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Headline News 31/03/2017
Headlines:
61% of French Adults say Islam is Incompatible with their Society
New study: 60 percent of Muslims in the US Report Religious Discrimination in the Past Year
Former Pakistan Army Chief Set to Take Command of 'Muslim NATO'
Details:
61% of French Adults say Islam is Incompatible with their Society
Sixty one per cent of French people believe Islam is incompatible with their society, according to a new poll. That figure had been falling sharply until the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January 2015, and has been steadily growing ever since, an Ipsos survey found. That is compared with six per cent of people who believe Catholicism is incompatible and 17 per cent who believe Judaism is incompatible. A further 79 per cent of French people supported banning headscarves on university campuses, while another 77 per cent want to see the burkini banned. France already has a nationwide law banning anyone from wearing a full-face veil, while several French Riviera towns attempted to ban full-body 'burkinis' in 2016, but the law was overturned. Ipsos polled 1,000 adults over the internet between March 16 and 17, and published the results on Wednesday last week. The survey shows that French attitudes toward religion are highly conservative, with 90 per cent believing that secularism is vital to the Republic. Three quarter of those surveyed also thought there was too much discussion of religion in politics, and 72 per cent felt politicians should not openly display their religious affiliations. While just 39 per cent of people believe Islam is compatible with French society, that number is significantly higher than it was in 2013, when just 26 per cent of people agreed with the statement.The number peaked at 47 per cent in January 2015, around the time of the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and has been steadily falling since, according to Ipsos. [Source: Daily Mail]
What the poll clearly establishes is that French secularism does not tolerate religion, especially Islam. Secularism is unfit to lead mankind and claims of its universality are misplaced.
New study: 60 percent of Muslims in the US Report Religious Discrimination in the Past Year
Muslims living in the United States have often found themselves at the center of national debate. But their voices are seldom heard. A new study from the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, a social science research institute, finally offers the public an accurate depiction of Muslim life in Trump's America. The study, released on Tuesday, found that a total of 60% of Muslims living in the U.S. have experienced some form of religious discrimination in 2016. The study also found that Muslim women (68%) are more likely than Muslim men (55%) to report religious discrimination in the last year. In addition, the report found Muslims are more than twice as likely as Jewish, Catholics and Protestants to be stopped at the U.S. border for additional screening. ISPU's study also found that Muslims expressed fear that the result of the 2016 presidential elections emboldened white extremists: About 38% of Muslims expressed fear over their family's and own personal safety from white supremacist groups. And the discrimination and violence trickles into the playground and classroom, as well. According to the study, about 42% of Muslims with children reportedly religiously-motivated bullying. One in four of these bullying incidents reportedly came from a teacher or school official.Dalia Mogahed, director of research at ISPU, said what she found most surprising about the findings of the study is "the level of trauma" Muslims are enduring as a result of Trump's presidential win and his election campaign. "What I find the most surprising is the level of trauma the Muslim American community is feeling is in result of the 2016 elections," Mogahed said. "I was surprised by how many people were feeling that their own personal safety were being threatened by white supremacists." The fear is understandable. The political and social realities surrounding the lives of Muslim Americans is front and center, on the heels of an intense legal battle over President Donald Trump's Muslim ban, as well as, a recent TSA ban on electronic devices larger than cell phones on ten airline carriers from eight Muslim-majority countries. In February, the U.S. Customs Border Protection agency discriminated against Muslim and "Muslim-sounding" travelers by revoking their global entry cards without explanation. The Trump administration has also invited anti-Muslim activists, some of which the Southern Poverty Law Center labeled as members of hate groups, into the White House for policy briefings and meetings. Beyond the political environment — Islamophobic attacks are the highest they have been since 9/11. Since the beginning of the election cycle, the country has seen an exponential spike in anti-Muslim hate crimes. Six days after election night, the FBI announced that it recorded a 67% increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes in 2015. Just a month ago we saw a string of arson attacks on mosques and death threats sent to Islamic community centers across the country. [Source: AOL News]
American secularism fairs no better than European secularism, and Muslims should ask deep questions about the viability of secularism elsewhere in the world.
Former Pakistan Army Chief Set to Take Command of 'Muslim NATO'
Pakistan’s former army chief, Raheel Sharif, is set to become the first commander of a new Saudi-led counterterrorism coalition of mostly Sunni Islamic states, a move frustrating neighboring Shi'ite Iran in addition to prevailing domestic opposition and criticism. Sharif is likely to travel to Saudi Arabia as early as next month to take charge of what commentators increasingly refer to as the “Muslim NATO”, according to Pakistani officials and close aides. They said that “putting in place the military structure” of the proposed 39-nation Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT), which will be headquartered in Riyadh, is among Sharif’s initial tasks. The general, who retired last November, is credited for undertaking an effective military crackdown against Pakistani Taliban and other militants in Pakistan during his three-year tenure as the chief of the powerful military. The counterterrorism operations led to a significant decline in militant violence in the country. An “arrangement" between the two governments has resulted in Sharif’s appointment and granting permission for him to become the first commander-in-chief of the alliance, said Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif while defending the decision. “After having received a written request from them [Saudi Arabia], we conveyed our consent to them in writing,” Asif told local Geo TV. But leaders of the minority Shi'ite community, political parties and observers in Pakistan have criticized the government, as well as Sharif for accepting the assignment, fearing it would fuel domestic sectarian rivalries and undermine the credibility as well as national goodwill he earned. Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Mehdi Hunar Dost, said this week his government has repeatedly conveyed its concerns to Pakistani leaders over their decision to participate in the Saudi-led military coalition. He cautioned the move could hurt bilateral relations, which are already shaky over allegations anti-Iran Sunni militants use Pakistani soil for attacks on the Iranian side. Iran and Pakistan share a nearly 1,000-kilometer border. [Source: Voice of America]
The West has finally succeeded in establishing a Muslim intervention force to suppress the global Islamic revival and to fights wars to protect Western interests.