muslim Archives

China limits beards, veils in Muslim remote Xinjiang region

March 30, 2017 by administrator

Chinese authorities have passed measures banning “abnormal” facial hair and many other typically Muslim customs in the remote Xinjiang region. The initiative also makes it illegal to “reject or refuse” state propaganda.

The upcoming crackdown is part of an “anti-extremism” push in Xinjiang, where hundreds were killed in recent years as Beijing forces clashed against the alleged Uighur militants. However, many activists claim that the violence is more of a response to repression from the central government.

The new legal measures would go into effect on Saturday, the regional authorities said on their website.

Officials would ban spreading “extremist ideas”, as well as marrying under religious rites and not legal procedures, and “using the name of Halal to meddle in the secular life of others.”

“Parents should use good moral conduct to influence their children, educate them to revere science, pursue culture, uphold ethnic unity and refuse and oppose extremism,” the text says.

Worker to ‘dissuade’ veiled women from entering

Also, the officials oppose the “naming of children to exaggerate religious fervor” and keeping them away from regular, state schools. The authorities would also make it illegal to “refuse or reject” watching state television or radio, although it was not immediately clear how the authorities would enforce this regulation.

The most visible change, however, is likely to come from the ban on “abnormal growing of beards,” and the restriction on wearing of veils. Specifically, workers in public spaces, including stations and airports, will be required to “dissuade” people with veils on the their faces from entering and report them to the police.

In recent years, authorities have introduced similar bans in some places or violence-prone cities in the massive and remote northeast region. Not all of those measures were strictly enforced. The new set of regulations, however, applied to all of Xinjiang.

Uighurs have traditionally practiced a moderate version of Islam. Nevertheless, experts believe that some of them have been joining Islamic militias in the Middle East due to the violence in Xinjiang. The group’s members drew worldwide attention with their deadly stabbing rampage at a Chinese train station in 2014.

dj/kl (AFP, Reuters)

Turkish tyrant with golden chair accuses EU of ‘crusade’ against Islam

March 17, 2017 by administrator

The Turkish president has also said Europe is regressing to the pre-World War II era. German Chancellor Angel Merkel called for an end to the exchange of “insults.”

In a speech given to supporters in the western Turkish city of Sakarya, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan invoked the medieval religious wars between Christian Europe and the Islamic Middle East in the context of present-day escalating tensions between the European Union and Turkey.

“My dear brothers, a battle has started between the cross and the half moon. There can be no other explanation,” Erdogan said on Thursday.

The Turkish president also stated the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) Tuesday ruling, which permits companies to ban the Islamic headscarf as part of policies barring religious symbols in the workplace, was the start of a “crusade” by Europe.

Erdogan has recently upped his antagonistic rhetoric towards Europe after Germany and the Netherlands both canceled campaign appearances by Turkish politicians. The events were intended to drum up support for an April 16 referendum that, if approved, would vastly expand Erdogan’s presidential powers.

Erdogan has repeatedly compared the behavior of German and Dutch politicians to that of “Nazis” and accused Europe of hosting the “spirit of fascism.”

“Europe is swiftly rolling back to the days before World War II,” he said in his speech in Sakarya.

Post-election attacks on the Netherlands

Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also took aim at the Netherlands on Thursday despite the previous day’s election result, in which Dutch voters rejected right-wing populist Geert Wilders and his Islamophobic and anti-immigration platform.

“Hey Rutte! You may have emerged as the number one party in the election but you must know that you have lost Turkey as your friend,” Erdogan said in his televised speech.

Many analysts believe Rutte’s hardline approach to prohibiting Turkish politicians from campaigning in the Netherlands helped him gain the support of undecided voters who buoyed him to victory over Wilders.

Despite Turkey’s previous criticism of the virulently anti-Islam Wilders, Cavusoglu told a Turkish broadcaster on Thursday that there was “no difference” between the liberal Rutte and “fascist” Wilders.

The antagonistic rhetoric and authoritarian power expansions, as well as Ankara’s threats to suspend the 2016 migration agreement with the EU, has thrown the EU neighbor’s long-standing bid for entry into the bloc into question.

Merkel: ‘The insults need to stop’

For her part, German Chancellor Angela Merkel denounced Erdogan’s latest round of accusations. The Turkish president accused Merkel this week of supporting terrorists in the anti-Erdogan Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

“I don’t intend to participate in this race to trade provocations,” she told the German regional newspaper “Saarbrücker Zeitung.”

“The insults need to stop,” she added in comments printed in the paper’s Friday edition, referencing Turkey’s Nazi comparisons aimed at the Netherlands.

Merkel stated that Turkish political leaders are permitted to appear in the country under certain conditions: they must disclose who will appear and for what goal, and the foreign politicians must abide by Germany’s laws and constitutional principles.

“We do not give anyone a carte blanche for the future,” she added.

The chancellor’s comments came the same day the city of Hannover scrapped a Friday rally organized by the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD) at which a senior Erdogan government official was set to appear.

The last-minute cancellation indicates tempers could get hotter and the Turkish-German relationship perhaps even cooler.

Trump signs revised travel ban excluding Iraq

March 7, 2017 by administrator

WASHINGTON,— U.S. President Donald Trump signed a revised executive order on Monday banning citizens from six Muslim-majority nations from traveling to the United States but removing Iraq from the list, after his controversial first attempt was blocked in the courts.

The new order, which takes effect on March 16, keeps a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It applies only to new visa applicants, meaning some 60,000 people whose visas were revoked under the previous order will now be permitted to enter.

Immigration advocates said the new ban still discriminated against Muslims and failed to address some of their concerns with the previous order. Legal experts said it would, however, be harder to challenge because it affects fewer people living in the United States and allows more exemptions to protect them.

Trump, who first proposed a temporary travel ban on Muslims during his presidential campaign last year, had said his original Jan. 27 executive order was a national security measure meant to head off attacks by Islamist militants.

It sparked chaos and protests at airports, where visa holders were detained and later deported back to their home countries. It also drew criticism from targeted countries, Western allies and some of America’s leading corporations before a U.S. judge suspended it on Feb. 3.

“As threats to our security continue to evolve and change, common sense dictates that we continually re-evaluate and reassess the systems we rely upon to protect our country,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters after Trump signed the new order.

Trump’s travel ban ‘makes no sense’ without banning Turkey, Pakistan & Saudi Arabia

January 30, 2017 by administrator

Trump’s ban targets seven predominantly Muslim countries – Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen – whose citizens have so far not been involved in mass killings in the US. On the contrary, all major terrorist groups that have attacked the United States and other Western countries over the past couple of decades – from al Qaeda to the Taliban to the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) – can trace their roots back to Sunni-led countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Qatar. But conspicuously these countries didn’t make the list.

Not only that, in a telephone call on Sunday with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, Trump reiterated his administration’s support to Riyadh. A White House statement said the two leaders discussed Trump’s role “to lead a Middle East effort to defeat terrorism and to help build a new future, economically and socially,” for Saudi Arabia and the region.

While Saudi nationals were involved in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the recent killings on US soil – the Orlando and San Bernardino shootings – were perpetrated by people of Afghan and Pakistani origin. Why did President Trump exempt these countries from the executive order?

It is too early and very difficult to evaluate President Trump’s strategy. Although the US media is claiming that Trump spared these countries because he has business ties with them, this may only be true for Saudi Arabia. He has no investments in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Romanian’s thought they liberated themselves from the Turks, not realizing electing Turkish Prime minister

December 21, 2016 by administrator

Muslim, Turkish Sevil Shhaideh set to be Romania’s first female prime minister.

Romania could be headed for its first female prime minister, an economist who is a member of Romania’s small Muslim and Turkish community.

Liviu Dragnea, chairman of Romania’s Social Democratic party, which won the parliamentary election, proposed Wednesday that Sevil Shhaideh take the post of prime minister. The announcement was a surprise because her name is not widely known in Romania.

Shhaideh, 52, is a member of the Social Democratic Party but did not run in the Dec. 1 elections. She was minister for regional development for six months in 2015, and is currently a senior official in the regional development ministry.

President Klaus Iohannis is consulting with political leaders before nominating a prime minister, who Parliament needs to approve. If approved by lawmakers, she would also become the country’s first Muslim prime minister.

Dragnea is banned from being premier because he has a conviction for election fraud.

Armenia opens Iran’s path to Christian world – expert

December 5, 2016 by administrator

Armenia is the only Christian neighbor of Iran that opens the country’s path to the Christian world, says Vali Kaleji, Research Fellow at the Tehran based Center for Strategic Research (CSR).

In an interview with Tert.am, the expert commented upon President Hassan Rouhani’s upcoming visit to Yerevan, expressing his country’s interest in deepening bilateral relations in all areas.
“It is the first time that President Rouhani visit Armenia which is very important for Iran and Armenia. It seems that during his meetings with the Armenian leader, IRI President will discuss bilateral cooperation and will exchange views on regional and international challenges specially current complex situation in Iraq and Syria. It is worthy note that Republic of Armenia is the only Christian-dominated neighboring state and Iran’s path to the Christian world. Also, for Yerevan, Iran is gateway to Islamic World and the Middle East. As the minister of foreign affairs of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif, mentioned during visit Armenia on January 27th 2015, Armenian-Iranian relations could set a good example for the world on how Muslim and Christian countries can reach peaceful symbiosis living side by side.
As an important achievement, the expert highlighted the visa-free travel regime between the two countries, stressing also the importance of the developing relations in free trade and economic zones.

“During the upcoming visit, Iran-Armenia Joint Economic Commission Meeting will be held that will consider bilateral relations between two countries in the field of transportation, energy including gas and electricity, environment, information technology and tourism. In this regard, visa-free travel between the two neighboring states is very important for expanding people to people contacts and trade cooperation.

“Indeed, Armenia is the only South Caucasian state that joined the Eurasian Economic Union in 2015. In this regard, Yerevan has taken serious steps to develop its transit networks. As the key missing link in the International North–South Transport Corridor, the “Southern Armenia Railway” would create the shortest transportation route from the ports of the Black Sea to the ports of the Persian Gulf. Besides that, Armenia is determined to launch the “North-South Road Corridor Investment Program”, reviving the Iran-Armenia-Azerbaijan road corridor providing access to international trade routes and markets.”

Mr Kaleji further shared his vision of the country’s foreign policy, and perspectives of developing relations with Armenia after the lifting of international sanctions.

“Iran has entered into a new level of foreign policy and economic diplomacy after reaching an agreement with great powers on its nuclear program and subsequent removal of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) on financial restrictions against Tehran. This event crated a great capacity for improving ties with neighbors that have a high priority for Iran’s foreign policy. In this framework, Iran always welcomed the expansion and fostering of relations with regional countries, especially theRepublic of Armenia. If you see and consider all of the agreements that were signed between Iran and Armenia during recent years, will find that Armenia has a good and appropriate place in Iran in the post – sanction period. On the other hand, Iran will not forget countries such as Armenia who worked with us during the times of hardship on financial restrictions against Tehran.”

Asked to comment on the foreign policy agenda against the backdrop of the developing Iran-Azerbaijan relations and Azerbaijan’s repeated threats for stepping up relations with Israel, the expert said they have tried to be more balanced with the countries in the region over the past decades.

“In the past two and half decades, Iran attempted to adopt a balanced approach to the South Caucasian states. Currently, the significance of balanced approach is that among the three neighbors of South Caucasus, i.e. Russia, Turkey and Iran, the latter only has relations with all the Caucasian countries. Historically speaking, the Turkish-Armenian and Russian Georgian relations were suspended in 1992 and 2008 respectively. With many ups and downs, Iran has maintained its relations with the whole Caucasian states. Therefore, it is considered one of the valuable and worthy capacity of Iran’s foreign policy in the South Caucasus. On the other hand, Iran would not allow to any third party that effect on Iran’s relation with Republic of Azerbaijan and other neighbors.”

Hripsime Hovhannsiyan

6 Christian migrants thrown overboard by Muslim captain for ‘storm-inciting prayer,’ court hears

September 22, 2016 by administrator

christian-boat A Cameroonian boat captain and his second-in-command allegedly beat and then tossed six Christian migrants overboard because they thought that their prayers were bringing storms, say Spanish prosecutors.

The trial, which started Monday, concerns an incident that took place on December 5, 2014, when a small vessel carrying 57 asylum seekers on its way from Morocco to Spain was engulfed in a storm. The captain of the ship, a Cameroonian Muslim man known only as Alain N.B., spotted a Nigerian pastor leading prayers for the safety of all on board.

Believing his prayers were making the storm worse, Alain and his friend allegedly hit the pastor over the head with a plank, then beat him and threw him overboard. They then went around the other passengers searching for amulets and other Christian symbols and upon finding them, disposed of at least five (and possibly as many as 10) other men in the same manner.

“[Alain]was aware that the victims could not possibly survive and that they would die, either by drowning, from the cold, or from the physical injuries they had suffered,” said the prosecution in its statement, according to the Telegraph. “He was aware of the low temperature, the rough seas and the great distance from the coast and the absence of any nearby boats which could rescue them.”

Of the 57 original passengers on the boat, only 29 made it alive to the port of Almeria in southern Spain. The others, including seven babies, are believed to have drowned in the storm or been killed by the captain and his friend. All are believed to be from sub-Saharan Africa.

While acknowledging the tensions onboard the ship, Alain denies the charges, claiming he is a practicing Christian and regularly attends mass at the El Acebuche prison where he is being held.

“Since I’ve been in jail I have a clear conscience and I have not taken sleeping pills,” the Europa Press agency quoted him saying. “I’ve seen other people in prison who have killed and taken many tranquilizers to sleep.”

The case against him – six counts of murder with aggravating religious circumstances – is based on the testimony of four survivors, who also accuse the two men of robbing their victims of €1,500, the amount that was found on the captain at the time of his arrest.

The 23 other passengers do not blame the captain and only one body was recovered a few days after the storm. The male corpse did not show any sign of violence and it is unclear whether the man was on the same voyage.

The second Cameroonian man, Alain’s co-accused, died in prison awaiting trial.

Video Geert Wilders: We Must Preserve Western Identity and Civilisation By Ending Muslim Mass Migration

June 30, 2016 by administrator

By OLIVER JJ LANE,

Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) leader Geert Wilders has made an impassioned plea for Western patriots to stand up and reject hatred and terrorism in the wake of several Islamist terror attacks.

Mr. Wilders has accused Western governments of being “dangerously blind” to the dangers of Islamisation, reeling off a list of recent terror attacks and calling for an end to Muslim migration. He said: “Western governments remain dangerously blind to the danger of Islamization. Islam is a religion of peace, they say but that is a lie. Look at what happened at Istanbul.

“Look at what happened in Orlando a few weeks ago. Look at what happened last March at Brussels airport and metro station, look at what happened at the Bataclan Theatre in Paris last November. Look at what happened in San Bernardino last December.

“The list is endless. And everything this list has in common is Islam”.

Mr. Wilders moved to clarify his point, remarking that while he believed that Islam was a significant problem for the West, individual Muslims could be good people. Regardless, he said: “no honest individual can say with a straight face that Islam is a doctrine of peace of freedom”.

Outlining how he proposed to defend Europe from radical Islamism, Mr. Wilders said that a “patriotic spring” was on its way, and remarked: “People often ask me ‘what can be done?’ and the answer is actually quite simple.

“Reject the fatalism. Islamisation is not inevitable. The first thing we need to do is recognize that Islam, and nothing but Islam, is the cause of our problems, and the next thing is to close our doors to Islamic intolerance… all immigration from Islamic countries.”

Stressing the importance of integration of Muslims into Western society, Mr. Wilders said those who were willing to work to fit in could fit in could stay, but those who wanted to create parallel Islamic societies within the West would be better off going to nations which already catered to their needs.

He said: “Those who are already here are welcome to stay if they live according to our laws and constitution. But if they want to live according to Sharia law they should go to places like Saudi Arabia where there are no elections and no freedom of speech.

“Where women and non-Muslims are inferior beings and where dissidents are jailed, lashed are executed. We are the opposite of that and we want to keep it that way. More and more Patriots all over the West are beginning to realize that it is the time to draw the line.”

Issuing a call to arms, Mr. Wilders concluded: “The Patriot spring is on its way. People want their country back, they and want to preserve their freedom and security. They don’t want Sharia law here. They want to de-Islamize their societies.

“My friends, Islam and freedom are incompatible so join us stand for freedom, your own freedom, the freedom of your children and grandchildren, and defend the identity and civilization of the West.”

Geert Wilders is a veteran campaigner for Freedom in Europe and is one of the best-known counter-Islamification activists. Speaking to Breitbart London earlier this month in the wake of a brutal Islamist killing in Paris, he said: “Ramadan is the deadliest time of the year. We should acknowledge that Islam is the problem. Islam and freedom are incompatible. We must de-Islamize our Western societies”.

Source: http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/06/30/geert-wilders-istanbul-orlando-brussels-paris-time-end-mass-muslim-migration/

Turkey guilty of inhuman treatment of ‘Muslim objector’: Euro court

June 7, 2016 by administrator

The European Court of Human Rights has found Turkey guilty of inhuman treatment of a “Muslim objector” who declined to serve in Turkey’s military due to the country’s secular identity, while ruling that Turkey did not violate the complainant’s freedom of conscience because his objection was based on political grounds, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Enver Aydemir, the first Turkish citizen to object to military service on Muslim religious grounds, was forcefully placed in a gendarmerie unit in the northwestern province of Bilecik in July 2007. However, upon declaring his conscientious objection, Aydemir was arrested and sent to Eskişehir Military Prison.

He was then released by a military court on Oct. 4, 2007, and ordered to join his deployment. After again refusing to obey the command, he was re-arrested for military desertion on Dec. 24, 2009, and again put on trial at a military court.

The defense failed to persuade the military court, which ordered Aydemir to be sent to a hospital in Ankara for a mental health evaluation after he was arrested in 2009.

Aydemir said hospital staff declared him “anti-social” before even giving him a proper medical examination.

In February 2010, a third set of criminal proceedings were started against him for desertion between October 2007 and December 2009, and he was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment in July 2013, although his sentence was commuted to a fine.

Aydemir said he was beaten and forced to undress and spend the night without appropriate clothing, as well as don a military uniform during pre-trial detention periods.

Aydemir filed a criminal complaint on Dec. 28, 2009, on the grounds that he had suffered ill-treatment on Dec. 24 and 25, 2009, backing up his allegations with medical reports that revealed he had healed wounds on his body.

However, Aydemir’s accusation that he was forced to spend the night without clothes or bedding was not prosecuted upon a decision by the military prosecutor’s office, leading Aydemir to complain to the ECHR that the investigation into his allegations had been lacking.

In its June 7 ruling, the ECHR found a violation of the convention’s Article 3 on the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment, saying the way he was treated had “undoubtedly been as such to arouse in [Aydemir] feelings of fear, anguish and inferiority capable of humiliating and debasing him.”

The court also said it was not convinced that necessary diligence had been displayed in conducting an investigation into Aydemir’s claims of being forced to spend a night undressed.

On the other hand, the court said Turkey did not violate Article 9 on freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as Aydemir’s rejection was not based on religious beliefs preventing him from performing military service but his political opinions against the secular Republic of Turkey.

“[Aydemir] would be able to [perform military service] under a system based on the Quran and subject to its rules,” the ECHR said, stressing Aydemir’s views did not stem from a pacifist and anti-militarist philosophy.

“Mr. Aydemir’s complaints did not involve a form of manifestation of a religion or belief through worship, teaching, practice or observance within the meaning of Article 9 § 1,” it said, adding that the relevant article was not applicable in his case.

Turkey has been ordered to pay Aydemir a total of 15,000 euros for non-pecuniary damages in addition to 3,000 euros to cover his costs and expenses.

US Election: Ben Carson Does Not Believe a Muslim Should Be President

September 20, 2015 by administrator

by Ed Demaria NBCNEWS

Dr. Ben Carson

Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson said he would not support a Muslim as President of the United States.

Responding to a question on “Meet the Press,” the retired neurosurgeon said, “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.”

He also said that Islam, as a religion, is incompatible with the Constitution.

Carson, who is near the top of several early presidential polls, said a president’s faith should matter depending on what that faith is. “If it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter,” he clarified.

Carson’s comments come days after another Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, did not distance himself from a questioner at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire who accused President Obama of being a foreign-born Muslim and called Muslims a “problem” in the United States. Carson said he has “no reason to doubt” that President Obama was born in the United States and is a Christian.

Many times in the past, Trump has questioned Obama’s birthplace and American citizenship.

On “Meet the Press,” Trump was asked if he was comfortable with a Muslim being president. Trump responded, “It’s something that at some point could happen.” The real estate mogul continued, “Would I be comfortable? I don’t know if we have to address it right now.”

On the topic of foreign policy, he said he would use “every resource available” when dealing with ISIS in Iraq. However, he was hesitant to commit to using U.S. troops in Syria.

He hopes to drive ISIS out of Iraq and into Syria, which would put them in a fight solely with the Assad government.

“I would be in favor of pushing them [ISIS] up into Syria, because there’s going to be a lot of conflict, obviously, with them there,” Carson said. “Let them fight each other.”