France: Muslim Mob Rule, Police Attacked Doing Burka Check, Attackers Released Without Charge

From Islam versus Europe:

There have been a few attacks on police in France and Belgium while they were conducting burka checks. But this is the first time the state has taken the side of the attackers. With a 40% Muslim demographic in Marseilles and 93% of Muslims voting Socialist, the police can expect a lot more betrayal from Socialist politicians, including the new Hollande government.

In the restive port city of Marseille, police fear that the release of four people arrested for allegedly attacking officers during an ID check on a woman wearing an Islamic veil will undermine their fight against violent crime in the city.

By FRANCE 24 (text)

Marseille police say three of its officers were injured in the early hours of July 25 when a mob of some 50 people tried to prevent them from checking the identity of a woman who was wearing a full Islamic veil.

Under a controversial law passed in 2010, wearing a full veil or covering one’s face in a public place is illegal in France and offenders must submit to ID checks.

According to the police, the woman was stopped just after midnight near a city mosque and refused to cooperate with the officers.

A man accompanying her as well as a large group of bystanders came to her aid and three officers were “lightly injured” in a scuffle.

After police reinforcements arrived, four people, including the 18-year-old woman named only as “Louise-Marie”, were arrested for allegedly assaulting the officers – but were promptly released with a warning on the orders of the city prosecutor.

According to an AFP source, the decision was “a gesture of appeasement during the holy [Islamic] month of Ramadan.”

‘Astonished’

“What kind of message does this send out?” asked David-Olivier Reverdy, head of the Alliance police union. “We are absolutely astonished.”

He told FRANCE 24 the prosecutor’s decision would have “heavy consequences” in a city where “gun crime and ultra-violence is common” and where relations between city residents and local law enforcement are “particularly tense”.

“The prosecutor has given carte blanche to criminals in Marseille,” he said. “The message is that they can behave with impunity. It is extremely worrying.”

FRANCE 24 contacted the Marseille prosecutor but he was unavailable to comment when this article was published.

Marseille has a long history of criminality associated with its status as a port city.

Particularly worrying for law enforcement authorities has been the proliferation of firearms which has given Marseille the dubious distinction of being the Kalashnikov capital of France.

The police have been fighting back, and in the first five months of 2012 seized 261 firearms in the city, compared to a total of 309 for the whole of 2011.

Reverdy said the efforts had reduced the number of armed robberies in the city by 25% - a reduction of around 100 in the first half of 2012.

‘The law of the Republic’

He told FRANCE 24 that he and his fellow officer believed leniency after an alleged attack on policemen risked undermining recent progress.

“It is the law of the Republic [that ID checks are made on people wearing veils] and whether we like it or not we have to be seen to be enforcing it,” he said.

Reverdy’s feelings were backed up by Marseille’s deputy mayor Nora Présozi.

“If we want to avoid an explosive situation the police must be allowed to apply the law,” she told weekly news magazine Le Point. “Every citizen is obliged to submit to identity checks when required, as was the case in this disgraceful incident.”

The 2010 law, which came into effect in April 2011, bans the wearing of any garment that prevents easy identification of an individual by police in a public place.

As well as ski masks and balaclavas, the law also applies to Islamic “niqab” and “burka” veils.

Refusal to remove veils in public or to comply with ID checks is punishable by a 150 euro fine, while people who force others to cover their faces in public face fines of 30,000 euros and a year in prison.

Source: France24

See here for more detail on this story.

UAE: Police Insisted he "Remove his Niqab... Greeted with a Long Beard," Another 'Burka Bandit' Nabbed

Similar incidents have happened all over the world. For example; in Australia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Terrorist also use this as a way to elude the authorities (e.g. here). This time it's the United Arab Emirates.

From Gulf News:

Dubai A man has been accused of cross-dressing after police said they found him walking like a man while wearing an abaya and a niqab in a street.

Police said the 35-year-old Frenchman said he dressed in the abaya to steal jewellery and sell it to repay a €1 million (Dh4.6 million) debt he had accumulated in Paris.

Police suspected 35-year-old K.K., when they saw him walking in the street, and they arrested him when they realised he maybe a man despite being covered from top to bottom.

Prosecutors charged K.K. with cross-dressing by wearing women’s clothing, covering his hands with black gloves and carrying a female purse.

He was also accused of using a different name during a police investigation, by claiming he was an Algerian named A.J.

When the suspect appeared at Dubai Misdemeanour Court, he could not admit or deny the accusations as there was no French language translator.

“I don’t understand English, I only speak French,” K.K. told Presiding Judge Ali Saad.

The policemen who found the man said nothing was revealed from his body except his eyes. 

Walk like a man

One of the arresting police officers called K.K. and asked him to stop when he noticed that he walked like a man. The suspect did not reply and continued walking into a shop. The policemen followed him inside. When one of them tried to speak to him, K.K. tried to soften his voice and spoke like a woman.

The two policemen insisted he was a man and asked him to remove his niqab. They were greeted with a long beard.

Police searched his purse and confiscated a toy gun, knife and plastic tape in his possession.

During prosecution questioning, K.K. claimed he was a merchant but had suffered major financial loss and accumulated €1 million in debt in Paris.

“I could not repay my debts. I decided to visit Dubai and steal diamonds then sell it to be able to cover my debts. I took my wife’s abaya and niqab then came here. I came here on May 30 and I got arrested on June 1. I purchased the confiscated items from Mall of the Emirates. I stood in front of the shop that I was planning to rob before the policemen suspected me. My debt is what urged me to do this… I dressed up like a woman to steal,” claimed K.K.

The court reconvenes on July 2.

"Moderate Indonesia": Aceh to Ban Sales of Tight Clothing

As the article notes, under Aceh’s Islamic law, the sale of alcohol is already banned across the province and gamblers are punished by caning. There is also talk of bringing back stoning. No doubt, these stonings to death will be moderate stonings using moderate stones and carried out by peace-loving moderate Muslims (note: 42%  [tiny minority?] of "moderate" Indonesian Muslims are in favor of stoning adulterers to death).

From The Jakarta Globe:

Shariah police officer lectures women who were reprimanded for wearing
tight jeans, during a Shariah law raid in Banda Aceh on Thursday. 

Shops in Indonesia’s Aceh province, where Islamic law is in force, will soon be banned from selling tight-fitting clothes, an official said on Thursday.

The announcement was made after religious police in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, stopped and reprimanded more than 50 women and three men for violating the Islamic dress code, including wearing tight clothing and shorts.

Samsuddin, the head of enforcement at the agency overseeing compliance with Islamic law in Aceh, said his office would issue a circular banning shops from selling body-hugging fashion items.

“We will soon send letters to shop owners,” Samsuddin said. “The newly elected governor very much supports the enforcement of Islamic law.” Zaini Abdullah is due to be sworn in as Aceh’s new governor on June 26 after winning an election in April.

Shariah police in Aceh regularly carry out patrols to enforce the rule of Islamic modesty and a ban on unseemly contact between unmarried couples.

Officers recorded the personal details of those behaving in an unseemly manner, lectured them, and told them they could be detained or lashed if they were caught again.

Samsuddin said his officers had netted 300 women who violated the Islamic dress code in the past two months.

Munway, one of the three men stopped for wearing shorts in Thursday’s operation, pleaded for leniency.

“I’m a construction worker and I’m laying bricks,” he told a woman officer who asked him to show his identity card. “I’m outside because I’m going to buy some paint.” Munawar said he agreed with Islamic law but men should not be arrested for wearing shorts.

Under Aceh’s Islamic law, the sale of alcohol is banned across the province and gamblers are punished by caning.

The law was imposed in 2001 as part of special autonomy granted by the central government to pacify a clamor for independence in the province on the northern tip of Sumatra.

The separatist conflict killed an estimated 15,000 people, mostly civilians, before it ended with the signing of a peace pact between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in 2005.

"Moderate Indonesia": City to Force All Muslim Women to Observe Hijab

These so-called "moderate" Islamic countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Turkey have already started "turning back the clock" by legalizing pedophilic Muslim marriages and other such Islamic quirks. Give it a few more years and these nations will most likely be indistinguishable from Saudi Arabia.

From Straits Times:

The Tasikmalaya City Council will soon pass a regulation that will require all Muslim women, including visitors to the West Java city, to wear headscarves.

The regulation, which is currently being drafted by the local administration, will enact the Bylaw on Community Values Based on Muslim Teachings that was passed in 2009.

Tasikmalaya city secretary Tio Indra Setiadi said on Monday that preparations for the regulation would be finished soon.

'Hopefully, preparations for the enactment of the new bylaw will be completed this month,' Mr Tio said.

Muslim Insanity: Launch of New Middle-Eastern TV Channel Run Solely by Veiled Women

From Middle East Online:

The administration arm of ‘Alummah’ channel is getting ready for the launch of "Maria" satellite channel in the Arab region. Its pilot broadcasts will start towards the end of this month, where all the staff including the broadcasters will be veiled women. No men or non-veiled women will be employed says Sheikha Safaa , the manager of the channel.

Even though these employment plans might be considered sexist, Sheikha Safaa seems to think otherwise. She has made it quite clear that the objectives of launching this channel is to offer veiled women the chance to appear on the screens and to empower other veiled women by activating their roles. She claims veiled women suffer marginalization.

Sheikha Safaa explained that the staff of the satellite channel will be all women, and men are not going to interfere in its general policies or programs quality. Even the owner of the channel will have only a consultative role based on his experience and skills in the field of media, she said.

“The affairs of the channel will be handled by the sisters who will be running the television channel, since women are more qualified to address and talk about their own needs”. She added Sheikh Abu Islam Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah, the owner of the "Al Ummah" channel and the new “Maria” Channel, said in a statement that "God willing, the channel will employ Muslim women graduates of various departments of media collages and institutions. This project aims at protecting women from temptations by finding them suitable work opportunities ."

Sheikh Abdullah explained: “We plan on hiring all our staff of veiled women and finish that within three months. We have already hired women, filming professionals from other television channels to train our all women team on production, filming, and other skills. But for the technical skills we have to rely on men because we were not able to find skilled women in this field yet”.

Abu Islam confirmed that the pilot will start with a broadcast of 6 hours through ‘Al Ummah’ channel, until the time of actual broadcast. He also made it clear that this channel will not host guests who are men or unveiled women, but telephone interventions from both will be permitted.

He predicted that "Maria" Channel will attract high viewership and advertising revenues that will cover the running cost of the channel" he said.

He explained that "Maria" Channel will broadcast all that matters to women, including economy, politics, literature, morality and religion, and he noted that they will begin airing next month.

Muslim Insanity: Moroccan Woman Beaten, Stoned and Striped By Pious Muslims... Over Revealing Dress

What is it with devout Muslims and stripping people naked in public? This was the case with Ahmadis in "Moderate" Indonesia who were stripped naked and beaten to death. This was also the case with a Christian woman in Pakistan who was harassed, beaten and stripped in front of her son. And there are countless other reports that I have read over the years which follow a similar pattern.

Now in Morocco, a women is ironically stripped naked in public because she wore "too little" to begin with. What next? Will they punish child rape victims by raping them again? Well, I suppose some may consider that an improvement over stoning them to death.

From the International Business Times:

A Moroccan woman was reportedly stripped off her cloths in broad daylight after an ultra-conservative Islamist sect deemed her attire to be "too revealing" and not in line with religious code of conduct in the country.

The young woman, whose name and age remains undisclosed, was said to have been beaten and stoned for wearing a "short dress" at a market place in the city of Rabat, reported North African news website Magharebia. It was not known when the incident had happened.

The assault was reportedly carried out by Salafists, an extremist group who in recent years are believed to have a link with Al-Qaeda. The attack reportedly came on the heels of an announcement made by Quran reciter Abu Zeid, who called for a particular day to be consigned to "chastity and modesty", the report said.

The incident fuelled outrage among several human support organizations, especially women's right groups, who condemned the attack and brought to light the deficit in women's freedom in the country. Many Moroccans even took to Facebook to decry the assault and necessitate the increased protection of personal liberties, the publication said.

"Though this incident appeared in the media and gained wider attention, that does not mean it is not repeated on an almost regular or semi-daily basis in all the alleys and streets of our cities," activist journalist Nora Al-Fuari from the Al-Sabah daily said, according to the report.

"It may not end in stripping the girl off her clothing, but the verbal and physical harassment that women may experience is sometimes more heinous and horrible".

The incident also drew Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane's attention. Benkirane reportedly said, "Individual liberties are sacred and are not to be touched".

Prior to becoming prime minister, Benkirane had said in statement that he "will never ask if a woman is wearing a short skirt or a long skirt."

Baghdad-based rights organization Beit Al-Hikma cited "a government headed by an Islamic party" as perpetuators of the attack, and that the incident "would block the move towards democracy, freedoms and the rule of law".

With over 98 percent of the population being Muslims, Morocco imposes idealistic concepts of Islam on its women population. These women, however, enjoy far more rights compared to women in other Muslim-dominated countries, and hold positions in several jobs strictly designated for men, according to the Professional Women's Network.

"Moderate Indonesia": Sixty-Two Young Women Detained in Police Raid because Hijabs too Tight

Note that the women mentioned were actually wearing head coverings, and so were observing some form of Islamic hijab (not to be confused with the article of clothing of the same name). But this, apparently, is not oppressive enough for "moderate" Indonesia.

From The Jakarta Post:

Sixty-two young women were detained in a raid for wearing tight clothing in Wilayatul Hisbah, Bireuen, Aceh on Tuesday evening.

Four of the 62 women detained are sales promotion girls who were promoting cigarettes near the area, and were wearing tight black pants, white tops and red jilbab (veils).

Most of the women who passed along Jl. Meuligoe were sent to the Meuligoe regent, while the four promotion models were sent to the Islamic Shari’a office to receive instructions before being freed.

“They violated the 2002 Qanun No. 11 on the implementation of Islamic and worship symbols, which touched upon Islamic wear,” said Tgk M Daud, investigator and Islamic law department head, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

The commander of Wilayatul Hisbah, Usman Kelana, said he will conduct raids more frequently to minimize the number women wearing tight clothes.

“We hope the people and parents to prohibit their children from wearing tight clothing,” Kelana said.

Islamic Hijabs, Nun's Habits and the Hijab Paradox

Muslims and their apologists often attempt to compare the Islamic observance of hijab with the wearing of  the religious habit by Catholic nuns. This comparison is fundamentally flawed and is one of many fallacious tu quoque arguments utilized in defense of Islam. But before we delve into the specifics,  it is important to clarify what an Islamic "hijab" actually is. Many people seem to confuse the hijab, an item of clothing, with the observance of hijab:

Hijab Definition

The majority of female Muslims worldwide, following the Islamic requirement of observing Hijab, wear some form of Islamic dress. This ranges anywhere from wearing a simple head covering, to the burqa (a form of "full hijab"), which covers almost all exposed skin.

Full hijab can consist of the following elements:

*Jilbāb; this refers to any long and loose-fitting coat or garment worn by a women.

*Khimar; a scarf or wrap, often referred to simply as 'hijab', used to cover the head and neck.

*Niqāb; a piece of cloth which veils the face.

Some Muslim jurists regard the wearing of a niqab as wajib (mandatory), while others believe it is mustahab (favored by Allah).

Problems

The comparison made between the hijab and habit has many faults, including: 

• It is a logical fallacy known as a false equivalence. Unlike the compulsory observance of Hijab for practicing Muslim women, practicing Christian women are not required to wear a nun's habit. Naturally, only nuns are.  
• By becoming nuns, this tiny percentage of Christian women are choosing with their own freewill to wear the habit. On the other hand, Muslim women are compelled by their religion to observe some form of hijab.
• If she ever were to remove her head covering, unlike Muslim women (even in America), a nun does not run the risk of being intimidated, ostracized or honor killed by her co-religionists.
• If you will use possibly the most religious women among Christians in this comparison, you will have to do likewise for Muslim women, i.e. those who wear the full hijab. Full hijab is a lot more restrictive than a nun's habit, covering everything but the eyes (in some cases, even the eyes are not spared).
• Just like a priest or monk, a nun has the choice to not wear the habit. She can always leave and still remain an observant Christian. Conversely, a Muslim women cannot “burn” her hijab (remove all head or facial coverings) and remain an observant Muslim.
• Quoting Bible passages to claim Christian women have to cover their heads is pointless. Religious texts can be interpreted in an infinite amount of ways. What matters is how mainstream Christianity and Islam view the issue.

The Hijab Paradox

Almost all apologists will at the least concede that the mild form of hijab (the head covering alone) is compulsory. But If you were to use any of the above and challenge a Muslims assertion that the hijab and habit are the same thing, no doubt, they would deny that the hijab is a requirement at all.

This is something that I like to refer to as the “hijab paradox”. Muslim apologists swear blind that the hijab is "only cultural" when critics point out that it is oppressive to women, but then claim it is a religious obligation when non-Muslim governments attempt to ban it. Apparently they want to have one's cake and  (possibly very literally)  eat it too.

Yes, we've all seen overweight Muslimahs protesting that "hijab is their choice", but try telling that to Muhammad and Allah or to women in Muslim countries who are routinely flogged or fined for choosing not to wear it.