No Parallel Societies: Austria Wants Headscarf Ban in Kindergartens and Primary Schools

The New Normal - Austria's Islamic headscarves

FILE PHOTO. © Ahmad Al-Rubaye/ AFP

The Austrian government wants to forbid girls in kindergartens and primary schools to wear headscarves. The ban would prevent discrimination and the development of “parallel societies," Chancellor Sebastian Kurz says.

"The veiling of small children is something that definitely has no place in our country," Kurz said in Vienna on Wednesday. 

The move will be part of the so-called "Child Protection Act" which – alongside other measures – is aimed at encouraging people to assimilate into Austrian culture. The chancellor stressed that it is meant to give children equal opportunities and curb the emergence of “parallel societies” in the country.

Nevertheless, they are still being taught in Islamic schools. As long as they are allowed, there will be a parallel society.

Those words were echoed by Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, who reiterated that it is important to prevent the development of political Islam and to let children grow up free.

Kurz also argued that there is no religious rule ordering children to wear Islamic head coverings. In many Islamic cultures, doing so is not a requirement for girls until they reach sexual maturity.

The draft is to be prepared by the beginning of summer holidays, according to Education Minister Heinz Fassmann. Middle graders are exempted from the plan as implementing it there would be too “sensitive.”

While the number of children in the kindergartens and primary schools affected by the bill is not clear, the move would be a "symbolic" act, according to Fassmann.

At the same time, the chancellor stressed that the number of minors wearing headscarves is increasing. "What I can tell you is that it is a growing phenomenon. A few decades ago we did not have this in Austria and now it occurs primarily in Islamic kindergartens but also here and there in public establishments of Vienna and other cities," Kurz said.

Austria implemented a controversial ban on the wearing of Islamic face veils in public places in October. The law did not cover headscarves, however. Since then, around 50 were reported as disobeying the new law. Those found in breach of the ‘Anti-Face-Veiling Act’ are to pay fines of €150.

Terrorist ‘Teacher’ Found Guilty of Grooming ‘Army of Children’ to Attack London Landmarks

It's absolutely shocking that this went on in London for 5 years

A self-styled teacher and supporter of Islamic State has been found guilty of trying to create an “army of children” more than a hundred-strong to help carry out a wave of terrorist attacks across London.

The defendant, 25-year-old Umar Haque was convicted of preparing acts of terrorism between March 25 and May 18 last year. Among his intended targets were iconic British landmarks including Big Ben, the Queen's Guard and Heathrow Airport.

Haque subjected up to 110 children between the ages of 11 and 14 to beheading videos and other violent militant propaganda under the guise of teaching Islamic Studies, the court heard.

Despite the fact Haque had no teaching qualifications, he had access to 250 young people over five years at two schools through his job as an administrator. Among the schools where he taught, was the fee-paying Lantern of Knowledge Islamic school in Leyton, and Essex Islamic Academy, also known as Ripple Road Mosque, in east London.

Police believe he potentially tried to radicalize 110 children. “His plan was to create an army of children to assist with multiple terrorist attacks throughout London,” said Dean Haydon, head of the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command. “He tried and he did, we believe, radicalize vulnerable children from the ages of 11 to 14.”

The children were forced to re-enact last year’s deadly Westminster attack and were trained to build up their strength. “He tried to prepare the children for martyrdom by making them role-play terrorist attacks. Part of that role-playing was re-enacting attacking police officers,” Haydon said.

Haydon said the children were sworn to secrecy and did not tell their parents, as they had been “paralyzed by fear.” Haque threatened that they would suffer the same fate as those in the militant videos he showed them. Thirty-five of the affected children are now undergoing long-term safeguarding measures involving social services and other authorities.

Haque first came to the attention of authorities at Heathrow Airport in 2016, when terrorist-related material was uncovered on his phone and he became the target of police and an MI5 investigation.

"We decided to intervene early and arrest him for what we thought was his longer-term aspirational attack plan and we then uncovered other offenses regarding the radicalization of children," Commander Haydon told Sputnik.

Prosecutors said that the defendant planned to use guns and a car packed with explosives to strike targets such as Big Ben, the Queen’s Guards, Westfield shopping center, banks, and media stations.

Haque was found guilty at London’s Old Bailey Court of a number of offences including preparing terrorist acts, having previously pleaded guilty to four charges. As he was dragged from the dock he shouted: "You will clearly see Islamic State establish itself in the Arabian peninsula and that droughts will affect Europe and America."

He will be sentenced at a later date. Two other men, Abuthaher Mamun – a 19-year-old who also taught at the mosque and 27-year-old Muhammad Abid – were convicted of assisting Haque.

Following the verdict, the UK Charity Commission confirmed that a statutory inquiry into the Essex Islamic Academy is underway. The inquiry opened in October 2017 but was not made public for fear of prejudicing the trial. An inquiry into Lantern of Knowledge has also been launched, which will be commencing on February 17.

Should these Islamic Schools be permitted to continue teaching when they allow extremists to radicalize the children? Should any Islamic schools be permitted to continue in the UK? How do they help integration? How do they make Britain safer?

Sex Segregation in Islamic-Faith School Ruled Unlawful by UK Court

This will be interesting to watch

FILE PHOTO: © Ben Stansall / AFP

The policy of segregating girls and boys at an Islamic-faith school has been deemed unlawful in a landmark ruling by the Court of Appeal in the UK.

Judges ruled on Friday that the separation of boys from girls constituted sex discrimination. The decision could have huge ramifications across the country.

Al-Hijrah School in Birmingham had challenged a critical report by schools watchdog, Ofsted. However, the High Court upheld the regulator’s findings.

Last year, Justice Robert Jay ruled that the Ofsted inspectors were wrong to penalize the mixed-sex school, which orders complete segregation of pupils from year five.

But three Court of Appeal judges in London have now overturned that decision.

At the school, all breaks, school trips and clubs are held separately for all children aged over nine. The findings from Ofsted said the children were separated to the point that they used separate corridors. Inspectors insisted the practice left them “unprepared for life in modern Britain.”

Books in the library advocated husbands beating their wives and forced sex, the report said.

Ofsted will now be able to give schools that separate children based on their gender a lower rating.

That's it? A lower rating? Wow, that will really teach them. They will wear that like a badge of honour!

Sir Terence Etherton, Lady Justice Gloster and Lord Justice Beatson unanimously found that the actions of the school had contravened the 2010 Equality Act.

“It is common ground that the school is not the only Islamic school which operates such a policy and that a number of Jewish schools with a particular Orthodox ethos and some Christian faith schools have similar practices,” the appeal judges said.

“The relevant central government authorities should not pivot in the way they have gone about this without recognising the real difficulties those affected will face as a consequence.”

Ofsted's Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman said the watchdog’s job is to make sure that all schools “properly prepare children for life in modern Britain.”

“Educational institutions should never treat pupils less favorably because of their sex, or for any other reason,” she said.

“The school is teaching boys and girls entirely separately, making them walk down separate corridors, and keeping them apart at all times.

“This is discrimination and is wrong. It places these boys and girls at a disadvantage for life beyond the classroom and the workplace, and fails to prepare them for life in modern Britain.

“This case involves issues of real public interest, and has significant implications for gender equality, Ofsted, government, and the wider education sector. We will be considering the ruling carefully to understand how this will affect future inspections.”

A number of schools may now have to stop segregating pupils, or split into single sex schools.

Dutch Far-Right Party for Freedom Tops Polls as Europe’s ‘Populists’ Gain Momentum

    Dutch far-right Party for Freedom (PVV) leader Geert Wilders © Laszlo Balogh / Reuters

The far-right Dutch anti-immigration Party for Freedom, led by Geert Wilders, would become the largest party in the parliament and beat the prime minister’s ruling conservative liberals if elections were held today, according to a new poll data.

The Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) would win 33 seats in the 150-seat lower chamber of the Dutch parliament if elections were held today, according to Maurice de Hond, the Netherlands’ most reputed pollster.

In that case, Wilders would become the Netherlands’ next prime minister as chairman of the biggest parliamentary party, according to the PJ Media news outlet. Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s People's Party for Freedom and Democracy would finish second, securing 25 seats.

The far-right party has 15 seats in the current parliament, having gained about 10 percent of the vote at the 2012 general election. The next election will take place in March 2017, leaving many to believe Wilders will triumph amid growing frustration with the Netherlands’ center-right coalition.

Notably, electoral support for the PVV has not changed dramatically over the past few months. In August, Maurice de Hond predicted the party would have the same 33 seats, down from the February prediction of 42 seats, according to Dutch News. Despite trailing in polls at that time, Wilders’ party remained the country’s biggest with 22 percent of voters backing it.

The PVV appears to be gaining ground despite the ongoing court trial against Wilders, who was charged with inciting hatred and discrimination against the Dutch Moroccan community.

The charges were brought after the controversial far-right leader led a chant for fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands at a rally last year. State prosecutors insist Wilders engaged in hate speech when he asked supporters if they wanted “fewer or more Moroccans” in the Netherlands. After supporters chanted back “fewer,” he replied: “We'll take care of it.”

In a televised statement on the last day of the trial, Wilders denied inciting racial hatred and added that if he was convicted, “millions of Dutch citizens will be convicted with me.”

Wilders described his party as part of a growing anti-establishment right-wing movement that encouraged the Britons to vote for Brexit and American white blue-collar voters to support Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election.

Some of his previous statements appeared to be quite inflammatory, and critics argue that his one-page electoral program he made public in August contains unrealistic promises. Titled, ‘The Netherlands is ours again’, Wilders’ manifesto called for the closure of all mosques and Islamic schools, a ban on the Koran, and “no more immigrants from Islamic countries.”

Wilders’ surge in popularity comes amid reports on European far-right gaining momentum throughout the past year. In France, pollsters say there could be the possibility that Marine Le Pen, the outspoken leader of the National Front, could be elected president next year. However, her center-right adversary, ‘Thatcherite’ Francois Fillon, who recently won the Republican nomination, will be a near-peer opponent.

In Austria, Norbert Hofer of the right-wing anti-Muslim party FPO could be elected president on December 4, an event that would send shockwaves across Europe and boost like-minded parties in the continent. The latest poll by Statista.de gives Hofer 49 percent of the vote, compared to 51 percent given to his sole opponent, Alexander van der Bellen of the Green Party.

Le Pen claims that what Europeans are desperate for the ‘Trump effect’, that is, the mistrust of established political elites and fear of mass immigration. Critics say the far-right are exploiting a populist agenda and capitalizing on primitive sentiments.

Speaking to RT on Tuesday, Ami Horowitz, a US political commentator, said Trump, Le Pen or Wilders are “certainly not a majority,” but “they are driven by certain trends similar both in the United States and Europe … the fact that mainstream politics and mainstream media are simply not trying to find answers to the demands that people across the world have today.” 

“And people are sick and tired of not being represented by the mainstream politics, and I think that people simply want solutions to the vexing problems we have in the world today, whether it be economic stagnation or spectacular immigration problems.”

Muslims Showered with Love and Affection from Gay Community - Astonishing!

Gay, Liberal MP Rob Oliphant condemns “with love”

the Orlando massacre

Oliphant read on June 13, 2016 the following statement in Parliament:

“Mr. Speaker, just two weeks ago, we raised the pride flag on Parliament Hill. I saw this as the joyful end of a long human rights journey.

“Yesterday, this dream was shattered when 49 gay people were killed in a shooting at a gay club in Orlando.

“My first thoughts turned to the victims. A night of community, solidarity, and simple pleasures in a place that was meant to be safe ended in a horrible bloodbath. There are no words to describe my feelings of sadness, grief, and anger.

“My second thoughts were to the Muslim community, again at risk. I am proud to represent tens of thousands of faithful, peaceful, and law-abiding Muslims, who were equally saddened and horrified by this act of terror and homophobia.

“Today, we must stand together against violence and terror and trust each other as we combat evil and build peace.”

Astonishing!

This statement is both naive and mystifying! Oliphant doesn't blame Islam in the least for Orlando even though the Quran, highly regarded Imams and scholars, and some Islamic schools (see below) teach that homosexuality is punishable by death, even stoning or immolation. The killing of homosexuals is practiced in more than one Muslim country. It is not a teaching of just radicals and jihadists, it is Sharia!

The statement is mystifying because if a Christian refused to bake a cake for a gay couple, all Hell would break loose. But a Muslim murders 50 gays and injures 53 more, and they are showered with love and affection. 

Does that make any sense to you?

Textbooks Taught at Some Canadian Islamic Schools:

Homosexuality is Punishable by Death

Jonathan D. Halevi  CIJ News



CIJnews has learned that some Islamic private schools in Canada use textbooks produced by the Saudi Ministry of Education.

Textbooks obtained by CIJnews contain chapters dealing with the wisdom of the capital punishments in Islam in cases of major sins.

In two textbooks for the school year 2014 and 2015-16, homosexuality is depicted as a “major sin” and as “one of the most heinous sins” punishable by death for both partners to the sexual act. The punishment is similar to that inflicted on the people of Lut, meaning by stoning and/or by fire.

Homosexuality is prohibited, one of the textbooks explains, because this behavior interferes with the natural state of human beings and spreads moral corruption and diseases like HIV.

The textbook suggests that early marriage and executing the fixed punishments on homosexuals can protect the society from homosexuality.

The textbook also teaches that adultery is punishable in case a married man/ woman are involved by stoning to death, and theft in certain conditions and terrorizing people by chopping off limbs.

Canadian Imams and Islamic literature sold/ distributed for free in Canada provide a context to understanding the position of Islam regarding homosexuality.