The city, Denmark’s capital, is now inching toward construction of not one, but two grand mosques. In August, the city council approved the construction of a Shiite Muslim mosque, replete with two 104-foot-tall minarets, in an industrial quarter on the site of a former factory. Plans are also afoot for a Sunni mosque. But it has been a long and complicated process, tangled up in local politics and the publication four years ago of cartoons mocking Islam.
The difficulties reflect the tortuous path Denmark has taken in dealing with its immigrants, most of whom are Muslim. Copenhagen in particular has been racked by gang wars, with shootouts and killings in recent months between groups of Hells Angels and immigrant bands.
Latest Updates: denmark RSS
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johnpi
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johnpi
Two Chicago men have been indicted on terrorism conspiracy charges, accused by the US government of plotting violence against the newspaper that published the infamous cartoons that made fun of the prophet (pbuh) in 2005.
David C. Headley, 49, legally changed his name from Daood Gilani three years ago to avoid suspicion when he traveled, FBI special agent Lorenzo Benedict wrote in a sworn statement. In the past nine months alone, Headley journeyed twice to Denmark, where he posed as a businessman interested in placing ads in a newspaper that in 2005 published cartoons making fun of the prophet Muhammad, the statement said.
Authorities think that Headley was taking steps to carry out terrorist strikes as part of a plan he called “the Mickey Mouse Project,” the court documents say. The FBI affidavit described contacts between Headley and two unnamed operatives of Lashkar-i-Taiba, a Pakistani group with ties to al-Qaeda, and with Ilyas Kashmiri, the operational chief of another Pakistani militant organization who survived a U.S. drone attack this year.
….U.S. prosecutors also charged another Chicago man, Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 48, with conspiring to provide support to terrorists, accusing him of helping to plan and conceal the purpose of Headley’s travels. Headley did not work regularly or have a ready source of income, authorities said, but he told others that he was employed by First World Immigration Services, owned by Rana.
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johnpi
The ‘traffic’ in female genital mutilation.
Scandinavians — rather than quietly recoiling as immigrant mothers take their Europe-born daughters on vacation to Africa be circumcised — are fighting the traffic in female genital mutilation (FGM).
Sweden, Norway and Denmark are doggedly pursuing perpetrators of FGM, practiced by African and Middle Eastern cultures. Those perpetrators are mostly the immigrant mothers of the young girls.
Jail sentences, record damages and controversial immigration laws are Scandinavia’s weapons in this war. Meanwhile Africans — who have immigrated with their families for a better life in northern Europe — wring their hands, imploring Westerners to understand that they are doing what they think is best for their daughters.
“The reasons given for female circumcision are traditional, cultural and religious. It is believed to encourage cleanliness, to control promiscuity, enhance the males’ sexual pleasure, preserve virginity and protect against unwanted pregnancies,” said Timnit Embaye of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Kenya.
But Scandinavian leaders refuse to interpret tolerance of female circumcision as politically correct.
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thabet
At least some in Danish politics seem to have kept their sense of perspective:
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johnpi
Danish military unit under attack over headscarf.
Maria Mawla.
A Danish military unit has become embroiled in a dispute about Muslim headscarves after it allowed a hijab-wearing woman to complete a training course.
The Home Guard, a home defense corps of thousands of volunteer soldiers, does not allow headscarves and violated that rule when it allowed Maria Mawla, 27, to wear one during its 10-day basic training program, spokesman Joergen Jensen said Monday….
The issue became national news in Denmark after the populist Danish People’s Party, known for its anti-Muslim outbursts, expressed shock over an article about Mawla posted on the Home Guard’s Web site.
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johnpi
Muslim nations ask Turkey to veto the Danish Prime Minister as the next NATO chief over the Prophet cartoon controversy in 2006. (Turkey is also upset that Denmark has allowed a pro-Kurdish militant television station to broadcast from Denmark.)
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johnpi
Fatima Bhutto: Does Pakistan have no shame?
Bhutto writes of a victim of a retaliatory tribal gang rape who had the audacity to press charges, and who now says a federal minister “telephoned her uncle and warned him that should she persist, the ministry would ensure that the court rules against her.”
I don’t mean to make this pick on Pakistan day, but the US government has told Denmark that the greatest terrorist threat it faces is from Muslims who go to Pakistan and return…
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thabet
A Danish woman has been found guilty of carrying out genital mutilation on two of her daughters.
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Fatemeh
An art exhibit in Denmark seeks to further acceptance of Islam and Muslims. Via Islam in Europe. Judge for yourself.
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thabet
Denmark’s state broadcaster has come under criticism for sponsoring a beauty contest for teenagers who wear the Muslim headscarf.
