New Yorkers Rally FOR Islamic Centre

Yesterday was the last day of Ramadan as well as the eve of the remembrace of 9/11. However, a few blocks away from Ground Zero in Manhattan there was an interesting gathering (watch here).

At the site of the proposed Islamic centre ordinary New Yorkers mingled with Muslims neighbours to hold a rally in support of the centre being build. I particulary like the comment of one personn the clip who say the people of New York had welcomed the centre and already approved it there was no opposition from the city of New York. all the objections came from elsewhere.

Let us not forget on this day that the people of New York want, desire and deserve to get back to normality. For them a city of many cultures, many faiths, many mother tongues they have been co-existing tooth by jowl since the establishment of the city as the disembarkation point of the immigrants.

Two Wrongs Don't Make a Righteous Crusade

Sitting in my late father's study while I work I'm reminded that both he and my mother taught Religious Education, my mother was actually head of department. One of the things that reminds me is the shelf of books on comparative religions that sits to the right of me as I work.

There is one pile in the middle of that shelf that is all about Islam. Some of those books I have read myself and indeed there are other books in my own collection that are also about Islam including my own copy of the Koran.

Therefore the fact that the Dove World Outreach Center in Florida is planning a 'Burn the Koran Day' for 11 September is a sad indictment. Maybe the American way doesn't teach about other religions and their beliefs in the way that multi-cultural Britain does.

But the blogger Gay Patriot does pose an interesting question:

"How is a Florida church burning the Koran on 9/11 any different than an Islamist-inspired mosque being built in the Ground Zero debris zone?"

In his opinion "None. Both have the right to do it. But it isn't the right thing to do." but I'm going to disagree.

There is a difference. One is a incitement to hatred an act borne out of hatred fundamentalism. The other is trying to foster understanding and normality, showing that fundamentalism isn't all their is in religion.

The former of course is the church in Florida, the second is the Islamic education centre that is looking to be set up in Manhattan.

There are forgotten victims of the 9-11 monstrosity, the innocent Muslim workers in the World Trade Centre. Not the terrorists but those who were working alongside their fellow man in those twin towers. Those who also lost their lives. Their families also come to Ground Zero on 9-11 to remember their dead, they then have to travel far away to find a Mosque that they can offer their prayers up in.

The vast majority or Muslims are not fundamentalists, however there is also a minority of Christians who are fundamentalists. Have any of the members of the Dove World Outreach Center actually opened a Koran to read it? Have any of them ever learnt what it means to be a everyday Muslim? Have any of them ever ventured into a Muslim community or lived alongside a Muslim community day to day to see them going about their lives?

Fighting fundamentalism with fundamentalism is not the way to go, that leads to religious wars, to crusades or jihad. It is just what this intolerance is, even the American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls it 'disrespectful and disgraceful'.



With freedom of speech comes responsibility, as I was rewatching Footloose last night I was reminded of John Lithgow's character the Pastor coming upon a book burning outside the school. He said:

"It is not the words in there that are bad, it's what's in here." (tapping on his heart)

Maybe that is the salient lesson for those in Florida to look first into themselves.

Does Barack Obama Read My Blog?

I'm not sure if PoTUS* reads my humble little blog. I did get a number of hits from Washington yesterday so you never know. However, I do know we are on the same wavelength over what I posted yesterday.

Speaking after a Muslim Iftar dinner, breaking the daily Ramadan fast, last night at the White House he said:

"We must all recognise and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan, Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground. But let me be clear, as a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country.

"That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community centre on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are."

Well done to President Obama for taking a stance for what is right and enshrined in the constitution against the upsurge of of Islamaphobia. Separating out the rights of ordinary law abiding Muslims from the responsibility to deal with Al-Queda and other terrorist groups who are not a true representation of their faith. Showing respect for the victims, all victims, of Al-Queda including those on 9-11 and the many Muslim victims too.

A President who is calm enough to get the facts straight, to keep the Constitution in mind and show balance in his comments is someone worthy of the job. If you are reading this Mr President keep up the rational thought patterns even it all around you seem to be losing theirs.



* President of the US for all non-West Wing fan readers.

The Land of the Free Neglecting the First Amendment

O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

There are estimated to be between 2.54 and 7 million Muslims living the the USA, 37% of that number are Caucasian, 24% black, 20% Asian, 4% Hispanic and the rest mixed race. That is between 0.8 and 2.3% of the total population. Currently there are just over 1,200 mosques in the country but that number is in danger of finding it very hard to grow.

The reason for such negativity on a Friday morning is the growing outrage against any mosque across the USA. All of this has recently risen out of the groundswell of openly hostile opposition to the one proposed in downtown Manhattan close to Ground Zero where one stood the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. But it is not just in New York but in Florida, California, Georgia, Connecticut and Tennessee amongst other states that opposition and blatant Islamophobia is taking form.

The First Amendment of the USA's constitution enshrines two things Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech. Indeed the Supreme Court has ruled that "government should not prefer one religion to another, or religion to irreligion" of course that doesn't stop to the people and islamophobes in their midst.

Many of the people opposed to new Islamic centres and mosques and those who defend without question the Second Amendment the right to bear arms, which surely is the one that needs revisiting as the militia of the founding fathers has now been replaced by a large and world dominating professional army. So why is the second amendment being held so precious by some yet they are ignoring the fundamentals of the first.

As the article in the Guardian points out where significant numbers of Protestants, Catholics or Jews want to congregate for worship the local towns will not raise issues of traffic, parking or whatever excuse they are using to block a new meeting place being set up indeed most often it will go through unhindered and unquestioned. With the Muslims however that is what is being used and now it is even being open 'racism' against immigrants from a nation of immigrants, even those as I pointed out many will not be differentiated from the general population.

If people in America are going to overlook their First Amendment and not allow freedom of religion to one religious group then their whole Bill of Rights is open as a fraud. What they claim to hold dear isn't worth the paper it was written on even if it is on carefully guarded display in the National Archives.

If they are saying of one group you can't congregate here they are ghettoising in a form of religious apartheid (I have used those two words for a reason based on their original usage). So much for the land of the free!

Read Also: Spiderplant's take on the wingnuts

Homeless, Gay and Muslim

I've commented before about the story in Eastenders between Syed and Christian. Now that Syed has been the son he thinks he should be and marry Amira.

But this article on BBC Asian Network highlights that he has got a relatively easy outcome. Many more gay Muslim men are being forced into marriage, often back in the countries where their families come from. Those that don't abide with their family wishes but run away to be themselves often end up ostracised by the whole family network, an outcast, penniless and homeless.

For many the option of taking a bride to please their family is just not they can do. They know that the outcome is going to be rejection from all that they consider close their family, culture etc. But forced marriage is only the start of it, many also face beatings, so called honour violence for bringing 'shame' to their family. Annie Southrest of the Albert Kennedy Trust tells of some examples:

"They face threats of physical violence, actual violence and restriction of liberties.

"We've had people chased out of the house with knives and we have had issues around young people who had exorcisms planned to get rid of the gay demons, I suppose.

"They come to us because they're homeless, or in danger of being homeless imminently. We sort out emergency accommodation for them.

"But the biggest loss they face is the loss of their families.

"I can't imagine what it must be like to suddenly in your late teens, early 20s suddenly not to have a family anymore."

Of course we have yet to see where the Syed storyline goes now that he is married, but apparently still in love with Christian, so maybe there will be twists along the lines of some of those who have had to seek help from the Trust featured.

Listen to the programme on iPlayer on today's Asian Network Reports to hear more about this issue.

The Gay Muslim in Eastenders and Reality

The other week both The Speaker wrote in disgust of how the Eastenders storyline where Syed Masood starts an affair with Christian Clarke in his own words that the BBC were using what 'frowned upon within [Islam]' and South Asian culture and 'exploiting that is totally wrong'.

While it may be frowned upon it is not, as one recent Gallop poll declared, that 0% of British Muslims believed that homosexuality was morally wrong. This month's Attitude magazine looks at the story from the side of those looked down upon not just from the Islamophobia that has sprung out of 9/11 and 7/7 et al but also from Homophobia within their own families and communities. Indeed contrary to what The Speaker thinks the writer of the article, Jamie Hakim, spoke to a number of gay Muslim groups and experts in the area each one of which was consulted by Eastenders in their research. Being a gay Muslim is just like being a gay in other religion where the leaders say it is wrong a hard thing for the individual to deal with. However, no matter how closeted they may feel they have to be doesn't mean they do not exist.

Asghar Bukhari of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee said of the Eastenders storyline:

'The Muslim community deserves a character that represents them to the wider public because Islamophobia is so great right now. There's a lack of understanding of Muslims already and I think that Eastenders really lost an opportunity to present a normal Muslim character to the British public.'

Of course ignores the fact that Syed is a recently returned prodigal his mother, father, sister and brother have been portraying a normal Muslim family on Albert Square before his recent return. Indeed the three gay Muslims all took a differing view to Mr Bukhari's comments. One said:

'What's to say he isn't normal? He could be a model example of someone who is proud to be British and Muslim and he just happens to be gay.'

Another:

'The story is very brave and positive. It's a real opportunity to show the Muslim community not as one homogenous block, because we're not.'

And the other, who is a South Asian Gay Men's Worker at the Naz Project in London:

'It's about time that the invisible became visible. It's a positive step for gay Muslims and for the gay community as a whole to be honest..... I'm glad that the BBC had the guts to go ahead with it'

Sadly it is still a matter of courage that's the thing. We had the first gay kiss on British TV in Albert Square back in the 80s of course one of the partakers in now Michael Cashman MEP. We recently had Hollyoaks cross the Catholic line of John Paul's l McQueens's love for and with Father Kieron Hobbs.

We've yet to see how the BBC and the Eastenders scriptwriters play the story arc out. The Masoods appear to be a normal family so I suspect there will the normal range of family reactions to the story. After it adds to the drama and reality of the storyline if not all of the family are fine with the discovery of Syed's sexuality. As indeed the man himself seems to be having issues himself coming to terms with it. He may well be in for pleasant surprises when they do find out. I hope so as that was far easier for me than I dreaded it would.

Sorry Irfan You've Just Lost All Respect

I've just read this post from Irfan Ahmed and I have to disagree with his statement defending his post supporting a Respect candidate:

"I will suspect that many reading this will think that I am promoting a candidate from the Respect party but actually I am not promoting her I am actually just mentioning her as a candidate and making a point that Salma should get elected as the effect it will have on UK politics and the participation of Muslim's in phenomenal!"

Look through our own party's growing list of PPCs and you will see a diverse range of candidates including a number of Muslim candidates in other Birmingham seats. As for Muslim woman I haven't scanned the lot but I do know that there is my friend Shabnum Mustapha over in Glasgow South and I suspect that there must be others.

Yes I agree with you that it is about time we had more diversity in ethnicity and religion across the House of Commons. However, I do see that the Lib Dems list of candidates is a growing mix of just that sort.

Uighur Unrest in Lead Up to Games

Sixteen Chinese policemen have been killed in the western Muslim Xinjiang region days before the opening ceremony at the other end of the country in Beijing. The attack on a border outpost in Kashgar, Kashi in Chinese, is close to the Turkmenistan border and is the latest terrorist act after a series of incidents claimed by the Turkmen Islamic Party in the past month.

The Chinese repression of the Uighurs is often overlooked by the far more high profile, media friendly, campaign for freedom in Tibet, but is another example of China's continuing appalling human rights record which it promised to clean up before the Olympics come to town this Friday. Sadly the IOC has not held China to its promise for improvement in this area since awarding it the Games of the 29th Summer Olympiad.

The Uighurs are a Muslim people who have been suffering religious suppression under the Chinese regime in the duel names of anti-separatism and counter-terrorism. Sadly the Chinese authorities appear to have been using the post 9-11 fear of Islamic extremists to persecute all Muslims in the region irrespective of activity even if totally peaceful. About have of the detainees being held in Xinjiang's re-education camps are there because of engaging in alleged illegal religious activities. However, the state control over religion in the is as harsh as in the 70s and 80s and the net is so tight that almost anyone can be detained under such guidelines at the whim of the authorities.

Many of the Uighur may well be becoming more militant as a result of the suppression, as with those other groups that China is overlooking and suppressing. So therefore with the worlds media gathering on China and with this attack in an outlying region there must be some concern as to what may happen nearer the Olympic venues from the various repressed groups seeking to draw attention to their causes. Chinese authjorites say they are prepared for action should any threat arise in Beijing, but one wonders just what sort of action that will entail knowing China's past record in such situations.