Today, the British Supreme Court ruled that the policy of the Jews’ Free School (or JFS) of taking converts to Judaism only when they had been through one denomination’s conversion ritual rather than another was racially discriminatory. The problem was that the school accepted that people who could trace their Jewish ancestry through the maternal line were Jewish, even if they were Christians or atheists, but a boy whose father was Jewish and whose mother converted through a ritual their branch of Judaism does not recognise is not accepted.
What that amounts to is that JFS is mainly for the descendents (at least, in the maternal line) of a particular group of Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe in the early 20th century. If the school required pupils to be practising Judaism, it might be more acceptable. There might have been a time when children of Jewish ancestry, regardless of religious practice, needed their own school. That time isn’t now, particularly if a child has a non-Jewish surname because his father is not Jewish even though his mother is. It’s ridiculous. I support faith schools, but there is no place for racially exclusive ones. Particularly for a mostly white ethnic group.
Still, it still leaves the possibility that religious tests could be used to narrow the members of a particular religion who might gain access to a school. When I visited a certain northern town a few years ago, I was in a mosque and noticed that the membership rules were posted on the walls. It specified that members must be “Sunni-Hanafi-Deobandi with Tablighi ethos”, and that excludes pretty much any Muslim from outside the Indian subcontinent. Would this kind of restriction fall foul of racial discrimination laws? It should, in my opinion. I’m not saying any Muslim group is doing this now, but it could happen, and not just with the group mentioned.
Possibly Related Posts:
- Attempt to link Islamic societies to terrorism
- Defamation: perception and reality of anti-Semitism
- The Spectator: where arrogant privilege meets bigotry
- The Swiss minaret law and its implications
- Why Tories messed up in attack on Islamic school
Do you understand what a race is? And can you understand that being hanafi-sunni-deobandi-tablighi is not a race? and yet you make the absurd link. Not all hanafis, tablighis, deobandis and sunnis are from the sub-continent. Its sad that you used the article to exercise your own grieviance. I would be interested to know if such a mosque even exists. Since its a mosque it is public information, so you wont mind telling us which one it is so we can see for ourselves.
“It specified that members must be “Sunni-Hanafi-Deobandi with Tablighi ethos”, and that excludes pretty much any Muslim from outside the Indian subcontinent. Would this kind of restriction fall foul of racial discrimination laws?”
Why should it? Presumably, as followers of a proselytising religion, the members of the mosque want to persuade everyone to follow what they imagine is the true religion. The fact that nearly all of the people who are now members of the true religion are descended from natives of the Indian subcontinent is as irrelevant as the fact that all of the early moonies were Korean and the first scientologists were American. It is their future aspirations that are ithe defining factor here.
It specified that members must be “Sunni-Hanafi-Deobandi with Tablighi ethos” I wonder if the membership rules are referring to appointment to the mosque committee, or whether they meant any Muslim who frequents the mosque. If it’s the former, than I think it’s probably nothing to worry about.
Mitsurugi: I believe it was referring to criteria for being a ‘member’, i.e. for having voting rights in committee elections, etc. I don’t object to that, actually, as it prevents the mosque being taken over by Brelvis or ‘Salafis’ who can flood the election with votes from outside (this has happened to my knowledge more than once in south London). When it’s a state-funded school, it’s another matter.
The Jewish race is better referred to as the Jewish tribe. The Jewish population of Israel is genetically very diverse - and too diverse to be considered as a race by most social / biological criteria. There are even black and Chinese Israelis with only a minute drop of Jewish blood in them via the maternal line.
Mitsurugi,
What part of somalia are your people from? In northern somalia (what’s now republic of somaliland) there used to be a small minority of Jewish background tribe called “Yebrer” (sp?). For some very strange reason, the men from this tribe used to collect 100units of the local currency from any family that had a new-born baby boy! —-most of their men are called Cohen —-or as spelled in somali, ‘Kahen’. When I was a kid i asked my gran why people parted with their money and she told me the Yebrews would place a curse on the baby and it would die if no money was paid. No idea if this custom is still practiced or where it came from. Are you able to shed any light on this? And why are so many somalis called Kahen? including the current president of somaliland.
Saggal: I have heard about the Yibir people, they do still exist, but I don’t know if they truly descend from the Hebrews. There is a Wikipedia page about it here, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yibir. As for the name ‘Kahin’, doesn’t it come from the Arabic(soothsayer, priest)? I’m not sure if so many Somalis have this as a surname, but I agree it is strange.
Going by the way Somalia is, the Yibirs’ curses are remarkably effective and their blessings are remarkably ineffective,
Going by the way Somalia is, the Yibirs’ curses are remarkably effective and their blessings are remarkably ineffective.
Mitsurugi,
Geez, I didn’t know there was a wikipedia page for them! thanks. The article clarifies a few things that always puzzled me about them.
I come across these Zoomalians and their northern Vs southern rivalries here in Leeds, but do not let them misinform you because I find them deceitful. Names such as “Kahin”(Kahen) and “Igal”(Egal) have all originated from the Eastern coast where current northern Somalia is separated from Yemen by sea. That president is even interesting with his first name Kahin and a surname Rayale(Arial).
Judaising “Yibir”(Yeber) of the Somal are a legacy of the old programs which existed to install Judaism in Africa as they sought a place the build a Jewish state. Many tribes were branded Jews just for practicing circumcisions.
In Kenya, the same propaganda repeats itself with many tribes of Lua origin branded as the “lost tribe” who apparently are recruited to purchase fertile lands for Israeli flower and other high commodity exotic fruits.
The Somali Yeber project failed because they had nothing of value;simple.
The other main reason was because there was a Russian linguist of Jewish origin sent to Somalia to recruit for Israel. His main connection between “Yibir”(Yeber in Latin) and Jews was the Jewish name Yeber and the phonetic similarities of the word with many foreign languages including the Russian Еврей (“Yevrey”) for Jew. This same man, played a major part in the foundation of the Somali alphabet.
I saw this man in Wales during an event and I can’t recall his name, but the Zoomalians here might know him better.
So his name is Cohen Arial -far more interesting than I ever thought possible.
LeedLad, am ashamed to say it but I don’t know nearly as much as you do about Somal.
Saggal : “Geez, I didn’t know there was a wikipedia page for them! thanks.”
It is amazing who has their own wikipedia page, even our own IndigoJo has one : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Yusuf_Smith
Is Codf1977 a stalker or something? His Wikipedia Contributions index reveals a strange sort of compulsion:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/inde.....t=Codf1977
Not healthy, I’m sure.
Tim : “Is Codf1977 a stalker or something? His Wikipedia Contributions index reveals a strange sort of compulsion: Not healthy, I’m sure.”
No, it is the account I use for editing religions and indigojo articles, my main Wiki account I use for my other editing.
If you look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W.....e_accounts you will see that this is permitted for : Privacy: A person editing an article which is highly controversial within his/her family, social or professional circle, and whose Wikipedia identity is known within that circle, or traceable to their real-world identity, may wish to use an alternative account to avoid real-world consequences from their editing or other Wikipedia actions in that area.
I have been very careful not to edited with my main account any article that is connected or linked to any article I have edited with my Codf1977 account.
I have been very open about my contributions here. I do know IndigoJo, we have met, he would know me if we met in the street. I mean no harm at all to Indigo Jo, I just feel from time to time his comments need to be repudiated and shown up for what they are.
I choose to remain anonymous as is my right, IndigoJo can if he wishes edit any of my posts, or block me from posting which, to date, he has not done. This I must stress is to his credit.
I hope that will go some way to allaying any fears you may have about my motives.
I’m afraid I concur with those who question whether the entry meets the notability criteria. I have searched Wikipedia for entries on other very significant ‘Muslim bloggers’ and find them unnoted, even though referenced by numerous articles.
It is not for me to question your motives, but I must say the article does not read like an encyclopedic entry. The longest paragraph is referenced to an anonymous comment on a rather insignificant blog — hardly conforming to acamdemic standards.
What next? An entry on Tim? He was born in Yorkshire, got some GCSEs and A-Levels, claimed to have invented a perpetual motion car but never drew up the plans, now works with computers. The world will stand still.
Tim : “I’m afraid I concur with those who question whether the entry meets the notability criteria. I have searched Wikipedia for entries on other very significant ‘Muslim bloggers’ and find them unnoted, even though referenced by numerous articles.”
He is clearly notable, and just because other Muslim bloggers who you and others may think are more notable are not there does not mean IndigoJo’s is not. This blog has received coverage in the mainstream press, has won The Best European Blog at the 2008 and 2009 Brass Crescent Awards, it is listed in the Quranclub’s State of the Muslim Blogosphere Report as being the third oldest active Muslim blog on the internet - there are lots of other articles on Wikipedia with less.
You are of cause free to edit the page to improve it as you see fit, as IndogoJo has done. You are also able to create the pages on the other “very significant ‘Muslim bloggers’”.