Germany: Muslim women's emancipation key to integration

The German interior minister said Tuesday that the emancipation of women within Germany's Islamic communities was the key to continued social integration.


In an interview with the Berliner Tagespiegel newspaper Wolfgang Schaeubler  said, "That women have the same rights is one of the things which Muslims must accept."


" Female empowerment is one of the great hopes for the development of a modern democratic society."


The minister's Christian Democratic Union party (CSU) places great emphasis on what it sees as family-based western European values, including the integration of Islam in an open and moderate form.


Islam is Germany's largest minority religion. Since the 1960s the country has experienced large scale immigration from predominantly Islamic Turkey and the avoidance of segregation is a key aim for both sides of Germany's ruling grand coalition.


In the same interview Schaeubler said that German children should be speaking German at home. At present many children from immigrant backgrounds do not encounter the national language until they start to attend kindergarten.


His comments are fuel for the ongoing debate about the status of Islam in the country. The German government is a supporter of Turkish entry to the European Union but many hardliners argue that an Islamic country has no place in Europe.


Source: Expatica (English)

EU: The challenge of a European khalifate

"European View" is a journal published by the Centre for European Studies, the official foundation/think tank for the European People's Party, the largest trans-national European party, representing the center-right. Its winter 2007 issue focuses on "religion and politics".

One of the articles in that issue is "The Challenge of a Single Muslim Authority in Europe", by Mustafa Ceric, PhD, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


Though it also discusses fighting radicalism, it is in essence an appeal to establish the imamate (also known as khalifate) in Europe. I bring here a few selections:


(..)


There is nothing wrong with bringing the Sunnite and Shi'ite concepts of authority together with the objective of creating a global Muslim authority that is capable of coping with the challenges of Muslim integration in the contemporary world. It is too risky for the Muslim global community to be left at the mercy of Kharijite political thought, which might lead Muslims to undesired isolation. There is therefore no reason for the Shi'ite not to accept the logic of the Muslim majority, in the sense of the reality of Muslim history, which is not perfect because it is human, not divine.


Of course, it is, for the time being, utopian to think that a single Sunnite-Shi'ite global authority is possible, but I see no other way forward for future Muslim generations than to come together to fuse the intellectual and spiritual energy of these two main branches of Islam into one acceptable global Muslim authority. Europe or the West in general, is a good place for such a dream. It is here in Europe that Muslims have the opportunity to experience the power and beauty of universal Islam.

(..)


First, Muslims have to understand Europe as a house of peace, not a house of war. Second, Muslims have to be clear that their minimum claim is to be free from social interference in their cultural life and that their maximum claim is for social recognition because of their positive contribution to the common good of European society as a whole. And thirdly, Muslims have to establish a single Muslim authority that can speak for both Islam as a world religion and Muslims as good citizens of Europe.



(..)


What is to be done so that the shared values of Islam can become a common ground for all Muslims in Europe? It is now time that we seriously consider a way to institutionalise the presence both of Islam as a universal religion and Muslims as global citizens. It is clear to everyone that for the representation of Islam and Muslims to exist only on a voluntary level in Europe would be misleading inasmuch as it would be contrary to Muslim dignity and European peace. It is not enough that Europe recognises the presence of Islam on its territory. Muslims deserve more than that. They deserve that their presence be legalised in the sense of creating a political and economic climate in which European Muslims can represent themselves through the institutions that should have both governmental support and public acceptance.


(..)


Muslims in Europe should meet this historic challenge to change long-standing Muslim patterns tribal, ethnic and national conceptions of Islam which are not functional in today's global world. Instead, the Muslims in Europe have an historic chance to create a new version of the global imamate, one that is based on universal Islamic identity.


Source: European View (English), h/t NRP (Dutch)

Denmark: Women only swimming

About a month ago Mustafa Kellegöz, representative of the Social Democrats in the Silkeborg town council, proposed having special times set aside for female swimming in the municipal swimming pool.  In an interview Kellegöz said that some Muslim women can't swim together with men on account of their religion and that prevents them from taking part in various activities.  Having female-only swimming hours would benefit people who are isolated.

Leif Lund, representative of the Danish People's Party, opposed the proposal, saying it was discriminatory against men.  He says it was a completely foolish proposal and will cement cultural and religious differences and actually prevent well-balanced integration.

Kellegöz was supposed to bring up the proposal in a town council meeting at the end of April, but I could not find any discussion or decision about such a proposal.

Meanwhile, a new project will ensure exactly that.  A community sports project for female-only swimming to enable overweight, breast operated or women with self-worth problems to swim without manly eyes around, has recently received a subsidy from the city's health committee.  The 3 year project received 102,000 kroner.

The project is not related to Mustafa Kellegöz's proposal.

Sources: TV2oj 1, 2, 3; DR (Danish)

Netherlands: Optician may not refuse headscarf wearing trainee

With less news this week, I'll be bringing several stories which have accumulated over the past month or two.

----

According to a ruling by the Equal Treatment Commission, an optician may not refuse a headscarf wearing trainee.

The chain of stores refused the girl because she did not fulfill the chain's uniform guidelines which specially prohibit heascarves.  The chain is fashion-conscious and prohibits among other things caps, hats, piercings and tattoos.  According to newspaper NRC Next the customers are modern and brand-aware.

The trainee turned to the Equal Treatment Commission who said the distinction was forbidden.  According to NRC Next the commission has different tastes and think headscarves are fashionable.  And if the customer can't identify with a saleswoman with a headscarf, that's bad luck for the store.

The chain, which was not named, is considering adapting the acceptance policy.

Source: Telegraaf (Dutch)

See also: Groningen: University gives student time to think about niqab, Amsterdam: Veil no reason for refusing job application, Netherlands: Who said shaking hands is respectful anyway?, Muslim student refused admittance to school unjustly

Switzerland: "Our Switzerland is a multicultural country"

Tefit Maqkaj, who came to Switzerland from Kosovo in the 1990s, could have had a Swiss passport a long time ago but he just hasn't found the time to apply for one.

He left the country as a teenager and now runs a pizzeria in the Swiss capital, Bern.

(..)

He lives alone but has close ties with his family and visits them at least once a week for a meal. There he enjoys the Balkan dishes prepared by his mother. He spends what little free time he has with friends, who not only include Swiss but also Kosovars, Macedonian Albanians, Italians and Spanish.

Maqkaj dreams of raising a family of his own. It is of little importance where his future wife comes from: "When love comes, it comes." One of his brothers is married to a Portuguese and "extremely happy", he said.

He added that his parents would not have a say in his love life or exert pressure on him.

Maqkaj is a Muslim. "Not a really strict one," he stressed, but he observes his faith. That also implies respecting those with a different religion. His father and youngest brother often go to the mosque, but he goes rarely.

When he hears about fights among young Kosovo Albanians, it bothers Maqkaj.

"Violence may be the result of bad upbringing in the family, but it may also have to do with a lack of integration in the workplace, he said.

He thinks that anyone who hangs around all day, is bored and possibly depressive can easily blow a fuse if provoked. "But if you work all day and are tired, there is no time for negative things."

Maqkaj doesn't even have time at present to put in a request for Swiss nationality. He has the forms but a career change with all the burden of work has come in the way. "I will get a Swiss passport. I'm quite sure of that," he said with a smile.

Source: Swiss Info (English)

Italy: Multicultural media conference

An international conference on multicultural relations has heard how Muslims suffer from discrimination and poor media perceptions about Islam.


The US state department's senior advisor to European and Eurasian Affairs, Farah Pandith, said Muslims suffered from a "victimisation mentality" and the media needed to play a more positive role.


She said there were "rants, and too many opinions, telling us what is wrong."


She was speaking at a conference on ethnic communication at the Center of American Studies in Rome.


Amanullah Shahed, director of the US-based news site AltMuslim.com and founder of a web media network called Halalfire Media, told the audience about the demonisation and misinterpretation of Muslims and Islam in American media.


Shahed criticised what he called "disorganisation of Muslims" in the US and in Europe and gave suggestions on how to overcome what he called media 'traps'. He also said Italy could lead the way.


"Italy is the meeting point for the world's two largest religions; what happens here will affect other European Muslim communities," he said.


"This is the land of Oriana Fallaci and Magdi Allam, it is very difficult to be Muslim in Europe," said Shahed, referring to Italian journalist Fallaci who was critical of Islam and has been accused of Islamophobia and racism.


Magdi Allam was baptised by Pope Benedict XVI in a highly-publicised ceremony at the Vatican during Easter festivities in Rome in March.


His conversion provoked an angry response from Muslim clerics and academics in Italy and the Middle East.


Regarding other ethnic groups such as Jews, Shahed stressed that there was a need for increased cooperation, but said political differences made it difficult to reach out to the community.


"There is a lot to learn, the Jewish media has been in the US for over 100 years, we must learn from the struggles they went through." said Shahed in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI).


"Muslim media is at such an embryonic level. We definitely follow their lead."


Shahed, who has spearheaded the development of Muslim media in the US, says too often the media presents an erroneous view of Islam and there is potential for change.


"There needs to be a lot more cooperation. I am trying to reach out to that media, but due to political issues, its difficult sometimes," he told AKI.


"In the areas of integration, there is a lot of sympathy. There are a lot of areas where we can work together."


Sandip Roy, editor of an ethnic news website, New America Media, said multicultural media was moving from a niche market to more mainstream, in the US.


"Ethnic media is suffering a time lag, many of them are reinventing themselves and starting to cover the local news more and more, and that is the case in Italy and other countries," Roy told Adnkronos International (AKI).


Roy, whose website is based in San Francisco, has a diverse news site dedicated to providing news to various ethnic groups including Hispanic, Arab, Asian and African Americans.


Source: AKI (English)

Burka Babes

What happens in Jewish culture when religious extremism meets modern society?

An original protest by religious Jewish Israeli women against the wearing of 'burkas' in their town. The women prepared the film for the Jewish holiday of Purim, when it is customary to wear costumes.

The Jewish burka cult covered themselves of their own volition contrary to the opinion of even the most extreme rabbis. This was not an issue of male oppression, and yet these women felt the need to protest against it. For more info on the Jewish burka cult see here, here and here.




The video is filled with Jewish lingo, but I think the point comes across.

Switzerland: Citizenship vote debate

There is still a certain feeling of unease in the central Swiss town of Emmen whenever the issue of foreigners and naturalisations is raised in public.


The industrial suburb of Lucerne was at the heart of a debate which led the country's highest court to outlaw secret ballots on citizenship applications five years ago. The rightwing Swiss People's Party is hoping to overturn the ruling in a nationwide vote on June 1.


(..)


Between 1999 and 2003, voters in Emmen rejected 97 applicants who met all the criteria for a Swiss passport. Most of them came originally from the former Yugoslavia.


Beat Marti, a member of the centre-left Social Democrats, confirms there was a lot of prejudice against candidates from the Balkan region at the time.


After the applications were turned down in Emmen, several complaints were lodged at the Federal Court, which later ordered the local authorities to suspend naturalisations via ballot box decisions.


Since then elected members of a special committee have dealt with citizenship applications.

(..)


The 2003 Federal Court ruling had an impact of many local authorities in the Lucerne region. They set up special panels to re-examine decisions by public assemblies which are still legal.


"The committees do a good job," says Peter Wicki a barrister who defended rejected candidates at the Federal Court.


"Most communes do not want to go back to the old system even in towns and villages where the People's Party is the strongest political group," he says.


But Social Democrat Marti is disillusioned and remains sceptical about the future.


He says in the past the centre-left often refused to acknowledge widespread public concern about immigrants.


"The myth of a multicultural society in Switzerland has been debunked. The different communities don't mix, they live side by side," he says


Source: Swiss Info (English)

See also: Switzerland: Veil no obstacle to citizenship

UK: Proposal to ban cousin marriages

A veteran MP has called for a ban on cousin-marriage - practised by South Asian Muslims in Britain, claiming it is leading to a striking rise in the incidence of rare recessive disorders, many of them fatal.


"We give warnings about the dangers of smoking, drinking and taking drugs. It is now time that primary care trusts started doing the same for cousin marriages," said Mrs Anne Cryer, an MP from the ruling Labour party and a leading British campaigner on social issues. Mrs Cryer's potentially controversial call comes ahead of a major debate to be held by the Royal Society of Medicine later this month to mark 100 years of medical genetics. Mrs Cryer said she had Asian constituents whose children were severely disabled


Source: Statesman (English), h/t Sharia Finance Watch

See also: Rotterdam: 24% of Turks, 22% of Moroccans, married with family, Denmark: Cousin-marriages not necessarily coerced, Netherlands: Proposal to ban cousin marriages, UK: Minister warns of birth defects among immigrants

London: Islamists march

This is an undated video from Glen Jenvey. The man shouting about Muslims only having Sharia and telling all kuffar to go to hell is apparently Abu Izzadeen, a convert to Islam who was convicted last month on terrorism charges.





h/t Atlas Shrugs

Amsterdam: Art show in mosque

The Jordaan neighborhood of Amsterdam will host an open gallery (Open Ateliers Jordaan) during the Pentecost weekend (10-12 May).  One of the participants this year will be the Fatih mosque which will be the first mosque in the Netherlands to host art-works.

The Fatih mosque is located in the former Saint Ignatius Catholic Church, which was built in the 1920s and used as a church until 1971.  The building is considered a municipal monument.

Most mosques do not allow art but during the weekend the Fatih mosque will present various paintings of abstract art and landscapes.  (see here)

The mosque will offer lectures, workshops and talks on art and Islam, as well as offer people a look into the mosque.

Source: AT5 1, 2 ; Open Ateliers Jordaan - mosque project (Dutch)

See also: Reykjavik: Islamic call to prayer, Netherlands: Terrorism as Art, Netherlands: Mosque wins award for municipal planning

UK: Former Islamist arrested on terror charges

A former Islamist radical who says he helped 200 British Muslims train for jihad has been arrested on terrorism charges at Manchester airport.

Hassan Butt, 27, who claims to have once been a spokesman for the banned group al-Muhajiroun, was arrested on Friday.

A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said: '[Our] counter-terrorism unit arrested one person under the Terrorism Act. Officers are currently searching three addresses. No armed officers were involved in the arrest.'

Butt has attracted notoriety for his inflammatory comments - which he has subsequently retracted. In an interview with Prospect magazine, he once said he would be honoured to be called a terrorist. 'I would agree to being called a radical and one day I may even be called a terrorist, if Allah permits me,' he said. 'That is something it would be an honour to be called.'

He has also warned that thousands of young Muslims were preparing to unleash fresh 'terror atrocities' on Britain's streets. Following the 2007 Glasgow airport attack, he alleged on BBC2's Newsnight that 'most Muslims' believed terrorism gained them an admission to paradise and that 'anything that is not an Islamic way of life' was a legitimate target.

The comments brought a scathing denial from Muslim groups and many have dismissed Butt as a fantasist and possible MI5 informer who does not speak for the organisations he claims to represents. Critics have also questioned why he has not been arrested and charged in the past, given his open confessions.

Butt recently said he was prepared to go to prison for his views. 'I'm not in denial about anything,' he said. 'I'm not asking for immunity or favours. I just want to be able to get on with my life and undo the work that I did.'

He claimed that Greater Manchester Police were harassing him over suspicions that he is secretly still a jihadist and that the Home Office encourages his efforts to speak out against radicalisation. More recently, he has gone to great lengths to retract his radical views and attack those who espouse violence.

Butt is currently writing a book about his experiences. Police recently raided the house of a journalist, Shiv Malik, who was collaborating with him on the manuscript.

Source: Guardian (English)


See also: UK: A plea to fellow Muslims, UK: New foundation against Islamist extremism

Sweden: Forced marriage / honor-related violence trial

Farida's parents (*) could not stand her having a Swedish boyfriend.  Her father deceived her into going to Pakistan in order to marry her off to another man.  In a call for help to her boyfriend Farida wrote that she feels as though she's in a prison.

Love almost cost Farida her life and she could have ended up with an honor murder.

Farida, who lived in Borås (Sweden), started hanging out with friends when she was eleven, which wasn't appreciated by her father.  Later in a police interrogation Farida said that her father was afraid his family would get a bad reputation.  Her father often hit her with a leather belt if she came home too late.  Her mother verbally abused her, saying things like: hope you die before you come home from school, before you destroy my reputation and calling her a whore's child.

Things got worse when Farida got herself a boyfriend who was born in Sweden - Erik.  Her parents were mad at her.  Her father is suspected of hitting her with a dustpan.  She was most often hit by her father, but in once case her mother pushed her head into a railing.  Farida says that afterward her father regretted it and bought her presents.  While her father hit her, her mother practiced psychological terror against her.  Finally her parents demanded that Erik convert to Islam.  Erik did so, but that helped very little.

Just before school graduation in 2006, Farida's father got her to travel with him to Pakistan under the pretext of visiting her grandfather, who was ill.

Fadima says that after a week in Pakistan she asked her father about going back. At first he avoided the question, but then came the shock: he thought of leaving without his daughter.  You must become one of us.  You are like a Swede now and we will not lose a daughter.

Farida promised to learn about Islam and was promised she could go with him.  She says she dressed like the women there and did everything she could to get her father to accept her.  She told him she regretted her former life and that she's been brainwashed.  She promised to leave Erik.

Her father promised they could leave, but first they'll stay in Afghanistan.  There they met family who belonged to the upper classes and Fadima got to use a computer and sent an email to Erik and a classmate saying she couldn't contact them but that she was now in Afghanistan in Kandahar, 'Taliban-city'.  Her father had totally deceived her, she feels she's in jail, and her father had threatened her that if she won't finish with Erik, she won't come home.

Erik then contacted the Foreign ministry in Sweden.

Farida's father, meanwhile, made further demands.  He wanted to marry her off.  He told her there was a man who was interested in her.  On July 28th, 2006, Farida was forced to marry in front of 400 wedding guests.

She acted as though she was in love, and later got permission to go back to Borås and finish school.  Once back in Sweden, she contacted the school welfare officer.

Farida and Erik are forced to live with secret identities and forced to feel the parents.  Farida lived in a secret residence and sued her parents.  Before the trial Farida told GT that everything had been exaggerated and that she wants it to be over.  She is trying to sue her parents, but she doesn't want them convicted.

During the trial Farida said she lied in the two police interrogations, held a year apart.  She refused to answer questions about her email or about having a Swedish non-Muslim boyfriend.  She said she made up everything just to have freedom, but that she had a good childhood.

The court believed what she told the police and convicted her parents for gross disturbance of the peace, sentencing them to probation and to community service.  The court did not believe her parents, who said she had suddenly fallen in love with a relative in Afghanistan.

The court wrote that her statements in court was clearly colored by an attempt to enable continued contact with her parents. 

(*) The names in this story were made up.

Source: Expressen 1, 2 (Swedish)

See also: Sweden: Call to ban arranged marriages, Sweden: fight the honor culture, Sweden: Law proposal against child marriages, Sweden: Increase in secret identities, Book Review: Breeding Betrayal (2)

Amsterdam: Free board for volunteers with immigrant children

Students of the Open University (Vrije Universiteit, VU) can get free board in the Amsterdam neighborhoods of Osdorp and Slotervaart in return for helping Turkish and Moroccan children in integration.

Fred Jonker (27), anthropology student, shares a residence with another student in Osdorp.  He doesn't pay rent since he volunteers for 'VoorUit' (forward).

He says he applies on an impulse. He's from Arnhem, where people think that it's better to stay away from 'problem neighborhoods' such as Osdorp and Slotervaart.  He wanted to check whether that was true and above all, taking his studies into mind, wanted to get something of the multicultural society.  When he heard he could get free board, he decided to sign up for the project.

Jonker thinks his test was successful.  He sees the neighborhood in a positive light, there's fine living there and the people are pleasant.  It feels like a village, everybody knows everybody and he doesn't feel unsafe at all.  At the same time he says it's a nice opportunity to help immigrants find their place. He gives the children cooking lessons and help with homework, and use those experiences in this studies.

'VoorUit' has been ongoing since September of last year, and was set up by W&S Transition- en Interimmanagement from Amstelveen for their 25 year anniversary.  Founder Karel Waagenaar says that they constantly hear about the problem with integration, but think that newcomers also have talents.  In order to make the most of it, immigrants and ethnic Dutch must make an effort. 

The project is therefore aimed at both parties.  VU students organize all types of activities for Moroccan and Turkish children and get free board in exchange.

Student Adinda Boeren thinks it's a nice opportunity.  She's doing her MA in management and organization sciences and coordinates VoorUit in Osdorp.  She says people react in shock when she says she lives in Osdorp and ask if she can walk normally in the street.  She says everything's great and she feels safe in the neighborhood.

Boeren says she's been enriched by coming to Osdorp.  Before that she lived in Rivierenbuurt where she'd never seen an immigrant.  When she now walks outside Turkish and Moroccan children ask if she's coming to play football and when she recently had over a group of kids for dinner one brought a bunch of tulips.  She notices solidarity with such things.

The homework help and sports tournaments that Boeren organizes have a positive effect not only for the children.  She says that she also gets to know the parents.  Mothers greet her and the mutual contact has led to her now giving 8 fathers computer lessons.

Moroccan Anina Ait Elhamam thinks that 'VoorUit' works on several planes.  Her children Gaula (11) and Zinedine (8) like to go to the activities organized by the students.  She says she's very happy with the initiative.  It's good for her children and ensures that they feel better connected.  It's easy to stay in your own culture but that's not good, they must have contact with each other.  And because she knows her children are safe and have fun with the students it makes her happy as a mother.

Source: Trouw (Dutch)

See also: Amsterdam: Lodgings for Muslim students, Amsterdam: Mecca of the Polder, Amsterdam: Moroccan-Born Mayor Dispenses Tough Love to Immigrants

Netherlands: Higher pay for educated immigrants

Immigrants, particularly of Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese origin, with a bachelor's degree are higher paid than their ethnic Dutch colleagues.  A study by Dutch Statistics shows that they are in a better position to negotiate for their salary and post.

Melek Usta is founder and manager of the recruitment and selection bureau Colourful People, explains it as follows: the need to sell has become greater and higher educated immigrants are aware of their market value and want to see that in their salaries.  This leads to stiff negotiations.

Carmen Breeveld, manager of Team Care, thinks that it's due to the conscious choice made by an immigrant student.  Surinamese students in particular choose an education which offers good prospects, like the ICT sector.  That's because they expect their employers, often unconsciously, to discriminate.

Source: Planet (Dutch)

See also: Netherlands: Drop in immigrant unemployment, Netherlands: Anonymous job applications aren't helpful

Norway: Muslim russ

Muslim youth are not the only ones who might prefer not going wild. Christian russ (Kruss) also celebrate high school graduation without alcohol or sex. Having values, such as not getting drunk, can sometimes mean having to make a sacrifice to uphold them.

----

"Mariam" says that already in her second year in high school, friends and classmates started getting ready for russ, the graduation celebrations.

The meetings and the secrecy all gave her a foretaste of how lonely graduating 13 years of school is going to be. The 18 year old now says that it was exactly as she had expected.



She is the only one in her class who is not a russ. Everybody in school go around with a russ suit, laugh at each other's mistakes and debauchery and speak of how much fun it was to drive about the night before. She feels very much excluded because she isn't participating in what everybody else is doing. She doesn't know how act towards her friends and classmates since she feels she has nothing in common with them these days.

Every day she gets questions which just intensify the feeling that she's excluded from a great fellowship. Whether she's going to Tryvann for the weekend or whether she's been out the night before. When she answers 'no' the conversation ends. She has nothing more to talk about. Even if she's bought a russ suit, she doesn't get to go to any events. She feels just stupid going about with it without doing anything. She's just waiting till russ time is over.

She's not the only one. There are many Norwegian young Muslims who ask the same question: does it conflict with their Muslim values to be russ? For many the answer is yes.

Jon Håkon Schultz says that the large amounts of alcohol drunk during russ actively exclude many youth, especially those with Muslim background. Last year he finished his doctorate about how Norwegian russ parties hinder integration of Muslim youth in Norway.

Four girls and four boys were followed in the period before, during and after russ. They had prepared themselves to take part in the festivities and and bought various russ equipment.

But because none of the girls wanted to drink alcohol, they felt they couldn't take part. The boys did take part because they drank more alcohol than they were used to.

Schultz says that the Koran says not to drink alcohol and more Muslim youth follow that. Therefore many are excluded from the russ celebrations. Alternatively they can drink to be integrated, as the boys in the study, but those who do so have conscience pangs towards their mother, father and God. In the worst case they also risk being ecxluded from their family and environment.

He says that they choose to drink because they feel pressured.

Behavior during russ also adds to barring Muslim youth. The race for russ knots such as having sex outdoors and other expectations have too high a cost.

According to Schultz parents of Muslim youth are skeptical about the russ lifestyle and they can deny their children from taking part in it.

This has been Arijeta Ismani's experience. She is Muslim and last year went to Sogn high school. She did not get permission from her parents to be russ. They didn't want her to join because they were concerned about everything that happens, especially regarding drinking and being with boys. They were afraid she would be pressured to do something she didn't want to.

For Muslim youth such as Arijeta and "Mariam" the feeling of being outsiders will pass once russ time is over. But there Muslim colleagues who would rather drink and be integrated risk being rejected from another direction. The choice can have serious consequences.

Schultz thinks that Norwegian youth allow themselves to drink a lot of alcohol, smoke hash and swallow so many ecstasy pills as they want, as long as they stop once russ is over. The russ suit gives them an amnesty. But for Muslim youth this is not the case. when they first drink and are discovered, they're in the process of burning all bridges to their family and environment. It's difficult to come back again.

Source: NRK 1, 2 (Norwegian)

Antwerp: Proposal to give churches to Muslims

The Antwerp alderman of public worship, Philip Heylen (Christian Democrats) has an ambitious plan to do something about the profusion of half-empty churches in his city. Some of the about 80 churches he wants to demolish or use for other purposes. Heylen also sees an opportunity for Muslims to take over barely used church buildings.

Vlaams Belang reacted with shock to the plans. According to the party there seems to be an auction war in Antwerp between teh Christian Democrats and Socialists on who could bring in the largest group of Muslim voters.

The party promises the necessary actions and campaigns if the alderman pushes through his plans. Vlaams Belang does think there should be a solution for the high maintenance costs of the Catholic churches in the city.

Source: HLN (Dutch)


Update

Heylen says there are are too many churches in the city. In the mid-19th century, the Roman Catholic Church built many churches, and the city now has about 80.

However, in the last decade the number of church visitors has declined sharply. Some of the churches have only one weekly service, which only attracts about 20 people. The churches can't handle the costs and turn to the city. Heylen says that the city council deals with such requests in every meeting, but that it's not possible to invest and restore all the churches.

Shutting down the churches is not easy, and there are various criteria to consider, such as how many other churches are in the area, and how much does the church contribute to its community.

Heylen wants to cautiously start cutting back on the churches, through discussion with the parishes and the church administrations. In Ghent one church was converted into a lingerie shop, which was not appreciated by the diocese. Heylen says it's preferable to demolish churches than to turn them into something which is contradictory to the church function, and he doesn't want to make needless provocations.

Therefore, he's considering keeping the churches with a religious role. There are many Antwerp mosques which are currently in backrooms or garages. Heylen says there's no reason not to remove all Christian symbols and place it at the disposal of Muslims. For Jews it's an unthinkable idea, but Antwerp Muslims have made it clear to him that they would have less problems with it. He would have to convince the Catholic church, who have not rejected the idea, but are concerned about the affiliation of the Muslims who will occupy the unused churches.

Heylen says that several parishes already share the church with other faith communities, such as the Assyrian church and the Russian Orthodox church. Of course there are less differences between Catholics and Orthodox than between Catholics and Muslims, but he thinks they can put their reservations aside. He's not asking for every church to be converted into a mosque.

Converting churches into something else completely is another option, but the possibilities are limited. Once church now houses a bookstore. Another houses a music center, but that is a very expensive project.

A workgroup will start making an inventory of the churches, and in the fall they intend to start speaking with the diocese and the parishes, church by church.

Source: De Morgen (Dutch)

See also: Antwerp: Less, bigger mosques, Antwerp: Converts to open mosque

Denmark: Polygamist wants to move to England

Two weeks ago the Danish Family Services decided that an Iraqi interpreter will have to terminate one marriage, since bigamy conflicts with Danish marriage law.

But the interpreter and his two wives agree that a divorce is unacceptable and therefore the family is now checking the possibility of moving to England, says his lawyer Marianne Vølund to Kristeligt Dagblad.

The interpreter has formerly worked also for the British forces in Iraq and will therefore check whether it's possible to move there and continue with both marriages.  It is far from certain whether this is possible.

Since the case started the interpreter has said that the whole family felt a lack of respect from the authorities' side.  They do feel they have backing from the general population and this has  contributed to convincing them not to divorce, says their lawyer.

She says that they will go to court and that there's a possibility that the Danish court will see things differently and more nuanced than the Family Services.  There has never been such a case in Denmark and they don't know what the court will decide.

The Iraqi interpreter was brought to Denmark in July last year together with his two wives and three children since his work for the coalition forces in Iraq made it life threatening for him and his family.  According to his lawyer the Danish authorities knew in advance the family's marriage situation.

Marianne Vølund says that despite the danger the women prefer going back to Iraq then divorcing, if they can't go to England, or if a court doesn't allow them to stay married.

The Foreign Ministry, Integration Ministry and Family services were informed of the family's decision.  The English embassy in Denmark is currently checking the situation.

Source: DR (Danish)

See also: Denmark: Polygamy unacceptable, Denmark: Asylum seeker with two wives,

Belgium: Statue upsets Turks

On Friday Brussels Journal reported they had been threatened by a Turk about a picture they had put up two years ago of a 17th century statue. On Saturday, it hit the news.

A Turkish newspaper published an article on the statue, basing itself completely on the Brussels Journal article, and even copying off the pictures from the site.

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A statue in the Church of Our Lady in Dendermonde which shows three angles trampling a man with an Oriental cap holding a book in his hands is causing commotion in Turkey. Turkish newspaper Yeniçag thinks it is a status of Mohammed.

Piet Buyse, mayor of Dendermonde, emphasizes that the man represents the unbeliever. A statue from the 17th century points to the battle against the unbelievers and it has nothing to do with insulting Islam.

On Friday the newspaper published a big article on their front page about the marble statue which holds the church pulpit, with the headline "Stop this piggish behavior".

According to Yeniçag the statue is that of Mohammed holding the Koran, and represents the dominance of Christianity over Islam. The Turks feel extremely offended by the image. The Yeniçag journalists say this is yet another time that Mohammed is dragged through the dirt, after the cartoon riots in Denmark and the Fitna film of Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

The Turkish journalists who wrote the article took their inspiration from The Brussels Journal, which brought about the witch-hunt by writing an article about the statue [Ed: 2 years ago].

Piet Buyse says this is not the first time the statue causes a commotion. The picture has been circulating on various sites listing so-called insults of the prophet Mohammed. Buyse says that it is very exaggerated. The idea is that unbelief is trampled. The angels carry the belief, symbolized by the pulpit with an open book, and the destruction of unbelief is symbolized by a man with a closed book.

He says it's from the time of the Battle of Vienna, and that Vienna was the last fortified town between the Ottomans and the rest of Europe. If Vienna would have fallen, Islam would have advanced on West-Europe.

Buyse doesn't think it matters whether the statue portrays Mohammed or not. He says that in older writings the man is associated with Calvin or Luther, who were seen in the time of the counter-reformation as unbelievers. The most important is that an old statue in no way means to insult Islam.

Buyse doesn't plan to remove the statue and says that's going too far.

Source: De Morgen (Dutch)

See also: Belgium: Apologizing for anti-homophobia book saying Ataturk was homosexual, Champions League: Milan's jersey offends Turks

Update

According to Turkish journalist Fikret Aydemir, Yeniçag is a small racist and nationalist newspaper, with a distribution of 50,000 copies, which is not taken seriously by other media.

One of the images accompanying the article was the EU flag with a swastika in the middle.

Source: FOK (Dutch)