Archives: Posts From March 2008

Bus Passengers Taken for a Ride on the Shari'a Express
By David J. Rusin | Mon, 31 Mar 2008 at 2:59 PM | Permalink
Excerpt: Hate frustrating commutes? Be grateful you were not on the No. 81 bus last Thursday in Langley, Berkshire — several miles northwest of Heathrow Airport: A Muslim bus driver told stunned passengers to get off so he could pray. The white Islamic convert ...

March Cannot End Quickly Enough for CAIR
By David J. Rusin | Fri, 28 Mar 2008 at 10:08 PM | Permalink
Excerpt: It has been a trying month for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the self-proclaimed Muslim civil rights group with shady associates and Islamist agendas. Recent events will not aid its reputation. The month kicked off with the intrepid ...

High-Profile Conversion Underscores the Perils of Apostasy in the West
By David J. Rusin | Wed, 26 Mar 2008 at 10:35 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: For centuries the Catholic Church has welcomed new members during celebrations of the Easter Vigil. Yet this year's mass at the Vatican offered worldwide audiences a twist: Italy's most prominent Muslim, an iconoclastic writer who condemned Islamic ...

Islamic Finance Ascends the Ivory Tower
By David J. Rusin | Mon, 24 Mar 2008 at 8:55 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: Islamic finance has enjoyed ever-widening acceptance in the West, with fresh examples appearing almost daily: Banks are pitching Shari'a-compliant investments, insurance policies, and mortgages. Dow Jones manages a tracking index for Islamic bonds, while ...

Islamist Fingerprints on Failed Smear of Steven Emerson
By David J. Rusin | Thu, 20 Mar 2008 at 9:34 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: The Counterterrorism Blog outlines the latest campaign to trash Steven Emerson, a tireless foe of Islamists near and far. However, the attempt to paint Emerson as a tool of Israel has left the muckraker with egg on his face. The new accusations have ...

Forced Marriages a Growing Concern in Britain
By David J. Rusin | Mon, 17 Mar 2008 at 10:32 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: A month after it was revealed that the UK has given the green light for polygamists to claim expanded welfare benefits, Britain is grappling with another conjugal practice at odds with contemporary Western standards: forced marriage. According to the ...

Statues Veiled in Europe to Protest Gender Apartheid
By David J. Rusin | Fri, 14 Mar 2008 at 9:38 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: Residents of Finland, Germany, and Russia awoke on March 7 to a disturbing sight: local statues wrapped in burqa-like garments. Timed to coincide with International Women's Day, the protest sought to highlight the oppression suffered by women under ...

New York Sends Libel Tourists Packing
By David J. Rusin | Wed, 12 Mar 2008 at 9:11 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: Writers who work to expose the threat of radical Islam are celebrating a victory in New York, where the Senate unanimously passed the Libel Terrorism Protection Act in late February. According to MEF Legal Project director Brooke Goldstein, "libel ...

Exclusion Is the New Inclusion
By David J. Rusin | Mon, 10 Mar 2008 at 9:15 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: Julia Shearson, the executive director of CAIR-Cleveland, recently appeared on CNN to discuss Harvard's decision to ban men from a popular campus gym during certain hours after a handful of Muslim women had expressed discomfort at the prospect of working ...

Imams Without Borders
By R. John Matthies | Wed, 5 Mar 2008 at 10:32 AM | Permalink
Excerpt: The French newsmagazine L'Express reported today that a number of nations have expressed interest in France's civic and cultural degree program for Muslim prayer leaders (imams). Even more interesting is the claim that the American embassy in Paris has ...