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US Government Promoting Islam in Czech Republic
by Soeren Kern
April 14, 2014 at 5:00 am
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Critics say the project's underlying
objective is to convert non-Muslim children to Islam by bringing
proselytizing messages into public schools under the guise of promoting
multiculturalism and fighting "Islamophobia."
The group recently ran an
advertisement promising to pay 250 Czech korunas ($13 dollars) to any student
aged 15 to 18 years who would attend a two hour presentation about Islam.
More recently, Muslims in the Czech
Republic have tried to ban a book they say is Islamophobic, and have filed a
ten-page criminal complaint against its formerly-Muslim author.
The Czech government has approved a new project aimed at promoting Islam
in public elementary and secondary schools across the country.The project—Muslims in the Eyes of Czech Schoolchildren—is being spearheaded by a Muslim advocacy group and is being financed by American taxpayers through a grant from the US Embassy in Prague. (The US State Department is also promoting Islam in other European countries.) The group says the Czech Ministry of Education has authorized it to organize lectures and seminars aimed at "teaching Czech schoolchildren about Islamic beliefs and practices" and at "fighting stereotypes and prejudices about Muslims." But critics—there are many—say the project's underlying objective is to convert non-Muslim children to Islam by bringing proselytizing messages into public schools under the guise of promoting multiculturalism and fighting "Islamophobia."
The second phase of the project involves the implementation of a three-level program that will "acquaint both pupils and teachers with Islam and Muslims" and help them to develop better "critical reception skills" when analyzing supposedly Islamophobic information. According to the group's website: "The first level acquaints the reader with the history of Islam, the basic religious concepts of tradition and contemporary issues such as family [Sharia] law, the veiling of women and Islamophobia." "The second level offers a deeper look at the issues and puts more emphasis on the involvement of the pupils.… Pupils will be divided into three groups within which they will study any of the following topics: the veiling of women, media coverage of Islam and Muslims in the Czech Republic. Each group will be led by an experienced tutor, who will acquaint students with the problems by means of prepared materials and subsequent debate." "The third level provides schools with artistically oriented projects or discussions with Muslims and professionals dealing with Islam. Artistic activities would involve making a film or taking photographs focused on a day in the life of a Muslim or art workshops and competitions focused on the possibility of integrating Muslims into Czech society." The group also organizes thematic lectures, workshops and debates for schools or groups of students, many of which are held at the Municipal Library in Prague—and which are more openly geared toward converting Czech youth to Islam. One such lecture entitled "Paths of Young Czech Women to Islam" answers questions such as: What makes a young Czech woman want to become a Muslim? It is the main motive always falling in love with a Muslim man or are there other reasons? How does one convert to Islam? How can new Muslims cope with non-Muslim relatives? Another lecture entitled "Koran, Sunna and the Internet: Where to Do Muslims Get Their Information?" answers questions such as: Where can one get information about the Muslim faith? Is the Koran the only source of information about Islam or are there other sources? Where can one find information that is not mentioned directly in the Koran? The lecture is supplemented by providing students with hands-on opportunities to work with various Islamic texts, including the Koran and the Hadiths [sayings of the Prophet Mohammed]. Students wanting to participate in the lectures but lacking previous knowledge of Islam are advised to attend a 15-minute introductory course that "represents the characteristics of Islam and advocates it in the context of Christianity and Judaism." The lectures are "suitable for children from about the age of 15, although it is possible to customize the program for younger pupils." A statement on the group's website justifies the project this way: "The Muslim community in the Czech Republic is small, but it raises strong emotions. Issues relating to Muslims or Islam appear almost daily in television news, newspapers and Internet debates. But the topic is discussed only marginally in regular school lessons. This condition leads to acceptance and subsequent consolidation of prejudices and stereotypes that are supported by latent Islamophobia. We would like this project to contribute to improving the situation. We provide information about Islam that is factually accurate. Students will also have the opportunity to meet with Muslims and get to know them before forming an opinion of them." One of the co-founders of the project, a Czech-Palestinian named Sadi Shanaah, was quoted by the Prague Post as saying, "School lessons do not pay sufficient attention to Islam. Pupils want to learn more about it." But the group recently ran an advertisement promising to pay 250 Czech korunas ($13 dollars) to any student aged 15 to 18 years who would agree to attend a two-hour presentation about Islam. The ad—which indicates that the American embassy in Prague was financing the April 2 event—states: "Event will take place at a school in New Butovice (7 minutes' walk from the metro station). You get a brief introduction to Islam through which you can learn more about the veiling of Muslim women, media coverage and Muslims in the Czech Republic. Then you will have the opportunity to meet with Amirah, a Malaysian Muslim who is studying medicine in Prague, and to ask her everything you want about Islam or Muslim life in the Czech Republic." The Czech Republic is home to a small but rapidly growing Muslim population. Although reliable figures do not exist, it is estimated that the number of Muslims in the country now exceeds 10,000 (some say the figure is closer to 5,000, while others say it exceeds 15,000), up from 3,699 in the 2001 census, and 495 in the 1991 census. Using 10,000 as the baseline figure, the Muslim population currently comprises around 0.1% of the total Czech population of 10.4 million. This percentage is far lower than most European countries, but the rate of increase is nearly 2,000% since 1991, and 170% since 2001. Most Muslims in the Czech Republic are immigrants from Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria and Turkey. But a study produced for the Czech Interior Ministry in 2007 (it estimated there were a total of 11,235 Muslims in the country in 2005) found that there were also a large number of Czech converts to Islam. It is estimated that at least 2,000 Czechs have converted to Islam since the end of Communist rule in 1989. Many are women who have married Muslims, but just as many are young males who are "looking to Islam in their search for spirituality," according to Radio Free Europe. The Interior Ministry report says the majority of Muslims in the Czech Republic are well educated and economically successful. "Muslims who belong to the core of the community are often university-educated people. Among them are doctors, architects, teachers, economists, businessmen and others," the report says. On the other hand, as the Muslim population grows, so do tensions with the population at large. In November 2013, two Muslim women threatened to file an anti-discrimination lawsuit against a nursing school in Prague after they were asked to remove their hijab head covering in class. "The principal summoned me and told me: 'If you want to be in the school, you must not wear the scarf.' I said this was against my religion as I am a Muslim," Nasra, one of the women, told Czech Television. The school defended itself, saying that although Czech law does not regulate the wearing of headgear, the school's dress code bans the practice. The school also said the women, one from Somalia aged 23, and another from Afghanistan aged 25, disagreed with the compulsory physical education and the conditions of compulsory practice. More recently, Muslims in the Czech Republic have tried to ban a book about Islam they say is Islamophobic. The book, Islam and Islamism, was written by Lukas Lhot'an, a former Muslim who is now an apostate from Islam. Released in 2011, the book describes how some Muslims are abusing the ideology of multiculturalism to infiltrate Czech schools. Lhot'an, who spent 12 years among Muslims in Brno, the second-largest city in the Czech Republic, says Muslim institutions in the country are now headed by Islamists who dominate the entire Islamic community. He accuses Muslim extremists of giving lectures aimed at recruiting converts and new jihad fighters, and alleges that Czech mosques are being controlled by Saudi Arabia. The Islamic Center of Prague has filed a ten-page criminal complaint against Lhot'an, accusing him of promoting hatred, while the head of the Muslim community in Brno, Muneeb Hassan Alrawi has this to say about Lhot'an: "He is a hyperactive idiot, but also an unhappy man. He makes his living from doing harm. The police investigation will only provide publicity to him. He desires nothing but this." But others say the objective of the criminal complaint is obvious: Its aim to prevent Lhot'an from disseminating his view of Islam. According to Týden, the book describes extremist tendencies inside the Czech Muslim community and tries to highlight their contempt for democracy and women's rights and their justification of suicide bombers. Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter.
Related Topics: Soeren Kern
Palestinians' "Anti-Normalization" Movement
by Khaled Abu
Toameh
April 14, 2014 at 4:00 am
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The "anti-normalization"
activists are already accusing Abbas of being a traitor for meeting with
Israelis.
The dancers, invited by the
Palestinians from India, a staunch supporter, have received a first-hand
lesson in what years of incitement and negative campaigns can do.
Palestinian Authority security forces used force to disperse and arrest
Palestinian activists who tried to prevent Indians from performing a dance in
Ramallah on April 12.The activists accused the Indian Classical Dance Performance, Kathak, of appearing before members of the Indian community in Tel Aviv, saying this was a form of "normalization" with Israel. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel, an anti-Israel group that claims to be pro-Palestinian, issued a statement calling for boycotting the Indian dancers who had been invited to attend a Palestinian book fair in Ramallah. The group said that the Indian dancers' performance in Tel Aviv came in "wake of an upsurge in the fierce onslaught against the Palestinian people by the Israeli Occupation Forces." The group called on the Palestinian Authority [PA] Ministry of Culture to cancel the Indian dancers' performance in Ramallah on the pretext that their appearance in Tel Aviv was in violation of the campaign for academic and cultural boycott of Israel. The ministry, however, chose to ignore the call to prevent the Indian troupe from performing at the Ramallah Al-Kasaba Theater & Cinematheque. What happened at the theater during the performance has not only scared the Indian guests, but also embarrassed the Palestinian Authority. "Anti-normalization" activists who managed to infiltrate the theater shouted abuse at the Indian dancers and their Palestinian hosts. The protesters claimed that the PA, which supports "anti-normalization" campaigns, had come under pressure not to cancel the event. The activists shouted at senior Palestinian officials who were attending the event: "Shame on you!"
The Ministry of Culture later issued a statement in which it accused the anti-Israel activists of cursing and physically assaulting members of the audience. The statement said it approved the performance of the Indian troupe after being assured by Indian diplomats that the event in Tel Aviv had not been coordinated with any official or non-official Israeli party. The ministry admitted that the Palestinian Authority had originally opposed the performance of the Indian troupe in Ramallah. But it said that in light of the Indian diplomats' assurances, it reconsidered its position and discovered that the band's tour "was not in the context of any normalization activity." PA security forces arrested four of the rioters: Fadi Quran, Zeid al-Shuaibi, Aboud Hamayel and Fajr Harb. The activists accused the Palestinian security forces of beating them and their friends. The incident in Ramallah was not the first of its kind by the anti-Israel activists. Earlier this year, an attempt to hold a meeting of Israeli-Palestinian peace activists in the city failed after "anti-normalization" activists attacked the hotel where the meeting was taking place. But while in the past the protests have been directed mostly against Israelis, this was the first time that foreigners fell victim to the anti-Israel campaign. The Indian dancers' crime was that they had visited Tel Aviv, where they performed in front of members of the Indian community. This new and dangerous development shows that the "anti-normalization" activists do not hesitate to resort to violence and verbal abuse even against nationals of a country such as India that is known for its staunch support for the Palestinians. The government of India recently contributed $10 million as budgetary support to the Palestinian Authority. The contribution came within the framework of India's financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority and other humanitarian assistance efforts for the well-being of the Palestinians. In March 2009, India contributed a similar sum to the budget of the Palestinian Authority and completed the construction of the Palestinian Embassy building and residences in New Delhi as a gift to the Palestinians. The "anti-normalization" campaign is a powerful movement that operates in the West Bank, often with the blessing of the Palestinian Authority leadership. Although President Mahmoud Abbas is personally opposed to the anti-Israel campaign, his government has not done anything to restrain the movement. If and when Abbas ever signs a peace agreement with Israel, the first to come out against him will not only be Hamas or Islamic Jihad, but the "anti-normalization" activists who are already accusing him of being a traitor for meeting with Israelis. As for the Indian dancers, they have received a first-hand lesson in what years of incitement and negative campaigns can do to Palestinians.
Related Topics: Khaled Abu
Toameh
Is Iran's Hanging Tomorrow a Political Cover-up?
by Shabnam
Assadollahi
April 14, 2014 at 3:30 am
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The regime apparently told Reyhaneh
during her interrogation that "This murder was set up." Is it
possible that the regime needs to kill Reyhaneh to cover up a political
murder that it committed?
We are also asking the Iranian
judiciary what happened to the CD that had all the collected evidence in
Reyhaneh Jabbari's case and why the Islamic Republic of Iran's prosecutor,
Shamloo, destroyed it?
It would appear that this scheduled
execution deserves at least a delay.
The Iranian regime stated that Reyhaneh Jabbari's mother visited with her,
perhaps for the last time. Iranian Ministry of Justice officials have
delivered a verdict of "Ghessas" ["an eye for an eye"]
and are asking for the sentence of hanging to be carried out immediately.According to news we just received from Iran, under Islamic Law (Sharia Law), only the family of the deceased victim has the power to stop the execution of the accused by forgiving them. Sadly, this was not the conclusion of the April 7th negotiations, attended by prominent Iranian artists, athletes, writers and intellectuals. During the proceedings, a young man who was attending the meeting to sign the death sentence of the killer of his brother announced, while trembling and crying, that "after hearing all the attendees' speeches, he wished to forgive the killer and does not wish to have the accused executed." After hearing such an emotional and humane announcement; two members of the Sarbandi family stated that they also did not agree with the execution of Reyhaneh, that they wished to discuss the matter further. As such, the family of the victim neither agreed nor disagreed with the execution at that time. In the meeting, however, it appeared that both families of the victim and the accused spoke of further review of Reyhaneh's ambiguous case. The next day, however, on Tuesday, April 8, 2014, Reyhaneh's name was called on the prison loudspeaker requesting her presence to meet a visitor. When one's name is called on the loud speaker on a Tuesday it means the victim will be transferred to solitary confinement to await execution on Wednesday. Instead, she was met by a man from the judiciary office whose job is to comfort prisoners before execution. He told her that "her fate is in God's hands and that she must accept it." This news shows that Reyhaneh's life is in grave danger; it is important to protest her execution even louder and stronger. If inconsistency and ambiguity are shown, will the judiciary of the Islamic Republic dismiss this case? Is it a fact that a large, strong man died of only one stab wound to his shoulder from a blow delivered by Reyhaneh, who fled the scene immediately? What needs to be asked from the judges is: Who and what really killed Mr. Sarbandi and what was the evidence at the scene of the crime? We are also asking what happened to the CD that had all the collected evidence in the case and why the Islamic Republic of Iran's prosecutor, Shamloo, destroyed it. It would appear that this scheduled execution deserves at least a delay. Moreover, if Reyhaneh is executed, the family of the victim will never know the identity of the real killer. The regime apparently told Reyhaneh during her interrogation that "This murder was set up." Is Reyhaneh a scapegoat for a politically motivated murder by the regime? After all, did the victim not introduce himself as working for the Intelligence Service as well as being a physician? Is it possible that the regime needs to kill Reyhaneh to cover up a political murder that it committed? What is clear is that in this particular case, nothing can be achieved by begging the family of victim for forgiveness. Why is the victim's family standing by the regime by agreeing to Reyhaneh's execution? Do they not want to know who the real killer was or why their loved one was killed? Are they afraid of being executed themselves? These questions might be dangerous to ask of a corrupt and unaccountable regime such as the Islamic Republic and its equally unaccountable judiciary system. The issue of Reyhaneh's execution, in reality, does not solely depend on the family of the victim but instead on a regime that extracts confessions by torture, then executes the person based on that confession, and that ranks number one in the world for executions per capita — and all with impunity. The only way to save Reyhaneh is to put strong pressure on the government of Iran, which is ostensibly trying to appear legitimate and "moderate" in the eyes of the world. We invite everyone to join us in this campaign at least to investigate the ambiguities in the case further. We ask for heavy international pressure on the government of Iran and to show both Khamenei and Rouhani that killing Reyhaneh Jabbari will have a high cost for the regime on the international stage. This campaign has grown enormously in just a few weeks; with your help, it will be even larger. Campaign to save Reyhaneh Jabbari from executionTranslated by Banafsheh ZandReyhaneh Jabbari is 26 years old. At age 19 she was charged with the murder of Morteza Sarbandi, a doctor and a former employee of the Ministry of Intelligence and Surveillance of the Islamic Republic of Iran. She has spent the last seven years in prison. Jabbari is the daughter of our colleague, teacher and theater actress, Sholeh Pakravan. Jabbari was a set designer; to that end, Sarbandi asked her to a meeting in his office to discuss an interior design project. Jabbari arrived at the meeting but after a few moments she realized that the location had no resemblance to an office. Sarbandi then offered her some fruit juice (forensic tests conducted by the police during the investigation proved that the juice contained a form of date-rape drug ["roofies"]). After locking the door, Sarbandi attacked Jabbari, who, out of fear, tried to defend herself by stabbing him in the shoulder. She then fled the premises. Sarbandi bled to death. Jabbari was tracked down and arrested. An examination of the text messages exchanged between Reyhaneh Jabbari and Morteza Sarbandi prove Jabbari's account, which specified that prior to this incident, they had no relationship or connection, and that Sarbandi had been in touch with her on work and business related matters. Reyhaneh Jabbari has spent long stretches in solitary confinement and has undergone brutal interrogations, endured physical abuse and has been pressured by her jailers falsely to confess to having murdered Sarbandi for political purposes. But she has continued to maintain that she acted in self-defense. Should Jabbari confess to a preconceived political murder? All the documents clearly prove that she did in fact act in self-defense. How, then, based on all this evidence can this young girl be executed? Based on Jabbari's defense attorney and the "victim's" family, the case is filled with ambiguities. Based on what is it logical or rational for a judge to hand down a sentence of execution as a form of retribution? Friends, The court has perceived Jabbari's self-defense as murder with malice aforethought and has sentenced her to execution by hanging. We the below signatories of this statement, demand the immediate annulment of Jabbari's execution and call for her case to be re-opened and re-examined by a fair and proper court of law. We stand shoulder to shoulder and steadfast with Reyhaneh and her family and lend our voices to a member of our cultural and artistic community; one of our own, who is enduring a crisis and has our undying support.
Related Topics: Iran
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