“Offending the masses is not a fundamental right” January 29, 2008

Geert Wilders, Dutch parliamentarian for the very right-wing Freedom Party (one of whose slogans is “less tax and less Islam”), has been causing a stir as of late with his new anti-Islam film which has as one of its climaxes a copy of the Qur’an being burned. Wilders, who in February 2007 called upon Dutch Muslims to “tear out half the pages of the Quran and throw them away”, plans on burning (or tearing up) the Muslim holy book as evidence of his opinion that the Qur’an is a “fascist” document, calling Islam “an inspiration for murder”.

The 10-15 minute anti-Quran film, scheduled to air in March (though Wilders has yet to find a broadcaster, he pledged to release it on the Internet if he can not find a media outlet), “has already prompted the government to alert Dutch cities to prepare for possible violent reactions and warn embassies in Islamic countries”, inciting ire from Syria to Singapore.

Dutch Muslims are “appealing for calm”, trying to “neutralize” the potentially negative effects of the film, including any violence or boycotts, reminding Wilders that they, too, were Dutch citizens:

Mohamed Rabbae’s group [the Dutch National Moroccan Council], which he said represents the majority of the more than 850,000 Muslims living in this nation of 16.3 million, also plans to call on the Muslim world to react peacefully if and when the film is broadcast, and not to boycott Dutch products.

“We want to make clear that the Netherlands is not just the country of one man, but also of the Muslims who live here,” he said. “Anything that hurts the Netherlands also hurts us.”

Appeals to Geert Wilders to refrain from making the film got this statement in reply:

“That a 10-minute film that’s never been shown may lead to riots, boycotts and other bad things, says everything about the nature of Islam,” said Wilders in an open letter Thursday. “Nothing about me.”

Reading these things incites feelings much like the title of this Somalian op-ed piece from Garowe Online: offending the masses is not a fundamental right. The “Sunday Editorial” piece voices the question I’m sure many people feel when dealing with these neo-conservative extremists — when did it become so ok, so accepted, and so in vogue to offend so many hundreds of millions of people?

Although no one (or very few people) has seen this film yet, the media uproar has created a suspenseful atmosphere, with many Western publications expecting a violent response from the Islamic world, as if this is the “natural” reaction to be expected from Muslims…[Wilders] is a man who has called the Qur’an “a fascist book” and expects Muslims to abandon their religion if they wish to live in the Netherlands…

The theme of the MP Wilders’ film is to associate growing unrest and anger across the Islamic world to the Qur’an, a Divine Revelation that preaches the values of peace, justice and mercy. Of course, the vast majority of Muslims will react with anger to anyone who disrespects the Word of Allah. But that is precisely MP Wilders’ unstated goal; he understands his blasphemous rhetoric (now on film) might lead to a violent response, but therein is his primary objective. He can then point at the violence his insensitive and intolerant work has created and tell the Dutch people that the Qur’an engenders violence.

The Qur’an is such a Holy Book that Muslims are willing to fight for it and defend it. It is the foundation of a world religion, with more than 1.5 billion adherents across the globe. If MP Wilders is willing to offend 1.5 billion people in defense of the “freedom of expression,” then is there any surprise that the offended people want to defend their own belief system?

What the world needs today, perhaps more than ever, is for all groups to realize that we are all humans who must learn to coexist peacefully in this limited world of ours.

Precisely. And firmly entrenched in the camp against co-existence, we find Geert Wilders and all others of his ilk, determined to spread bigotry in the guise of self-preservation. Here you can find Wilders giving his opinions to FOXNews, speaking about what he termed “the retarded Islamic culture”:

Being this offensive and ignorant is not a fundamental right to be enjoyed and cherished. On the contrary, it is a symptom of an illness begging to be cured.

May hatred and division be replaced by coexistence and unity, speedily in our days, throughout Europe, en ook in Nederland.

Hate News: Bigotry Roundup September 17, 2007

From this week’s Former Soviet Union Bigotry Monitor:

ROMA FAMILY SHOT DEAD. On September 10, a group of masked men burst into the home of a Roma family named Lyalikov in the town of Ordzhonikidze, Ingushetia, demanded money, and then shot to death a middle-aged couple, their two adult sons, and an unspecified number of children, according to a report by the Russian news web site Gazeta.ru. Police investigators told the press that ethnic hatred motivated the crime.

Other recent murders that have taken place in Ordzhonikidze include ethnic Russian and Korean families. Observers suggest that the killings are intended to discourage the return of ethnic Russians who fled the violence of the two Chechen wars.

PASTOR’S SON BEATEN FOR NOT PARTICIPATING IN ORTHODOX PRAYER. The son of a Protestant pastor was attacked in school by classmates following his non-participation in a Russian Orthodox prayer held on the first day of school, according to a September 6 report by the Slavic Law and Justice Center, which monitors religious freedom issues in Russia.

Pastor Aleksey Perov of the Reorganized Latter Day Saints Church (an offshoot of Mormonism) in the village of Gribanovsky told the Center that on the first day of school, a Russian Orthodox priest visited the first grade classroom that his son David attends and led the children in a prayer. Some of the other children noticed that David did not participate in the prayer, and they beat him up twice during recesses. Perov, who heads a small congregation of about 20 members, told the Center that many of his fellow village residents view his church with suspicion, calling him a “sect member” and a “traitor” because he is not Orthodox. He added that the public school will soon add Orthodox theology courses to its curriculum, a policy that has been implemented in five other regions of the country….

RACISTS ATTACK MIXED-RACE BOYS. A group of youths attacked two mixed-race boys in Ryazan while screaming “Sieg Heil!” according to a September 6 report by the Sova Information-Analytical Center. The previously unreported attack took place on May 22. The older victim lost consciousness after one of the youths shattered a bottle on his head. The attack ended when a woman passing by screamed for help and the youths fled. The victims were not robbed, increasing the likelihood that the assault was a hate crime. The victims alleged that a local hospital refused to treat them. They later reported the incident to the police. There have been no arrests…

ANTISEMITIC MESSAGES SCRAWLED ON JEWISH SCHOOL. Vandals scrawled antisemitic messages on a Jewish school in Ukraine, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported on September 10. Students at the ORT Aleph Jewish Gymnasium in Zaporozhe returned to school last week to find “Jews, get out” and “Death to Jews” spray-painted on the building. The incident was reported to the police. About 20,000 Jews live among Zaporozhe’s 800,000 residents. The ORT school has some 300 students.

To subscribe to the Bigotry Monitor, published weekly by the UCSJ (Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union), email bigotrymonitor@ucsj.com with the word “subscribe” as the subject of the message.

“Israel has dozens of Neo-Nazis” September 11, 2007

Well, boker tov! It’s about damn time someone woke up and smelled the hummus. The Jerusalem Post tells us what I, for one, have known for quite some time now. Israel is beginning to have a serious problem with neo-Nazis.

Central District police disclosed that information late Monday, hours after Israel Police Insp.-Gen. David Cohen revealed during a pre-Rosh Hashana celebration the bad news that there are “dozens more neo-Nazis in Israel.” Police were working on finding those neo-Nazis, including combing neo-Nazi Web sites for possible suspects, Cohen said at the annual toast at the Police National Headquarters in Jerusalem.

Experts have warned that neo-Nazi organizations may be active in urban areas including Beersheba and the Haifa suburbs.…

Community organizations for Russian immigrants were quick to point out this this type of behavior is “unusual” for recent immigrants from the Former Soviet Union, something that I think should go without saying (who the hell expects immigrants to Israel to be neo-Nazis?). The Police Inspector-General said neo-Nazis are “running amok”.

The neo-Nazis run by Eli Boanitov of recent infamy have been indicted, and in the indictment hearing, YNet reports, the extent of this man’s twisted psychology became more apparent:

The eight are charged on counts of racially-motivated aggravated assault, conspiring to commit a crime, distributing inciting materials, possessing racist materials and weapons and issuing threats…

Cell-leader Eli Buanitov, a 19-year-old known as ‘Nazi Eli,’ is also charged with a separate count of battery. According to the indictment, ICQ records show Buanitov intended to conduct a ceremony for his fellow neo-Nazis in which they would “swear their allegiance to Hitler and vow to preserve the white race with the last drop of their blood.”

“The problem is that here there isn’t anything to fight against because it’s a country of fucking kikes, we just can’t. Not me, not you and not even Adolf – may he rest in peace,” wrote Buanitov in an online conversation with a friend.

The grandmother of one of the defendants arrived at the courthouse to hear the charges and said she “would rather have perished in the Holocaust than experience what my grandson is putting me through.”

They should be deported. They should serve jail time for the explosives and for their videotaped crimes, and they should be deported.

But that’s just a handful of youths. Israel, of all places, needs to crack down on neo-Nazi organizations en masse for its own sake. This is not a job that can be solely accomplished by police or authorities — there needs to be a heightened awareness in Nazi-frequented areas.

Every Jew in Eilat and Be’ersheva and the “Haifa suburbs” needs to perfectly aware that “88″ is slang for “Heil Hitler” and act accordingly. End the anonymity that lets these societal scabs fester. These organizations will not function if every man, woman, and child knows their precise doings and whereabouts.

I hope every Nazi living in Israel is found, and called to account for why he calls for the murder of his own kin while enjoying the privileges bestowed on him by a nation paid for with Jewish blood. May this upcoming year, 5768, be the end of such hatred, and the beginning of unity.

Hate of the Day August 29, 2007

Some recent racism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism related headlines:

A human rights agency noted that racist crime has been on the rise in at least 8 EU member countries over the past six years. Germany’s data collection chief speaks in depth. Cyprus didn’t produce a report simply because “there’s no racism” in Cyprus.

Racist Columbus cop Susan L. Purtee has been re-assigned to a non-enforcement position since her YouTube rants (which I wrote about previously) have caused such a stir among those who viewed them. (An official condemnation was released by the Council for American-Islamic Relations.)

Oklahoma State University is being named in an anti-white discrimination lawsuit. A former OSU wrestler claimed he received unfair treatment in a sexual assault investigation because he is white.

A judge in California cited among his reasons for sentencing two suspects the fact that the defendants were white. While the requested sentence was 14 years in jail for the suspects, the judge allegedly said, “Both defendants are white; 12 years if they plead to all counts.”

50% of East Germans aged 14-25 said they could see the “good sides” of the Nazi party.

A Ku Klux Klan splinter group leader who taught another man how to use a pipe bomb at a white-supremacist gathering was resentenced to 10 years and 10 months in prison Tuesday. David Wayne Hull had been sentenced in February 2005 to 12 years in prison. Hull’s attorney, Chris Eyster, said he was pleased with the shorter sentence and called it “a victory of sorts.”

A white supremacist gang was among those who benefitted from a recent identity theft scheme in California.

May we see the end of hate, speedily in our days.

Neo-Nazi Execution Video Surfaces in Russia August 14, 2007

From the British Telegraph.co.uk:

A previously unknown Russian nationalist group has posted a video on the internet showing the execution of two Muslim men, prompting fears that neo-Nazis are beginning to ape the techniques used by Islamic extremists in Iraq.

The footage surfaced on the Russian version of the popular social networking website LiveJournal over the weekend. It was quickly taken down.

The three-minute video, titled “Execution of a Tajik and a Dagestani”, begins with two men kneeling before a masked extremist in combat fatigues. Apparently unprompted, they mumble that they have been taken hostage by “Russian Nationalist Socialists”.

The masked man then uses a knife to decapitate one of his prisoners in a grim sequence lasting 90 seconds.

WTF. And the disgusting thing is that this is not happening in a vacuum. Anti-Semitism is also on the rise in Russia. What’s next, beheaded Jews (G-d forbid)?

The Telegraph also notes that “ethnic minorities in Russia have risen dramatically in recent years.” This is a disturbing trend, and is exacerbated by often lenient criminal policies when it comes to neo-Nazis. Few perpetrators have been brought to justice.

We could very well be seeing the beginning of a serious problem in Eastern Europe when it comes to racism. Very serious. But were a genocidal worst-case scenario to erupt right now, the US would be sorely strapped militarily and possibly, Heaven forbid, logistically unable to act.

Dutch Right-Wing MP Wants to Ban the Qur’an August 8, 2007

With a hat tip to the indefatigable Islamophobia Watch blog:

Dutch far-right Parliament Member Geert Wilders (Freedom Party) today called for a ban on the Qur’an, calling it “fascist” and likening it to Hitler’s Mein Kampf, and saying it encourages its followers to “kill…non-believers, beat and rape women, and to establish an Islamic state by force.”

Wilders, who heads the far-right Freedom Party, which holds nine of the 150 seats in parliament, argued for the ban in a letter published in the De Volkskrant newspaper.Wilders compared the Koran to Adolf Hitler’s autobiography Mein Kampf and said that it has “no place in our constitutional state.”

“I have been saying this for years: there is no such thing as a moderate Islam,” he wrote, arguing that several chapters in the Koran called on Muslims “to oppress, persecute, or kill Christians, Jews, dissidents, and non-believers, to beat and rape women, and to establish an Islamic state by force.”

Wilders wrote the letter after a weekend attack on young local politician Eshan Jami who founded a group to support people who have renounced Islam.

Jami, who was not visibly injured in the attack, is now under constant police protection like Wilders.

“Ban this wretched book like Mein Kampf is banned! Send a signal to Jami’s attackers and other Islamic radicals that the Koran cannot be used in the Netherlands as an inspiration or an excuse for violence,” Wilders said…

“I am fed up with Islam in the Netherlands: no more Muslim immigrants allowed. I am fed up with the worship of Allah and Mohammed in the Netherlands: no more mosques,” he finished his letter.

And that’s it: no more mosques. This man is fed up with the worship of All-h (blatantly ignoring the fact that, by definition, all monotheistic faiths must be worshiping the same entity, as there is, after all, only one G-d).The ban Mr. Wilders is calling for actually goes further than the ban on Mein Kampf, as Wilders would like to see possession of the Qur’an criminalized (whereas it is only illegal to sell Mein Kampf).

This is not the first time Wilders has come out against Islam: he called for a burqa ban in 2005 (and a “face-covering garment” ban — i.e., niqab AND burqas — in 2006) , which sought to make the wearing of a burqa punishable by 12 days in prison or a 3,350 euro fine. Wilders also called for a ban on Islamic banking (i.e., banking which complies with Islamic law). [Would he ban heter iska and Jewish Law-compliant banking?]

Attorney Els Lucas brought a lawsuit against the Islamophobic MP, calling his actions “very sad” and calling it “unseemly that a member of Parliament is expressing himself in this manner.” Lucas accused Wilders of “insulting a section of the community,” an offense punishable with a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a fine of up to €16,750 ($23,065). Wilders retorted, saying:

“I do not want to incite hate; I want the Koran to be banned. That is a political opinion. I am in Parliament in order to express my political opinion,” Wilders said.

Integration Minister Ella Vogelaar called banning the Qur’an “out of the question” and called his statements “damaging” to community relations. Vogelaar said recently she expects the Netherlands “to eventually adopt some of the traditions of Islam.”The original Volkskrant article (in Dutch) is here.

Things like this are beyond counter-productive, they are blatantly Islamophobic, blatantly xenophobic and bear more of a resemblance to Hitler than any text ever could. This man “was warned by the Dutch anti-terrorism chief that his anti-Islam statements had stoked anger in the Middle East, and that he was going too far” — but when prejudice is at the forefront, all else takes a backseat.

Someone needs to hand him his brown shirt. This man should not be in Parliament. To give this man any less than an official sanction — maybe the fine, maybe the prison term, maybe censure — would be very insulting to the community and would be damaging to the Dutch image of openness and understanding.

The Netherlands deserves better. Hate-mongering politicians are never assets; they are only liabilities for the nations in which they hold office.

Fired for Being African: Racism in Rhode Island August 6, 2007

From EastBayRI.com:

Meg Natale, owner of the House of Little People on Maple Avenue, didn’t mind that an agent from the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families visited her childcare center last month to investigate a complaint made against one of her employees.What infuriated her was that it seemed as though the only thing the employee was guilty of was being black.

“I wouldn’t have a problem if they had a good reason,” she said. “But it was because he was African that they were concerned.”

Apparently the — of course, anonymous — complainant was worried that the employee, Musa Saine, a new bookkeeper and a native of Gambia, West Africa, did not have “proper documentation”.Mr. Saine has been living in America for 12 years, and has long held American citizenship.

This is not the first time Mr. Saine has been victimized by racism:

Though Mr. Saine said that he has had a “very nice experience” overall in Barrington, he is not unfamiliar with prejudice.While working at a bank prior to joining the House of Little People this summer, Mr. Saine recalled the time a southern white man questioned how he had even gotten his position as a black man.

“Right to my face,” he said. “It offends me, but I try to seize to the opportunity to educate more people.”

Mr. Saine said he made it a point to treat the customer nicely despite the insult, but even then the man would only concede that “he had more respect for people” because he was an African.

Oh you mean they let you people WORK HERE?And of course, Mr. Saine was “respectful” because he’s African…as opposed to African-American. (The sad thing is, were a pollster to ask this man after his exchange with Mr. Saine, “are you a racist?”, his answer would probably be a resounding “no”.)

One would be well-served to bear in mind that the entire “immigration debate” is not going on in a vacuum: the far majority of these self-styled good Samaritans (watching out for the “poor American worker”) are not raising the banners of nativism over the heads of Russians, Germans, or Canadians — but rather over the heads of non-white people with accents.

Extreme Right Belgian Party Seeks Jewish Support October 5, 2006

The far-right wing Belgian political party Vlaams Belang, headed by one of the most successful extreme-Right leaders in Europe, Filip Dewinter, recently called on the Jewish public to join his campaign against radical Islam and support his party, Ynet reported today.

Dewinter heads Belgium’s Vlaams Belang party, which advocates strict limits on immigration and has been denounced as xenophobic.

The politician called Antwerp’s large Jewish community a natural partner “against the main enemy of the moment, radical Islamic fundamentalism,” according to a report in The Independent….

“If they won’t accept our way of life, if they won’t accept those principles which are very clear and very necessary for Western democracy, I don’t think we have to recognize Islam as an official religion in our country,” Dewinter said recently.

Precisely what is meant by “principles which are very clear and necessary for Western democracy”? Examining the Vlaams Belang manifesto:

It must be made clear to aliens and immigrants in Flanders that they are expected to comply with our laws, and also to adapt to our values and morality, to our habits and to important traditional principles of European civilization, such as the separation of church and state, democracy, freedom of speech and the equal status of men and women.

For those aliens and immigrants who reject, ignore or contest the above, a policy of repatriation will be implemented, through appropriate legislation regulating political asylum, nationality, security and expulsion. Illegal and criminal aliens must be repatriated. Voting rights are reserved for citizens.

In addition, as an aside:

The Vlaams Belang strives for the secession of Flanders from the artificial Belgian state. Our aim is to dissolve Belgium and establish an independent Flemish state.

So what will Flanders be like under the Vlaams Belang? What precisely are Jews supposed to get behind?
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