A Muslim marriage is referred to as Nikaah. It is a beautiful contract between the bride and the groom to spend the rest of their lives together. A typical Muslim marriage is characterized by much color and gaiety. Men and women dressed in their traditional attire gather together to celebrate the wedding with much zeal and enthusiasm.
The mehendi ceremony inaugurates the Muslim wedding. This event takes place at the house of the bride wherein the hands and feet of the bride and the other female members of the house are adorned with beautiful henna patterns. Turmeric paste is also applied on the face, hands and feet of the bride. After this ceremony the bride should not step out of the house till the wedding day. This event starts the wedding festivities. The ladies of the house sing traditional wedding songs and there is much fun and excitement.
Similar to other Indian marriages the wedding venue is the house of the bride where the groom arrives on the wedding day with his family and friends. They are welcomed amidst much teasing and banter by the relations of the bride. The bride is usually decked in the clothes and jewelry that had been sent to her by the groom's family. The bridegroom on the other hand wears a sherwani and a topi.
The actual wedding ceremony is referred to as Nikaah. The bride and the groom are kept in separate rooms and there is a curtain that separates the two. The walis, the fathers of the bride and the groom play an important role in a Muslim wedding. The wedding is conducted by a maulvi (priest) who reads passages from the holy Quran to solemnize the marriage. The assent of both the groom and the bride is taken and is registered in the Nikaahnama which is the sacred marriage document. This is later signed by the groom and the bride.
After this the groom is blessed by the elderly ladies present there and the guests pray for the happy married life of the newly weds. This is followed by a sumptuous meal. The ladies and the gentlemen are served separately. The maulvi places the Quran between the couples and they can see each other only through mirrors. The bride next leaves for her new home where she looks forward to begin her new life. Valimah is the grand reception that is hosted by the groom's family. This serves to bring both the families together and is a joyous occasion.
Marriage is both a social necessity as well as a religious duty in Islam. A great emphasis is thus laid on the social as well as the religious dimensions of the ceremony. A typical Muslim marriage is a grand affair that extends to four or five days. The nikaah can be conducted at any convenient time and venue. The family and friends of the bride and groom come together to make the marriage a truly joyous occasion
So here we go again. Another international Islamic terrorist plot - and yet another British connection.
The attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up an American plane was averted only by luck and courage.
The incident obviously raises alarming questions about gross lapses in security. In particular, how did Abdulmutallab obtain a U.S. visa when he had been on an American watch-list of people with known terrorist connections?
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab photographed during a school trip in England in 2002, seven years before he attempted to blow up an American aeroplane
But the deeper and more urgent issue for Britain concerns the key role this country has once again played in a Muslim's trajectory to radicalisation and terror. Abdulmutallab, who claims to have been working for Al Qaeda, was an engineering student at prestigious University College London for three years until 2008.
He was actually refused an entry visa to Britain earlier this year, but only because the institution at which he said he wanted to study turned out to be non-existent.
How, people might well ask, could such a radical have been educated in Britain without the authorities jumping on him?
Did MI5 know anything about him - especially since he was on a U.S. terrorism watch-list for two years?
As yet, we still don't know much about this man's history.
It appears he became a religiously extreme Muslim at a school in Togo, but was further radicalised while studying in London before apparently going to Yemen and linking to Al Qaeda.
Umar Abdul Mutallab being arrested after trying to set off an explosive aboard flight 253 on Christmas day
Who can be surprised? After all, this is ' Londonistan' - the contemptuous term coined by the French security service back in the Nineties as they watched Britain become the central hub of Islamic terrorism in Europe.
Radicals flocked to the UK, attracted by Britain's toxic combination of criminally lax immigration controls, generous health, education and welfare benefits and the ability to perpetuate their views through the British veneration of the principle of free speech.
Despite 9/11, the 2005 London Tube and bus attacks and the dozens of other Islamist plots uncovered in Britain, the astounding fact is that Islamic extremist networks are still allowed to flourish in Britain, largely through the obsession of its governing class with multiculturalism and 'human rights'.
As a result, Britain remains - to its eternal shame - the biggest hub of Islamic radicalisation outside the Arab and Muslim world.
Extremists are still slipping into the country. The courts are still refusing to deport terrorists in order to protect their 'human rights' abroad.
London boasts the shameful reputation of the world's premier money-laundry for terrorism, which shelters behind a label of 'charity' that the authorities choose not to challenge.
Not only is no action taken against extremist mosques and madrassas, but many British universities have been turned into terrorism recruitment centres.
More than four years ago, the intelligence expert Professor Anthony Glees listed 24 British universities which he said had been infiltrated by militant jihadists.
Indeed, the long list of Islamic terrorists who were educated at universities in Britain should in itself have raised concerns about radical Islam on campus.
Yet Professor Glees was instead undermined by university authorities determined to bury their heads in the sand.
Last year, a poll by the Centre for Social Cohesion found - horrifyingly - that almost one in every three Muslim students in the UK said that killing in the name of religion was justified, with one third also in favour of a worldwide Islamic caliphate, or empire, based on Islamic sharia law.
The Centre also noted on campus the presence of extreme Islamist books in some prayer rooms, appearances by militant Islamist speakers, and links between extreme Islamists and the student Islamic Societies.
Yet the government refuses to outlaw Hizb ut-Tahrir, one of the key groups that is radicalising students on campus by infiltrating and taking over these student societies and preaching its subversive message of Islamising the free world.
But it's not just in the universities that Britain seems unable to recognise, let alone deal with, highly manipulative Muslim extremists.
Astonishingly, similarly radical speakers are regularly invited into the very heart of the defence establishment, on courses teaching intelligence officials as well as soldiers and police officers about radical Islam.
The Government is funnelling money into extremist Islamist groups, and even employs Islamist radicals within government as advisers on - wait for it - 'combating Islamic extremism'.
All in all, Britain's defences against radical Islamism now resemble nothing so much as one giant hen-house over which a pack of ravenous foxes has been placed in charge.
The root cause of this madness is that British ministers and officials refuse to accept that what they are facing is religious fanaticism.
They insist that Islamic extremism and terrorism have got nothing to do with Islam but are rather a 'perversion' of Islam. And they believe that the antidote to this is 'authentic' Islam - which they then use taxpayers' money to promote.
But what they fail to grasp is that 'authentic' Islam is currently dominated by a deeply politicised interpretation which promotes holy war to conquer 'infidels' and insufficiently pious Muslims.
And although many such Muslims abhor this and have nothing to do with violence or extremism, it is an interpretation backed up by Islamic theology and history and currently supported by the major religious authorities in the Islamic world.
That is what the government often ends up inadvertently funding - with catastrophic results. For when exposed to this, even many hitherto secular Muslims become radicalised.
So it is hardly surprising if, when Abdulmutallab came to Britain, the country's ostrich-like denial of Islamic fanaticism helped turn him from a religious extremist into a terrorist.
If Britain is ever to get on top of its terrorism problem, it has properly to acknowledge and tackle this radicalisation process. That means giving no quarter to this politicised interpretation of Islam.
And that means junking its current idiotic definition of an 'extremist' as merely someone who is committed to violence. It must outlaw instead the religious fanaticism that also threatens the British way of life.
Certainly, it is important not to demonise those British Muslims who pose no threat to this society.
So the Government should say that Muslims are welcome to live here on exactly the same basis as all other religious minorities - that they accept the principle of one law for all, and do nothing to threaten or undermine the prevailing culture.
That means an end to the increasing toleration of Islamic sharia law as the effective jurisdiction in Muslim areas, which so badly threatens in particular the safety and well-being of women, homosexuals and converts from the faith.
It means giving no quarter to the Muslim Council of Britain and all the other organisations and individuals who support Islamic extremism but are currently wooed by Whitehall.
It means outlawing Hizb ut-Tahrir. It means prosecuting the anti-West fanatics in mosques and madrassas. It means profiling Muslim extremists at airports.
None of these things is currently being done. Instead, radical Islamism is being appeased on the grounds that Muslims must not feel targeted in any way.
But in fact, this merely cuts the ground from under the feet of genuinely moderate British Muslims.
For it is their friends and relatives, and worst of all their children, who are being radicalised through such a wrongheaded strategy.
The urgent question now has to be asked how many other Islamic terrorists in Britain are, like the quiet, studious, privileged Abdulmutallab, also lurking beneath the radar.
For in the defence of Western society against militant Islam's war of conquest, the activities of the Christmas Day bomber show that once again Londonistan is the weakest link in the chain.
A BBC show called “Politics of Terror” focuses on Hizb ut Tahrir and their infiltration into British schools and institutions.
A person can earn money by two means; one is agriculture and the other is business. If business is not done according to the ethics then there will always be inflation and shortage of goods. As it can be seen in the case of many commodities like wheat, sugar etc. It is due to the stocking in, speculation and the selfishness of some businessmen. The government has also become a trader itself, while the shariah has stopped the Islamic government from trading.
As it can be seen that business is an important part of life, the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) said, "People get 9/10 of their daily bread by trade." Islam explains the concept of righteous trade by telling business ethics. If trade or any other thing is done against the morals and creed then this will lead to the bad end on the day of resurrection. Also by the law the person guilty of illegal business would end up no where. Islam emphasizes on the importance of the business ethics a lot. Allah says in the Quran, "they say that buying is also like interest but Allah has declared buying as permissible and interest as forbidden." And "When you buy or sell then make someone a witness of it." The Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) said, "If trade was not there then you would have become a burden on others." He also said that "A trader is the guardian of the means of daily bread and a keeper of the dignity of himself and other people." The Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) encouraged the trust worthy traders by these words, "A trustworthy and truthful merchant shall be with the prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the righteous." "God shows mercy to a person who is kindly when he sells, when he buys and when he makes a claim" The prophet emphasized on the truthfulness and the righteousness of the businessmen a lot. He said that "Verily, merchants shall be raised up sinners on the day of resurrection, except he who fears God, and is good, and speaks the truth."
Business and ethics
As Muslims, we have to adhere to ethical standards, not only in business but also in all aspects of life. Both business and ethics are interrelated. There is a reference to this point in the Qur'an, "For you in the Messenger of Allah is a fine example to follow." Allah Almighty says, "To the Madyan people (we sent) Shu'aib, one of their own brethren: he said: 'O my people! Worship Allah. You have no other god but Him. And give not short measure or weight. I see you in prosperity, but I fear for you the penalty of a day that will compass (you) all rounds. And O my people! Give just measure and weight, nor withhold from the people the things that are their due: commit not evil in the land with intent to do mischief. That which is left you by Allah is best for you, if you (but) believed! But I am not set over you to keep watch!"
Prophet Muhammad was chosen by God to be His last prophet and messenger at the age of 40. Before that he was very much involved in business. He and his wife Khadija were both merchants. It is reported that he traveled to Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, and many other places in Arabia for trade. Some historians have also suggested that he probably traveled to Iraq and Ethiopia. From his early age, he was involved in commerce. He had a good reputation as a hardworking, honest, truthful, and very successful businessman.
Fair dealings in business
The Holy Qur'an and Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) have made it clear that a Muslim must be honest and upright in his business and monetary dealing. Also the true Muslim should keep his word and fulfill his promises, shun fraud and avoid deceit and perfidy, encroach not upon the rights of others, nor take part in wrongful litigation. Also a good Muslim does not give false testimony, and abstains from making unlawful money as from usury and graft. According to Islam whoever is not free from these vices, is not a true believer but a renegade and a worthless transgressor.
And the Qur'an is rich with verses that confirm all this. Allah says in the Quran, "Eat not up each other's property by unfair and dishonest means."
Allah forbids all unclean and corrupt means of making money, such as, dishonest trading, gambling, and bribery. And the Holy Quran has explained and described such practices in many of its verses. He says, "Woe to those that deal in fraud, - those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, exact full measure, but when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than due. Do they not think that they will be asked on a Mighty Day when (all) mankind will stand before the Lord of the lords."
Another example is given in the coming verse, where Allah urges Muslims to be very particular about their trusts and about other people's rights. "Allah does command you to render back your trust, to those to whom they are due."
Major principles of fair business dealings
According to Islam, the following things must be avoided to commence fair business.
1. No fraud or deceit, the Prophet (P.B.U.H) is reported to have said, "When a sale is held, say, There's no cheating"
2. Sellers must avoid making too many oaths when selling merchandise. The Prophet (P.B.U.H) is reported to have said, "Be careful of excessive oaths in a sale. Though it finds markets, it reduces abundance."
3. Mutual consent is necessary. The Prophet (P.B.U.H) is reported to have said, "The sale is complete when the two involved depart with mutual consent."
4. Be strict in regard to weights and measures. The Prophet (P.B.U.H) said, "When people cheat in weight and measures, their provision is cut off from them." He told the owners of measures and weights, "You have been entrusted with affairs over which some nations before you were destroyed."
5. The Prophet (P.B.U.H) forbade monopolies. "Whoever monopolizes is a sinner."
6. Free enterprise, the price of the commodities should not be fixed unless there is a situation of crisis or extreme necessity.
7. Hoarding merchandise in order to increase the prices is forbidden.
8. Transaction of forbidden (Haram) items, such as intoxicants, is forbidden.
Fraud and dishonesty in business
Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) has stressed the importance of honesty in most of his sermons, saying, "Remember, there is no faith in him who is not trustworthy; there is no place for him in religion who cares not for his pledged word or promise. He (PBUH) also said, "The signs of a hypocrite are three, when he speaks, he is false, when he promises, he fails; and when he is trusted, he plays false."
Condemning those who cheat in business Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) has said, "He who cheats is not of us. Deceitfulness and fraud are things that lead one to Hell."
Once Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) came upon a heap of corn in the market of Madinah and thrust his hand onto it. His fingers felt damp. On being asked, the trader replied that rain had fallen upon it. The Prophet (P.B.U.H) observed, "Why did you not then keep (the wet portion of) it above the dry corn, so that men may see it? He, who deceives, is not one of us."
Thus traders who deceive by showing to customers a false sample or by concealing from them the defects of the product they're selling are not true Muslims in the judgment of Allah Prophet (PBUH) and, they are going to end up in hell.
Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) said, "The seller must explain to the buyer the defects, if any, in the quality of the article offered for sale. Should this not be done, the seller will permanently be caught in the Wrath of Allah."
In short, all manner of deceit and dishonesty in business is prohibited in Islam. The Holy Prophet has expressed his strong dislike for those who do so.
Bribery in business transactions
Bribery and usury, although might be practiced by mutual consent and agreement, are totally prohibited and forbidden. Those who are guilty of them have been condemned by Allah and His Prophet (P.B.U.H). Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) said, "The curse of Allah rests on him who offers loan on usurious terms, and on him who receives, and on those who are witnesses to the transaction, and on the writer who writes the deed thereof."
Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) said, "If a person made a recommendation for anyone in a just manner and gratified party gave him something as a gift (in return for it) and he accepted it, then he committed a grave error (meaning that it, too, is a form of bribery)."
Usurpation of another's property by force or fraud or dishonest litigation is even worse. Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) made this clear, as he says, "Whoever occupies land belonging to another unjustly will be sunk into the ground along with the plot of land on the Doomsday till he reaches the lowest layer of the earth." And "He who acquires the property of a Muslim unjustly by taking a false oath (before an Officer) is debarred by Allah from entering Paradise and the Fire of Hell is made inevitable for him." Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) again, is reported to have warned a person who was very fond of entering into litigation with others in these strong words, "Remember, he who will obtain the property of another by swearing a false oath will appear as a leper before Allah (on the Day of Judgment)."
And, again he (P.B.U.H) said, "Whoever laid a claim on a thing that was not his is not of us."
Conclusion
The Prophet's general advice to all people was that, "What is lawful is clear and what is unlawful is clear, but between them are certain doubtful things which many people do not recognize. He who guards against the doubtful things keep his religion and his honor blameless, but he who falls into doubtful things falls into what is unlawful, just as a shepherd who pastures his flocks round a sanctuary will soon pasture them in it. Every king has a sanctuary, and God's sanctuary is the things he had declared unlawful." Before the Prophet invited his people towards Islam, it was his truthfulness and trustworthiness which had earned for Muhammad (S.A.W.) the glorious titles of "Sadiq" (truthful) and "Amin". Therefore, one must follow the teachings of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H) in regard to business and all other aspects of life; to become a good Businessman and hence, a better Muslim.
Extremist Muslims who force vulnerable teenage girls to convert to Islam are being targeted by police, Met chief Sir Ian Blair has revealed.
Police are working with universities to clamp down on "aggressive conversions" during which girls are beaten up and forced to abandon university courses.
The Hindu Forum of Britain claims hundreds of mostly Sikh and Hindu girls have been intimidated by Muslim men who take them out on dates before terrorising them until they convert.
Sir Ian spoke about the problem at a conference organised by the forum.
A Met spokesman said: "Neighbourhood officers work with university authorities in London and we would encourage anyone targeted in this way to seek help and support and where necessary use third party reporting facilities if they do not want to contact police directly."
Ramesh Kallidai, of the Hindu Forum of Britain, said: "Some girls are petrified because they are constantly being phoned up, having their door knocked.
"One girl was beaten up on the street and others have been forced to leave university."
• Met police chiefs are to review a controversial stop-and-search power used in the fight against terrorism. Assistant commissioner Andy Hayman, the overall head of Britain's anti-terrorist operations, said he had concerns about the number of stops carried out in London using Section 44 legislation.
AN Afghan dad whose family live rent-free in a £1.2million pad has been charged with running a massive tax-dodge scam.
Haji Saeidi's wife and seven kids already get £170,000 a YEAR in benefits to live in the seven-bedroom home in Acton, West London.
But now Mr Saeidi, 48, could face jail after allegedly swindling hundreds of thousands of pounds MORE from taxpayers.
The cabbie will stand trial with another man next month accused of helping to run a cigarette smuggling racket. Prosecutors will claim the pair deliberately evaded paying duty on imported fags and tobacco. One source said: "Typical sentences for evading duty up to £500,000 can be up to four years in jail."
Mr Saeidi, who came to the UK in 2000 and lives apart from his family, was unavailable for comment. Wife Toorpakai, 36, said: "This is no business of yours." The Sun first told in October 2008 how she, her four sons and three daughters aged nine to 23, have benefited from loopholes in Whitehall guidelines introduced in 2008 for housing allowances. New rules have since been introduced. But Ealing Council cannot move them from the mansion until late January.
Three elements of this story are of particular interest regarding the subversion of British law for Sharia: The first is the persistence of child marriage, which was made not only acceptable but commendable in Islam (Qur'an 33:21) by Muhammad's own example. The second is the obvious disregard for the force of non-Islamic law when a practice is permissible under Sharia, and the third is the attitude toward women as property whose rights are limited by the authority of men over them, which permeates Islamic texts and teachings (see, for example, Qur'an 4:34). Despite the nature of the crime, the light sentences issued in response demonstrate a lack of seriousness in making clear that British law remains the law of the land -- especially for the sake of the most vulnerable members of society, like the pre-teen girl in this case. fromBBC News,
The 54-year-old organised a sham Muslim ceremony between his son, then 16, and the girl at his home in Woolwich, south-east London, in March last year.
At Wood Green Crown Court the boy got an 18-month supervision order for rape.
The fathers of the boy and girl were both jailed for three years for inciting a child to engage in sexual activity following an illegal marriage.
The boy's mother, 54, was given a 12-month jail term, suspended for two years, for the same offence.
She was also ordered to do 200 hours of community service.
The case came to light when the mother of the girl, who objected to the arranged "marriage", told police about it.
Scotland Yard child abuse detectives then discovered several relatives of the boy had urged him to rape his cousin.
In a statement, the girl's mother said: "What happened to my daughter was a nightmare. These convictions will help us move on."
Speaking after the case, Det Insp Noel McHugh, who led the investigation, called it a "really awful crime".
He said: "This has been an exceptionally challenging investigation and we are grateful to all those who assisted with the case and ensured the convictions.
"The offences are incomprehensible and the victim is a truly brave girl who suffered at the hands of those who should have offered her protection."...
An asylum seeker who ran over a girl of 12 and left her to die has won his appeal to stay in the UK after arguing his right to a family life.
Aso Mohammed Ibrahim, 32, was banned from driving and awaiting deportation when he ran away with Amy Houston trapped under the wheels of his car.
But the Iraqi Kurd, who was jailed for four months, used the European Human Rights Act to avoid being sent home because he has since had two children here.
Last night Amy's family condemned the decision and said Ibrahim had destroyed their own right to a family life.
Her father, Paul Houston, said: 'I know what it feels to have your family broken up, but the fact he has got to stay is an absolute travesty.
'They may as well give passports out in lucky bags because that is all they are worth. I cannot believe the judge's decision and that he thinks it is right for him to stay here. Is he on another planet?'
The 39-year-old engineer, from Darwen, Lancashire, added: 'If I thought he was genuinely sorry, I would have stood up in court and said I didn't want him to be taken away from his children.'
All Ibrahim's applications for asylum and citizenship had been rejected at the time of the accident.
But although he was technically awaiting deportation, he was not returned to Iraq because it was too dangerous. Just weeks before knocking down Amy outside her home in November 2003, Ibrahim had been banned for nine months for driving while disqualified and without insurance or a licence.
Amy, who lived with her mother Joanne Cocker, was trapped beneath the car but Ibrahim got out and ran off. A police officer drove her in an ambulance so both its paramedics could treat her, but despite their efforts she died in hospital later that day.
Ibrahim later went to a police station and confessed.
But after serving his sentence for failing to stop after an accident he met a British woman, Christina Richardson. They claim they had an Islamic marriage ceremony in Birmingham, but there is no documentary proof.
They now have two children, Harry, three, and Zara, two.
In 2006, Ibrahim was again convicted of driving while disqualified and given two-year supervision order and a three-year driving ban.
He was going through further processes to try to stay in the UK but again these were exhausted, and last year he was taken to a deportation centre pending a final appeal.
The hearing was held in Manchester last month where he argued he had a right to stay under provision in the European Human Rights Act for the right to a family life.
This week the decision was made to allow him to remain.
But Amy's father, who is being supported by his mother Margaret, remains defiant. Mr Houston said: 'I hope he doesn't celebrate too soon because this is not the end.
'I could sit here and think "Well, Amy's dead, she isn't going to come back" but I won't. I will fight this decision for the rest of my life - or until he leaves the country. I owe Amy that much.' The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal said the reasons behind the judgment would not be made public. But Justice Secretary Jack Straw, who is Mr Houston's MP, said he was 'very disappointed' by the decision and would take the case to Home Secretary Alan Johnson to try to force an appeal.
Jo Liddy, regional director of the UK Border Agency in the North West, said: 'We are extremely disappointed. We have made it clear that we will prioritise the removal of those foreign nationals who present the most risk of harm to the public.'
Road safety groups campaigned for years for stiffer penalties to be introduced for killer drivers. In 2007, the Government introduced longer prison sentences for people causing death while driving a car while disqualified or without valid insurance.
Before, that is, he saw the possible financial rewards of playing the Islamic victim game. But this time, it backfired. An update on this story. "Muslim police chef defeated in 'bacon roll' tribunal faces £75,000 legal bill," by Tom Harper in the Daily Mail,
A Muslim chef who lost a claim of religious discrimination against Scotland Yard after complaining he was forced to cook sausages and bacon faces a legal bill of more than £75,000.
Hasanali Khoja accused the Metropolitan Police of failing to consider his Islamic beliefs when he was asked to handle pork products as a catering manager at a police station.
The £23,000-a-year chef claimed suggestions by his bosses that he should wear gloves and use tongs left him 'stressed and humiliated'. Muslims are banned from eating pork under Islamic law.
But Mr Khoja, 62, lost his claim in May after a police employee told an employment tribunal how she saw Mr Khoja eat bacon rolls and sausages.
The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) has now won a ruling ordering Mr Khoja to pay its costs, which total at least £76,200.
In its costs claim, the Met said Mr Khoja 'knew that he had asked for a bacon roll two or three times for personal consumption before bringing his claim and throughout the conduct of his claim'.
'The fact that he had knowingly come into contact with pork products before bringing the claim shows that the claim had no reasonable prospect of success from the outset.'...
Mr Khoja, who sits on a Foods Standards Agency advisory committee on Muslim issues, decided to take action after Scotland Yard chiefs placed him on unpaid leave for a year after his refusal to work with pork....
But his case fell apart when another caterer, Mary Boakye, told the court she served him bacon rolls 'two or three' times at the Met canteen at Heathrow in West London.
When she told him she was surprised because his religion banned him from eating pork, Mr Khoja allegedly replied: 'I eat them once in a while.'
Another chef said he saw Mr Khoja once happily eat a sausage dish and told the court 'he was not as strict as some Muslims'.
Judge Southam also heard how Mr Khoja had made 'wild and baseless' allegations about a human resource manager, allegedly making racial facial gestures....
The graffiti was removed with lightning speed and the news report of the incident doesn't say what it said, but rather blames the "far right." Apparently there are forces in the U.K. who don't want people to know that some Muslims crow about how Islam will dominate.
"Vandals deface the town war memorial," by Richard Castle at the Burton Mail, December 18
A Royal British Legion boss says vandals have "dishonoured those who have given their lives for our country" by defacing Burton's war memorial.
Roy Whenman, vice-chairman of the town's Legion branch, received calls from members saying an extremist message had been written on the statue.
Having been informed at 9.20am, borough council chiefs had cleaned the graffiti from the relic, situated outside Burton College, in Lichfield Street, by 9.40am....
Dennis Fletcher, chairman of East Staffordshire Racial Equality Council, said he suspected someone from the far right was responsible....
Yes, of course, the "far right"! "Islam will dominate" is a common "far right" slogan!
And he wrote in a chat forum that he wanted to see Americans and Jews killed. But...but...I thought Albanian Muslims were all moderate, peaceful, and fiercely loyal to America and the West! "British court jails Albanian on terrorist charges," from JTA, December 18
(JTA) -- A British court jailed an Albanian Muslim for seven years after weapons and Hezbollah manuals were found in his home.
Krena Lusha, 30, from Derby in southeastern England, was sentenced Tuesday after being convicted on terrorist charges, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
Police found gasoline, Hezbollah bomb-building manuals, a suicide bomb belt, a missile, explosives and detonators in his home, the Jewish Chronicle reported.
They found videos of beheadings and bomb attacks on his computer as well as jihadist propaganda. Lusha told an internet chat forum that he wanted to see Americans and Jews killed....
The college for 1,500 pupils would be both the largest Muslim faith school and the biggest boarding school in the country – larger than 1,330-pupil Eton.
Yesterday Gordon Prentice, MP for Pendle, near the school site in Burnley, warned that it could damage existing schools and colleges in the area and stoke community tensions.
‘The last thing we need is single-sex, single faith schools for girls,’ he told the Times Educational Supplement.
‘It pulls against community cohesion. It makes me weep to think so much time, energy and effort has gone into the community to get people to mix together. [This] goes against all public policy.’
The blueprint emerged after a proposal for a 5,000-place girls’ boarding school in Pendle was dropped amid public opposition.
The Islamic charity behind the Burnley project, the Mohiuddin Trust, insists its aim is to ‘strengthen inter-community relationships’.
It is in the process of setting up Mohiuddin International Girls’ College after purchasing the former Burnley College site for £2million.
The college would cater for girls of 16 and over and teach mainstream qualifications and faith studies.
The trust wants the school to cater initially for 500 students, expanding to 1,500. Dr Mohammed Iqbal, a Mohiuddin trustee, said: ‘At this moment it’s difficult to offer a detailed response about the courses to be offered as we are still in the preliminary planning stages. ‘We do, however, expect to offer a variety of skills and courses.
‘A-levels are being considered but may not be available as soon as the college starts. ‘Our objective is to offer young women the opportunity to empower themselves with better qualifications with the aim of improving chances of securing better employment.’
Afzal Anwar, the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Pendle, said he understood that the school would be open to girls of all faiths, and would offer optional lessons in Islamic studies. He said the plans for a 5,000- place school in Pendle were dropped after attracting ‘overwhelming local opposition’ from all communities, including a majority of Muslims.
He added: ‘There should be provision for faith schools if parents want to send their children there.’
A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: ‘We have not yet been approached by the promoters of the school, so we do not know what their proposals are.
‘Any application will be scrutinised closely before the school can open.’
A BANK was blasted last night after giving a 100 per cent mortgage to an al-Qaeda terrorist who smuggled himself into the UK.
Albanian Krenar Lusha, 30, landed the NatWest loan after it failed to complete full checks on his UK status, a court heard.
He used the £93,000 terraced house in Derby to keep bomb-making equipment and set up an al-Qaeda base.
Lusha got the loan with no deposit at the height of the credit crunch last year.
He had opened a NatWest account after sneaking into the UK in a lorry in 2000.
Despite failing to win asylum, he got a driving licence and an engineering job - and had declined another mortgage offer.
One mortgage adviser told Preston Crown Court: "He was just a pleasant-natured person." But Lusha was yesterday jailed for seven years for possessing the bomb-making gear and manuals following a three-week trial. He boasted on dating websites of being a "terrorist" who "loved" to see Jews killed.
Footage on his PC showed beheadings. Mr Justice Butterfield said Lusha had a side that "revelled in violence".
Tory MP David Davies said last night: "Can we assume hundreds of illegal immigrants have been given mortgages?" NatWest said it had "robust mortgage account opening procedures".Read
A father was today jailed for 22 years for the honour killing of his teenage daughter.
Mehmet Goren murdered 15-year-old Tulay for her doomed 'Romeo and Juliet' romance with Halil Una, an older man from a different branch of Islam.
After the teenager lost her virginity to her lover she was viewed as a 'valueless commodity' by her father - and had to be killed to restore the family's reputation.
Mr Unal was a Turkish Sunni Muslim but the Gorens were from the Alevi branch of the faith and an Alevi-Sunni relationship 'would not have been tolerated', the Old Bailey heard.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Bean, said Goren's attempts to appear a 'thoroughly modern and enlightened family man' failed to deceive the jury.
'The reality is that your enigmatic smile conceals a violent and dominating personality,' he told the killer, who showed not a flicker of emotion.
'Your wife Hanim has finally had the courage to break free of the domination and reveal what she knew of what you did in January 1999.'
He said Goren planned the murder of his daughter with 'considerable care', even forcing her to write a letter relating a false account of what had happened to her to try to throw police off the scent.
Goren disposed of the schoolgirl's body 'with such ingenuity that it has never been found', he added.
'You did all this simply because you regarded it as unacceptable that she, rather than you, should choose the man she wanted to marry.
'The term "honour killing" is a convenient shorthand, but it is a grotesque distortion of language. 'There is nothing honourable about such a hideous practice or the people who carry it out.'
The judge made clear Goren would not be eligible for parole until 2030, when he will be nearly 70.
The Old Bailey had heard how Tulay - who had told a friend she might be pregnant - vanished from the family home in north London in January 1999.
The day before she disappeared, her mother Hanim returned home to find her daughter trussed up so tightly her hands and feet had turned purple and black.
In harrowing evidence, Mrs Goren told the court how she had tried to untie Tulay but her daughter told her 'Mum don't untie me, I want to die.'
The case ground to a halt for several moments after the anguished mother, 45, screamed across the court at her husband.
'Look at my face. Tell me what you did to Tulay,' she demanded, adding in Turkish: 'Tell me where her bones are.'
Jurors also heard how Goren, 49, ordered his eight-year-old son Tuncay to kiss Tulay goodbye as he would never see his sister again.
The day afterwards she vanished. Police believe she was drugged, tortured and stabbed to death by her father who then temporarily hid her body in the back garden.
The jury cleared Goren's two brothers Ali, 56, and Cuma, 43, of Tulay's murder. All three men were also found not guilty of conspiring to murder Tulay's boyfriend.
Thirteen days after Tulay's murder, Goren attacked Mr Unal - who reported Tulay missing - with an axe in a pub car park in Leytonstone.
He recovered from his injuries and Goren - who was described as a 'psychotic bully' - was jailed for GBH.
Evidence: Police believe this piece of washing line was used during the disposal of Tulay's body It emerged that Goren had once tried to gas his whole family to death and on another occasion to inject his wife with rat poison.
The attack and Mr Unal and Tulay's disappearance were treated separately and it was two months before detectives began to suspect Tulay had been murdered.
Police submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in 2000 but on advice from a senior prosecution barrister no one was charged over her death.
Goren, of Woodford Green, had been arrested shortly after his daughter's disappearance but was arrested again in 2008, along with his two brothers, after a review. All three were charged and brought to trial.
But it was the bravery of Mrs Goren, who had endured 30 years of torment at the hands of her husband, which eventually led to his conviction.
Breaking the conspiracy of silence which has often thwarted honour cases, she took the stand to give damning evidence.
Police and lawyers praised both her and Tulay's sister Nuray and lover Halil Unal for their courage in speaking out.
Scotland Yard and the CPS today admitted past gaps in their knowledge and understanding of domestic violence in British Muslim families.
But a senior detective today pledged: 'No victim will be turned away on the basis that honour-based violence is nothing to do with the police.'
Police had become involved in the weeks leading up to the murder when Mehmet beat up Mr Unal, then complained about the relationship to officers and demanded his daughter take a virginity test.
Tulay ran away and told them he had beat her, and that she would rather be taken into care than return home, before being persuaded to go back by her mother.
After the case, Nuray Guler, Tulay's older sister, called on her father to tell the family where she was buried.
She said: 'For my father, I have only one request. I ask that he finally discloses the whereabouts of my sister.
'I wake up at night wondering where Tulay may be. In quiet moments during the day I ask myself if she suffered or knew what was in store for her.
'I ask that he put an end to the nightmares that haunt us and allow us to retrieve Tulay in order that she may rest in peace alongside her sister Hatice.'
Hatice died in a car crash seven years after her sister went missing.Read more:
slamic art in the form of Calligraphy is most commonly found in mosques. The walls and ceilings of mosques are decorated with calligraphically written ayah. These inscriptions are done in a very complex and intricate way. This form further branched out according to the spread of Islam through the Arab World, Persia, the Ottoman Empire, The Indian Subcontinent and wherever else Islam reached. Throughout these different regions, calligraphy attained a unique flavor according to the symbiosis of native culture with the Islamic culture.
The premier form of Islamic Art is calligraphy, which is derived from the French word calligraphie and Greek word kalligraphia, meaning "beautiful handwriting." One of the main reasons that the calligraphy is given a pedestal status in Islam is the Muslim belief that Allah (SWT) used the Arabic language to narrate his divine message to the Prophet Muhammad in the form of Holy Quran. This makes it sacred for Muslims all over the world.
Police have released footage which they say was made by a suspected terror cell filming potential targets.
They believe an Algerian gang was conducting reconnaissance for a plot to target train stations in London.
It was released amid a continuing row with photographers over the rights to take pictures in public places.
Previous terror cases have involved potential bombers who filmed targets, but campaigners say terror laws are being use to harass photographers.
City of London Police released the footage of what it called "hostile reconnaissance" to illustrate why police may stop photographers.
The footage was recorded on a man's mobile phone as he travelled around London in July, 2008.
Five men were arrested after he was caught filming and acting suspiciously at Liverpool Street station, police said.
Shopping centres
The footage showed him examining Oxford Circus, Mornington Crescent and Camden Town Tube stations. He had filmed underground maps and lifts, CCTV cameras, entrances and exits of stations.
Extensive footage was also recorded at Liverpool Street railway station and at the Broadgate Circle shopping and restaurant plaza.
Police discovered the gang also visited shopping centres in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Bluewater in Kent, and Bridgend, south Wales.
Two men were subsequently convicted of a huge mobile phone and luxury goods fraud scam and deported after serving prison sentences.
The police said the CPS had decided there was sufficient evidence to bring terrorism charges, but it was not in the public interest because they would have received the same sentence as for fraud.
Police believe the men may have been a fundraising and research arm of an al Qaeda-linked group in North Africa.
Det Supt Chris Greany, head of counter-terrorism at City of London Police, said: "Hostile reconnaissance footage is a tradable commodity within terrorist circles.
"The actual attack team do not have to expose themselves to the risk of being disrupted. We want to set a balance between the challenges of policing and legitimate photography by tourists and the media."
Police discovered that the 7 July 2005 London suicide bombers carried out reconnaissance of the Underground trains network prior to their attacks, one of the trips being a week before they struck.
Law 'misused'
The National Union of Journalists and the British Press Photographers' Association claim counter-terrorism laws are being used to harass photographers.
In some cases photographers' images are deleted or individuals told photography of public buildings and officers in uniform is banned.
A demonstration over the issue took place in February, with hundreds of photographers gathering outside New Scotland Yard.
They said an amendment to the Counter Terrorism Act 2008 could be interpreted as banning photographs of police and certain places and leave them open to arrest.
Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty said the law has "always been an accident waiting repeatedly to happen" and Parliament should step in to revise it.
NUJ General Secretary Jeremy Dear said: "We need senior officers to ensure that police on the ground respect the rights of journalists and members of the public. That basic fact isn't changed by any of the information released today."
Big surprise here. Who ever heard of a devout Muslim sending hate mail?
More on this story. "Christian hoteliers received violent threats over Muslim guest 'insult,'" by Jonathan Wynne-Jones in the Telegraph,
Christian hoteliers Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang have received hate mail after they were accused of insulting a Muslim guest because of her faith.
The couple said they have been "living a nightmare" since they were charged in July with a "religiously-aggravated" offence of causing harassment, alarm or distress.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the couple have told of their relief at being cleared of insulting Ericka Tazi, a Muslim woman who was staying at their hotel.
They said that they had suffered emotionally and financially since the prosecution began, received threats warning they would be attacked and nearly lost their business due to an 80 per cent decline in takings at their nine-bedroom hotel, the Bounty House in Aintree, Liverpool.
"The last nine months have been a nightmare for us," said Mr Vogelenzang. "We've been drained emotionally and financially. We have, sadly, received some threats and hate mail. That has been upsetting.
"Our business has almost been destroyed."...
The hotel had been reliant for much of its business on a local hospital, which routinely referred outpatients to stay, but hospital chiefs put a stop to this once they heard about the court case....
THE Treasury plans to rewrite Britain's tax rules to usher in a new wave of Sharia law for the country's financial system.
The one-line revelation is buried in the 212-page pre-Budget report.
It is among a string of startling details which barely merit a mention in Alistair Darling's controversial mini-Budget - prompting fresh accusations that Labour is "burying bad news". The Government wants to tap into the fast-growing Sharia finance market, set to top £205billion a year, and turn London into the "global gateway for Islamic finance".
Many conventional financial products are not Sharia compliant because Muslim clerics view conventional loans, which involve interest payments, as sinful.
The UK Government was one of the first Western countries to issue a state-backed sukuk, an Islamic bond. It now wants to rewrite tax laws to stop Muslim businessmen being unfairly taxed when they try to raise money on their companies.
Conventional loans allow them to take equity out of their business, using the property as collateral, but to be Sharia compliant a Muslim "sells" the business to the bank and then rents it back. That leaves the businessman facing a bill for capital gains tax and the Treasury wants to level the tax playing field.
Mohammed Amin, head of Islamic finance at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said: "The UK has become the leading Western country in Islamic finance by taking a series of measures to ensure that Islamic finance is taxed no worse and no better than conventional finance.
"The pre-Budget report continues this progress by including measures to equalise the tax treatment of property refinancing transactions." Ministers are also considering issuing Government bonds to Islamic banks to help them comply with new financial regulations....
More than a million Muslims have migrated to Britain because it is more sympathetic towards Islam than other European countries, a study has found.
Latent Islamophobia in Europe means that many of those who move to the continent eventually end up in Britain, because it is seen as more tolerant.
There are now some 1.1million Muslim immigrants in the UK, according to the report by IPPR, the Blairite think tank.
It means around 46 per cent of Britain's 2.4million-strong Muslim population were not born in this country.
Meanwhile another study has found that Muslims in this country are the most patriotic in Europe: with more than three-quarters identifying themselves as British.
The report, funded by billionaire George Soros, found that just 49 per cent of French Muslims and 23 per cent of Germans identified with their home country.
However, the IPPR report concludes that the influx of different religions is having a massive affect on faith in Britain.
Some 4.5million of the UK's foreign-born population claim to have a religious affiliation. Of these, around a quarter are Muslim while more than half are Christian - with Polish Catholics and African Pentecostals among the fastest-growing groups.
While traditional churchgoing is on the decline in the UK over the past decade, the latest immigrants mean Christianity is becoming more charismatic and fundamentalist.
The figures are based on interviews carried out for the annual Labour Force Survey by the Office for National Statistics.
The IPPR report found that over the past decade, there has been an increase of 275,000 in the number of British residents born in Pakistan or Bangladesh - twice the population of Oxford.
The number of Somali-born residents has also shot up, from fewer than 40,000 in 1999 to 106,700 this year.
The report says that many of the new immigrants are migrating here after first settling in other European countries, where they are subject to 'latent homophobia'.
'Migration has caused an increase in the proportions of the population affiliated to non-Christian faiths,' the report concludes.
Catholicism has also seen a resurgence, thanks to the arrival of almost 600,000 from Poland, Lithuania and Slovakia; while there has also been a rise in evangelical churches which tend to have less liberal views on issues like homosexuality.
'Perhaps the most significant change has been the growth of Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity within migrant populations, particularly those from Africa and Latin America,' the report found.
'In Lewisham, there are 65 Pentecostal churches serving the Nigerian community, and others serving the Congolese, Ghanaian and Ivorian communities.'
Professor Mike Kenny of IPPR said: 'The research shows that recent waves of inward migration have given a boost to some of the UK's established faith communities at a time when Britain's society and culture are generally more secular, and smaller numbers of the indigenous population are regularly attending churches.
'Recent migration trends are altering the faith map of the UK. Their biggest impact is being felt in some of our largest cities: London above all, where a rich mosaic of different faith communities has come into being.'
Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch, said: 'The rapid rise in the Muslim population is just one way in which mass immigration promoted, even encouraged, by this Government has affected the whole nature of society.'
George Soros's report found that, while British Muslims are the most patriotic in Europe, more than a quarter in some parts of the country still do not feel British.
Levels of patriotism are higher among second-generation Muslims. In Leicester, 94 per cent of UK-born Muslims felt British, compared to 72 per cent of those born abroad.
Patriotic pride
The percentage of Muslims in each European city who identify with their country of residence:
Leicester - 82.4%
London - 72.0 %
Amsterdam - 59.0 %
Marseilles - 58.0%
Antwerp - 55.1%
Paris - 41.0%
Stockholm - 41.0%
Copenhagen - 39.6%
Berlin - 25.0%
Hamburg - 22.0%
The British taxpayer funded POPULATION JIHAD continues at warp speed.
A year after the Government vowed to crack down on housing benefits, a single mother of eight is still living in a £2.6million mansion funded by taxpayers.
Francesca Walker receives more than £90,000 a year in housing allowance to meet the rent on the five-bedroom villa, plus other payouts of £15,000.
A defiant Miss Walker, 34, insists that she and her children aged from six to 16 are completely justified in living there as the council could not find them a big enough home.
And, bizarrely, she claims that 'living in this house is holding me back'.
Francesca Walker with Mohammed, daughter Rashida and son Moustapha in her £2.6million mansion
Miss Walker, whose near neighbours include David Cameron, Elle Macpherson and Hugh Grant, said: 'I've started my own business making organic soaps and bath products but any money I make I have to pay straight back to the council so there's no incentive for me to work hard to grow my business.
'Lovely though the house is, I'd prefer to live in a cheaper one. But I had to move from my old flat as gangs kicked my door down and harassed my children.'
The four-storey villa in Notting Hill, West London, which costs taxpayers £7,600 a month, has five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a double living room, study and roof terrace.
'This house is lovely and spacious, and with three bathrooms we don't have to queue in the mornings,' added Miss Walker.
'If it seems like I've landed on my feet, I have. But I can't afford to buy a house myself and I can't work because I have eight children to look after.
'Where would people rather my family was - out on the street?'
The imposing Kensington house where Miss Walker and her family live
Miss Walker was given the house last September on a three-year lease because a rule introduced in April 2008 forces local authorities to place tenants in private properties if suitable council homes are unavailable.
This was intended to promote fairness but has caused, in some cases, huge cost to the taxpayer.
Last month, it was revealed that a Somali family of nine are living in a £1.8million central London house costing £1,600 a week.
And a family of eight Afghan immigrants have been housed for the last 14 months in a £ 1.2million house in Ealing, West London, at a cost so far of £168,000.
While then Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell said he would crack down on the failing system last year, little seems to have been done although a Government source said yesterday that a crackdown on high rates of housing allowance would be announced this week.
Miss Walker said: 'It's great living here, obviously, but it's ridiculous that the Government have housed me here as it's a complete waste of money.
'The benefits system in this country is a joke'
'There are a lot of people who defraud the system and abuse it - it's not difficult to take advantage of it.'
Miss Walker, a Muslim convert, was brought up by her Jamaican-born mother after they were abandoned by her father, a musician.
She was taken into care at 14 when her mother had a nervous breakdown.
She said: 'I lived in three foster homes and moved school five times. By 17, I was living in a children's home with some disreputable characters.
'I was afraid of being abused and becoming a junkie. I began to explore Islam.'
She converted to the religion and had five children with her first husband before divorcing five years later.
She had three more children from a second marriage, which also lasted five years.
Miss Walker insisted: 'I'm the product of a failed society. My family failed me, the council failed me and I failed myself. I should not have married and got pregnant at 17.
'On the other hand, I've never been in trouble with the law, my kids are healthy and well-looked-after, we're moderate Muslims, not extremists, and I'm taking a psychology degree with the Open University so I can be a support worker for families who are socially excluded.'
The property owner Mr Armstrong, who lived there with his wife and three children before moving to a nearby borough, declined to comment.
Kensington and Chelsea Council originally said it had to house Miss Walker in the borough as her children were all at local schools, but now she has removed them all for home education.
Despite this the council claims there is still nothing it can do and it is just 'following Government rules'.
It's too bad, isn't it, that all the self-righteous self-proclaimed Muslim moderates who spend so much time trying to show that what this site says about Islam is wrong don't spend any time at all trying to convince Muslims who somehow get the crazy idea that Islam teaches violence and supremacism that they're getting their peaceful religion all wrong, wrong wrong."Briton guilty of plotting 'deadly terror attack,'" from the BBC,
A British Muslim has been convicted of conspiring to murder civilians in a "deadly terrorist attack".
Adam Khatib, 22, a factory worker from Walthamstow, east London, was part of a terror cell run from Pakistan.
The cell was led by Abdullah Ahmed Ali convicted of plotting to blow up transatlantic passenger airliners.
Co-defendant Nabeel Hussain was found guilty of engaging in preparing terror acts and Shamin Uddin was convicted of possessing terror items, namely a CD....
Prosecutor Peter Wright QC said: "Khatib may not have been informed of the ultimate target, namely passenger aircraft... all that was required of him was an agreement to play his part in bringing about the murder of others."
The court heard that Khatib had became fascinated by radical Islam as a teenager.
Signing one of his school assignments "Adam Osama Bin Laden," Khatib became a cause for concern to teachers worried about his increasingly extreme views, including anti-Semitic outbursts in the classroom....
Though it is not known what the two did during their time in Pakistan, Mr Wright told Woolwich Crown Court: "They may have been home-grown but the direction of these young men came from Pakistan."
Maybe. But it certainly came from the Qur'an and Sunnah. Of course, Mr. Wright would never wish to say anything about that: it could get him charges of "Islamophobia."
A small victory for sanity and the freedom of speech. It is absurd that charges were brought against them in the first place, but such is the Islamic victimhood industry. An update on this story. "Hotelier Ben Vogelenzang cleared of insulting Muslim guest,
A district judge yesterday questioned the character of a Muslim convert as he dismissed the case against husband-and-wife Christian hoteliers accused of offending her new-found religion.
Why is a Sharia prohibition a criminal offense in Britain?
Ericka Tazi, 60, who converted when she married a Muslim man, had claimed that Ben Vogelenzang, 53, had called her a terrorist and compared Muhammad to a warlord when she wore a hijab on the last day of her stay at the Bounty House Hotel in Liverpool last March. She also claimed that his wife, Sharon, 54, told her that wearing such a garment represented a form of bondage, or oppression, in a finger-pointing tirade that left her traumatised.
Poor little lamb. Even if this account of events is true, why is it such a big deal? Why not just check out of the hotel and resolve not to return? Why not just decide that the Vogelenzangs are thoughtless boors and tell all your friends not to stay at the Bounty House when in Beatlesville? Why the incredible thin skin? It is continually noteworthy that Muslims all too often present themselves either as bloodthirsty, violent thugs, or as cringing weaklings who are "traumatized" by an unkind word. It would be refreshing to hear from some Muslim spokesmen who would say to Ericka Tazi, "Oh, grow up!" -- but I am not holding my breath.
After a two-day trial, Richard Clancy, a district judge sitting at Liverpool Magistrates' Court, threw out the allegations of religiously aggravated threatening behaviour, suggesting that Mrs Tazi's account could not be relied upon and that she was not quite the religious person that she presented herself as in the witness box.
Shock horror!
The case is being seen as a victory for free speech and liberty by evangelical groups, notably the Christian Institute, which sponsored the defence costs. It is likely to cause widespread alarm in the Muslim community.
It is a victory for free speech, and it should cause alarm in the Muslim community, as a sign that their tried-and-true tactics of bullying and intimidation, and manipulation of the ridiculous culture of victimization that prevails in the UK and the US today, will not always be successful.
The 15-minute incident came as Mrs Tazi, who suffers from fibromyalgia, came down to breakfast at the hotel at the end of a four-week course of pain management at Aintree Hospital. She decided to wear her hijab, the traditional Islamic dress, in celebration.
Mrs Tazi, a mother from Warrington, Cheshire, claimed that Mr Vogelenzang was transformed into a "whirling dervish", likened Muhammad to warlords down the ages and asked her: "Are you a terrorist or a murderer?"
Mr Vogelenzang denied the allegation and suggested that it was Mrs Tazi who had provoked the confrontation by stating that Jesus was a minor prophet and the Bible was not true.
Hugh Tomlinson, QC, the couple's counsel, said that it could not be objectionable under the laws of England that a person believed that women in Islam were oppressed. Even if it was said that Muhammad was a warlord, this could not be deemed offensive.
Indeed. For Muhammad was a warlord. Once it becomes "offensive" to speak the truth and this "offense" is given criminal penalties, we are done for.
"The fact that someone is upset or offended is not a reason for criminalising the speech used by the other person," he said. Dismissing the case, Mr Clancy said that it was often the case that religion and politics were the tinderbox that set the whole thing alight. "It would appear that is what has happened here," he said....
Eight men are due in court this morning, charged in connection with a police investigation into alleged serious sexual offences in Rotherham.
The men were all arrested in March this year and had been on police bail until yesterday.
Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, all eight were charged yesterday with a total of 18 sexual offences against four girls aged 13 to 17 years, and remanded in custody. The men due before Rotherham magistrates this morning are:
Shazad Akbar, aged 22, of Shirecliffe Lane, Shirecliffe, Sheffield, charged with raping a woman aged over 16; Adil Hussain, 20, of Nelson Street, Rotherham town centre, charged with raping a girl aged 13 to 15; Saeed Hussain, 28, of Hatherley Road, Eastwood, Rotherham, charged with inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity; Shaizaad Hussain, 21, of Clough Road, Masborough, Rotherham, charged with two offences of raping a girl aged 13 to 15; Mohsin Khan, 21, of Haworth Crescent, Moorgate, Rotherham, charged with four offences of raping a girl aged 13 to 15, and one offence of rape of a woman aged over 16; Zafran Ramzan, 21, of Broom Grove, Broom, Rotherham, charged with three offences of rape of a woman aged over 16, and one offence of raping a girl aged 13 to 15; Razwan Razaq, 29, of Oxford Street, Clifton, Rotherham, charged with two offences of rape of a girl aged 13 to 15; Umar Razaq, 23, of Oxford Street, Clifton, Rotherham, charged with raping a woman aged over 16 and engaging in sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15.
A ninth man arrested was subsequently released without charge.
Search for muslim rape or rape jihad in the blogosphere - and the truth about muslim crime quickly becomes glaringly evident. I (and many other bloggers) have written extensively about the muslim rape of British women and children - and yes - even men.
Wales could get its first court based on Islamic law under proposals from a Muslim body, BBC Wales has learned.
A Sharia law tribunal in Cardiff will help community relations and give some Muslims services they want, supporters have told the Dragon's Eye programme.
But the Ministry of Justice said that Sharia law "has no jurisdiction in England and Wales". A spokesperson said: "Regardless of religious belief we are all equal before the law".
“ What we are trying to do is help the third or fourth generation British Muslims who are growing up to give them the services necessary to make Britain their homeland, rather than saying we actually want to ghettoise ourselves ” Shaykh Siddiqi, Muslim Arbitration Tribunal
Some commentators, such as the think-tank Civitas, say a Muslim arbitration tribunal undermines the concept of one law for UK citizens.
A women's group said it was not needed and women may not be treated fairly.
A tribunal has been proposed for the middle of next year, and its backers say it will bring the law and Muslim faith together.
There are already seven such tribunals in England when two parties facing marital, financial and other disputes come before experts in Islamic and UK law.
Both parties must agree to allow the tribunal to sit in judgement.
Shaykh Siddiqi, of the tribunal, said: "What we are trying to do is help the third or fourth generation British Muslims who are growing up to give them the services necessary to make Britain their homeland, rather than saying we actually want to ghettoise ourselves."
“ Nothing in the law of England and Wales prevents people abiding by Sharia principles if they wish, provided their actions do not conflict with English and Welsh law ” Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Justice said: "Communities have the option to use religious councils and to agree to abide by their decisions. These decisions are subject to national law and cannot be enforced through the national courts, save in limited circumstances."
"There may be incompatibilities between English and religious laws and the parties should always have the option to refer to the English or Welsh family courts should they wish to do.
"Any member of any community should know that they have the right to refer to an English or Welsh court at any point, particularly in the event that they feel pressured or coerced to resolve an issue in a way with which they feel uncomfortable. 'Shoved to one side'
"We are proud of our diverse society and are committed to ensuring cohesive communities. Nothing in the law of England and Wales prevents people abiding by Sharia principles if they wish, provided their actions do not conflict with English and Welsh law."
The ministry said these tribunals were not courts, but instead "a form of "alternative dispute resolution," and communities had "the option to use religious councils and to agree to abide by their decisions".
A recent report by Civitas was critical of Sharia courts, saying they were not in keeping with UK legal principles.
Denis MacEoin, of Civitas, said: "It is Sharia law that is given the prominent position and this effectively means that British law is shoved to one side.
"All citizens have the right to be judged under a single legal system, and that we didn't bring in the legal system by the back door and that is effectively what is happening at the moment."
Some fear that Muslim women may become isolated from their communities if they do not choose the tribunal system.
Marya Shabir, of the Welsh Women's National Coalition, said: "It's being advertised as this opt-in system when it actually isn't.
"If a Muslim woman is given the option of using a Muslim Arbitration Tribunal over going through the courts system using the law of England and Wales; there's no question as to which system she's going to use.
"If she doesn't go with the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, she is going to face stigmatisation, she will be ostracised by her community, her peers, her family who believe she is turning her back on the community."
Only Islamophobes oppose this sort of thing, right? Wrong. As one Muslim woman who opposes the plan said, "It's being advertised as this opt-in system when it actually isn't." That's true not only on an individual level, but for the broader process of creeping Sharia in the West.
Nursery-age children should be monitored for signs of brainwashing by Islamist extremists, according to a leaked police memo obtained by The Times.
In an e-mail to community groups, an officer in the West Midlands counter-terrorism unit wrote: “I do hope that you will tell me about persons, of whatever age, you think may have been radicalised or be vulnerable to radicalisation ... Evidence suggests that radicalisation can take place from the age of 4.”
The police unit confirmed that counter-terrorist officers specially trained in identifying children and young people vulnerable to radicalisation had visited nursery schools.
The policy was condemned last night. Chris Grayling, the Shadow Home Secretary, said that it ran the risk of “alienating even more people”. Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said that it was an “absurd waste of police time”.
Sir Norman Bettison, who speaks for the Association of Chief Police Officers on Prevent, the Government’s anti-terror strategy, said that the officer’s e-mail was a “clumsy” attempt to explain it.
Sir Norman, the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, said: “There is absolutely no example, nationally, of the police engaging with nursery-age kids specifically on this issue. That is the age for learning about ‘Stranger Danger’ and ‘The Tufty Club’.”
The Home Office has disclosed, meanwhile, that a seven-year-old has become the youngest child to feature in a scheme to tackle grooming by extremists. David Hanson, the Police Minister, disclosed in a parliamentary answer that the child was one of 228 people referred to the Channel Project, part of Prevent focused on individuals.
More than 90 per cent of those identified by the project have been aged between 15 and 24 and most, but not all, are Muslim.
Criticism of the anti-extremism strategy is growing. The programme, funded from the £3.5 billion per year security budget, is said to stigmatise communities and encourage Muslims to spy on one another.
This week John Denham, the Communities Secretary, said that the programme had to be more transparent to dispel “the fear that by joining a Prevent activity, the organisers or the participants are opening themselves up to covert surveillance, intelligence-gathering and the collection of files on the Muslim communities”.
The e-mail obtained by The Times was written by a sergeant in response to Muslim community concerns. He was trying to allay fears but seems to have inflamed them.
He wrote: “I am a police officer and therefore it will always be part of my role to gather intelligence and I will report back any information or intelligence which may suggest someone is a terrorist, or is planning to be one or to support others. However, my role is to raise the level of awareness of the threat of terrorism and radicalisation and support and work with partners to try to prevent it.”
Arun Kundnani, of the Institute of Race Relations, contacted the officer and said he was told that officers had visited nursery schools. Mr Kundnani added: “He did seem to think it was standard. He said it wasn’t just him or his unit that was doing it. He said the indicators were they [children] might draw pictures of bombs and say things like ‘all Christians are bad’ or that they believe in an Islamic state. It seems that nursery teachers in the West Midlands area are being asked to look out for radicalisation. He also said that targeting young children was important because they would be left aware of what was inappropriate to say at school. He felt that it was necessary to cover nurseries as well as primary and secondary schools. He said it was a precaution and that he wasn’t expecting to come back with a list.”
There have been acute worries about radicalisation in the Birmingham area since a terrorist was caught on a surveillance tape indoctrinating his five-year-old son.
Parviz Khan, who was jailed for plotting to kidnap and behead a British soldier, was heard threatening the boy with a beating if he did not answer questions correctly. “Who do you love?” Kahn asked. “I love Sheikh Osama bin Laden,” the boy answered.
The West Midlands counter-terrorism unit confirmed that its officer had visited a nursery school attached to a primary school and had spoken to staff. The unit said that it had 21 uniformed counter-terrorism officer who engaged openly and directly with communities, schools and other public bodies.
A spokesman said: “We have been trying to bring counter-terrorism work out of the shadows. It can cause consternation at first when a policeman introduces himself as a counter-terrorism officer. But we are actually trying to get over the accusation that Prevent is about spying by being more open and we are reaping the benefits now with better engagement.”
Sir Norman emphasised that Prevent was about working with communities to protect vulnerable young people. “It is no different to addressing the harm of drugs or sexual exploitation,” he said. “Prevent is a way of addressing those most vulnerable in an attempt to protect them.
“It is easy to give Prevent initiatives a kicking because it is viewed as intrusive but, the next time there is a terrorist outrage involving young people who have been radicalised, there will be a wringing of hands and people will say, ‘What more could we have done?’ ”
Quilliam, an anti-extremism think-tank, told a Commons select committee inquiry: “The notion that Prevent is about surveillance and monitoring of Muslim communities is deeply ingrained in some communities and will be difficult to shift.”
lol do these people read the koran.
Qur'an:8:72 "Those who accepted Islam and left their homes to fight in Allah's Cause with their possessions and persons, and those who gave (them) asylum, aid, and shelter, those who harbored them - these are allies of one another. You are not responsible for protecting those who embraced Islam but did not leave their homes [to fight] until they do so."
The Islamic Arts Museum in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia is the largest in South Asia. It houses some of the most unique Islamic related artefacts from around Asia in a modern spacious environment with unique awareness programs.
The Islamic Arts Museum was opened in December of 1998 and specializes in showcasing art and literature influence by Islam. The museum is divided into five key areas: The galleries in the museum are divided into 12 areas encompassing a wide variety of topics. Some of the popular permanent exhibits revolve around architecture: considered one of the earliest examples of Islamic cultural expression the museum houses a wide variety of intricately replicated scale models of famous Islamic structures and attraction including one of the largest models of the holy Masjid Al Haram. Qur'an. Manuscripts, the written word was held in high regard in the ancient Islamic world where scribes were highly sought, even Islamic science and philosophy though not glorified like Islamic scripts were highly revered for their substance and significant contribution to the world of science.
Known for their beauty and their strength Islamic weaponry was both beautifully ordained with precious stones and detailed designs as well as devastative power on the battle field. The museum houses a wide collection of arms and armour from the Persian Gulf and other Islamic states highlighting Islamic cultural influence in warfare.
Islamic education is a vital component of helping to keep Islam and its vibrant history and culture alive. The museum holds a variety of programs and sessions for both the young and old to help improve awareness on this unique and ancient religion and culture.
Guests after a long day of exploring the museum and its wonders may relax and the restaurant amidst its Islamic style and calm fountain and enjoy a wide variety of Middle Eastern delicacies.
Honour-based violence, including crimes like murder, rape and kidnap has rocketed in London during the last year.
Reported instances of intimidation and attempts at forced marriage have also increased by 60 per cent.
A report into the scale of the problem by Scotland Yard found there were 161 honour-based incidents recorded in 2007-8, of which 93 were criminal offences.
But in 2008/9 the number of incidents had risen to 256, with 132 being criminal offences.
The latest figures indicate that the trend is continuing, with 211 incidents reported in the last six months until October, of which 129 were offences - more than double the number in the same period last year.
Police define honour crimes as offences motivated by a desire to protect the honour of a family or community.
Diana Nammi, of the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation, said the group is now dealing with four times more complaints relating to honour than two years ago.
She said: 'More women are coming forward. They are becoming more aware of their rights in the UK, that there is help available and they feel confident enough to report matters to the police. 'But I also think cases and violence are increasing.
'The problem is increasing in communities around the UK. 'We are seeing a rise not only in honour killings, but also in female genital mutilation and polygamy.'
She added: 'The rise in Sharia courts is another indication of more fundamental beliefs. 'There must be more support from the Government to organisations who are working to combat this problem.'
The Metropolitan Police also records incidents where no offences has been committed, such as complaints by women that they are under pressure to enter into forced marriages.
Recently there have been a series of horrific attacks linked to 'honour'.
Detectives are still investigating the death of mother-of-two Geeta Aulakh, 28, who was hacked to death with a sword in Greenford, north west London last month.
An 18-year-old student has been charged with her murder.
In July, a 24-year-old Asian man from Denmark lost part of his tongue and was left blind in one eye when he had acid thrown in his face in Leytonstone.
Police believe he was attacked over his relationship with a married Muslim woman.
Two men are awaiting trial over the assault.
Campaigners believe honour attacks are on the up due to rising fundamentalism in communities around Britain.
Up to 12 people are murdered every year in the name of honour, and police fear a further 500 people are forced into an arranged marriage or attacked.
One of the most high-profile cases was that of Banaz Mahmod who was murdered by members of her own family after falling in love with a man they disapproved of.
The 20-year-old, who had left an arranged marriage and started a relationship with Rhamat Sulemani, 29, was strangled with a bootlace at her home in Surrey in January 2006.
Her father Mahmod Mahmod, 52, and uncle Ari Mahmod, 50, of Mitcham, were later convicted of the killing after the pair decided she must pay 'the ultimate price' for bringing shame on them. Earlier this year, police were issued with new guidance telling them to assume honour crimes have been committed in more circumstances.
Senior officers anticipated that the move would drive up figures as in many cases only limited information is available or a potential victim refuses to help police.
Detective Chief Inspector Gerry Campbell, of the Metropolitan Police, said: 'The description of this type of crime is misplaced. There is no honour in these crimes.'
Mr Campbell said the Met had improved its intelligence systems to better identify such crimes. He said: 'Ten years ago our knowledge was almost absent but we have worked hard and our knowledge has improved substantially.'
