I was very much disappointed with Melanie Phillips's classification of Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer as basically some kind of overzealous firebrands who harm the cause of the Right. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it seems to me we have long since passed the point where politely explaining your POV as Rightwingers is not going to help our cause any further: we need to 'take the gloves off'. Of course, I suspect strongly that Mrs. Phillips would never label herself a rightwinger. Although much of what she has been writing over the past years addresses the real problems the West faces, as opposed to made up problems like 'climate change', 'racism', the 'exploitation' of the south by the north, 'discrimination' of gay people etc etc, I suspect that deep underneath Mrs. Phillips may still basically hold leftist views. A condition not unlike Mr Gorbachev, who realised there were grave problems in the USSR but hoped that cosmetic changes would solve them.
Perhaps it's simply a matter too of female antagonism. Or simply not liking Pam Gellers hands on approach.
All that is understandable.
What is not understandable is her contempt for Geller's and Spencer's association with the EDL, and her labeling that organisation as a bunch of contemptuous thugs. As a Vlaams Belang member, I also very much deplore Mrs. Phillips putting my party in that category too, for that matter. But that's a subject for another post.
Re the EDL's so-called thuggish character, I wonder how Melanie Phillips would react to Pat Condell's speech on the matter?
Just remember, Mrs. Phillips, the cause of us defenders of the West is NOT helped at all by petty quarrels over differences in style. We cannot afford schisms. The only ones laughing will be the PC establishment in politics, academia and media, and the muslims.
"First there was no mention of a muezzin when the mosque was inaugurated; then on Fridays only; then three times a day, now five times a day." — Interview in Die Zeit
A Turkish mosque in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia has begun sounding public calls to prayer from an outdoor loudspeaker system mounted on the roof of the edifice.
The mosque is one of a growing number of Islamic institutions in Germany (and other parts of Western Europe) publicly calling the Muslim faithful to prayer -- five times a day, seven days a week -- with cries of Allahu Akbar ("Allah is Greater").
Observers believe a precedent has now been established, and that many of the other 3,000 mosques in Germany will soon begin jumping on the muezzin loudspeaker bandwagon.
The sonorous prayer calls (known as adhan in Arabic) can be heard from great distances when amplified through electric loudspeakers; some German towns and cities are actually beginning to evoke the sounds and images of the Islamic Middle East.
The latest "muezzin event" involves the Fatih Camii Mosque in Wipperfürth, a factory town situated 40 kilometers (25 miles) north-east of Cologne, which, on June 21, began publicly calling the Muslim faithful to prayer during a formal "muezzin-induction ceremony" attended by local and foreign dignitaries, including the Turkish consul, Mustafa Kemal Basa.
The Fatih Camii Mosque -- run by the Turkish-Islamic Union for Islamic Affairs (DITIB), a branch of the Turkish government that controls over 900 mosques in Germany -- received municipal approval for a muezzin publicly to call Muslims to the mosque for prayer five times a day after Mayor Michael von Rekowski said he wanted to show the world that Wipperfürth "takes pride in being an intercultural and interreligious community."
At the request of the mayor, leaders of the Wipperfürth mosque met with representatives of the Protestant and Catholic churches in town to "integrate" the timing of the Muslim prayer calls into the traditional schedule for the ringing of church bells. Although many non-Muslim townspeople are opposed to the muezzin, local clergy say they are pleased with the "peaceful coexistence between religions and culture" in the town.
The mosque in Wipperfürth is one of several in Germany to obtain municipal approval for public prayer calls.
The Turkish-run Central Mosque in the northern German town of Rendsburg, situated 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Hamburg, has been calling Muslims to prayer since 2010, when Social Democratic Mayor Andreas Breitner authorized the muezzin to issue prayer calls through three loudspeakers mounted on the top of two 26 meter (85 foot) minarets attached to each side of the mosque. Prayer calls are permitted between 6AM and 10PM.
The German newspaper Die Zeit reported that Rendsburg was engaged in a "holy war" after a local citizen's group gathered nearly 1,000 signatures opposing the muezzin. The group, which goes by the name "No Public Prayer Calls" [Kein öffentlicher Gebetsruf], had argued that the construction of the mosque was more than sufficient to guarantee the Muslims their constitutional right to free speech, and that the subsequent demands for a muezzin publicly to call the faithful to prayer was excessive. Moreover, the group argued that the Koran makes no mention of the need for muezzin, making the position superfluous.
According to one woman interviewed by the newspaper, there was no mention of a muezzin when the mosque was inaugurated in October 2009; "But then it was proposed that a muezzin should call the faithful to prayer on Fridays only. After that it was three times a day, and now it is five times a day. The prayer calls last for three minutes and the content is a bit much, especially since we are told that 'Allah is the greatest,'" she said. (The adhan, which consists of 15 verses, some of which are repeated several times, lasts for about three minutes.)
Opponents of the muezzin also pointed to the fact that the mosque adheres to Milli Görüs, a neo-Ottoman political-religious Islamist movement that calls for the "establishment of a national-religious Turkish empire." Although Milli Görüs has been monitored by German intelligence for anti-constitutional activities, the group operates freely throughout Germany..."
Here's a video showing the minarets of Hamburg's center mosque with the atrocious 'adhan' clearly audible. What a horrifying, depraved sound!
And in Eschweiler:
"Back in North Rhine-Westphalia, the Turkish-run Kuba Camii Mosque in Eschweiler, a city situated along the German-Belgian-Dutch border and about 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Cologne, obtained municipal approval in December 2012 to begin publicly calling Muslims to prayer.
The first such public prayer call took place on Friday, January 11, 2013, amid considerable fanfare. The call to prayer, which was described as an "historical event," was attended by myriad dignitaries, including the Turkish consul, Mustafa Kemal Basa, and the Turkish attaché, Tayfun Keltek.
The Turkish imam of the Kuba Camii Mosque, Bahri Ciftci, declared: "May the public prayer call be a symbol of a tolerant, intercultural and interreligious common coexistence."
During the ceremony, the mayor of Eschweiler, Rudi Bertram, said, "Tolerance must be practiced on a daily basis. We are all responsible for ensuring that there is a co-existence.""
"In today's Turkey, Christian communities confront two inter-related threats: First, they are suppressed by all-encompassing state restrictions on internal governance, education, houses of worship, and wider property rights, and the denial of legal status. They are in practice barred from operating seminaries and directly owning property. Largely through its Directorate of Religious Foundations, the state supervises and tries to control all Christian activity."
The book continues: "Second…social hostilities against Turkey's religious minorities run high. Such bigotry is reinforced by the official attitude of suspicion toward Christians. It is difficult even to have a frank national discussion about the plight of Christians in Turkey; those who have tried…can face charges for insulting Turkishness."
But that's exactly the kind of books our woolly headed mayor Rudi Bertram succesfully manages not to read.
More like an afternoon, actually. It was a Blitzbesuch. I'll post the following pics since I promised you, Jan. I'm sorry, I'm not that good a photographer, plus these are mere iPhone shots. It's a very meagre collection below, but I'm, well, I am recovering now, my treatment ended a good month and a half ago, But I'm still rather f*cked up.
Antwerp's Central Station, built between 1895 and 1905. The architect was Louis Delacenserie, from Bruges.
The Antwerp Zoo, the oldest of the country (1843), also one of the oldest of Europe.
A gem often overlooked by tourists, although it's only a five minutes walk away from the Cathedral of Our Lady, which attracts all the attention. This is the magnificent Carolus Borromeus Church on the Hendrik Conscience Square. A baroque place of worship built between 1615 and 1621, a record for those days.
The Cathedral of Our Lady, a gothic jewel. It's a terrible pity lack of funds prohibited the completion of the tower to the right. Work began in 1352, and almost 170 years later, the church was ready - apart from the south tower, which did not reach higher than the third strinc course. In the night of 5-6 October 1533, fire severely damaged the church. The financial ramifications of this were that the funds needed to raise the south tower to the same height as the north one, were used for repairing the damage first. Thereafter no serious attempt could ever be undertaken anymore to complete the South Tower.
Another view of the Cathedral, this time from the Grote Markt.
The Boerentower, Belgium's first 'skyscraper'. Well, we're talking the 1930's here. It's a building in Art Deco style constructed between 1929 and 1932.
