British National Party
Anti-Jihad News Bulletin w/c May 28, 2007
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1. AFGHAN TEENAGERS SOLD LIKE SLAVES INTO MARRIAGE

http://www.womenone.org/issues_17052007.htm

Shabana, A pretty Afghan teenager with a modern haircut, was 12 years old when she was forced to marry a man 38 years her senior to settle her father's 600-dollar gambling debt. Two years later, she is unhappy and angry. She doesn't like her husband, 52-year-old farmer Mohammad Asef. ‘He is wild - he destroyed my hopes,’ she said in their humble mud brick home in the northern province of Balkh, speaking out only when Asef went into another room to take a call. She doesn't get on with her husband's first wife, who is aged 42 and lives with them. And she is disgusted with her father. ‘He sold me,’ she told AFP. Her father and husband once farmed together, growing wheat and opium poppies on a plot in neighbouring Jawzjan province. Two years ago, after the harvest was in, Asef went to Balkh's Mazar-i-Sharif city to visit his family. ‘When I came back, my father-in-law had gambled away all the harvest,’ he said. ‘He promised me to get my money in one month but he couldn't find it. I knew he wouldn't because he is a very poor man. It was about 600 dollars. When he couldn't find the money, I married his 12-year-old daughter in compensation.’ Shabana, who likes to wear jeans and read novels and newspapers, was taken out of school.

Now she spends most of her time doing chores in the simple house for which Asef cannot yet afford doors. The illegal practise of exchanging girls to settle debts, including those owed to opium farmers, or to settle disputes between clans persists around the country - with the latter more common in the north. There are no statistics partly because there are no resources for collecting such data, said Ministry of Women's Affairs legal advisor Sayed Abdul Wahab Rahmani. And in areas hit by the Taleban-led insurgency, the precarious security situation would prevent such research, he said. About 670 women went to the ministry in the capital last year with complaints ranging from forced marriage to domestic violence, Rahmani said, by way of offering some sort of figure. The number is without doubt a fraction of the total number of cases in largely rural and destitute Afghanistan, where men hold sway and often break the law with impunity, including by marrying underage girls or using them to settle debts or feuds.

About 57 per cent of girls are married before the legal age of 16, according to statistics from the women's ministry and women's groups. Between 60 and 80 per cent of all marriages are believed to be 'forced' - a term that covers a range of practises including marrying off girls to repay debts or without their consent, according to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission. This is one of the main factors behind girls and women running away from home or committing suicide, including by setting themselves alight by dousing themselves in fuel and igniting it with a match. In Afghanistan, as in many Asian and African cultures, men pay the family of their wives-to-be an agreed sum, sometimes called the bride price, as well as the cost of the wedding which can also run into thousands of dollars - the average in Kabul is 4,000 dollars. This can be an enormous sum in one of the poorest countries in the world where a low-grade civil servant earns about 60 dollars a month. To be able to afford his own wife, Abdul Raheem, also from Balkh province, says he wants to marry off his 12-year-old sister as soon as he can. The family of the woman he has set his heart on wants 6,000 dollars for her. Raheem, who earns 60 dollars a month as a cleaner in a police station in Mazar, has saved 2,000 dollars. ‘It's very difficult for me to find 4,000 dollars,’ he said. But if he could marry off his sister, ‘then I can marry my girlfriend,’ he told AFP.

2. MONITOR MOSQUES SAYS SWISS CATHOLIC BISHOP

http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/detail/Bishop_suggests_closer_monitoring_of_mosques.html?
siteSect=105&sid=7806020&cKey=1179650000000

One of the Catholic Church's leading experts on Islam says the Swiss authorities need to keep a closer eye on the country's mosques. Pierre Bürcher, assistant bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, tells swissinfo it is what goes on inside mosques rather than the construction of minarets that poses a greater threat to peace. His comments come just weeks after a group of rightwing politicians launched a nationwide campaign to ban the construction of minarets. Bürcher is president of the Swiss Bishops Conference's working group on Islam, which was set up in 2001. He says meetings with Muslims both at home and abroad – the body has visited Iran and Syria – have led to improved relations and better understanding between both religious communities. But he warns that the road towards a truly peaceful co-existence remains long and rocky. swissinfo: You say that relations are improving at a religious level. But aren't they constantly being undermined by global political events? P.B.: Inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is a major challenge at the start of the 21st century and in recent decades the Catholic Church has made a priority of establishing contacts with other religions. Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessor John Paul II have said this dialogue is vital for the future of our society. At a political level, both at home and abroad in Iran and Syria, we have always been well received by the various authorities.

The difficulties stem from a very small extremist fringe, which poses enormous problems but does not represent true Islam. swissinfo: Christians in some Middle East countries do not enjoy anything like the same religious freedoms as Muslims in Switzerland. Was there any indication during your visits to the region that this might eventually change? P.B.: Fortunately in Switzerland we have freedom of religion and worship; in other countries the situation is somewhat different. If you take some Gulf states, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Christians are free to worship and it is often the emirs themselves who provide land for the construction of a church. But in Saudi Arabia there is neither freedom of religion nor worship, yet there are many Christians who live and work there. I hope the day will come when it will be possible for Christians to worship in Saudi Arabia. We need to continue to put pressure on the Muslim authorities and the Saudi government for this to change.

At the same time we now have this initiative in Switzerland against the construction of minarets, which shows there is a certain amount of extremism here as well. swissinfo: Indeed, this initiative is clearly a reaction to the spread of Islam and Islamic law in Switzerland. Where does the Catholic Church stand on this issue? P.B.: It is essential that we respect the laws laid down in Switzerland and we cannot allow them to be fundamentally undermined by another way of thinking, such as sharia law. It's true that the minaret is a symbol for Muslims but it is not an essential part of a mosque and we should not get fixated on it. What goes on inside a mosque is much more important, because it's there that the Koran is taught and where you can have people stepping out of line. It is in this place of worship that the khutba [Islamic sermon], which is often politicised, and all the anti-Western or even terrorist teaching can take place. Do the authorities really know what is going on and whether it is legal? This seems far more important to me than whether you can build a minaret or not. swissinfo: So you're saying the authorities need to keep a closer eye on what's going on inside mosques in Switzerland? P.B.: Yes, because one needs to be aware that in Muslim tradition, politics, culture, society and religion are all entwined.

We are touching here on a fundamental difference between two religious concepts and the slightest tolerance in this domain will be extremely damaging for peace and co-existence. It is because of this that mosques in many Muslim countries are coming under increased surveillance and the khutba is always monitored. swissinfo: It is clear that there is a fear of Islam, not just in Switzerland but also in other Western countries. How can this be overcome? P.B.: One of the reasons for this fear is that our two religions are different and we still lack a sense of mutual understanding. Secondly, newcomers can often create unease or even fear because they may upset the balance. Therefore we need to learn how to live with each other, otherwise we will run into major problems. swissinfo: But centuries have passed and we have yet to find a solution. What makes you think we can do so now? P.B.: The most fervent believer, whether they be Christian, Jew or Muslim, will never attain perfection and we are on a similar path when it comes to inter-cultural and inter-religious relations. The human being has its limits; unfortunately we are not perfect and neither are our societies.

3. WOMAN PHYSICALLY ATTACKED FOR DRESS ‘OFFENSIVE TO ISLAM’

Another incident confirms Muslims don't have respect for our way of life.

http://www.news.com.au/sundaytelegraph/story/0,,21760758-5006009,00.html

Twenty-three-year-old journalist Latika Bourke was verbally attacked bya group of Muslim men outside a Sydney mosque because of her dress.
‘This young man approached me and said: 'You should be wearing more clothes. You need to cover up, you mutt','' Ms Bourke, who works for 2UE Radio, recounted. Ms Bourke, who was wearing a black trenchcoat, knee-high boots and gloves, said she was shocked and humiliated. ‘I'm just incredulous as to why they would say that ... what else is there to cover up? They are doing themselves no favours by behaving like this.'' Ms Bourke was waiting to interview controversial mufti Sheik Taj Eldeen Alhilaly at Lakemba mosque when a man aged about 20 confronted her. His friends stood nearby, supporting him, as he verbally attacked her. ‘He said: Are you aware that this is our Friday prayers? Do you know you're disrespecting our religion.'' Ms Bourke said she replied: ‘I'm sorry, how?'' He then advised her to cover up and called her ‘a mutt''. Ms Bourke, a Christian, said she was very conscious of the need to respect other people's religions. ‘I knew it was important to cover up when you go to a mosque and that's why I wore a long coat and gloves. “As soon as it happened I looked at myself and thought, 'What am I wearing that is offensive?'” The incident sparked a flurry of calls to talkback radio on Friday -- mostly criticising the Muslim man and his friends for what they described as being ‘offensive behaviour'.

4. ONE MILLION US RESIDENTS ARE MUSLIMS FIRST, AMERICANS SECOND

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/016574.php

Today I intend, as much as time permits, to highlight a few of the findings from the Pew Research Center poll of American Muslims. Here is the first: 47% of what Pew says are 2.35 million Muslims in America, or a little more than one million Muslims, consider themselves to be Muslims first, Americans second. The other bars in the graph above show that to be a much lower percentage than in Britain, Germany, and Spain: 81% of Muslims in Britain consider themselves to be Muslims first; 66% in Germany, and 69% in Spain. In France, as under fire as it is for not assimilating its Muslim immigrants (although they have resisted assimilation at every step), it's 46%. Anyway, all religions make absolute claims, so this is not really unusual or unexpected. Most serious Christians in America probably consider themselves Christians first and Americans second. But given the nature of Islam as a political and social system as well as a religious faith, this finding has important implications for whether these one million Muslims would like to see Islamic law, Sharia, in the United States, and will be working to that end. I haven't read it all yet, but I doubt that the Pew poll asks pointed questions like that. To read the full report go to:

http://pewresearch.org/assets/pdf/muslim-americans.pdf

5. ‘WHY I JOINED RADICAL ISLAM IN BRITAIN’ CONFESSION

The article below is interesting, but this fellow’s attempt to distinguish between Islam and Islamism is fraudulent, as the Koran commands Muslims to impose Islamic law, by force if need be, and that’s what Islamism means.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18866920/site/newsweek/

Ed Husain used to be an Islamic fundamentalist. When his father—a devout Muslim opposed to fanaticism—told him to leave the radical groups he had joined in London, Husain left home instead. But by the mid-1990s, Husain had become disillusioned with British Islamic organizations. A stint working in Saudi Arabia disenchanted him still further, when he discovered that women on the street face routine harassment and that black Muslims are discriminated against by local Arabs. ‘Racism was an integral part of Saudi society,’ says Husain. ‘Even dark-skinned Arabs were considered inferior to their lighter-skinned cousins. I was living in the world's most avowedly Muslim country, yet I found it anything but.’ Husain makes his comments in his memoir, ‘The Islamist: Why I Joined Radical Islam in Britain, What I Saw Inside and Why I Left’ (Penguin)—a work that has drawn widespread interest and controversy in a country still agonizing over how ‘home-grown terrorists’ could have been behind the 2005 mass-transit bombings and the so-called fertilizer bomb plot that last month saw five British Muslims jailed for life. Husain, 32, spoke to Karla Adam at a coffee shop near the University of London, where he is currently studying for a Ph.D. in politics, about ‘sleeper’ Islamists, why he turned his back on radical groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir and how American Muslims differ from those in Britain. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: In your new book you offer a very personal account of your time as a fundamental Islamist. What has the reaction been like?

Ed Husain: I received a threat last night. I can't go into details, but I'm not supposed to be going to certain parts of London because if I am identified then I will be attacked. The issue is so important, though, that it requires courage to confront it head on.

Why write the book?

To put clear blue water between Muslims and Islamists—that has been blurred. I also wanted to open up the debate. One reason I left and lost my extremism was by having more and more non-Muslim friends, so if this book helps inform ordinary non-Muslims about what's going on with Islamists inside the Muslim community, it will only help bring about a better dialogue.

You say that your father, a moderate Muslim, would have been more accepting if he caught you snorting cocaine than he was of you mixing with extreme Islamic groups. What were some of the first signs you were headed on that path?

I had a serious sense of a lack of belonging in Britain. I was born here, raised here, but in school people were very monocultural, particularly from the Indian Subcontinent [from where Husain's parents had emigrated to Britain], predominantly male, predominantly Muslim. When I was 16 in the East End [of London], it was a different world, and in that world there were two choices: I either became the member of a street gang, or I looked to what were then increasingly powerful local Muslim organizations.

Ed is not your real name.

No, it's Mohamed. When I was in Damascus, they wouldn't call me Mohamed, that's the level of love they have for the Prophet. So I decided on ‘Ed,’ the last syllable of Mohamed.

You became an influential Islamic leader, especially on college campuses in the 1990s. How did you recruit people into your groups?

We first generated interest through talking. [Attacks on Muslims in] Bosnia really helped us. Muslims here in Britain, my generation, came of age and didn't really know where they belonged, whether it was here, or what we used to call ‘back home.’ It was quite easy to recruit people, to expose them to the [idea that the] solution to the problem in Bosnia was to have an Islamic army that would take on the Serbs. We targeted mostly teenagers. We would lavish them with lunch, dinner, friendly treatment, and then expose them to the literature, especially with Hizb [ut-Tahrir]. They are very keen on recruiting intelligent people. When my contact proved him or herself—mostly him at the time—to be solid and [to] understand what we called ‘the concepts,’ we would invite them on to the secret cell structure. I recruited between 15 and 20 people—key people who are still working in Whitechapel [east London]. I feel guilty.

You later turn your back on extremism. Was there a particular turning point?

There was a serious lack of spirituality [in the Hizb], and because I was raised in an observant Muslim house, I knew what it meant to be a God-conscious Muslim, a person of faith. I knew you could be a Muslim without having to be an extremist.

And you also cite an altercation involving members of the Hizb that results in the murder of a Christian Nigerian student.

Yes, I remember seeing his dead body there, blood flowing, and thinking at that point, my God, what have I created. And that's when I thought to myself, our talk of jihad is not in the abstract, it had an impact. They had created an atmosphere where it was legitimate to talk and do these things. That's when I slowly started to withdraw.

You withdrew from the Hizb, but you say it took you years before you were mentally free from it. On the evening of September 11, 2001, for instance, you asked friends what all of you were doing to celebrate.

It was that Islamist influence in my mind that the loss of non-Muslim life, that a blow to America, was always a good thing. It doesn't matter who did it, as long as America was struck. I still look back and think, how did I respond that way?

You believe there are tens of thousands of ‘sleeper Islamists’ in the world. Can you explain? I seriously believe in that. That's a real problem in that. Yes, they have left the operational side. Yes, they no longer attend weekly meetings. Yes, they may no longer read these books, but those ideas that were implanted in their minds when they were undergraduates—that hatred of Jewish people, that hatred of America, that desire to see confrontation. Those ideas are still in lots of people's minds. Yes, there are young Muslims out there who fail to see the difference between ‘Islam’ the religion and ‘Islamism,’ the ideology set up in its name. And, yes, there are lots of people out there that haven't made that clear break. I was one of them for six years.

Do you think the radical Muslim experience in Britain is similar to that in America?

No. Americans are lucky in that they have a very strong national identity. I have met hundreds of Muslims who are very proud Americans. Here in Britain, native Brits squirm about Britishness, no one can define what it means. When natives can't define it, for the children of immigrants it becomes extremely difficult to enter into mainstream Britain. Also, Americans were also very blunt post 9/11. There are very few centers now in the States that will openly call for an Islamist state or a jihad or openly distribute [extremist] Wahhabi literature. They have clamped down heavily, maybe too much, but they have kept the lid on the problem. Here we are too sensitive, we are too liberal, we are too politically correct, and that's our weakness.

Should Muslims report on their own community?

If a fellow Muslim knows there are extremist activities or terrorist atrocities, then it's their human responsibility, before their religious responsibility, to prevent carnage. I also want to highlight it is time for Western Muslims to give back. The West has changed and given much over the last 200 years; it is now the turn of Muslims to reciprocate.

If you knew of something would you tell the authorities?

Me? I have recently been telling the authorities about Hizb rhetoric on campus, and I have been ignored: be quiet, let it happen, they say. Of course I would [tell them], no question about it.

Have you been approached by the government to work for the authorities?

Yes, but I am not signing on the dotted line because I think it's important that this voice, this work, carries on from the outside, is more effective. I don't rule out working for the government. Yes, governments make mistakes, but I am not keen on [the idea that] you must rule out working for the government ever. If I was approached I would definitely consider it on its individual merits. I left being antigovernment when I left Hizb.

Are you hoping to reach out to people who are currently members of radical Muslim groups?

To some extent, yes. I also think that there are hundreds of people out there who are beyond call, they have gone to an extent where you can't change their minds. You just have to let those individuals be handled by the security forces. But there are lots of people in the middle ground—that group I think we can call back.

What can you do differently so that your children don't make your same mistakes?

The first thing is to make sure they have a very clear sense of belonging as to who they are and what they are. They are children of this soil, they belong here in Britain, with all its problems, with all its racism, with all its binge drinking, this is our country. The second thing is to have a clear understanding of religion ,which is flexible, which is pluralistic. And to have children who grow up knowing that being different isn't a problem.

Is there something about Britain that makes it a good breeding ground for extremist Muslims?

Britain's meekness in the face of extremists. Blair once said, ‘the rules of the game are changing.’ Well, I don't believe the game should be played at all. There is a problem with multiculturalism and letting everyone do what they want to do. Our teachers aren't keen to confront, challenge or debate expressions of radicalism. So in the name of multiculturalism we have these monocultural ghettos, this underworld where none of this is ever questioned. You can walk into certain parts of London and quite easily advocate a jihad and destroying Israel and ultimately confronting Britain, and nobody would raise an eyelid. As long as that's there, Britain faces problems.