Church Sign Says 'Islam is of the Devil'

Shame! If only the person who put this sign up had studied Islam. How many haters have become Muslims this way.


The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Do not be people without minds of your own, saying that if others treat you well you will treat them well and that if they do wrong you will do wrong. But (instead) accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and not to do wrong if they do evil." - Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1325



The Prophet also said: "Blessed is the person whom God has made a key for good and a lock for evil." - Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1366

The Great Wall of Israel: Illegal but still growing

Five years ago, the international court of justice in The Hague published its advisory opinion on Israel's separation wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The keenly awaited verdict, requested by the UN's general assembly, was clear: Israel's wall is illegal, it must be removed and adequate compensation paid.

The wall's illegality, and Israel's obligation to dismantle the structure and pay damages for the consequences of the wall thus far, were all agreed by the judges by a margin of 14-1. (The ICJ also accepted the use of the term "wall", since "other expressions" are "no more accurate".) There was also confirmation that Israel's settlements were "a flagrant violation" of the convention, established "in breach of international law" (contrast this with the mealy-mouthed nitpicking over outposts and "freezes" by Barack Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu). Overall, the court found that the route of the wall threatened to create "de facto annexation", with the wall itself described as severely impeding "the exercise by the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination".

At the time, the ICJ decision was hailed by Palestinians and dismissed by the Israeli government. As Yasser Arafat described it as a "victory for the Palestinian people", a spokesman for the then prime minister Ariel Sharon, Raanan Gissin, opined that "after all the rancour dies, this resolution will find its place in the garbage can of history".

Both the US and UK had opposed the entire process, on the odd grounds that the UN's main judicial body for settling legal disputes was not "the appropriate forum to resolve what is a political issue". In the words of Jack Straw, it was better not to "embroil" the ICJ "in a heavily political bilateral dispute".

This opposition was rare – later that same month, the general assembly voted by 150 to six in support of the ICJ opinion. The decision was also welcomed by the likes of Oxfam and Amnesty International, with Oxfam's director adding that the ruling was a "step in the right direction" but needed "further action" by the international community.

But meaningful "further action" was not forthcoming, and Israel pressed on with the wall. Five years on, the wall loops around the West Bank and cuts through East Jerusalem, isolating Palestinian communities and devastating lives, and has become an integral part of Israel's apartheid regime in the territories. About two-thirds of the 700km+ route, featuring a 8m-high wall, electric fences, sniper towers and "buffer zones" up to 100m wide, is completed or under construction. Of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, 8.5% will be on the "wrong" side of the wall. In terms of size as well as significance, this would be comparable to the UK losing Greater London and south-east England.

For Israel to consolidate its hold on the illegal colonies in the OPT, many Palestinians find themselves hemmed in and surrounded by the wall's contortions (pdf). About 35,000 Palestinians with West Bank IDs are to be caught between the wall and the Green Line – if you add (pdf) the East Jerusalem Palestinians in the same position, this figure increases to about 260,000.

These are the bare facts five years on from the ICJ opinion. Israel has ignored the judges' decision, but that's not a surprise. However, has the Palestinian leadership sufficiently exploited the opinion? Speaking to Palestinians involved in monitoring the wall's progress, or in directly resisting it on the ground, there is a feeling that Palestinian diplomats have not done as much with the ICJ result as they could have.

Palestinians in communities directly affected by the wall continue to put up resistance, sometimes at their cost of their lives: 18 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces during anti-wall protests, the youngest victim a 10-year-old boy. While they fight for survival, the wall has also played a key role in changing the big picture, delineating the borders of the Palestinian enclaves Israel will grant "statehood".

In 1994, the then Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin said that "we have to decide on separation as a philosophy". However, this is not separation on equal terms – the following year Rabin also made it clear that the Palestinian "entity" would be "less than a state". There is a term for unequal separation in international law – apartheid (I will talk about this tonight). The wall urgently needs dismantling; but it is only one part of a bigger whole.

Jameel prize (Turner prize of Islamic Art) winner announced

Afruz Amighi has been chosen as the winner of the Jameel international art prize, touted as the Islamic art world's equivalent to the Turner prize, for her painting 1001 Pages. Nine artists were shortlisted for the award, worth £25,000, whose work the panel judges to 'contribute to a broader debate about Islamic culture'. Zaha Hadid, patron of the Jameel prize, hopes the biannual event will inspire future generations of contemporary Muslim artists. Shortlisted works can be seen in a temporary display gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum until 12 September 2009

You can see some of the work here.

Nick Griffin, not just an Islamophobe but a Racist as well

I generally tend to ignore people like him but Nick Griffin, leader of the far right BNP, has been elected an an MEP or a Member of European Parliament by the British people, so its just fair to highlight his views.

Boats carrying illegal migrants to Europe should be sunk Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National party, said yesterday.

In a provocative intervention, Griffin, elected to the European parliament last month, called on the EU to introduce "very tough" measures to prevent illegal migrants entering Europe from Africa.

"If there's measures to set up some kind of force or to help, say the Italians, set up a force which actually blocks the Mediterranean then we'd support that," Griffin told BBC Parliament's The Record Europe.

"But the only measure, sooner or later, which is going to stop immigration and stop large numbers of sub-Saharan Africans dying on the way to get over here is to get very tough with those coming over. Frankly, they need to sink several of those boats. Anyone coming up with measures like that, we'll support, but anything which is there as a 'oh, we need to do something about it' but in the end doing something about it means bringing them into Europe we will oppose."

Shirin Wheeler, the programme's presenter, interrupted him to say the EU did not murder people. "I didn't say anyone should be murdered at sea – I say boats should be sunk, they can throw them a life raft and they can go back to Libya," Griffin said. "But Europe has, sooner or later, to close its borders or it's simply going to be swamped by the third world."

Griffin's comments were especially controversial because many thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa attempt to make the crossing to Europe on rickety boats during the summer. Many land on Lampedusa, the Italian island less than 100 miles from Tunisia. The BBC said 37,000 migrants landed on Italian shores last year, a 75% increase on the year before.

Italy gave Libya three patrol boats in May to help control the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean. The BBC reported that Roberto Maroni, the Italian interior minister, a member of the anti-immigration Northern League, had described the first 200 migrants returned to Libya as a "historic" moment.

Integration of EU Muslims and Islamophobia

Marwa El-Sherbini's tragic death recalls many thoughts on the Islamophobia towards Muslims in Europe versus Muslims integration. For years, Muslims in Europe have been encouraged to get integrated into their communities, empower their citizenships, and contribute to their European societies.

At the time when these European calls were getting heard by Muslims, their echoes were drowned in a blizzard of obstacles spin. From the Danish cartoons crisis, French hijab ban, the sequence of attacks on European mosques and cemeteries, Fitna movie, and up to El-Sherbibi's death, European Muslims have been moving out of the frying pan into the fire.

As a Muslim in Europe who is on his way to get fully integrated into his society, such Islamophobic obstacles can not be simply dealt with. The effect of each of these Islamophobic acts on Muslims in Europe integration process would in a way "bring them abruptly back down to earth," according to one of our British Muslim readers.

Surprisingly enough, while facing such hard times ─when Islamophbia was echoing round their daily lives─ Muslims in Europe were able to get a unique benefit from each experience, share it together, and learn how to move on.

"While our fellow Europeans are putting us under fire, I am still boasting about my European identity and I am still enjoying the European democracy. Thanks to the few people supporting our rights," wrote M.K, a reader from the Netherlands.

Since its launch, IslamOnline.net's European Muslims Page has been acting as a platform for European Muslim voices. During the crisis times, we have tried to hear from European Muslims, absorb their shocking defeats, and attempt to turn them into a counter chain of positive reactions.

Furthermore, we have been very keen to engage the European Muslims in healthy debates with other parties, including the European Governments, through unique dialogue opportunities.

And now that the right-wing anti-Islam European parties are on the rise, we thought of ringing the alert bells and pointing out to the threats facing Muslims' integration into Europe hopefully a wise observer would react appropriately before Muslims' depression become unalterable.

"I am quite depressed with the attacks against my hijab that I face on a daily basis. I am not aiming at offending people with my hijab, nor do I force any one to accept my hijab. But it's my right to be accepted as a human being," said S.Elianor, one of our German readers.

A lot of questions are now revolving in minds, such as why do many Muslims in Europe believe that it is "useless" to file a complaint against the day-to-day discrimination they face and why was murder the fate of El-Sherbini ─ one of those positive Muslims who respects the legal system they are living under and who dares taking abusers and attackers to court, where she faced her death.

Most importantly, will Muslims in Europe be able to hold on to their integration and loyalty to their countries while many European actions are driving them to the opposite direction?

Europe is now in need of reconsidering its attitude towards Muslims, analyzing the reasons behind the European Islamophobia, and defending Muslims' rights, rather than working mainly on combating terrorism, extremism, radicalism or issuing anti-terror laws and warnings that are likely to target Muslims only.

On the other hand, Muslims in Europe should continue to get engaged in their societies and prove their empowered citizenships through positive actions which always speak louder than words.

Radwa Khorshid is the editor of IslamOnline.net's European Muslims Section. You may contact her at radwa.khorshid@iolteam.com.

Race Riots in Secular France ... Again

France has been busy banning Hijab in Schools and now banning Burqa in public. The reason for this being that it wants to integrate all different sections and societies. How will it change the fact though that the majority of white people look down at the immigrants or the non-whites. Maybe it could adopt a compulsary scheme that there has to be a non-white in each family by law;)

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French riot police firing teargas and plastic bullets have struggled to contain three nights of rioting and arson by youths on suburban estates in the Loire, amid protests over the death of a 21-year-old in police custody.

High-rises in Firminy, a small town bordering countryside on the outskirts of Saint-Étienne, saw running battles between police and youths in the early hours of this morning after Mohamed Benmouna, a local supermarket cashier, was taken from his police cell in a coma and died in hospital.

Benmouna, who had been arrested on extortion charges, died on Wednesday. Police said he attempted to hang himself in his cell and fell into a coma. His Algerian family, sceptical of the official story, have filed a lawsuit to establish the circumstances of his death and whether police violence was covered up.

The local state prosecutor, Jacques Pin, said a postmortem confirmed Benmouna died of suffocation and his body showed no trace of violence or police abuse. But he said video surveillance equipment that would normally have filmed Benmouna's cell was not functioning properly. The police inspectorate has opened an investigation.

For three nights, youths have taken to the streets of Firminy to riot over the death, burning local shops, torching dozens of cars and stoning police, despite repeated pleas for calm from the family. Last night the family and 200 locals staged a peaceful sit-down protest outside their block of flats. But later groups of youths began torching buildings and cars and stoning police. The local bakers, chemist, tobacconist and hairdressing salon were razed. Two hundred riot police were brought in to control rioters with teargas and plastic bullets. Six arrests were made.

The Benmouna case has reopened France's festering sore - the dire relations between police and youths of immigrant descent on suburban estates. The case has echoes of the 2005 urban riots triggered by the deaths of two teenagers trying to escape from police in Clichy-sous-Bois, a Paris suburb. In November 2007, the death of two boys in a collision with a police car sparked violence and rioting in the Paris suburb of Villier-le-Bel, as youths railed against what they said was widespread police injustice.

Abdelkader Benmouna, Mohamed's father, who will lead a silent remembrance march tomorrow told reporters that he wanted to know how his son had time to make a noose in his cell. "Where were the police during all that time? That's the question, that's where I'm looking for the truth."

The case comes months after an Amnesty International report warned that France routinely failed to investigate police brutality including racial abuse, excessive force and unlawful killings. The study, which said the majority of victims of alleged cases of police brutality were from ethnic minorities or foreigners, confirmed an earlier United Nations warning of "allegations of persistent discriminatory behaviour" towards certain ethnic groups by the police.

The report focused on specific cases of alleged brutality, including cases of men of African or north African origin who died after alleged ill-treatment. In one case, a Malian, Abou Bakari Tandia, was stopped by police for an identity check and taken to a police station where he fell into a coma in his cell and later died from multiple organ failure. Police said he inflicted the injuries himself.

The French police union Alliance denounced the rioting in Firminy, rejecting accusations that officers at the police station could have been responsible for Benmouna's death.

Turks protest against China for East Turkestan

Enraged by images of beaten and bloody bodies of the Uighur Muslim minority in China's Xinjiang district, Turkish demonstrators poured into the streets following Friday prayers in Istanbul on July 10. Waving a huge East Turkestan flag, the old name of Xinjiang, protesters chanted slogans in support of East Turkestan, setting fire to Chinese flags. (Reuters' photos)

Earthquake and Injustice

Long back I heard this story from an authoritative person. During the time when Umer Ibn Khattab (raa) was Caliph, there was an earthquake in Mecca. Umar (raa) used to carry a small hunter with him. He immediately lashed the earth and said, "Have I done any injustice. If not why are you shaking". The earth stopped moving and the quake subsided. I couldnt find the reference or the exact story on the web. How would you compare this to modern world.

We can see that earthquakes are becoming quite common in China. Surprisingly they occur very close to when the geovernment opresses any of its minorities like the Tibetians or the Uighurs. Maybe these earthquakes are more than just normal phenomenas. Maybe its a warning from Allah.

British pimps outsource torture to Pakistan

The true depth of British involvement in the torture of terrorism suspects overseas and the manner in which that complicity is concealed behind a cloak of courtroom secrecy was laid bare last night when David Davis MP detailed the way in which one counter-terrorism operation led directly to a man suffering brutal mistreatment.

In a dramatic intervention using the protection of parliamentary privilege, the former shadow home secretary revealed how MI5 and Greater Manchester police effectively sub-contracted the torture of Rangzieb Ahmed to a Pakistani intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), whose routine use of torture has been widely documented.

This is the first time that the information has entered the public domain. Previously it has been suppressed through the process of secret court hearings and, had the Guardian or other media organisations reported it, they would have exposed themselves to the risk of prosecution for contempt of court.

Davis told MPs that although sufficient evidence had been gathered to ensure Ahmed could be prosecuted for serious terrorism offences, he was permitted to fly from Manchester to Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, in 2006 while under surveillance. He then detailed the way in which the British authorities:

• Tipped off the ISI that Ahmed was on his way.

• Told the ISI he was a terrorist and suggested that he should be detained.

• Were aware of the methods used by the ISI while questioning terrorism suspects.

• Drew up a list of questions for the ISI to put to Ahmed.

• Questioned him themselves after he had been in ISI custody for around 13 days.

The officers from MI5 and MI6 who interrogated Ahmed should have known his detention was unlawful because he had not been brought before a court. Ahmed says he told these officers he was being tortured and that signs of his mistreatment would have been evident.

He says he was whipped, beaten, deprived of sleep and sexually humiliated. At one point three fingernails were ripped out of his left hand. He says this was done slowly, over a period of days, while he was being asked questions which he believes were handed to the ISI by British and US authorities.

Researchers from the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) say several Pakistani officials have corroborated accounts of torture given by several victims. The officials not only made clear that their counterparts in British intelligence were fully aware of the methods they were employing during interrogations but claim the British agents were "grateful" it was happening.

In a statement issued today , HRW said senior Pakistani officials had told it "on numerous occasions" that British officials were aware of the mistreatment of a number of terrorism suspects from the UK, including Rangzieb Ahmed and Salahuddin Amin, who are now serving life sentences in the UK, Zeeshan Siddiqui, whose whereabouts is unknown, and Rashid Rauf, who is said to have died in a US missile strike after escaping from custody.

HRW said senior officials in Pakistan had confirmed the "overall authenticity" of the allegations made by Ahmed, from Rochdale, who had three fingernails ripped out of his left hand after MI5 and Greater Manchester police drew up a list of questions and handed them to his Pakistani captors.

The sources said that an account given by Amin, from Luton, of the manner in which he was tortured in between meetings with MI5 officers was "essentially accurate", adding that his was a "high pressure" case in which the demand for information made by both British and American intelligence officers was "insatiable".

HRW says it was told by senior Pakistani officials that the UK and the US were "party" to Amin's detention and were "perfectly aware that we were using all means possible to extract information from him and were grateful that we were doing so".

HRW was told by senior Pakistani intelligence officers that their British counterparts were well aware that Siddiqui, from London, was being "processed in the traditional way". These sources said they worked so closely with the British officials that those officials were in effect interrogating Siddiqui even though they were not in the torture chamber.

In other cases, Pakistani agents who were dealing with their British counterparts while torturing British citizens say they were "under pressure to perform" and to extract as much information as possible.

Furthermore, HRW says a British intelligence source has told it that plans to deport one British citizen from Pakistan to the UK and prosecute him for terrorism offences had to be dropped because the individual had been so severely tortured.

The Pakistani interrogators' accounts of their close working relationship with British intelligence officers are to be detailed in a HRW report later this year.

Srebrenica Massacre: 14 years ago...

Today, fourteen years after the massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica – the worst atrocity in Europe since the end of the Second World War – another 500 coffins will join the thousands buried in the memorial graveyard outside the town.

The International Commission on Missing Persons has been carrying out the grim task of identifying remains using DNA and other evidence, allowing relatives to bury their dead and gain "closure". To date, it has identified 6,186 of the massacre's victims. Every year, on the anniversary, the bodies that have been identified in the previous 12 months are laid to rest in a ceremony of painful emotion. After today's funeral, groups of mourners will lay flowers in front of the barn in the nearby village of Kravica where, in the worst single incident of the massacre, more than 1,000 men were tortured and executed in a single afternoon.

Though hemmed in by Serbs, the Muslim community of the coal mining town in eastern Bosnia believed itself to be under the protection of about 600 Dutch UN peacekeepers. But when Serbian forces poured into the town in the summer of 1995, under the command of General Ratko Mladic, the Dutch failed to protect their charges. The women and children were crammed into buses and sent away to safety, but over a period of three days the unarmed men, aged from 12 to 77, were systematically murdered.

Afterwards their bodies were dumped into rivers and mass graves. When aerial photos surfaced afterwards, the Serbian army ordered the corpses to be dispersed to secondary and even tertiary grave sites, to hide the carnage. This was done by bulldozers and resulted in bodies being broken up and widely scattered. In one case, the remains of a victim were discovered in four different mass graves, two of which were about 12 miles apart.

Srebrenica is Serb-dominated now and ethnic intolerance is a steady undercurrent in the region. The nearby town of Bratunac is said to hold the highest number of unprosecuted war criminals per capita in all of Bosnia. Many of them serve in the local police force.

"Bosnia is facing the worst political crisis since the war," political analyst Srecko Latal told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Bosnia is gripped by rising political tensions, with Serbs threatening to secede and some Muslim leaders calling for the abolition of the Serbs' Republika Srpska.

"One of the rare encouraging things is that political tensions have not reflected on the relationships between ordinary people," said Latal.

But he warned that "might be changing."

Bosnia fell into a devastating civil war in 1992 that left 200,000 people dead and displaced millions.

So far some 3,200 victims have been buried at a memorial just outside the ill-fated town. Thousands are yet to be exhumed and identified in the area where some 70 mass graves have been uncovered.