German police raid homes over 'jihadist' material
German police conducted a series of raids across the country Wednesday as part of their investigation into nine citizens suspected of systematically trying to convert others to radical Islam.
Anton Winkler, spokesman for the Munich state prosecutor, said the suspects ranged in age from 27 to 47.
...
Prosecutors said the suspects had ties to an Islamic center in Neu-Ulm, a small township in southern Germany.
The Multi-Kultur-Haus was shut down in 2005 after authorities seized material urging Muslims to carry out suicide attacks in Iraq.
In September, German authorities arrested two German citizens who had converted to Islam and a Turkish resident who they said were in the advanced stages of plotting a bombing attack. The trio attended the Islamic center.
Pertinent Links:
1) German police raid homes over 'jihadist' material
Showing posts with label germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label germany. Show all posts
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
DAR AL HARB-GERMANY: "MOSLEMS IN GERMANY"
“Muslims in Germany”
A Study by the Federal Ministry of the Interior
By Dr. Christine Schirrmacher
...
In the sum of the study, the great significance of religion for all Muslims in Germany is striking, as well as the high percentage of those who confess their religion in theory and practice. Fundamentalist religious orientations, however, are not synonymous with distance to democracy, and distance to democracy is not automatically a sign of the willingness to commit violence; other factors must be added here. It is, however, certainly the case that the seed of radicalism can be sown more easily in this ground of the basically aloof view of the Western way of life and society, a view that can change into extremism against the background of personally experienced marginalization or the sense of the worldwide oppression of Muslims. For this reason, the potential for danger is considerably greater than the modest membership figures in the known Islamic-extremist associations might suggest.
Because of the manifold factors that can bring about a radicalization of individuals, this latent potential for a politically and religiously motivated radicalization in Germany, as the study emphasizes, can not be quantified clearly. The authors, however, on the basis of the present investigation, assume a figure of approximately 10% to 12% of the Muslims in Germany (494), which means a number on the magnitude of between 320,000 and 420,000 people.
Decisive for radicalization are, essentially, three different paths: For the first path, the experience of a personal exclusion is less decisive than the vicarious sense of being the victim of a global oppression and of finding one’s system of reference outside Western society (in Sharia or in the umma, the Muslim world community), the notion of an “exclusion, deprecation, and oppression of Muslims on a national as well as international level” (494), for “In sum, a quite considerable portion of the Muslims living in Germany, students as well as the general Muslim population, is convinced that the community of Muslims in the global sense is discriminated against and treated poorly” (418).
The second group is basically willing to accommodate, but experiences personal rejection while at the same time having few chances for participation in society because of a low level of education. The third group is rather traditional in its religious orientation and of itself withdraws from society without wanting to participate (494).
The potential for an affinity to violence among Muslims in Germany can be quantified as just under 6%. If a great distance to democracy and a rejection of the rule of law are added, then a figure of about 14% of the Muslims within the survey is reached. By projection of this result upon the entire Muslim population in Germany, and in consideration of possible sources of error, this percentage can lie between 11.9% and 16.4% (495). The study concludes:
“Fundamentalist orientations that combine a close religious attachment, a high relevance of religion in daily life, and a strong orientation on religious rules and rituals with a tendency to exclude Muslims who do not observe these, as well as with the tendency generally to heighten the value of Islam and to derogate Western, Christian-influenced cultures, show an enormous dissemination. In the general population, about 40% are to be assigned to such a pattern of orientation” (493)
Language acquisition and education, as well as social participation and the reduction of prejudices, especially those prejudices held by non-Muslim youth toward Muslims, are thus important social and political goals necessary for counteracting tendencies toward radicalization in the Muslim community. However, they do not form the one, comprehensive solution, since there are other elements in the process of radicalization – such as the perceived worldwide victimization of Muslims, or a political and rigid instruction in Islam through a religious authority. In any case, a fundamental potential for recruitment is found among Muslim youth and young adults, and not among those who are older (501). For this reason, it is important to the authors of the study that the dialogue be conducted openly, but not indifferently.
“It seems to be the case that this search for meaning and the struggle for values requires a dialogue and credible dialogue partners who, on the one hand, do not dismiss Islam, and also do not encounter it with an arbitrary attitude, but rather themselves are strong dialogue partners standing upon a solid foundation” (501)
Pertinent Links:
1) Muslims in Germany
A Study by the Federal Ministry of the Interior
By Dr. Christine Schirrmacher
...
In the sum of the study, the great significance of religion for all Muslims in Germany is striking, as well as the high percentage of those who confess their religion in theory and practice. Fundamentalist religious orientations, however, are not synonymous with distance to democracy, and distance to democracy is not automatically a sign of the willingness to commit violence; other factors must be added here. It is, however, certainly the case that the seed of radicalism can be sown more easily in this ground of the basically aloof view of the Western way of life and society, a view that can change into extremism against the background of personally experienced marginalization or the sense of the worldwide oppression of Muslims. For this reason, the potential for danger is considerably greater than the modest membership figures in the known Islamic-extremist associations might suggest.
Because of the manifold factors that can bring about a radicalization of individuals, this latent potential for a politically and religiously motivated radicalization in Germany, as the study emphasizes, can not be quantified clearly. The authors, however, on the basis of the present investigation, assume a figure of approximately 10% to 12% of the Muslims in Germany (494), which means a number on the magnitude of between 320,000 and 420,000 people.
Decisive for radicalization are, essentially, three different paths: For the first path, the experience of a personal exclusion is less decisive than the vicarious sense of being the victim of a global oppression and of finding one’s system of reference outside Western society (in Sharia or in the umma, the Muslim world community), the notion of an “exclusion, deprecation, and oppression of Muslims on a national as well as international level” (494), for “In sum, a quite considerable portion of the Muslims living in Germany, students as well as the general Muslim population, is convinced that the community of Muslims in the global sense is discriminated against and treated poorly” (418).
The second group is basically willing to accommodate, but experiences personal rejection while at the same time having few chances for participation in society because of a low level of education. The third group is rather traditional in its religious orientation and of itself withdraws from society without wanting to participate (494).
The potential for an affinity to violence among Muslims in Germany can be quantified as just under 6%. If a great distance to democracy and a rejection of the rule of law are added, then a figure of about 14% of the Muslims within the survey is reached. By projection of this result upon the entire Muslim population in Germany, and in consideration of possible sources of error, this percentage can lie between 11.9% and 16.4% (495). The study concludes:
“Fundamentalist orientations that combine a close religious attachment, a high relevance of religion in daily life, and a strong orientation on religious rules and rituals with a tendency to exclude Muslims who do not observe these, as well as with the tendency generally to heighten the value of Islam and to derogate Western, Christian-influenced cultures, show an enormous dissemination. In the general population, about 40% are to be assigned to such a pattern of orientation” (493)
Language acquisition and education, as well as social participation and the reduction of prejudices, especially those prejudices held by non-Muslim youth toward Muslims, are thus important social and political goals necessary for counteracting tendencies toward radicalization in the Muslim community. However, they do not form the one, comprehensive solution, since there are other elements in the process of radicalization – such as the perceived worldwide victimization of Muslims, or a political and rigid instruction in Islam through a religious authority. In any case, a fundamental potential for recruitment is found among Muslim youth and young adults, and not among those who are older (501). For this reason, it is important to the authors of the study that the dialogue be conducted openly, but not indifferently.
“It seems to be the case that this search for meaning and the struggle for values requires a dialogue and credible dialogue partners who, on the one hand, do not dismiss Islam, and also do not encounter it with an arbitrary attitude, but rather themselves are strong dialogue partners standing upon a solid foundation” (501)
Pertinent Links:
1) Muslims in Germany
Thursday, April 03, 2008
DAR AL HARB-GERMANY: 120,000 MOSLEMS IN COLOGNE - - - 12% OF THE POPULATION
Germany's Biggest Mosque Spurs Fear of `Islamization' of Europe
By Seda Sezer
The twin spires of Germany's largest Gothic cathedral will soon be joined on the Cologne skyline by the minarets of the country's biggest mosque.
The $23 million Ehrenfeld Central Mosque, scheduled to be completed in about two years, will help bring Islam out of the back streets and reduce the influence of radicals, Mayor Fritz Schramma says. Others see the building as a symbol of Islamic extremism and further evidence that Cologne's 120,000 Muslims, more than half of them Turkish immigrants, refuse to integrate.
"I pray at the little chapel next to the Cologne Cathedral, and my prayer doesn't become more valuable if I pray in the big cathedral,'' said Laszlu Reischl, 56, a taxi driver. "I don't understand why they insist on building a big mosque.''
The controversy reflects Germany's struggle over almost five decades to incorporate its largest ethnic minority. Tensions were revived in February when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Turks at a Cologne rally that "assimilation is a crime against humanity.'' Some lawmakers who oppose mostly Muslim Turkey's bid to join the European Union accused him of preaching Turkish nationalism on German soil.
Cologne has Germany's highest concentration of Muslims, at 12 percent of the population. The new mosque will be built in the immigrant district of Ehrenfeld, about two miles from the 13th- century Cologne Cathedral.
The 53,800-square-foot building will fit 1,200 worshippers. It will replace a converted pharmaceutical warehouse that has housed the mosque since 1984 and holds about half as many people. Many spill into the parking lot during Friday prayers.
Permanently Here
"When our fathers came here, they rented the least expensive place to pray,'' says Mehmet Gunet, legal adviser to the Cologne-based Turkish Islamic Union for Religious Affairs. "We are permanently here and we want more beautiful prayer houses.''
German architect Paul Boehm, who has worked on local churches, won a contest to design the mosque. The building consists of curved concrete walls connected to a central dome by glass to convey openness and transparency.
The two 55-meter (180 feet) minarets will be about a third as high as the cathedral spires. The complex will also house offices, restaurants and shops.
"We want to show that Muslims can live in peace in a society,'' Gunet says. "We are coming out of hidden places and saying, `We are here, you can come and look in.'''
`Parallel Society'
The Islamic Union, a group of Imams and theologians appointed by the Turkish government's Religious Affairs authority, is awaiting final planning approval and expects construction to begin in June.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Germany's Biggest Mosque Spurs Fear of `Islamization' of Europe
By Seda Sezer
The twin spires of Germany's largest Gothic cathedral will soon be joined on the Cologne skyline by the minarets of the country's biggest mosque.
The $23 million Ehrenfeld Central Mosque, scheduled to be completed in about two years, will help bring Islam out of the back streets and reduce the influence of radicals, Mayor Fritz Schramma says. Others see the building as a symbol of Islamic extremism and further evidence that Cologne's 120,000 Muslims, more than half of them Turkish immigrants, refuse to integrate.
"I pray at the little chapel next to the Cologne Cathedral, and my prayer doesn't become more valuable if I pray in the big cathedral,'' said Laszlu Reischl, 56, a taxi driver. "I don't understand why they insist on building a big mosque.''
The controversy reflects Germany's struggle over almost five decades to incorporate its largest ethnic minority. Tensions were revived in February when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Turks at a Cologne rally that "assimilation is a crime against humanity.'' Some lawmakers who oppose mostly Muslim Turkey's bid to join the European Union accused him of preaching Turkish nationalism on German soil.
Cologne has Germany's highest concentration of Muslims, at 12 percent of the population. The new mosque will be built in the immigrant district of Ehrenfeld, about two miles from the 13th- century Cologne Cathedral.
The 53,800-square-foot building will fit 1,200 worshippers. It will replace a converted pharmaceutical warehouse that has housed the mosque since 1984 and holds about half as many people. Many spill into the parking lot during Friday prayers.
Permanently Here
"When our fathers came here, they rented the least expensive place to pray,'' says Mehmet Gunet, legal adviser to the Cologne-based Turkish Islamic Union for Religious Affairs. "We are permanently here and we want more beautiful prayer houses.''
German architect Paul Boehm, who has worked on local churches, won a contest to design the mosque. The building consists of curved concrete walls connected to a central dome by glass to convey openness and transparency.
The two 55-meter (180 feet) minarets will be about a third as high as the cathedral spires. The complex will also house offices, restaurants and shops.
"We want to show that Muslims can live in peace in a society,'' Gunet says. "We are coming out of hidden places and saying, `We are here, you can come and look in.'''
`Parallel Society'
The Islamic Union, a group of Imams and theologians appointed by the Turkish government's Religious Affairs authority, is awaiting final planning approval and expects construction to begin in June.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Germany's Biggest Mosque Spurs Fear of `Islamization' of Europe
Friday, March 14, 2008
DAR AL HARB-EURABIA-GERMANY: TURKS IN GERMANY DON'T FEEL WELCOME - - - WHAT A SURPRISE...NOT ! ! !
Turks Feel Unwanted in Germany
A new poll finds that the majority of people of Turkish descent living in the country feel unwelcomed by Germans. A full 78 percent say that Angela Merkel is not their chancellor.
...
The whiners should move back to their hellhole of a country...
Pertinent Links:
1) Turks Feel Unwanted in Germany
A new poll finds that the majority of people of Turkish descent living in the country feel unwelcomed by Germans. A full 78 percent say that Angela Merkel is not their chancellor.
...
The whiners should move back to their hellhole of a country...
Pertinent Links:
1) Turks Feel Unwanted in Germany
DAR AL HARB-EURABIA-GERMANY: CULTURE MINISTERS IN GERMANY WANT THE DHIMMI POPULATIONS TO RECEIVE LESSONS ON ISLAM, ALONG WITH THEIR MOSLEM OVERLORDS
'Anyone Who Wants Integration Has to Provide Islam Instruction'
By Beate Lakotta
German-language Islam instruction for Muslim schoolchildren helps with integration and the development of language skills. Now the culture ministers of Germany's states want to introduce the subject for all students.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) 'Anyone Who Wants Integration Has to Provide Islam Instruction'
By Beate Lakotta
German-language Islam instruction for Muslim schoolchildren helps with integration and the development of language skills. Now the culture ministers of Germany's states want to introduce the subject for all students.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) 'Anyone Who Wants Integration Has to Provide Islam Instruction'
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
DAR AL HARB-GERMANY: MOSLEMS CAN PRAY IN SCHOOLS ON THEIR BREAKS - - - SOON, THEY WILL RECEIVE SPECIAL BREAKS FOR PRAYERS
Muslim students allowed to pray in schools -- German court
An administrative court in Berlin ruled that Muslim students should be allowed to pray in schools during their breaks, a paper said Wednesday.
Berliner Zeitung paper said that the rule taken Tuesday came after a 14-year-old Muslim student sued his school for not allowing him to pray.
Spokesman of the court said the student and seven other Muslim pupils used to pray during the breaks and that the school's administration called their parents to tell them to stop doing so, stating the state's utilities should not witness such use.
The ruling does not apply to the said student only, but to all Muslim students across Germany, he added.
He stressed that practicing religious rituals is an important part of the religious freedom and that praying in school during breaks does not harm the school or its teachers nor does it cause any inconvenience or hamper the educational process.
Pertinent Links:
1) Muslim students allowed to pray in schools -- German court
An administrative court in Berlin ruled that Muslim students should be allowed to pray in schools during their breaks, a paper said Wednesday.
Berliner Zeitung paper said that the rule taken Tuesday came after a 14-year-old Muslim student sued his school for not allowing him to pray.
Spokesman of the court said the student and seven other Muslim pupils used to pray during the breaks and that the school's administration called their parents to tell them to stop doing so, stating the state's utilities should not witness such use.
The ruling does not apply to the said student only, but to all Muslim students across Germany, he added.
He stressed that practicing religious rituals is an important part of the religious freedom and that praying in school during breaks does not harm the school or its teachers nor does it cause any inconvenience or hamper the educational process.
Pertinent Links:
1) Muslim students allowed to pray in schools -- German court
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
DAR AL HARB-GERMANY/INDONESIA/U.S.A.: DHIMMIS & APOLOGISTS WORKING HAND IN HAND TO CONTINUE ISLAMIZING THE WEST
Media should promote Islam and democracy: Discussion
by Tony Hotland
The media should not highlight Muslim hardliners who take the law into their hands in the name of religion, academics said Tuesday during a discussion organized by the German Embassy called Islam, Democracy and Media Freedom.
The two-day discussion started Tuesday and is set to include scholars, philosophers and members of the media.
Tuesday's speakers included scholars who said controversial or saturated media coverage of hardline groups would tarnish the mostly democratic Muslim population in Indonesia.
The discussion Tuesday also found Islam and democracy had proven their compatibility in the republic, where they said multiculturalism was well preserved.
Speakers at the discussion said democracy in Indonesia was supported by the fact it constitutionally upheld freedom of religion.
Eighty per cent of Indonesia's population is Muslim.
Franz Magnis-Suseno, a reputed scholar from the Driyarkara School of Philosophy said, "Unlike Malaysia, Muslims (here) are legally allowed to embrace a new faith".
"We are seeing unprecedented relations between Muslim organizations and those of other faiths, and it shows democracy survives in a land of Muslims."
...
Hans-Ludwig Frese, a German Islam observer at Kleio Humanities in Bremen, said Muslims in Germany, who were mostly from Turkey, also played an important role in sustaining democracy in Germany.
"The difference is they don't claim allegiance to a specific Muslim organization like many here do," he said.
They said because Indonesia was displaying good relations between Islam and democracy, the media here should contribute by not portraying extremism or fueling controversy.
The latest incident around the media and Islam was the publication of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad in European newspapers, inciting worldwide protests by Muslims.
"What the media need to remember is that Muslims here are committed to democracy, so don't mind the hardliners," Azyumardi said.
"Thus the media should take responsibility for having promoted such radical figures."
and
Media to blame for Islamic misconceptions
By Alan Blank
The managing editor of one of the country’s biggest newspapers thinks news organizations ought to hire more Muslim reporters.
Philip Bennett, the Washington Post’s managing editor, said reporters often struggle with understanding Islam during a speech Monday at UCI about the difficulties of covering the religion.
Bennett’s speech focused on the media’s need to cover issues concerning Islam in an in-depth, long-term manner.
To illustrate this point he drew mainly from quotes of notable colleagues and statistical polls, rarely giving his own opinion directly.
“Six of 10 Americans, according to a 2007 ABC Poll, don’t understand the basic tenets of Islam,” Bennett said.
He attributed this to the lack of Muslims working in American newsrooms.
“At the Post I want more Muslim readers and I want more Muslim journalists,” he said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Media should promote Islam and democracy: Discussion
2) Media to blame for Islamic misconceptions
by Tony Hotland
The media should not highlight Muslim hardliners who take the law into their hands in the name of religion, academics said Tuesday during a discussion organized by the German Embassy called Islam, Democracy and Media Freedom.
The two-day discussion started Tuesday and is set to include scholars, philosophers and members of the media.
Tuesday's speakers included scholars who said controversial or saturated media coverage of hardline groups would tarnish the mostly democratic Muslim population in Indonesia.
The discussion Tuesday also found Islam and democracy had proven their compatibility in the republic, where they said multiculturalism was well preserved.
Speakers at the discussion said democracy in Indonesia was supported by the fact it constitutionally upheld freedom of religion.
Eighty per cent of Indonesia's population is Muslim.
Franz Magnis-Suseno, a reputed scholar from the Driyarkara School of Philosophy said, "Unlike Malaysia, Muslims (here) are legally allowed to embrace a new faith".
"We are seeing unprecedented relations between Muslim organizations and those of other faiths, and it shows democracy survives in a land of Muslims."
...
Hans-Ludwig Frese, a German Islam observer at Kleio Humanities in Bremen, said Muslims in Germany, who were mostly from Turkey, also played an important role in sustaining democracy in Germany.
"The difference is they don't claim allegiance to a specific Muslim organization like many here do," he said.
They said because Indonesia was displaying good relations between Islam and democracy, the media here should contribute by not portraying extremism or fueling controversy.
The latest incident around the media and Islam was the publication of caricatures of Prophet Muhammad in European newspapers, inciting worldwide protests by Muslims.
"What the media need to remember is that Muslims here are committed to democracy, so don't mind the hardliners," Azyumardi said.
"Thus the media should take responsibility for having promoted such radical figures."
and
Media to blame for Islamic misconceptions
By Alan Blank
The managing editor of one of the country’s biggest newspapers thinks news organizations ought to hire more Muslim reporters.
Philip Bennett, the Washington Post’s managing editor, said reporters often struggle with understanding Islam during a speech Monday at UCI about the difficulties of covering the religion.
Bennett’s speech focused on the media’s need to cover issues concerning Islam in an in-depth, long-term manner.
To illustrate this point he drew mainly from quotes of notable colleagues and statistical polls, rarely giving his own opinion directly.
“Six of 10 Americans, according to a 2007 ABC Poll, don’t understand the basic tenets of Islam,” Bennett said.
He attributed this to the lack of Muslims working in American newsrooms.
“At the Post I want more Muslim readers and I want more Muslim journalists,” he said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Media should promote Islam and democracy: Discussion
2) Media to blame for Islamic misconceptions
DAR AL HARB-GERMANY: ART EXHIBIT THREATENED BY 'PEACEFUL & MODERATE' MOSLEMS WILL RE-OPEN - - - PRIVATE GUARDS WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE
Danish Art Show in Berlin Reopens After Muslim Threat, DPA Says
By Catherine Hickley
March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Berlin authorities said a Danish art show that caricatures Islam's holiest place will reopen with private guards after protests by Muslims, Deutsche Presse Agentur reported, citing the local council for the city's Mitte district.
The protesters had demanded the removal of a poster showing the Kaaba in Mecca with the caption "Stupid Stone,'' DPA said. Police will patrol the gallery, which is run by the Kunstverein Tiergarten, once an hour, DPA said.
The exhibition, by the Danish artists' group Surrend, opened on Feb. 22 and was closed a few days later after a group of Muslims disrupted it and threatened violence if the Kaaba poster was not removed, DPA said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Danish Art Show in Berlin Reopens After Muslim Threat, DPA Says
By Catherine Hickley
March 4 (Bloomberg) -- Berlin authorities said a Danish art show that caricatures Islam's holiest place will reopen with private guards after protests by Muslims, Deutsche Presse Agentur reported, citing the local council for the city's Mitte district.
The protesters had demanded the removal of a poster showing the Kaaba in Mecca with the caption "Stupid Stone,'' DPA said. Police will patrol the gallery, which is run by the Kunstverein Tiergarten, once an hour, DPA said.
The exhibition, by the Danish artists' group Surrend, opened on Feb. 22 and was closed a few days later after a group of Muslims disrupted it and threatened violence if the Kaaba poster was not removed, DPA said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Danish Art Show in Berlin Reopens After Muslim Threat, DPA Says
Saturday, March 01, 2008
DAR AL HARB-GERMANY: "IF A GIRL HAS SEX WITH A BOY W/OUT BEING MARRIED, WE MUST KILL BOTH OF THEM."
German rescue from honour killing
By Alexa Dvorson
A volunteer rescue operation in Germany has sheltered more than 100 Muslim women who fear they will be killed if they do not go through with marriages that their families have arranged for them.
I was unlocking my bicycle outside a shopping mall one afternoon when a group of teenage boys asked me in German if I knew how to break-dance.
...
Once we got talking, though, I was in for a mental head-spin that would defy any choreography.
All but one of the boys - of Turkish, Kurdish and Palestinian origin - were born in Germany.
They wore jeans and T-shirts and their hair glistened with styling gel. One sported a gold earring.
With their playful jostling, they seemed like teenagers in any Western backdrop, except for one thing: they swore they would kill their own sisters if any of them had sex before marriage.
The boys were convinced that that would destroy their families' honour.
...
When the teenagers agreed to let me record them, I asked if they really meant what they had said about killing their sisters.
They were adamant: "If a girl has sex with a boy without being married, we must kill both of them," said Ali, the teenager with the gold earring.
The contrast was baffling. These teens looked entirely at ease outside a 21st Century shopping mall but their views came straight out of the Middle Ages.
"You say you're Muslims," I reminded them, "and killing is forbidden in the Koran, right? If you love your sister, couldn't you just forgive her?"
"No," one of the boys replied, "because honour matters even more than religion."
The Kurdish teenager explained: "We have no money. We have nothing except our honour. If we lose that, it's the worst thing that can happen to us."
By now they were all talking at once. We might as well have been trying to converse in different languages.
One of the boys softened a bit: "Killing isn't really the answer," he said, "but what else can you do?"
"Lots of things," I ventured, "like talking about what honour really means. Besides, murder is against the law in Germany, remember?"
That is when Ali snapped, "to hell with laws" (only he used much stronger language).
...
Pertinent Links:
1) German rescue from honour killing
By Alexa Dvorson
A volunteer rescue operation in Germany has sheltered more than 100 Muslim women who fear they will be killed if they do not go through with marriages that their families have arranged for them.
I was unlocking my bicycle outside a shopping mall one afternoon when a group of teenage boys asked me in German if I knew how to break-dance.
...
Once we got talking, though, I was in for a mental head-spin that would defy any choreography.
All but one of the boys - of Turkish, Kurdish and Palestinian origin - were born in Germany.
They wore jeans and T-shirts and their hair glistened with styling gel. One sported a gold earring.
With their playful jostling, they seemed like teenagers in any Western backdrop, except for one thing: they swore they would kill their own sisters if any of them had sex before marriage.
The boys were convinced that that would destroy their families' honour.
...
When the teenagers agreed to let me record them, I asked if they really meant what they had said about killing their sisters.
They were adamant: "If a girl has sex with a boy without being married, we must kill both of them," said Ali, the teenager with the gold earring.
The contrast was baffling. These teens looked entirely at ease outside a 21st Century shopping mall but their views came straight out of the Middle Ages.
"You say you're Muslims," I reminded them, "and killing is forbidden in the Koran, right? If you love your sister, couldn't you just forgive her?"
"No," one of the boys replied, "because honour matters even more than religion."
The Kurdish teenager explained: "We have no money. We have nothing except our honour. If we lose that, it's the worst thing that can happen to us."
By now they were all talking at once. We might as well have been trying to converse in different languages.
One of the boys softened a bit: "Killing isn't really the answer," he said, "but what else can you do?"
"Lots of things," I ventured, "like talking about what honour really means. Besides, murder is against the law in Germany, remember?"
That is when Ali snapped, "to hell with laws" (only he used much stronger language).
...
Pertinent Links:
1) German rescue from honour killing
Friday, February 29, 2008
DAR AL HARB-GERMANY: "DUMB STONE" OR "STUPID ROCK" TAKE YOUR PICK - - - 'MODERATE' MOSLEMS READY TO RAMPAGE
Berlin Exhibition Closes after Muslim Threats
By David Gordon Smith
By David Gordon Smith
A Berlin gallery has closed an exhibition of satirical art by the controversial Danish group Surrend after receiving threats from a group of Muslims. The men were objecting to a picture of the Kaaba at Mecca under the title "Dumb Stone."
...
Pertinent Links:
Thursday, February 28, 2008
DAR AL HARB-GERMANY: THE DHIMMIFIED GERMANS CANCEL AN ART EXHIBIT BECAUSE OF THREATS FROM 'MODERATE' MOSLEMS
Exhibit closed after threats over mosque photo
AN exhibition by Danish artists in Berlin has been closed due to threats received over a photo deemed to be offensive to Muslims, organisers said.
The exhibition, which opened in central Berlin on February 22, has been closed to ensure the safety of staff and visitors, Ralf Hartmann from the artists' collective Kunstverein Tiergarten said today.
The show by Danish collective Surrend is aimed at depicting what they say is the absurdity of extremism in all religions.
One of the 21 photos is of the Kaaba - the cube-shaped building inside the Grande Mosque in Mecca - with the inscription describing the stone as "stupid".
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Exhibit closed after threats over mosque photo
AN exhibition by Danish artists in Berlin has been closed due to threats received over a photo deemed to be offensive to Muslims, organisers said.
The exhibition, which opened in central Berlin on February 22, has been closed to ensure the safety of staff and visitors, Ralf Hartmann from the artists' collective Kunstverein Tiergarten said today.
The show by Danish collective Surrend is aimed at depicting what they say is the absurdity of extremism in all religions.
One of the 21 photos is of the Kaaba - the cube-shaped building inside the Grande Mosque in Mecca - with the inscription describing the stone as "stupid".
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Exhibit closed after threats over mosque photo
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
DAR AL HARB-GERMANY: ARE THE KRAUTS ABOUT TO WAVE THE WHITE FLAG!?!
Germany Mulls Exit from Anti-Terror Mission
The demands on Germany's Afghanistan mission are increasing. But the current parliamentary mandate does not allow for more troops to be sent. Berlin is considering creative solutions, including outsourcing parts of the mission or withdrawing from the anti-terror effort.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Germany Mulls Exit from Anti-Terror Mission
The demands on Germany's Afghanistan mission are increasing. But the current parliamentary mandate does not allow for more troops to be sent. Berlin is considering creative solutions, including outsourcing parts of the mission or withdrawing from the anti-terror effort.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Germany Mulls Exit from Anti-Terror Mission
Thursday, February 14, 2008
DAR AL HARB-GERMANY: NO TURKISH LANGUAGE SCHOOLS OR UNIVERSITIES IN GERMANY
German leaders praised for rejecting Turkish school proposal
By Chad Groening
Germany: An English language advocate is praising German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other government officials for rejecting a proposal by Turkey's leader to open Turkish language schools and universities in Germany.
Like many countries in Western Europe, Germany has seen a dramatic increase in immigration from the Islamic world. In Germany's case most of the immigrants have come from Turkey, creating a substantial and growing minority in the country.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) German leaders praised for rejecting Turkish school proposal
By Chad Groening
Germany: An English language advocate is praising German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other government officials for rejecting a proposal by Turkey's leader to open Turkish language schools and universities in Germany.
Like many countries in Western Europe, Germany has seen a dramatic increase in immigration from the Islamic world. In Germany's case most of the immigrants have come from Turkey, creating a substantial and growing minority in the country.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) German leaders praised for rejecting Turkish school proposal
Monday, February 11, 2008
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM-GERMANY/AFGHANISTAN: GERMANY, AFGHANISTAN & NATO
The Coming Afghanistan Showdown
By Konstantin von Hammerstein and Alexander Szandar
For months, NATO has been pressuring Germany to increase its commitment to the Afghanistan mission. Now, the complaints are getting louder. Berlin is doing its best to dodge the demands, but NATO may not be in a mood to listen.
...
and
America's Failure in Afghanistan
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been putting pressure on Germany to up its commitment to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. But some in Germany say it is America's violence, not Berlin's reluctance, that is the problem.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) The Coming Afghanistan Showdown
2) America's Failure in Afghanistan
By Konstantin von Hammerstein and Alexander Szandar
For months, NATO has been pressuring Germany to increase its commitment to the Afghanistan mission. Now, the complaints are getting louder. Berlin is doing its best to dodge the demands, but NATO may not be in a mood to listen.
...
and
America's Failure in Afghanistan
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has been putting pressure on Germany to up its commitment to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. But some in Germany say it is America's violence, not Berlin's reluctance, that is the problem.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) The Coming Afghanistan Showdown
2) America's Failure in Afghanistan
Friday, February 08, 2008
DAR AL HARB - GERMANY: AL QAEDA PLANS ATTACKS IN GERMANY
Al-Qaeda plotting attacks on Germany--report
BERLIN -- German authorities have learnt that Al-Qaeda is preparing to carry out attacks in Germany, a senior official said in an interview with Die Welt newspaper on Friday.
The secretary of state in the interior ministry, August Hanning, said Al-Qaeda leaders based in the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan have "decided to carry out attacks in Germany."
"We are worried that we will not be able to foil every plot," he added.
Die Welt said the federal intelligence agency and police have established that Germany's military mission in Afghanistan prompted Al-Qaeda to move the country "much higher" on its list of targets.
In September 2007, two German converts to Islam and a Turkish man were arrested in the western Sauerland region on suspicion of planning to blow up US installations in Germany, including the southwestern US military airbase at Ramstein.
The men had stockpiled some 700 kilograms (1,500 pounds) of chemicals to use in "massive" attacks to coincide with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, the security services said.
The plotters are believed to belong to the Islamic Jihad Union, a group with links to Al-Qaeda.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Al-Qaeda plotting attacks on Germany--report
BERLIN -- German authorities have learnt that Al-Qaeda is preparing to carry out attacks in Germany, a senior official said in an interview with Die Welt newspaper on Friday.
The secretary of state in the interior ministry, August Hanning, said Al-Qaeda leaders based in the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan have "decided to carry out attacks in Germany."
"We are worried that we will not be able to foil every plot," he added.
Die Welt said the federal intelligence agency and police have established that Germany's military mission in Afghanistan prompted Al-Qaeda to move the country "much higher" on its list of targets.
In September 2007, two German converts to Islam and a Turkish man were arrested in the western Sauerland region on suspicion of planning to blow up US installations in Germany, including the southwestern US military airbase at Ramstein.
The men had stockpiled some 700 kilograms (1,500 pounds) of chemicals to use in "massive" attacks to coincide with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, the security services said.
The plotters are believed to belong to the Islamic Jihad Union, a group with links to Al-Qaeda.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Al-Qaeda plotting attacks on Germany--report
Thursday, February 07, 2008
DAR AL HARB - GERMANY: 'BLUETOOTH BURKA' - - - SENDS YOUR PICTURE TO THE CELL PHONE NEXT TO YOU, WHILE YOU ARE ENCASED IN THE HEAD TO TOE BAG
Charming Burka
A project by Markus Kison.
Synopsis
The CharmingBurka sends a self-defined picture of the wearing person to every mobile phone next to it. Laws of the Koran are not broken.
Project description
The Charming Burka deals with Freud's idea that all clothes can be positioned between appeal and shame. The Burka was chosen, because it is often perceived in the west as a symbol of repression. A digital layer was added so that women can decide for themselves where they want to position themselves virtually. The Burka sends an image, chosen by the wearer, via Bluetooth technology. Every person next to her can receive her picture via mobile phone and see the women's self-determined identity. The virtual appeals can not be gathered by the laws of the Koran and so the CharmingBurka fulfills the desire of living a more western life, which some Muslim women have today.Therefore the Burka is equipped with bluetooth antenna/micro-controller and uses the OBEX protocol, already working with most mobile phones.
Pertinent Links:
1) Charming Burka
A project by Markus Kison.
Synopsis
The CharmingBurka sends a self-defined picture of the wearing person to every mobile phone next to it. Laws of the Koran are not broken.
Project description
The Charming Burka deals with Freud's idea that all clothes can be positioned between appeal and shame. The Burka was chosen, because it is often perceived in the west as a symbol of repression. A digital layer was added so that women can decide for themselves where they want to position themselves virtually. The Burka sends an image, chosen by the wearer, via Bluetooth technology. Every person next to her can receive her picture via mobile phone and see the women's self-determined identity. The virtual appeals can not be gathered by the laws of the Koran and so the CharmingBurka fulfills the desire of living a more western life, which some Muslim women have today.Therefore the Burka is equipped with bluetooth antenna/micro-controller and uses the OBEX protocol, already working with most mobile phones.
Pertinent Links:
1) Charming Burka
Friday, August 03, 2007
DAR AL HARB - GERMANY: MOSQUE'S SPROUTING UP AROUND THE WORLD AT A RECORD PACE
Giant Cologne mosque tests German tolerance
Cologne, Germany) - Plans to build one of the biggest mosques in Europe here have Christian leaders and the far-right up in arms about the Muslim community's bold new assertion of its presence in Germany.
An imposing but elegant new building is to go up in the Ehrenfeld district of Cologne, a city that is 12 percent Muslim but is best known for its spectacular Gothic cathedral.
Currently, most Muslims pray in small, often shabby quarters spread throughout the city and often hidden from plain view.
A visit to a typical prayer centre in Cologne reveals a stifling room in a prefabricated beige building where fake crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Two giant posters of Mecca and Medina adorn the thick walls.
Frequently more than 1 000 worshippers attend Friday prayers at the building which once housed a pharmaceuticals factory, squeezed between a petrol station and a noisy street.
If the crowd grows too big, prayer mats are laid out outside.
"Do you really want us to continue to pray in this miserable place?" asked Bekir Alboga, the director of intercultural dialogue at the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), which runs the centre.
"Just as the Christians have their churches and the Jews their synagogues, we want to pray in a mosque."
Which is what led DITIB, the biggest Muslim organisation in Germany, to press ahead with plans to build the sprawling new mosque and administrative building.
Two 55-metre-tall minarets will frame its 34,5-metre-tall glass cupola, high above a chamber where 2 000 people will be able to worship at once.
Construction, financed by private donations and a bank loan, is to begin this year.
The conservative mayor of Cologne, Fritz Schramma, called the plans "excellent, both aesthetically but also symbolically."
He is joined by local officials from across the political spectrum.
"Cologne has 120 000 Muslims," the Social Democratic district councilman, Josef Wirges, said.
"They should be able to pray at a prestigious building," he said. "After all we have the beautiful Cologne cathedral."
But others in the city on the Rhine nicknamed "the Rome of the north" which hosted the Catholic Church's World Youth Day in 2005 are eyeing the plans with suspicion.
The Archbishop of Cologne, Joachim Meisner, said he understood why a giant mosque in their midst would make some in the city wary, adding that he too had a "negative impression" of the plans.
"You have to take people's fears seriously," Schramma added.
"But these people have never been concerned about the fact that there is already a mosque here," albeit insufficient for the community's needs.
The debate has exposed deep faultlines between Germans and the more than three-million-strong Muslim minority.
In a country in which immigrants were long considered temporary "guest workers," many harbour resentment that some Turks, for example, still do not speak German 40 years after their arrival.
Muslim immigrants respond that integration is a two-way street and requires more respect and tolerance on the part of Germans.
Similar rows have recently broken out in other German cities including Berlin, as well as the Netherlands and Spain.
The debate in Cologne grew more heated when a prominent Jewish writer and Holocaust survivor, Ralph Giordano, called for the mosque to be stopped because it would only backfire in its aim to encourage more integration.
Saying that Muslim women "veiled from head to toe" looked like "human penguins", Giordano found himself in uncomfortably close company with a right-wing citizens' group called "Pro Cologne" which has five members on the city council and has waged an anti-foreigner campaign against the mosque.
The organisation argues that it will be a symbol of the creeping "Islamisation" of European society and a haven for extremists.
"It reinforces the development of parallel communities and the authority of an imam who can impose the Sharia (Islamic law)," Pro Cologne leader Manfred Rouhs said.
In the working-class neighbourhood of rundown apartment buildings where women in headscarves share the sidewalk with trendy students, Alboga of DITIB seeks common ground.
"We are not a danger to the country," he said. "Our mosque is an open one."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Giant Cologne mosque tests German tolerance
Cologne, Germany) - Plans to build one of the biggest mosques in Europe here have Christian leaders and the far-right up in arms about the Muslim community's bold new assertion of its presence in Germany.
An imposing but elegant new building is to go up in the Ehrenfeld district of Cologne, a city that is 12 percent Muslim but is best known for its spectacular Gothic cathedral.
Currently, most Muslims pray in small, often shabby quarters spread throughout the city and often hidden from plain view.
A visit to a typical prayer centre in Cologne reveals a stifling room in a prefabricated beige building where fake crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Two giant posters of Mecca and Medina adorn the thick walls.
Frequently more than 1 000 worshippers attend Friday prayers at the building which once housed a pharmaceuticals factory, squeezed between a petrol station and a noisy street.
If the crowd grows too big, prayer mats are laid out outside.
"Do you really want us to continue to pray in this miserable place?" asked Bekir Alboga, the director of intercultural dialogue at the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), which runs the centre.
"Just as the Christians have their churches and the Jews their synagogues, we want to pray in a mosque."
Which is what led DITIB, the biggest Muslim organisation in Germany, to press ahead with plans to build the sprawling new mosque and administrative building.
Two 55-metre-tall minarets will frame its 34,5-metre-tall glass cupola, high above a chamber where 2 000 people will be able to worship at once.
Construction, financed by private donations and a bank loan, is to begin this year.
The conservative mayor of Cologne, Fritz Schramma, called the plans "excellent, both aesthetically but also symbolically."
He is joined by local officials from across the political spectrum.
"Cologne has 120 000 Muslims," the Social Democratic district councilman, Josef Wirges, said.
"They should be able to pray at a prestigious building," he said. "After all we have the beautiful Cologne cathedral."
But others in the city on the Rhine nicknamed "the Rome of the north" which hosted the Catholic Church's World Youth Day in 2005 are eyeing the plans with suspicion.
The Archbishop of Cologne, Joachim Meisner, said he understood why a giant mosque in their midst would make some in the city wary, adding that he too had a "negative impression" of the plans.
"You have to take people's fears seriously," Schramma added.
"But these people have never been concerned about the fact that there is already a mosque here," albeit insufficient for the community's needs.
The debate has exposed deep faultlines between Germans and the more than three-million-strong Muslim minority.
In a country in which immigrants were long considered temporary "guest workers," many harbour resentment that some Turks, for example, still do not speak German 40 years after their arrival.
Muslim immigrants respond that integration is a two-way street and requires more respect and tolerance on the part of Germans.
Similar rows have recently broken out in other German cities including Berlin, as well as the Netherlands and Spain.
The debate in Cologne grew more heated when a prominent Jewish writer and Holocaust survivor, Ralph Giordano, called for the mosque to be stopped because it would only backfire in its aim to encourage more integration.
Saying that Muslim women "veiled from head to toe" looked like "human penguins", Giordano found himself in uncomfortably close company with a right-wing citizens' group called "Pro Cologne" which has five members on the city council and has waged an anti-foreigner campaign against the mosque.
The organisation argues that it will be a symbol of the creeping "Islamisation" of European society and a haven for extremists.
"It reinforces the development of parallel communities and the authority of an imam who can impose the Sharia (Islamic law)," Pro Cologne leader Manfred Rouhs said.
In the working-class neighbourhood of rundown apartment buildings where women in headscarves share the sidewalk with trendy students, Alboga of DITIB seeks common ground.
"We are not a danger to the country," he said. "Our mosque is an open one."
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Giant Cologne mosque tests German tolerance
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - GERMANY/IRAN: DEUTSCHE BANK DIVESTS FROM ITS .1% REVENUE STREAM RESULTING FROM ITS DEALINGS WITH IRAN
Deutsche Bank Ditches Iran
Pretty soon the few businessmen and government officials in Iran that use Deutsche Bank in their oil export deals will learn that the German bank no longer works with them. Deutsche Bank confirmed to Forbes.com Tuesday that it was pulling out of Iran, a country where it derives just 0.1% of its revenue, because it didn't make business sense to stay.
The bank said regulations imposed by the United Nations and the European Union led to an increased workload and limited business opportunities. "We have sent a letter to private clients in Iran who have an account with Deutsche Bank (nyse: DB - news - people ) in Germany, and told them that we have to terminate our business relationship with them," said Deutsche Bank spokesman Ronald Weichert.
Iran might be an oil rich nation; it ships some 4 million barrels of crude a day and accounts for 5% of global supply. But one German banking analyst, who did not wish to be named, said Deutsche Bank's interest in the Iranian oil business was negligible. "I think leaving Iran improves the business opportunities [for Deutsche Bank]," he said. "Iran is a small country. It's not worth it to deal with Iran and then lose business in the U.S."
But Global Insight analyst Bryan Plamondon countered that there was still potential for higher revenues if the regulations and monitoring guidelines weren't there. "It is certainly true that foreign banks operating in Iran would be doing far better if it were not for the sanctions and regulations," he said. High oil prices are one of the main drivers of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Iran. The country's economy grew more than 5% over the last two years and the International Monetary Fund is forecasting 6% this year if oil prices stay high.
Like its other operations in the surrounding Middle East region, Deutsche Bank focuses on trade finance in Iran, having chosen not to apply for a retail banking license in the country.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Deutsche Bank Ditches Iran
Pretty soon the few businessmen and government officials in Iran that use Deutsche Bank in their oil export deals will learn that the German bank no longer works with them. Deutsche Bank confirmed to Forbes.com Tuesday that it was pulling out of Iran, a country where it derives just 0.1% of its revenue, because it didn't make business sense to stay.
The bank said regulations imposed by the United Nations and the European Union led to an increased workload and limited business opportunities. "We have sent a letter to private clients in Iran who have an account with Deutsche Bank (nyse: DB - news - people ) in Germany, and told them that we have to terminate our business relationship with them," said Deutsche Bank spokesman Ronald Weichert.
Iran might be an oil rich nation; it ships some 4 million barrels of crude a day and accounts for 5% of global supply. But one German banking analyst, who did not wish to be named, said Deutsche Bank's interest in the Iranian oil business was negligible. "I think leaving Iran improves the business opportunities [for Deutsche Bank]," he said. "Iran is a small country. It's not worth it to deal with Iran and then lose business in the U.S."
But Global Insight analyst Bryan Plamondon countered that there was still potential for higher revenues if the regulations and monitoring guidelines weren't there. "It is certainly true that foreign banks operating in Iran would be doing far better if it were not for the sanctions and regulations," he said. High oil prices are one of the main drivers of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Iran. The country's economy grew more than 5% over the last two years and the International Monetary Fund is forecasting 6% this year if oil prices stay high.
Like its other operations in the surrounding Middle East region, Deutsche Bank focuses on trade finance in Iran, having chosen not to apply for a retail banking license in the country.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Deutsche Bank Ditches Iran
Thursday, July 19, 2007
DAR AL ISLAM - AFGHANISTAN: SO ARE THE 2 GERMANS 'TOURISTS' OR EMPLOYEES OF THE UNITED NATIONS?!? HOW MUCH TRIBUTE WILL THE GERMANS PAY THIS TIME ?!?
Afghanistan: Taliban threaten to kill German tourists
Kabul, 19 July (Aki) - The Islamic Taliban militants who claim to be holding two German engineers kidnapped on Wednesday have threatened to kill them if the Afghan authorities continue to hunt them down.
Efforts to trace them have been underway in the district of Jaghto. The threats were sent to the Pajhwok local news agency via a telephone call from an armed group which is accusing the pair of being spies.
The two Germans were seized along with five Afhans who were working for a UN project in Afghanistan. The Afghans were released after just a few hours.
Pertinent Links:
1) Afghanistan: Taliban threaten to kill German tourists
Kabul, 19 July (Aki) - The Islamic Taliban militants who claim to be holding two German engineers kidnapped on Wednesday have threatened to kill them if the Afghan authorities continue to hunt them down.
Efforts to trace them have been underway in the district of Jaghto. The threats were sent to the Pajhwok local news agency via a telephone call from an armed group which is accusing the pair of being spies.
The two Germans were seized along with five Afhans who were working for a UN project in Afghanistan. The Afghans were released after just a few hours.
Pertinent Links:
1) Afghanistan: Taliban threaten to kill German tourists
Friday, July 13, 2007
DAR AL HARB - GERMANY: SOMEONE WANTS A DEATH FATWA ALL OF THEIR OWN
German Author Wants to Read Satanic Verses in Mosque
A German book author said he wants to read aloud inside a Cologne mosque from "The Satanic Verses," the 1988 novel by Salman Rushdie that some Muslims consider blasphemous and led to a 1989 fatwa against Rushdie.
...
Someone is looking for a death sentence fatwa of his own...I am certain he shall get one...
Pertinent Links:
1) German Author Wants to Read Satanic Verses in Mosque
A German book author said he wants to read aloud inside a Cologne mosque from "The Satanic Verses," the 1988 novel by Salman Rushdie that some Muslims consider blasphemous and led to a 1989 fatwa against Rushdie.
...
Someone is looking for a death sentence fatwa of his own...I am certain he shall get one...
Pertinent Links:
1) German Author Wants to Read Satanic Verses in Mosque
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
