Free Republic

The above caricature, which first appeared on CagleCartoons.com, has been making the rounds on the Arabic blogosphere, and points to how democratic elections are serving to Islamize Egypt: average women enter the ballot box—“overseen” by the Muslim Brotherhood—only to emerge thoroughly veiled, thoroughly Islamized. Speaking of veils and the Brotherhood, here’s an interesting video of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser (1956-1970), showing just how much times have changed. Speaking before a large assembly, Nasser told of how back in 1953 he wanted to cooperate with the Muslim Brotherhood, and met with its leader. (Nasser eventually learned that the only response...

Gannett - Link only: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20111222/NEWS01/312220066/Army-changes-JROTC-policy-Ravenwood-Muslim-case?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Her household was only "moderately religious," and yet she still feels threatened enough to lead a double life. Apparently her parents are yet more Misunderstanders of the Religion of Peace. This girl has good reason to be afraid: Aqsa Parvez was murdered by her father for not wearing the hijab, and Rifqa Bary was slapped by hers for the same reason. Then there is Islam's death penalty for apostates: Muhammad said, "If anyone changes his religion, kill him." Some schools of Islamic jurisprudence, however, allow for the imprisonment of a female apostate until she recants her apostasy. "IAmA 21 yr...

One evening in the late 1990s, Thomas professor of divinity Leila Ahmed saw a group of people gathered on Cambridge Common. All of the women were wearing hijab, the headscarf worn by some Muslim women but rarely seen at that time in the United States. Just the sight of hijab provoked a negative, “visceral” response in Ahmed, who was born and raised in Cairo in the 1940s, when even devout Muslim women of the middle and upper classes did not wear veils because they considered them old-fashioned. She took the appearance of veils in Cambridge, she explained recently, to mean...

A male registered nurse and Vietnam war Army medic has sued the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, saying he was fired for disobeying a Muslim supervisor's order not to treat women wearing conservative Islamic dress. John Benitez Jr. ... was fired... 'not because of any performance problem, but was instead carried out because the clinic's conservative male Muslim clientele did not want a male treating female patients.'

An Ellicott City senior living facility is being sued for allegedly violating federal law for failing to hire a Muslim woman who would not remove her head scarf. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against Morningside House on behalf of Khadijah Salim on Monday. The lawsuit says Morningside House's director of health and wellness asked if Salim during a June 2010 interview if she would remove her religious headscarf, called a hijab, if she worked at the facility. Salim was not hired or contacted after her interview

A New York amusement park was shut down Tuesday after local police scuffled with Muslim visitors upset over the park’s headscarf ban. About 3,000 Muslims from New York City visited Rye Playland in Westchester County to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan. When they arrived, women wearing headscarves found they could not go on some of the rides, as all headgear is prohibited so that hats don’t fall onto the tracks. When families lined up to get refunds, fights broke out and police arrived on the scene, the New York Daily News reports. Fifteen visitors were arrested and two...

Police from several departments rushed to the Rye Playland amusement park in Westchester County after an altercation broke out between patrons over a tensions over Muslim headscarves. The fight erupted after a "misunderstanding" between the park workers and some Muslim patrons over the park's restrictions on headgear on some rides, according to the Westchester County Executive's Office. Apparently some Muslim women wearing the traditional headscarf, called a hijab, were denied access to some rides because of safety reasons. "The incident erupted when some of the women tried to gain entry on rides that prohibit any kind of headwear, such as...

The woman knew about the store’s rules before applying for the job. Claiming that Abercrombie Kids did not hire her because she wears a hijab, a jury in Tulsa, Arizona has awarded a Muslim woman $20,000 in damages. This comes despite the fact that the woman, Samantha Elauf, didn’t work a single day for Abercrombie and despite Abercrombie’s “Look Policy” that states clearly that it will not hire people who do not conform to their dress code. During her job interview with Abercrombie, Ms. Elauf wore a hijab, a piece of clothing that Ms. Elauf believes is religiously mandated. At...

Claiming that Abercrombie Kids did not hire her because she wears a hijab, a jury in Tulsa, Arizona has awarded a Muslim woman $20,000 in damages. This comes despite the fact that the woman, Samantha Elauf, didn't work a single day for Abercrombie and despite Abercrombie's "Look Policy" that states clearly that it will not hire people who do not conform to their dress code. During her job interview with Abercrombie, Ms. Elauf wore a hijab, a piece of clothing that Ms. Elauf believes is religiously mandated. At the time, she was informed that Abercrombie would not be able to...

A 35-year-old weightlifter is battling to be able to compete in the sport she loves while wearing a hijab instead of the body-hugging uniform that's required. Kulsoom Abdullah, who was born in the United States to Pakistani parents, discovered weightlifting at her gym, Crossfit, in Atlanta in 2008. She entered her first open competition last year, and was thrilled to find out that she was actually pretty good in the competitive sport. She can lift 70 kilos (about 154 pounds) to her shoulders, and 60 kilos (or about 132 pounds) over her head, in a move called the "clean-and-jerk." Last...

In an effort to get closer to the local population, American female soldiers stationed in Afghanistan are being encouraged to wear a Muslim headscarf when interacting with civilians. But some question whether the practice constitutes cultural sensitivity or a form of appeasement that is degrading to U.S. soldiers. Major Kyndra Rotunda, executive director of the Military Law and Policy Institute and AMVETS Legal Clinic, told The Daily Caller that while the women are not being ordered to wear the head scarf, encouragement is tantamount to a demand. “They say they are encouraging women to wear the headscarf when they are...

France was today attacked by religious leaders for organising a ‘poisonous’ national debate about the growing number of Muslims living in the country. They accused President Nicolas Sarkozy of trying to attract racist voters by holding the all-party political discussion next Tuesday. It will see people complaining about numerous aspects of Islamic life, from its links with terrorist groups to the wearing of burkas. But French Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Jews, and Buddhists today joined Muslim leaders in published a joint statement saying the debate would cause ‘confusion in the troubled period we are going through.

Recent pictures in Stars and Stripes feature female U.S. service members wearing the Islamic headscarf, also known as a hijab. These women are part of a new initiative, Female Engagement Teams, being deployed in Afghanistan. Aside from questions about whether the safety of these women deployed into harm's way is jeopardized by trading the helmet for the hijab, the photos invoke memories of a policy fight in Congress less than a decade ago. In 2002, the Senate overturned a DoD mandate requiring female American service members stationed in Saudi Arabia to wear the Saudi version of the burqa, known as...

A man threatened to kill his cousin and harm her family after she decided to stop wearing the traditional Muslim headscarf, a court has heard. Mohamed Al-Hakim, 29, allegedly phoned Alya Al-Safar to tell her she must die because of the ‘shame’ she had brought – leaving her too afraid to leave the house. He had already branded her family ‘b*tches and whores’ because of her decision, the court heard. (Snip) Al-Hakim, who denies one charge of making threats to kill, allegedly said he thought the phone call might be taped but he warned her he was ‘not afraid of

Complete title:Napolitano: ‘Adjustments,’ ‘More to Come’ on Whether Muslim Women in Hijabs Will Undergo Airport Body Pat-Downs Homesland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. When asked today if she will insist that Muslim women wearing hijabs must go through full body pat downs before boarding planes, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano did not say yes or no, but told CNSNews.com there will be “adjustments” and “more to come” on the issue.“On the pat downs, CAIR [the Council on American-Islamic Relations] has recommended that Muslim women wearing hijabs refuse to go through the full body pat downs before boarding planes,” CNSNews.com asked Napolitano...

CAIR said Muslims who object to full-body scans for religious reasons should know their rights if they are required to undergo a pat-down, including asking for the procedure to be done in a private place. In addition, CAIR offered a “special recommendation” for Muslim women who wear a hijab, telling them they should tell the TSA officer that they may be searched only around the head and neck.

A friend called me yesterday to report what she had experienced while getting her driver's license renewed. A woman before her was wearing a hijab and there was no problem, they didn't make her remove it to get her photo taken. But when my friend was getting her photo taken, the lady taking the photo told her she would have to get her bangs off her forehead in order for the photo to be taken...it was Homeland Security rules. My friend raised the question about the woman with the hijab, but no explanation was made, just the fact reiterated that...

[translated, poorly] Published on Monday January 18, 2010 Does the veiled woman and the street art make a good household? Here is the work of two artists who based their creations on the Moslem veil. Opportunism or boast, provocation or incentive to think? It is fashionable in what is named “the street art movement ”, to transmit messages through its works. It is one of the various capacities inherent in art, but in the case of street art, the messages have necessarily more impact because of their placement in the street. Thus the countryside is against the famous brands carried...

A beret may resolve a dispute between a Muslim woman and Disneyland, where she works as a vacation planner. Noor Abdallah, 22, wanted to wear her hijab, a religious head scarf, at her job at a Disneyland Resort Esplanade ticket booth in Anaheim, Calif., reports the Daily Mail. But the theme park objected, and Abdallah refused another position where she would not be seen by the public, according to the Council on American-Islamic relations. As a compromise, she has agreed to wear a blue beret that will partly cover her hijab. Disney spokesperson Suzi Brown praised the company's willingness to...

Disney intern Noor Abdallah, 22, has a new specially-designed costumed that incorporates the head-covering she wears as a part of her Muslim faith, according to the AP. Abdallah had been working as a vacation planner for the Disneyland resort, but took a job in the stockroom when her head scarf, or hijab, became an issue. "Vacation planners are costumed employees, whose outfits include an optional baseball-style cap," explains the LA Times. A group intervened on behalf of the intern when they learned of her job re-assignment. Disney agreed to design a special costume for Abdallah, but said it would take...

ANAHEIM — Disneyland officials have reached an agreement with a Muslim college intern allowing her to wear a head covering while on the job, Muslim community leaders and Disney officials said Monday. Officials with the Council on American-Islamic Relations say the scarf acts as an Islamic head covering, called a hijab, in accordance with her Muslim religion. Disney officials don’t call it a hijab — just a head scarf to accommodate an employees needs. The woman, who was not identified by name, is the second Disney employee in recent weeks to complain that Disney did not allow her to wear...

So many educated people are afflicted by the equivalent of a blank stare where genuine thought should exist. It’s as if they’re sleepwalkers, oblivious to reality, or under plexiglass, where they can’t hear anything with which they don’t already agree. Here’s a case in point. A woman who identifies herself as a professor at a Chicago university (it’s Northeastern Illinois) publishes this touching note in the New York (Muslim) Times today. Gail Dreyfuss describes an “encounter” she had with a student who was wearing both hijab (a headscarf) and a pin which read “I am a Muslim.” I guess the...

So many educated people are afflicted by the equivalent of a blank stare where genuine thought should exist. It’s as if they’re sleepwalkers, oblivious to reality, or under plexiglass, where they can’t hear anything with which they don’t already agree. Here’s a case in point. A woman who identifies herself as a professor at a Chicago university (it’s Northeastern Illinois) publishes this touching note in the New York (Muslim) Times today. Gail Dreyfuss describes an “encounter” she had with a student who was wearing both hijab (a headscarf) and a pin which read “I am a Muslim.” I guess the...

So what the heck is going on here?!? They say a picture says a thousand words...lets see if I can find a few of 'em.... "By how many points does the GOP lead in the generic ballot? Um...at least this many." Learning to pray to you know who "I really think the Ground Zero Mosque should go here" RAISE THE ROOF! Miming the box Obama keeps her in Real Muslims wear blue? "How many times today has your approval rating dropped? This many." SPIRIT FINGERS! "Bowing to everyone is bad for your back, you gotta do it like the...

The Disneyland restaurant hostess, who wants to wear her Muslim headscarf on the job after having worked at Disneyland for two years (presumably without her scarf) appears to have gained her citizenship two months ago in order to raise the profile of Muslims in the America. ...I hope Disney sticks to its guns. It’s interesting to note that apparently simultaneously with the raising of the scarf question at Disney, CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), as stated in the Register, announced that they would be representing the hostess in her disagreement with Disney. If there is any question in anyone’s mind...

Young area women say they wear the hijab to be closer to God, although head covering has drawn criticism. Huda Kahlid was walking through the Rice University campus one night last year when she heard someone in a car scream, "Jihad!" The 21-year-old student didn't let the heckler upset her, knowing she was targeted because of her hijab. "It's all about God, so you don't let those things get to you," said Wardah Kahlid, 24, who remembers laughing with her younger sister about the encounter. Muslim women wear the scarf or cloth wrapping over their hair to be closer to...

PARIS — France's lower house of parliament overhwelmingly approved a ban on burqa-like Islamic veils Tuesday, a move that is popular among French voters despite serious concerns from Muslim groups and human rights advocates.

Are hijab and women incompatible? Are the two contradictory? Is the one enemy ‎of the other? At least that is what is believed in the west. Isn’t that?‎ Nothing has been as much discussed as those of women among men. So has been ‎the argument about their dress, i.e. what they wear and how they wear?‎ Indeed, women’s clothing has always been in debate among public. It has ‎generated immense controversy, raised countless speculations and has attracted ‎both modernists’ and traditionalists’ views alike.‎ The issue has not yet died down. Just as early as June 17, 2010, an ‎article ‘Dressed...

FReep This Poll! DMV Pictures Should the DMV have the right to ask people to remove religious clothing for their driver's license photos? Yes No Go to the link provided on this post. Scroll down a bit on the Fox 5 San Diego homepage and look for the poll on the right hand side right above "Chrissy's Outfit of the Day" Vote your choice.

The Turkish Islamic charity behind a flotilla of aid ships that was raided by Israeli forces on its way to Gaza had ties to terrorism networks, including a 1999 al-Qaida plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport, France's former top anti-terrorism judge said Wednesday. The Istanbul-based Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief, known by its Turkish acronym IHH, had "clear, long-standing ties to terrorism and Jihad," former investigating judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The astonishing scene unfolded during a weekend shopping trip after the woman lawyer took offence at the attire of a fellow shopper resulting in argument during which the pair came to blows before being arrested. It came as racial tensions grow in the country as it prepares to introduce a total ban on burkas and other forms of religious dress which cover the face. A 26-year-old Muslim convert was walking through the store in Trignac, near Nantes, in the western Loire-Atlantique region, when she overhead the woman lawyer making "snide remarks about her black burka". A police officer close to...

President Sarkozy’s campaign against full Muslim veils took a comic turn yesterday when an Islamist butcher claimed that his niqab-wearing “wives” were no different from the mistresses that Frenchmen traditionally enjoy. Lies Hebbadj, 35, was defending himself after the Government made him a national example last weekend by citing his supposed polygamy as the example of the un-French ways that the State wants to combat. He came to attention after a policeman in Nantes, his home city, fined his 31-year-old French-born wife €22 (£19) for driving while dressed in a head-to-toe niqab. Brice Hortefeux, the rightwing Interior Minister, demanded that...

Picture me on the Eurostar, in Brussels, Belgium. The year is 2004. There’s a veil-wearing lady sitting behind me with her friend. Like most women of a certain age, they’re chattering their heads off. Later, however, the loud conversation takes a sharp turn, when the Muslim lady pontificates about the superiority of Islam and the evils of paganism. But, if I had been sharing my Protestant beliefs? From a theological perspective, there’s nothing wrong with Muslims or Christians peacefully evangelizing. I am a friend of free speech. But the subject of clothing politics (for want of a better term) is...

A WOMAN died when the Islamic head dress she was wearing was caught in the axle of a go-kart she was driving yesterday. The 26-year-old Muslim had been enjoying a day out with family at the Port Stephen's Go-Kart track in New South Wales when her hijab became caught up at high speed. Paramedics said the Sydney woman suffered severe neck injuries and went into cardiac arrest after the hijab's material tightened rapidly around her throat. Shocked onlookers freed her from the kart and paramedics managed to revive her before she was airlifted to Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital in a...

British healtcare system bans cross - tribunal upholds decision: According to the Christian Legal Center (CLC), which represented Mrs. Chaplin, the Tribunal found that there was no discrimination because all staff were treated equally. No one was permitted to wear a cross around their neck for religious reasons but if someone wanted to wear a hijab for religious reasons they could. The CLC says the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust indicated that they would permit exemptions in their uniform policy for religious and cultural symbols that were 'mandatory' within the religion. CLC stated: "It would seem that, without evidence,...

Iran's girls' football team has been kicked out of the Youth Olympic Games because FIFA rules prevent players wearing an Islamic headscarf. (edit) FIFA maintains football's international rule book which contains a section on players' on-field equipment. Law 4 states that "basic compulsory equipment must not have any political, religious or personal statements. "The team of a player whose basic compulsory equipment has political, religious or personal slogans or statements will be sanctioned by the competition organiser or by FIFA." The hijab issue was first examined in 2007 after an 11-year-old girl in Canada was prevented from wearing one...

The move would protect the dignity of women, the president added. “The full veil is contrary to the dignity of women,” he said. “The response is to ban it. The Government will table a draft law prohibiting it.”

More than half of voters in four other major European states back a push by France's Nicolas Sarkozy to ban women from wearing the burka, according to an opinion poll for the Financial Times. As Mr Sarkozy presses ahead with plans to ban the wearing of the burka in public places, the FT latest Harris poll shows the move is not just strongly supported in France, but wins enthusiastic backing in the UK, Italy, Spain and Germany. The poll shows 70 per cent of respondents in France said they supported plans to forbid the wearing of the garment which covers...

February 27, 2010 Women barred from Cairo clubs as backlash stirs against the hijab Many Egyptians feel alarmed and besieged by the tilt towards religion Ashraf Khalil in Cairo Yasmine al-Mehairy did not even really want to be there. She had been invited to a friend’s birthday party at an upmarket nightclub called 35, in the Four Seasons hotel. She was parked illegally but only planned to hand over a bouquet and spend ten minutes inside. But when the bouncer pointed at her headscarf as the reason she could not enter, Ms al-Mehairy decided to fight. “I ended up arguing...

Ever wondered why the Iranian thug-in chief Ahmedinajad as well as many other Islamic officials don't wear neck ties? Here is the explanation from the Islamic Center of Beverly Hills. Yep, you read that right: Beverly Hills.

A Muslim woman is claiming in a federal lawsuit that she was dismissed from the Atlanta Police Department’s civilian honor guard because she refused to remove her traditional head scarf. Helen Lane alleges that the head of the voluntary guard laughed at her when she told him she would wear her hijab at a September 2006 funeral. She said she felt “humiliated, hurt and was traumatized” by the laughter. Lane, who is seeking $240,000 in damage, said she told by another Atlanta official that “the hijab was like a swastika.” The city has denied the allegations and the honor guard...

An Illinois woman is charged with a hate crime for berating a Muslim woman about the Fort Hood shooting and then pulling at her headscarf. The charge could lead to three years in prison: justice or prosecutorial overkill? In the days after the Ft. Hood shooting, mosques around the country bolstered their security in anticipation of a backlash from Americans angry about a Muslim man alleged to have killed American soldiers on their own turf. Since then, only one alleged hate crime against Muslims has been directly tied to the Fort Hood rampage. Two days after the rampage by an...

All over the Western world, the Muslim headscarf for women is being used as a non-violent, stick-it-in your face form of "jihad". As a spokesman for the Norwegian Progress Party has stated, "...it's all a part of the sneak-islamization." Rifqa Bary was punched by her devout Muslim father, because she didn't like the "hijab." From Fox: "A Muslim doctor interviewing for a job at a suburban Dallas medical clinic says officials there told her she couldn't wear her headscarf while working. " "Dr. Hena Zaki of Plano said Friday that she was shocked when CareNow officials told her in person...

NEW ISLAMIC RULING IN IRAN FAREWELL FEMINISM bythelastcrusade.org Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared in a hijab to acknowledge her respect for Islamic law, while visiting Lebanon and Syria. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi followed suit. Even Laura Bush popped up wearing the head covering while signifies a female’s subservience and submission to male authority. Such woman should think again of gaining political recognition and respect in countries where Shiite Muslims hold sway.One of the leading Iranian cleric said today that "Allah's fury" will be unleashed if Iran appoints women as governors or representatives of some provinces, as...

The Council on American Islamic Relations is at it again. Once again they are trying to get companies across the country to fall in line and cater to Islam. If things do not change, Islam will eventually win by taking over from within.

SPRING HILL, FL -- While showing off her JROTC uniform, 16-year-old Heather Lawrence told us joining the Army is her next big goal, to follow in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. "Our flag represents everything that our country is," she said. The teen says an issue over the American flag is why she was written up and handed a five-day suspension from Springstead High School this week for criticizing a Muslim student. Heather says the other girl was sitting down during the Pledge of Allegiance. "You know, I made a not-so-kind remark, and I do sincerely apologize for...

Maybe it's because her dad served in the U.S. Marines ... or because her high school mascot is a fierce-looking eagle ... or because she plans to enlist in the Army next summer after graduation to defend her country ... whatever the reason, when Heather Lawrence saw a fellow student refuse to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and recite it with the class, the 16-year-old Junior ROTC member saw a teachable moment and took it. And for that, she's been suspended five days. Lawrence's troubles with administrators at Springstead High School in Hernando Beach, Fla., began last Wednesday when...

Heather Lawrence didn't know the name of the girl with the Muslim head covering, or where she was from. But as Lawrence walked by a classroom at Springstead High School on Wednesday, the 16-year-old junior did know one thing: The girl wasn't standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Lawrence, an JROTC member who plans to enlist in the Army next summer, says she was aghast. "That's one of the most disrespectful things you can do," Lawrence recalled Friday. "Even the kids who are anarchists, who hate our government, still have respect to stand." A few bells later, Lawrence was on...

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) - A Muslim woman on Wednesday sued a Michigan judge for telling her to remove her headscarf in his courtroom, claiming he violated her First Amendment right to practice her religion. Raneen Albaghdady, 32, says she felt humiliated when Wayne County Circuit Judge William Callahan ordered her to remove her hijab at a June 16 hearing in his Detroit courtroom. "This is the country and the land of freedom, and we're not supposed to be treated like this for the scarf," the Dearborn Heights woman said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon at the Southfield headquarters of...