China Bans Burqa in Capital of Muslim Region of Xinjiang

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Authorities in Urumqi ban women from wearing the burqa in the wake of a series of deadly clashes and attacks in China's far west

The capital of China's most Muslim region has banned residents from wearing the burqa in "an effort to curb growing extremism".

Women in Urumqi, a city of 3.1 million people in the far western region of Xinjiang, will no longer be allowed to wear the garment, state media announced this week.

"Burqas are not traditional dress for Uighur women, and wearing them in public places is banned in countries such as Belgium and France," Xinhua, China's official news agency, wrote in a brief article about the ban.

Xinjiang is home to the Uighurs, a largely Muslim, Turkic-speaking group as well as a growing number of Han Chinese migrants who have poured into the region which borders Pakistan, Afghanistan and Kazakhstan. » | Tom Phillips, Shanghai | Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Angela Merkel Joins Muslim Rally against German Anti-Islamisation Protests

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Chancellor Merkel joins thousands of people in Berlin at Muslim solidarity rally for victims of Paris attacks

German chancellor Angela Merkel joined thousands of people at a Muslim solidarity rally for victims of the Paris attacks in Berlin on Tuesday evening, in what was widely seen as a public rebuke to the anti-Islam protests that have gripped Germany in recent weeks.

Mrs Merkel and the German president Joachim Gauck joined a 3,000-strong crowd as the Koran was read under the Brandenburg Gate at a rally shown live on German television.

“The terrorists wanted to divide us. They have achieved the opposite. They have brought us together,” President Gauck told the gathered crowds.

“I say to these fanatics and terrorists: we are not afraid of you. Your hate is our motivation. We stand by our country and its values.” » | Justin Huggler, Berlin | Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Iranian Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami in Response to Paris Terror Attacks: The West Is Responsible for Terrorism

Tunisian Cleric Bechir Ben Hassen: Anyone Cursing the Prophet Muhammad Should Be Executed

Pat Condell: It's Good to Be Anti-Islam

Anti-Islam Rally Continues in Germany: Pegida Marchers in Dresden Defy Germany Politicians

Thousands of protesters have gathered in Dresden for an anti-Islamisation rally called in the wake of the Paris terror attacks.

Angela Merkel to Join Muslim Community Rally in Berlin

An image of Angela Merkel manipulated to make it look like
she's wearing a hijab, at a Pegida rally in Dresden

THE GUARDIAN: German chancellor is attending vigil for tolerance, in response to marches by far-right group Pegida in parts of country

Angela Merkel is joining a Muslim community rally in Berlin to promote tolerance, condemn the attacks in Paris and send a rebuke to Germany’s growing anti-Islamic movement.

“Hatred, racism and extremism have no place in this country,” she said in a speech earlier in the day. “We are a country based on democracy, tolerance and openness to the world.”

The vigil at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate on Tuesday evening is organised by the Central Council of Muslims in Germany under the banner “Let’s be there for each other. Terror: not in our name!”

The ceremony is starting with a wreath laying outside the French embassy, where the ground is covered with flowers, candles and condolence cards.

The wreath is made of coloured pens, a symbol of freedom of expression in honour of the 17 victims of the attack on satirical paper Charlie Hebdo and subsequent bloodshed that shook France last week. » | Agence France-Presse | Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Dutch Mayor Tells Fellow Muslims Who Do Not Like the Western World to 'F*** Off'

DAILY EXPRESS: A MUSLIM politician has said if followers of Islam living in the West do not appreciate its culture then they should "pack their bags" and "f*** off".

Ahmed Aboutaleb, Mayor of Rotterdam, made the comments on live TV hours after jihadists had massacred 12 people at the offices of newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

The 53-year-old said it was "stupid" and "incomprehensible" to be against freedom of speech and those who feel that way should "vanish" from the West.

The Moroccan born politician said: "It is incomprehensible that you can turn against freedom.

"If you do not like it here because some humorists you don't like are making a newspaper, may I then say you can f*** off.

"This is stupid, this so incomprehensible. Vanish from the Netherlands if you cannot find your place here.

"All those well-meaning Muslims here will now be stared at". » | Dion Dassanayake | Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Marine Le Pen Discusses France and Islam with Al Jazeera

The leader of the National Front, a far-right party in France, talks about her position after the Charlie Hebdo attack

Europe's Pillar Collapsing? Freedom of Movement under Pressure in Сharlie Hebdo Aftermath

Swiss Activists Plan PEGIDA Anti-Muslim March amid Rising Tensions across Europe

RT: Swiss activists have founded a local branch of the popular German anti-Muslim PEGIDA movement. The group is boasting a fast growth in supporters and plans to hold a demonstration next month.

The Swiss branch of PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West) was launched two days after the attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine.

The PEGIDA group’s Facebook page calls on potential supporters to come to a demonstration planned for February 16 at an as yet undisclosed location.

The spokesman for Swiss PEGIDA is Ignaz Bearth, current head of the Swiss Direct Democracy Party, a small party with links to France's Front National party, according to AFP. He is also a former member of the far-right Swiss Nationalist Party.

"Many people have been awakened since the Islamist terrorist attack in France and realize how big the risk is and that Islamism is not just limited to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Nigeria, but has arrived to Europe," Bearth said, as cited by 20 minuten news website. » | Tuesday, January 13, 2015

UK Shops to Receive Charlie Hebdo Magazine Despite Radical Cleric Calling It an "Act of War"

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Hundreds of copies of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo 'survivors' magazine are expected to be brought to the UK when it is published on Wednesday despite claims by radical preacher Anjem Choudary it is "an act of war".

Hundreds of copies of the 'survivors' edition of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine are expected to go on sale in the UK when the magazine is published on Wednesday.

Radical preacher Anjem Choudray has criticised the magazine's controversial cartoon front cover of the Prophet Mohammed as "an act of war" and warned there will be "repercussions".

The latest edition is published a week after many of the Charlie Hebdo editorial team were massacred in an attack at their Paris office which saw terrorist brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi kill 12 people.

Five of Charlie Hebdo's cartoonists - including the editor - were killed in the attack.

Smiths News, the distribution arm of WH Smiths, and Menzies are expected to be purchasing up to a 2,000 copies to supply to stores in the Uk [sic].

Radical cleric Mr Choudary said "ridiculing" Mohammed is attacking his personality, and said these actions are "extremely serious", adding that if the "act of war" was to be tried in a Shariah Court it would carry capital punishment. » | Nicola Harley | Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Charlie Hebdo Attacks: Pope Francis Condemns 'Fundamentalist Terrorism'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Pope attacks "deviant forms of religion" following Paris Charlie Hebdo attack

Pope Francis condemned "fundamentalist terrorism" and "deviant forms of religion" for last week's terrorist attacks in Paris, amid fresh claims that he himself may be at risk of attack from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

The Pope said religion was being perverted by extremists and used to justify evil, including "the tragic slayings" of 17 people that took place in Paris last week after Islamist extremists attacked the office of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and took people hostage in a kosher supermarket.

"Religious fundamentalism, even before it eliminates human beings by perpetrating horrendous killings, eliminates God himself, turning him into a mere ideological pretext," the 78-year-old pontiff said in an annual address to foreign diplomats accredited to the Vatican.

"Losing their freedom, people become enslaved, whether to the latest fads, or to power, money, or even deviant forms of religion," he said in his State of the World speech.

He spoke out against the menace posed by Islamic fundamentalism after an Israeli television channel reported that the Vatican could be Isil's next target. » | Nick Squiress, Rome | Monday, January 12, 2015

Charlie Hebdo Attacks: Editor's Lover to Miss Funeral after His Family Denies Relationship

The partner of slain Charlie Hebdo editor Charb, Jeanette Bougrab,
outside the Paris City Hall after the city made the weekly satirical
magazine 'Charlie Hebdo' an honorary citizen of Paris

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Jeannette Bougrab to stay away from Stéphane Charbonnier's funeral after his family deny they were in relationship

Jeannette Bougrab, who moved France with her tearful tribute to her lover Stéphane Charbonnier, the murdered editor of Charlie Hebdo known as Charb, is to stay away from his funeral after a row with his family.

Her decision follows remarks by Charb's brother, who denied the couple were in a relationship and demanded she stop speaking about him in the media.

Although Miss Bougrab, 41, a former junior minister in Nicolas Sarkozy's government, insisted she and Charb had been lovers for three years, Laurent Charbonnier made a statement on behalf of his brother's relatives.

The family, he said, "formally denies any committed relationship between Charb and Jeanette Bougrab". » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Monday, January 12, 2015

25.000 marschieren für Pegida in Dresden

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Nach den Terroranschlägen in Paris bekommt die Pegida-Bewegung in Dresden noch einmal starken Zulauf. Dass Angehörige und Freunde der Opfer den Zuspruch der Demonstranten gar nicht wollen, ist denen egal.

Leipzig und Dresden trennen am Montag Welten. Während das islamkritische Legida-Bündnis bei seinem ersten Protest in Leipzig mit 2000 bis 3000 Teilnehmern rund 30.000 Gegendemonstranten auf die Straße bringt, kommen in Dresden nach Polizeiangaben mehr als 25.000 Anhänger zu Pegida, den selbsternannten „Patriotischen Europäern gegen die Islamisierung des Abendlandes“. Die Organisatoren sprechen von 40.000 Teilnehmern. Vor einer Woche waren es laut Polizei noch 18.000 gewesen.

Die Elbestadt gibt damit bei den inzwischen bundesweit organisierten Protesten gegen eine angebliche Überfremdung in Deutschland weiter den Ton an. Die Bewegung entstand dort im Oktober und wächst seitdem. Der Zulauf scheint ungebrochen, viele Sympathisanten reisen aus anderen Landesteilen an, wie Fahnen und Schilder zeigen. » | Quelle: dpa/FAZ.NET | Montag, 12. Januar 2015

Mahomet à la une de "Charlie Hebdo" ce mercredi

LE POINT: Trois millions de "Charlie Hebdo" seront dans les kiosques, l'imprimeur ayant reçu des avalanches de commandes, de France et de l'étranger.

La une du prochain numéro de Charlie Hebdo représentera Mahomet, une larme à l'oeil, tenant une pancarte "Je suis Charlie", sous le titre "Tout est pardonné", un dessin signé Luz. Le journal satirique a ainsi de nouveau dessiné le prophète de l'islam sur sa couverture, pour un numéro qui sera tiré à trois millions d'exemplaires contre 60 000 habituellement, malgré l'attentat qui a décimé sa rédaction mercredi.

Ce numéro comportera "évidemment", comme le journal l'a déjà fait, des dessins sur Mahomet, avait prévenu lundi l'avocat de l'hebdomadaire, Richard Malka. "On ne cédera rien, sinon tout ça n'aura pas eu de sens. L'état d'esprit 'Je suis Charlie', cela veut dire aussi le 'droit au blasphème', a martelé l'avocat. » | Source AFP | mardi 13 janvier 2015

Netanyahu March Rôle Exposes Europe's Anti-Semitic Failure

Unnamed Israeli sources say Benjamin Netanyahu was asked by the French president not to come to the Paris march at all. But that, if he did, President Abbas would definitely attend too. The Israeli leader earlier urged French jews to come to his country, away from what he called 'European anti-Semitism'.

Radical Islamists vs.The World, ‘West Running Away Like Little Kid Hiding In Dark Room’

Tension in Europe growing after Charlie Hebdo attacks: Jonathan Fine, counter-terrorism expert, claims the situation will improve only after integrating European Muslims into the society and fighting extremists

Anti-Islam Protesters March in Dresden, Germany

Read the CNN article here | Rick Noack | CNN | Monday, January 12, 2015

UKIP's Nigel Farage Urges 'Judeo-Christian' Defence After Paris Attacks

BBC AMERICA: UKIP leader Nigel Farage has called for the defence of "Judeo-Christian culture" in response to Islamist terrorism.

He was speaking in a European Parliament debate on last week's terror attacks in Paris by Islamist gunmen.

Many MEPs displayed signs saying "Je suis Charlie" (I am Charlie), in solidarity with Charlie Hebdo magazine, where 12 people were murdered.

A minute's silence was held in memory of those who died in the attacks.

Mr Farage, leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, said mass immigration had "made it frankly impossible for many new communities to integrate".

"We do have, I'm afraid, I'm sad to say, a fifth column that is living within our own countries, that is utterly opposed to our values," he said.

"We're going to have to be a lot braver and a lot more courageous in standing up for our Judeo-Christian culture." » | Monday, January 12, 2015