Author: fredalanmedforth
Itajaí, Brazil Citywide Prevention Program using Ivermectin Significantly Reduced COVID-19 Infection, Hospitalization, and Mortality Rate
On TikTok, devoutly Muslim influencers use the juvenile idioms to spread Salafism and proselytise
27-year-old Charlène had never entered that mosque’s doors in Lannion (Côtes-d’Armor) until that day in November 2021 when she decided to visit the mosque “in secret”. After months of hesitation, she finally contacted the imam and told him of her desire to convert to Islam. “This wish came to me after a difficult time,” she confesses on the phone.
Today she is a practising Muslim. The bakery employee, who was not baptised but attended Catholic schools, says she appreciates the ” atmosphere ” that Islam offers her. Charlène prays daily, eats halal and no longer drinks alcohol. “I follow the rules I think are right and best suited to my personality,” she explains. “But I can’t imagine not celebrating Christmas or my little son’s birthdays any more. I know it’s not right, but we all do stupid things!” “Not right?” Where did she hear that celebrating birthdays is a sin? The answer is in two words: on TikTok.
Charlène is a convert thanks in the first place to Redazere, a “ticktokeur” […].
(messages intended to remind the faithful of a theological or practical aspect), interspersed with images from the Korean series Squid Game or from his holiday in Mexico. Depending on the mood of the day and questions asked by commentators, the charismatic young man indicates which supplications he should say before an exam, promotes charity, poses take-along challenges – such as naming most of Allah’s names in 30 seconds – or claims that listening to music and looking at women is not allowed in Islam.
[…]
An account like that of “Ilhan.st” makes it clear how much these online discourses have changed […] 469,000 subscribers […].
“As Muslims (…) we cannot afford to look like non-Muslims,” he says in response to a critical comment. “Islam is a way of life. And don’t forget: moderate Islam does not exist. The Islam we live is the Islam from the time of anNabi (the Prophet), and we cannot presume to change it.” When a subscriber challenged him on the existence of dinosaurs, the Tiktocrat sidestepped the issue, arguing that there were “more essential things to know” and that “Allah is the Knowing One.” […]
The 37-year-old Hamid S. is the face of “Comprends Ton Dîne” (Understand your Communion) […] 500,000 subscribers […].
He advises against birthday celebrations because they are “based on pagan foundations that contradict our religion”. Another video shows him taking down a poster of the French national football team, on the grounds that “in Islam it is forbidden to hang any kind of photo showing human or animal creatures”. Also in football: wearing a jersey with a cross, like that of FC Barcelona, “is not allowed in Islam, simply because the Barça cross is a religious symbol.” […]
Underneath a video in which Redazere claims that it is “super bad” to perform only four out of five prayers, a teenager wrote: “Reda, because of your videos I am scared. I’m only 13 years old and I find (…) that I’m burdened with too many sins, that I’m not doing enough for Allah.” The distribution capacity of videos on TikTok is all the greater because people do not have to search for content there to see it. The social network’s “For You” window constantly suggests new videos to users, selected by the algorithm based on their previous interactions. In the past, you had to know Salafism to find this content,” comments Damien Saverot, a PhD student at the École Normale Supérieure. Today, we have influencers who do not openly profess Salafism, who spread it among people who are not familiar with it, pretending that it is simply Islam. This helps to impose Salafism as a reference norm in the collective imagination.”La Croix
Neil Oliver: Covid restrictions are lifted
Belgium cannot deport hate preacher Abdallah Ouahbour, who is linked to the 2004 Madrid bombing and is a high threat, as the Council for Foreigners’ Affairs refuses to do so
The Belgian state wants to expel a radicalised hate preacher based in Maaseik (Limburg) because he poses a “threat to society”. However, the Council for Foreigners’ Affairs has opposed this, as reported by the Mediahuis Group newspapers on Thursday.
OCAM and State Security reports describe Abdallah Ouahbour as a hate preacher with a high threat level.
The person is said to be one of the main leaders of the “Masseik group”, which is linked to the Casablanca and Madrid attacks that killed 250 people in Spain in 2003 and 2004. A latest report by the State Security Service also refers to his ideological and financial support for the Islamic State terrorist group.
Last year, the Immigration Service initiated proceedings to deport Abdallah Ouahbour, who is married and has two children. In June, the State Secretary for Asylum and Migration, Sammy Mahdi (CD&V), decided that the 48-year-old man, who has Moroccan nationality but was born in Belgium and has lived there since 1990, had to leave the country.
Mr Ouahbour had opposed his deportation because, according to him, he suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome and fears being arrested in Morocco.
The Council for Foreigners’ Affairs decided to reject the application for expulsion on the basis of other factors. According to this body, the OCAM and State Security reports do not provide a “solid basis” to expel anyone. The allegations are “too vague” and “too general”. The Council believes that the State Security Service should formulate more concrete statements. The Council also points out that the analyses were carried out in connection with a conviction for terrorism, although this should not play a role.
The Council for Foreigners is considering whether to appeal to the Constitutional Court.Sud Info
Planned center for religious bullying in Berlin sparks criticism
A planned documentation center on religious bullying in schools in the Berlin district of Neukölln has provoked strong criticism among those who believe it will stigmatize Muslims, it has emerged.
The Association for Democracy and Diversity in Schools and Vocational Training wants to set up a place where teachers can report cases of religious bullying and receive help in dealing with it.
As reported by Junge Freiheit news outlet, behind the plan is a study by the association, which caused a great stir at the end of last year. According to the paper, nine out of ten schools in Neukölln reported religious bullying. Above all, the respondents complained about the growing influence of Koran schools and mosques on the students.
A woman of Turkish origin reported that she could not wear a short dress in the summer. “I seriously have to be careful what I wear,” she said.
One choir leader stated that only Arabs are allowed to play football. In several cases, teachers of a Muslim origin were forced to wear headscarves.
“And then they want to cut Israel out of the atlas and paint over it. That happens again and again,” a headmistress complained.
The Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women, and Youth had approved a three-month evaluation of the association, the Neukölln district office and the funding for this “reviewing of confrontational religious expressions in Neukölln.”
Several SPD, CDU, FDP, and AfD politicians called for permanent support for the contact and documentation center. However, the Greens and Left Party rejected this and warned against the disparagement of Muslim youths.
Several scientists and educators have now also spoken out. They criticized alleged errors in the listing or criticism of the planned contact point. The educational researcher at the Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg, Ellen Kollender, warned in an online event on Tuesday of a possible “stigmatization” of Muslims.
CEO of the Ufuq association, which advises teachers and authorities, Götz Nordbruch, warned that it was wrong to focus only on “rigid religious ideas.” According to the DPA news agency, Nordbruch added that it made more sense to devote resources to addressing the problems of young people who experienced racism and who often did not get any answers to religious questions at school.
If 90 percent of the students in some schools have a foreign origin, they would have to find out whether they were ready “to reflect this diversity in everyday school life.” For example, when it comes to creating space for Islamic festivals in addition to Christmas celebrations.
Islamic scientist, Susanne Schröter, praised the plans of permanent support of the documentation center. “Demonstrating the alleged superiority of Islam and creating pressure on secular Muslims, as can be observed in the confrontational manifestations of religion, are part of the settled repertoire of Islamist actors,” she wrote in an evaluation report.
According to the Frankfurt Research Center on Global Islam’s chief, such behavior is also accepted because it is “associated with strength and superiority.” Where Islamist ideologies dominate, school peace is at risk and the chances of participation for students, especially from disadvantaged families, are severely impaired. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the problem and develop countermeasures.
https://rmx.news/article/planned-center-for-religious-bullying-in-berlin-sparks-criticism/
France: Authorities close restaurant where unveiled Muslim women could dine in booths protected from view
It had been ” pilloried” by the broadcast “Zone interdite”, which aired on M 6 on Sunday. The restaurant Le Familial in the city centre of Roubaix (northern France) was closed by the prefecture on Wednesday, reports La Voix du Nord. The programme described the restaurant as providing booths where veiled women could have lunch or dinner, protected from onlookers. The official reason? “Non-compliance with regulations regarding hygiene and traceability of food”.
Although the prefecture makes no connection with the broadcast of “Zone interdite”, the timing raises questions. According to La Voix du Nord, the police check, carried out by the Direction départementale de la protection des populations (DDPP), was conducted two days after the M 6 report was broadcast. The restaurant was not named, but was easily recognisable to those who knew it.
According to the closure order, which La Voix du Nord has been able to consult, the restaurant is accused of “insufficient cleaning and maintenance of the premises and equipment”, “lack of traceability of raw materials and preparations”, “equipment intended for staff hygiene and insufficient staff clothing” or even “insufficient knowledge of good hygiene practices”. In order to reopen, the restaurant must correct the deficiencies identified by the DDPP, otherwise it must remain closed. The restaurant owner can also appeal within two months.
Already on Sunday evening, the Prefecture of the Department of the North had had to react to an association that had also been denounced in “Zone interdite”. “Checks by the state authorities have revealed that the AIR association offers Arabic courses of a cultural nature,” it wrote on Twitter, adding that state subsidies for this association were suspended on March 1, 2021. The prefecture also announced that it had “demanded the repayment of the subsidies paid” and had made a “report to the Lille public prosecutor’s office”.Le Parisien
Four chemistry professors question the ‘grey shade’ in vaccine vials
Four German chemistry professors have sent a list of questions to BioNTech founder Ugur Sahin. They are concerned about a possibility of defective products.
The four are: Jörg Matysik, Professor of Analytical Chemistry at the University of Leipzig; Gerald Dyker, Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Ruhr University Bochum; Andreas Schnepf, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Tübingen; Martin Winkler, Professor Materials and Process Engineering at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
The professors sent a letter to Sahin, seen by the Berliner Zeitung. “We find the possibility of stabilising mRNA so that it can be used for vaccinations very exciting. We understand that this biotechnological innovation can open up very significant new possibilities in medical practice.”
They are “interested in both general public health and a successful chemical and pharmaceutical industry”, the professors said. But Matysik explained in an interview with the Berliner Zeitung: “As chemists, we don’t have the impression that this product can be used as a mass vaccine at the moment.”
A central question facing the researchers at BioNTech arises from an observation that there is something strange in the vials: “The vaccine is a white to grey-white dispersion. How does this significant colour difference come about; virtually all the substances used are colourless, so white would be expected. Where does the shade of grey come from? Are these impurities?”
Andreas Schnepf explained the problem: “It may well be that a pill, a liquid or a dispersion is coloured. But the colour grey, i.e. a ‘diluted black’, is hardly created in a process that would be expected. We need to know if it is an impurity. If a pill is not white, there is a suspicion that something has gone wrong. We need clarification from BioNTech on this.”
In their letter, the professors specifically ask: “How is a uniform product quality ensured, or rather how can you ensure that the mRNA to be packaged is present in the lipid nanoparticles and to what extent? How do you continue to control the concentration of mRNA active ingredient in each batch, and how do you control the concentration of active ingredient in the lipid nanoparticles relative to that outside the particles?”
A second issue of concern to the chemists is the “components used in the vaccine that are not approved for human medicine”. This concerns “the components ALC-0159 and ALC 0315 used to form the lipid nanoparticles”, which are “not directly approved for use on or in the human body”. The safety data sheet for ALC-0315 describes “that ALC-0315 irritates both eyes and skin or mucous membranes”. Schnepf sees a problem here: “If it can irritate the eyes or skin, what about the relationship to tissue? Here we need clarity.”
The added: “Are there any further planned or ongoing studies to determine the toxicological effects of the substances or their biological degradation?”
Finally, the scientists are concerned with reports of side effects. They are concerned because there are apparently different side effects with different batch numbers and wanted to know whether “the side effects are correlated with a small number of batch numbers”.
Specifically, they ask in their letter: “How can this circumstance be explained and what distinguishes these batches from the others, and are efforts underway to investigate this important aspect in more detail, especially with regard to quality assurance? Are there or are clinical studies planned to investigate the side effects and their causes as well as to increase the safety of the new Covid vaccines?”
https://freewestmedia.com/2022/01/27/four-chemistry-professors-question-the-grey-shade-in-vaccines/
CANADA – Truckers against medical discrimination. This convoy is now heading to Ottawa and is 70km long, We stand with you Canada
France: Population with Muslim faith particularly guilty of spreading anti-Semitic ideas – Anti-Semitic prejudice stable among supporters of the left-wing party France Insoumise, sharp decline among supporters of the right-wing RN
However, the analysis of the results shows that certain population groups are very susceptible to anti-Semitic prejudice. Men and French people over the age of 65 are overall more inclined to harbour prejudices against Jews – all population groups that are otherwise more susceptible to racist and homophobic ideas. The prevalence of anti-Semitic prejudice is also more widespread on the far left and far right. For example, the statement that “the Jews have too much power in the economic and financial spheres” is shared by 33% of respondents in the electorate of Jean-Luc Mélenchon and by 34% of those close to the La France insoumise party, as well as by 39% in the electorate of Marine Le Pen and by 33% of those close to the Rassemblement National party, compared to 26% in the population as a whole. However, there is an important development: Among La France insoumise supporters, agreement with the idea that “the Jews have too much power in the economic and financial spheres” is at the same level in 2021 (34%) as we measured in 2014 (33%), while this idea declines significantly among Rassemblement National supporters, from 50% in 2014 to 33% in 20211.
Hatred of Israel is widely seen as the main source of anti-Semitism. However, the accusation of “double loyalty”, which is that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to France, is more likely to be seen as a legitimate criticism (39%). There are as many French people who consider it legitimate to accuse Jews of being responsible for Israel’s policies (33%) as there are French people who consider this to be an anti-Semitic opinion (34%) or French people who are not sure (33%), which testifies to the difficulties of grasping the phenomenon of this “new anti-Semitism” in the context of hatred of Israel, the causes of which are indeed complex.
Furthermore, it is worth highlighting that 49% of French people have a positive image of Israel (compared to 22% who have a negative image), with the notable exception of those close to La France insoumise, who are significantly more likely than average to have a negative image of Israel (38%, while 37% of respondents close to La France insoumise say they have a positive image of Israel). 30% of La France insoumise voters (compared to 16% of French people overall) believe that using old anti-Semitic prejudices to describe Israelis is a legitimate criticism rather than an anti-Semitic opinion; 43% (compared to 33% of French people overall) believe that accusing Jews of being responsible for Israel’s policies is also more likely to be a legitimate criticism. Moreover, 70% of La France insoumise voters opposed bans on rallies in support of the Palestinian cause (compared to 40% of French people overall) because of the risk of riots with an anti-Semitic background. (…)
The general perception that there is too much coverage of anti-Semitism, while less and less shared by all French people, is persistent among certain groups of the population: those who inform themselves via blogs or internet forums are the most likely to think that there is too much talk about anti-Semitism (27%, compared to 15% on average for the population as a whole), as are voters for La France insoumise (22%), the Rassemblement National (20%) and sympathisers of the anti-vaccine movement (22%).
According to our data, 15% of Muslims say they feel antipathy towards Jews, which is 10 percentage points higher than in the French population as a whole. Even more, the divergence from the general public is most spectacular when it comes to agreeing with prejudice. The idea that Jews dominate the media (54%, +30 points compared to the total French population) or the economy and finance (51%, +27 points) is shared by more than one in two Muslims. The detailed analysis of the results refutes the hypothesis that anti-Semitism is due to socio-economic reasons. In fact, the level of agreement with the prejudices is very high even among executives or people with a university degree.Anti-Semitic views are also common among both Maghreb and sub-Saharan African Muslims. As we had found in our 2014 survey, agreement with prejudice is related to the intensity of worship attendance: For example, 61% of Muslims who attend mosque weekly believe that “Jews have too much power in business and finance”, compared to 40% among non-practitioners.2 Most Muslims who attend mosque believe that Jews have too much power in business and finance. Among Muslims, however, it can be observed that certain anti-Semitic prejudices are less prevalent among the new generations. For example, 60% of Muslims over 50 believe that “the Jews have too much power in the media”, compared to 40% among Muslims aged 18-24. Similarly, 59% of Muslims over 50 think that “the Jews have too much power in business and finance”, compared to 34% among 18-24 year olds.
An in-depth analysis of the results makes it possible to better understand the logic underlying this anti-Semitism. The qualitative study AJC-Fondation pour l’innovation politique, conducted by Ifop in 2017, showed that a part of Muslims spontaneously expressed the feeling of being discriminated against by the media and public authorities3. Some of those interviewed in semi-direct interviews stated that Jewish French people received “preferential treatment”, which according to these people was due to the fact that the media and public authorities expressed their indignation with greater zeal when anti-Semitic acts were committed than when Muslims were attacked. The survey results provide at least a partial measure of how strongly such opinions are weighted among France’s Muslim population. More than a third of respondents believe that anti-Semitism is talked about too much (36%), a result far above the figure measured for the French population as a whole (15%).Furthermore, it is interesting to note that the relationship to the Sarah Halimi case differs quite significantly in the two samples: While the court decision is very largely met with incomprehension and disapproval by the French public as a whole (72%), respondents of Muslim faith share this incomprehension and disapproval significantly less often (56%).
In the last twenty years, there have been increasing reports from history teachers of growing difficulties in teaching the memory of the Holocaust. Questions of remembrance are at the centre of the return of anti-Semitic discourses, as evidenced by the career of the comedian Dieudonné or the indigenist movements. The satirist has gradually become an avowed anti-Semite, blaming “Zionists” and the “Jewish lobby” since 2005 for his inability to obtain subsidies for a film on the slave trade. We have therefore tried to understand the importance of these disputes in the context of the ” competition of memories ” within the French population. The idea that commemorating the Holocaust prevents other historical destinies from being taken into account resonates with a third of French people (35%), but is much more prevalent among French people of the Muslim faith (59%).