Sister of murdered Muslim teenager denies she made up story about parents’ involvement

SHAFILEA Ahmed's sister denied today that she invented a "wicked" story that the teenager was killed by her parents.

Alesha Ahmed told Chester Crown Court she was "torn" between her dead sister and her parents.

(Independent)

Europe's post-Nazi stress disorder has brought it to ruin

Taking aside that they conflate genuinely nasty neo-Fascist parties like Golden Dawn with populist (often quite libertarian) groups such as the Dutch Freedom Party, the European dream is not under threat from a few Greek heavies who look like they’ve stepped out of a Vauxhall nightclub; it’s under threat from itself, because its vision is totally unworkable. The idea of a society without borders in a world where people share their countries is as radical and extreme as the idea that people might share their property – so don’t be surprised when it doesn’t work.

(Telegraph)

Is the Medieval Blood Libel Alive and Well?

The question raised by Molzer begins by noting the "hundreds of children" that die in France of "bacterial infections caused by contaminated meat" and by wondering "to what extent the increase in E. coli contamination of minced or ground meat is linked with increasing consumption of halal or kosher meat."

(Huffington Post)

How to Attack the Critics of Islam: A Primer

For some of us, the answer is obvious: voters in France, like voters across Europe, are sincerely concerned about Muslim immigration, and neither Sarkozy nor Hollande addressed the issue to their satisfaction. But for Joignot and many other members of the fourth estate, the whole point is to pretend that the answer for these voters' curious preoccupations lies elsewhere. In such articles, it is verboten to actually examine the issue of Islam objectively; one needs to strike a tone which communicates the notion that any professed concern about Muslim immigration into Europe is, on its face, ridiculous, ugly, and racist.

(AINA)

Pig's head left at future Belgian mosque site

A pig's head was left at the site of a future mosque in the Belgian town of Lier.  The head was cut into four.


(Nieuwsblad)

German Neo-Nazi supporter suspects released

Germany's federal prosecutor on Tuesday said it had released two suspects arrested in connection with a string of immigrant murders blamed on a neo-Nazi gang.

(The Local)

'Swedish is now our kids’ dominant language'

Everything I had read in and out of education classes emphasized that successful bilingualism should be a conscious process, constantly reevaluated and fine-tuned.

(The Local)

Islam critics fear censorship in Breivik trial

The Norwegian court announced yesterday which witness testimonies will be broadcast on TV.  Islam critics say their testimonies are being censored.

The witnesses whose testimony won't be broadcast include: Ole Jørgen Anfindsen, Arne Tumyr (Stop the Islamization of Norway),  Bruce Bawer, Ronny Alte (former head of the Norwegian Defence League).  Islamists Mulla Krekar and Mohyeldeen Mohammad, Tore Tvedt (founder of Vigrid, a neo-Nazi organization) and Johan Galtung (sociologist and peace researcher)

(DR)

Muslim school to open in Vigneux-sur-Seine

The first Muslim school in the Essone department will open next September in the Paris suburb of Vigneux-sur-Seine.  About 50 parents recently attended n initial briefing.  The school is busy hiring teachers and hopes to soon get state recognition.

The school will follow the national curriculum, and offer three additional optional subjects: Koran, Arabic and religious awakening.

(Le Parisien)

Anti-Semitism common in Norway: study

“In all, 12.5 percent of the population have distinct prejudices against Jews. In a European context, this makes the prevalence of anti-Semitic thinking relatively low in Norway and on the same level as Great Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden,” according to the report.

In certain areas, respondents displayed a particularly high level of anti-Semitism. For instance, a full 19 percent agreed with the statement that “the world’s Jews are secretly working to advance Jewish interests”, while 26 percent of Norwegians agreed that “Jews view themselves as being better than others”.

(The Local)

Minister: Sharia4Holland might use violence

Justice minister Ivo Opstelten has told parliament “There is a risk that Sharia4Holland supporters could cross the line and use violence.” His remarks were in response to questions by the Freedom Party, after a man was arrested at the weekend following a hate speech.

(RNW)

Breivik's terror network doesn't exist: police

Norwegian police said Wednesday they had ruled out that Anders Behring Breivik had accomplices when he killed 77 people last year, rejecting his claim to be part of a network prepared to strike again.

(The Local)

Serbian Minister defends controversial footballer

Rasim Ljajić has spoken out in defense of national team footballer Adem Ljajić, by saying he had "made a mistake when he refused to sing the Serbian anthem".

"He certainly made a mistake, but instead of helping him find his way out of it, a hysterical reaction is taking place to destroy a sporting career," Rasim Ljajić said.

(B92)

British radical involved in Sharia4Holland

British Muslim radical Anjem Choudary is one of the people behind the Sharia4Holland group and was present at Friday’s press conference in Amsterdam, the Parool reported on Tuesday.

(DutchNews)

European nations expel Syrian ambassadors

German, Italian and Spanish foreign ministries announced today that Syrian ambassadors are being expelled - following similar moves by Britain, France, Australia and Canada after a massacre in which the United Nations says families were shot at close range in their homes.

(The Independent)

Al Jazeera to launch French news channel

Al Jazeera to launch French news channel

(Broadband and TV News)

France: Muslims stone Christians in church during Mass

Yesterday at 6:20PM, as Fr. Roger Barthes began to celebrate mass, four youths, aged 14 to 18, broke into the Church of St. Joseph, before launching handfuls of pebbles at 150 faithful present at the service. Immediately, men began pursuing the young troublemakers, but in vain. They managed to vanish into thin air, heading towards the city La Conte.

(Jihad Watch)

Racist vandals hit Muslim community centre

Vandals struck at a Preston community centre and daubed the walls with racist graffiti. The Hamaara Centre, at the rear of Castleton Road, Deepdale, Preston, was broken into and windows and furniture were smashed by the offenders.

The centre, which is run by Preston Muslim Forum, is used for English classes, youth clubs and mother and toddler groups.

(Islamophobia Watch)

Shah's son visits the Netherlands

Reza Pahlavi, son of the former Shah of Persia, is in the Netherlands on Thursday to speak at a closed session of parliament.

(DutchNews)

French gangs armed with bazookas raiding banks in Switzerland

The swiss border guard is arming against heavily armed gangs from the french banlieues. These gangs stem mostly from the Lyon banlieue; their members are mostly french nationals of north-african origin. Until now, they have committed their raids mostly in western Switzerland [that is the german swiss term for the country's francophone zone] and in the Ticino [Switzerland's italophone zone].

(Vlad Tepes)

Multiculturalism and anti-Islamic movements in Europe

The forces opposing immigrants and Islam in Europe go hand in hand: elections and the politics of division have served such forces well. In advancing their political agenda, the elites of the continent dislike Muslim immigrants, hate Halaal meat and remain fixated on Islamic fundamentalism. Extremists such as Anders Behring Breivik killed his own people because he felt that the Labour Party was too relaxed about  Muslim immigration into Norway. It became the reason that he massacred them on July 2011 in Utoya. Moreover, the spectacular success of the French far-right party, The National Front, in 2012 French presidential election demonstrate the alarming shift of Europe’s politics from traditional liberalism to more radical extremism, cultural intolerance and more importantly, accepting Muslim integration into the European mainstream.

(Mareeg)

Sweden boosts spending on anti-terror battle

The fight against terrorism is consuming ever larger portions of the budget allocated to Swedish security service Säpo, which has seen its allocation double in the last decade, according to a new report.

(The Local)

Tunisian president asks Swiss to give back funds

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki on Monday urged Switzerland to accelerate the restitution of frozen assets belonging to ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to his country.

(The Local)

A Name Change for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus?

The Council of Ministers of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has decided to remove the “TRNC” designation from its passports, and replace it with “Cyprus Turkish Republic” (CTR).(Turkish Digest)

(Turkish Digest)

Four Spanish children die in Qatar nursery blaze

Qatar's interior ministry has confirmed that four Spanish children have died after fire broke out in a nursery in a major shopping mall and entertainment complex in the Qatari capital Doha.

(ThinkSpain)

Stop sending foreigners to Eurovision: politician

Norwegian politician Tove Ovesen has provoked an angry reaction after writing on Facebook that the country should stop sending ”Russians, Africans, Swedes and Iranians” to represent Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest.

(The Local)

Scotland youth star Islam Feruz casts doubt on his international future

ISLAM FERUZ last night cast doubt on his Scotland future after a fractious weekend on tour with the Under-20s.

The Somalian-born 16-year-old was on duty with Scotland at a tournament in Den Haag.

(Daily Record)

Moroccan prisoners sent back

Five Moroccans that were serving time in Belgian prisons have been flown back to Morocco to serve the rest of their sentences there. All five were in Belgium illegally when they committed the crimes for which they were imprisoned. This is the first time that Moroccan prisoners have been returned to serve the rest of their sentences in their homeland as part of a repatriation treaty that was signed by the Belgian and Moroccan authorities in 2007.

(VRT)

Libya: Hundreds of migrants 'stopped from sailing for Europe'

Libyan authorities said they stopped 439 migrants from disembarking on boats for Europe.

(AKI)

A Muslim, northern, working-class mum hand-picked for Cameron's A-list... But is Sayeeda Warsi up to the job?

When Sayeeda Warsi stood outside 10 Downing Street in a pink-and-gold shalwar kameez before the first Coalition Cabinet meeting in May 2010, she was one of the most conspicuous members of an uncertain new Government.

(Daily Mail)

The Bosnian Muslims in the Second World War

This September, my latest book, The Bosnian Muslims in the Second World War: A History, will be published in London by C. Hurst and Co. According to its blurb: ‘The story of the Bosnian Muslims in World War II is an epic frequently alluded to in discussions of the 1990s Balkan conflicts, but almost as frequently misunderstood or falsified.

(Bosnian Institute)

Bosnia buries 66 Muslim war victims

VISEGRAD: Several thousand people gathered on Saturday in Visegrad to attend a collective funeral of 66 Muslims killed in the eastern Bosnian town at the beginning of the 1992-1995 war.

(Daily Times)

Swedish security police raid mosque in Goteborg

Security police spokeswoman Sirpa Franzen said Thursday’s raid against the Bellevue Mosque in Goteborg was prompted by prosecutor Agnetha Hilding Qvarnstrom, who heads the investigation against three men arrested on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

(Arab News)

Turks flattened by lone asylum seeker

The 27-year-old Nigerian asylum seeker had started a fight with a number of Turkish residents of the same Styrian facility. After knocking out the Turks he was enraged to such a degree that he attacked everyone – and everything – in sight yesterday evening (Thurs).

(Austrian Times)

Europe’s Dilemma: Immigration And The Arab Spring – Analysis

Much of the West voiced great support for the Arab Spring. However, the European Union in particular soon curbed its enthusiastic reaction when residents of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) began streaming into Europe after turmoil from the Arab Spring left many MENA civilians unable to remain in the region.

(Eurasia Review)

Couple to face French court over daughters' circumcision

A couple of Guinean origin is to stand trial for female circumcision in France on Tuesday. Although they were put under control of court in 2005 when their two elder daughters were found to have undergone female genital mutilation, their two younger daughters were later found to have suffered the same fate.

(RFI)

Kebab seller gets 3,333 years to pay off tax bill

A German court has given a man who cooked his kebab shop bills more than 3,000 years to pay off a huge tax bill, because he now lives on unemployment benefit.

(The Local)

Muslim extremists using Facebook, Twitter to radicalise UK students: Report

LONDON: Islamic extremists are using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to radicalise British students and spread propaganda, according to a report.

(Times of India)

Father shoots son in the head at school, commits suicide

A man went to his son's elementary school, shot the boy in the head, and then committed suicide in the Austrian town of Sankt Poelten, police said.

The 37-year-old Turkish man had been ordered out of his home by police because of suspected domestic violence a few days earlier.

(Sowetan LIVE)

Dutch terrorist suspects to deny Belgian charges

The lawyers of three Dutch suspects will tell a court in the Belgian city of Mechelen their side of the story in a terrorism case on Wednesday. The three Dutch-Moroccans are part of a group of 14 people suspected of planning an attack in Belgium and recruiting fighters for a ‘holy war’ in Chechnya.

(RNW)

Bosnian Serbs jailed for Srebrenica warehouse killings

Two former Bosnian Serb police chiefs were jailed for 35 and 30 years on Friday for the killing of 1,000 Muslim men at a warehouse near the town of Srebrenica in July 1995, part of the worst massacre in Europe since World War Two.

(Reuters)

Asylum seekers’ fight at Fribourg station leaves 1 in critical condition

FRIBOURG, SWITZERLAND – A fight that broke out at the Fribourg train station at 20.20 Tuesday 15 May has left one man, a 26-year-old Tunisian asylum seeker, in critical condition, say Fribourg police. Five men, all African asylum seekers, were arrested, but a sixth man fled the scene. Police are trying to identify the missing person and to piece together details of the incident. The cause of the fight has not been made public.

(Geneva Lunch)

Pregnant woman 'was smothered to death by family before they claimed she was killed by an evil spirit'

At Birmingham Crown Court today, prosecutor Christopher Hotten said the cultural context in which Mrs Mumtaz met her death on July 8, 2009 was of importance, as were the religious beliefs of the defendants, described as a ‘traditional Muslim family with an emphasis on religious observance’.

(Daily Mail h/t Jawa Report)

‘A forced marriage is a form of slavery...it’s time to say no’ Says Baroness Warsi

David Cameron is to act to halt the misery inflicted on up to 8,000 young British women every year.

(The Sun)

Lawyers ‘told doctors to exaggerate crash injuries’

Claim Time was established in 2005 by Yousaf Khan and Rizwan Shabir, who had been partners in a firm called Claim Today Solicitors before starting their own business.

The Birmingham-based firm promotes its services with television advertisements in English and Urdu featuring British-Asian models and actresses. Its volume of business is such that one NHS doctor was paid £300,000 in two years to assess Claim Time’s clients

(The Telegraph)

Report: Sweden's population is "skyrocketing" because of Muslim immigration.

Sweden's population grew from 9 million to 9.5 million in the years 2004-2012, mainly due to immigration from "countries like Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia". 16 percent of all newborns have mothers born in non-Western countries. Employment rate among immigrants: 54 percent. Price per young unaccompanied asylum seeker: up to 2,300 USD per day. 175,000 new asylum seekers and family reunifications are expected in 2012-2013, which is an extremely high number when compared to the size of the country's population. Magazines and newspapers remove the ability to comment on internet articles related to immigration.

(JihadWatch)

Afghan arrested for honor violence in Denmark

An Afghan man (32) was arrested for attacking his sister (21).  The sister was beaten with an unknown tool on every part of her body besides the face.  The North Jutland police are convinced honor was the main motive for the attack. 

The sister was admitted to a hospital in late April, and the hospital reported the case to the police.  The man is charged for the beating and for intimidating witnesses.  He threatened both the girl and his parents not to report the attack.  The man pleaded not guilty in court.

(Berlingske)

More than 87,000 racist incidents recorded in UK schools

"We are seeing a real increase in racism in some areas which is down to factors like a growth of Islamaphobia in society which is filtering into classrooms," said Ms Soyei.

(BBC)

Hunger striking asylum seekers seek shelter in Danish church

Ten Iranian asylum seekers have taken shelter in a church in Nørrebro.  Their asylum request has been rejected and they fear for their lives if they return to Iran.  Several are Christians. 
Over 60 Iranians and Syrians in several asylum centers are on hunger strike in protest against their long stay in the centers.  The Nørrebro Iranians are also participating in the hunger strike.

(Kristeligt Dagblad)

Asylum seeker 'abused' in Hungary

They say they came to Hungary to escape brutality, war or the threat of being put to death in their home countries. Instead, they are serving untold months behind bars without ever being convicted of a crime.

Migrants who arrive from violence-ridden countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan or Somalia are spending up to a year languishing in detention centres.

(News24)

Nationalism on the rise in southeastern Europe

Populism and nationalism offer dangerously simple answers to complicated issues and win voters' support in economically trying times. Recent polls in Greece as well as across southeast Europe are examples of the trend.

(DW)

Refugee camp eviction was 'disproportional', says judge

Local officials who used emergency powers to break up an impromptu camp by failed asylum seekers went too far in doing so, a court in Groningen ruled on Thursday.

(DutchNews)

Swedish school reported over 'holy' yoga lessons

The "om" chant featured in yoga lessons at a Stockholm school has prompted a complaint calling for the lessons to be banned because of the term's ties to the Hindu religion.

(The Local)

Roma continue to face discrimination in Europe, report finds

The Roma minority continues to face hardship and discrimination in Europe, according to a  report from European Union and United Nations agencies that underscores ongoing marginalization of the group, including forced evictions and violent attacks.

Four out of 10 Roma surveyed said someone in their household had to go hungry at least once in the past month because money was short. Nine out of 10 Roma, who also are known as Gypsies, live below the poverty line. And roughly half said they had been discriminated against as Roma in the past year, the report found.

(LA Times)

Dutch teacher fired for anti-Islam tweets

A teacher from Leiden was fired for anti-Islam tweets.  The teacher, Anand Soekhoe, who's also a councilor for Leefbar Leiden tweeted that "Islam is not a religion, but a barbaric backwardness".  Earlier in the week he called upon leftist voters to think of their grandchildren.  "Otherwise the next generations will speak Arabic!  And Islam will be the state religion.  Don't do that to you children.!"  Soekhoe had meanwhie removed the tweets.

(De Telegraaf, Leidsch Dagblad h/t NRP)

Iranians seek return of singer from Germany

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's official news agency says protesters in front of the German Embassy in Tehran are seeking return of an Iranian-born singer who went into hiding after receiving death threats.

(AP)

Terror suspect extradition halted pending new psychiatric probe

Justice minister Ivo Opstelten has ordered an independent investigation into the mental health of a Dutch-Pakistani man due to be extradited to the US on terror charges, the Volkskrant reports on Friday.

(DutchNews)

4 Russian bikers detained in Iraq

The bikers have been severely beaten, accused of espionage and visa forgery, and threatened with the death penalty, said Alexander Orlov, a member of the Moscow-based motorcycle club RAMCC, who said he is in continual contact with the men and a Russian diplomat in Iraq.

(The Moscow Times)

Belgian Minister slams ‘fundamentalist’ Orthodox Israeli colleague for refusing to shake hands with her

Onkelinx reacted to the event by posting news of it on her official Facebook page, under the heading “My hands are clean!” In the text that followed, she described how it was her second such “profoundly troubling” experience, the first being when she met an Iranian official:

“This kind of fundamentalist attitude, connected to a certain perception of religion and women, profoundly troubles me”, the statement went on to say.

(EJP)

The Role of the Father: Honor Killing Verdict Has Prosecutors Wanting More

A German court last week convicted and sentenced five siblings in the kidnapping and murder of their younger sister Arzu. Prosecutors, however, are still not satisfied. They believe that the family's father ordered the honor killing and are hoping to find enough evidence to put him behind bars.

(Spiegel)

Afghan kidnappers demand ransom for Medair staff

Kidnappers have demanded ransom for five aid workers with Swiss organization Medair.

(WRS)

Krekar agrees to remain in prison

Mullah Krekar, the Islamic cleric who’s been under Norwegian protection for more than 20 years, has agreed to remain in prison for at least another eight weeks pending appeal of his recent conviction for making death threats. He’s using the time to write a book.

(Views and News from Norway)

Amnesty criticizes Swiss asylum practice

Amnesty International cited a forced deportation of 19 Nigerian men last year, during which one was “brutally beaten” without a subsequent independent investigation.

(WRS)

Guards accused of abusing Macedonia murder suspects

Three Bitolj prison guards will be suspended on suspicion that they physically abused suspects for the murder of five Macedonians near Skopje in April.

(B92)

Swedish rapper reported for Twitter death threat

Sweden Democrat party leader Jimmie Åkesson received a death threat from a Swedish rapper through Twitter, prompting to the political party leader to report the matter to police.


(The Local)

West to freeze policing of disputed Bosnia district

A Western envoy said on Wednesday he would suspend his authority over a disputed Bosnian district sandwiched between two feuding regions, in the latest attempt to slowly scale down international involvement in the strife-torn country.
(Reuters)

Muslim community gathers for jubilee charity walk

Ahmadiyya Muslims from across Wandsworth converged on the Tower of London earlier this month to take part in a charity walk to raise money for The Queen's jubilee charities.

(Guardian)

Muslim girl allegedly killed by her parents was just five stone – sister

SHAFILEA Ahmed's weight plunged to just five stone after she drank bleach in fear she was going to be left in Pakistan by her family, her sister told a court today.

Alesha Ahmed was giving evidence in the trial of parents Iftikhar and Farzana, accused at Chester Crown Court of killing 17-year-old Shafilea at the family home in September 2003.

(The Independent)

Christian-Muslim Dialogue in GermanyTogether in the Search for God

The Christian-Muslim dialogue has been a firm part of the biennial German Catholic Assembly, the Katholikentag, for the last 20 years. This year, in Mannheim, catholic bishops from Egypt and Iraq and priests from Palestine and India took part in the debates. Christoph Strack reports

(Qantara)

Dutch police break up asylum seekers camp

Police have used force to dismantle a tent camp of failed asylum seekers in the northern Dutch town of Ter Apel.

(RNW)

German court jails Al-Qaeda member for six years

A German-Afghan man whose confessions helped spark a travel alert in Europe in 2010 over potential attacks was jailed for six years on Tuesday for belonging to Al-Qaeda.

The higher regional court in the western city of Koblenz also found Ahmed Wali Siddiqui, 37, guilty of being a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).

(AFP)

German intelligence chief warns of Islamist attacks

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany could be a target of an Islamist attack similar to those carried out by a gunman in France two months ago, the head of the country's intelligence service said on Tuesday.

(Reuters)

Russia jails 10 over 2009 deadly train bombing

Russia on Tuesday jailed 10 Caucasus militants, four of them for life, over a deadly bombing on a Moscow-Saint Petersburg express train in November 2009 that left 28 people dead.

(AFP)

New butchers’ posters for halal market

The new beef and lamb carcase posters feature cuts and offal that were identified as the most popular by a team of halal butchers and can be displayed in butchers’ shops, to use as a reference point for staff and customers.

(MeatInfo)

Mistake to end migrants’ detention policy – minister

Ending Malta’s mandatory detention policy for asylum seekers would be a big mistake and not in the migrants’ best interests, Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici stressed yesterday.

(Times of Malta)

Somalis tried in Paris for luxury yacht hijack

Six Somalis went on trial in a Paris court on Tuesday charged with taking the 30 crew of luxury sailing ship Le Ponant hostage in the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden in 2008.

(Expatica)

Swiss Prosecutor’s Office goes after Syrians, Libyans

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has opened criminal investigations into suspected money laundering activities by several people close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and to former Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi.

(SwissInfo)

Asian Community Give Up Islamic Terror Gangs

It is every British Asian's duty to inform on the radicals wherever they are in the UK ,funds from these terrorist supporters play a hand in terrorists attacks in other countries like India, Russia, Spain, Kenya, Yemen, France, plus a long list of other countries, and against NATO troops. Many Asian countries have strong military links with the UK and NATO countries .

(Asian Tribune)

Migrant medics: 'pizza order German' no good

Foreign doctors who work in Germany should be made to take a language test, to ensure they can do more than order a pizza in their adopted country, the German Doctors’ Association has decided.

(The Local)

Nearly a million new immigrants in Germany

In all, the number of new immigrants to Germany last year topped 958,000, which is 20 percent more than 2010. Another reason for the exceptionally high immigration rate was the end of restrictions on people looking to immigrate from new EU member states in eastern and southeastern Europe: Poland, Hungary and Romania.

(DW)

'My son wants to die a martyr'

Fatima is just one more Muslim parent in the West whose life has been turned into a nightmare by dramatic changes in an offspring's demeanour, inspiring fears that a logical outcome may be violent death or a life wasted in jail. Her son was talking of joining about 30 other young Frenchmen of Moroccan, Tunisian and Algerian origin to travel via Tunis to Libya. There, they would undergo combat training and "learn the true Islam, not that of imams corrupted by the West" before being "ready for Afghanistan".

(The National)

Moroccan killed in Italian quake

In one of these warehouses, the earthquake took the life of Tarik Naouch. The 29-year-old Moroccan man, was working in the town of Ponte Rodoni di Bondena, in the polystyrene factory Ursa. A falling concrete shaft killed him. Naouch's father said they had been in Italy since 1990 -- working different jobs -- and that his son was waiting for his wife to finally arrive from Morocco to join him.

(SBS)

Cardiff faith march gets given new lease of life

The streets of Butetown will be bustling this weekend as the practices of a bygone age are given a new lease of life.

(Wales Online)

Number of asylum seekers from Serbia decreases

The number of Serbian citizens seeking asylum in Germany has more than halved in April, the German Interior Ministry has stated.
(B92)

Casablanca killers in the making captivate Cannes

"God's Horses" by the French director of Moroccan origin Nabil Ayouch follows the destiny of two brothers, Yachine and Hamid, from their childhood up to the day they each pack a bomb on their backs and choose to die for Allah.

(Expatica)

Adopted French minister sparks Korean soul searching

Media and the ruling party said her appointment was a testament to French tolerance that South Korea could learn a lesson from, amid growing controversy over discrimination against immigrants and their children in the Asian nation.

(Expatica)

Shots fired at police in southern Serbia

BUJANOVAC -- An unknown assailant fired multiple shots at a police checkpoint in the ethnic Albanian village of Dobrosin near Bujanovac around 3:00 CET on Thursday.

“The attack on police, i.e. police checkpoint at 3:00 in the morning is a terrorist act,” Vranje Police Administration Spokesman Dragan Stamenković has said.

(B92)

Swiss grounds for asylum under attack

The Council of States wants to change the law so that people cannot claim political asylum because they have deserted their country’s army. The aim is to make it harder for Eritreans to seek asylum in Switzerland.

(The Local)

Neo-Nazis attack gay activists in St. Petersburg

Several gay rights activists have suffered injuries after being assaulted during and after a chaotic demonstration in St.Petersburg

(RT)

Ceuta is in the mind of the terrorist jihadist

Q -Do Ceuta and Melilla have to be especially concerned?
A- Terrorism affects mainly Algeria, which has numerous criminal organizations, then it is true that there are terrorist activities in Morocco and Mauritania but with less intensity. Ceuta and Mellia is part of these organizations radical discourse as a vindication and as an attempt to legitimize their aspirations expelling the alleged Western invasion of a territory they consider Islamic.

(Euro-Islam.info)

Mother of suspected Swedish serial killer noticed racism

The woman went on to explain, however, that her son came to see her regularly and would sometimes complain that “foreigners” were leading to the demise of the neighbourhood. “Then I would tell him ‘You’re a bloody racist. Shut up,” she told the police.

(IceNews)

Bosnia: Mladic's crime will 'forever be genocide,' prosecutor says

“It was and will forever remain genocide,” prosecutor Peter McCloskey told the court. “When you hear our evidence, you will come to the same conclusion,” he added, ending two-day opening statement by the prosecution.

(AKI)

Danish politician trashed for burka-bin bag Facebook post

A far-right Danish politician has been slammed after posting a picture on her Facebook page that compared Muslims with rubbish. Former Dansk Folkeparti (DF) MP Tina Petersen shared a manipulated picture of a burka-clad Muslim woman and child standing in between two black bin bags. “Hehe … Remember to take out the big trash tomorrow ;-))),” Petersen wrote as a caption.

(ICE NEWS)

Belgian halts hunger strike in Dubai

Businessman jailed over bounced cheque agrees to resume eating after prosecutors promise to re-examine his case.

(Al-Jazeera)

German Islamist arrested in Kenya: press

Kenyan security forces on Wednesday arrested a German convert to radical Islam, for whom a warrant was issued at the weekend, the Die Welt daily reported.

(Expatica)

Threats sent to embassies in Pakistan: police

Several Western embassies in Islamabad on Wednesday received letters containing suspicious powder and threats to poison NATO soldiers in Afghanistan, Pakistan officials said.

(Expatica)

West Africa jihadists threaten to kill Spanish hostage

A west African Al-Qaeda splinter group on Wednesday threatened to kill a Spanish hostage kidnapped in western Algeria last year if their demands are not met, a spokesman said.

(Expatica)

UK: Three held after far-right protest

Three people were arrested as far right-groups were accused by police of using diversionary tactics to promote their message.

The British National Party organised simultaneous protests in Rochdale and Heywood, Greater Manchester, over a child sex grooming case.

(Belfast Telegraph)

'Give foreign PhDs a clear path to residency in Sweden'

Sweden needs to change rules that strip foreign doctoral candidates of the same rights as other tax-paying migrant workers, argue a group of doctoral candidates from the Royal Institute for Technology (KTH).

(The Local)

Mladic masterminded ethnic cleansing, court told

"Ratko Mladic assumed the mantle of the criminal goal of ethnically cleansing Bosnia," prosecutor Dermot Groome told judges as the trial opened at the Yugoslav war crimes court in The Hague.

(Expatica)

European Jewish organization raises prospect of banning far-right party in Greece

PRAGUE — A major European Jewish organization is urging European governments to quickly adopt measures to tackle anti-Semitism and far-right extremism, including possibly banning a hardline Greek party that did unusually well in recent elections.

Moshe Kantor, president of the European Jewish Congress, was meeting with Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas on Wednesday to seek his support for “emergency measures” to protect the continent’s Jewish communities from violent hate crimes.

(Washington Post)

Bradford Muslims must practice serious, mainstream politics to win effective change

The city's former Lord Mayor Mohammed Ajeeb condemns both Labour's lacklustre politics and Respect's firebranding; and reveals how he warned his party's national executive in 1999 about the dangers of 'clan' politics

(Guardian)

Two held for shooting imam in northern Sweden

Two men have been arrested in connection with the attempted murder of an imam who remains in a coma nearly three months after being shot in the head in northern Sweden.

(...) According to prosecutor Krister Petersson, both suspects also hail from Uzbekistan.

(The Local)

Labour MP denies Heywood race problem despite racially linked protests following Rochdale sex ring convictions

Racism is not a problem in Heywood following the sentencing of a child sex gang, according to the Labour MP Jim Dobbin.

The MP for Heywood and Middleton believes the scenes witnessed on the evening of February 23 this year, when around 200 youths took to the town's Bridge Street and targeted Asian businesses, were more out of excitement and curiosity than racism.

(Mancunian Matters)

Italy: Seven North African people trafficking suspects arrested in south

Police in southern Italy on Tuesday arrested seven people trafficking suspects of Egyptian and Tunisian nationality.

(AKI)

Polish Catholics looking to convert atheists among Czech football fans

Catholics from the Polish town Wroclaw, where the Czech football team will play during EURO 2012, are looking to convert Czech atheist fans, daily Právo reported yesterday.

(Prague Daily Monitor)

Terror suspect 'Swede' held in Kenya was Swiss

The "Swedish" national who was arrested in Kenya on suspicions of having links to the Somali Islamist militia al-Shabaab turned out not to be Swedish at all but Swiss.

(The Local)

Jewish groups may refuse to sign ritual slaughter covenant

Jewish organisations are considering refusing to sign the covenant on ritual slaughter currently being worked out by religious groups and government officials, Trouw reports on Wednesday.

(DutchNews)

'Butcher of Bosnia' Ratko Mladic goes on trial over slaughter at Srebrenica

Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic went on trial for genocide on Wednesday, accused of leading the slaughter of 8,000 unarmed Muslim boys and men in Srebrenica in 1995, Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.

(MSNBC)

Leers: failed asylum seekers must leave

Immigration and Asylum Minister Gerd Leers has called on Dutch political parties not to offer false hope to the failed asylum seekers who have built a temporary camp outside an asylum seekers centre in Ter Apel.

(RNW)

Westerwelle: EU should give new dynamism to Turkish bid

The European Union needs to inject momentum into Turkey's access negotiations, which have come to a halt after years of making almost no progress, Germany's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

(AFP)

From barefoot kid to football colossus, how Yaya Toure became the biggest beat

‘I picked them up every day, Yaya and two friends,’ said Anouar Bou-Sfia, who played with Toure at Beveren. ‘Yaya had an attitude — he knew he was going to be the best. He knew. He was very kind, but he knew.

‘Where they lived was on my way to the stadium and there were many days when Yaya had to be woken up for training, but you could see he was different. Compared to the others he was more intelligent and mature. All the others had that crazy African mentality — they were young boys suddenly in Europe — but not Yaya. He didn’t like the cameras, the papers, he was very shy. He wouldn’t go out like the others. He was straight Muslim. I’m Moroccan, I’m Muslim.

(Daily Mail)

Optimism in Dublin as migrants helped to integrate

Nazakat Begum, a Pakistani doctor who lives outside Tyrrelstown, says she and other nationalities in her neighbourhood have integrated well with each other, but that integration hasn’t been as easy with the Irish community.

“In my neighbourhood very few Irish people are living there because these areas are mainly for the different nationalities . . . they are mostly integrated with each other . . . but generally in our neighbourhoods when you go to [the secondary] school the Irish mothers are always talking with Irish mothers. They don’t talk to other nationalities,” she says.

(Irish Times)

Swede held in Kenya over suspected terror links

Kenyan police arrested a Swedish national suspected to have links with the Somali Islamist militia al-Shabaab, a senior police officer told AFP on Monday.

"He is being interrogated on his mission in the country. We have reason to believe he has terrorism links (with al-Shabaab)," the official said on condition of anonymity.

(The Local)

Legislation to ban burqa is liberal overkill, researchers claim

“Face-veiling is one of those issues, like public prayers or arranged marriages, affected by a ‘repressive’ liberalism of the kind advocated by numerous European leaders, including Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron, often with racist undertones.

“The educative role of law is brought to bear upon ethnic and religious minorities in an effort to instruct, by force if necessary, the values of liberalism,” warns Professor Grillo.

(Science Blog)

Young German Muslims Defend Right to Protest

A debate about violent Salafists has erupted in Germany after radical Muslims clashed with supporters of the anti-Islamic Pro NRW party during its recent election campaign. Three young Muslims who took part in a demonstration against the party in Cologne described their pious worldview to SPIEGEL.

(Spiegel)

Switzerland: Slightly more asylum seekers in April

There were nearly 8 percent more asylum applications filed in April.

Federal migration office figures show there were more than 2,400 attempts, with most refugees, 351, coming from Eritrea, followed by those from Nigeria and Tunisia.

(WRS)

Danish extremism split along geographic lines

The report, entitled 'Political extremism in Denmark' suggests that traditional right-wing radical groups, such as White Pride and Vederfølner, have a strong position in Aarhus and Jutland while left-wing groups, such as the Antifascistisk Aktion and the Libertære Socialister, mostly operate in the Greater Copenhagen area.

(Copenhagen Post)

France's foreign flag orgy upsets nationalist party poopers

So what were gay rights activists, Tunisians, working party supporters, environmentalists and the Irish doing celebrating a Socialist victory at a French presidential election? That was the question rightwing pundits found themselves asking on Monday morning, when they woke up to the harsh reality that their dear leader, Nicolas Sarkozy, was no longer king of the hill, and a bunch of grinning foreigners had taken over the capital. 

(France24 Presidential Pâté)

Rochdale grooming trial: Race was a factor, says equality chief

Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality & Human Rights Commission, said the fact that the men convicted were Asian and their victims white could not be ignored.

He expressed concern that the men came from closed communities which may have turned a blind eye to what was happening – either out of fear, or because the girls concerned were from a different community

(Scotsman)

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Wilders offers no solutions

"He has a good sense for what people find important. But if you are unable to form a coalition, unable to work together with other parties and to make compromises, your arguments will never be translated into policy."

(RNW)

Scotland Yard officer suspected of being a 'sleeper' for Al Qaeda sues for compensation

A Scotland Yard police officer who spent three years in uniform before MI5 raised fears that he could be an Al Qaeda ‘sleeper’ agent is suing for compensation.

(Daily Mail)

Dutch writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a critic of Islam, to receive German publishing award

BERLIN — Dutch writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali is to receive a special award from German publishing house Axel Springer in recognition of her "courage and commitment to freedom as a women's rights campaigner and critic of Islam."

(AP)

Two men arrested in Cheltenham over terror offences

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after suspected explosives were found in garage in Cheltenham and more than 100 homes had to be evacuated.

(Telegraph)

Extremist behind 'gay-free zone' posters jailed for possessing al Qaeda literature

A perfume salesman who painted burqas on scantily clad women on advertising posters and stuck "gay-free zone" posters on London's Brick Lane was today jailed for 14 months for possessing terrorist literature.

(Telegraph)

Man throws shoe at Breivik during Norway trial

A man threw a shoe at Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik during his trial on Friday, the first time the trial has been interrupted by a public outburst of protest.

“Go to hell, go to hell,” screamed the person sitting in the second row, after throwing a shoe towards Breivik sitting a few meters away, Norwegian newspaper VG reported on its website.


(Al-Arabiya)

Muslim leader: Why was £15k anti-terror cash given to CAB?

A row has broken out after Cambridge's Muslim leaders claimed cash meant to prevent terrorism was wasted by city councillors.

The Muslim Council of Cambridgeshire (CMC) hit out after part of a grant to prevent terrorism was given to the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB).

(Cambridge News)

Iraqis reject Dutch minister's expulsion deal

A solution has yet to be found for the Iraqis who have set up a tent camp in protest at their expulsion from the Netherlands, the interior ministry said on Friday evening.

(RNW)

"Molenbeek is less far if you want to make a trip abroad"

A couple of quotes by Belgium's Foreign Minister Didier Reynders in the Senate have made waves.

"The roads in Afghanistan are bad, but if you come from Wallonia, you're used to something", Reynders was quoted as saying. This triggered an angry reaction from Philippe Moureaux, a Senator for the PS (Francophone socialists) and the Mayor of the Brussels suburb of Molenbeek, which is why Didier Reynders added some fuel to the flames: "I had better gone to Molenbeek, it's less far if you want to go abroad."

(VRT)

Asian sex gang 'were acting within cultural norms'

David Starkey risks fresh controversy by claiming that Asian men jailed over a major child sexual exploitation ring were “acting within their own cultural norms”.

The historian said “nobody ever explained” to the men – eight of Pakistani origin and one from Afghanistan – that women could not be treated in this way.

Dr Starkey called for better teaching of English history to create a “common identity” and overcome the challenges of multiculturalism.

(Telegraph)

Two thirds of immigrants to Denmark are Western

First quarter immigration statistics: 4700 Danes, 8200 Western immigrants, 4000 non-Western immigrants.  In total 16,849 immigrants.  60% were in their twenties.

There are 585,587 immigrants and immigrant descendents in Denmark, making up 10.5% of the population.  Of this group 10% are Turks: 7% are Turkish immigrants, 20% are descendents of Turkish immigrants. 

(Fyens, Statistics Denmark)

Swiss wrestle with expelling undesirables

Swiss immigration policy and the deportation of undesirables are hot topics in a country where one in five people is a foreigner. While some have committed crimes, the reasons why others are being expelled are not always as clear-cut.

(SwissInfo)

Rochdale grooming trial: BNP may have ‘influenced’ trial

The men have been convicted of conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with children under the age of 16 and other sexual offences including rape and trafficking for sexual exploitation.

At least one – Adil Khan – is already planning to appeal against the conviction, citing a tweet from British National Party leader Nick Griffin which apparently stated the jury’s position before the court had been informed.

(Scotsman)

Two Belgian "terrorism" suspects detained in Yemen

Two Belgian nationals could be deported from Yemen after being detained last month on suspicion of involvement in terrorism, a Yemeni security official and Belgium's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

(Reuters h/t Women against Shariah)

Muslims, 'sex gangs' and white working-class women

One of the most striking things about the Rochdale debate is its competitive scaremongering. It's hard to know which side is worse: those who spread panic about the existence of sinister "networks" and "rings" of sex criminals and paedophiles across Britain, as if gangs like this exist everywhere, in every corner and community in the UK; or the coppers and commentators who stoke up fear about BNP thugs and ignorant white people who will apparently be provoked into violence if they so much as glimpse a headline containing the words "Asian sex gang".

(Telegraph)

Germany Leads Europe in Immigrant Job Prospects

Only a third of the foreigners surveyed in Germany's capital Berlin had trouble finding a job, while less than half did in Stuttgart, in the economically powerful southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg. This was in stark contrast with 79 percent of respondents in both Lisbon, Portugal and Milan, Italy who reported problems finding work.

(Spiegel)

Serbia: Court clears policemen over ethnic Albanian killings

A special Serbian war crimes court on Wednesday acquitted for the second time two Serbian policemen accused of helping kill three ethnic Albanians during the Kosovo rebellion in 1999.

(AKI)

Iraqi asylum seekers set up camp in Netherlands

A group of about 50 failed asylum seekers have set up camp outside the Ter Apel asylum seekers' registration centre to protest against their planned deportation.

A spokesperson for the group says that central Iraq, where most of the failed asylum seekers are from, is not safe.

(RNW)

How Right-Wing Extremists and Islamists Are the Same

But it isn't just their similar goals that unite the two groups. "Salafists and right-wing extremists seek to take advantage of discontent," says Lazaros Miliopoulos, who studies extremism at the University of Bonn.

Their extremism and the absolutist nature of their ideas are comparable. Miliopoulos says that such groups seek to capitalize on people's fears. For Pro-NRW, that effort manifests itself in the way the party equates Islam with Islamism -- religion with ideology.

(Spiegel)

Out of Bulgaria and Romania: Wave of Immigrants Overwhelms German System

Worlds are colliding as a flood of impoverished Bulgarians and Romanians stream into Germany, overwhelming authorities. But efforts to help integrate the new residents have been sluggish and many of the immigrants find themselves awash in a system they don't understand.

(Spiegel)

Wilders: Islamization of Europe Can Happen in America

Wilders maintains, however, that Islam and its teachings are the problem - not only for Europe but for America as well.

"My message to the American people with my book, Marked for Death, is please, don't make the mistakes we've made. What is happening in Europe can definitely happen in America tomorrow," he warned.

(CBN)

More mosques than schools exist in the occupied area of Cyprus

Writing in his column in Turkish Cypriot daily Kibrisli newspaper, editor-in-chief Kartal Harman, reports that the groundbreaking ceremony for the biggest mosque in the occupied area of Cyprus will be held in June.

(...)

“It is obvious that some do not think that the 192 mosques which exist in the TRNC are enough”, he notes adding that “no one cares that the total number of our schools is 160”.

(Famagusta Gazette)

Respekt: Czech group promoting terrorism does not go to prison

The members of the White Justice, a Czech neo-Nazi group that planned terrorist actions, organised training in killing enemies and making bombs and worked out a list of enemies to be killed, received only suspended sentences in late April, Jaroslav Spurný writes in Respekt.

(Prague Daily Monitor)

Warrant issued for 'tortured' US Muslim seeking asylum in Sweden

The United States has issued an arrest warrant for an American Muslim seeking political asylum in Sweden after he publicly claimed he was imprisoned and tortured at the behest the American FBI.

(The Local)

Will it take a terrorist act on Swiss soil to change law?

The Federal Intelligence Services—the country’s spies—released a security report for 2012. Among the chief concerns are people who’ve traveled to Islamist training centers in Somalia, Afghanistan or Pakistan. Swiss law forbids some of the spy basics—like phone taps or bugging. Defense Minister Ueli Maurer wants a change in the law. Federal Intelligence Service chief Markus Seiler first speaks on RTS radio. And WRS’s Dave Goodman talks to Peter Regli, the former head of the Swiss Intelligence Services:

(WRS)

Salafism expert: 'Massive threat'

The latest violence has sparked concerns about the German Salafist scene. Islam expert Herbert Müller of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution explains why the extremists pose a threat.

(DW)

Dutch mosque with square minaret

The new mosque in Zevenaar will have a square minaret.  Mosque minarets are usually round, but The Turkish mosque in Zevenaar decided to go with a modern variant.  The mosque will not sound the call to prayer.

(Gelderlander)

Former Shotton Colliery pub to be turned into Muslim education centre

PLANS to turn a pub in a former pit village into a Muslim educational centre have been approved despite objections from residents over traffic issues.

(The Northern Echo)

‘French govt aware of concerns over veil ban’

The government of France is fully aware of the concerns of the French Muslims over the ban on wearing of veil.

This was stated by the Ambassador of France to Pakistan, Philippe Thiebaud, during his meeting with the leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami here at the Idara-e-Noor-e-Haq on Tuesday.

(The International News)

Turkey Warns Against Rising Racism In Europe

(RTTNews) - Turkish President Abdullah Gül has warned that xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia are threatening Europe's own values and advised the 27-member European Union bloc to continue with an open vision.

"It's my sincere wish that this threat will be prevented from gaining more ground that will lead the EU to turn further in on itself and to harm the universal values that it pioneers," Gül said in a statement on the occasion of 'Europe Day' on Tuesday.

(RTTNews)

Rochdale grooming trial: Mohammed Shafiq, the campaigner who stood up to the abusers

“In the early days the Asian community thought the exploitation was all made up, just BNP propaganda. Then they realised that it was actually going on and they found it abhorrent.

“But they’ve still tended to ignore it in the hope that it would go away. I hope now that they’re beginning to realise that they have to engage and there has to be more education about the whole issue.

“I think the case at Liverpool could be a catalyst.”

(Telegraph)

Gradual increase in Belgian immigrant employment, but discrimination persists

Employment among immigrants is on the increase, with an employment rate of 53.4% recorded for this year. Immigrant women in particular are catching up, with an unemployment rate that has dropped 9% in ten years. This is almost three times faster than among Belgian women.

(Expatica)

Toulouse shooter family to file against French police

The Algerian lawyer hired by the family of the shooter who killed seven people in France in March said Monday she would launch proceedings next week against the elite police unit that killed him.

(AFP)

“Now they are attacking Muslims, immigrants, homosexuals and foreign workers, but not the Jewish people. Not yet.”

Inevitably, the rise of extremism – whether on the Right or on the Left – is bad for the Jews. Benjamin Albalas, head of the Jewish community in Athens voiced his concern over the rise of parties like Golden Dawn. He noted that while there have not been any attacks against Greece’s estimated 5,000 Jews, he was pessimistic: “Now they are attacking Muslims, immigrants, homosexuals and foreign workers, but not the Jewish people. Not yet.”

(JPost)

German prosecutors urge 7 years for terror suspect

BERLIN—Prosecutors demanded a seven-year prison sentence Monday for a German-Afghan man accused of belonging to al-Qaida and a second terrorist group.

(AP)

UK Muslims split over halal slaughter ban proposal

However, others, including Muslim animal welfare activist Sanjeev Mohamed, argued that in today’s modern world, there is no need to maintain “archaic methods” that do unwanted harm and cause suffering.

“We live in a time when technology and advancements has made animal welfare an important issue, and we Muslims need to reexamine the way we treat animals,” Mohamed said.

(Bikya Masr)

Unions warn of rising anti-EU aggression.

Stickers left on cars of EU civil servants as Unions warn of rising anti-EU aggression.

Eurocrats should go hang themselves, according to stickers placed last week on the cars of staff working in Brussels for the European Union institutions.

(European Voice)

Africans Shouldn’t Expect Changes from France After Socialist Win

But analyst Nicayenzi said Lo will probably see no change.  “I saw [Socialist] Mitterrand in 1981, when he was elected Africans danced,” he said. “But when he left, we saw there was no big change between him and Chirac.”

(VOA News)

"Finally, we are proud to be French"

Looking at all the people who came out for this celebration, France appears more multicultural and multigenerational than ever. Algerian, French, Syrian, Ivory Coast flags fly in harmony. “The important thing is that Sarkozy is out. Finally, we are proud to be French. Our country will be unified once again,” Khady, Manel and Luc tell us, before adding, “You see, we are all represented now, and it feels great!”

(Huffington Post)

Two held in Birmingham over 'genital mutilation'

Two men have been arrested in Birmingham by police investigating claims that female genital mutilation is being offered in the UK.

West Midlands Police said a 55-year-old and a 61-year-old were arrested after officers from the force's public protection unit attended three separate addresses.

(Lancashire Evening Post) h/t Jihad Watch

More than 8000 Belgian women circumcised in 2010

8,235 women were circumcised in Belgium in 2010.  1,000 were newborns.

Female circumcision is punishable by 3-5 years in jail according to Belgian law.

(HLN)

British Muslims defend Halal slaughter after calls for ban

Muslims in Britain have rebuffed calls to ban animals’ halal slaughter after a leading British vet this week called for curbing or even banning the practice popular among the country’s Muslim and Jewish minorities.

(Al-Arabiya)

88 migrants land in Malta

A group of 88 illegal migrants, including women and young children, landed last night at Ghajn Tuffieha Bay (Riviera Bay).

(Times of Malta)

Sharia4Belgium demonstrate for Mohammed Bouyeri on Liberation Day

Twenty members of the radical Muslim group showed up at Vught prison and held a sign "Liberation Day for Mohammed Bouyeri".  Bouyeri murdered Theo van Gogh.

The group said that Liberation Day was a hypocritical holiday.  "They celebrate while there are countless innocent brothers sitting in their prisons. These brothers were deprived of their freedom, family and of any social contact and they they speak of terms such as 'liberation' and 'freedom'?"

(AD)

Three men charged after counter-terrorism raids

Men charged following counter-terrorism investigation into network suspected of smuggling banned drug from UK to US.

(The Telegraph)

Quintuple murder suspect says “plan was to attack police”

One of the suspects for the quintuple murder in Macedonia says “children were not supposed to be the target” and that they were planning on attacking police.

(B92)

Islamophobia: Europe's new political disease

The rise of the counter-jihad movement threatens communal harmony as much as so-called 'militant Islam', says author.

A new wave of anti-Muslim intolerance and antagonism is sweeping Europe. The far right political gains seen in some parts of the continent are alarming. Anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and extreme right parties seem to be cashing in on economic hardship and austerity measures. In a blinkered world of "us" and "them" they have found in Europe's Muslim citizens the "others".

(Al-Jazeera)

Brother and sister blamed for Dagestan suicide bombing

A brother and sister are believed to have carried out dual suicide bombings in Russia's Dagestan that killed at least 13 people and injured more than a hundred, the regional president said Saturday.

(AFP)

Bottles and fireworks thrown as police struggle to contain 3,000 English Defence League supporters in Luton

The town centre was flooded with police as tensions mounted that the right wing organisation's members might clash with a counter demonstration by a 1,000-strong group from Unite Against Fascism at the same time in the usually busy shopping area.

(Daily Mail)

Intercultural Days Celebrated in South Iceland

Multiculturalism in Iceland’s southwestern region will be celebrated for the fourth year in a row with intercultural programs this Saturday and next, on May 5 in Reykjanesbær and May 12 in Reykjavík.

(Iceland Review)

40 Illegal Immigrants Stopped at Sea

The Greek Coastal Guard has intercepted a suspicious boat off the coast of Astakos, in southwestern Greece. The boat was carrying 40 male illegal immigrants. Both the captain and the immigrants have been arrested.

(Greek Reporter)

Macedonia asks Kosovo to look for murder suspects

Macedonia has requested from the Kosovo authorities to investigate whether Alil Demiri and Afrim Ismailovik are in the territory of Kosovo.

(B92)

How can Muslims be more influential in European political life?

The European political scene in the recent years shows that while some politicians try to stir anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant feelings in order to attract far-Right voters, Muslims themselves are getting a louder voice. Yet there is a long way ahead of Muslims to fully participate in the political scene.
This week’s Islam and Life asks: How can Muslims be more influential in European political life?

(Press TV)

Religious butchering now commonplace in Britain, leading vet claims

Non-Muslim Britons are being forced to eat animals slaughtered in "appalling" pain because religious butchering is becoming so common, a former chief vet has claimed.

(The Telegraph)

Islam's European hope

The example of European Jewry is not entirely irrelevant. An oppressed tribe of Ostjuden, destitute immigrants from the shattered communities of eastern Europe, was transformed in just two generations from God-fearing shoemakers, tailors, and wandering peddlers into a community of writers, philosophers, scientists, and tycoons.

(European Voice)

Ahead of elections, French Muslims feel like scapegoats for nation’s problems

There's no doubt in university student Ouissem Satouri's mind about who he is. He’s Muslim. And he’s French. And there’s no contradiction between the two.

“I’m sitting here with you in a French cafe, wearing French clothes and having a French book in my bag, and I'm never asking myself if I am French or not,” says Satouri, who’s studying politics in Paris. “I am speaking French, I am living in France, I am dreaming in French, I want to live in France. I am French. But I am Muslim also.”

“You don't have to ask yourself if you are Muslim or French,” he says. “You don't have to take a position.”

(CNN)

Toulouse Killer Recently Spent Time in Bosnia

A Google translation of this March 23rd story from Republika Srpska’s “Fokus”:

    Serial killer from Toulouse, French Algerian Mohamed Merah, who a few days [ago] killed seven people, recently spent time in Bosnia and in one of the many lectures on Islam, organized by the mysterious organization “Invitation to Paradise.”

(Republican Riot)

Albanians in south Serbia hold protest over arrests

The situation in the southern Serbian town of Bujanovac is tense after the arrest of ethnic Albanians suspected of war crimes during 2001.

(B92 News in English)

French CERN scientist jailed for plotting terror attacks

A physicist based at the Cern laboratory in Geneva has been jailed for five years for plotting a terror attack with an alleged member of al-Qaeda.

(The Telegraph)

Author Geert Wilders: No Difference Between Islam, Radical Islam

Controversial Dutch politician and author Geert Wilders is speaking out against Islam, but unlike most Westerners he does not draw a distinction between Islam and radical Islam, but claims that they are the same.

(newsmax)

US teen admits to aiding Lars Vilks murder plot

A teenager of Pakistani origin resident in the US has admitted to assisting in the so-called "Jihad Jane" plot to murder Swedish artist Lars Vilks.

(The Local)

I'm Not Racist, But...

The promotion of racial equality is the main objective of a new EU co-funded project being implemented throughout this year by the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality. I'm Not Racist, But... is a project co-funded by EU Progress funds.


(timesofmalta.com)

“Violence can break out in Kosovo”

Military Intelligence Agency (VOA) Director Brigadier General Dragan Vladisavljević says that violence could break out in Kosovo.

He explained that the current situation in Kosovo was marked by inter-ethnic tensions which increased the likelihood of an outbreak of violence.

(B92 News in English)

Muslim marriages like George Galloway's should be registered

Drowned out by the furore over whether George Galloway has indeed become a Muslim as alleged by Jemima Khan, it has been little noticed that soon after his fourth marriage last month his third wife could faintly be heard complaining that in the eyes of Islam he is in fact still married to her.

(...)

It is estimated that 70-75% of Muslim marriages in the UK have not been registered under the Marriage Act. Muslim women and their children have been left open to abuse when they are only registered as having the rights of co-habitants.

(Guardian)

Police forge town mosque links

Police visited one of Keighley’s biggest mosques as part of efforts to increase links with residents in central areas of the town.

(Keighley News)

Asylum seekers dancing with guns (+Video)

Asylum seekers in the Bierset asylum center (Grâce-Hollogne, Belgium) uploaded videos of themselves dancing with guns.

(La Meuse)

Appeals court upholds sentence for Sharia4Belgium's spokesperson

Appeals court upholds sentence for Sharia4Belgium's spokesperson

Fouad Belkacem (AKA Abu Imram) was convicted for inciting to hatred against non-Muslims, and for threatening Frank Vanhecke, the widower of Marie-Rose Morel

(HLN)

See also: Belgium: Two years for Sharia4Belgium spokesman

Sweden braces for asylum application spike

Swedish migration authorities have ratcheted up their forecast for the number of asylum seekers and labour migrants who will arrive in Sweden during 2012.

(The Local)

Renewed mosque, Islamic center opens in Belgrade

A building to house educational facilities of the Islamic Community in Serbia opened in downtown Belgrade next to the Bajrakli Mosque on Thursday.

The premises were built with the help of grants of benefactors, primarily the government of Azerbaijan.

(B92)

The Aggressive Tactics of the Greek Right Wing

Greek far-right parties could end up with as much as 20 percent of the vote in Sunday's elections. The neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party has intensified the xenophobic atmosphere in the country. Those who confront them are threatened with violence, journalist Xenia Kounalaki recounts.

(Spiegel)

Four Islamists charged in German Al-Qaeda plot

German prosecutors on Thursday charged four suspected members of an Al-Qaeda-linked terror cell for planning an attack in the country.

(AFP)

Spanish Court, “The terrorist act is more than the expression of radical ideas”

To condemn the thought of an individual it is not the task of the Court and based on this affirmation the Audiencia Nacional (Spanish Court) has sustained the acquittal of nine Ceuti citizens charged with terrorist practices in the operation Dune (operation started in 2006 by the judge Baltasar Garzon accusing the individuals of being a jihadist cell with connections to the Al-Qaeda).

(Euro-Islam.info)

Danish cartoonist attacker has 10-year sentence confirmed

The Somali man who attacked a Danish cartoonist for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad will serve 10 years in prison before being expelled from Denmark, the Supreme Court confirmed Wednesday.

(source)

Nebahat Albayrak leaving politics

Dutch-Turk MP Nebahat Albayrak (Labour) is leaving politics.  She says it's time to do other things.  Albayrak has been an MP since 1998 and served as State Secretary (Justice) from 2007 to 2010.  She has served in top positions in her party.  Albayrak was born in Turkey and came to the NEtherlands in 1970.
(source)

Foreign students 'should learn German'

International students at German universities should be made to learn at least some German - even if their courses are largely taught in English - the new representative of higher education leaders has said. 
(The Local)

Dutch Parliament to debate illegals in internships

The Dutch parliament wants to question Social Affairs Minister Henk Kamp after a court in the Hague ruled that vocational students MBO, who are not legal residents of the Netherlands, are entitled to an internship. 
(Expatica)

Ex-Libyan PM confirms claim Kadhafi funded Sarkozy in 2007

A lawyer for former Libyan prime minister Baghdadi al-Mahmudi says his client can confirm that ex-Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi's regime funded French President Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign. (Radio France Internationale)

Number of public extremist events in CR on the rise, report says

The number of publicly held extremist events rose to 334 in the Czech Republic in 2011, compared with 200 in 2010, according to a report by the Interior Ministry that the government discussed yesterday, the ministry's spokesman Pavel Novak has told CTK.

(source)

As Dutch churches shut, their sacred art finds new uses abroad

In the Netherlands, where faith has faded more dramatically than in many other parts of Europe, two churches close down on average every week. The sacred art left over is piling up in cellars and storerooms around the country.
(FaithWorld)