[osint] Spain's resurgent Muslims clamour for places to pray

[Dietmar Muehlboeck]

Spain's resurgent Muslims clamour for places to pray

By Victoria Burnett

Published: February 9 2007 02:00 | Last updated: February 9 2007 02:00

For centuries the Iberian peninsula was studded with the minarets of 
mosques that served its Moorish rulers. When the call to prayer goes out 
nowadays, many of Spain's Muslims cram into scruffy shop-fronts, garages 
and warehouses.

Five hundred years after the Catholic kings ousted the Moors, Spain's 
resurgent Muslim population is clamouring for places to pray. A campaign 
for land on which to build new mosques has sparked debate about the 
rights of religious minorities and underlined the challenges of 
absorbing a growing immigrant population.

Spain has a dozen mosques to serve a Muslim population that has swollen 
to about 1m in the past few years as North African immigrants stream 
into the country. Immigrants generally get a laid-back reception in 
Spain, but Muslim leaders complain that they face political and 
bureaucratic hurdles as they try to buy land and get building permission.

"It's almost impossible for the Muslim community to try to build a place 
to pray without confronting strong public rejection," says Mohammed 
Chaib, a socialist member of the Catalan parliament. Catalonia - home to 
about 250,000 Muslims - has no purpose-built mosques. About 170 spaces 
have been converted into places of worship.

Plans for a mosque in the Catalan town of Badalona drew national 
attention after more than 20,000 local residents signed a petition of 
protest last month. Cowed by public pressure, the local government has 
dropped a plan to allocate public land for the mosque. Eduardo 
Tortajada, Badalona's deputy mayor, says the fast rise of the Muslim 
community has strained relations with other residents; the town's Muslim 
population has grown from a few hundred to about 10,000 in the past five 
years - about 5 per cent of the population.

Suspicion that some mosques are hubs for Islamic extremism adds to 
public distrust. Badalona police in January arresteda Moroccan, 
Abdullatif Nekkavi, for alleged ties to jihadi groups in Iraq.

Mr Tortajada says the Badalona government faces a legal paradox: a lay 
government cannot hand over land to religious groups, but the 
constitution demands that the state provide space for religious buildings.

"This is an issue our society is really green about," he says. "The law 
is contradictory." He says the legal framework has not evolved to deal 
with religions beyond Catholicism - the religion of about 80 per cent of 
Spaniards. The close ties between the church and the nominally secular 
state are unwinding, but it still enjoys privileges, including a share 
of income tax worth €150m ($195m, £100m) per year.

Muslim claims over Spain's Moorish buildings have stoked an ancient 
rivalry with the Catholic church. Mansur Escudero, head of the Islamic 
Council, called on the Vatican in December to allow Muslims to pray 
alongside Christians at Córdoba's famous 10th century mosque. The mosque 
was turned into a church after the Moors' defeat in 1236 and a 
Renaissance cathedral built at its heart. Juan José Asenjo, bishop of 
Córdoba, declined the request on the basis that it would sow 
"religiousconfusion".

Mohammad Halhoul, spokesman for the Catalan Islamic Council, says a lack 
of financial resources is as much to blame as political opposition for 
the paucity of mosques. Most of Spain's Muslims are poor immigrants in 
low-wage jobs, and mosques built during the past 20 years have been 
funded by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The use of inadequate spaces has done little to boost the image of 
Muslims in unreceptive communities, with worshippers spilling out on to 
the streets and clogging narrow stairwells. Many mosques are 
unregistered and several have been closed because they failed to pass 
health and safety rules, says Mr Halhoul.

Muslim leaders warn that the difficulty in establishing mosques is 
feeding a rising sense of discrimination among Muslims.

"The longer we take to recognise [religious minorities] as citizens with 
equal rights, the longer it will take to live together harmoniously," 
says Mr Chaib.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

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[osint] Long Hidden DHS Report Exonerates Border Agents

[Beowulf]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54133

 

INVASION USA
Imprisoned border agent did report shooting
DHS memo shows Compean spoke to supervisor immediately after incident



  _  

Posted: February 7, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Jerome R. Corsi
C 2007 WorldNetDaily.com 

WND has obtained a Department
  of
Homeland Security memo indicating Border Patrol agent Jose Compean made a
complete, in-person verbal report to his supervisor at the scene immediately
following the shooting incident for which he and colleague Ignacio Ramos are
now in prison. 

The May 15, 2005, report filed by DHS Special Agent Christopher Sanchez
documents a conversation between Compean and his supervisor that explains
the decision by all nine Border Patrol agents and supervisors on the scene
not to file written reports. 

As reported by WND yesterday, a DHS memo filed by Sanchez April 12, 2005,
shows seven agents and two supervisors were present at the Feb. 17, 2005
incident also decided not to file written reports. 

The April 12, 2005, DHS memo stated that all the agents present at the
incident were equally guilty for not filing a written report. 

(Story continues below) 

These memos directly contradict the repeated statements of the prosecutor,
U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, that agents Ramos and Compean filed false
reports about the incident. 

As far as WND can determine, no written reports were filed by any of the
Border Patrol agents or supervisors on the field. 

Moreover, the record of the May 15, 2005, memo indicates Compean was
truthful in reporting verbally to the most senior supervisor present at the
incident. 

Sanchez's memo of May 15, 2005, is a transcript of a hearing held by Compean
with El Paso Border Patrol Sector Chief Louis Barker. The hearing was held
at Compean's request in order to protest his proposed indefinite suspension
resulting from his March 18, 2005, arrest on criminal charges. 

The first part of the hearing was held April 7, 2005, before Compean's April
13, 2005, indictment. The second recording from the hearing is dated April
28, 2005. 

At the administrative hearing, Compean was accompanied by union
representative Robert Russell, a vice president of Local 1929, the El Paso
branch of the National Border Patrol Council. 

In the opening statement transcribed from the April 7, 2005, audio cassette,
Russell makes Barker aware that Compean had made a complete report on the
scene to Jonathan Richards, the more senior of the two supervisors present
at the incident. 

Russell's testimony references a wound Compean suffered on his hand, a gash
between the thumb and index finger, which he suffered when scuffling in the
ditch with the drug smuggler, Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, who had abandoned his
vehicle and was attempting to escape back to Mexico on foot. Russell points
to this wound as evidence of aggravated assault committed on Compean by the
drug smuggler. 

Here is Russell's recorded testimony: 

Well, I mean, the base . the basis of this is basically . ummm . Mr. Compean
. an assault took place that day against one of our agents, and he did
defend himself, and the part of the assault is never mentioned in the
complaint or anywhere by OIG (Office of Inspector General) that they know
clearly how this did take place.

A few sentences later, Russell again references that what transpired at the
scene was observed by the agents and supervisors in the field and
subsequently fully known to the Border Patrol management at the station in
Fabens, Texas. 

Russell indicates that management at Fabens themselves chose not to make a
report about Compean's injury. Here is his testimony: 

Even management at the station in Fabens was fully aware of what had
transpired and for whatever reason nothing was ever generated . and once all
this comes forward, I mean, it's my belief even his attorneys' belief that
even once that does come forward and all that information is presented that
the charges will possibly be dropped . or dismissed . or he will be found
not guilty . based on that . what did transpire. 

Directly contradicting prosecutor Sutton's assertion that agents Ramos and
Compean filed false reports, the April 2005 administrative hearing reveals
Compean was forthcoming concerning the events of the incident. 

In the second cassette, Russell makes clear that the reluctance to do more
formal reporting after the incident came from supervisor Richards. 

But the fact of the matter is an assault did take place. Umm . Mr. Richards
did know about it. 

Umm . whether Mr. Compean . Mr. Compean said yes sir to this or whether he
was assaulted or not . doesn't negate Mr. Richards responsibility to take
some action from the facts that were presented to him as to what happened
out there. 

He was on the scene. He was told by another agent exactly what had happened
and it pretty much apparently stopped at that point. 

Russell argues Richards