Sunday, July 27, 2008

Islam in Europe Weekly Review

The women who was denied citizenship in France spoke out this week, saying she had been misrepresented in the media.  Are Muslim European women oppressed?  Two articles about French and British Muslim women claim they are merely looking to adapt Islam and the Western lifestyle.


Radicalism and Terrorism


* Morocco is taking steps to prevent European Moroccans suspected of terrorism from entering its borders.  Morocco can also be a haven for European Moroccan criminals - In Italy, a drunk driver suspected of killing a motorist fled the country, now immigrants are calling for his arrest.

* In Catalonia Salafists are taking over more and more mosques.

* The Kurdish terrorist group PKK abducted several Germans in response to German actions against the group.  German Kurds debate whether that was a smart move.  Meanwhile, Libya is taking sanctions against Switzerland for arresting Qaddafi's son on charges of violence.  Italy has announced this week it will compensate Libya for its years of colonialization

* Denmark has decided not to make any more studies of Hizb ut-Tahrir's connections or financing.

* An Austrian Shia leader visiting Iran praised the country for its leadership of Muslims.


Discrimination

Muslim BBC employees complain of anti-Muslim discrimination in the network.  Muslims evicted from a mosque in Sweden also cite discrimination as the prime reason.


Sharia

* Hotel chains are opening up Sharia hotels in Muslim countries, and they are also thinking of doing so in Europe, for the Muslim traveler.

* France is doing its best to attract Sharia finance.  In the Netherlands, the tax authorities have once again refused to give deductions to halal mortgages, making them in fact not viable.

* Muslim leaders are not the only ones in Britain who suggest Sharia laws to deal with crime


Crime

* Sweden is becoming more and more aware of the need to protect its immigrant citizens from honor violence.  At the same time, a court tying a murder attempt to the Arab and Muslim culture faced criticism this week.

* Youth in Malmo are moved from attacking the fire brigade to ambushing it.

* In France a husband was sent to prison for hitting his wife after she rolled up her veil.

* An attack at an asylum center in Norway left scared residents and annoyed neighbors.

* In Italy the prime minister is getting death threats.


In Other News

* In Lithuania, the local Tatar Muslims meet the new immigrants, who have a different view of what being a Muslim really means.  In Russia, some researchers think Islam might be the primary religion by 2050. 

* The Saudi sponsored Madrid Interfaith Conference finished, declaring that terrorism is universal and seeking to criminalize blasphemy. 

* In Denmark the Somali community is asking for help fighting khat abuse.

* In France, a group of Muslim and Jewish women meet to bake together and get to know the other side.

* Made in Norway, Scandinavia now has halal cheese.

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

1 comment:

  1. The above case of the veil wearing Muslim woman being denied French citizenship is good news. It may also turn out to be a very important decision.

    ReplyDelete