Sunday, July 13, 2008

Islam in Europe Weekly Overview

This past week was a potpourri of events.  I tried to group below similar news-stories together.

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The Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni threatened to shut down the Viale Jenner mosque in Milan.  The European Affairs minister, Andrea Rochi, threatened to dismiss imams who do not recognize Israel.

Italy also featured on the news when the story broke of an eleven year old who was sold by her parents to a 21 year old, who then got her pregnant.  Apparently all the people involved are Roma-Muslims, and the practice is accepted in the community.  In this case, btw, the girl did not see herself as a victim at all.

There are more and more reports of forced marriage in Norway.  Though women are usually the victims of family pressure in marriage, a case in Brussels shows that sometimes men can be victims too.

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A survey in Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that support for the anti-immigrant party Sweden Democrats is growing among youth.  This also includes immigrant youth.

A recent poll in Sweden also shows that 60% think that Muslims are discriminated against due to their religion.  Following the logic of the Expo magazine editor quoted in the article, this actually means that at least 60% of Swedes don't discriminate against Muslims.

The subject of Islamophobia was also discussed in Britain, where a Channel 4 Dispatches program aired on 7/7 discussed how Muslims are feeling the backlash of the terrorist attacks.  As it happens, one of the Muslim leaders shown in the show was quoted just days later advocating public floggings

The British, Islamophobic as they are, are meanwhile donating to a project to send educational equipment to Pakistan.  Not many donations were received from Pakistanis in the UK. 

This project might have been more successful in Norway, where the government is willing ot double donations for Pakistanis who want to develop their homeland.  If the pilot succeeds, other immigration countries will be added on.

On the topic of discrimination - a Belgian company which refused to hire Moroccan workers was told by the European Court of Justice that it was indeed discriminating.

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In France cable TV stations Canal+ received terror threats if it will not stop it's monthly porn films.  The Danish security service announced that the plot to kill Muhammad cartoonist Kurt Westergaard was part of a larger terrorist plot.

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A Moroccan woman in France was denied citizenship for wearing a burka.  It's interesting to note that she had started wearing the garment only in France, and that due to the insistence of her French-born husband.  While French politicians are appalled at her submission, maybe they should be more appalled at her husband's demands.  

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Last week I posted a story about an Afghani convert to Christianity in Norway.  The Norwegian authorities don't believe his conversion was real and want to deport him.  A new law in the Netherlands opens a loophole for Iranians to get an automatic residence permit.

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In Other News:

* Muslim beheaded by radical Christians (only on the BBC).

* Muslim film festival held in Oxford

* Euronews starts broadcasting in Arabic.

* Danish-Moroccan criminal escapes at his mother's funeral, with the help of friends and relatives.

* Swedish Greens push for mother tongue instruction.


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This article was cross-posted to Islam in Europe and to THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS


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