Muslim leaders have rejected an apology by Canterbury MP Richard Prosser over his call for Muslims to be banned from Western airlines.

The list MP's remarks provoked outrage yesterday, although NZ First leader Winston Peters refused to sack him and said he did not have to apologise. However, speaking on Radio New Zealand's Nine to Noon show this morning, Prosser apologised. "I'm sorry ... to the majority of peaceful, law-abiding Muslims who are not involved in terrorism."

He conceded he was "only talking about a very small extremist minority", but his article would not allow the reader to separate the fact that most Muslims were honest and law-abiding. "That's obviously caused some upset, and for that I'm sorry," he said.

The head of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ), Anwar Ghani, said Prosser's apology was not good enough. "I wouldn't call it an apology; it was a softening of the tone, that's all," he said. "It seems to me he still maintains what he said, by and large, and he's simply trying to align his comments with what his leader has said."

He said the damage done by Prosser yesterday had not been reversed by the apology. "He has to come out and say unreservedly that 'I apologise if my act has caused any offence to any of the Muslims in New Zealand'," Ghani said.

But Prosser told RNZ he did not "have any time" for Islam as a religion. "I make no apology for the fact I don't have any time for people who denigrate women or for institutions that suppress human rights." He denied he was being racist. "It is a religion, not a race."

Prosser conceded his article had "a lack of balance" in calling for Muslim men to be banned from Western airlines. "I concede that some of the language that I used wasn't appropriate," he said.He blamed his approach as a "shock-jock" columnist. "My style as a columnist is perhaps something not appropriate any more for my role as an MP."

Prosser said his call for the blanket ban on young Muslims was wrong. He said he should have called for an investigation into the merits of racial profiling.

Stuff.co.nz, 13 February 2013

View the Original article

Here is a very interesting article about a wanted terrorist offering aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy.

http://gma.yahoo.com/terrorist-offers-hurricane-aid-us-says-no-thanks-151821686–abc-news-topstories.html

What are some of your opinions on this article?

About the author

View the Original article

Here is an excerpt from a CNN article regarding a Pakistani terrorist who offered to send money to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. Please read it and give me your opinion.

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) — As residents of the U.S. Northeast grapple with the destruction wrought by Superstorm Sandy, an offer of assistance has come from an unlikely quarter: the leader of a radical Muslim group in Pakistan that Washington has branded a terrorist group.

“We offer our unconditional support and help for the victims” of the storm, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, head of the Islamic charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa, said in a statement late Tuesday. “If U.S. government allows, we will send our doctors, relief and rescue experts, food and medicine on humanitarian grounds.”

India accuses Saeed of masterminding the 2008 terrorist assault on Mumbai that killed 166 people — an allegation he denies.

The United States, which has declared Jamaat-ud-Dawa a terrorist organization and put up a $10 million reward for information leading to Saeed’s arrest and conviction, declined the offer.

“While we have great respect for Islamic tradition of social assistance to those who are in need no matter where they might be, this particular offer strikes us as very hollow,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters Wednesday.

About the author

View the Original article

Stephen Lennon's claim that he is already sorting out a venue to screen The Innocence of Muslims is probably just a wind-up, as it is unlikely that he's even arranged to get a copy of the film yet. That isn't going to stop him doing so in future, however. He is clearly desperate to find a means of reviving his demoralised and disintegrating organisation, so whipping up the troops into a self-righteous fury over the EDL's entitlement to show a film exposing the evils of Islam would be an obvious move.

Over at Hope Not Hate, Nick Lowles suggests that if Lennon does try to screen the film the EDL leader "should immediately be prosecuted for incitement".

But incitement to what? Not racial hatred, as Muslims are defined as a multi-ethnic faith community and, unlike Jews or Sikhs, are not covered by the racial hatred law. Perhaps incitement to religious hatred, then? But the religious hatred law requires that the language or images used should be "threatening" and, further, that the prosecution should prove intent. An attempted prosecution under the latter legislation would fall at the first hurdle, since judging by the YouTube trailer The Innocence of Muslims contains no actual threats. And how could it be proved that Lennon's intention was to incite hatred, as he would undoubtedly deny this, claiming instead that he merely intended to inform the public about the true nature of Islam?

Once again, we run up against the utter inadequacy of the existing religious hatred law. While we can hardly expect that the present Tory-led government will do anything to rectify this situation, it is an issue that a future Labour government will have to urgently address.

View the Original article

Hundreds turned out Saturday at Landreth Park in a show of solidarity with area Muslims after their mosque was destroyed in a suspected arson fire on Aug. 6. Neighbors-Joplin Mosque Rally, as it was called, was organized by Ozark Christian College student Ashley Carter.

Joplin Globe, 25 August 2012 

View the Original article

Federal authorities are offering a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the person responsible for setting a mosque in Joplin, Missouri earlier this month.

From a press release obtained by TPM from the FBI's Joplin office:

On the morning of July 4, 2012 at approximately 3:30 a.m., reports were received regarding a fire on the roof of the Islamic Center of Joplin. The fire, which was extinguished by the Jasper County Fire Department, was a surface fire, contained on the roof of the building, not penetrating the building or causing any interior damage.

A review of the surveillance video showed an unidentified white male walking up to the building and throwing an ignited object onto the roof. Below is a full face image, taken from the surveillance video, of the individual who threw the object onto the roof of the building.

TPM, 16 July 2012

View the Original article

'Wanted!' Vlaams Belang video offering reward for shopping veiled women to policeBelgian right-wingers have offered to pay a 250 euros ($310) bounty to anyone who reports a veiled woman to police, they said on Tuesday, in the wake of face veil riots in Brussels.

Filip Dewinter, a senior figure within Vlaams Belang, a right-wing party, told Reuters the riots had made police apprehensive about enforcing the burqa ban and that the payment should put pressure on authorities to further enforce it. "It's a textile prison for the women who have to live under it," he said.

It comes after protesters hurled bins and metal barriers at a Brussels police station last week after a Muslim woman was arrested for refusing to remove her face veil, or niqab.

A Brussels police spokesman said he was unaware of the money being offered, but said any officer who sees a woman wearing a niqab would issue a penalty. "When someone is breaking the law we always have to intervene, demonstrations or no, the niqab is prohibited," he said.

Women in Belgium risk a maximum fine of 150 euros if they wear a full face veil in public. Belgium and France both banned the wearing of full veils in public last year.

Dewinter said he was not aware how many people had already responded to the offer of a bounty.

Reuters, 5 June 2012

View the Original article