British Muslims gather in London to protest against Muhammad cartoons

Thousands of British Muslims gathered near Downing Street to protest against cartoons showing the prophet Muhammad and voice opposition to “insulting” depictions.

A leaflet issued by the Muslim Action forum (MAF), who organised the rally, said recent republishing of cartoons, caricatures and depictions of Muhammad by satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and other publishers is a “stark reminder” that freedom of speech is “regularly utilised to insult personalities that others consider sacred”.

The group also expressed “deep regret” at the Paris terror attacks, which included a massacre at Charlie Hebdo, saying they were a “violation of Islamic law”.

The words “Charlie and the abuse factory” and “learn some manners” were written on signs held by demonstrators. A number of speakers addressed the crowd while there were communal prayers before a delegation took a petition signed by more than 100,000 British Muslims to 10 Downing Street.

It calls for “global civility” and says the production of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad are “an affront to the norms of civilised society”.

Shaykh Tauqir Ishaq, a senior spokesman for MAF, said: “Perpetual mistakes by extremists, either by cold-blooded killers or uncivilised expressionists, cannot be the way forward for a civilised society. The peace-loving majority of people must become vociferous in promoting global civility and responsible debate. At this time of heightened tension and emotion, it is crucial that both sides show restraint to prevent further incidents of this nature occurring.”

Shaykh Noor Siddiqi, another MAF representative, said: “The actions of the UK media in not publishing the cartoons is highly appreciated by British Muslims and we hope that this kind of self-restraint and mutual respect will ultimately lead to a harmonious society.”

Across the street on Whitehall a handful of counter demonstrators holding a Britain First banner gathered.

Scotland Yard said it was not aware of any arrests during the protest.

Divorce first, then convert to Islam

Any married person wanting to embrace Islam will first have to divorce his or her spouse, under a law to be introduced in Negeri Sembilan which has been praised by rights groups.

The law aims to put a stop to the controversial practice in Malaysia of an estranged parent converting to Islam so as to gain custody of a child.

Menteri Besar Mohamad Hasan said the move was to safeguard the sanctity of the religion as there have been "too many controversies" surrounding this issue, The Star reported yesterday.

"It must stop," said Datuk Seri Mohamad.

"We cannot allow people to mock Islam or criticise Islamic authorities because of the actions of a certain individual." He added that this would ensure there were no aggrieved parties in the event that an individual converted before dissolving his or her civil marriage.

"According to Islam, once you convert, you can no longer live with a spouse who is a non-Muslim," said Mr Mohamad.

"So, if you are keen to convert, it makes sense for you to do so the correct and legal way."

The controversy is a longstanding one in Malaysia because of the country's dual-track legal system that is governed by civil law, yet allows for the Syariah Court to adjudicate on civil matters for Muslims, who make up 60 per cent of the population.

Civil courts have largely deferred to Islamic courts even where one party is non-Muslim, and the syariah judges have consistently granted the Muslim parent custody of children, who are also converted to Islam.

This has angered many non-Muslims, resulting in the government's announcement in 2009 that unilateral conversion of minors to Islam is prohibited. But the practice still continued.

Last year, there were two high-profile cases where two non-Muslim women's ex-husbands, who were Muslim converts, made away with their children after gaining custody through the Syariah Court, while ignoring civil court rulings in their ex-wives' favour. Both cases are still pending in court.

After the divorce, the new convert will also have to make a statutory declaration that he or she was now a Muslim, said Mr Mohamad.

This is so that the rightful party would be able to claim his or her body after death.

In the past, there have been cases where the non-Muslim families of the deceased convert were involved in unnecessary fights with Islamic authorities over the remains, he noted.

Mr Mohamad said the state Islamic council will be incorporating these provisions into the state's Islamic laws and that the state's sultan had consented to it.

The announcement has been praised by rights groups, who call it a positive step forward, the Malaysian Insider reported.

Lawyer and opposition politician M. Kulasegaran called on the federal government to advise other states to follow the lead of Negeri Sembilan.

Credit to The Straits Times

Malawi Muslims Spread Islam Light in Africa

In an attempt to take Islamic knowledge to all nations, the Muslim community in Malawi through Islamic Information Bureau (IIB) has extended its operations to its Southern African neighbors, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

“The growth of Islam in Zimbabwe and Zambia has not been as a robust as it's been here in Malawi,” Sheikh Dinala Chabulika, IIB National Coordinator, told OnIslam.net.

“It's for this reason that we have been compelled to open branches there, so that, we should be able to educate Muslim converts on salient issues about Islam and enlighten other faith groups on what Islam is and is not,” he added.

Through these offices, Chabulika said, Muslims in the remotest parts of the two countries were able to access knowledge on Islam.

“Knowledge is very vital in the propagation of Islam. People should fully understand what Islam is, before they make a decision to embrace it,” he said.

“It is part of our mission to take Islamic knowledge to all nations. We would like therefore through this initiative to enable our brothers and sisters in the two countries to appreciate the beauty of embracing Islam. If we make the knowledge available to people, we will have so many of them embracing our religion.”

“And as long as there is adequate knowledge, people of other faith groups, will be able to know what Islam is and is not. In that way, we will avoid cases  where Islam is put in very bad light.”

Both Zambia and Zimbabwe are official Christian nations. Only 2% of Zimbabwe's 15 million population are Muslims. While in Zambia, a country with 13.1 million, only 1% of population are Muslims.

“In most parts of Zambia, Islam was almost non-existent, but since the bureau was introduced here, we have witnessed many people embracing Islam,” Suzgo Zimba, President of the Islamic Supreme Council of Zambia, told OnIslam.net.

“After reading and understanding what Islam is all about, many peole have been converted to Islam. This is one of the success stories of the bureau herein Zambia.”

Zimba said the establishment of the bureau in the country has been very vital to the spread of Islam da`wah campaigns.

“If the bureau was here before, the population of Muslims here could have been far greater than it is today. However, I'm very optimistic that with passage of time, the population will grow,” he said.

Appreciation

In Zimbabwe, Sheikh Abdul Rahman, President of Islamic Da`wah Movement, attributed the current status of Islam in the country to the introduction of the bureau.

“The growth of Islam here had stagnated over the years. We have had a dwindling population of Muslims in the country, but following the establishment of the bureau, there has been a rise in the number of Muslim converts,” Sheikh Abdul Rahman told OnIslam.net.

“This is a development we greatly cherish about the bureau here in Zimbabwe.”

Appreciating their effort to spread the message of Islam, Zimbabweans praised the role played by their Malawian brothers in their country.

“Malawian Muslims are highly regarded in Zimbabwe, because they are among those who introduced the religion to this country,” Sheikh Abdul Rahman said.

“Therefore, the bureau is a milestone in the propagation of Islam in the country. The bureau is just solidifying the foundation already laid down by our forefathers.”

The arrival of Islam in Zimbabwe dates back to a millennium when Muslims established emirates on the coast of East Africa.

But a significant Muslim population only entered Zimbabwe during the colonial period, primarily coming from the Indian subcontinent.

Other Islamic migrants came from the Yao tribe of neighboring Malawi. There are a very small number of North African and Middle East immigrants.

Islamic Information Bureau was established in 1990 to provide knowledge on issues about Islam to both Muslims and non-Muslims. It has offices spread across the country.

Unlike in Zambia and Zimbabwe, Islam in Malawi has witnessed unprecedented growth over the years. Muslims in the country account for 36% of the 16 million population. It is the second largest religion after Christianity.

“We are very committed to take Islam to all part of Africa,” said Chabulika.

“We will make sure that knowledge is made available to all people regardless of distance. We are massively investing in knowledge.”

Where does Obama belong Islam vs Crusades

U.S. President Barack Obama has finally spoken out against the forces of religious extremism that are threatening all of Western civilization.  In a speech to the National Prayer Breakfast, Obama, who up to this point has stubbornly refused to use the words Islamic and terrorism in the same breath, is finally criticizing an entire terrorist movement for its religious extremism.

Which one, you ask? ISIS perhaps?

Well, not exactly.

While the leader of the free world could have aimed his arrows at a long list of Islamic terrorist organizations that compete fiercely in their barbarism – Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, and Islamic Jihad, to name but a few – he instead decided to identify what he considers to be the most shocking current manifestation of religious extremism, namely, the Christian Crusaders!

As an Israeli Jew with an acute sensitivity to what was done to my people throughout the ages, I am certainly aware of the extreme acts that were committed in the name of Christianity by the Crusaders. Yes, the Crusades were launched as a response to the brutal Muslim conquests, but many Jews were slaughtered as well. Furthermore, the Crusades led to centuries of religiously-justified persecution of the Jews all across Europe, including the Inquisition, when Jews suffered from mass expulsions, forced conversions, and far worse, and all in the name of Christianity.

However, the Crusades ended some 700 years ago. Furthermore, it must be said that unlike Jihadist Muslims who are emulating the ways of Muhammad, such Christians weren’t emulating Jesus, who wasn’t known for beheadings or violent rampages.

Jumping back to the present, we see that the free world is being confronted with a variety of violent Islamic movements that have in common a strict adherence to the Islamic doctrine of Jihad, or holy war against non-Muslims (the unbelievers), which is arguably the highest precept in Islam, with abuse of woman and children coming in a close second and third place. While many Christians in our times still believe that proselytizing is important, very few, if any, would call for the violent conversion of those who disagree with them, and certainly no Jews believe in such an intolerant, violent doctrine.

Barack Obama appears to have been so scarred from the unfortunate loss of his Muslim father at a young age that he can’t recognize, nor admit, the real and present danger of the intolerant, violent Jihadist ideology and its deep roots in the core of Islam. It seems to be almost an infantile mantra: Islam not bad… Islam not bad… Islam not bad!

The problem is that as the leader of the free world, President Obama needs to be leading the fight against Islamic terrorism from ISIS to Iran, but not only is he not doing it adequately, but he also gets in the way of those who are willing to lead. Rather than face the painful demons in his past, it’s perhaps easier for him to point to the Crusaders of 700 years ago or to reference violent incidents in the Book of Deuteronomy (which he has done) to prove his specious point that Islam is no more dangerous than all the others. To face the “in your face” challenges of ISIS, Al Qaeda, Iran, Hamas, Taliban, Islamic Jihad, Fatah, Boko Haram, Hezbollah, and all the others, is much more difficult, and perhaps for Barack Hussein Obama, emotionally unbearable.

The anti-Islamic far-right is spreading in Europe—and going mainstream

In recent months, a street movement called Pegida—Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the Occident—has emerged from nowhere in Germany, seeking to “protect Judeo-Christian culture” and halt to what it calls the spread of Islam. Though it denies being xenophobic or racist, its leader quit after being pictured dressed as Hitler. Pegida’s rallies have attracted tens of thousands of people in Germany.

And now the group is spreading abroad. Pegida held its first march in Vienna and is to hold its first British rally in the city of Newcastle on Feb. 28, with more planned in the UK. Britain already has anti-Islamic groups such as the English Defence League, a small but vocal force. Only this weekend, the EDL attracted as many as 1,000 people to a march against the building of a mosque.

Time will tell how popular Pegida will be outside of Germany—only a few hundred people showed up in Vienna—but its rising profile is a small part of the growing shift into the mainstream of far-right groups that would have once been shunned.

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Britain is also coping with the rise of the anti-immigration UK Independence Party, whose leader has blamed immigrants for his being late to his own campaign events. In France, the Front National is a more organized and established version of much the same sentiment. In 2002, the Front National’s overtly-racist leader at the time, Jean-Marie Le Pen, shocked many by getting to the run-off in the presidential election, and the whole of the French establishment united against him. His daughter, Marine Le Pen, now runs the Front National, which was the most popular party in the last nationwide elections held in France and has become so prominent that she was invited to speak at the Oxford University student union last week (link in French)—her speech was delayed by three hours due to protests. She even gets to write editorials in the New York Times now.

Even Britain’s Prince Charles, who rarely speaks on political matters, is worried about the radicalization of Muslim youths within his future kingdom. The growing acceptance of far-right subject matter as part of political discourse in Europe may just be a sign of our more polarized times—similar things are happening on the far-left in Greece and Spain, for example.

But it could also mean that Europe will have to come to accept voices like Pegida in the mainstream for the foreseeable future. If nothing else, it is a test of the region’s tolerance for dissent. As Germany’s vice-chancellor Sigmar Gabriel suggests:

    Whether you like it or not, people have a democratic right to be right-wing or nationalist. People also have a right to spread stupid ideas, such as the notion that Germany is being Islamicized.