Miss Kelly

"These Muslim girls at Harvard were lazy..."

Whew!  Fightin' words from Ali Eteraz on the Harvard women-only gym kerfuffle.  This story is the gift that keeps on giving, there's no end to the scathing criticism of what Harvard did and how they did it.  From Eteraz:

"Muslims play a dangerous and stupid game when they start demanding things based on their Islam. Even the most conservative reading of classical Sharia reveals that Eunuchs were allowed to wander freely through the harem. In other words, a known homosexual man who has never had sex with a woman and never will, can make a powerful case under Sharia that he cannot be excluded from the gym hours. (Someone should try this just for fun — lets see if Harvard sets up an Islamic law tribunal!). If you really want to play this absurdist Islamic Law game further, then you have to ask about Lesbians. In most readings of Islamic Law it would be forbidden — haram — impermissible — unacceptable in toto — for a Muslim woman to take her clothes off in front of a known lesbian. But, do you think my good sisters are Harvard are banning known Lesbians, though?....."

Shariah Creep at Harvard and Elsewhere

Timely, really, this recent action by Harvard to provide women-only gym hours in response to a request by the Harvard Islamic Society.  They think they're being "open minded and inclusive," when actually they're rewarding a miniscule minority of Harvard students who are Muslim fundamentalists.  One Muslim reader calls them "stealth jihadists."  Imagine if Harvard's Mormon students asked for this treatment.  However, there is a growing awareness of "Shariah Creep," as noticed by Kathy Shaidle in this article.  Mary Steyn comments on it here:

"Every society has culturally self-segregating groups - the Amish and whatnot. But they're usually in small numbers somewhere out on the edge of the map. In Europe and Canada, the self-segregating group happens to be the principal source of population growth, which presents a profound challenge to societal cohesion. America does not face the same scale of problem, but nevertheless 'sharia creep' ought to be resisted before it becomes remorseless."

Shaidle quotes Robert Spencer on shariah creep:

Women Only Staff Too for Harvard Gym

As I suspected, not only is the gym off-limits to men during the special women-only times, the gym staff has to be women too.  How many people does Harvard inconvenience to accomodate a handful of Muslim students?  From an AP story published at The Times of India:

"BOSTON: In a test of Harvard’s famed open-mindedness, the university has banned men from one of its gyms for a few hours a week to accommodate Muslim women who say it offends their sense of modesty to exercise in front of the opposite sex."

"...No men are allowed in the gym between 3 pm and 5 pm on Mondays, and between 8 am and 10 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Even the staff during those times is all women."

"...The special hours allow the Muslim women, who adhere to traditional dress codes by covering their hair and most of their skin while in public, to dress more appropriately for exercising, said Susan Marine, director of the women’s center.... The women-only hours are of minimal inconvenience as they are just six out of the 70 hours a week the gym is open, Marine said. 'Harvard has a moral and ethical responsibility to make sure our students can stay healthy,' she said. "

Ms. Marine, no one is stopping this handful of students from exercising.  They're stopping themselves and forcing their "religion" on everybody else.  This is what happens when Harvard accords greater respect to every other culture except its very own.   

So, Ms. Marine, what does the director of Harvard's Women's Center think about the fiqh class about menstruation taught to Muslim students at Harvard in May 2007 (Bukhari Institute class held in Canaday Musalla), which taught that a women who isn't menstruating cannot refuse to have intercourse with her husband?   Does that fit with the Women's Center's mission to "promote awareness of women's and gender issues?" 

A Muslim reader wrote to me today, critical that Harvard aquiesced to the Harvard Islamic Society. He refers to these college student groups - heavily influenced by Muslim Brotherhood organizations such as the Muslim American Society and Muslim Student Association - as waging a "stealth jihad." He wrote:

"Does Susan Marine know that Muslim women have fought in wars, side by side with men, even at the time of the Prophet Muhammad, 1400 years ago?  Did Harvard get a vote from all the Muslim students and Muslim Alumnae and make a decision with their input?  Isn't that the democratic process?"

Answers: No, no, and who cares about the democratic process at Harvard?

Blowback on Harvard Gym Women-Only Hours?

There's a great deal of interest in Harvard's recent decision to make one of their gyms "women-only" for six hours a week, in response to a request by the Harvard Islamic Society (HIS).  I wrote my Five Reasons Why Women-Only Gym Hours at Harvard is a Bad Idea, which Universal Hub linked to, with many comments there.  Fox News covered the story, Greta von Susteren blogged about it, Instapundit linked to Michael Graham's column on Harvard - this story has legs!   

Most public reaction has been unfavorable and most people see it as being discriminatory against men.  Instapundit reports that a law professor wrote him stating that this is most certainly illegal, with precedent set in Massachusetts [Hassan and DiCenso v. City of Boston, et al., 20 MDLR 83].  Let's hope some Harvard Law student or grad sues the college.

Five Reasons Why Women-Only Gym Hours at Harvard is a Bad Idea

That sound you hear ("chink - chink - chink") is the sound of Islamists chiseling away at Harvard's coed,  secular culture.   The other sound you hear ("thwump - thwump") is the sound of Harvard caving in to their fundamentalist Muslim students.   

In case you haven't heard, Harvard is scheduling "women only" hours at one of their gyms, at the request of the Harvard Islamic Student Society.  Below, I give My Five  Reasons Why This is a Bad Idea. From a student newspaper:

"Harvard University has moved to make Muslim women more comfortable in the gym by instituting women-only access times six hours a week to accommodate religious customs that make it difficult for some students to work out in the presence of men."

Criticism of Archbishop's Call for Sharia in England

There's been a loud, steady outcry from around the world criticizing Anglican Archbishop Rowan William, who recently said that  "adopting some aspects of sharia law for Muslims is 'unavoidable' in England"  and  that it could lead to "improved social cohesion."  The strongest critics were Muslim women and ex-Muslims, who know what sharia law looks like and how it's implemented in many countries.  The major criticisms are that 1) England already has one set of laws for all people, 2) sharia law is discriminatory against women and non-Muslims, and 3) many Muslim women, dissidents and gays immigrated to England to escape sharia law. The ultimate goal is Islamists is implemeting sharia law to govern all aspects of life for everyone.  Give 'em an inch, they'll take a mile. This is only the beginning.  Here's what Yasmin Alibhai (Muslim), Johann Hari (staunch liberal) Dr. Patrick Sookhedo (former Muslim), Mona Eltahawy (Muslim) and the dumpster-diving Iowahawk had to say:

Depressing News from England - Dhimmitude on the March

There's been a lot of weird news coming out of England lately, which suggests that dhimmitude* is on the march there.    Some recent examples of voluntary dhimmitude in Merry Olde England:

• Female Muslim medical students are refusing to roll up their sleeves and wash their hands and forearms, claiming that it violates their religion to expose their forearms.  The National Health Service has mandated this practice for all medical personnel, saying it's needed to stop the spread of infections such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile,which has caused hundreds of deaths.  The Islamic Medical Association however, insists that no practicing Muslim woman should be forced to bear her forearms.
  
• England has decided to extend welfare benefits to polygamous wives and their children.  Although the government report says that polygamy is illegal in England, it will provide welfare benefits for the wive of Muslim men who acquired their wives in foreign countries where polygamy is legal.  "Husband with multiple wives may also be eligible for additional housing benefit and council tax benefit to reflect the larger property needed for his family."  Way to go, Guv'nah, create economic incentives for more polygamy and for a family structure that is antithetical to Western society.#
• Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England, recently said that adopting some (unspecified) aspects of sharia law for Muslims is "unavoidable" in England. Willaims thinks that having sharia law would help create social cohesion.  Really?  Having different sets of laws for different religions - instead of one set of laws for everybody - would create cohesion?  I wonder which sharia provisions he's referring to?  Should England allow a man to divorce his wife by simply saying "I divorce you" three times?  How about 100 lashes (or death) for adulterers and homosexuals?  Child custody to the father  when couples divorce?  Child custody to the Muslim parent when mixed couples divorce?  Daughters inheriting half of what sons inherit? Chopping off hands of thieves?   There's a reason that the most vocal opponents to introducing sharia family law in Ontario, Canada in 2004 were Muslim women.   Williams did get "slapped down" by many of his his British brethren the following day, as per this article.

What are they drinking across the Big Pond?

As Omnia21 points out in an e-mail, Lord Carey of Clifton,  the former Archbishop of Canterbury, had a far better understanding Islamist ideology and sharia law:

"....Fundamental differences between Judaism and Christianity on the one hand, and Islam on the other, is that the former readily accepts the sacred/secular divide whereas in Islam there is no such separation for the vast majority of Muslims. For the Islamist, Sharia law takes precedence over civil laws. ...  Islamists in particular yearn to live under Sharia law, a reconstituted caliphate, to return to the original principles of the Islamic state. This creates problems in Muslim-majority countries as well as in the West."

Notes below.....

 

Investor's Business Daily Not Buying CAIR's Population Estimate

The Investor's Business Daily has a editorial today that debunks the oft-heard statement that there are 7 or 8 millions Muslims in the U.S. today.  From their editorial:

"Since Muslim Keith Ellison's election to Congress, there's been a lot of noise in the media about the growing clout of the 8 million-Muslim electorate. Eight million?"

"It seems the size of the Muslim population in America jumps by an additional million every other year or so. (I've noticed that myself....MK) Just a couple of years ago the consensus number bandied about in the media was 7 million. Before 9/11 it was 6 million."

".... While the number of Muslims is growing thanks to higher birthrates and immigration, it's nowhere near CAIR's claim. Even the most generous independent estimate puts it at half that size, or 4 million."

It turns out that CAIR (Council on Islamic American Relations) had a gentleman named Ihsan Bagby develop the 6 million estimate a few years ago.  Is he a experienced in demographics?  population statistics?  No, but he is a CAIR board member.  His methodology, according to the IBD editorial:

1. With help from CAIR researchers, Bagby called the nation's 1,209 mosques and interviewed 416 of them, asking them how many people were involved in their mosque in any way. The average response was 1,625, which is probably high, given that two imams claimed 50,000 when the nation's largest mosque — Dar al-Hijrah in the D.C. suburbs — has only about 3,000.

2. Bagby then multiplied that fuzzy participation figure by the 1,209 mosques and came up with 2 million "mosqued Muslims."

3. Next, he multiplied that sum by a magical factor of three to capture Muslims who might not participate in mosque activities, and arrived at the original 6 million guesstimate for the size of the Muslim population in America.

That's a made-up number, and is about twice as high as other population estimates by other, independent groups, like the U.S. State Department and the Brittanica Book of the Year. As the editorial points out:

"The Pentagon.... does not question the number. Neither does the White House, Congress nor the media — no matter how fantastic the number gets. But it's the Wahhabi lobby's big lie. CAIR and other militant Muslim groups use it to intimidate politicians, corporations and media to change policy."

"But don't buy it. It's a total exaggeration."

Reporters and newspapers rarely question the inflated estimate either.  But we do!

America's Democracy Based on Islamic Influence? Huh?

The Muslim American Society Boston chapter sent this gem around this morning via e-mail, taken from a Nigerian newspaper:

"Contrary to the widely held opinion in the Muslim world concerning America’s view on Islam, the United States of America has respect, care and acknowledgement of Muslims contribution in America civilization.
This assertion was made by Mr. Russell Hanks, the political counsellor in the Embassy of the United States of American in Nigeria.
The counsellor who made the disclosure at a dinner parts organized by the US embassy for selected Muslims for breaking their fast on Tuesday, stated that the very foundation of democracy laid by America’s founding fathers was based on Islamic influence essentially from the Middle East."

Please, not before breakfast!  Whiskey tango foxtrot?  Come again?  In Nigeria? Where Northern Muslim Nigerians are imposing sharia law on non-Muslims, persecuting Christians and stoning adulterous women?  Jeffeson, Madison, Franklin, Washington - they based their work on Islamic principles from the Middle East? What on earth is he talking about? What's with our State Department? More from Hanks:

"He said the programme was organized for Muslims in this very important month of Ramadan because of the respect the embassy accords to Muslims and their religion."

Refresh my memory, please. When was the last time the U.S. State Department or any U.S. embassy lauded Buddhists or Hindus or Catholics or Sikhs?  I'm not coming up with anything.  No other religion gets this pandering. Why the grovelling? Mr. Banks, this is ridiculous.  Our nation's forefathers were quite religious, but they were all Christian.  The dhimmitude will get you nowhere.  Please explain yourself.

Update: The U.S.embassy website has pics of the event, but attributes a quote similar to what's in the newspaper article to Ambassador Campbell, not Russell Hanks.  I'd really like to get my hands on a transcript of that speech.  Maybe it will be posted here in a few days..... Russell Hanks is apparently the Political Affairs Officer at the embassy.  I sent them an e-mail asking if Mr. Banks really made such a statement, and if so, why?  We'll see if I hear back.

Europe is Screwed

First, England grants asylum to nine Afghanis who got to England by hijacking a plane at gunpoint in 2000.  Returning the men to Afghanistan would breach their human rights under of Article 3 of the European Convention. 

"The nine hijackers and 25 family members have been resettled in rent-free housing in west London and receive benefits."

England, why don't you respect yourself?  Why are you more concerned with the rights of hijackers than your own citizens?   

Next, a Spanish court releases Saed El Harrak, the Morrocan national held on charges for the March 2004 Madrid train bombings. Big oopsy.  Authorities neglected to obtain an extension to keep him in prison, so off he goes.   The man had held telephone conversations with terrorism suspects who blew themselves up in a apartment some days after the Madrid bombing.   The judge who released Harrak banned him from leaving the Madrid region.  !No problemo!

Interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali in NYC

NYC was blessed to have a recent appearance by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a member of the Dutch Parliament.  Last Sunday, Ms.Ali was interviewed by the Paris Review editor Philip Gourevitch at the New York Public Library as part of PEN World Voices: The New York Festival of International Literature.  Booker Rising has an excerpt of the New York Sun article about her interview.  Hirsi Ali is an amazing, strong woman.  The continuous death threats don't stop her one bit.  She spoke of "the failure of the West to defend its own Enlightenment values against those who openly seek to undermine or destroy them."   

"My criticism of the West, especially of liberals, is that they do take freedom for granted,' Ms. [Hirsi] Ali responded. She noted that Western Europeans born after World War II are unused to conflict. 'They have lost the instinct to recognize that there can be such a thing as an enemy or a threat to freedom, and that's what I'm witnessing in Europe now,' she stated. '[There is] a pacifist ideology that violence should never be used in any circumstances, and so we should talk and talk and talk. Even when your opponent tells you, 'I don't want to talk to you, I want to destroy you,' the reaction is, 'Please, let's talk about the fact that you want to destroy me!''

Sisu is All Over Borders Bookstores

Borders Bookstores won't carry the latest issue of Free Inquiry magazine, because it contains four of the infamous Mohammed cartoons.  Not on the cover, mind you, but inside the magazine. Borders is concerned that somebody might get offended and hurt their employees. Their 1984-esque statement:

“We absolutely respect our customers’ right to choose what they wish to read and buy and we support the First Amendment,” Bingham said. “And we absolutely support the rights of Free Inquiry to publish the cartoons. We’ve just chosen not to carry this particular issue in our stores.”

II think a lot of their customers are going to choose not to buy any more books, magazines or CDs at Borders.  Sisu is all over this story, lots of links and related info at her blog.