Pegida: Kundgebung in Wien geplant

NEWS.AT: Deutsche Bewegung schwappt auf Österreich über - Aktion für 2. Februar angemeldet

Die deutsche Pegida-Bewegung dürfte nun offenbar auch auf Österreich überschwappen. Der Wiener Ableger der Bewegung gegen die "Islamisierung des Abendlandes" plant für 2. Februar eine erste Kundgebung, wie die "Wiener Zeitung" berichtete. Laut einem Eintrag auf der Facebook-Seite von Pegida Wien stehen die Organisatoren derzeit noch in der Planungsphase. » | Von apa/red | Donnerstag, 08. Januar 2015

Attacke in Paris - Reaktionen

VORARLBERG ONLINE: Außenminister Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) und auch die deutsche Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel zeigten sich in ersten Reaktionen auf die Pariser Attacke erschüttert.

"Demokratische Gesellschaften wie unsere dürfen sich dadurch nicht einschüchtern lassen. Wir müssen weiterhin unsere Grundwerte wie die Presse- und Meinungsfreiheit mit Nachdruck verteidigen.", sagte Kurz laut einer Aussendung am Mittwoch.

Strache verurteilt Terrorakt

Über die Attacke auf das Satiremagazin "Charlie Hebdo" in Paris herrscht in Österreich Entsetzen. Nach Außenminister Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) brachte auch FPÖ-Chef Heinz-Christian Strache sein Mitgefühl zum Ausdruck und verurteilte den Terrorakt. Er wünsche "den französischen Behörden viel Erfolg für eine rasche Ergreifung der feigen Mörder und ihrer Hintermänner." » | APA | Mittwoch, 07. Januar 2015

Europe’s Islam Debate Erupts as Paris Killers at Large

BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK: The bodies haven’t been buried and the killers are on the loose, but that didn’t prevent anti-Islam politicians across Europe from seizing on yesterday’s massacre in Paris.

The rhetoric varied in intensity across the European Union’s 28 countries, each with its own religious and social phobias, many gripped by an economic recession that makes convenient scapegoats out of immigrants -- especially those with veils, turbans and non-white skin.

“I wish my daughter will be free tomorrow to go around without a veil and without any fears,” Matteo Salvini, head of Italy’s anti-immigration Northern League, said on Twitter. Nigel Farage, leader of the U.K. Independence Party, spoke on LBC radio of a “Fifth Column” gnawing away at Britain and “a really rather gross policy of multi-culturalism.” Geert Wilders, head of the Freedom Party in the Netherlands, said it is time to “de-Islamize our country.” » | James G. Neuger | Thursday, January 08, 2015

Charlie Hebdo Attack: Magazine to Publish Next Week

BBC AMERICA: French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo will go to print next week, in defiance of Wednesday's apparent militant Islamist attack.

Ten journalists and two police were killed when masked attackers opened fire at its Paris headquarters.

Columnist Patrick Pelloux said the decision to continue to publish will show that "stupidity will not win".

It will have a print run of one million copies, compared with its usual 60,000 a week.

It will be half its usual length at eight pages long. » | Thursday, January 08, 2015

Russia Says Drivers Must Not Have 'Sex Disorders'

BBC AMERICA: Russia has listed transsexual and transgender people among those who will no longer qualify for driving licences.

Fetishism, exhibitionism and voyeurism are also included as "mental disorders" now barring people from driving.

The government says it is tightening medical controls for drivers because Russia has too many road accidents.

"Pathological" gambling and compulsive stealing are also on the list. Russian psychiatrists and human rights lawyers have condemned the move.

The announcement follows international complaints about Russian harassment of gay-rights activists.

In 2013 Russia made "promoting non-traditional lifestyles" illegal. » | Thursday, January 08, 2015

The West Is Paying the Price for Its Own Policy of Appeasement

IRISH INDEPENDENT: Every now and then something happens which is so horrible that it can only be described as 'shocking'.

Yesterday's atrocity in the Parisian offices of satirical magazine 'Charlie Hebdo', and the footage of the prone French policeman pleading for his life before being shot in the head by the Islamic gunman is undeniably shocking. But it is not surprising.

Europe, and the West in general, has been agonising for years over the best way to accommodate its Muslim populations. And these efforts have failed. Whether it's the burka, ignoring the cruelty of halal meat production, Islamic faith schools, self-censorship or zealous prosecutions of the new secular sin of 'Islamophobia', the depressing truth is that these various policies of appeasement and accommodation have created a climate where the only surprise about the attack on this magazine is that it took until now for it to happen.

Unlike most publications in Europe, 'Charlie Hebdo' has a long history of offending delicate Muslim sensibilities. In fact, it has a long history of offending everybody's sensibilities which, after all, is what a satirical magazine is meant to do.

The publication first came to attention when its offices were fire-bombed in 2011 after it published a special edition proclaiming Mohammed as its 'guest editor', while it was also one of the few organs which reprinted the infamous 'Danish cartoons' in 2008, which led to riots and murders by Muslims who were outraged that their so-called 'religion of peace' had been linked to violence.

There is an argument that the editor, Stephane Charbonnier, who was murdered yesterday, and the cartoonists who were also among the 12 deaths, somehow brought this act of savagery on themselves.

Only in the debate about Muslim 'offence' is the victim seen as responsible for their attack, as if Islam is so protected and precious that anyone who mocks it deserves to be killed and can't complain when they're murdered. » | Thursday, January 08, 2015

German PEGIDA Group Says Paris Shooting Shows Islamist Threat

NEWSWEEK: Germany's new anti-immigration movement seized on Wednesday's deadly attack by militants on a Paris magazine, saying it highlighted the threat of Islamist violence it has been warning against.

Chancellor Angela Merkel and her government have condemned the grassroots movement PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West, which drew a record crowd of 18,000 to its latest rally on Monday in Dresden.

Gunmen stormed the Paris offices of a French satirical magazine known for lampooning radical Islam on Wednesday. At least 12 people were killed in the attack, the worst by militants on French soil in decades. One gunman was seen on video shouting "Allah!" as shots rang out.

"The Islamists, against whom PEGIDA has been warning over the last 12 weeks, showed in France today that they are not capable of (practicing) democracy but instead see violence and death as the solution," PEGIDA wrote on its Facebook page.

"Our political leaders want us to believe the opposite is true," the group added.

"Does a tragedy like this first have to happen in Germany?" » | Reuters | Wednesday, January 07, 2015

Charlie Hebdo Attacks: Anti-Islam Parties Are Now On The March Across Europe

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Religion should be able to cope with being satirised

The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo had no qualms about lampooning Islam. Why should it? In a free and liberally-inclined country like France it routinely took the mickey out of politicians and creeds whatever their source. But the editors knew they were running a risk by sending up Islam because militants will simply not accept that their religion be traduced in any way – and are prepared to kill or threaten to make their point.

Salman Rushdie discovered this more than 20 years ago after the publication of Satanic Verses brought a fatwa upon his head from Iran and forced him into hiding for years. Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard found out in 2005 when he was asked by his newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, to draw the prophet Muhammad "as you see him". The resulting cartoon was deemed blasphemous by hard-line Muslims around the world and provoked death threats. Ten Years ago, Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh, who made a controversial film about Islamic culture, was stabbed and shot dead in Amsterdam for insulting the Prophet.

Staff at Charlie Hebdo had already tasted this murderous backlash three years ago when their offices were firebombed when the magazine reprinted the Danish cartoons and named Mohammed editor-in-chief for a week’s edition. It also published a “halal” comic book on the life of the Prophet. To most Western sensibilities all of these publications were the warp and weft of what it means to live in a free country. Even if Christians or Jews object to their religions being satirised, they put up with it. But militant Islamists were not prepared to do so. Two gunmen in Paris have now exacted bloody vengeance in an act of violence that will send shock waves around Europe.

Anti-Islamist attitudes are beginning to move away from the far-Right extreme and more into the mainstream of popular discontent. In Germany since last October weekly marches have been held in a number of towns and cities staged by an organisation called Pegida which campaigns against what it sees as the "Islamisation" of Europe. Nearly 20,000 turned out to one rally in Dresden. The marches have been denounced by political parties and religious leaders across Germany but its supporters do not appear to be drawn from the usual neo-Nazi quarters. » | Philip Johnston | Wednesday, January 07, 2015

Charlie Hebdo Attack: 'Who Dares to Publish Anything after This?' – Cartoonist Lars Vilks

Charlie Hebdo Massacre: 'Attack Will Heighten Anti-Islamic Tensions Across Europe'

At least 12 people have been killed after two gunmen opened fire in the headquarters of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in central Paris

Thousands of Believers Gather to Celebrate Orthodox Christmas

Millions of Orthodox Christians across the world are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ on the night of January 6th, in accordance with the Julian calendar. In Moscow, hundreds of people, including the country’s leaders, are attending a Christmas service in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

Charlie Hebdo Attack: Thousands Join Vigils in Paris, London and around the World

THE INDEPENDENT: People held up pens to symbolise freedom of expression and wore stickers saying "je suis Charlie"

Thousands of people have flooded Paris’ Place de la Republique in a vigil to pay tribute to the victims of the attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Journalists held up their press cards as members of the public silently raised pens in the air in a poignant symbol against what is being seen as an attack on freedom of speech.

The phrase “je suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”) has become a rallying call for people expressing solidarity with the victims around the world, with many Paris protesters wearing the slogan on stickers and painting it on giant placards.

The mood was said to be sombre but defiant, with groups of friends quietly talking and comforting each other, trying to come to terms with the day's horrifying events.

A vigil has also started in London’s Trafalgar Square. » | Lizzie Dearden | Wednesday, January 07, 2015

'Islamophobic' Michel Houellebecq Book Featured by Charlie Hebdo Published Today

Submission, the latest controversial work by Michel Houellebecq, was featured on this week's Charlie Hebdo cover - but its author denies the book is Islamophobic

Read the Telegraph article here | Henry Samuel, Paris, and Andrew Marszal | Wednesday, January 07, 2015

German Anti-Muslim Protesters Rally Despite Merkel Plea

REUTERS.COM: (Reuters) - Protesters marched in several German cities on Monday against higher levels of immigration and what they see as the growing influence of Islam, in defiance of an appeal from Chancellor Angela Merkel to spurn rallies she views as racist.

The rallies, organized by a new grassroots movement known as PEGIDA, or Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West, have become an almost weekly event in the east German city of Dresden in recent months.

Some 18,000 people, the biggest number so far, turned out in Dresden on Monday but similar rallies in Berlin and the western city of Cologne were heavily outnumbered by counter-protesters who accuse PEGIDA of fanning racism and intolerance.

The PEGIDA protesters waved Germany's black, red and gold flag and brandished posters bearing slogans such as "Against religious fanaticism and every kind of radicalism".

One poster in Cologne called for "potatoes rather than doner kebabs", a swipe at ethnic Turks who at around three million represent Germany's largest immigrant community. » | Oliver Barth | Dresden, Germany | Monday, January 05, 2015

Egypt’s al-Sisi Makes Extraordinary Speech on Islam

PJ MEDIA: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made an extraordinary speech on New Year’s Day to Cairo’s Al-Azhar and the Awqaf Ministry calling for a long overdue virtual ecclesiastical revolution in Islam. This is something no Western leader has the had the courage to do, certainly not Barack Obama, despite his Muslim education.

Accusing the umma (world Islamic population) of encouraging the hostility of the entire world, al-Sisi’s speech is so dramatic and essentially revolutionary it brings to mind Khrushchev’s famous speech exposing Stalin. Many have called for a reformation of Islam, but for the leader of the largest Arab nation to do so has world-changing implications. » | Roger L Simon | Saturday, January 03, 2015

Religionsfreiheit: Türkei genehmigt erstmals Neubau christlicher Kirche

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Das hat es seit Gründung der Türkischen Republik im Jahr 1923 nicht gegeben: Die Regierung hat den Neubau einer christlichen Kirche genehmigt. Das Gotteshaus für die aramäisch-assyrischen Christen soll schon bald in Istanbul entstehen.

Ankara/Istanbul - Vor 92 Jahren wurde die Türkische Republik gegründet. Bislang hat es im laut Verfassung laizistischen Staat keinen einzigen Neubau einer christlichen Kirche gegeben. Das wird sich nun offenbar bald ändern. Die Regierung hat laut übereinstimmenden Zeitungsberichten den Bau einer Kirche genehmigt. Das Gotteshaus für die Minderheit der aramäisch-assyrischen Christen soll im Istanbuler Stadtteil Yesilköy am Marmarameer auf städtischem Grund und Boden entstehen. » | fdi/AFP | Samstag, 03. Januar 2015

A Muslim-run France? Novel Sparks Islamophobia Row

FRANCE 24: France most notorious and internationally best-known novelist Michel Houellebecq insisted Saturday that his new book “Submission”, which envisions a future France ruled by a Muslim government, is not a far-right racist scare story.

“Submission”, which is released in French on Wednesday, has been the subject of intense debate in recent weeks, particularly for its portrayal of Islam.

In 2001 Houellebeck described Islam as “the stupidest of all religions”, a position he has since vocally distanced himself from.

But his latest book has stirred criticism from all quarters and been attacked widely by the French media and on social media. France’s Muslim community accuse the author of inciting Islamophobia in a country with Europe’s biggest Muslim population.

Leading the barrage is Laurent Joffrin, editor-in-chief of left-leaning newspaper Libération, who argues that the novel “will mark the date in history when the ideas of the far-right made a grand return to serious French literature”.

“This is a book that ennobles the ideas of the [far right anti-Europe and anti-immigration] National Front (FN) party,” he added.

Not so, said philosopher Alain Finkielkraut, a member of France’s prestigious Academie Française, who described Houellebecq as a man, “with his eyes wide open and who is not intimidated by political correctness”. » | Sunday, January 04, 2014

Related »

Facebook and Twitter are 'Allowing Islamophobia to Spread by Refusing to Report Offensive Postings'

MAIL ONLINE: Posts include accusations of Muslims being rapists and paedophiles / Inflammatory messages flagged up to social sites by interfaith organization / But several accounts have not been suspended and posts not removed / Faith Matters said it is 'morally unacceptable' to leave up 'bigoted' views / Facebook says it has to 'strike balance' between freedom of expression and maintaining'safe and trusted environment' / Twitter said all threats reported against site's rules are investigated

Facebook and Twitter have been accused of allowing Islamophobia to flourish by refusing to remove hundreds of inflammatory posts which have been reported by anti-racism campaigners.

Some of the posts which have been flagged up to the two social media sites include accusations of Muslims being rapists, paedophiles and comparable to cancer.

In one shocking example, a Facebook user, who was referring to the beheading of Westerners in Syria said: 'For every person beheaded by these sick savages we should drag 10 off the streets and behead them, film it and put it online.

'For every child they cut in half … we cut one of their children in half. An eye for an eye.'

But, in several cases, the accounts behind the abusive messages have not been suspended, nor have the posts been removed, according to a report by The Independent. » | Steph Cockroft for MailOnline | Saturday, January 03, 2014

Enfant terrible's Literary Vision of an Islamic France

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Michel Houellebecq, who first stirred controversy with sex novel Atomised, makes waves with book describing country after Islamist becomes president

Put France’s literary enfant terrible together with Europe’s most combustible political talking point, and sparks were always going to fly.

Michel Houellebecq, whose tale of sex, mother-hatred and cloning Atomised was the French literary scandal of the Nineties, is turning his attention to “Islamisation”.

His new novel Soumission (Submission), will not be published until January 7 but has already triggered a flurry of accusations that he is pandering to the growing Islamophobia gripping France.

It is set in 2022 and imagines the country electing a Muslim president, who goes on to convert France to his vision of society.

In a twist, he is not only able to implement his programme - but it works. France becomes more positive about its future, and more prosperous too.

Houellebecq has already been accused of aligning himself with so-called neo-réactionnaire writers and intellectuals such as Eric Zemmour and Renaud Camus who argue that France’s national identity has been irreversibly diluted by mass immigration and the growth of Islam. » | Rory Mulholland, Paris | Saturday, January 03, 2015

Cologne Cathedral Will Go Dark in Protest at Anti-Islam March

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Church authorities show their dismay at growing movement, as politicians call for faster deporting of failed asylum seekers

The floodlights of Cologne cathedral will be switched off as a counter-protest against a planned anti-immigrant march, due to take place in the city on Monday night.

Thousands of marchers, coordinated by a new far-Right protest movement, have demonstrated in Dresden in recent weeks against what they say is the “Islamisation” of the country by Muslim immigrants.

The announcement came as Angela Merkel's Bavarian coalition partners urged a radical overhaul of Germany’s asylum system, including the swift deportation of those turned down for refugee status.

Bavaria’s ruling Christian Social Union, which is also a member of Mrs Merkel’s federal coalition, has proposed a new fast-track asylum process, based on the system used in Switzerland, in which “simple” cases would be decided in just six weeks. A senior CSU figure, Joachim Hermann, the Bavarian interior minister, has called for those whose applications are rejected to be deported. » | Justin HUggler, Berlin | Friday, January 02, 2015