A local screening of an anti-Islam movie by far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders in Tennessee has sparked Americans protests, deploring the hatred message it conveys.
"We're here to voice another side," Pat Handlson, minister of Cookeville First Presbyterian Church and event organizer, told Herald-Citizen Newspapers on Saturday, August 20.
Wilders movie, A Warning to America, was broadcasted in Cookeville county commission chambers on Friday.
The Tennessee Freedom Coalition's event is organized by Rachel Welch, the vice-chair of the Putnam County Republican Party.
Rejecting the message of the movie, around 100 peaceful protestors gathered outside the courthouse last night with signs saying "We love Muslims" and "All religions believe in justice.”
The demonstration of Wilders hateful message in the movie is not the first in Tennessee.
Last May, he made a visit to Nashville in the course of an event to honor the anti-Islam speaker sponsored by the Tennessee Freedom Coalition.
Spreading his hateful message, Wilders, the leader of the far-right Freedom Party (PVV), called for closing Islamic schools and halting construction of mosques.
He also called for banning immigrants from “non-Western and especially Islamic countries,” and expelling any immigrants who do not “assimilate.”
Wilders is notorious for his rants against Islam and Muslims.
He has called for banning the Noble Qur’an, describing the Muslim holy book as “fascist”.
In 2008, the far-right politician released a 15-minute documentary accusing the Qur'an of inciting violence.
Ahead of last year’s general elections, Wilders’ anti-immigrant party campaigned to "stop the Islamization of the Netherlands", and the building of new mosques.
His party’s anti-Islam campaigns, however, have helped it make its biggest gains since Wilders has founded it in 2006.
Negative FeelingsProtesters decried the movie message, saying it fuels growing anti-Muslims rhetoric in the south-eastern US state of Tennessee, already intensified over calls to ban Shari`ah law in courts.
A heated debate also surrounded plans to construct new Muslim center in Murfreesboro when local residents waged a fierce campaign to hinder the project.
"I think it's sad there's been such negativity surrounding the Murfreesboro mosque," Handlson said.
Yet, he hoped their protests would reflect the true feelings of love shared for the Muslim community.
"I just wanted everyone here to be a witness to this event," Handlson continued.
"To be a witness to love your God and love your neighbor. We all can co-exist."
Though there are no official figures, America is believed to be home to nearly seven million Muslims.
US Muslims have been sensing a growing hostility following a hearing presented by representative Peter King on what he described as “radicalization” of US Muslims.
Recently, a Republican Missouri lawmaker described Islam as a disease like polio while another Alaska Rep. branded Muslims as ‘occupiers’ of American neighborhoods.
Condemning repeated attacks, CAIR called last March on the Republicans to end fear mongering campaigns targeting Islam, urging all moderate lawmakers to stand up to the US anti-discrimination principles.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center has showed that the majority of Americans know very little about Islam.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll has also found that more than half Americans already hold negative views about the faith.
On Islam
Monday, 22 August 2011
Czech PM: Today the threat of invasion is posed by extremism
Czech PM Petr Nečas (Civic Democrats - ODS) has issued a press release on the 43rd anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion, an event which deprived communist Czechoslovakia of the hope of transforming its totalitarian regime. The PM's statement claims that the country does not face the threat of invasion by a military "alliance" today, but of "invasion" by displays of extremism, intolerance and radicalism. The 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion put an end to the Prague Spring - the attempt by Czechoslovak communists to establish "socialism with a human face" - and began the lengthy "normalization" period which did not end until November 1989.
"Today the threat is not that of an invasion by a military 'alliance', but of invasion by displays of extremism, intolerance and radicalism, as we have witnessed in many countries. This extremism, of various flavors, can pose a threat to democracy and freedom at any time, whether today or in the near future," Nečas said.
The Nečas cabinet is grappling with the problem of political extremism itself these days. Ladislav Bátora, a controversial bureaucrat at the Czech Education Ministry, is guilty of extremist opinions and his work at the ministry has prompted the most recent rupture in the governing coalition. Right-wing extremism in particular, however, most recently shocked Europe in the context of the terrorist attack in Norway.
Czech Defense Minister Alexandr Vondra (ODS) issued a declaration commemorating the symbolic significance of the anniversary. "We should not view this anniversary with resignation, but learn a lesson from it. A state that gives up on defending itself cannot exist independently for long," Vondra wrote in a statement sent to the Czech Press Agency by the press department of the Czech Defense Ministry.
Other politicians commemorated the 43rd anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion of what was then Czechoslovakia together with citizens and survivors in front of the Czech Radio building on Vinohradská třída in Prague. Czech MP Miroslava Němcová (ODS), the speaker of the lower house, emphasized that Czechs have been freely commemorating today's anniversary for 20 years but were unable to do so during the era of communist dictatorship and Soviet occupation. "Since November 1989, a new generation has come into the world who knows of the occupation of 21 August 1968 only from the stories of others," Němcová said in her speech.
Mayor of Prague Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) reminded those gathered that Praguers assembled in front of the radio building to defend it on the day the occupation began. They did so spontaneously, without previously arranging to do so through social networking sites, which did not exist in those days. "Today's younger generation, with its need to be constantly online, almost finds it impossible to imagine how big, not to say crucial, a medium radio was in those days," Svoboda said.
The armies of the five eastern bloc states crossed the Czechoslovak border 43 years ago just before midnight on 20 August 1968, invading the state's territory without the authorities' awareness. The first platoon to invade the territory of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was comprised of roughly 100 000 soldiers, 2 300 tanks and 700 aircraft. The occupying army gradually grew to 750 000 soldiers. People lost their lives during the tragic events that halted social reform in the country.
The press release of Czech PM Petr Nečas is printed in full below:
Today we are commemorating 43 years since the events that deprived people of the hope of changing what was a totalitarian regime. Those events proved that communism is irredeemable, that it is capable of exploiting an atmosphere of fear, of using tanks and weapons against defenseless people. People who were convinced of their truth soon recognized they had no possibility of fighting off this brute force, but they gave their lives for our country in the defense of freedom anyway.
Today we are living in democracy and in freedom. Like everywhere in the developed world, our system is imperfect - but we take it for granted. What was just a dream to people decades ago, that we would return to our rightful place among the traditional democratic states, is a reality today. However, the world is constantly changing and still faces many threats.
Today the threat is not that of an invasion by a military 'alliance', but of invasion by displays of extremism, intolerance and radicalism, as we have witnessed in many countries. This extremism, of various flavors, can pose a threat to democracy and freedom at any time, whether today or in the near future.
We must continue in the process of facing up to the totalitarian past, when August 1968 extended communist domination for another 21 years. However, we must also be capable of responding to current threats, which could endanger our freedom in a much more insidious way. Let us remember that, and not only today.
Romea.cz
"Today the threat is not that of an invasion by a military 'alliance', but of invasion by displays of extremism, intolerance and radicalism, as we have witnessed in many countries. This extremism, of various flavors, can pose a threat to democracy and freedom at any time, whether today or in the near future," Nečas said.
The Nečas cabinet is grappling with the problem of political extremism itself these days. Ladislav Bátora, a controversial bureaucrat at the Czech Education Ministry, is guilty of extremist opinions and his work at the ministry has prompted the most recent rupture in the governing coalition. Right-wing extremism in particular, however, most recently shocked Europe in the context of the terrorist attack in Norway.
Czech Defense Minister Alexandr Vondra (ODS) issued a declaration commemorating the symbolic significance of the anniversary. "We should not view this anniversary with resignation, but learn a lesson from it. A state that gives up on defending itself cannot exist independently for long," Vondra wrote in a statement sent to the Czech Press Agency by the press department of the Czech Defense Ministry.
Other politicians commemorated the 43rd anniversary of the Warsaw Pact invasion of what was then Czechoslovakia together with citizens and survivors in front of the Czech Radio building on Vinohradská třída in Prague. Czech MP Miroslava Němcová (ODS), the speaker of the lower house, emphasized that Czechs have been freely commemorating today's anniversary for 20 years but were unable to do so during the era of communist dictatorship and Soviet occupation. "Since November 1989, a new generation has come into the world who knows of the occupation of 21 August 1968 only from the stories of others," Němcová said in her speech.
Mayor of Prague Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) reminded those gathered that Praguers assembled in front of the radio building to defend it on the day the occupation began. They did so spontaneously, without previously arranging to do so through social networking sites, which did not exist in those days. "Today's younger generation, with its need to be constantly online, almost finds it impossible to imagine how big, not to say crucial, a medium radio was in those days," Svoboda said.
The armies of the five eastern bloc states crossed the Czechoslovak border 43 years ago just before midnight on 20 August 1968, invading the state's territory without the authorities' awareness. The first platoon to invade the territory of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was comprised of roughly 100 000 soldiers, 2 300 tanks and 700 aircraft. The occupying army gradually grew to 750 000 soldiers. People lost their lives during the tragic events that halted social reform in the country.
The press release of Czech PM Petr Nečas is printed in full below:
Today we are commemorating 43 years since the events that deprived people of the hope of changing what was a totalitarian regime. Those events proved that communism is irredeemable, that it is capable of exploiting an atmosphere of fear, of using tanks and weapons against defenseless people. People who were convinced of their truth soon recognized they had no possibility of fighting off this brute force, but they gave their lives for our country in the defense of freedom anyway.
Today we are living in democracy and in freedom. Like everywhere in the developed world, our system is imperfect - but we take it for granted. What was just a dream to people decades ago, that we would return to our rightful place among the traditional democratic states, is a reality today. However, the world is constantly changing and still faces many threats.
Today the threat is not that of an invasion by a military 'alliance', but of invasion by displays of extremism, intolerance and radicalism, as we have witnessed in many countries. This extremism, of various flavors, can pose a threat to democracy and freedom at any time, whether today or in the near future.
We must continue in the process of facing up to the totalitarian past, when August 1968 extended communist domination for another 21 years. However, we must also be capable of responding to current threats, which could endanger our freedom in a much more insidious way. Let us remember that, and not only today.
Romea.cz
Facebook tribute site for Ayen Chol ruined by racists (Australia)
The State Government and police will try to erase the posts.
The two pages have 35,000 followers, several of whom have contacted Crimestoppers.
Some vile comments and images already have been removed. But others remain on the sites dedicated to four-year-old Ayen Chol.
One post on a page described the pit bull-cross linked to the girl's death last Wednesday as a legend.
The Herald Sun has chosen not to detail the contents of other posts that have not been removed.
One racist comment triggered the responses: "I hope you get mauled by a dog, so you know what she had to go through!!!" and "Go die in a hole ... u heartless waste of space".
Relative Daniel Atem said the family was not aware of the shocking photos and posts until contacted by the Herald Sun.
"It's bad. It's not good," he said.
It is the latest incident of tribute pages of people who have died being vandalised. Minister for Crime Prevention Andrew McIntosh said he was outraged the girl's memory had been attacked by cyber ghouls.
"These comments are despicable and offensive," Mr McIntosh said.
"The Victorian Coalition Government will seek advice on any action that may be taken against the cowards who have sought to defile the memory of Ayen Chol using the supposed anonymity of the internet."
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said police would work with Facebook to try to have any offensive content removed.
A Facebook spokeswoman said the site wanted to express its sympathies to Ayen's family and friends.
"We are also deeply saddened that a few individuals have shown a complete lack of respect for this tribute page," she said.
She encouraged page administrators to remove offensive content from the pages they have created and ban unwelcome visitors.
Herald Sun
FACEBOOK’S HOLOCAUST PROBLEM
Is Facebook in denial about Holocaust denial? For years, international organizations opposing anti-Semitism have been urging the planet’s preeminent social-networking platform to delete any content that asserts the Nazi-orchestrated extermination of 6 million Jews never took place. And for years, officials of Facebook, boasting more than 750 million active users, have refused, insisting that mere denial of the Holocaust, however “repugnant and ignorant,” doesn’t constitute “hate speech” as defined by Facebook’s Terms of Service policy prohibiting “content that: is hateful, threatening, or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence.” (Which gave a huge opening to TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, who noted that while Facebook was meticulously removing photos of breast-feeding women, it was allowing the proliferation of Holocaust-denial pages. His mordant headline: “Jew Haters Welcome At Facebook, As Long As They Aren’t Lactating.”)
Facebook’s critics—including such groups as the Anti-Defamation League and the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism, which describes itself as an Israeli-led “alliance of statesmen, parliamentarians, diplomats, journalists, legal experts, NGOs and scholars”—argue that Holocaust denial is, by definition, an expression of hatred for the Jewish people. “Holocaust denial is basically a form of classic anti-Semitism,” said Deborah Lauter, ADL’s director of civil rights and its cyber-hate response team. “It’s anti-Semitism per se because it serves as a powerful conspiracy theory that basically says the Jews have manipulated history to advance their own worldview, whether to create sympathy or world domination. In other words, we have fabricated this monstrous event in history in order to further our own hidden agenda.”
Facebook spokesman Simon Axten doesn’t see it that way. “We find Holocaust denial to be repugnant and ignorant, just as we object to many of the other ideas expressed on Facebook,” Axten told me via email this week. “We’ve come to the conclusion that the mere statement of denying the Holocaust is not a violation of our policies. We recognize people’s right to be factually wrong about historical events.” The controversy surrounding Facebook’s free-speech position isn’t especially new. It has been a matter of anxiety among Jewish groups at least since November 2008, when blogger and attorney Brian Cuban—the less-famous brother of Dallas Mavericks owner and Dancing With the Stars contestant Mark Cuban—sounded the alarm and prompted a spate of media attention.
This item continues at the Daily Beast
.
Facebook’s critics—including such groups as the Anti-Defamation League and the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism, which describes itself as an Israeli-led “alliance of statesmen, parliamentarians, diplomats, journalists, legal experts, NGOs and scholars”—argue that Holocaust denial is, by definition, an expression of hatred for the Jewish people. “Holocaust denial is basically a form of classic anti-Semitism,” said Deborah Lauter, ADL’s director of civil rights and its cyber-hate response team. “It’s anti-Semitism per se because it serves as a powerful conspiracy theory that basically says the Jews have manipulated history to advance their own worldview, whether to create sympathy or world domination. In other words, we have fabricated this monstrous event in history in order to further our own hidden agenda.”
Facebook spokesman Simon Axten doesn’t see it that way. “We find Holocaust denial to be repugnant and ignorant, just as we object to many of the other ideas expressed on Facebook,” Axten told me via email this week. “We’ve come to the conclusion that the mere statement of denying the Holocaust is not a violation of our policies. We recognize people’s right to be factually wrong about historical events.” The controversy surrounding Facebook’s free-speech position isn’t especially new. It has been a matter of anxiety among Jewish groups at least since November 2008, when blogger and attorney Brian Cuban—the less-famous brother of Dallas Mavericks owner and Dancing With the Stars contestant Mark Cuban—sounded the alarm and prompted a spate of media attention.
This item continues at the Daily Beast
.
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