France denies citizenship to man with veiled wife

The French government has refused to give citizenship to a foreigner who has forced his French wife to wear a full-face Islamic veil, Immigration Minister Eric Besson said. The announcement came just days after a parliamentary commission called for a law to ban the wearing of head-to-toe veils in public places, such as schools, hospitals and government offices. In a statement, Mr Besson said he had signed a decree on Tuesday rejecting a man’s citizenship application after it emerged that he had ordered his wife to cover herself with a head-to-toe veil.  “It became apparent during the regulation investigation and the prior interview that this person was compelling his wife to wear the all-covering veil, depriving her of the freedom to come and go with her face uncovered, and rejected the principles of secularism and equality between men and women,” he said.  Later, the minister stressed that French law required anyone seeking naturalisation to demonstrate their desire for integration. The interior ministry says only 1,900 women wear full veils in France, home to Europe’s biggest Muslim minority

UK politicians invite  Geert Wilders to screen his insulting film on Islam

Geert Wilders, the radical anti-Muslim Dutch politician, will seek to visit the House of Lords  in March to screen his controversial film equating Islam to Nazism. Mr Wilders has accepted an invitation from Lord Pearson of Rannoch, the leader of UKIP, and Baroness Cox, a crossbench peer, to show his anti-Islam film Fitna in the Palace of Westminster on March 5. In his film, Geert claims the that Koran is a terrorist handbook.British officials said the Government is powerless to ban Mr Wilders, despite continuing public order fears, after he overturned a previous entry ban following a legal challenge last year.”He’s free to travel and the Border Agency will not be alerted,” said an official. The Dutch MP, whose anti-Muslim Freedom Party leads the opinion polls in Holland, appealed, and won, a challenge to his entry ban from the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal last October.

Swiss antagonist of minarets embraces Islam

Renowned Swiss politician Daniel Streich, who rose to fame for his campaign against minarets of mosques, has embraced Islam. A member of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) and a well-known politician, Daniel Streich was the first man who had launched a drive for imposition of ban on mosques minarets, and to lock the mosques in Switzerland. The proclamation of Streich’s conversion to Islam has created furore in Swiss politics, besides causing a tremor for those who supported ban on construction of mosques minarets. Streich propagated his anti-Islamic movement far and wide in the country, sowed seeds of indignation and scorn for Islam among the people, and paved way for public opinion against pulpits and minarets of mosques. But now Streich has become a soldier of Islam. His anti-Islam thoughts finally brought him so close to this religion that he embraced Islam. He is ashamed of his doings now and desires to construct the most beautiful mosque of Europe in Switzerland. Streich was an important member of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP). His importance could be estimated from his influence on party’s policy making, in which he always had a prominent role. His movement against minarets was aimed at gaining political attention and interest. He won the slot of military instructor in the Swiss Army due to his popularity.

Born in a Christian family, Streich had a comprehensive study of Islam merely to malign and confront, but Islamic teachings had a deep impact on him. Eventually he de-linked himself from political activities and he embraced Islam. Streich has termed the SVO activities against the Muslims as satanic. He says that he used to read the Bible and often went to chapel, but now he recites the Holy Quran and offers his prayers five times a day. He further says that he cancelled his party membership and made public his conversion. Streich says that he has found the truth of life in Islam, which he could not find in Christianity.

Iran: US Patriots waging psychological warfare

Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, says the US is trying to wage psychological warfare against Iran by deploying missiles in the Persian Gulf. Firouzabadi said on Thursday that the recently deployed Patriot missiles in the region will be rendered useless by simple countermeasures. He said the administration of US President Barack Obama encourages Persian Gulf States to buy overpriced military hardware by spreading Iranophobia in the region. He noted that the move is a “new plot” by the US to plunder the Arab countries’ treasury. Firouzabadi said that the US has been installing the missiles for years and “we know their locations.” Washington has expanded its missile systems in and around Persian Gulf, claiming that the measure is aimed at beefing up its defenses against possible Iranian missile attacks.  The US deployments include land-based Patriot missile installations in Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain. Washington is keeping two warships in the Persian Gulf supposedly capable of shooting down Iranian missiles.

Pakistan concerned over “Indian influence” in Afghanistan: spokesman

Pakistan Thursday expressed concern over the “increased Indian role” in Afghanistan and said that Islamabad would remain neutral in the Afghan affairs. “Pakistan has serious concerns about India using Afghan territory to destabilize Pakistan,” Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said at weekly press briefing. Basit said Pakistan is ready to play a constructive and positive role in Afghanistan but it is for Afghanistan to determine such a role.

US must welcome ‘back-door’ negotiations on Kashmir: Mullen

The Obama administration should welcome all steps that Pakistan and India take to regenerate ‘back-door’ negotiations on the Kashmir dispute, US Joint Chiefs Staff Chairman Mike Mullen said on Tuesday. Talking at a congressional hearing, he called for supporting moves to improve trust between the two South Asian nuclear powers.  Mullen said, “While the US acknowledges the sovereign right of India and Pakistan to pursue their own foreign policies, we must demonstrate our desire for continued and long-term partnership with each, and offer our help to improve confidence and understanding between them in a manner that builds long-term stability across the wider region of South Asia.”

Feb 4 2010