Denmark: Threats against social workers

Immigrant advisers and social workers are seen as the enemy by fathers and brothers when they try to help young women out of forced marriages or try to prevent youth from falling into criminality. One of the more active in the field recently quit his job due to threats.

Manu Sarren was threatened that if he'll help more women, he'll be killed. Sareen is a member of the city council for Social Liberals. An immigrant consultant and politicians he has worked for the past 10 years on integration and the so-called generational problems such as forced marriages, and equality problems in the capital's immigrant families.

He says he has gotten many threats but that the one on Oct. 2nd, 2006 was different: two well-clothed men waited for him at the entrance to his office. They were perversely gentle when they told him he'll be killed if he continues helping women.

He soon reported in sick, had to have psychological help and returned a month later to his job. The case was reported to the police but fear of those men have now caused him to quit his position. He now lives with police protection. For more than a year he did not talk about the death threats because he didn't want to stigmatize an entire community.

He was one of the initiators of the Ethnic Consultant Team in Copenhagen who help youth who are threatened with forced marriages and he has publicly fought against it, and wrote against it in his book "When marriage become coercion" ("Når ægteskab bliver tvang").

He says the capital's immigrants can be divided into two groups: a well-integrated group and an isolated un-integrated group that isn't willing to accept values such as democracy and equality.

He says threats against people who work with these problems come more and more often, and therefore it is important that we recognize that they do exist and that they should be dealt with.

According to several immigrant councilors interviewed by Jyllands-Posten, they live in fear of attacks and reprisals from angry families who don't want them helping young girls out of forced marriages, ensuring them an education or stopping them from getting involved in criminality. Several live at secret addresses where they can't be found by angry relatives.

Mohammad Rafiq, who advises young immigrant women, has lived underground after he wrote the book "Love can't be arranged" ("Kærlighed kan ikke arrangeres"). He says he was attacked at the city hall and had to change address twice. He says they deal with sensitive traditions and that social workers are sometimes seen as a threat against the men in the family. He points out that the threats often come from highly-educated families, where the father works and is integrated into Danish society, but they live according to Islamic norms that say women can't choose for themselves.

"The father's group" is an association in Nørrebro in Copenhagen which work with seriously problematic immigrant families and has received a police prize. Khaled Alsubeihi, head of the group, says that many workers have quit due to threats. He says that they don't dare to work with the toughest groups. He says he was shot at, subjects to false reports, and received threats. He has a family to think of and won't work with these families and people. He understand Manu Sareen for choosing to quit his job.

Some of the young women of immigrant origin whose lives are in danger stay in the nation's women's crisis centers. Anne Mau of LOKK (a national organization of crisis centers) says that they get verbal threats by telephone, and it happens that people are extremely upset at them when they have data about women they don't want to give out. She says this phenomenon is wide-spread. There are also threats like 'I know where your children go to kindergarten' and she says many social workers live at secret addresses.

Leif Randeris, an integration consultant with officers in Århus, Aalborg, Odense and Copenhagen says that he lives at a secret address and that he isn't registered anywhere. He had gotten several threats by people who had found where he lives. He's looking over his shoulder, but he'll continue with his job. People must make a decision and he respects Manu Sareen for deciding to quit.

Leif Randeris and Mohammad Rafiq say it's catastrophic that the threats are such that people decide to quit. They say that there are only a handful of people in the country who know the families and who have contact with the women, who are the most threatened. Leif Randeris says that they only hear from politicians when there's an 'honor murder'.

The immigrant consultant and social workers accuse the police of not taking the threats against them seriously and that they don't understand threats of coercion in immigrant families. Mohammad Rafiq says that the police don't react and don't take complaints more seriously than as if it was a bar-fight. They act as if they don't understand what's going on.

Khaled Alsubeihi agrees with him and says that when he worked in the Copenhagen municipality his boss had to contact the police chief before he was taken seriously. Several central places in Nørrebro have graffiti saying "Alsubeihi is a police informant"

After Ghazala Khan (19) was killed by her brother on orders of her father, the national police set up a strategy for dealing with honor related crimes. This summer they registered more than 100 complains for 6 months, but according to Mohammad Rafiq this was the last of it.

In response Per Larsen of the Copenhagen police said that this is unacceptable, that it will be taken extremely seriously and that this issue has top priority.

Sources: Jyllands Posten 1, 2, 3 (Danish), h/t Hodja (Danish)

London: Muslim protest in support of "teddy bear teacher"

I can understand what the Sudanese did.. what did the press do?

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British Muslims protested outside the Sudanese Embassy over the treatment of jailed teacher Gillian Gibbons.


The small but noisy group demanded the immediate release of Mrs Gibbons, who is currently serving a 15-day prison sentence in Sudan after her class of seven-year-olds named a teddy bear Mohammed.


Chanting "free, free Gillian" and "let her go, let her go", demonstrators attempted to hand over a "goodwill teddy" to the embassy, but a staff member refused to accept the gift.


Some 20 British Muslims, including MP for Tooting Sadiq Khan and chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission Massoud Shadjareh, gathered outside the Sudanese embassy in Piccadilly.


Leaders of the protest said they wanted to show that British Muslims supported Mrs Gibbons. Some arrived with their own teddy bears.


The protest followed angry scenes in Khartoum on Friday in which knife-wielding fundamentalists called for the execution of Mrs Gibbons.


At the London demonstration, Catherine Heseltine, a 28-year teacher and member of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, condemned the action of hard-line Islamists.


She said: "They are dragging the name of Islam through the mud. The overwhelming feeling in the Muslim community in the UK is that it is really sad the way Gillian Gibbons has been treated. I haven't met a single British Muslim who has taken the naming of the teddy to be an insult."


Mr Shadjareh, chairman of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said: "I find it offensive that Islam is being used in this way by the Sudanese government and the media.


"It is totally unacceptable by the Sudanese government and the press are trying to make this into another cartoon or a Salmon Rushdie issue."

Source: Guardian (English)

See also: UK: British Muslims back "teddy bear teacher"

Norway: Islamic Council turns to European Fatwa Council for ruling on homosexuals

The Islamic Council of Norway has turned to the European Council for Fatwa for help in deciding what attitudes Norwegian Muslims should have towards homosexuality. One of the most difficult questions that the fatwa council will now have to take a position on is whether Muslims in Europe should support or reject death sentence for homosexuals. This question has not been clarified so far by the Islamic Council of Norway.

The European Fatwa council, which principally answers questions for Muslims in Europe is now being asked for the first time to come up with a clear answer about attitudes towards homosexuality.

The question about Norwegian Muslims attitude towards homosexuality has been on the agenda after Dagsavisen reported on Nov. 18 that homosexuals are being sent abroad to become heterosexuals. Non-profit organizations fear for the lives of homosexual immigrants who are being forcibly sent back to their parent's homeland. Forced marriage and "reorienting" through koran lessons are methods used on young homosexuals who parents and family want to "cure" them from their homosexual leanings. In several Muslim countries, like Iran, there's a death sentence on homosexuality.

The head of the Islamic Council of Norway, Senaid Kobilica told Dagsavisen that they have now entered a process where they discuss problems related to homosexuality. The most important reference point for them is the European Council for Fatwa and they are asking the council to help them clarify these difficult questions.

Kobilica is a highly respected imam and has formerly clearly expressed himself on his and Norwegian Muslims' detest for the use of terrorism and violence. When asked by Dagsavisen if he supports death sentence for homosexuals he answered that as a Muslim in Norway reacts to being confronted with such a question.

As Muslims in Norway we have always respected Norwegian law, and will continue. We are obligated, according to Islam, to respect the law of the countries where we live, and that we do fully, says Kobilica who hopes the European Council will help Muslims in Europe have a uniform position on homosexuality. He says it's obvious that Muslims in Norway agree on their opinion in this question. Some might like it, others not, but they must sooner or later express themselves on this issue.

This will happen after an internal discussion among Muslims in Norway and after the Islamic Council of Norway consults Islamic authorities in Europe.

Kobilica says that while these processes are going on, he asks for understanding and respect on the fact that he can't express himself, neither on his personal standpoint nor on the Islamic Council of Norway' standpoint towards homosexuality related questions.

"Skeiv Verden", a group for homosexual and lesbian youth of immigrant background, reported that they got many shocked inquiries after the Islamic Council of Norway refused to reject the death sentence for homosexuals. The organization is now initiating an appeal to be handed to the Islamic council, the government and Norwegian political parties.

Source: Dagsavisen (Norwegian)

See also: Norway: Islamic Council doesn't want to say 'no' to death sentence for homosexuals , Norway: Homosexual immigrant youth fear for their lives, Norway: First Muslim homosexual (and a bit on antisemitism)

Amsterdam: Study on motives for anti-gay attacks

With the number of homophobic attacks rising in the Dutch metropolis, Amsterdam officials are commissioning a study to determine why Moroccan men are targeting the city's gays.

Amsterdam is considered one of the most gay-friendly cities in Europe -- and it has long flaunted it, with bars sporting provocative names like the "Cockring" snuggled comfortably within major tourist areas. Recently, though, gays and lesbians living in the city have begun to ask how safe they really are in one of the continent's greatest bastions of tolerance.

In 2006, the city registered 32 hate crimes directed at gays. During the first half of 2007, 26 had already been reported, including an attack perpetrated during the Dutch city's annual gay pride parade in August. The attack against a British gay couple generated headlines around the world in newspapers catering to the gay community.

This month, Mayor Job Cohen commissioned the University of Amsterdam to conduct a study on the motives behind the hate crimes. Half of the crimes were committed by men of Moroccan origin and researchers believe they felt stigmatized by society and responded by attacking people they felt were lower on the social ladder. Another working theory is that the attackers may be struggling with their own sexual identity.
Amsterdam is known the world over as a melting pot for people of every color and persuasion, but 20 percent of gays and lesbians responding to a recent poll said they had been discriminated against at least once in their life.

Source: Spiegel (English)

UK: Model Mosques show

A British television channel has come up with a reality knockout show, Model Mosque, which asks viewers to vote on the nation's best mosque.

This comes as Britain's Muslim community has set up a watchdog organisation to combat extremism in the nation's mosques.

A draft code of practice includes a pledge to promote civic responsibility and not to exclude women and young people.

Each weekend many Muslims across the UK sit down on Saturday night and flick their remote control to the Islam channel.

Model Mosque's creator and host, Abrar Hussain, opens the show by inviting viewers to cast judgement on places of worship.

"Assalamu alaykum my brothers and sisters, welcome to Model Mosque 2007. Every week we'll be showing you two different mosques," he says.

"Then you, the audience, will have the opportunity to cast a vote and help decide who will go through to round two."

There is no hanging judge, or the showbiz venom of most reality TV shows, but it works the same way, with audiences kicking a mosque out of the competition each week.

Mr Hussain says the program is designed for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

"It's something that's really going to catch their imagination and, to be frank, I mean it was something that we needed," he said.

"Most people who are non-Muslim in the UK, basically their impression of mosques is gained from mosques in the mass media or commercial media," he said.

"They look at the TV reports, they open the newspapers on any given day, you know, and they'll see a negative story about mosques."

Mr Hussain says he has real concern that mosques and terrorism are becoming closely linked in the public eye.

"Mosques and terrorism are linked, you know, in a lot of news reports and press reports, and we just wanted to show a different side of mosques," he said.

"So when I wrote the format, I really wanted to write something that would show mosques in a positive light."

But he is quick to point out that it is not just another reality television show.

"A lot of them our friend Simon Cowell (creator of Pop Idol) came out with and most of these
shows, if not all of them, are based on individuals. They're based on people," he said.

"Whereas in this show the mosques are the star of the show. The mosque is an institution that we're judging, that we're voting for."

Sparked by the bombings in London more than two years ago, Britain's four major Muslim organisations have come up with the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board.

It will ask mosques to sign up to a community watchdog, and the watchdog will be able to launch spot checks on standards.

Many mosques are accused of failing to adequately serve their local communities, and the British Government says mosques can help marginalise the extremists who are trying to recruit young Muslims.

Source: ABC (English)


See also: Little Mosque on the Prairie

Sweden: Arn, Knight Templar

"Arn - the Knight Templar" (Arn - tempelriddaren) is a film soon to come out in Sweden, based on a popular book series by Jan Guillou.

The Arn film can give people in the West a better understanding of Islam, said Muslim imam Smajo Shaat in a discussion in the Skara cathedral last week.

Smajo Sahat thinks the west has a split attitude towards Islam. The west attempts to moderate the image of Islam when they say that all Muslims aren't terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims. And it is really hard to live as a Muslim in the west today, after everything that happened, says the imam.

Smajo Sahat believes that the film about Arn can contribute to showing what Islam and its culture give the West.

Jan Guillou says that one of his goals when writing the books was to show the similarities between Christianity and Islam, and he thinks there is a lot of evidence to that.

Source: Swedish Radio (Swedish)

Denmark: The ethics of immigration

31 Indian specialist doctors, mainly anesthetists, radiologist and pathologists, are coming today to Denmark to work in hospitals in Central Jutland (Region Midtjylland) where there is a serious need for specialists.

Though the Indian doctors are happy for the work opportunity, they are being met with criticism, that Denmark is bringing in doctors from India, which itself is in need of doctors.

Ove Hartling, chairman of the Ethics Council, thinks that Denmark belongs to the countries who on the one hand help developing countries, while on the other they take away important resources just because there is a need for it. He says it's as if our ideals about helping developing countries evaporate when we ourselves have a need.

Region Midtjylland, however, does not agree that they are draining India of highly-educated Indians. Hans Svanholm, a doctor in Randers, thinks they are helping India. He says there's no issue of a "brain drain" but rather of "brain circulation". The doctors get experience with the Danish methods of health care and India will benefit from it.

The 31 doctors were chosen out of 750 who answered an ad that Region Midtjylland put in Indian newspapers.

Source: DR (Danish)

Hague: Museum rejects 'Mohammad exhibit'

The municipal museum of the Hague had decided not to exhibit a project showing homosexual men with masks of Mohammed and his son-in-law Ali ( picture here).  The exhibition, "Adam and Ewald", also shows Dutch homosexual men.  It was prepared by Sooreh Hera, originally of Iran, who has now been living in the Netherlands for 7 years.

Sooreh Hera says that the Islamic world holds a hypocritical attitude towards sex.  Homosexuals in countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia are treated roughly while it is quite usual for married men to have sex with other men.  But that is kept hidden.

Hera photographed many homosexuals, two of which were of Iranian origin.  According to Hera they did not ant to be recognized and therefore wore masks.  In order to denounced the hypocrisy in the Muslim world, she used the faces of Mohammed and Ali.

The museum originally agreed to show the pictures and its manager Van Krimpen was interviewed saying that as a museum director he doesn't use political criteria and that he thought the work was outstanding.  However, the museum has now announced that they will not show Hera's work because it would be seen as offensive by certain groups and because they don't want to serve as a political forum.

Sources: Volkskrant (Dutch), HLN (Dutch)

Odense: Immigrant hospital ward

Misunderstandings between doctors and patients mean that sick immigrants miss treatment. Immigrants are sent from one ward to another when they're sick and come to a hospital. Some shouldn't be admitted while others get treatment too late.

A quarter of doctors think that immigrants don't get the treatment they need, according to numbers from the Danish national board of health (Sundhedsstyrelsen). The problem is now so great that Odense University Hospital has opened up an exclusive immigrant ward.

Morten Sodemann, who will start up the new ward after New Year's, says that they can see that there are too many patients who go round the system and that there are delays in diagnosis.

Misunderstandings have grave consequences for the patient, but also for the hospital, which wastes time and money sending the patient from one ward to the other.

Source: Berlingske Tidende (Danish)

UK: Local council rejects burka ban

The equality committee on Calderdale council in Lancashire has rejected a plan to ban the burka and face-covering veils among council workers.

But councillors on the equality and community cohesion committee admitted the current dress code, which stresses that "employees must be properly dressed so services can be delivered safely and appropriately" must be vigorously enforced. The decision has to be ratified by a meeting of the full council.

As previously reported, the proposal was put forward by Councillor Allen Clegg. He claimed that religious dress could intimidate people, and the public did not feel safe dealing with workers dressed in such outfits. He slammed the equality and cohesion committee for not having the courage to make a brave decision. In a poll in the local Courier newspaper, 70% of respondents had supported his suggestion. "To dismiss this out of hand is absolutely ridiculous. At the very least this needed careful consideration.

Amjid Mahmood, secretary of the Muslim Association of Calderdale, said "We are pleased common sense has prevailed."

Source: National Secular Society (English)