants. The course will be gradually introduced in collaboration with the cantons from the summer.

Called “FIDE – learn, teach and assess French, Italian and German in Switzerland”, the training system will become the nationwide norm for immigrant language training.

Its focus will be on giving immigrants the language competence needed to undertake such ordinary tasks such as consulting a doctor or attending parent-teacher meetings.

(source)

Sweden: Mosques advise women not to report abusive husbands

2012-05-16T03:44:00.000-07:00

Sweden: Mosques advise women not to report abusive husbands

Via the Local:

Six out of ten mosques in Sweden gave women advice about how to deal with spousal abuse and polygamy that contradicted Swedish law, a media investigation has revealed.

Using hidden cameras and telephone recording equipment, two women posing as abused spouses visited ten of Sweden's largest mosques as part of a report put together by Sveriges Television (SVT) investigative news programme "Uppdrag granskning".

The women then asked leaders at the mosques for advice about how to address issues such as polygamy, assault and non-consensual sex.

Six out of the ten mosques visited by the women, who had also claimed that their husbands had multiple wives, told them that they should nevertheless agree to have sex with their husbands even if they didn't want to.

Six of the mosques also advised the women against reporting spousal abuse to the police. Leaders at another mosque were divided on the issue, while women received vague advice from yet another mosque.

(source)