France's Controversial Immigration Minister: The Man Who Launched the Burqa Debate
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: For months the French have been embroiled in a public debate centered on their national identity and a possible ban on the burqa. Immigration Minister Éric Besson, a former Socialist, is the man behind the aggressive debate, making him one of France's most controversial politicians.

Temperatures were below freezing and the winter sky was a frosty gray when French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived at the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette military cemetery in northern France last Tuesday. He had come to pay his last respects to another Frenchman, a man named Harouna Diop, a soldier and father of six children. Born in Senegal, Diop was only 40 years old when he died in Afghanistan on Jan. 13, when insurgents blew up his armored military vehicle.

"Harouna Diop was a Frenchman. Harouna Diop was a Muslim," Sarkozy said, facing a field of white crosses. "He died for France."

Sarkozy's eulogy was a rescue attempt, a rhetorical maneuver at the height of a heated debate being conducted in France over national identity. It has divided the country for months, has led to racist gaffes and has contributed to an atmosphere of heightened suspicion against French Muslims.

The debate revolves around the values of the republic, the French nation, the burqa and the question of what this country is proud of and what is important to it -- in short, many of the things that unite, or once united, the French.

The man who triggered this debate is standing next to Sarkozy at the military cemetery: Éric Besson, 51, minister for immigration, integration and national identity. The Nouvel Observateur calls him a "shameless servant of his master," while the weekly magazine Marianne concludes that he is "the most hated man in France." As for the president, he calls Besson "my blade."

Besson is a suave politician. He wears lilac-colored shirts with purple ties, has a habit of pressing the fingertips of both of his hands together while speaking and likes to pose for photographs in his office, between gilded stucco and an antique globe. Besson, who calls himself a patriot, has just written a book, "For the Nation," a literary hymn to his native France, which he says he has "loved and idolized" since his adolescent days. The immigration minister was born in Marrakech, Morocco and only came to France he was 17.

Three months ago, the minister announced the beginning of a constructive debate in the "motherland of human rights." He was convinced that ownership of the concept of the nation had been left to right-wing extremist Jean-Marie Le Pen and his Front National (FN) for far too long. There was nothing wrong with launching into this debate, which is currently raging in many European countries, partly as a reaction to the growing number of Muslims living in Europe.

The discussion centers on their rights and obligations, and on their acceptance of Western values. A burqa ban is not just being debated in France, but also in Denmark and Italy, and in December the Swiss voted in a referendum against the construction of minarets. 'Fear of Arab Domination' >>> Stefan Simons | Monday, February 01, 2010

Richard Williamson 'Unrepentant' Over Holocaust Denial
THE TELEGRAPH: Richard Williamson, the Catholic Bishop soon to face trial in Germany on charges of denying the Holocaust, is apparently unrepentant, allegedly telling colleagues recently it was a "huge lie" that six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis.

The notorious English bishop also allegedly told colleagues from his ultraconservative brotherhood that "a completely new world order" had been built on the "fact" that Jews were systematically gassed in concentration camps such as Auschwitz, Treblinka and Sobibor.

Jews, he added, had become "ersatz saviours thanks to the concentration camps," according to a report in German news magazine Der Spiegel.

"The fact is that the six million people who were supposedly gassed represent a huge lie," it is claimed he wrote to fellow members of the Society of St. Pius X.

In a separate email, he is said to have written that "1.3 million deported people" were not gassed in the Treblinka, Majdanek, Belzec and Sobibor concentration camps as historians claim, but were rather transported to the Soviet Union.

Williamson is due to face court in the southern German city of Regensburg on April 16 over allegedly Holocaust-denying remarks he made to Swedish television in January last year. >>> David Wroe in Berlin | Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Piusbruderschaft: Williamson leugnet weiter den Holocaust
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Unbelehrbarer Bischof: Auch ein Jahr nach seiner Holocaust-Leugnung hält der Brite Richard Williamson nach SPIEGEL-Informationen an seinen umstrittenen Thesen fest. Aus Mails der erzkonservativen Piusbruderschaft geht hervor, dass Williamson "die sechs Millionen Vergasten" für "eine Riesenlüge" hält.

Hamburg - Bischof Richard Williamson bestreitet weiter den Holocaust. Während seine erzkonservative Piusbruderschaft direkt mit Papst Benedikt XVI. über Glaubensfragen verhandelt, bleibt der Brite uneinsichtig.

Vor einem Jahr hatte Williamson die katholische Kirche durch seine Ansichten in eine tiefe Krise gestürzt. Aus internen E-Mails der erzkonservativen Piusbruderschaft geht nach SPIEGEL-Informationen hervor, dass Williamson "die sechs Millionen Vergasten" nach wie vor für "eine Riesenlüge" hält. >>> | Samstag, 30. Januar 2010

Bishop Richard Williamson: Holocaust-denial

Malaysia: Anwar Ibrahim in Second Sodomy Trial
THE TELEGRAPH: Malaysia's opposition leader has appeared in court to face sodomy charges for the second time in a decade and threatened to call the prime minister as a witness.

Anwar says the new allegations are a conspiracy to neutralise his career, after he rallied the opposition to unprecedented election gains in 2008 and threatened the government's half-century-long hold on power. Photograph: The Telegraph
Anwar Ibrahim, who led his party to record gains in the 2008 election, said the charges were the result of "the machinations of a dirty, corrupt few".

A 25-year-old former male aide, Saiful Bukhari, accused Anwar of sodomy. He faces up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted – a ruling that would effectively end the 62-year-old's political career. Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia. >>> Barney Henderson in Kuala Lumpur | Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Islamkritiker vor Gericht: Wilders ist ein Provokateur, kein Rechtsextremist
WELT ONLINE: Der niederländische Parlamentsabgeordnete Geert Wilders polarisiert mit seiner Islamkritik weit über die Grenzen des Landes hinaus. Jetzt muss sich der glänzende Provokateur in Amsterdam vor Gericht verantworten. Aber ein moralisches Urteil fällt schwerer, als viele Kritiker zu glauben meinen.

Was ist eigentlich in den Niederlanden los? Noch vor zehn Jahren war das Land eines der tolerantesten in Europa. Es schien modellhaft zu zeigen, wie verschiedene Religionen und Rassen, Werte und Lebensentwürfe friedlich nebeneinander existieren können. Heute kommen aus den Niederlanden die schrillsten Töne in der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Islam, und dort findet man auch einige der radikalsten Verteidiger der liberalen Gesellschaft westlicher Prägung. Der populärste unter ihnen ist der Islamkritiker Geert Wilders, dessen Ein-Mann-Bewegung „Partei für die Freiheit“ bei der Europawahl zur zweitstärksten Kraft des Landes wurde und in jüngeren Umfragen sogar auf dem ersten Platz landete. Seit Kurzem steht der 46-jährige Parlamentsabgeordnete in Amsterdam wegen des Vorwurfs der Volksverhetzung vor Gericht, heute wird der Prozess fortgesetzt.

Der dramatische Wandel der politischen Landschaft in den Niederlanden hat eine innere Logik. Gerade weil der Staat zu lange zu tolerant war gegenüber Einwanderern, die viele Werte ihres Gastlandes ablehnten, weil er nichts unternahm gegen die Gettos und die wachsende Kriminalität muslimischer Jugendbanden oder gegen die laut Geheimdienst auf 50000 angewachsene Zahl von gewaltbereiten Muslimen – deshalb erhielten islamkritische Politiker wie der 2002 ermordete Pim Fortuyn großen Zulauf. Er war der Erste, der die niederländische Konsenspolitik beendet sehen wollte und die Probleme klar benannte. Die grausame Hinrichtung des Filmemachers Theo van Gogh durch einen in den Niederlanden geborenen Sohn marokkanischer Einwanderer stürzte das Land 2004 in eine Identitätskrise, die bis heute andauert. Der kultivierte "Rechtspopulist" >>> Von Rainer Haubrich | Montag, 01. Februar 2010

Geert Wilders to Test British Free Speech with Anti-Muslim Film Screening
THE TELEGRAPH: Geert Wilders, the radical anti-Muslim Dutch politician, will seek to test free speech in Britain next month when he makes a second attempt to visit the House of Lords to screen a controversial film equating Islam to Nazism.

Mr Wilders has accepted an invitation from Lord Pearson of Rannoch, the leader of UKIP, and Baroness Cox, a crossbench peer, to show his anti-Islam film Fitna in the Palace of Westminster on March 5.

His visit and the film, which claims the that Koran is a terrorist handbook, are expected to spark protests from British Muslims, including other members of the Lords.

British officials said the Government is powerless to ban Mr Wilders, despite continuing public order fears, after he overturned a previous entry ban following a legal challenge last year.

"He's free to travel and the Border Agency will not be alerted," said an official. >>> Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Pope Faces Protests on UK Visit Over Equality Attack as Archbishop Intervenes
TIMES ONLINE: The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster today attempted to defuse a row that threatens to overshadow the Pope's forthcoming visit to Britain by claiming that Benedict XVI was merely giving voice to what many people felt when he attacked this country's record of promoting equal rights for gays.

Surprise at the Pope's remarks was today giving way in Britain to more determined opposition to his views, with the National Secular Society vowing to set up a Protest the Pope campaign to hold demonstrations during Benedict's visit this year.

Aware of the growing controversy, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, in Rome leading the 34 other bishops of England and Wales on an ad limina or five yearly visit to see the Pope, said that Benedict XVI was only saying publicly what many devout people believed.

"I think (the Pope's) words will find an echo in many in our country who are uneasy that perhaps one of the unintended consequences of recent legislation is to drive religious belief and practice into the sphere of the private only," said the Archbishop.

He was speaking out after the Pope said that recent legislation in Britain ran counter to natural law, and imposed unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. >>> Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent | Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Barack Obama’s Former Mentor Criticises ‘Complacent Administration’
TIMES ONLINE: President Obama’s self-confidence borders on complacency. He is ill served by senior staff, especially his Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. He does not appear to be learning on the job as he did when campaigning for the White House. His Administration is too deferential to Congress, too reliant on the President’s personal charm, and as a result is regarded by its enemies as weak and ineffectual.

As Mr Obama prepared to release his $3.8 trillion (£2.4 trillion) budget today, this assessment of his first year in office came not from one of his established critics on the Right, but from one of his most respected mentors — his former professor at Harvard Law School, Chris Edley.

“What I fear is that having made history, having won a Nobel prize, having been celebrated around the world, a measure of complacency may have set in,” Professor Edley told The Times. “I don’t mean that the effort is not there, but that the discipline of self-criticism has perhaps faded.”

Professor Edley, who worked in the Clinton and Carter Administrations and is now Dean of the Law School at the University of California, Berkeley, added: “I wouldn’t give [Obama] as high a grade as President as I gave him when he was my student. I know he can do better.” >>> Giles Whittell in Washington | Monday, February 01, 2010

China Threatens Obama Over Dalai Lama Meeting
TIMES ONLINE: Strained ties between the US and China could deteriorate further if President Obama goes ahead with a meeting with the Dalai Lama, Beijing warned today.

China’s anger at the Tibetan spiritual leader's overseas visits and the warm reception he is afforded by foreign leaders spilled over in tough words from officials in Beijing who led the latest round of talks with his representatives last week.

Zhu Weiqun, executive deputy head of the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department, who is in charge of the talks, said that a meeting between Mr Obama and the Dalai Lama would “seriously undermine the political foundation of Sino-US relations”.

An increasingly assertive Beijing even issued a veiled threat that such a meeting would not only fail to serve the interests of diplomacy but could damage the US economic recovery. A view has become widespread that the strength of the economic revival in China, the largest holder of US treasuries, could help to lead the world out of the current downturn.

Mr Zhu said: “If the US leader chooses this time to meet the Dalai Lama, that would damage trust and co-operation between our two countries, and how would that help the United States surmount the current economic crisis?" >>> Jane Macartney in Beijing | Tuesday, February 02, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Analysis: the worsening relationship between America and China: A year ago, American hopes were high for a friendly relationship with China. But the White House seems unwisely to have raised expectations – the Chinese have been consistent in their unwillingness to change positions on key issues. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington and Peter Foster in Beijing | Monday, February 01, 2010

Taïwan : Pékin menace les Etats-Unis de sanctions
LE TEMPS: Après l’annonce de ventes d’armes à Taipei, Pékin muscle son discours et parle pour la première fois de rétorsion économique

L’annonce faite vendredi par Washington d’une nouvelle vente d’armes à Taïwan pour un montant de 6,4 milliards de dollars provoque un feu de critiques inédit en Chine. Dès samedi, Pékin avait annoncé plusieurs mesures de rétorsion: suspension des relations militaires avec Washington, interruption du dialogue sur les questions de sécurité stratégique, de contrôle des armes et de prolifération nucléaire et – c’est la nouveauté – menace de sanctions contre les sociétés américaines concernées par cette vente. «Arrogance» des Etats-Unis >>> Frédéric Koller | Mardi 02 Février 2010

Berlusconi wünscht sich Israel in der EU: Italienischer Ministerpräsident beginnt dreitägigen Besuch in Israel
NZZ ONLINE: Der italienische Ministerpräsident Berlusconi wünscht sich Israel in der EU. Das sagte er zu Beginn seines Besuchs in Nahost. Berlusconi wird am Dienstag vor der Knesset sprechen.

Italiens Ministerpräsident Silvio Berlusconi wünscht sich Israel als Mitglied der Europäischen Union. Dies sei sein grösster Wunsch, solange er in der Politik aktiv sei, sagte der 73-jährige Regierungschef zum Auftakt eines dreitägigen Besuchs in Israel. >>> sda/dpa | Montag, 01. Februar 2010

High Time for the US, the 'Land of Opportunity', to Give Equality to All Its Citizens!
It is a disgrace that we have in the US today a country which has given equality to blacks, and even to Muslims, many of whom are out to destroy Western civilization, yet gays, most of whom are benign, simply because they are born with a certain preference which they can do nothing about, are discriminated against. And the state sanctions this discrimination! How disgusting! How utterly disgusting! How awful! How totally unacceptable!

As Reagan once famously said to the Soviet leader: "Tear down this wall, Mr Gorbachov!" I say today to the American leader: Tear down this wall of discrimination, Mr Obama! Bring America into the first world! – © Mark

PINK NEWS: US president Barack Obama will treat repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell as a priority this year, it has been reported.

According to the New York Times, the White House has been holding meetings on the issue for the past year with defence secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Obama mentioned the law in his State of the Union address last week, having promised in his 2008 election campaign he would repeal it.

He reportedly knew his administration could be forced to defend the 1993 law if court cases challenging it reached the Supreme Court.

Last week, Gates' spokesman revealed that he would be presenting to lawmakers plans on how to repeal the law. Repealing military gay ban a priority for Obama in 2010 >>> Jessica Green | Monday, February 01, 2010

Adherents of the ‘Religion of Peace’ Have been ‘At It’ Again, Doing What They Do Best: Killing
BBC: At least 41 people have been killed and 106 injured by a female suicide bomber in north-east Baghdad, an interior ministry spokesman has said.

The woman detonated an explosives vest among a group of pilgrims making the journey to Karbala, 80km from Baghdad. A witness described seeing a fireball.

The Shia pilgrims were marking Arbaeen, the end of 40 days of mourning for the death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson.

Troops and police are on alert during the pilgrimage.

The bomber had hidden the explosives under her abaya - a long, black over-garment, Maj Gen Qassim al-Moussawi told the Associated Press news agency.

Witness Raheem Kadhom said pilgrims were "crying for help" as they lay injured on the ground in the Shaab neighbourhood, AP reported.

Others helped by taking them to hospitals in cars rather than waiting for ambulances, Mr Kadhom said.

Security has also been increased around the revered Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala during the annual festival, which culminates on Friday. Female suicide bomber kills dozens in Iraq >>> | Monday, February 01, 2010

Auch ohne Mondlandung ein astronomisch hohes Defizit: US-Präsident Obama präsentiert seine Budgetpläne für die nächsten Jahre
NZZ ONLINE: Der amerikanische Präsident Obama hat am Montag seine Budgetpläne für die nächsten Jahre präsentiert. Obwohl namhafte Einsparungen geplant sind, wird das Defizit im laufenden Jahr Rekordhöhen erklimmen.

Der scheint trügt: Obama ist weit weg vom Heiligen-Status – er muss sich mit Profanerem befassen. Bild: NZZ Online
Der amerikanische Präsident Barack Obama setzt den Rotstift beim Haushalt an und macht dabei auch vor dem Stolz vieler Amerikaner, der Raumfahrt, nicht halt. Doch auch ohne bemannte Missionen zum Mond wird das Defizit 2010 mit 1,56 Billionen eine Rekordhöhe erreichen. 120 Programme und Projekte will Obama insgesamt kürzen oder streichen. Dennoch liegt der Umfang des von ihm vorgeschlagenen Etats mit 3,8 Billionen Dollar um drei Prozent über den geplanten Ausgaben im laufenden Haushaltsjahr. >>> sda/dpa/afp | Montag, 01. Februar 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama forecasts record US deficit of almost £1 trillion: President Barack Obama on Monday forecast a record budget deficit of $1.56 trillion (£975 billion) for 2010 – worse even than the White House's prediction made just a week ago – as red ink threatened to submerge his leadership and reforms such as health care. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Monday, January 01, 2010

Sudan Like a Powder Keg, Says African Union Chief Jean Ping
BBC: A vote for independence in oil-rich Southern Sudan's referendum next year could be catastrophic, the African Union's top diplomat has warned.

In an interview with French broadcaster RFI, Jean Ping likened Sudan's situation to "sitting on a powder keg".

He suggested the nation could once again face north-south conflict and said other areas like Darfur would try to follow the south to independence.

Southern Sudanese are due to vote in an independence referendum next year.

The vote was agreed as part of a 2005 peace deal which ended a 22-year war between north and south.

The BBC's James Copnall, in Khartoum, says it is rare for such a senior official to be so outspoken. >>> | Thursday, January 28, 2010

Somalia's Al Shabaab to Ally With al Qaeda
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: NAIROBI, Kenya—The militant group al Shabaab said it would ally with al Qaeda in a drive to establish an Islamic state in Somalia and fight for Muslims across East Africa, offering a fresh test for U.S.-backed African peacekeepers struggling to defend a weak Somali government.

In a statement Monday, the group said it had agreed, among other things, "to connect the horn of Africa jihad to the one led by al Qaeda and its leader Sheikh Osama Bin Laden." The statement, written in Somali and Arabic, is believed to be the first explicit confirmation of what U.S. and Somali government have long suspected: Militants in one of Africa's least stable places are sharing resources and merging agendas.

It isn't clear whether this new resolution will result in funding or training from al Qaeda, or even if it will lead to an official endorsement from the global terror group. At the very least, the statement signals a tightening embrace with foreign fighters who have been supporting al Shabaab's efforts to topple the Somali government.

The cooperation also could spur Somali militants to assist al Qaeda elsewhere. Al Shabaab has sent fighters to Afghanistan to train with al Qaeda, according to the Somali government. Al Shabaab recently pledged to send fighters across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, where al Qaeda is active. >>> Sarah Childress | Monday, February 01, 2010

Recruits Seek Out Al-Qaeda's Deadly Embrace Across a Growing Arc of Jihadist Terror
THE TELEGRAPH: Just two years ago al-Qaeda was believed to be on the back foot. Now the jihadist group is attracting ever more recruits across a growing arc of terror.

Bored, depressed and stuck in a dead-end job, Khaled al-Bawardi. spent just a few hours watching jihadi videos to convince himself that he wanted to fight for militant Islam.

It took another six years in Guantanamo Bay, plus a year in religious rehab in Saudi Arabia, to realise there might be better career options.

“When I was young, I thought these people were angels and we had to follow them,” said Mr Bawardi, formerly Inmate 68 at Guantanamo and one of hundreds of Saudi al Qaeda suspects arrested after the US invasion of Afghanistan. “Now, though, I can see between right and wrong.”

Quietly-spoken, and dressed in a traditional Arab robe and keffiya, Mr Bawardi is an alumnus of the Prince Mohammed bin Nayef Centre for Counselling and Care outside Riyadh, where for the last two years, batches of former Guantanamo inmates have undergone religious “deprogramming” in exchange for their liberty.

With its swimming pool, games rooms and therapy courses such as “10 Steps Toward Positive Thinking”, it resembles a jihadist’s version of London’s Priory clinic. Yet like any rehab programme, it also has its recidivists - and Batch 10, to which Mr Bawardi belonged, is a case in point.

The tenth group of Saudis to be flown back from Guantanamo Bay, no less than five of the original 14 who passed through the programme absconded to neighbouring Yemen to re-embrace terrorism. To the embarrassment of their mentors, and the dismay of Washington, one Batch 10 member, Said al-Shihri, has since re-surfaced as no less than deputy leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the movement’s new Yemen-based branch. The group opened up the latest frontier in the war on terror last month, when it claimed to have groomed the so-called Detroit “Underpants Bomber”, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Such “relapses” show how, more than eight years since 9-11, al-Qaeda has confounded its doomsayers with both its resilience and its ever-spreading presence. >>> Reporting team: Richard Spencer in Riyadh, Adrian Blomfield in Sana'a, Mike Pflanz in Nairobi, Ben Farmer in Kabul, Colin Freeman in London, and Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent | Sunday, January 31, 2010

Amérique : «Il est facile de pratiquer l’islam aux Etats-Unis»
Aux Etats-Unis, les musulmans sont moins représentés politiquement qu’en Europe, mais ils peuvent afficher leur identité religieuse. Crédits photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Selon Salam al-Marayati, directeur du Muslim Public Affairs Council, un groupe de réflexion de Los Angeles, les musulmans sont bien intégrés en Amérique. Bilan 8 ans après les attentats du 11 septembre

Un peu plus de huit ans après les attentats du 11 septembre aux Etats-Unis, où en sont les musulmans américains? Peu après l’effondrement des tours jumelles du World Trade Center de New York, la communauté musulmane avait subi de plein fouet la politique sécuritaire renforcée de la Maison-Blanche. De passage à Genève, Salam al-Marayati est directeur du Muslim Public Affairs Council à Los Angeles. A la tête de ce groupe de réflexion dont la mission est d’informer le public sur la communauté musulmane et de contribuer à son intégration dans la société américaine, il dresse un état des lieux. >>> Stéphane Bussard | Lundi 01 Février 2010

L'islam gagne du terrain au Brésil
LE FIGARO: Après les attentats du 11 septembre 2001 et sous l'impulsion d'une « telenovela », les conversions se sont multipliées dans les périphéries urbaines du pays.

Cinq fois par jour, Rosangela cherche la direction de La Mecque dans son petit appartement de Vila Ferreira, un quartier pauvre de Sao Bernardo do Campo, une ville industrielle située à quelques kilomètres de Sao Paulo. À 45 ans, sa vie est rythmée par l'islam, qu'elle a embrassé au début des années 1990. Voilée, vêtue d'une longue tunique, Rosangela assure l'accueil au Centre de divulgation de l'islam pour l'Amérique latine. «Je donne aussi des cours sur le Coran», précise-t-elle, soucieuse qu'on ne la prenne pas pour une simple hôtesse.

Converser avec Rosangela n'est pas facile : elle s'interrompt toutes les cinq minutes pour répondre au téléphone ou renseigner des visiteurs sur les conférences du cheikh Jihad Hassan Hammadeh, le directeur du Centre. «La demande de corans en portugais est telle que mon stock est épuisé, assure-t-elle . Alors, en attendant d'être réapprovisionnée, je donne des versions espagnoles.»

Premier pays catholique du monde, le Brésil connaît depuis une décennie une croissance importante de l'islam. «Il est impossible de savoir combien le pays compte de musulmans, puisqu'ils sont enregistrés dans la catégorie “autres”, mais on estime qu'il y en a environ un million», indique Paulo da Rocha Pinto, professeur à l'université Fluminense.

Pour lui, le meilleur indicateur de l'expansion de cette religion est la multiplication du nombre de lieux de culte. Malgré l'arrivée dès le début du XXe siècle de vagues de musulmans, syriens, libanais et palestiniens en majorité - on les appelle au Brésil les «Turcos» en référence à la tutelle qu'exerçait à l'époque l'Empire ottoman -, la première mosquée n'a été inaugurée qu'en 1960. La construction de lieux de culte n'a véritablement commencé qu'à partir des années 1980 et s'est accélérée au début des années 2000. Effet de mode >>> Par Lamia Oualalou | Lundi 01 Février 2010

Muslim Leader Blasts Gay Lifestyle
JAMAICA OBSERVER: PRESIDENT of the Islamic Council of Jamaica, Mustafa Muhammad, says he agrees with the Sharia law which prescribes death for people who openly flaunt homosexual behaviour.

Muhammad did not mince words as he lashed out against what he described as an unclean, unnatural lifestyle.

“It is illegal and in the Sharia law the punishment is death. If you follow Christianity it is a crime in the sight of God. He destroyed a whole city because of this thing. It is an ungodly practice and I apologise to no one for this,” Muhammad said.

Under Jamaican law, persons who practice buggery — the sexual penetration of the anus — can be sent to prison for up to 10 years.

Despite claims by local and international gay lobbyists that homosexuals are attacked and killed in Jamaica, police statistics show that most gays who are killed are victims of crimes of passion.

Muhammad made sure to state that he was against the killing of gays in Jamaica.

“This can only be done in a country that is being run by Islam,” he said. >>> Karyl Walker | Monday, February 01, 2010

The Population Crash
THE GUARDIAN: Across Europe, we are having fewer babies. In many places, such as the deserted town of Hoyerswerda in east Germany, the falling birth rate is already taking its toll

Hoyerswerda, a town two hours beyond Dresden close to the Polish ­border, has lost half its population in the last 20 years. It is an ­ageing ghost town. The young and those with qualifications have left – young women especially. And those that remain have given up having babies. Hoyerswerda (known to its citizens as Hoy Woy) seems a town without a purpose, in a corner of Europe without a future.

On the windswept roof of the Lausitz Tower, the town's only landmark, I meet Felix Ringel. A young German anthropologist studying at Cambridge University, he has passed up chances taken by his friends to ­investigate the rituals of Amazon tribes or Mongolian peasants. As we survey the empty plots of fenced scrub below, he explains that the underbelly of his own country seemed weirder and far less studied than those exotic worlds.

In its heyday in the 60s, Hoyerswerda was a model community in communist East Germany, a brave new world attracting migrants from all over the country. They dug brown coal from huge open-cast mines on the plain around the town. There was good money and two free bottles of brandy a month. But the fall of the Berlin Wall changed all that. It was here in 1989, in the towns and cities of Saxony, that the people of the east started moving west to ­capitalism and freedom. At the head of the queue were the young, ­especially young women.

Under communism, East ­German women worked more, and were ­often better educated, than the more conservative western hausfrau. But when their jobs disappeared in the early 90s, hundreds of thousands of them, encouraged by their ­mothers, took their school diplomas and CVs and headed west to cities such as ­Heidelberg. The boys, however, seeing their fathers out of work, often just gave up. In adulthood, they form a rump of ill-educated, alienated, ­often unemployable men, most of them ­unattractive mates – a further factor in the departure of young women.

Reiner Klingholz, director of the Berlin Institute for Population and ­Development, calls it a "male ­emergency" – but this is not just an emergency for men. The former ­people's republic is staring into a ­demographic abyss, because its ­citizens don't want babies any more. >>> Fred Pearce | Monday, February 01, 2010

GUARDIAN DATA BLOG: Nine billion people by 2050? : The world's population is growing at a startling rate. These figures show the number of people in each country on the globe >>>

Pope Benedict XVI Criticises ‘Unjust’ Effects of Harriet Harman’s Equality Bill
THE TELEGRAPH: Pope Benedict XVI has criticised Harriet Harman’s “unjust” Equality Bill for trying to prevent religious groups remain true to their beliefs.

The pontiff claimed Labour’s flagship anti-discrimination legislation “actually violates” natural law, and suggested that it contravened “long-standing British traditions” of freedom of speech.

He also urged Roman Catholics in the UK to “speak with a united voice” in a secular and multicultural society, as he confirmed that he will make a historic state visit to the country later this year.

His comments come a week after Christian peers defeated the Government on a key part of the Equality Bill.

Existing exemptions for religious employment were set to be changed, and churches feared under the new rules they would have face prosecution unless they went against their beliefs by employing homosexuals and transsexuals. Catholics said the law could have forced them to admit women to the priesthood.

The controversial clause was dropped after a vote in the House of Lords although it is possible that the European Commission may now intervene to back the Government’s original plan.

In an address delivered on Monday to Catholic bishops from England and Wales who had made the five-yearly ad Limina pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, the pope attacked the implications of the Equality Bill.

He said: “Your country is well known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society. Yet as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed.

“I urge you as Pastors to ensure that the Church’s moral teaching be always presented in its entirety and convincingly defended. Fidelity to the Gospel in no way restricts the freedom of others - on the contrary, it serves their freedom by offering them the truth. >>> Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Monday, February 01, 2010

Pope Condemns Gay Equality Laws Ahead of First UK Visit
THE GUARDIAN: Benedict XVI says legislation safeguarding rights of same-sex couples violates 'natural law' of human equality

Pope Benedict XVI has condemned British equality legislation for running contrary to "natural law" as he confirmed his first visit to the UK later this year.

In a letter addressed to the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, the pope praised Britain's "firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all".

However he criticised UK legislation for creating "limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs".

It is thought his comments relate to laws that came in last year preventing adoption agencies from discriminating against gay couples.

The pope, whose visit is expected in September, made the comments after hearing representations from English and Welsh bishops on their concerns about the place of religion in an increasingly secular society. They told him sexual orientation legislation that came into effect on 1 January 2009 had forced the closure of half of the Roman Catholic agencies because the law making it illegal to discriminate against gay applicants went against their beliefs.

In his letter the pope said: "The effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs.

"In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed." >>> Riazat Butt, religious affairs correspondent | Monday, February 01, 2010

Two Guys Kissing Set to Steal the Super Bowl Show
THE INDEPENDENT: Next Sunday's football final will highlight an extra showdown: between liberals and the religious right

It's already a quintessentially American event, combining razzmatazz, cheerleaders, and multimillionaire sportsmen in a few excessive hours of made-for-TV entertainment. But this year, the Super Bowl will be jollified by a side-plot that perhaps reflects the true state of the nation: an angry dispute between liberals and the religious right.

Women's groups and gay activists are squaring up against opponents from the "family values" lobby over the contents of two very different television adverts that are due to air when the New Orleans Saints take on the Indianapolis Colts in next Sunday's finale of the American football season. One of the commercials carries a hard-hitting anti-abortion message, and was made by a conservative Christian organisation. The other couldn't be more different: it publicises a gay dating website called Mancrunch, and features two men holding hands on a sofa, and then passionately kissing. >>> Guy Adams in Los Angeles | Sunday, January 31, 2010