From Bild in (the link above), we learn that a group of Shariah Police has been founded in the city of Wuppertal, Germany. I’ve translated the German: the picture above reads, “Wearing vests, displayed by the men in this Facebook picture, the Salafis [a sect of Islam], go about their Sharia patrols.”
Here’s a YouTube video showing their activity as they patrol discos and video-game parlors, trying to pull Islamic youth back to the faith or recruit them to Salafism:
The translation of the short article is basically this:
“The Islamists speak to young people on the street and take them to lectures to recruit them to Salifism. And they want to impose their rules on these people:
- No alcohol
- No gambling
- No music or concerts
- No pornography or prostitution
- No drugs or smoking”
I suppose these people have every right to proselytize for their sect, although disturbing others who are having fun seems a bit much.
The worst part, of course, is the attempt to impose sharia law on Muslims living in Germany. Although I don’t favor the assimilation of all cultural practices of immigrants (in many ways diversity is good, as it has been in the U.S.), this religious policing is scary, and Germans have every right to be worried about it. In the end, these Muslims would no doubt favor Sharia law imposed on all Germans, as the Caliphate extends its tentacles to the west. (That does not mean, of course, that all German Muslims agree. Surely many of them came to the west to get the freedoms and opportunities they lack in their own homelands.)
Sanctified repression, on many levels.
It’s for their own good.
(I have a Billy C Wurtz (NSFW) shirt: “Sanctified for your Protection”)
…and please do ignore when he starts playing Floyd Cramer.
Didn’t he have only one piece?
Jack Nicholson had, at least, 5 easy pieces.
And Richard Feynman had SIX easy pieces!
Yeah, he sounds like a fun guy, but his rhythm sucks.
If they want to proselytize, that’s fine. By calling themselves police though, they’re saying they want to force their views on others.
Even saying they want to force their views on others is legal (at least in the US. You can go ahead and speak in favor of theocracy). But what is illegal is impersonating a state official when you walk around talking to people.
So, I hope for their sakes’ (and their victim’s sakes) that these outfits look so unlike something the police would wear, that it falls into the category of ‘obvious joke’ rather than making people think they are actually associated with law enforcement.
As far as I know it’s a bit of a gray area wearing uniforms (or parts thereof) of state officials. So if you do, you have to make sure that you’re not mistaken for a policeman, etc. (e.g. wearing a green shirt with the typo “POZILEI” is absolutely legal);
In this case those dunderheads are absolutely safe and I can’t imagine anyone thinking they are in any way associated with law enforcement.
Yeah I wondered if that is why they don’t put Polizei on their uniforms.
I have read some articles about this development. It seems like the police and prosecutors having a close eye on this.
Impersonating a police officer would of course be a criminal offense but since police uniforms look vastly different it is unlikely that this would stick in a court.
At the moment there seems to be not much that the police can do. They should be really careful though: One article said that the police is monitoring whether people are getting harassed or intimidated by them, in which case they would have the authority to intervene.
A couple of months ago I also read that some salafist preachers under observation by the BfV (basically the agency that is responsible for tracking domestic extremism and terrorism)
Well, this is positive, but this is also serious stuff. You wouldn’t want the agency to shift into tracking materialists, or determinists, or atheists. Kind of an iffy issue. It might be better to leave these nuts alone and spend energy educating the public.
First they came for the Islamnists, and I did nothing for I was not an Islamist.
Then they came for the Materialists, and I did nothing for I was not a Materialist.
And so on, with apologies for mis-spelling Pastor Niemoeller’s name.
I just bet that the Polezei are keeping a close eye on this bunch.
Mall cops, auf deutsch. Surprised they don’t wear black hoods, to get with the zeitgeist.
They don’t look like much (yet). US security cops (many of them wannabe real cops) can look 99% or more like the real thing. I usually look for the gun and other stuff on belt or shoulder. These days security at Whole Foods are armed.
Thankfully, Hitchens graciously left us with a comprehensively insightful ninth commandment: Denounce all jihadists and crusaders for what they are (psychopathic criminals with ugly delusions and sexual repression).
I’m currently enjoying Hitch’s Portable Atheist. You just reminded me of the section where Carl Sagan talks about there being nothing in the Bible that could prove it was divine by stating something the people of the time couldn’t have known but was later proved true. The amusing example he gave was the commandment “thou shalt not travel faster than light.” It did make me laugh.
Hi lanceleuven,
Good point about the Old World gods not being able to state something that the people of the time couldn’t have known. Allah never predicted the existence of New World crops see wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World_crops
Maybe Allah feared that people would discover tobacco and become addicted to the nicotine but then why was there no revelation to priests / imams warning of the risk of cancer from inhalation of tobacco smoke? Also why was there no revelation about e-cigarettes ? Herbert A. Gilbert patented the first device in 1963 but Hon Lik, a Chinese pharmacist, is credited with the invention of the electronic cigarette. In 2003 he came up with the idea of using a piezoelectric ultrasound-emitting element to vaporise a pressurized jet of liquid containing nicotine diluted in a propylene glycol solution. This allows the vaper to control how much nicotine they absorb. [ Will it emerge that there are health risks ? ]
I have enjoyed the smell of pipe smoke, now I shall associate it with the idea of scriptures metaphorically going up in smoke. If I smoked cigarettes I would be tempted to blow smoke in the face of the Shariah Police and quote them Matt 7v5, ” first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Try to quit your own addiction – to fiction.
However what I would actually say is, ” A little of what you fancy does you good & all legal things in moderation. Too little or too much of anything can be harmful. Look across the whole spectrum of colours, don’t just see red. Maybe you would enjoy reading about the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians and Greeks.
If the Koran thinks that Jesus was a prophet then look at John 2v1-11 which says Jesus turned water into wine. How about 1 Timothy 5v23 which has Paul recommend Timothy drink a little wine for the stomach and your frequent ailments ( which God couldn’t do anything about, more likely to get results from speaking to your cat ?)
What about Surah 17:55 which says ” Unto King David, Allah gave the psalms “. Psalm 150: Praise him with trumpet, harp, lyre, tambourine, strings and flute
See RDFRS which posted an example of the oldest recorded hymn tune, from 3400 BCE Ugarit
For the past 1000 years Europe has been in the process of throwing off such suppression. Now, its starting all over again from the beginning. Scary.
Free societies are in danger of hitting a huge reset button.
Tolerating the intolerant. This is a very delicate balance. I have to confess that I would treat them like roaches. Capture them and set them free elsewhere.
Ilha de Queimada Grande might be a nice catch and release location.
What did Bothrops insularism do to deserve such a fate. It’s already endangered.
That’s so sweet Ben. I was repressing the urge to want to step firmly.
I was thinking of pointing Baihu in their general direction….
b&
Nooo, poor Baihu…he might get forcefully converted
Ha! Not a chance. More like, they’d get forcibly nommed. That is what cats do to vermin, dontchakno?
b&
I don’t think Baihu should come near any of these people and their bad ideas….too high a risk of contamination!
Nah. He’s got an iron constitution. Grew up on the streets, remember? Considers wild crickets and lizards the ultimate snack. Loves rolling in dust — if I’ll let him.
b&
I’m just a softy. First instincts are sometimes best.
Seems to work reasonably well in the US. We probably have less neonazis pe capita than Germany, where it’s forbidden. Sometimes the best thing you can do to fight a nasty ideology is to give it all the light it claims to want. Government suppression just gives it an aura of being cool, deep, and meaningful.
Tolerating the intolerant is intolerance by proxy.
Yeah, like “good” Germans tolerating the Nazis as they went around beating up on Jews and anyone else they didn’t like, and then started smashing shops owned by Jews and committing other acts of hooliganism and terrorism. There were genuinely good Germans who dared to protest, but far too few, such that they risked their lives by doing so.
My main objection is to the use of the word “Police” if it is likely to confuse anyone into thinking they have any legal standing.
I presume these Muslim killjoys will eventually join the ranks of the Jewish and Christian killjoys – becoming a distinct minority that attracts only ignorant and fearful people.
Hopefully, they’re setting themselves up for a severe backlash, the way America’s youth have rejected the “Moral Majority”.
No alcohol
No gambling
No music or concerts
No pornography or prostitution
No drugs or smoking
I’ll be honest with you, they’re not selling it to me.
They should be arrested for impersonating police officers.
That’s what I thought. I’m pretty sure they would be arrested for that in most jurisdictions in the US. Impersonating a police officer in Florida is a third degree felony.
“A person who deliberately impersonates or falsely acts as a public officer or employee in connection with or relating to any legal process affecting persons and property, or otherwise takes any action under color of law against persons or property, commits a felony of the third degree . . .”
FROM DEUTSCHE WELLE WEBSITE:
Police in Wuppertal are seeking ways to stop the group of men who have been seen patrolling the area around the western city’s main train station on several evenings recently. The bearded fundamentalists have declared the sleazy nightlife area of the city of 340,000 to be a “Sharia Controlled Zone.”
The young men, who are followers of Salafism, a puritanical form of Islam, walked around the area in orange traffic safety vests with the words “Sharia police” written in English on the back.
They have also been observed distributing leaflets urging people to refrain from alcohol, drugs, gambling, attending concerts, watching pornography or visiting prostitutes.
Police stopped 11 men between the ages of 19 and 33 in Wuppertal on Wednesday night and they are now being investigated to see whether charges of illegal assembly could be brought against them.
Hotline set up
After numerous residents approached police to express their concerns about the group’s activities, police on Friday announced that they had set up a hotline to allow locals to express their concerns or report any possible criminal activity.
“Intimidation or provocation won’t be tolerated,” Wuppertal Police Chief Birgitta Rademacher said on Friday. She added that only police appointed and employed by the state had the legitimate right to act as police in Germany.
Wuppertal’s mayor, Peter Jung, said he supported the police taking a hard line on the group’s activities.
“These people’s intention is to provoke and intimidate and force their ideology (upon others),” Jung said.
He added that Wuppertal was an “open and tolerant city, which is proud of the fact that people of different religions and convictions live together in peace.”
Police have said that they would step up patrols of the downtown area as a result of the group’s recent activities.
German authorities fear that Salafists have been encouraging young men to travel to Syria or Iraq to join the militant “Islamic State” or similar groups.
Thank you for dong the leg work.
Agreed!
Generally speaking, you command more respect if you don’t dress like you are on community service.
These guys look like they should be collecting litter
Maybe they could collect themselves and do the community a real service.
Indeed, they look like garbagemen.
Unfortunately, they are doing the exact opposite.
I thought the Bay City Rollers had reformed.
The trousers are silly enough, but there is a fortunate lack of tartan.
In Ireland currently a Dr Ali Selim is asking us to separate boys and girls because it’s intolerant to his religious beliefs
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/call-for-state-schools-to-accommodate-islamic-beliefs-1.1915810
In the comments of the article it turns out the funding for him and his institute is coming from Dubai
dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/ali-selim%E2%80%99s-mask-begins-to-slip-by-our-irish-islamist-expert/
Are the guys in Germany similarly funded from abroad to appear to be the only voice for islam in that country?
I guess being inconspicuous isn’t one of the pillars of Islam. Good to see these guys are being sensible with their high-vis jackets. I mean you don’t want to be out coercing and bullying people into joining your religion and suddenly find yourself, say, on your bicycle on a dark country road!!
I was noticing the bare ankles. Pity there isn’t some rule against exposing male flesh in their world.
Well, ooooooobviously the vaaaaast majority of Muslims are more interested in Sharia than they are in German law…
Read it and weep: http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/majority-europes-muslims-favor-sharia-over-democracy
I fear this is so.
Honestly, these guys look like such a bunch of jerks it’d be surprising that anyone spoke to them let alone anything else.
Then again, the male obsession with spending so much time doing stuff exclusively with other men (which is of course incredibly macho and hetero and so on and so forth) never fails to amaze me in its persistence.
So you could add to this, since it’s only guys talking to other guys:
No alcohol
No gambling
No music or concerts
No pornography or prostitution
No drugs or smoking
… and no girls, just come and spend all your time with us guys. Doing Islamic stuff. Big macho Islamic stuff, naturally. But only with guys.
Weird and sad.
They probably don’t talk to the girls because they are supposed to be home having kids.
These guys should try this once: Kick back, have a good beer or glass of wine, pet a d*g (another sentient being they don’t like), listen to some Mozart or Vivaldi, and just allow themselves to enjoy THIS world. It’s the only one we have, after all. Why waste it on delusions….
Unfortunately, to enjoy beer and wine it usually take time to acquire a taste. Same with serious western music. Enjoyments are clearly relative to one’s cultural upbringing. I suspect there are (non-alcoholic) counterparts in the Muslim cultures.
Can you pet a Baihu?
Well, I can….
b&
–Osama bin Laden
So…why doesn’t it say “Polizei”?
It seems to me it started this way in 1920’s-era Germany with Nazis roaming around telling people what to do – what was and wasn’t proper German behavior. That escalated, If I recall correctly.
Which brings to mind the results of Zimbardo’s Stanford prisoner study. People can quickly adopt the habit of shoving other people around.
Because it’s a criminal offense to impersonate a policeman.
so far no report of intimidation.
http://web.de/magazine/nachrichten/deutschland/19277088-thomas-de-maiziere-scharia-deutschem-boden-geduldet.html#.channel5_0.%22Scharia%20wird%20nicht%20geduldet%22.707.1798
But authorities react much quicker than to neonazis.
sub
Perhaps someone should start a group wearing vests with “Sharia Police Police” imprinted on them.
That would be the “BfV (basically the agency that is responsible for tracking domestic extremism and terrorism)”
Oh, no doubt. But maybe the “Jeebus & Mo” T-shirted London School of Economics students could put “Sharia Police Police” on the other side of their T-shirts.
Who watches the watchers?
“He’s watching me watching you watching him
watching me.
I’m watching you watching him watching me
watching.”
Jethro Tull “Broadsword and the Beast”.
That photo – they look to me like a row of guys lined up at a urinal. Just what are they doing with their hands? 🙂
Yeah I noticed that too. The first two guys look like they are taking a wee.
sub
Based on the things they’re opposed to, I think we should get Rammstein on their case.
The saddest part is that the leader (in white shirt) speaks colloquial German, is named Sven and doesn’t appear to be of middleastern origin.
A follow up to my previous comment…the man in the video is a German convert to Islam named Sven Lau, a former fireman. Google the name.
“Ex-smoker” syndrome? As in, “there’s no non-smoker [as intimidatingly and obnoxiously vigorous] like an ex-smoker.”
One can safely deduce that Sven spent plenty of time boozing and shagging and toking and smoking. (And, from some of his bullet points, losing when gambling too.) And noew he’s realised that he’s been a very naughty boy, and Mummy-god ids going to spank his little bottom for all his sins. so he’s gogin to grass everyone else up, in hope of revoking his punishment.
Sithrak has a spit for people like him. It’s just the same as the spit everyone else gets, but he tells you that before he slides it in.
Islamic wing of the Salvation Army?
Interesting. I wonder what the reaction would be in the US if some guys were walking around in Baltimore wearing “Sheriah Polizei” vests. (I started to write “Dallas” but realized they might run the risk of being shot.)
The Bild Zeitung is Germany’s largest selling newspaper, but not one to always be taken seriously. The article goes on to say that Germany police will add more foot patrols to the area and not permit these goons to disturb people.
I lived in Germany for over 20 years and visit often. It only takes a generation for those who move there from restricted countries to change from religious fundies to normal people.
I never met a second generation Muslim who didn’t drink beer and live like a normal person.
“I never met a second generation Muslim who didn’t drink beer”
Odd, isn’t it, that this(beer guzzling) should be such a great sign of hope for humanity.
The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers. Cool book.
Some good news — the Central Council of Muslims has strongly condemned these idiots too.
They called them shrill, stupid and immature, said they’ve hijacked Islam for their own purposes and are damaging the reputation of decent Muslims. (Loose translation. Link & original quote below.)
Aiman A. Mazyek: “Diese paar Halbstarken sprechen nicht in unserem Namen. Diese Leute betreiben eine Zweckentfremdung unserer Religion. Sie schaden mit dieser schrillen und völlig unsinnigen Aktion den Muslimen ungemein.”
http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/scharia-polizei-in-wuppertal-zentralrat-der-muslime-verurteilt-salafisten-aktion/10661940.html
…
P.S. Fun German word for the day: “Zentralrat” “Rat” in this case means council. There is a central rat for Muslims, just as there is one for Jews. The town hall is called a Rathaus. (Better still, combined with the word for district, we get “Bezirksrathaus” — beserk rat house). To give someone “Rat” is to give them advice. There is also an interesting link to English — “beraten” to is advise a customer, which has entered English as “berate”. How this got twisted will be clear to anyone who has experienced German customer service.
Maybe whenever the English received advice from Germans it was telling them that whatever they were doing was horrible and wrong. 🙂
Somewhat humorous if somewhat inaccurate.
“Berate” has other origin(s) through middle English “rate” (scold), itself based on old French “reter” (accuse) and old Norse.
“Berserk” is also of old Norse/Icelandic origin and has nothing to do with “Bezirk”.
Yep, I was joking with “berserk”, and should’ve made that clearer, and was also kinda joking with ‘berate’, but never thought to look it up — intellectual laziness on my part. Thanks for corrections!
I always get a chuckle when I see a “Rathaus”
Somewhat humorous if somewhat inaccurate.
“Berate” has other origin(s) through middle English “rate” (scold), itself based on old French “reter” (accuse) and old Norse.
“Berserk” is also of old Norse/Icelandic origin and has nothing to do with “Bezirk”.
If a Christian sect can patrol as “Salvation Army”, why shouldn’t Muslims patrol as “Sharia Police”. If they stay within the law, what is the issue exactly. If they think that they have any civil authority to actually impose Sharia that is something else. If they are harassing or inciting to illegal activity, that should be covered by existing laws. If they approach a likely individual and demand aggressively if he is a Muslim and if so why is he drinking alcohol, that could be viewed as an invasion of that person’s privacy and possibly constitutional rights. A person is surely not to be obliged to justify his religious affiliation and possible lack of conformity to a stranger or group of strangers.
Yeah BUT – the Sallies don’t go around ‘policing’ and dictating to people how they should live their lives. I have a soft spot for the Sallies because they actually DO help the needy, and often the really unattractive needy that nobody else really wants to have anything to do with.
So I think comparing them with the ‘Sharia Police’ is utterly bizarre. Might as well compare our St John Ambulance Service with a SWAT team, after all they both drive around in vans with flashing lights on top…
Yes, of all religious groups, I find them the least intrusive and they actually help the poor actively without forcing beliefs on them. I know there are instances where they have, but for the most part they concentrate on doing good deeds.
At least I just read a news item that indicates the government and police are planning to come down hard on this. This behaviour could be interpreted as Amtsanmaßung (unlawful assumption of public authority) and, depending on their specific actions, Nötigung (duress).
Meanwhile Germans are opting out of church membership on tax grounds
http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/1084/1/new-tax-exodus-from-churches-in-germany
also
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/in-germany-many-believers-balk-at-tweak-to-church-tax-20140902-01353
Oh thank goodness! When my friend told me about this tax a few years ago (she’s from Germany), I was shocked. The churches must be loaded there & atheists must have more $$ come pay day.