Ijtema 2009 Articles

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Interesting Reads

Interesting Reads simply are interesting reads.  They do not require responses in the same way as 'SaQ Alerts'.  If any member has an interesting read please email majlisansarsultanulqalam@khuddam.org.uk and we shall attempt to add it to the next edition.

  • By refusing to ban the burka, Damian Green is supporting the humiliation of millions of British women

    Telegraph 

    Most liberal-minded people will welcome Damian Green’s declaration that the coalition has no plans to follow France’s lead and ban the burka. “I stand personally on the feeling that telling people what they can and can’t wear, if they’re just walking down the street, is a rather un-British thing to do,” he says in today’s Telegraph. “We’re a tolerant and mutually respectful society.”

    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyoung/100047659/the-burka-ban-damian-green-is-wrong/

  • Burka ban wins huge backing, says tory MP

    Daily Star 

    HE MP campaigning for a British ban on the burka said last night: “Ninety-five per cent of the country is right behind me.” Tory Philip Hollobone, is trying to push a Bill through Parliament outlawing the full-face veil after similar moves in Europe. He revealed he’s had an “overwhelmingly positive response” in hundreds of letters and emails. Yesterday the backlash against the burka intensified as Spain debated whether to become the third European country to ban its use in public.

    http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/145382/Burka-ban-wins-huge-backing-says-Tory-MP/

  • Banning burka would be 'un-British'

    Channel 4 

    The immigration minister came out today saying it would "undesirable" for Parliament to pass a proposed law to make it illegal for people to cover their faces in public.

    http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/domestic_politics/damian+green+banning+burka+would+be+aposunbritishapos/3715377

  • Voices from the Old Bailey, Radio 4 Beyond Belief, Radio 4

    Independent 

    Taj Hargey, a liberal Muslim educationalist, asserted that the hijab is cultural, not religious: the term "hijab" is mentioned seven times in the Koran, meaning a screen or partition, he said – not once does it refer to covering the hair.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/voices-from-the-old-bailey-radio-4brbeyond-belief-radio-4-2029056.html

  • Heels show the humanity burkas lack

    Independent 

    Political Islam is always on the lookout for opportunities to present Muslims as victims of evil Western governments, despite its own failure to develop a consistent critique of human rights abuses; Islamists will campaign for the right of women to wear burqas, but not for their right to wear Western clothes or for the abolition of barbaric punishments such as stoning. That's why I think the French vote is a political mistake, even though I sympathise with some – not all – of the impulses behind it. The chief problem with the burqa isn't that it's unFrench or unBritish; the most cogent objection is that it's inhuman, no matter where it's worn in the world.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/joan-smith/joan-smith-heels-show-the-humanity-burkas-lack-2029165.html

  • SNP attacks burqa ban attempt

    Scotsman 

    THE Scottish Government has criticised attempts to ban the burqa in Westminster aimed at criminalising Muslim women who choose to cover their face because of their religion. Tory MP Philip Hollobone has posted a private members bill, which is set for a second reading in December. He believes he enjoys support both among some MPs and across the country, including in Scotland, although crucially he has not been backed by Cabinet members within his party.

    http://news.scotsman.com/politics/SNP-attacks-burqa-ban-attempt.6426036.jp

  • Wearing burka can be ‘empowering’

    Telegraph 

    Critics of the ban, including her fellow ministers, have argued that while they do not like to see women covering their faces, particularly if forced to do so by male relatives, legislation is heavy-handed and contrary to the principle of freedom of expression. But the Environment Secretary’s suggestion that wearing the burka could in fact be seen as a feminist statement will raise eyebrows.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/7897148/Caroline-Spelman-wearing-burka-can-be-empowering.html

  • Muslims Who Stand for Peace Unite Against Terror Attacks

    PR News Wire 

    Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community will this month pledge to oppose all forms of extremism and violence - weeks after suffering the worst terrorist attacks in the community's history. More than 30,000 people attending the Ahmadiyya Muslim convention in Hampshire between July 30-Aug 1 will make a solemn oath to remain wedded to the peaceful practice of Islam. In May, more than 200 Ahmadi Muslims were murdered and injured in a gun, grenade and suicide attack on two mosques in Lahore. Now, in an international pledge ceremony - witnessed around the globe through satellite TV - Ahmadi Muslims will form a human chain and pledge themselves to peace.

    http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=292559

  • The burka empowering women? You must be mad, minister

    Mail 

    Yes, Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, really did claim that the burka delivers its wearer blissful freedom. As a Muslim, you might expect me to agree with her, but I can't. She is wrong. Her fatuous and ill-conceived defence of the burka rendered me apoplectic with fury. Does she even understand the harm she does by sanctioning this perversion of our faith? I'd like to invite Mrs Spelman to prove she believes what she says by wearing the black sheet and mask - surely she should do that as an act of solidarity with the 'empowered' Muslim sisters she admires so much. And if she chooses not to, if she feels she would find wearing a burka limiting and suffocating, why on earth is she breezily recommending it as a garment for other women?

    The burka empowering women? You must be mad, minister Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1296132/The-burka-empowering-women-You-mad-minister.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0uVHG1ieP

  • Two-thirds of Britain would ban the Islamic veil: poll

    AFP 

    Two thirds of British people would support a ban on Muslim women wearing face-covering veils in public similar to the one approved by French lawmakers this week, a poll found Friday. An online survey of 2,205 adults for Five News television found 67 percent of respondents agreed that the burkha -- the full-face veil -- should be banned. That figure rose to 80 percent among people aged over 55.

    http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hGdY4gZpTQbpCb3I6gGgvUjEn5AA