Daily Lessons from Life 08 September 2014 - Salafist 'Sharia Police' patrols spark concern in Germany

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all those who celebrate this festival. Eat the moon cakes with moderation! :-)

"Salafist 'Sharia Police' patrols spark concern in Germany - AFP 8 Sep 2014

BERLIN: German politicians and media on Monday (Sep 8) called for a crackdown against radical Islamic propaganda after a group of ultra-conservative Salafists took to the streets calling itself the "Sharia Police".

"No tolerance for Salafists" said conservative daily Die Welt after a small group of men, wearing orange vests with "Sharia Police" written on them, went on a series of "patrols" in the western city of Wuppertal.

Seeking to enforce their austere moral code, they told nightclub-goers to refrain from drinking alcohol and listening to music and arcade customers not to play games for money.

A video circulating online shows among them Sven Lau, a German Salafist convert who claims to be one of those behind the patrol idea.

Under current German law, the self-styled "Sharia Police" could at most face a charge of disturbing public order. Police said the patrols took place last week and urged people to contact them if they saw suspicious behaviour linked to Salafist activity.

No arrests have been made so far, but political leaders warned they would crack down on the Islamist patrol if it took its campaign any further. "We will not tolerate an illegal parallel justice," warned Justice Minister Heiko Maas.
"Sharia law is not tolerated on German soil," Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told Saturday's Bild newspaper.
Bavaria state's interior minister Joachim Herrmann described it as a "direct attack by the Salafists on our rule of law" in comments published in Monday's Bild daily.
Stephan Mayer, also from the CSU Bavarian allies of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, called in Sunday's Tagesspiegel for promoting strict Sharia law to be "penalised".
Volker Kauder, the parliamentary group leader of Merkel's conservatives, argued that the police alone was responsible for upholding public order. "Therefore we must examine a ban of these supposed guardians of Islamic virtues," he told the Welt am Sonntag.
The head of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany has also condemned the action by the Salafists in Wuppertal.
German intelligence last year voiced concern over the growing number of Salafists, who espouse an austere form of Sunni Islam, and said they numbered around 4,500 in the country.
"Salafists and fanatics should no longer be able to hide behind religious freedom, even Islamic groups concerned with the reputation of Muslims see it that way," said Die Welt."

It is heartening to see the German politicians are resolute and clear in their condemnation of such behaviours. This despite the fear that they may be label 'intolerance' amid their own torturous history of atrocity against the Jews in WWII.

Lessons for me are:

1. when a behaviour that is clearly against the established norm in a peaceful and law abiding society, it MUST be called out for what it is: disturbing behaviours that go against what is commonly recognized as 'right' by the majority member of that society. Call a spate and a spate and NOT try to beat around the bush and call it 'cultural diversity'!;

2. when foreign culture that came uninvited as it proclaimed its admiration for the Host Country, that foreign culture should adopt the Host Country's culture and norm as much as possible. Any Home Country's culture and behaviours that are against the mainstream of the Host Country should be voluntarily stopped. This is due respect to the Host Country. Simple as that;

3. while this group of Salafist only numbered 4500 per the report, it must NOT be given a chance to grow. Why would any sane person want to let a cancerous tumour grows when he or she found that out? Most would get rid of the cancerous tumour as soon as possible! Of course, the Salafist should be allowed to promulgate their beliefs and what is good for the people. BUT to have the so-called 'enforcement' power within the laws enforcement establishment that already existed CANNOT be tolerated. Again, the opposition must be united, resolute and merciless!

Singapore enjoys the peace and harmony between the multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-religious groups because EVERYONE knows that you can practice your faith as much as you like BUT you cannot enforce your religious practices on others! Period.