Anti-Dhimmitude! ‘Islam Is Violent’ Says President Obama’s New Pastor Carey Cash
TIMES ONLINE: More than a year after he was forced to disown his Chicago pastor, President Obama has begun to attend services led by a Christian chaplain who views Islam as a violent faith.

Mr Obama has been an irregular church attender since becoming President, but has expressed a fondness for Carey Cash, the navy chaplain at the Camp David presidential retreat who has been criticised for proselytising in the military and his mistrust of Islam.

The White House insists that the Rev Cash, the great-nephew of the singer Johnny Cash, has not become Mr Obama’s new pastor, but it appears that the President has heard more sermons by him than any other minister since taking office.

The emergence of Mr Cash, 39, who was profiled on the front page of The Washington Post yesterday, will pose some tough questions for the White House — and for President Obama, whose father was Muslim. In a 2004 book describing his deployment to Iraq the year before, Mr Cash calls Islam violent, a faith that “from its very birth has used the edge of the sword as a means to convert or conquer those with different religious convictions”. >>> Tim Reid in Washington | Thursday, October 15, 2009

Vive la belle France! Anti-dhimmitude: French Ban Muslim Woman from Pool for Wearing 'Burkini' Swimsuit
THE TELEGRAPH: A French woman who converted to Islam has been banned from wearing a "burkini" in a swimming pool outside Paris.

Muslim convert Carole understands she was banned on account of a 'political problem'. Photo: The Telegraph
The woman, named only as Carole, 35, was told that the garment, a swimsuit that covers most of the body, was "inappropriate" clothing for a public baths.

Pool staff said her three-piece Islamic swimsuit she bought in Dubai - consisting of a headscarf, tunic and trousers - was against pool regulations and unhygienic.

They had "reminded her of the rules that apply in all [public] swimming pools which forbid swimming while clothed," said Daniel Guillaume, a manager at the pool in the suburb of Emerainville.

The ban was imposed as President Nicolas Sarkozy's government is considering an outright ban on all Islamic dress, such as the head-to-toe burka or niqab, that it considers a "sign of subservience" and "not welcome" in France.

"Burkini" is derived from the words bikini and burka. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Anti-Dhimmitude! St Mary's Catholic College Turns Away Muslim Teacher Wearing Veil
TIMES ONLINE: A teacher was barred from joining students on a visit to a Roman Catholic sixth-form college because she refused a request to remove her Muslim veil.

She was accompanying two teenage girls on an open day to see if they wanted to study for their A levels at St Mary’s College, in Blackburn. The town is in the constituency of Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, who once said that he preferred Muslim women not to wear veils that covered their faces.

The teacher and students were from the Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School. A spokesman for St Mary’s said that the request was made because veils were against school policy. The two pupils agreed to take off their veils but the teacher declined and left. >>> Russell Jenkins | Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Anti-Dhimmitude! Nicolas Sarkozy: Burqa Not Welcome in France
THE TELEGRAPH: President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that the Islamic burqa is 'not welcome' in France.

Photo: The Guardian
In a speech at the Palace of Versailles, Mr Sarkozy said that the head-to-toe Islamic garment for women was not a symbol of religion but a sign of subservience for women.

"The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience," he told members of both parliamentary houses gathered for his speech.

He added: "It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic."

His comments follow an appeal last week by 65 French MPs for a parliamentary commission to examine whether Muslim women who cover themselves fully in public undermine the secular tradition in France as well as women's rights. >>> By The Telegraph’s Foreign Staff and Agencies in Paris | Monday, June 22, 2009

LE FIGARO - Extrait: LA BURQA, NON GRATA DANS LA RÉPUBLIQUE

S'exprimant sur la polémique qui a enflammé la classe politique française, le président de la République a estimé que la burqa soulevait un «problème de dignité et de respect de la femme». «Ce n'est pas un signe religieux, c'est un signe d'asservissement (…) Elle ne sera pas la bienvenue sur le territoire de la République française», a-t-il tranché. Il reviendra au Parlement de se prononcer sur l'opportunité d'un texte de loi. [Source: Le Figaro] | Julie Connan (lefigaro.fr) Lundi 22 Juin 2009

TAGES ANZEIGER: Sarkozy: «Burkas sind ein Zeichen der Unterdrückung»

In einer Grundsatzrede vor dem Parlament schlug der französische Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy ein Verbot des Ganzkörper-Schleiers für Frauen vor. Von der Opposition erntet er Kritik.

Zu den grossen Krisenherden der Welt nahm Sarkozy in seiner Rede nicht Stellung. Dafür sagte er den Burkas in Frankreich den Kampf an. Die Burkas seien ein Zeichen der Unterwerfung und Unterdrückung der Frau, sagte der französische Staatspräsident. Muslimische Frauen verdecken sich mit einer Burka nicht nur Körper und Haar, sondern auch Gesicht und Augen.

«Wir können nicht zulassen, dass es in unserem Land hinter einem Gitter gefangene Frauen gibt, die vom sozialen Leben ausgeschlossen und jeder Identität beraubt sind», sagte Sarkozy. Das Parlament solle die Burka auf französischem Staatsgebiet verbieten. «Das ist die beste Art vorzugehen.» Sarkozys Vorschlag kommt an einem Tag, an dem er noch am Morgen den Emir des Wüstenstaats Katar, Scheich Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani, empfangen hatte. >>> oku/sda | Montag, 22. Juni 2009

BBC: French Balls!

Since this was the first time in almost one and a half centuries that a French president had been allowed to address parliament, President Nicolas Sarkozy's speech was already on course to ruffle a few feathers.

The Greens and Communists refused to attend and the Socialists left early, claiming the venue for the address - the Chateau of Versailles, which was home to King Louis XIV - smacked of monarchy and a thirst for power.

But it was the French leader's attack on the burka that really caused a stir.

He expressed his strong distaste for the head-to-toe Islamic veil, calling it not a sign of religion but a sign of subservience.

"It will not be welcome on French soil," he said." We cannot accept, in our country, women imprisoned behind a mesh, cut off from society, deprived of all identity. That is not the French republic's idea of women's dignity."

President Sarkozy's comments have not come out of the blue.
They are in response to a call last week by a group of 65 cross-party MPs, led by the Communist Andre Gerin, who wants a parliamentary commission set up to investigate the spread of the burka in France.

They want to see whether such a spread is indicative of a radicalisation of Islam, whether women are being forced to cover themselves or are doing so voluntarily, and whether wearing the burka undermines French secularism.

Mr Gerin believes the burka "amounts to a breach of individual freedom on our national territory".

Because, if the mention of monarchy triggers warning bells in France, the mention of religion triggers much louder ones.

Ban in schools

The concept of secularism or "laicite" is sacred in France.

The separation of church and state is jealously guarded by everyone from school teachers to government ministers - and the constitution states the republic "does not recognise, subsidise or renumerate any religious body".

It underpinned the French Revolution, and has been a basic tenet of the country's progressive thought since the 18th century when French Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire, Diderot and Montesquieu regarded religion as divisive, benighted and intolerant.

It was this same concept that was invoked five years ago to ban conspicuous signs of religion - including Islamic headscarves - from schools.

That decision sparked controversy and debate across Europe, with critics claiming it stigmatised Muslims at a time when France needed to be stepping up its fight against rife discrimination in the job market, which had caused so many youths of Muslim origin to feel forgotten by French society.

This latest call for a potential ban of the burka has prompted the head of the French Council for the Muslim Religion to warn MPs they risk stigmatising Muslims again. Sarkozy Stirs French Burka Debate >>> By Emma Jane Kirby, BBC News, Paris | Monday, June 22, 2009

Anti-Dhimmitude in Österreich: Richter verbietet Burka im Gerichtssaal
Foto dank der Presse
DIE PRESSE: Terror-Prozess: Eine 21-jährige Angeklagte erscheint voll verschleiert im Gerichtssaal. Die streng gläubige Muslimin weigert sich, ihr Gesicht zu zeigen – und wird des Saales verwiesen.

WIEN. Die Angeklagte ist von oben bis unten schwarz verschleiert. Abgeschirmt von drei Justizwachebeamtinnen wartet sie auf das Erscheinen des Richtersenats. Wenn die junge Frau sitzt und ihre Burka nicht mehr ganz den Boden berührt, entdeckt man ein paar Zentimeter ihrer Jeans und Sportschuhe. „Ich darf mein Gesicht fremden Männern nicht zeigen“, sagt Mona S., als der Richter erscheint und sie auffordert, den Schleier abzunehmen. Sie weigert sich. Der Richter duldet die „Vermummung“ nicht und verweist die 21-jährige nach zähem verbalem Ringen des Saales.

Die Szene zum Auftakt des für mehrere Tage anberaumten Terror-Prozesses im Straflandesgericht Wien hätte dramatischer nicht sein können. Zuerst wendet sich der Vorsitzende des Geschworenen-Senats, Richter Norbert Gerstberger, demonstrativ an die Justizwache: „Wer ist die vermummte Person?“ Pause. „Ist das die ,Zweitangeklagte‘?“ Kopfnicken bei den Wachebeamtinnen.

Apropos „Zweitangeklagte“: Als „Erstangeklagter“ hat sich Mohamed M. (22) zu verantworten. Nach islamischem Recht ist er der Ehemann von Mona S. Ihm wird vorgeworfen, sich an einer terroristischen Vereinigung beteiligt zu haben, indem er im Internet zu Terroranschlägen im Namen des Islam aufrief. Mona S. soll als Übersetzerin fungiert haben. Beide Angeklagte sind in Wien geboren, beide bekennen sich nicht schuldig, beide berufen sich auf die Vorschriften des Koran. Mona S.: „Viele fremde Männer“ >>> Von Manfred Seeh | 03.03.2008

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad: French court acquits editor who published the cartoons

The editor of a satirical French magazine accused of insulting Muslims by reprinting cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad has been acquitted.

A French court has ruled in favour of weekly Charlie Hebdo, rejecting accusations by Islamic groups who said it incited hatred against Muslims.

The cartoons were covered by freedom of expression laws and were not an attack on Islam, but fundamentalists, it said.

The case was seen as an important test for freedom of expression in France. French cartoon editor acquitted

Mark Alexander