Freethought Nation

Cover up for pool event during next year's Ramadan

"Participants aged 10 and over must ensure their bodies are covered from waist to knee and the entire torso extending to the upper arms," a request by Dandenong City Council and the YMCA states in an exemption application to the Equal Opportunities Act.

Islamophobia? Try 'Infidelophobia'!!!

"Do you suffer spinal twinges when reading of Buddhist teachers shot in the back by Jihad terrorists? Are you prone to experience a slight jabbing pain in the side when hearing of another Israeli stabbed to death by the Palestinian Fedayeen? Do you get a sort of burning sensation in your sinuses upon learning of a family of Hindus forced into a house by the Mujahideen and set aflame? Is there a dry or scratchy feeling in the back of your mouth when told of a Christian getting their throat slashed by Islamists? How about old-school decapitation with a dull blade? Leave you feeling a bit light-headed?

If so, then you may have Islamophobia, a new term that literally means a fear of Islam and its strict devotees."

"Infidelophobia. It's a condition that leaves a lot of people (infidels, in this case) concerned, aggravated and fearing for their safety as well, along with something else, a big pile of dead bodies. More than 10,000 in fact, and that's just since 9/11/01 - and doesn't even include the 3,000 murdered that day. Nor does it include the more than 30,000 others who have been maimed in nearly 2,000 fatal terrorist attacks tracked by http://www.thereligionofpeace.com The killers are always devoted Muslims, and sometimes the victims as well, but it's all for the cause of killing infidels as inspired by the Qur'an and Hadiths, so let Allah sort the bodies out as they get delivered.

Those whining about Islamophobia seem to be completely ignorant of the contingency between Jihad and a fear of Islam on the part of its victims. Their solution is not to cease the violence that causes fear, but rather to change the attitudes of non-Muslims. And who is it that is supposed to be bigoted? "

"Infidelophobia" - holding a mirror up to Muslims

"...Discussion of Islamophobia misses an important perspective - the attitudes of Muslims towards non-Muslims. Irrational disproportionate reactions by Muslims were seen internationally during the Salman Rushdie affair and the Mohammed cartoon affair. The people who published the Mohammed cartoons were not Muslims, and so not bound by the taboo. And perhaps only tens of people were involved in the decision to publish the cartoons. Yet many Muslims reacted destructively against targets that were obviously nothing to do with those people.

This suggests that there is a frequent attitude by Muslims towards non-Muslims that needs to be explained. It can't be dismissed simply as a reaction to Islamophobia - it is an attitude revealed when non-Muslims don't conform to Muslim standards. Words that have been used for it include Infidelophobia, Infidelphobia, Westophobia, and Westphobia. But perhaps it isn't fear, and instead simply intolerance of contradictory values, accompanied by an arrogant assumption that Islam is "the one true religion" that should be accepted as privileged, even by people with other beliefs.

Whatever the nature of the attitudes of Muslims towards non-Muslims, it needs to be studied. It influences discussions about Islamophobia itself. For example, it may influence some Muslims to treat "the West" as a single coherent society, or to assume that the attitudes of non-Muslims towards Muslims mirrors their own attitudes towards non-Muslims. ..."

MRC Study: ABC, CBS and NBC Tilt Ground Zero Mosque Debate by Smearing Americans as ‘Islamophobic’

"By a wide margin -- 66 percent to 29 percent, according to the most recent ABC News/ Washington Post poll -- the public is opposed to building that proposed $100 million Islamic cultural center near the site of the destroyed World Trade Towers. This is not a lightly-held opinion: more than half (53%) told ABC news they are "strongly opposed" to building it near Ground Zero, vs. only 14 percent who report being "strongly" in favor."

Kafir (Arabic: كافر kāfir; plural كفّار kuffār) is a term used in a Islamic doctrinal sense, usually translated as "unbeliever" or "disbeliever", or sometimes "infidel". The term refers to a person who rejects God or who hides, denies, or "covers" the truth. The Quran also uses the word for Muslims; in Sura 2 Verse 256, it asks them to take upon themselves the action of "Kofr" of all unjust idols, persons or powers.

Describing unabashedly the purpose of the humiliating Koranic poll tax (as per Koran 9:29) of submission for non-Muslims brought under Islamic hegemony by jihad, Ibn Ajibah makes clear the ultimate goal of its imposition was to achieve what he called the death of the 'soul', through the dhimmi's execution of their own humanity:

British Airways Inflight Meals Could Soon Be Halal, Says Supplier

The move follows the sharp growth of carriers such as Emirates, of Dubai, and Etihad, of Abu Dhabi, which require all meals to be halal.

But GateGourmet caters for numerous airlines from non-Muslim countries, which would also be affected by the changes.

The company prepares more than 200million meals a year from its 100 flight kitchens in more than 25 countries.

Compelling customers to eat food prepared in accordance with the Muslim faith could be controversial in some countries, including the UK.

Algerian Christians under trial for breaking Ramzan [Ramadan] fast

Two Algerian Christians were tried on Tuesday for breaking Ramadan fasting rules, with hundreds of people protesting outside the courtroom against judicial authorities.

Hocine Hocini and Salem Fellak were arrested on August 13 on the building site where they worked in the northern region of Kabylie after they were spotted eating lunch, which they admit to doing but insist happened in a discreet place.

Malaysian kick-boxers bemoan Islamist order to cover up

Kick-boxers in Malaysia’s Kelantan state are bemoaning rules imposed by its Islamist government that require them to don a T-shirt while banning shorts, tattoos and talismans as part of a policy to instil Muslim values, a newspaper reported Tuesday....

School meals storm brewing

WIGAN schools are serving halal meat to pupils.

Halal meat is the traditional Muslim way of preparing meat. Wigan’s Muslim population is fewer than five per cent of the borough’s total population.

The decision to serve the meat has angered parents concerned about animal cruelty.

It emerged today that meat supplied to Wigan schools by Wigan Council caterers, Metrofresh, is prepared in accordance with Sharia law.

The traditional Islamic way of preparing meat involves killing animals by drawing a knife across their throats, without stunning them first – the usual method in British slaughterhouses.

Sharia law forbids using a stun gun so, instead, the animal must be conscious when its throat is cut and the blood allowed to drip from the carcass while a religious phrase in praise of Allah is recited.

One mum, who did not want to be named, said: "I rang the council to ask if they served halal meat in Wigan schools and they confirmed it.

"The woman who answered said it was for diversity needs...."

Animal welfare campaigners have long called for a ban on this type of meat preparation....

Two Gateshead men arrested for watching 9/11 Koran burning video

In a disturbing development, Northumbria Police in Gateshead last week arrested two men after they watched and shared a video on Facebook of a man burning the Koran in the US during the recent 9/11 commemoration at Ground Zero in New York.

The men were drinking in the Bugle pub, Leam Lane, Gateshead, when they were arrested after watching and sharing the videos.

Around 30 people staged a protest outside Gateshead police station on Wednesday evening, the 15th of September, following the arrests.

The group stood outside the doors to the police station with an England flag for about three hours watched by a contingent of uniformed officers.The protesters had gathered at around 8pm after the two men were arrested earlier in the day on 'suspicion of inciting racial hatred'.

The protest continued until around 11pm when the two arrested men were bailed pending further enquiries.

In a further development, the man who actually burned the Koran in the video on 9/11 in New York has been sacked from his job.

Derek Fenton, 39, of Bloomingdale, New Jersey, had worked for NJ Transit for 11 years as a conductor and train co-ordinator. One of his neighbours, Jacqui Marquez, said: "Good for him for burning the Koran. Everybody's entitled to their opinion. By firing him, they're sending a message that there's no freedom of speech. They're completely wrong for doing this."

Youtube have now removed all footage of Derek Fenton burning the Koran. Of course, if he had burnt the Stars and Stripes (or any other flag or religious book) the video would still be available. Double standards by Youtube, perhaps?

Over the years, New York City police have told me that hundreds, possibly thousands of taxicab drivers park illegally outside the city’s mosques in order to pray. The police choose not to ticket or arrest anyone. They don’t want “trouble.” In addition, I have seen Muslims block traffic in order to pray in the streets. In western terms, their prayer service looks like a belligerent demonstration—a protest, perhaps, about the small size of a particular mosque. In Muslim terms, it is simply one’s custom, one’s right, to stop wherever you are and pray at the appointed time. Such street prayer “protests” are very common all over Europe. This is what it means when the mosque and state are “one.”

A friend of mine lives near the mosque on East 96th Street. He told me that the mosque had, this past Friday, used their loudspeakers to amplify their call to prayer–and possibly their prayers.

“They used to do that, but then they stopped. Now, it’s begun again.”

I have visited the Islamic Cultural Center of New York (the East 96th Street mosque). More and more women are wearing burqas. They are also begging outside in burqas. Those women who wear hijab which tightly frame their faces, also wear heavy, dark, long coats which they button up to their chins—even on the hottest days. I note that their bearded husbands wear comfortable, light-weight western-style clothing.

Something is very wrong with this picture.

6 Men Arrested In Suspected Quran Burning In UK

"LONDON — British police say they have arrested six men on suspicion of stirring racial hatred after they posted a video on the Internet in which they appear to burn two Qurans on Sept. 11.

Northumbria police say the men posted bail and were released. They will face further court hearings for their actions in the town of Gateshead in northern England, police said in a statement.

The arrests were made public Thursday. Police say two men were arrested Sept. 15 and four on Sept. 22. Police would not say how much bail was required.

The arrests follow a controversy that started when a Florida pastor said he would burn a Quran on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Gateshead officials said Thursday that the behavior does not reflect community values"

Britain goes halal... but no-one tells the public: How famous institutions serve ritually slaughtered meat with no warning

A Mail on Sunday investigation - which will alarm anyone concerned about animal cruelty - has revealed that schools, hospitals, pubs and famous sporting venues such as Ascot and Twickenham are controversially serving up meat slaughtered in accordance with strict Islamic law to unwitting members of the public....

Animal welfare campaigners have long called for a ban on the traditional Islamic way of preparing meat - which involves killing animals by drawing a knife across their throats, without stunning them first - saying it is cruel and causes unnecessary pain.

Sharia law expressly forbids knocking the animal out with a bolt gun, as is usual in British slaughter­houses. Instead, it must be sentient when its throat is cut, and the blood allowed to drip from the carcass while a religious phrase in praise of Allah is recited....

Indonesia Gay Film Festival Attacked By Islamic Protesters

Members of the Islamic Defenders Front threaten to burn down Jakarta venue if screenings continue

An international film festival celebrating gay cinema was yesterday targeted by masked Islamic hardliners in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

The protesters, members of the Islamic Defenders Front, chanted homophobic slogans and accused organisers of the Q! film festival, now in its ninth year, of blasphemy, threatening to burn down a venue if screenings did not halt. The event, which is being held at foreign cultural centres in Jakarta, opened last week and was scheduled to run until Wednesday night. It aims to raise awareness of gay issues....

In the past, the Islamic Defenders Front has smashed bars, attacked transvestites and targeted other groups it considers blasphemous with bamboo clubs and stones. Indonesia, a secular country of 237 million people, has more Muslims than any other country in the world. Though most are moderate and oppose violence, a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in recent years....

Man Sentenced to Death for the Unspeakable Crime of "BLASPHEMY"

"LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday confirmed the death sentence handed down to a blasphemy convict and ordered that he be hanged till death.

This is the second case of its kind in the country when the death sentence of a blasphemy accused has been confirmed by the LHC since inception of the blasphemy law.

An Additional District and Sessions Judge Lahore on May 27, 2002 had awarded Wajihul Hassan death sentence for allegedly uttering blasphemous remarks against the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and other prophets. He was also accused of hurting religious sentiments of the complainant – Senior Advocate Muhammad Ismail Qureshi....."