MORE than a dozen American states are considering outlawing aspects of Shariah law. Some of these efforts would curtail Muslims from settling disputes over dietary laws and marriage through religious arbitration, while others would go even further in stigmatizing Islamic life: a bill recently passed by the Tennessee General Assembly equates Shariah with a set…
There have been a slew of local controversies in the past decade over the proposed construction of mosques and Islamic community centers. Mayor Michael Bloomberg rightly stood up for religious liberty against vitriolic opposition to the construction of an Islamic center in Lower Manhattan. With the mayor’s support, the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously allowed…
News Agencies – September 7, 2011 Stephen Harper is using the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks for political gain, the opposition says. To the NDP (New Democratic Party), the Prime Minister is sowing division on the eve of the 10th anniversary. And to the Liberals, Mr. Harper is trying to look tough by musing about…
7 September 2011 A planned parliamentary debate in the Netherlands will be boycotted by the country’s anti-Islam party PVV, headed by Geert Wilders. Member of Parliament Tofik Dibi has announced plans to call for such a debate in the wake of the Norwegian killings, but has not yet done so. While other parties support the…
7 September 2011 Frits Bolkestein, former leader of the Dutch center-right VVD and a prominent “elder statesman” in the country, has released a new book, The Intellectual Seduction: Dangerous Ideas in Politics. At a reading in Amsterdam Bolkestein expressed his opinion on Islam and multiculturalism in the Netherlands, disparaging cultural relativism and calling for European…
