BB FANS

Hmmm... I did notice that the mobile phones there were a bit on the large side! It wasn't their shoes either because that was my first thought so I kept trying to see their shoes but the burka's they were wearing were too long. I called my (then) bf

'Huseyin?' and about 30 people turned around as if to say 'why are you shouting me? I don't know you!

Imams plan 'civil' march to show distress at cartoons

Hugh Muir The Guardian

British imams have demanded changes in the law and a strengthening of the Press Complaints Commission code to outlaw any possible publication of the cartoons of the prophet Muhammad in the UK.

Amid escalating tensions provoked by the controversy throughout Europe and the Middle East, more than 300 religious leaders and scholars met yesterday to highlight the distress of British communities and to plan a way forward.

They have scheduled a march through London next weekend and say at least 20,000 people are likely to attend.

Yesterday's event, which involved imams and grassroots figures from throughout England and Scotland, marked the foundation of the Muslim Action Committee (MAC), whose leaders plan a continuous campaign to confront the alleged disparagement of Muslim communities and to call for "global civility".

They say they are determined to show how deeply Muslims have been hurt, without allowing the issue to be hijacked by extremists. Families on the MAC-sponsored march on February 18 from Trafalgar Square to Hyde Park will only be allowed to carry approved banners.

Faiz Siddiqi, the MAC's national convenor, said: "What is being called for is a change of culture. In any civilised society, if someone says, 'don't insult me', you do not, out of respect for them. Europe has a history of not treating minorities properly. The Holocaust is an example of that. The imagery being used today is the same kind that Hitler used against the Jews. Look where that ended up: in world war."

He said committee members would seek to meet editors and the PCC. Newspapers have so far declined to publish the offending cartoons. Mr Siddiqi called for that approach to be formalised.

"The PCC's code is voluntary. It is a benchmark of civility. It is a social contract. Why could it not be extended to cover Muslims?"

The meeting also agreed to back a boycott of Danish goods already imposed by Muslims in other European countries.

guardian

Cartoons to be debated at festival

Cartoons that controversially depict the prophet Muhammad will be debated during a comedy festival.

Satire about faiths has dominated the headlines since the caricatures were first published in Denmark and then reprinted across Europe, sparking furious protests from Muslims worldwide.

Jokes about religion and whether there are no-go areas for satirists will be discussed at two events during the Leicester Comedy Festival. Roseanne Barr, Ronnie Corbett and Ben Elton are among headline acts taking part in the festival, which runs at various venues across Leicester until February 19.

Stand-up comedian Omid Djalili will be part of a panel discussing boundaries of taste in Joking Apart: The Limits of Humour, at the Haymarket Theatre on Sunday evening.

"How should people respond to hate jokes?" and "Comedy designed to desecrate religious icons" will be topics talked about in the hour-long discussion.

On Monday evening, comic Stewart Lee will be joined by various religious leaders for The Faith and Comedy Debate at Leicester Cathedral.

Festival founder and director Geoff Rowe said: "It's really important that when putting together the programme for the festival we consider issues about what people can tell jokes about and what they can't.

"I think the city of Leicester, with its diversity, is perhaps the most appropriate place to think about how communities can work together and have a laugh together."

The extravaganza is expected to attract in the region of 50,000 people.

wanadoo

Tony Blair has welcomed a Commons vote in favour of criminalising the 'glorification' of terrorism.

Speaking in Number 10, the prime minister said "parliament has now sent out a very strong signal".

"I think that signal of strength is vital in circumstances where the threat that we face is not just from individual acts of terrorism but the people who celebrate it, who try and entice other people or recruit other people into doing it," he added.

"And I hope that message of strength is heard loud and clear."

Votes
Earlier, MPs voted by 315 to 277, a majority of 38, in favour of reinserting the 'glorification' clause into the Terrorism Bill.

A second vote in favour of tougher controls on internet content was won by the government with a majority of 64.

Blair said the new law would make it clear to extremists that they should not abuse Britain's tradition of free speech.

He also rejected suggestions that the government was seeking to exploit concerns over terrorism.

"It has got nothing to do with political positioning," he said. "It has got to do with the interests of the country."

Modern terrorism could not be dealt with "in the old way".

Epolitix for full report

Muslims 'must accept' free speech

People must tolerate things they do not like, says Sir Trevor
Muslims must accept that freedom of speech is central to Britishness and should be preserved even if it offends people, says Sir Trevor Phillips.

The chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) said we should "allow people to offend each other".

And he suggested that Muslims who wanted a system of Islamic Shariah law should leave the UK.

His comments follow angry protests against cartoons satirising the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

'Absurd or unpopular'

Sir Trevor told ITV1's Jonathan Dimbleby programme: "What some minorities have to accept is that there are certain central things we all agree about, which are about the way we treat each other.

"That we have an attachment to democracy, that we sort things out by voting not by violence and intimidation, that we tolerate things that we don't like."

And that commitment to freedom of expression should also allow Muslim preachers to make comments about homosexuality that are offensive to broad segments of the British population, he said.

Trafalgar Square
There were several large protests held in London over the cartoons

"One point of Britishness is that people can say what they like about the way we should live, however absurd, however unpopular it is," said Sir Trevor.

He also rejected the idea of Shariah law in Muslim communities in the UK.

"We have one set of laws. They are decided on by one group of people, members of Parliament, and that's the end of the story.

"Anybody who lives here has to accept that's the way we do it. If you want to have laws decided in another way, you have to live somewhere else," he said.
BBC

That makes sense.