Battling The Burqa, Islam and the West, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and the West

Battling The Burqa

By Dileep Padgaonkar

Feb 22, 2010

No end is in sight to the fierce debate raging in France over an imminent move to ban the wearing of the burqa in public establishments. On the contrary, just about any matter involving Muslims adds fuel to it. Right now the media are focused on an issue that, on the face of it, is of little relevance to the sartorial choices of an insignificant number of Muslim women.

Last December, Quick, a fast-food chain, introduced 'halal' hamburgers in six of its 300-odd outlets. It contained smoked turkey instead of beef and pork. The chain took care to ensure that the birds were slaughtered under the supervision of a duly-qualified cleric. Commercial interest clearly dictated its decision for the six outlets are all located in towns and cities with a large Muslim population.

That, however, was of no concern to Quick's critics. The right-wing, xenophobic National Front led the charge against it. But others who are known for their hostility to the Front joined in the chorus of criticism as well. The burden of their dirge was two-fold. One, the food chain, by serving only 'halal' burgers, effectively discriminated against non-Muslim customers. And two, they included in the bill money that would go to cover the cost of the services of the cleric.

Both factors, the critics argued, were an affront to something that is a matter of life and death to the French: secularism. They saw in the food chain's decision yet another instance of a supine surrender to the diktat of Muslim extremists. In his blog, a well-known journalist pointed out that in a large city in the north of France, swimming pools run by the municipality had reserved some hours exclusively for women, and some others exclusively for men. Another cited the case of male gynaecologists who were assaulted for examining female Muslim patients. Yet another blogger railed against Muslims for offering prayers out in the open. Christians, he wrote, pray only in a church and Jews only in a synagogue. Why have Muslims been given a special dispensation? And why can't Muslims convert to other faiths when 'infidels' are free to embrace Islam?

http://newageislam.com/battling-the-burqa/islam-and-the-west/d/2489

Mega-mosques: Muslim tradition with US convenience, Islam and the West, NewAgeIslam.com

Islam and the West

Mega-mosques: Muslim tradition with US convenience

Miral Fahmy I Reuters

Saturday 6 September 2008 (06 Ramadan 1429)

To accommodate the overflow, which also results in traffic jams when prayer is over, US Muslim congregations have set up satellite places of worship, again following the lead of the Christian mega-churches. That is just one way in which US mega-mosques are decidedly American. They also offer worshippers a progressive form of Islam, in line with the profile and desires of many Muslim Americans.

While more than two-thirds of Muslim Americans are immigrants, mainly from the Middle East, they are also “decidedly mainstream in their outlook, values and attitudes,” a report published last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life said.

They have embraced what is often called the Protestant work ethic and believe, as do many Americans, that hard work pays off.

And Muslim Americans reject extremism by larger margins than do Muslim minorities in western European countries, the Pew report said. One mega-mosque in Virginia even rents space from a synagogue.

“This mosque, this branch, is part of a synagogue. Where have you seen that, a synagogue and a mosque? It’s a completely American experience,” Muslim prayer leader Mohamed Magid said.

http://newageislam.com/mega-mosques--muslim-tradition-with-us-convenience/islam-and-the-west/d/717