DePaul buys into growth of Islamic banking
Classes are teaching financing methods that conform to holy laws as field expands into a global industry
By Deborah Horan
Amir Davoodi had read about the meteoric rise of Islamic banking, but the senior finance major at DePaul University didn't realize how intrigued he would become with the idea of mixing Islam and market finance until he took a course on the subject last fall.
Now Davoodi has accepted an internship with a local Islamic real estate company, Sunrise Equities, and might pursue the banking niche after graduation.
"Right now it's booming," Davoodi said. "They're saying there's a market out there for it. I know I can learn a lot and it will help with my career."
Driven by rising oil prices and an increasing desire by Middle Eastern and Asian investors to keep their cash in the region, Islamic finance has boomed into a $500 billion to $600 billion global industry, experts in the field said.
The growth prompted DePaul last fall to join a tiny vanguard of U.S. colleges offering classes or lectures on the subject. On Thursday, the university will sponsor a conference on Islamic banking methods including home financing, private equity, bonds, even derivatives and hedge funds.
"There is a significant demand clicking up for people who understand the field and can design products that are Islamic and can answer the needs of the community," said Ali Fatemi, chair of DePaul's finance department, who was instrumental in bringing the Islamic banking course to campus.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) DePaul buys into growth of Islamic banking
Showing posts with label educational jihad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label educational jihad. Show all posts
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Sunday, July 29, 2007
DAR AL HARB - ITALY: THE WHITE WASH OF 1400 YRS OF JIHAD CONTINUESIN EURABIA
Venice celebrates historic links with Islam
"If we can show that Venice had a relationship with the Middle East that was also positive, it's a good message"
Venice, 27 July (AKI) - For a thousand years Venice had a unique trading relationship with the great Muslim dynasties who shared their magnificent art and culture in a way that still defines the city today.
From the sumptuous silks, ceramics, carpets and gemstones sold by oriental traders to the Moorish architecture reflected in its elegant palaces and famous Basilica San Marco, the city has incorporated Islamic influences like few other cities in Italy.
Now Venice is celebrating its centuries-old relationship with the Islamic world in a vast exhibition which opens on 28 July.
"We wanted to tell the story of the close relationship Venice had with Islam," said Stefano Carboni, one of the curators, told Adnkronos.
"We had enough works of art to show that this was more than a commercial and diplomatic relationship, it was also cultural. It was a story we could tell visually."
The exhibition which has already been staged in Paris and New York displays more than 200 exhibits and has found an ideal venue in the historic Doge's Palace, once the centre of power in the Venetian Republic.
Among the exhibits are paintings, glassware, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, books and prints – some from prestigious Venetian collections and prominent museums in Europe and America.
The show is the result of a collaboration between the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Musei Civici Veneziani. But Carboni said the curators had sourced items from 65 different institutions - 70 per cent of which were in Venice.
"This really required a really big effort, it was very complicated," he said. "It was a huge diplomatic and logistical exercise."
The exhibition charts the passionate and often complex relationship between Venice and the Muslim world, from the the Byzantine period in the 9th century through to the Ottoman Empire which dominated the near east during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The only European power to have a permanent envoy in the near east, Venice flourished as a maritime empire largely because of its ability to maintain relations with the other side of the Mediterranean.
"Venice was pushed by the Vatican to join the crusades, but always had a pragmatic approach," Carboni said. "The doges were always trying to mediate between the church and its Islamic neighbors."
Capable of understanding and appreciating its achievements in the world of science and philosophy, the city also showed itself capable of establishing relations with the great Muslim dynasties of the Ayyubids, the Mamelukes and the Ottomans.
The exhibition features masterpieces of Venetian painting from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century – works by artists as Bellini, Carpaccio, Veronese and Tiepolo – as well as drawings, miniatures and extremely rare works of cartography.
One of the most famous is a portrait of Sultan Maometto II (shown in the catalogue cover - see photo) painted in 1480 by Gentile Bellini who travelled to the Ottoman court in Constantinople.
"This is the only painting that we have from that period," Carboni said. "There was no tradition of portraits in the east. This gave birth to a fashion of portraiture which lasted for a couple of generations."
Illustrating how interaction between the two cultures affected the development of artistic languages within them, the material illustrates a continuous exchange of knowledge and technical know-how between artists, craftsmen, merchants and entrepreneurs.
Carboni said the exhibition was particularly timely since there is so much misunderstanding in the world between east and west.
"If we can show that Venice had a relationship with the Middle East that was also positive, it's a good message."
"It is a small step but I hope it will leave some mark," he added.
More than 420,000 people saw the exhibition in Paris and New York and thousands are expected to see it in Venice before it closes in November.
Pertinent Links:
1) Venice celebrates historic links with Islam
"If we can show that Venice had a relationship with the Middle East that was also positive, it's a good message"
Venice, 27 July (AKI) - For a thousand years Venice had a unique trading relationship with the great Muslim dynasties who shared their magnificent art and culture in a way that still defines the city today.
From the sumptuous silks, ceramics, carpets and gemstones sold by oriental traders to the Moorish architecture reflected in its elegant palaces and famous Basilica San Marco, the city has incorporated Islamic influences like few other cities in Italy.
Now Venice is celebrating its centuries-old relationship with the Islamic world in a vast exhibition which opens on 28 July.
"We wanted to tell the story of the close relationship Venice had with Islam," said Stefano Carboni, one of the curators, told Adnkronos.
"We had enough works of art to show that this was more than a commercial and diplomatic relationship, it was also cultural. It was a story we could tell visually."
The exhibition which has already been staged in Paris and New York displays more than 200 exhibits and has found an ideal venue in the historic Doge's Palace, once the centre of power in the Venetian Republic.
Among the exhibits are paintings, glassware, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, books and prints – some from prestigious Venetian collections and prominent museums in Europe and America.
The show is the result of a collaboration between the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Musei Civici Veneziani. But Carboni said the curators had sourced items from 65 different institutions - 70 per cent of which were in Venice.
"This really required a really big effort, it was very complicated," he said. "It was a huge diplomatic and logistical exercise."
The exhibition charts the passionate and often complex relationship between Venice and the Muslim world, from the the Byzantine period in the 9th century through to the Ottoman Empire which dominated the near east during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The only European power to have a permanent envoy in the near east, Venice flourished as a maritime empire largely because of its ability to maintain relations with the other side of the Mediterranean.
"Venice was pushed by the Vatican to join the crusades, but always had a pragmatic approach," Carboni said. "The doges were always trying to mediate between the church and its Islamic neighbors."
Capable of understanding and appreciating its achievements in the world of science and philosophy, the city also showed itself capable of establishing relations with the great Muslim dynasties of the Ayyubids, the Mamelukes and the Ottomans.
The exhibition features masterpieces of Venetian painting from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century – works by artists as Bellini, Carpaccio, Veronese and Tiepolo – as well as drawings, miniatures and extremely rare works of cartography.
One of the most famous is a portrait of Sultan Maometto II (shown in the catalogue cover - see photo) painted in 1480 by Gentile Bellini who travelled to the Ottoman court in Constantinople.
"This is the only painting that we have from that period," Carboni said. "There was no tradition of portraits in the east. This gave birth to a fashion of portraiture which lasted for a couple of generations."
Illustrating how interaction between the two cultures affected the development of artistic languages within them, the material illustrates a continuous exchange of knowledge and technical know-how between artists, craftsmen, merchants and entrepreneurs.
Carboni said the exhibition was particularly timely since there is so much misunderstanding in the world between east and west.
"If we can show that Venice had a relationship with the Middle East that was also positive, it's a good message."
"It is a small step but I hope it will leave some mark," he added.
More than 420,000 people saw the exhibition in Paris and New York and thousands are expected to see it in Venice before it closes in November.
Pertinent Links:
1) Venice celebrates historic links with Islam
Friday, July 27, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - CALIFORNIA: SAN DIEGO'S CARVER ELEMENTARY IN THE NEWS AGAIN
Previous stories concerning San Diego's Carver Elementary:
[1]
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - CALIFORNIA: U.S. DHIMMI TAXPAYERS FUNDING MADRASSAH'S IN SAN DIEGO
[2]
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - CALIFORNIA: CARVER ELEMENTARY & MOSLEM PRAYERS IN CLASS LEAD BY A TEACHER
[3]
http://americaninfidelthinks.blogspot.com/2007/07/dar-al-harb-usa-mosque-state.html
School Stops Scheduling Class Time For Muslim Prayer
A San Diego school that drew international attention for setting aside time for Muslim students to pray in the classroom will no longer do so, it was reported Friday.
Instead, Carver Elementary's schedule will be reconfigured so students can say their required midday prayers during lunch. Courts have long upheld students' rights to pray on their own during lunch or recess, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
When the new school year begins, Carver will have two lunch periods, including one that will fall when Muslims typically say their midday prayer -- between 1 and 2 p.m., the newspaper reported.
Another controversial element of Carver's educational program geared toward Muslim students -- single-gender classes -- will be eliminated, the Union-Tribune reported.
Superintendent Carl Cohn stressed in a July 18 memo that single-gender education is legal under federal law, but at Carver it "has become a serious distraction from learning rather than a vehicle to promote learning," according to the newspaper.
Carver added the single-gender classes and a daily 15-minute in-class break for voluntary prayers last September after it absorbed a failed Arabic language charter school that served primarily Somali Muslims.
Since a substitute teacher publicly complained about Carver's practices in April, the San Diego Unified School District has been inundated by letters and phone calls from as far away as Europe and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Union-Tribune.
Some alleged that the school was violating the separation of church and state by giving Muslims time to pray. The district maintained that it is legally required to approve students' request for religious accommodation.
Pertinent Links:
1) School Stops Scheduling Class Time For Muslim Prayer
[1]
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - CALIFORNIA: U.S. DHIMMI TAXPAYERS FUNDING MADRASSAH'S IN SAN DIEGO
[2]
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - CALIFORNIA: CARVER ELEMENTARY & MOSLEM PRAYERS IN CLASS LEAD BY A TEACHER
[3]
http://americaninfidelthinks.blogspot.com/2007/07/dar-al-harb-usa-mosque-state.html
School Stops Scheduling Class Time For Muslim Prayer
A San Diego school that drew international attention for setting aside time for Muslim students to pray in the classroom will no longer do so, it was reported Friday.
Instead, Carver Elementary's schedule will be reconfigured so students can say their required midday prayers during lunch. Courts have long upheld students' rights to pray on their own during lunch or recess, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
When the new school year begins, Carver will have two lunch periods, including one that will fall when Muslims typically say their midday prayer -- between 1 and 2 p.m., the newspaper reported.
Another controversial element of Carver's educational program geared toward Muslim students -- single-gender classes -- will be eliminated, the Union-Tribune reported.
Superintendent Carl Cohn stressed in a July 18 memo that single-gender education is legal under federal law, but at Carver it "has become a serious distraction from learning rather than a vehicle to promote learning," according to the newspaper.
Carver added the single-gender classes and a daily 15-minute in-class break for voluntary prayers last September after it absorbed a failed Arabic language charter school that served primarily Somali Muslims.
Since a substitute teacher publicly complained about Carver's practices in April, the San Diego Unified School District has been inundated by letters and phone calls from as far away as Europe and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Union-Tribune.
Some alleged that the school was violating the separation of church and state by giving Muslims time to pray. The district maintained that it is legally required to approve students' request for religious accommodation.
Pertinent Links:
1) School Stops Scheduling Class Time For Muslim Prayer
DAR AL HARB - U.K.: ISLAMIC JIHAD ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES
The United States has its own problems when it comes to the brainwashing of America's students...On Wednesday I posted an excellent article by Stanley Kurtz about how Saudi Arabia is making an end run around protections America's schools have concerning the students curriculums:
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - U.S.A./SAUDI ARABIA: THE SAUDIS' DO AN END RUN AROUND AMERICA'S K-12 EDUCATION SAFE GUARDS
Great Britain is further along in the process but the United States is in serious trouble, read the following article and see what happens when the minds of the young have been brainwashed early on:
Jihad on Campus?
Daniel Johnson
Many Americans I know are dismayed by the British academic boycott of Israel. What, they wonder, lies behind the rise of such attitudes on British campuses? The truth is, however, we do not know the half of it. A case that has just ended at the Old Bailey criminal court in London—a case that has gone largely unreported—throws light on this dark corner of university life.
This morning, the BBC’s flagship radio news program, Today, reported on the case. It involves a schoolboy and four Muslim students at Bradford University who have been convicted of “possessing articles for terrorism”—in other words, downloading jihadist material from the Internet. The only reason this particular group came to light was that a 17-year-old member, who had run away from home, told his parents about the group’s activities. The parents decided to tell the police, who arrested the other group members.
It is, to say the least, unusual in Britain to interview a convicted felon about his crime before he has even been sentenced. Nobody explained why the authorities had permitted an exception in this case, but the Today program gave its prime breakfast time slot at 8:10 a.m. to one of the students, in order that he might explain why the jury had been wrong to convict him. The student was handled very gently by the interviewer, a Muslim woman, who seemed to assume that he was just a kid who had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd. The interviewer did not challenge the student’s claim that he had not actually seen or read the violent material, including terrorism manuals, found on his computer. Unfortunately for the BBC, the young man did not quite follow its script: he insisted that he still believed he had a duty to fight those who “invaded Muslim lands.”
Today then brought in David Livingstone, who had been an expert witness in the trial, and who works for Chatham House—yes, the place where the famous “Chatham House rules” for conferences was invented. Chatham House is also the more sinister source of the Arabist “Chatham House version” of Middle East history, which was dissected many years ago by the great scholar Elie Kedourie, but which is still as influential as ever in the western academy.
It took Professor Anthony Glees to introduce some sanity into the proceedings. Professor Glees is the only person who has taken the Islamist radicalization of the British campus with the seriousness that it deserves. In a series of reports, Glees has forced the government and the media to take some notice of the threat that such radicalization poses.
Regarding the case involving the Bradford University students, Glees thanked the jury for its courage, and welcomed the deterrent effect that the guilty verdict might have. Glees also praised the parents who went to the police, thereby setting an example for other members of the Muslim community, who rarely inform on family or neighbors whom they suspect of terrorist involvement.
Glees also, however, revealed the extent of complacency among the authorities. The Minister for Higher Education, Bill Rammell, has often dismissed Professor Glees’s warnings about Islamist activism on campus. Now, Rammell is sufficiently worried about it to have proposed what Glees described as “modest” guidelines to make academics and administrators more aware of the danger of infiltration by Islamists, some of whom come from abroad specifically to target British universities. According to Glees, the guidelines were rejected unanimously by the academic unions and by Universities U.K., which represents administrators. As things stand, the administrators have no idea how widespread the phenomenon of Islamism on campus is: students are not asked about their views or affiliations before being accepted.
Ultimately, the five Bradford students are unlikely to be unique. It is possible, in fact, that we are witnessing a prelude to a generational radicalization such that we have not witnessed since the 1960’s—and perhaps not even then. Left-wing terrorism of the Baader-Meinhof or Red Brigade variety never enjoyed the popular base that Islamism can now boast, nor did it have the Internet as a tool of propaganda and organization. American universities are still dominated by the coat-and-tie radicals of the 1960’s. How long before the headscarf radicals of the Oughts dominate British campuses?
Melanie Phillips comments on this very subject:
The war within the west (13)
As an example of both the madness that has engulfed Britain and the BBC’s role in disseminating it, the item on BBC Radio Four’s Today programme (0810)this morning discussing whether or not people should be prosecuted for possessing jihadi material was a gem. In a case which has received disturbingly little press coverage today, four Bradford University students and a schoolboy have been convicted of possessing ‘articles for terrorism’ — materials promoting jihad, such as terrorism manuals and videos showing beheadings or promoting suicide bombings, which they had downloaded from the internet. A representative of Chatham House, David Livingstone, who gave evidence for the defence during the trial, was seriously suggesting on Today that such individuals should not have been prosecuted, and that doing so might radicalise other young Muslims still further ‘through a perceived sense of injustice’. There was no evidence that they would have been drawn into terrorism, he said: they were merely five young men who had ‘some sort of unhappiness with the society in which they lived’.
This is not just craven and idiotic appeasement of extremism; it also tacitly suggests that the latent capacity for extremism within the Muslim community is widespread. The fact that many British Muslims are desperate for the authorities to shut off the sources of jihadi recruitment so that their own children don’t get radicalised did not seem to occur to him — even though this particular prosecution was only triggered because the parents of one of those who has been convicted actually went to the police about his activities.
Fortunately, the terrorism expert Professor Anthony Glees was on hand to demolish Livingstone with a few devastating points. As Glees said, the analogy was with downloading child pornography; to say this wasn’t connected with sexual offences against children would be absurd. The fact was, he said, that jihadi ideas were routinely being employed to brainwash young people on campus — and the university authorities and lecturers’ union were scandalously refusing to take even the most elementary action to stop it.
Professor Glees has consistently attempted to point out the Islamist radicalisation on campus and tried (so far with little success) to get the university authorities to address it. However, it was quite clear from this item that the BBC was seeing this whole issue through the prism of David Livingstone. Despite the fact that Livingstone’s position had been rejected by the jury in the trial in which he had given evidence for the defence, the BBC allowed him to make the case — to which Glees was brought in merely to provide a bit of balance. But it wasn’t balanced at all. It wasn’t just that the Today presenter bowled Livingstone soft questions (‘Absolutely right’ he replied to one such sally). His remarks were preceded by an interview with one of the defendants in the case whose many questionable assertions were not properly challenged; and after Glees had responded to Livingstone, the Chatham House man was allowed in turn to respond to Glees’s response, thus having the last word.
Thank heavens for a sensible British jury, which at least had its head screwed on — unlike Chatham House and the BBC.
Pertinent Links:
1) Jihad on Campus?
2) The war within the west (13)
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - U.S.A./SAUDI ARABIA: THE SAUDIS' DO AN END RUN AROUND AMERICA'S K-12 EDUCATION SAFE GUARDS
Great Britain is further along in the process but the United States is in serious trouble, read the following article and see what happens when the minds of the young have been brainwashed early on:
Jihad on Campus?
Daniel Johnson
Many Americans I know are dismayed by the British academic boycott of Israel. What, they wonder, lies behind the rise of such attitudes on British campuses? The truth is, however, we do not know the half of it. A case that has just ended at the Old Bailey criminal court in London—a case that has gone largely unreported—throws light on this dark corner of university life.
This morning, the BBC’s flagship radio news program, Today, reported on the case. It involves a schoolboy and four Muslim students at Bradford University who have been convicted of “possessing articles for terrorism”—in other words, downloading jihadist material from the Internet. The only reason this particular group came to light was that a 17-year-old member, who had run away from home, told his parents about the group’s activities. The parents decided to tell the police, who arrested the other group members.
It is, to say the least, unusual in Britain to interview a convicted felon about his crime before he has even been sentenced. Nobody explained why the authorities had permitted an exception in this case, but the Today program gave its prime breakfast time slot at 8:10 a.m. to one of the students, in order that he might explain why the jury had been wrong to convict him. The student was handled very gently by the interviewer, a Muslim woman, who seemed to assume that he was just a kid who had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd. The interviewer did not challenge the student’s claim that he had not actually seen or read the violent material, including terrorism manuals, found on his computer. Unfortunately for the BBC, the young man did not quite follow its script: he insisted that he still believed he had a duty to fight those who “invaded Muslim lands.”
Today then brought in David Livingstone, who had been an expert witness in the trial, and who works for Chatham House—yes, the place where the famous “Chatham House rules” for conferences was invented. Chatham House is also the more sinister source of the Arabist “Chatham House version” of Middle East history, which was dissected many years ago by the great scholar Elie Kedourie, but which is still as influential as ever in the western academy.
It took Professor Anthony Glees to introduce some sanity into the proceedings. Professor Glees is the only person who has taken the Islamist radicalization of the British campus with the seriousness that it deserves. In a series of reports, Glees has forced the government and the media to take some notice of the threat that such radicalization poses.
Regarding the case involving the Bradford University students, Glees thanked the jury for its courage, and welcomed the deterrent effect that the guilty verdict might have. Glees also praised the parents who went to the police, thereby setting an example for other members of the Muslim community, who rarely inform on family or neighbors whom they suspect of terrorist involvement.
Glees also, however, revealed the extent of complacency among the authorities. The Minister for Higher Education, Bill Rammell, has often dismissed Professor Glees’s warnings about Islamist activism on campus. Now, Rammell is sufficiently worried about it to have proposed what Glees described as “modest” guidelines to make academics and administrators more aware of the danger of infiltration by Islamists, some of whom come from abroad specifically to target British universities. According to Glees, the guidelines were rejected unanimously by the academic unions and by Universities U.K., which represents administrators. As things stand, the administrators have no idea how widespread the phenomenon of Islamism on campus is: students are not asked about their views or affiliations before being accepted.
Ultimately, the five Bradford students are unlikely to be unique. It is possible, in fact, that we are witnessing a prelude to a generational radicalization such that we have not witnessed since the 1960’s—and perhaps not even then. Left-wing terrorism of the Baader-Meinhof or Red Brigade variety never enjoyed the popular base that Islamism can now boast, nor did it have the Internet as a tool of propaganda and organization. American universities are still dominated by the coat-and-tie radicals of the 1960’s. How long before the headscarf radicals of the Oughts dominate British campuses?
Melanie Phillips comments on this very subject:
The war within the west (13)
As an example of both the madness that has engulfed Britain and the BBC’s role in disseminating it, the item on BBC Radio Four’s Today programme (0810)this morning discussing whether or not people should be prosecuted for possessing jihadi material was a gem. In a case which has received disturbingly little press coverage today, four Bradford University students and a schoolboy have been convicted of possessing ‘articles for terrorism’ — materials promoting jihad, such as terrorism manuals and videos showing beheadings or promoting suicide bombings, which they had downloaded from the internet. A representative of Chatham House, David Livingstone, who gave evidence for the defence during the trial, was seriously suggesting on Today that such individuals should not have been prosecuted, and that doing so might radicalise other young Muslims still further ‘through a perceived sense of injustice’. There was no evidence that they would have been drawn into terrorism, he said: they were merely five young men who had ‘some sort of unhappiness with the society in which they lived’.
This is not just craven and idiotic appeasement of extremism; it also tacitly suggests that the latent capacity for extremism within the Muslim community is widespread. The fact that many British Muslims are desperate for the authorities to shut off the sources of jihadi recruitment so that their own children don’t get radicalised did not seem to occur to him — even though this particular prosecution was only triggered because the parents of one of those who has been convicted actually went to the police about his activities.
Fortunately, the terrorism expert Professor Anthony Glees was on hand to demolish Livingstone with a few devastating points. As Glees said, the analogy was with downloading child pornography; to say this wasn’t connected with sexual offences against children would be absurd. The fact was, he said, that jihadi ideas were routinely being employed to brainwash young people on campus — and the university authorities and lecturers’ union were scandalously refusing to take even the most elementary action to stop it.
Professor Glees has consistently attempted to point out the Islamist radicalisation on campus and tried (so far with little success) to get the university authorities to address it. However, it was quite clear from this item that the BBC was seeing this whole issue through the prism of David Livingstone. Despite the fact that Livingstone’s position had been rejected by the jury in the trial in which he had given evidence for the defence, the BBC allowed him to make the case — to which Glees was brought in merely to provide a bit of balance. But it wasn’t balanced at all. It wasn’t just that the Today presenter bowled Livingstone soft questions (‘Absolutely right’ he replied to one such sally). His remarks were preceded by an interview with one of the defendants in the case whose many questionable assertions were not properly challenged; and after Glees had responded to Livingstone, the Chatham House man was allowed in turn to respond to Glees’s response, thus having the last word.
Thank heavens for a sensible British jury, which at least had its head screwed on — unlike Chatham House and the BBC.
Pertinent Links:
1) Jihad on Campus?
2) The war within the west (13)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.K.: CHURCHILL WILL BE WIPED OUT OF CURRICULUMS AS WELL AS HITLER, GANDHI, STALIN & MARTIN LUTHER KING - - - NO FRENCH BUT ARABIC
Two-finger salute
By DAVID WOODING
FURY erupted last night after Sir Winston Churchill was axed from school history lessons.
Britain’s cigar-chomping World War Two PM — famed for his two-finger victory salute — was removed from a list of figures secondary school children must learn about.
Instead they will be taught about “relevant” issues such as global warming and drug dangers. Churchill’s grandson, Tory MP Nicholas Soames, branded the move “total madness.”
The decision to axe Churchill is part of a major shake-up aimed at dragging the national curriculum into the 21st century, it was claimed last night.
But the plan — hatched by advisers — angered schools secretary Ed Balls, who vowed to probe ALL the changes to the curriculum.
The proposals will see traditional timetables torn up, with pupils focusing on modern “relevant” topics such as drug and booze abuse, climate change and GM foods.
Churchill — voted the greatest ever Briton — goes off the required lessons list, along with Hitler, Gandhi, Stalin and Martin Luther King.
There will also be no need to mention the Wars of the Roses, Elizabeth I or Henry VIII.
The move left Mr Balls locked in a row with his curriculum advisers.
He insisted: “Churchill should be taught to all pupils and I shall be taking steps to ensure it is.”
Shadow schools secretary Michael Gove said: “Winston Churchill is the towering figure of 20th-century British history. His fight against fascism was Britain’s finest hour.
“Our national story can’t be told without Churchill at the centre.”
Churchill’s grandson, Tory MP Nicholas Soames, stormed: “It’s total madness. The teaching of history is incredibly important. If people do not seem to care about the country in which they live, the reason is that they don’t know much about it.”
Ministers said the shake-up will free up a quarter of the school day so teachers can focus more on individual pupil needs. All subjects for 11 to 14-year-olds face an overhaul.
ENGLISH: Lessons must focus on reading and writing accurately and speaking clearly. Classic and modern literature will be a must. Recommended authors will include Jane Austen, George Orwell and Alan Bennett. Pupils must study at least one Shakespeare play.
SCIENCE: Touchy issues such as genetic engineering of plants and animals and use of nuclear power are added. Kids will also learn about the effects of drugs such as booze, cigarettes and cannabis, sexual health and infection.
MATHS: Personal finance, such as how to manage a bank account and work out credit card interest will be added to algebra, linear equations and ratios.
HISTORY: Will still focus on major events in Britain, Europe and the world, including both world wars, the Holocaust, and the British Empire. Visits to museums, galleries and historical sights are a must.
MODERN LANGUAGES: Schools will be able to stop teaching French, German and Spanish and offer other languages, including Urdu, Chinese, Russian, and Arabic. Qualifications and Curriculum Authority boss Ken Boston said the changes would equip young people “with the skills for life and work in the 21st century”.
...
Yeah, they sure will equip the students to be DAMNED GOOD IGNORANT OF THEIR OWN GLORIOUS HISTORY DHIMMIS ! ! !
How close is Great Britain to becoming a full blown dhimmi state?!?!?
Is American right behind her?!?
Pertinent Links:
1) Two-finger salute
By DAVID WOODING
FURY erupted last night after Sir Winston Churchill was axed from school history lessons.
Britain’s cigar-chomping World War Two PM — famed for his two-finger victory salute — was removed from a list of figures secondary school children must learn about.
Instead they will be taught about “relevant” issues such as global warming and drug dangers. Churchill’s grandson, Tory MP Nicholas Soames, branded the move “total madness.”
The decision to axe Churchill is part of a major shake-up aimed at dragging the national curriculum into the 21st century, it was claimed last night.
But the plan — hatched by advisers — angered schools secretary Ed Balls, who vowed to probe ALL the changes to the curriculum.
The proposals will see traditional timetables torn up, with pupils focusing on modern “relevant” topics such as drug and booze abuse, climate change and GM foods.
Churchill — voted the greatest ever Briton — goes off the required lessons list, along with Hitler, Gandhi, Stalin and Martin Luther King.
There will also be no need to mention the Wars of the Roses, Elizabeth I or Henry VIII.
The move left Mr Balls locked in a row with his curriculum advisers.
He insisted: “Churchill should be taught to all pupils and I shall be taking steps to ensure it is.”
Shadow schools secretary Michael Gove said: “Winston Churchill is the towering figure of 20th-century British history. His fight against fascism was Britain’s finest hour.
“Our national story can’t be told without Churchill at the centre.”
Churchill’s grandson, Tory MP Nicholas Soames, stormed: “It’s total madness. The teaching of history is incredibly important. If people do not seem to care about the country in which they live, the reason is that they don’t know much about it.”
Ministers said the shake-up will free up a quarter of the school day so teachers can focus more on individual pupil needs. All subjects for 11 to 14-year-olds face an overhaul.
ENGLISH: Lessons must focus on reading and writing accurately and speaking clearly. Classic and modern literature will be a must. Recommended authors will include Jane Austen, George Orwell and Alan Bennett. Pupils must study at least one Shakespeare play.
SCIENCE: Touchy issues such as genetic engineering of plants and animals and use of nuclear power are added. Kids will also learn about the effects of drugs such as booze, cigarettes and cannabis, sexual health and infection.
MATHS: Personal finance, such as how to manage a bank account and work out credit card interest will be added to algebra, linear equations and ratios.
HISTORY: Will still focus on major events in Britain, Europe and the world, including both world wars, the Holocaust, and the British Empire. Visits to museums, galleries and historical sights are a must.
MODERN LANGUAGES: Schools will be able to stop teaching French, German and Spanish and offer other languages, including Urdu, Chinese, Russian, and Arabic. Qualifications and Curriculum Authority boss Ken Boston said the changes would equip young people “with the skills for life and work in the 21st century”.
...
Yeah, they sure will equip the students to be DAMNED GOOD IGNORANT OF THEIR OWN GLORIOUS HISTORY DHIMMIS ! ! !
How close is Great Britain to becoming a full blown dhimmi state?!?!?
Is American right behind her?!?
Pertinent Links:
1) Two-finger salute
Sunday, June 24, 2007
DAR AL HARB - NETHERLANDS: A "HEAD TO TOE BAG" WILL BE PERMITTED TO SIT FOR AN EXAM @ UNIVERSITY
University will accommodate student
GRONINGEN – The University of Groningen does not want to refuse to allow a student who wears a niqab to take her exams. A niqab is a garment worn by some Muslim women which covers the face entirely, leaving just a small slit through which the wearer can see.
The student will be permitted to sit her exams wearing the garment, but will first have to remove the veil to identify herself to the (female) proctor monitoring the exam. A spokesperson for the university confirmed this on Thursday.
The executive board at the university feels that a female proctor should be assigned to monitor this particular exam. It has suggested to the law faculty that it provide this. They say the faculty itself will have to find a way of dealing with the situation since there are no general regulations in place.
The board has also said that the administration at the faculty will have to decide whether the niqab prevents the student from fully taking part in seminars, where students are required to engage in discussion and presentations.
The university is still meeting with the woman to discuss a possible solution. "In order to protect her privacy we may not comment on what her reaction has been. But the talks will continue," a spokesperson for the university said.
Pertinent Links:
1) University will accommodate student
GRONINGEN – The University of Groningen does not want to refuse to allow a student who wears a niqab to take her exams. A niqab is a garment worn by some Muslim women which covers the face entirely, leaving just a small slit through which the wearer can see.
The student will be permitted to sit her exams wearing the garment, but will first have to remove the veil to identify herself to the (female) proctor monitoring the exam. A spokesperson for the university confirmed this on Thursday.
The executive board at the university feels that a female proctor should be assigned to monitor this particular exam. It has suggested to the law faculty that it provide this. They say the faculty itself will have to find a way of dealing with the situation since there are no general regulations in place.
The board has also said that the administration at the faculty will have to decide whether the niqab prevents the student from fully taking part in seminars, where students are required to engage in discussion and presentations.
The university is still meeting with the woman to discuss a possible solution. "In order to protect her privacy we may not comment on what her reaction has been. But the talks will continue," a spokesperson for the university said.
Pertinent Links:
1) University will accommodate student
DAR AL HARB - U.K.: ISLAMIZATION OF BRITISH ACADEMIA
REPORT ON THE TEACHING OF ISLAM IN UNIVERSITIES
A recent government report on how Islam is taught in British universities signals another step towards the Islamisation of Britain and its education system. It was launched by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, at the opening of the “Islam and Muslims in the World Today” conference sponsored by Cambridge University on 4 June 2007. Should this report be implemented, education will be handed over more and more to Muslims who will train and shape the next generation. This means a further move towards the establishment of Islam in the UK as a religion of state.
...
Some of the report’s recommendations:
An analysis of these recommendations reveals that the report is in fact asking for a privileged position for Islam in the universities. It would seem to aim at transforming Islamic studies in Britain into a Muslim monopoly, a Muslim enclave in which the vast majority of staff and students are Muslim. It is implied that non-Muslim scholars cannot teach Islam because they do not unquestioningly accept its basic premises regarding the revelatory nature and divine authority of Qur‘an and hadith. Should these premises be accepted, the teaching faculty will be limited to traditional Muslim and Islamist lecturers. It is most likely that censorship will develop as to the suitability of the staff; the teaching methods and the acceptable subjects for research and publication.
...
Implementing these recommendations, as the government has promised to do, will inevitably narrow the scope of university Islamic studies and make them more intolerant and radical. Academic freedom of expression will be limited. Once fully Islamised, there would be little scope for free questioning, doubt and argument, the keys to real advances in knowledge. Muhammad and the Qur’an will be out of bounds as far as questioning their authority and historical development is concerned. This would be an alarming departure from established academic principles of disinterested inquiry. British institutions will come to resemble the sorry state of affairs in Islamic universities in the Muslim world. These are described by Shabbir Akhtar, a well known British Muslim academic and author, who taught for three years at the International Islamic University of Malaysia. As a result of his experiences there, he is now opposed to Islam as a political ideology. The attitude of the Malaysian uni versity authorities was that the West is a wicked enemy of Islam, and true Muslims have nothing to learn from the Western academic scholarship as God has already revealed the whole truth in Islam. Akhtar experienced how in Islamic universities, students and faculty alike are obsessed with the defence of Islam against Western Christian and secular liberal paradigms. They had no sense of history and unquestioningly accepted all Islamic theological dogma and claims.
Read the whole thing...
Hat Tip:
The Religion of Peace
Pertinent Links:
1) REPORT ON THE TEACHING OF ISLAM IN UNIVERSITIES
A recent government report on how Islam is taught in British universities signals another step towards the Islamisation of Britain and its education system. It was launched by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, at the opening of the “Islam and Muslims in the World Today” conference sponsored by Cambridge University on 4 June 2007. Should this report be implemented, education will be handed over more and more to Muslims who will train and shape the next generation. This means a further move towards the establishment of Islam in the UK as a religion of state.
...
Some of the report’s recommendations:
1. Universities should employ Muslim scholars to teach Islamic theology: “Students should be given the opportunity to learn from competent traditionally trained Islamic scholars in at least those parts of the syllabus that directly inform everyday practice of Islam”.
2. All universities must employ Muslim chaplains or advisers to deal with the growing number of Muslim students on campus. More prayer rooms for Muslims should be provided.
3. Islamic Student Societies should be better recognised and encouraged.
4. Universities should cooperate with Islamic schools and colleges (dar al-ulum) to break down the divisions between British society and the Muslim community. Universities should help madrassas and dar al-ulum because they play a key role in Muslim communities and in the training of future community leaders. They need a formal link to higher education qualifications.
5. Islamic studies should be linked to job opportunities such as teaching, chaplaincy and Islamic banking.
6. Universities should provide add-on modules in Islamic studies for all students.
7. Guidance should be given to all universities on Friday prayers, Ramadan and halal food. All university staff should receive awareness training on Muslims and Islam.
An analysis of these recommendations reveals that the report is in fact asking for a privileged position for Islam in the universities. It would seem to aim at transforming Islamic studies in Britain into a Muslim monopoly, a Muslim enclave in which the vast majority of staff and students are Muslim. It is implied that non-Muslim scholars cannot teach Islam because they do not unquestioningly accept its basic premises regarding the revelatory nature and divine authority of Qur‘an and hadith. Should these premises be accepted, the teaching faculty will be limited to traditional Muslim and Islamist lecturers. It is most likely that censorship will develop as to the suitability of the staff; the teaching methods and the acceptable subjects for research and publication.
...
Implementing these recommendations, as the government has promised to do, will inevitably narrow the scope of university Islamic studies and make them more intolerant and radical. Academic freedom of expression will be limited. Once fully Islamised, there would be little scope for free questioning, doubt and argument, the keys to real advances in knowledge. Muhammad and the Qur’an will be out of bounds as far as questioning their authority and historical development is concerned. This would be an alarming departure from established academic principles of disinterested inquiry. British institutions will come to resemble the sorry state of affairs in Islamic universities in the Muslim world. These are described by Shabbir Akhtar, a well known British Muslim academic and author, who taught for three years at the International Islamic University of Malaysia. As a result of his experiences there, he is now opposed to Islam as a political ideology. The attitude of the Malaysian uni versity authorities was that the West is a wicked enemy of Islam, and true Muslims have nothing to learn from the Western academic scholarship as God has already revealed the whole truth in Islam. Akhtar experienced how in Islamic universities, students and faculty alike are obsessed with the defence of Islam against Western Christian and secular liberal paradigms. They had no sense of history and unquestioningly accepted all Islamic theological dogma and claims.
Read the whole thing...
Hat Tip:
The Religion of Peace
Pertinent Links:
1) REPORT ON THE TEACHING OF ISLAM IN UNIVERSITIES
DAR AL HARB - U.K.: "CHASTITY RINGS" WORNG BY CHRISTIAN GIRLS FORBIDDEN, "HEAD TO TOE BAGS" WORN BY MOSLEMS ARE OK
'Purity' ring case in High Court
A 16-year-old girl has gone to the High Court to accuse her school of discriminating against Christians by banning the wearing of "purity rings".
Lydia Playfoot was told by Millais School in Horsham, West Sussex, to remove her ring, which symbolises chastity, or face expulsion.
The school denies breaching her human rights, insisting the ring is not an essential part of the Christian faith.
On Friday, judgement in the case was reserved to a future date.
Miss Playfoot says Sikh and Muslim pupils can wear bangles and headscarves in class.
BBC News religious affairs correspondent Robert Piggott said a group of girls at the school were wearing the rings as part of a movement called the "Silver Ring Thing" (SRT).
Human rights barrister Paul Diamond told the High Court the school's action was "forbidden" by law.
"Secular authorities and institutions cannot be arbiters of religious faith," Mr Diamond said.
He said a question the judge would have to answer was: "What are the religious rights of schoolchildren in the school context?"
...
Hat Tip:
The Religion of Peace
Pertinent Links:
1) 'Purity' ring case in High Court
A 16-year-old girl has gone to the High Court to accuse her school of discriminating against Christians by banning the wearing of "purity rings".
Lydia Playfoot was told by Millais School in Horsham, West Sussex, to remove her ring, which symbolises chastity, or face expulsion.
The school denies breaching her human rights, insisting the ring is not an essential part of the Christian faith.
On Friday, judgement in the case was reserved to a future date.
Miss Playfoot says Sikh and Muslim pupils can wear bangles and headscarves in class.
BBC News religious affairs correspondent Robert Piggott said a group of girls at the school were wearing the rings as part of a movement called the "Silver Ring Thing" (SRT).
Human rights barrister Paul Diamond told the High Court the school's action was "forbidden" by law.
"Secular authorities and institutions cannot be arbiters of religious faith," Mr Diamond said.
He said a question the judge would have to answer was: "What are the religious rights of schoolchildren in the school context?"
...
Hat Tip:
The Religion of Peace
Pertinent Links:
1) 'Purity' ring case in High Court
DAR AL HARB - U.K.: BRITISH SCHOOLS ARE TO PERMIT "HEAD TO TOE BAGINIS' TO TAKE SWIMMING LESSONS
Now schools are told to let Muslim girls wear head-to-toe 'burkinis' for swimming lessons
By DANIEL BOFFEY
Schools have been told they should allow Muslim girls taking swimming lessons to cover themselves from head to toe in special outfits dubbed burkinis.
An increasing number of pupils are insisting that conventional swimming costumes are "immodest" and, citing religious grounds, have been refusing to wear them.
Now councillors in Ealing, West London, are encouraging local pools to stock the £29 Lycra "burkinis" and instructing local schools to let girls wear them.
Teachers have even been given details of an online swimwear company that will deliver the two-piece burka-like outfits, which cover every bit of skin from the ankle to the neck and come with a head covering to conceal the hair.
The burkini is recommended in a document from Ealing council's Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education, which says it wants to encourage "success through diversity".
One of the authors of the report, Nora Leonard, said: "The guidance suggests that the pools allow these burkinis and I have spoken to the firm which runs our pools and they are all in favour of it."
About a quarter of pupils in the area are Muslim and the burkini idea was approved to prevent girls trying to cover their bodies with other, unsuitable clothing during swimming lessons.
"Schools are being encouraged to allow burkinis because of that," Ms Leonard said.
The burkini was designed by an Australian after a group of lifeguards began a drive to recruit more Islamic lifeguards, particularly women, following violent clashes in 2005 between Lebanese Muslim teenagers and white Australians on Sydney's Cronulla beach.
Ealing has also put forward a string of other proposals to help schools meet the needs of Muslim pupils, including setting aside designated "quiet" areas for prayer and honouring "a parent's written request to take their child to the mosque for part of the afternoon".
Schools are also told that it is "good practice" to "reassure parents that their children would not be asked to join in with songs that contradict Islamic belief (eg Christmas carols or hymns) or perform music that could be considered to promote lust, seduction, unrestricted mixing and consumption of drugs, alcohol or other intoxicants".
The report adds: "As a general rule, forms of dance such as ballet, jazz, tango and disco are unacceptable if performed in a mixed environment."
There have been controversial demands from the Muslim Council of Britain for Islamic schoolchildren to be given separate changing rooms for sports and swimming, single-sex classes for sex education, prayer rooms, new rights to Islamic worship and different uniform rules.
The National Association of Head Teachers has dismissed the demands as "completely undo-able".
The suggestions come at a time when the Government is trying to eliminate segregation and encourage "British" values to tackle extremism.
Pertinent Links:
1) Now schools are told to let Muslim girls wear head-to-toe 'burkinis' for swimming lessons
By DANIEL BOFFEY
Schools have been told they should allow Muslim girls taking swimming lessons to cover themselves from head to toe in special outfits dubbed burkinis.
An increasing number of pupils are insisting that conventional swimming costumes are "immodest" and, citing religious grounds, have been refusing to wear them.
Now councillors in Ealing, West London, are encouraging local pools to stock the £29 Lycra "burkinis" and instructing local schools to let girls wear them.
Teachers have even been given details of an online swimwear company that will deliver the two-piece burka-like outfits, which cover every bit of skin from the ankle to the neck and come with a head covering to conceal the hair.
The burkini is recommended in a document from Ealing council's Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education, which says it wants to encourage "success through diversity".
One of the authors of the report, Nora Leonard, said: "The guidance suggests that the pools allow these burkinis and I have spoken to the firm which runs our pools and they are all in favour of it."
About a quarter of pupils in the area are Muslim and the burkini idea was approved to prevent girls trying to cover their bodies with other, unsuitable clothing during swimming lessons.
"Schools are being encouraged to allow burkinis because of that," Ms Leonard said.
The burkini was designed by an Australian after a group of lifeguards began a drive to recruit more Islamic lifeguards, particularly women, following violent clashes in 2005 between Lebanese Muslim teenagers and white Australians on Sydney's Cronulla beach.
Ealing has also put forward a string of other proposals to help schools meet the needs of Muslim pupils, including setting aside designated "quiet" areas for prayer and honouring "a parent's written request to take their child to the mosque for part of the afternoon".
Schools are also told that it is "good practice" to "reassure parents that their children would not be asked to join in with songs that contradict Islamic belief (eg Christmas carols or hymns) or perform music that could be considered to promote lust, seduction, unrestricted mixing and consumption of drugs, alcohol or other intoxicants".
The report adds: "As a general rule, forms of dance such as ballet, jazz, tango and disco are unacceptable if performed in a mixed environment."
There have been controversial demands from the Muslim Council of Britain for Islamic schoolchildren to be given separate changing rooms for sports and swimming, single-sex classes for sex education, prayer rooms, new rights to Islamic worship and different uniform rules.
The National Association of Head Teachers has dismissed the demands as "completely undo-able".
The suggestions come at a time when the Government is trying to eliminate segregation and encourage "British" values to tackle extremism.
Pertinent Links:
1) Now schools are told to let Muslim girls wear head-to-toe 'burkinis' for swimming lessons
Monday, April 23, 2007
DAR AL HARB - U.S.A. - MASSACHUSETTS: HARVARD BLOVIATES ABOUT THE "FAIRNESS & LACK OF EXPLOITATION" WHEN IT COMES TO ISLAMIC FINANCE
The Global Impact of Islamic Finance
By: by Jin-ah Kim & Ahmad Y. Bassam, Contributing Writers
Posted: 4/23/07"This is a historical event. We haven't ever had any events about Islamic Finance at HBS that I am aware of," said Samuel L. Hayes III (HBS, '61), Jacob Schiff Professor Emeritus. Hayes was a principal contributor to the Harvard Islamic Investment Study and the author of seven books, including Islamic Law and Finance.
Hayes, the first speaker of the panel, explained basic concepts and principles of Islamic Finance to the audience. Islamic Finance refers to a system of finance or banking that is consistent with Islamic law (Shariah) principles. His "Islamic Finance 101" started with the guiding principles of the Prophet Mohammed, the historical founder of Islam: "Be fair with all others," and "one party cannot exploit the misfortune of others."
As a result, usury (the collection and payment of interest), in addition to any forms of speculation trading in financial risk is prohibited because it is considered gambling, which is also forbidden. Hayes pointed out that Islamic finance places emphasis on a philosophy of investing which closely resembles the idea of "socially responsible investing." Islam does not permit the investing in businesses that are considered unlawful (haraam) and contrary to Islamic values such as those related to illicit drugs, weapons, alcohol, pornography and terrorism. Moreover, Islamic law prohibits borrowing money by using collateral and selling account receivables, which are commonly used financial practices by companies. Hayes said that businesses run by Islamic principles pay monetarily for their religious devotions.
...
I am surprised that they just don't come out and say that the islamic way of doing business is so much better and more responsible than the "Western" way of doing business...
How much $$$$ have the Saudis' donated to Harvard?!?
Pertinent Links:
1) The Global Impact of Islamic Finance
By: by Jin-ah Kim & Ahmad Y. Bassam, Contributing Writers
Posted: 4/23/07"This is a historical event. We haven't ever had any events about Islamic Finance at HBS that I am aware of," said Samuel L. Hayes III (HBS, '61), Jacob Schiff Professor Emeritus. Hayes was a principal contributor to the Harvard Islamic Investment Study and the author of seven books, including Islamic Law and Finance.
Hayes, the first speaker of the panel, explained basic concepts and principles of Islamic Finance to the audience. Islamic Finance refers to a system of finance or banking that is consistent with Islamic law (Shariah) principles. His "Islamic Finance 101" started with the guiding principles of the Prophet Mohammed, the historical founder of Islam: "Be fair with all others," and "one party cannot exploit the misfortune of others."
As a result, usury (the collection and payment of interest), in addition to any forms of speculation trading in financial risk is prohibited because it is considered gambling, which is also forbidden. Hayes pointed out that Islamic finance places emphasis on a philosophy of investing which closely resembles the idea of "socially responsible investing." Islam does not permit the investing in businesses that are considered unlawful (haraam) and contrary to Islamic values such as those related to illicit drugs, weapons, alcohol, pornography and terrorism. Moreover, Islamic law prohibits borrowing money by using collateral and selling account receivables, which are commonly used financial practices by companies. Hayes said that businesses run by Islamic principles pay monetarily for their religious devotions.
...
I am surprised that they just don't come out and say that the islamic way of doing business is so much better and more responsible than the "Western" way of doing business...
How much $$$$ have the Saudis' donated to Harvard?!?
Pertinent Links:
1) The Global Impact of Islamic Finance
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