Basque Country: Debate over mosque law

Basque Country: Debate over mosque law

Via Gatestone Institute:

The Basque regional government in northern Spain is drafting a controversial new Law on Religious Institutions, which states that mosques and prayer rooms with a capacity of fewer than 300 people will no longer require the prior local government approval.

The draft law is generating considerable opposition from elected officials of all political stripes, who fear the new measure will encourage the proliferation of mosques throughout the Basque region.

The mayor of the Basque capital Vitoria-Gasteiz, Javier Maroto, said in an interview that the practical effect of the new law will be that "any fruit and vegetable shop can be converted into a mosque and there will be nothing we can do about it." He has promised to fight the new law, which he believes will encourage "mosques to spring up like mushrooms."

(source)

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Hesinki: First Mosque for Shia Muslims Opens in Finland

Hesinki: First Mosque for Shia Muslims Opens in Finland

Via ABNA:

The first mosque and cultural center for Finland’s Shi’ites was inaugurated in the capital Helsinki earlier this week.

Managers of Islamic centers from Sweden, Denmark and Norway, Muslim scholars including Hojat-ol-Islams Hakim Elahi, Khademi, and Razavi, Iranian ambassador to Finland Seyyed Rasoul Mousavi, head of Finnish prime minister’s office, and a number of cultural, religious and social personalities attended the inauguration ceremony of the center, which is named after Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra (SA). 

(source)

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France: 3 mosques vandalized, Muslim group urges politicians to speak out

France: 3 mosques vandalized, Muslim group urges politicians to speak out

Via AP:

A leading French Muslim group says three mosques have been vandalized over the past week and is urging authorities to punish the perpetrators.

The French Council of the Muslim Faith, or CFCM, said racist insults and Nazi slogans were scrawled on a mosque in the southeastern town of Tarascon and another in the eastern city of Strasbourg on Tuesday and Wednesday. It said the mosque in the southern town of Draguignan was vandalized May 17. 

(source)

READ MORE - France: 3 mosques vandalized, Muslim group urges politicians to speak out

France: Mosque desecrated with Nazi graffiti

France: Mosque desecrated with Nazi graffiti

Via France3: The El Mouhsinine mosque in Tarascon (southern France) was tagged with Nazi graffiti Monday night.

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Copenhagen: Churches shouldn't be turned into mosques since 'Islam is an enemy of Christianty'

Copenhagen: Churches shouldn't be turned into mosques since 'Islam is an enemy of Christianty'

Via JV:

Islam is an enemy of Christianity, says former Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs, Birthe Rønn Hornbech (Liberals), and therefore Muslims shouldn't be taking over churches which have closed down.  16-17 churches in Copenhagen face closure.

The former minister spoke on the issue after Per Ramsdal, pastor of Brorson's Church in Nørrebro, suggested the churches can be used by Muslims, Buddhists or Hindus.

Birthe Rønn Hornbech wrote in a mail to Berlinkske News that he will publicly oppose the churches being turned over to another religious, when that religious is a direct enemy of Christianity, as is Islam, for example.  Even if it doesn't necessarily apply to Danish Muslims, Islam is an enemy of Christianity.

Kirkefondet (Church Foundation), which owns half the churches due to be closed down, has denied that their churches will be sold to Muslims or other faiths.  General Secretary Morten Skrubbeltrang 'fears there will be public resistance, if a church will be turned into a mosque'.
 
Birthe Rønn Hornbech backs Kirkefondet's right to decide who the churches will be sold to.  However, he expects them to use the money for a new church where it is needed.

READ MORE - Copenhagen: Churches shouldn't be turned into mosques since 'Islam is an enemy of Christianty'

Italy: President, Interior Minister visit Rome's Mosque

Italy: President, Interior Minister visit Rome's Mosque

(photo)

Via ANSAmed:

President Napolitano arrives with Interior Minister Anna Maria Cancellieri and the Minister for Integration, Andrea Riccardi. And it is Riccardi's speech that puts the seal on a new pact of ''integration'' and living together. (...) Riccardi remarks how ''the mosque's dome fits in well with all the other church domes in Rome,'' making the capital city ''a model for integration between religions and cultures''.

''Integration arises from differences. Many predicted after the September 11 attacks that there would be a clash between the West and Islam. Ten years later, the Arab Spring has drawn a different scenario: reasons for living together and getting on have multiplied''. President Napolitano appreciated this reference to the Arab Spring.

(...)

Mohammad al Gramdi, the Saudi Arabian Ambassador and Chair of the Islamic Cultural Centre noted ''the tolerance and friendliness of Italian society''. ''The Islamic community is among the most genuine components of Italian society''. ''We hope to receive the support of the tax advantages that are offered to other faiths and cultures''.

The Imam of the mosque, Al'a al-Din Muhammad Isma'Il al Ghobashi, spoke of ''postive integration, which does not mean erasing one's roots''.

(source)

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Cyprus: Gov't accuses Turks of politicizing mosque arson

Cyprus: Gov't accuses Turks of politicizing mosque arson

Via the Cyprus Mail:

POLICE have been given “clear instructions” to fully investigate what is thought to have been an arson attack on the Haji Ibrahim Aga mosque in Limassol in the early hours of last Saturday, Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said yesterday.

The mosque was one of the targets of the holiday weekend vandalism spree. The perpetrators set the veranda's roof and entrance on fire. Part of the entrance was damaged in the arson attack, which happened at around 3.30am.

Despite the fact there were numerous acts of vandalism and arson attacks over the weekend, a number of which were on schools in Nicosia, Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu used the incident to gain political capital.

 “Our mosques have been demolished in the past as well, our people who prayed have been shot. This is the Greek Cypriot mentality,” Eroglu reportedly said.

Stefanou condemned the arson attack but denounced the Turkish Cypriot leadership’s efforts to politicise the issue by making “arbitrary and unfounded accusations”.

Stefanou said and in turn slammed Turkey for the destruction of religious monuments in the north “in an attempt to alter our country’s cultural heritage and history”.

(source)

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Brussels: Imam speaks against Women's Day, Jews

Brussels: Imam speaks against Women's Day, Jews

Via Philosémitisme, La Capitale:

An imam in Anderlecht (Brussels) preached against women and Jews in his Friday sermon, as revealed by the RTBF current affairs program "Questions à la Une". The imam of the Al-Amal mosque was secretly filmed as he spoke in his sermon about International Women's Day.

The imam spoke out against the unthankful, coarse people who created Women's Day, which is not part of Muslim culture. "Only the ignorants celebrate this day, or political politicians who want to confuse the people of God's way. Fear God, follow the Sunnah (Muslim law) and avoid innovative cultures which are not part of Islam."

The imam then went on to speak of the Jewish roots of the day. "What they call Women's Day [...] it's the holiday of Purim, which is of Jewish origin and which dates back to 480 BC. A Jew, Clara Zetkin, revived this holiday in the 20th century. Listen, Muslim women, in celebrating this day, you imitate the Jewish women in behavior which is far from divine."

According to mosque administrator Azzouzi Hamidou, the sermon was not planned, and was delivered as a response to a question asked by a parishioner. The imam was reprimanded and will be fired if he continues.

Update: small fixes throughout

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Moscow: Muslims find no room in the mosque

Moscow: Muslims find no room in the mosque

Via the BBC:

"There are too many of us," says Ulugbek, a young migrant from Uzbekistan. "We have to be grateful that there are mosques in Moscow. The city was not ready to host millions of us all of a sudden."

But others think that the authorities are ignoring the needs of the Muslim population.

Hasan Fakhritdinov, imam of what is known as the city's Historical Mosque, says that the existing facilities are just not enough.

"We are asking the authorities to let us build new mosques, but they are ignoring our demands," he says. "Now people have to pray outside in the rain or the snow."

(source)

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France: Moroccan attacks worshippers in mosque, kills one

France: Moroccan attacks worshippers in mosque, kills one

Via the BBC:

A man armed with a baseball bat has attacked worshippers at a mosque in France, killing one person and seriously wounding another, police say.

A suspect was detained after the incident in the northern city of Arras in Pas-de-Calais.

Police sources quoted by Reuters news agency say the man is a 32-year-old French national of Moroccan origin.

(source)

READ MORE - France: Moroccan attacks worshippers in mosque, kills one

Brussels: Mosque attack revenge for Syrian violence

Brussels: Mosque attack revenge for Syrian violence




Via AFP:

The suspected arsonist behind a deadly fire at a Brussels mosque said Tuesday he set the Shiite place of worship ablaze to scare the community he blames for the violence in Syria, officials said.

Belgium's Muslim community was in shock a day after the attack that left an imam dead.

The suspect, a self-described Muslim in his mid-30s, told investigators he sought to "scare" the Shiite community as it was allegedly responsible for Syria's crackdown on dissent, the public prosecutor's office said.

(source)

READ MORE - Brussels: Mosque attack revenge for Syrian violence

Brussels: Imam dies in Salafist attack on Shia mosque

Brussels: Imam dies in Salafist attack on Shia mosque

Via UKPA:

A mosque near Brussels has been targeted in an arson attack in which the imam died.

A Muslim man was arrested in the attack on the mosque in Anderlecht, a suburb of Brussels, the Belgian capital, said Jean-Marc Meilleur, a spokesman for the Brussels Prosecutor's Office.

"It seemed that this person showed up and pulled out a knife and an axe, and that he spread flammable products - petrol, we assume - in order to start a fire and threaten the mosque occupants," Mr Meilleur said.

(source)

The attacker was shouting anti-Shiite Salafist slogans about the conflict in Syria.

Isabelle Praile of the Muslim Executive, herself a Shiite, told RTBF that the Rida mosque, the biggest mosque in Brussels, has been guarded by the police for years after threats by Salafists.

READ MORE - Brussels: Imam dies in Salafist attack on Shia mosque

Italy: Council of Imams names first woman to board

Italy: Council of Imams names first woman to board

Via ANSA:

Italy's Council of Imams and Islamic Leaders named its first woman to serve on the board of directors Wednesday.

The daughter of an imam, 35-year-old Nibras Breigheche is also in charge of the association's intercultural and interrelgious dialogue programs.

(source)

READ MORE - Italy: Council of Imams names first woman to board

Cologne: Row threatens mega mosque

Cologne: Row threatens mega mosque



Via the Guardian:

Architect and developers of multimillion euro project in dispute over everything from soaring costs to colour of facade

It was conceived as a project that would foster dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims and act as a bridge between Islam and Christianity. But the completion of a controversial multimillion euro mosque and culture complex is under threat after a prolonged row between its German architect and its Turkish developers.

The Cologne Central Mosque, which was due for completion this summer, has been dogged by controversy since its inception in 2006. But it is now at the centre of a row over everything from soaring building costs and the colour of its facade to allegations that Christian symbols have been secretly hidden in its construction.

(source)

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Manchester: Soldiers prepare for Afghanistan tour with visit to Bolton mosque

Manchester: Soldiers prepare for Afghanistan tour with visit to Bolton mosque

Soldiers preparing to leave for Afghanistan visited a mosque to learn about Islamic life and customs. More than 50 soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh went to the Zakaria Mosque in Bolton, one of the largest in the region. The visit was requested by the Chester-based unit in January and hosted by Bolton Council of Mosques. (source)

READ MORE - Manchester: Soldiers prepare for Afghanistan tour with visit to Bolton mosque

UK: Meet the British lawyer fighting Islam, one parking ticket at a time

UK: Meet the British lawyer fighting Islam, one parking ticket at a time

Via Foreign Policy (h/t DW):

The Mosquebusters, or the Law and Freedom Foundation as they're officially known, are part of a new wave of anti-Islamic campaigners in England with links to more established anti-immigrant groups such as England Is Ours and Stop Islamisation of Europe. Like many of these groups, the Mosquebusters fear that traditional British culture, laws, and values will disappear with the changing face of Britain and worry that extremist interpretations of sections of the Koran urge Muslims to kill non-believers and take slaves.

Until mid-February, the Mosquebusters advertised for volunteers, under a campaign called "No More Mosques," on the website of the ultra-nationalist English Defence League (EDL), a group that organizes anti-Islamic street marches that often decend into brawls, riots, and arrests. The EDL and other anti-Islamic groups have no problem convincing their members to parade in public yelling insults like "Muslim bombers off our streets!" and "Allah is a pedophile!," but the Mosquebusters have a quieter, perhaps more insidious approach: In offices and city halls, they are crafting legal cases against mosque construction applications across the country. It's a war against Islam, but one that often resembles a bureaucratic turf battle more than a clash of civilizations.

(source)

READ MORE - UK: Meet the British lawyer fighting Islam, one parking ticket at a time

Germany: First minaret in Saarland

Germany: First minaret in Saarland

The Turkish Muslim community in the city of Volklingen celebrated the completion of the first minaret in the federal state of Saarland last week. (source)

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Italy: Four convicted in mosque-building scam

Italy: Four convicted in mosque-building scam

Via ANSA:

Four people including a judge were convicted Thursday of defrauding investors, including the Iraqi government and top Italian bank Unicredit, in a mosque that was announced but never built in the Tuscan city of Massa Carrara.

(source)

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Milan: City to recognize a dozen 'mini-mosques'

Milan: City to recognize a dozen 'mini-mosques'

After mapping the city's Muslim community needs, the city of Milan has decided not to approve a grand mosque. Instead, the city will approve and recognize about a dozen existing small 'garage' mosques as neighborhood mosques.

READ MORE - Milan: City to recognize a dozen 'mini-mosques'

France: Stamp to mark 90th anniversary of Paris Grand Mosque

France: Stamp to mark 90th anniversary of Paris Grand Mosque

The French postal service will mark the 90th anniversary of the Paris Grand Mosque with a new stamp. The stamp will be launched Saturday with a ceremony at the Grand Mosque. A temporary post office will be set up at the mosque to sell the first day of issue stamps.

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