Mandatory music classes rejected by some Muslim parents in Canada: Music is haram. (GM).
When music class begins this week at
Toronto’s Donwood Park elementary school, Mohammad Nouman Dasu will send
a family member to collect his three young children.
They will go home
for an hour rather than sing and play instruments – a mandatory part of
the Ontario curriculum he believes violates his Muslim faith.
The Scarborough school and the Toronto
District School Board originally had offered an accommodation –
suggesting students could just clap their hands in place of playing
instruments or listen to acapella versions of O Canada – but not a full exemption from the class.
After a bitter three-year fight, however, Mr. Dasu felt he had no other option but to bring his kids home.
According to documents ob-tained by The
Globe and Mail, some parents insist they cannot allow their children to
be in the same room where musical instruments are being played. Mr.
Dasu, a Koran teacher who sometimes leads prayers at Scarborough’s Jame
Abu Bakr Siddique mosque, says he has led the fight on behalf of
parents. He has consulted with national Islamic bodies, and requested a
letter from the leader of his mosque.
“We
here believe that music is haram [forbidden]. We can neither listen to
it, nor can we play a role in it,” said the mosque’s imam, Kasim Ingar.
Conceding
that Muslims have to adjust when they send their kids to public school,
he suggested that some matters, such as teaching music, are beyond
debate.
“We do not compromise with
anyone on the clear-cut orders and principles conveyed by the Prophet,”
said Mr. Ingar, who also leads the Scarborough Muslim Association.
Within Islam, the question of whether Muslims are banned from music is divisive and nuanced. S
Hmmm......So everyone covers their ears when the Iranian national anthem is played? Read the full story here.
The group 'Black lives matter' — a Canadian chapter of the a larger U.S. movement active in Toronto since late 2014 — caused a stir on Sunday when some of its members who were marching in the city’s Pride Parade staged a sit-in — bringing the event to a halt for about half an hour.
The parade resumed when Pride Toronto’s executive director Mathieu Chantelois signed a list of demands that included more funding and better representation for racialized communities during Pride events, and a ban on police floats in future parades.
"We know that prisons are a massive incubator for radicalization." Who would have guessed? (TonyblairFaithFoundation).
In
order to successfully address the issues of prison radicalization in
Europe, we must understand the nature and scale of the problem across
the continent, writes Mubaraz Ahmed.
Today,
countries across Europe are dealing with the growing threat of
radicalization. While much has been made of ISIS' sophisticated
recruitment techniques on social media platforms, prisons are a far more
potent breeding ground for the proliferation of extremist views.
Isolation from the outside world, a perceived sense of victimization,
the need for belonging, a sense of vulnerability, and prolonged exposure
to radical individuals, are all contributing factors for prison
radicalization.
The
spread of extreme Islamist ideologies in European prisons is a concern
to governments.
Understanding the distinction between Islam, or any
other religion, and extremist ideologies that use the religion for
promoting violence and hatred is crucial in tackling prison
radicalization. Increases in religiosity can help prisoners to be
rehabilitated. Clampdowns on religious activity generally has the
potential to antagonize religious prisoners and fuel radicalization.
The environment in prisons is closed, and the surroundings
and situation prompt different ways for expressing resistance and
dissent. Even the state of imprisonment itself is used as a tool for
radicalization, with radicalizers presenting incarceration as society's
rejection of an individual and what they stand for, building a perceived
sense of victimization that catalyses an extreme ideology.
In the case
of Muslim prisoners, radical preachers who look to forge an 'us versus
them' mentality present a perceived systematic persecution of Muslims by
Western countries and portraying the individuals' incarceration as a
symptom of society's disdain for them.
The
European Union's Counter-Terrorism Coordinator,
Gilles de Kerchove, said in January 2015 that "We know that prisons are
a massive incubator for radicalisation," going on to say that
rehabilitation and deradicalisation efforts were far more effective
means for countering extremism, rather than imprisoning people.
With the
number of those returning from fighting with ISIS in Iraq and Syria
continuing to rise, there is a strong possibility that prisons will soon
be housing an unprecedented number of individuals with known extremist
views. Hmmm.......The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets, the faithful our soldiers and The prisons our madrases. Read the full report here.
Religious children are meaner than their secular counterparts, study finds. (Guardian).
Children from religious families are less kind and more punitive than those from non-religious households, according to a new study.
Academics from seven universities across the world studied Christian,
Muslim and non-religious children to test the relationship between
religion and morality.
They found that religious belief is a negative influence on children’s altruism.
“More generally, they call into question whether religion is vital
for moral development, supporting the idea that secularisation of moral
discourse will not reduce human kindness – in fact, it will do just the
opposite.”
Almost 1,200 children, aged between five and 12, in the US, Canada,
China, Jordan, Turkey and South Africa participated in the study. Almost
24% were Christian, 43% Muslim, and 27.6% non-religious. The numbers of
Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, agnostic and other children were too small to
be statistically valid.
The study also found that “religiosity affects children’s punitive
tendencies”. Children from religious households “frequently appear to be
more judgmental of others’ actions”, it said.
Muslim children judged “interpersonal harm as more mean” than
children from Christian families, with non-religious children the least
judgmental. Muslim children demanded harsher punishment than those from
Christian or non-religious homes.
At the same time, the report said that religious parents were more
likely than others to consider their children to be “more empathetic and
more sensitive to the plight of others”.
According to the respected Pew Research Center, which examines attitudes toward and practices of faith, most people around the world think it is necessary to believe in God to be a moral person.
In the US, 53% of adults think that faith in God is necessary to
morality, a figure which rose to seven of 10 adults in the Middle East
and three-quarters of adults in six African countries surveyed by Pew. Read the full story here.
Egypt - Egypt’s prosecution challenges release on parole for jihadist Mohamed El-Zawahri. (AlAhram).
Egypt’s prosecution challenged a Cairo criminal court’s Tuesday decision to release on parole jihadist Mohamed El-Zawahri.
The long-time jihadist has not yet been released and his fate remains uncertain as the prosecution challenges his parole.
Another criminal court division will confirm the decision.
El-Zawahri’s release comes pending trial on a number of terror-related
charges. A judicial source told Ahram Arabic website that the decision
to release him on parole was due to his poor health.
According to Judge Hussein Farid, the head of the Cairo Criminal court
that released El-Zawahri, the defendant must show up to court every 45
days and remain under police surveillance.
El-Zawahri, who is the brother of Al-Qaeda’s current leader Ayman
El-Zawahri, is officially accused of joining a terrorist organisation –
Al-Qaeda – as well as other charges including attempting to overthrow
the regime and promoting radicalism.
He was arrested in August 2013 on charges of belonging to a terrorist organisation.
In October 2015, El-Zawahri was acquitted of operating a terrorist cell
in what was dubbed the "El-Zawahri cell" trial, which included 17 other
defendants, 10 of whom were sentenced to death for running a terrorist
organisation connected to Al-Qaeda.
In 1999, Mohamed El-Zawahri was sentenced to death in absentia for a handful of terrorist attacks in Egypt.
In June 2011, a military court accepted El-Zawahri's appeal against the
death sentence. The case was closed and the 63-year-old jihadist was
released.
"Does terror truly have no religion?" - Iraqi Journalist Comes Out Against Claim That ISIS Has Nothing To Do With Islam. (Memri).
"[Does terror truly have no
religion?] This slogan is uttered regarding terror, as though [terror] reflects
a picture that is completely unrelated to its perpetrators' religious
affiliation, and as though there are no religious goals or values behind it,
but only a state of insanity that causes those afflicted with it to run amok,
unaware of what they are doing or what [they seek] to achieve by their actions
– [actions] that disgust not only human beings but [even] the beasts of the
jungle.
"The
terror that is shaking the world today is not a natural disaster like a
tornado, a thunderstorm or an earthquake, and it is not perpetrated by savage
tribes. It is perpetrated by people who enlist [because they are] inspired by a
religious ideology. [These people] advocate enforcing and spreading [this
ideology as a set of] dogmatic principles that must be imposed by the force of
the sword, and which [mandate] killing, expulsion and destruction wherever they
go.
"Since
its inception, this movement of terror has espoused a Salafi ideology that
champions religious extremism, and brainwashed people of all ages have rallied
around its flag, [people who were] trained to kill themselves and kill others
in order to attain martyrdom.
We keep
seeing images of innocent people being killed and beheaded by these terrorists,
who butcher their victims while crying out "in the name of Allah the
merciful" and "Allah akbar." All these crimes are [ostensibly] carried
out with Allah's approval, and they are perpetrated by those who praise Allah
day and night and who pray fervently and do everything according to His will.
"When the
terrorists blew up the World Trade Center and several airplanes, killing
thousands of victims, Osama bin Laden, surrounded by his people, said on
television: 'This is a victory from Allah.'
And now ISIS is bragging about
killing innocent people in Paris, saying that it was 'done with Allah's
approval,' and threatening that the next attack will be in the U.S., Allah
willing. And [Sheikh Yusouf] Al-Qaradhawi and others like him pray and hope
that, in the wake of this terrorist momentum, a day will arrive when Muslims inundate
Europe and subdue it to Islam. Is this not enough to convince [us] that terror [does]
have a religion?" Read the full story here.
Imam Who Issued Fatwa Against Islam Critic Got DOJ Contract, Holds Peace Prayer for Paris. HT: JudicialWatch.
A radical imam quietly hired by the Obama administration to teach
Muslim federal prisoners is holding a “peace and unity prayer” to
denounce the Paris terrorist attacks at the same mosque that he was
ousted from years ago for issuing a fatwa against an author critical of
Islam.
The Egyptian-born imam, Fouad ElBayly, was forced to step down from
the Islamic Center of Johnstown in Windber, Pennsylvania several years
ago after publicly stating that an ex-Muslim critic of Islam should
receive the death penalty.
The woman, Ayaan Hirsi Ali,
is a Somali-born activist who has long called for the reform of Islam
to stop the radicals behind terrorist attacks and nations being run by
Sharia law.
ElBayly was outraged when Ali was scheduled to appear at the
University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown in 2007
“She has been identified as one who has defamed the
faith,” the Egyptian imam said of the feminist author. “If you come into
the faith, you must abide by the laws, and when you decide to defame it
deliberately, the sentence is death.” ElBayly and Islamic Center of
Johnstown founder Mahmood Qazi also pressured the university to cancel
Ali’s appearance but the school didn’t budge.
Incredibly, following the scandal the Obama administration hired ElBayly
to teach Muslim federal prisoners. Americans paid ElBayly to deal with Muslim inmates at Cumberland
Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland and provide
them with “leadership and guidance.” Read the full story here.
Allowed in Canada ...But NOT IN EGYPT - Niqab-wearing banned during voting by law. AlAhram.
Voters and candidates who refuse to prove their identity by removing
the face veil will be barred from participating in the upcoming vote,
says HEC sposkesperson.
Spokesperson to the Higher Elections Committee (HEC) Omar Marawan has
said the law stipulates that all niqab-wearing women will only cast
ballots if they remove the face veil while voting, for identity
verification purposes. Otherwise they will be barred.
The first round of the elections is expected to take place inside Egypt
on 18-19 October in 14 governorates (Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya,
Assiut, New Valley, Sohag, Qena, Luxor and Aswan).
Marawan also said that the vote will start at 9am and end at 9pm, and
that there will be a one-hour break starting at 2:30pm.
He also announced that permits will be granted for more than 60 foreign embassies who asked to observe the upcoming elections. Read the full story here.
"Religion does not require women to veil their hands, feet and faces or enjoin any special type of veil. Tribal custom must not impose itself on the free will of the individual."
Amanullah Khan - King of Afghanistan (1919-1929).
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, head of Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni world.“The niqab is a tradition and has nothing to do with Islam,” said Sheikh Tantawi, vowing to ban it in Al-Azhar schools.After the girl complied he insisted she should not wear it any more.“I tell you again that the niqab has nothing to do with Islam and it is only a mere custom. I understand the religion better than you and your parents.” The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar imam vowed to issue a ban against the face-veil in all schools linked to Al-Azhar.“Source
For Parisians and 'franciliens'(Peole living in l'Île-de-France region), here is a conference not to be missed. It will be given Tuesday, October 6 at 20 am at St. Paul Centre, 12 rue Saint-Joseph, 75002 Paris, by Lebanese historian and scholar of Islam Lina Murr Nehme, from her latest book just published at Éditions Salvator, Fatwas and caricatures. The strategy of Islamism.
What are the fatwas, sermons, books, financial that triggered the birth and rise of Al Qaeda and Daech? How do they justify terrorist killings in Montauban, of Charlie Hebdo and the Hypercacher? What is the true teaching by Islamists in France, Belgium, England, the USA, Germany - including the "polite" Islamists like Tariq Ramadan? What is the true goal of the Muslim Brotherhood in Europe? The book develops all these issues with a collection of quotations and sometimes drugs and unpublished documents ...
I had the opportunity to talk with the author, during his visit to Paris, and I've even record an interview with her, which will be broadcast in the second part of the free Journal of Christianity on Radio Courtesy on Thursday 12 November. Her book is of great interest and I told Lina Murr Nehme, coming out of the studio, it was more than a good book, a good deed! It will open the eyes of many Westerners ignorant of the history of Islamism, which is not born yesterday ... In a historian and as a Christian Lebanese, the author knows what she is talking and places in the immediate news Long time of History. This changes the agreed upon discourse of "journalists." If you have some time tomorrow night, do not miss this appointment.
ISIS issues 'Fatwa' declaring Pamela Geller and her Supporters 'legitimate Targets'. (Anonymous).
"The New Era"
To our brothers and sisters fighting for the Sake of Allah, we make dua for you and ask Allah to guide your bullets, terrify your enemies, and establish you in the Land. As our noble brother in the Phillipines said in his bayah, "This is the Golden Era, everyone who believes... is running for Shaheed".
The attack by the Islamic State in America is only the beginning of our efforts to establish a wiliyah in the heart of our enemy. Our aim was the khanzeer Pamela Geller and to show her that we don't care what land she hides in or what sky shields her; we will send all our Lions to achieve her slaughter. This will heal the hearts of our brothers and disperse the ones behind her.
To those who protect her: this will be your only warning of housing this woman and her circus show. Everyone who houses her events, gives her a platform to spill her filth are legitimate targets. We have been watching closely who was present at this event and the shooter of our brothers. We knew that the target was protected. Our intention was to show how easy we give our lives for the Sake of Allah. Hmmmm......Remember the Alamo.
PJ Media, by Patrick Poole, May 1, 2015:
It was reported earlier this week that the two Muslim members of Congress, Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Andre Carson (D-IN), had sent a letter
to the State Department last week requesting that they deny a visa to
Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who was coming to Washington D.C. for a
Capitol Hill event sponsored by Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Steve
King (R-IA).
Unsuccessful in their attempts to have Wilders banned from the U.S.
Ellison, Carson and their associates from the Council on American
Islamic Relations (CAIR) tried to disrupt a press conference on free
speech with Wilders, Gohmert and King in front of the U.S. Capitol
yesterday, with Ellison promoting their actions on Twitter.
Leave aside for the moment the spurious legal reasoning they employed to try to deny Wilders a visa, aptly refuted by UCLA law professor Eugene Volokh, and that their attempts to tie Wilders to Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik had been thoroughly debunked by none other than Breivik himself.
What makes the pair’s anti-free speech behavior so outrageously
hypocritical is that they both have stood silent as the Obama
administration has allowed a long line of extremists, and even members
of terrorist organizations, to enter the U.S.
Even worse, the two Muslim congressmen have regularly promoted and
associated with organizations that have been designated as terrorist
organizations, and individuals and groups that have been tagged in
federal court by the Justice Department.
For instance, in May 2012 a member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad (still a designated terrorist organization), Hani Nour Eldin, was allowed to enter the U.S. and even escorted into the White House for a private meeting with Obama’s national security staff, Ellison and Carson didn’t apparently utter a single word in protest.
Nor did they express even the slightest bit of concern when members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood were given VIP treatment typically reserved for visiting dignitaries at JFK airport.
When Sudanese genocide henchman Nafie Ali Nafie (aka “Nafie the Butcher) was given a visa by the State Department in 2013, the Muslim congressmen again were found mute.
And nothing was said when Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano testified before Congress in July 2012 that she would allow more members of terrorist organizations into the U.S.
Their voice has also been absent following the news last year that the Clinton State Department maintained a terrorist “hands-off” list for entry into the U.S., revealed by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), or as Homeland Security continued to stonewall congressional requests for information on such terrorist “hands-off” lists.
So Ellison and Carson have deemed Geert Wilders, who has been subject
to repeated threats from Islamic terror organizations and has had to
live with 24/7 security for more than a decade, a greater threat than
members of terrorist groups, genocidal henchmen, and Islamic extremists.
That glaring silence might be telling of where their sympathies
really lie, if it weren’t for their open and unashamed support of
terrorist fronts and cheerleaders.
As I reported here at PJ Media late last December,
Carson was scheduled to appear at the 2014 Muslim American Society
(MAS)-Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) annual conference on a
Ferguson panel with Mazen Mokhtar, an individual that federal agents had testified in federal court had operated an Al-Qaeda website to raise money for the Taliban.
Carson’s appearance at the MAS-ICNA event was not only promoted on the conference website, but also in the conference program.
A few days later, Carson was quickly trying to walk back his appearance at the conference,
claiming he didn’t speak on the panel with Mokhtar. And yet, Carson
never addressed the fact that he was speaking at Mohktar’s conference
(Mokhtar is currently executive directtor of the primary conference
sponsor, MAS).
But both Ellison and Carson appeared just a few months before with
Al-Qaeda webmaster Mokhtar at a June 2014 event announcing the formation
of a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood political front, the U.S. Council of
Muslim Organizations (USCMO). Read and see the full story here.
