Antwerp: Sharia Sisters responsible for false charges of sexual abuse

Disclaimer: I'm not coming out of retirement.. but I thought this was interesting, and couldn't find an English source to show people.

The story started when a teacher was accused of sexually abusing kindergarten kids in the Antwerp school De Blokkendoos, this past June.  For days parents protested outside the school, and finally the school was forced to close a week ahead of the summer vacation. The teacher and administration of the school also received death threats and had to go into hiding.  The case has not been officially closed, but the Mayor of Antwerp Bart De Wever recently announced that the teacher had been wrongly accused.

And this is where it gets interesting.

So Long (and thanks for all the fish)

So Long (and thanks for all the fish)

I've been putting off writing this post, but I can't put this off forever: I'm closing down my blog.  This blog has always been a hobby, and as happens in life, I've moved on to other things.  I've also discovered that it's not really healthy for me to read thousands of news articles a day and to be aware of every tragedy and scandal across the continent.

Comments are still welcome, and every now and then I'll moderate them.  All related email lists will be shut down.

Blog vacation

Dear Readers,

I 'll be going on blog-vacation for the month of June.

I'll continue to monitor comments, though much less often.  Commentators who do not follow the comment policy will be banned. 

If your comment is not accepted by the automatic moderation system, try rephrasing it.

Esther

Macedonia: "Al-Qaeda had training camps in Macedonia"

Macedonia: "Al-Qaeda had training camps in Macedonia"

Via B92:

Al-Quaeda had three training camps in Macedonia, claims retired professor of the Skopje Faculty of Security Ivan Babamovski.

(...)

Babamovski stated that 25 members of "an ethnic group" in Macedonia had undergone terrorist training in Tehran, Iran, and that one of the leaders of that community had been to Qom, the Shia spiritual center, where he was trained in leading groups related to terrorism. 

(source)

Prague: International conference on Islamic banking

Prague: International conference on Islamic banking

Via Radio Praha:

Islamic banking is today the fastest growing segment of the financial system, and is also considered a more honest and fairer alternative to conventional banking. Cihad Erginay is the Turkish ambassador to Prague, and head of the local group of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation which organized the event.

“There was great interest on the subject from our Czech colleagues, Czech bankers and journalists who kept asking us about it and expressed their interest because they saw that Islamic banks were not as affected by the economic crisis that we see today. That led us to think that it could be interesting to organize such a conference. And as you can see from the participation, there is great interest in the subject.”  

(source)

UK: MPs want curbs on 'unacceptable' religious slaughter

UK: MPs want curbs on 'unacceptable' religious slaughter


Via the BBC:

The government is facing renewed calls to curb the slaughtering of animals that have not first been rendered unconscious - a debate that pits religious sensitivities against the convictions of animal welfare campaigners.

Senior Conservative backbencher Greg Knight has told MPs that the practice of slaughtering cattle, lambs and chickens in this way is "rife".

(source)

Norway: Somalis, Afghans and Iraqis top list of new citizens

Norway: Somalis, Afghans and Iraqis top list of new citizens

The original article's headline is a bit misleading, since the three groups together make up about 30% of new citizens.

Via Views and News from Norway:

Norway attracted 14,300 new citizens last year and around 2,100 came from Somalia, which ranked as the largest single group of immigrants taking on Norwegian nationality. More than half of all Norway’s new citizens are women. 

(source)

Azerbaijan: Eurovision Terror, Assassination Plots Foiled

Azerbaijan: Eurovision Terror, Assassination Plots Foiled

The news reports don't mention when these arrests took place. 

Via Bloomberg:

Azerbaijan said its agents foiled plots by Islamic rebels to kill foreigners at the Eurovision song contest in Baku and assassinate President Ilham Aliyev.

Azeri law-enforcement officials killed two members of the armed group, including its leader, and arrested 40 more, the National Security Ministry said in an e-mailed statement today. The rebels have links to insurgents in the Dagestan region of neighboring Russia, according to the ministry. 

(source)

UK: Prisoners under pressure to convert to Muslim 'gang'

UK: Prisoners under pressure to convert to Muslim 'gang'


Via the Telegraph:

Inmates at HMP Whitemoor told researchers commissioned by the Ministry of Justice that they changed their faith for protection or because they were bullied into it.

Prison guards said they had a policy of “appeasement” towards the powerful and growing Islamic population, particularly convicted terrorists who were feared to be recruiting future extremists.

Non-believers avoided confrontation with any Muslim in case it led to retribution from the wider group, and said they even avoided cooking pork or bacon in communal kitchens or undressing in the showers in case it caused offence.  

(source)

Sweden: Moroccan-Swede singer wins Eurovision Song Contest

Sweden: Moroccan-Swede singer wins Eurovision Song Contest

 

Moscow: 'Allah's enemy!' Radio host slash-attacked for anti-Islam rant on air

Moscow: 'Allah's enemy!' Radio host slash-attacked for anti-Islam rant on air

Via RT:

A radio host has been hospitalized after being cut 15 times by an unidentified criminal. Two weeks ago the journalist ventured to criticize the founder of Islam, the Prophet Mohammed, on air.

Sergey Aslanyan, 46, was brought to Moscow’s hospital with numerous non-penetrating knife wounds to the chest, neck and arm.

Switzerland: Muslim women can be religious leaders

Switzerland: Muslim women can be religious leaders



Via the Local:

A new Swiss study has found that some Muslim women have more say in their communities than many Christian or Jewish women.

Researchers from the National Science Foundation wanted to know which women had the option of taking on leadership roles within their religious communities.

Serbia: Soccer player banned from national team over anthem

Serbia: Soccer player banned from national team over anthem

Denmark: Two Somali brothers held over terror plot

Denmark: Two Somali brothers held over terror plot

Via UKPA:

Two Somalian brothers have been arrested in Denmark on suspicion of plotting a terror attack, the country's security service has said.

The pair, aged 18 and 23, were arrested late on Monday - one in the western city of Aarhus and the other as he arrived by plane at Copenhagen's international airport, said the Danish Security and Intelligence Service, or PET.

The men were suspected of "being in the process of preparing an act of terror" after they were overheard talking about methods, targets and different weapons types, PET said in a statement, suggesting the suspects had been under surveillance. 

(source)

Moscow: Muslims outraged at xenophobic graffiti

Moscow: Muslims outraged at xenophobic graffiti

Via RT:

Moscow’s mufti Albir Krganov has appealed to the capital’s Bureau for Human Rights over nationalistic slogans and graffiti which he says insult the feelings of believers and non-Russian nationals.

Krganov – vice chairman of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia – said the body had received a large number of complaints from believers over xenophobic graffiti.In particular, they reported such slogans as “Russia is for Russians” covering the walls along the railroad to Moscow’s Domodedovo airport.

It is worrying that in Russia – a multinational and multi-confessional country – some people allow themselves to express nationalistic statements, the mufti noted to Russian News Service.  

(source)

Italy: Moroccans in quake area return home

Italy: Moroccans in quake area return home

Via AKI:

At least 100 Moroccans are returning home after the area in northern Italy where they were residing was struck by an earthquake five days ago.

The immigrants were forced to abandon their homes in the town of Finale Emilia in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region where a 5.9-magnitude quake early Sunday morning killed seven people and left around 5,000 homeless. A Moroccan working a night shift in a factory was among the dead.

(source)

Amsterdam: Handling of sharia group criticised

Amsterdam: Sharia4Holland issue death threats against Wilders, passer-by arrested

  

(Sharia4Holland press conference, Passer-by intervened at around 4:20) 

Via Expatica: 

Amsterdam VVD councillor, Robert Flos, has criticised the police for the way they dealt with a hate speech on Dam Square on Friday.

On local television channel AT5, the councillor says the police failed to arrest the Sharia4Holland speakers, who made death threats aimed at Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders and arrested a passer-by who tried to enter a discussion with the speakers.

Mr Flos points out that making death threats is a criminal offence. The passer-by was heavy-handedly removed from the scene. The councillor told AT5 he was shocked but “a message of intolerance can even be made next to our monument of freedom.”

(source)

The group's spokesman was meanwhile arrested.  Via DutchNews:

Amsterdam police have arrested the 29-year-old spokesman for radical Islamic group Sharia4Holland for making threats against MP Geert Wilders.

In an impromptu press conference on Dam square in Amsterdam on Friday, the man likened Wilders to a Roman dog and warned him to learn the lesson of what happened to Theo van Gogh. Van Gog was killed by an Islamic militant.

(source)

Germany: Muslims want more burial space

Germany: Muslims want more burial space
     
Via The National:

In a sombre sign that Muslims are becoming more integrated in German society, the 300,000-strong Islamic community in Berlin has complained that it is running out of graveyard space, and is urging authorities to help solve the problem.

The shortage of sites reflects a desire by increasing numbers of Muslims to be buried in Germany rather than be taken to their countries of origin after their death. Community leaders have stepped up their campaign this month for more burial space.

"They live here in the second and third generation and they want to be buried where they lived and worked," said Ender Cetin, the chairman of the Muslim association at the Sehitlik mosque in Berlin. "This is a problem that urgently needs to be solved." 

(source)

Somalia: Al-Shabab plotting attack in Netherlands, UK

Somalia: Al-Shabab plotting attack in Netherlands, UK

Via RNW:

A former commander of the Somali Al Qaeda-linked organisation al-Shabab has said that dormant cells in the Netherlands are secretly preparing terrorist attacks.

The commander, who left al-Shabab because of a dispute with its leaders, said the militant Islamist group is actively recruiting and training members of the Somali diaspora in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States to launch attacks in the countries where they have a residence permit.

(source)

Basque Country: Debate over mosque law

Basque Country: Debate over mosque law

Via Gatestone Institute:

The Basque regional government in northern Spain is drafting a controversial new Law on Religious Institutions, which states that mosques and prayer rooms with a capacity of fewer than 300 people will no longer require the prior local government approval.

The draft law is generating considerable opposition from elected officials of all political stripes, who fear the new measure will encourage the proliferation of mosques throughout the Basque region.