"O ye who believe! Take not into your intimacy those outside your ranks: They will not fail to corrupt you. They only desire your ruin: Rank hatred has already appeared from their mouths: What their hearts conceal is far worse. We have made plain to you the Signs, if ye have wisdom."
(Al-Qur'an, 3:118 Aal-E-Imran [The Family of Imran]) *Pair Who Forced Their Muslim Colleague to Eat Bacon Lose Appeal* ** *Friday, October 10, 2008, 08:00* * http://www.thisissuttoncoldfield.co.uk/greatbarr/Pair-forced-Muslim-colleague-eat-bacon-lose-appeal/article-388442-detail/article.html * ** *A Kingstanding man who subjected his **'**vulnerable**'** Muslim colleague to a 10-month bullying campaign saw his appeal against a jail sentence for racially aggravated harassment thrown out by the Appeal Court this week.* ** Sean Martin Melaney, 29, of Streatham Grove, along with two other road maintenance workers, admitted to harassing colleague Amjid Mehmood. All four worked for a road maintenance firm in Walsall. The three were each sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court in April to three-years imprisonment. The workmates had bullied Mr Mehmood by: <http://ads.anm.co.uk/ADCLICK/CID=fffffffcfffffffcfffffffc/AAMSZ=452x118/SITE=THISISSUTT/AREA=NEWS/SUBAREA=GREAT%20BARR%20NEWS/ARTICLE=388442/acc_random=5582166121/pageid=/RS=> ■ *Pulling his trousers down and exposing him to passing motorists while working on the M6.* *■** Force-feeding Mr Mehmood bacon, which it is against his religious beliefs to eat.* *■** Dropping him off in Lozells at the time of the Asian/Afro-Carribean race riots in 2005 and then driving off, telling him the residents would come and get him.* *■** Tied Mr Mehmood to railings with duct tape, stripping him and dousing his clothing in dirty water.* ** Despite the Crown Court's findings Melaney and Lee Paul McDermott, 31, of Blue Stone Walk, Rowley Regis, appealed the three-year jail term. Jonathon Challiner, defending Melaney, told the judges that the incidents were initially 'horseplay' but conceded it 'developed into a campaign of racial harassment. John Evans representing McDermott said: "Mr Mehmood was a quiet man with a stutter as well as being Asian and this had made the butt of what started out as practical jokes." Mr Evans said his client thought he got on 'quite well' with Mr Mehmood and said that the jail term was too long for incidents that occurred from 'time to time', only eventually escalating. A third man, Phillip Skett, 39, of College Road, Erdington, did not appeal his three-year sentence. *Mr Justice Pitchford, sitting in the criminal appeal court with Lady Justice Hallett and Judge Nicholas Cooke QC, said the conduct of the pair had been **'**appalling**'**.* ** *Refusing the appeal he said Mr Mehmood was: "A man who was vulnerable in his workplace, by virtue of his personal qualities, his minority race and in the troubled times in which he was living.* ** *"We have considered the matter of these men**'**s conduct, its persistence over a prolonged period and its traumatic effect on their victim. "We conclude that the sentences were both principled and appropriate."* ** *Tolerance Born Out of Real Understanding* *Christelle Sadeghi & Josiane Bechara, Arab News* *http://arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=98715&d=20&m=7&y=2007* BRUSSELS/BEIRUT, 20 July 2007 ― *As the world enters a new age of enlightenment, conflicts plague the earth while large distances between continents vanish as a result of a newly emerging global community. The amalgamation of people with different cultural backgrounds, traditions and values enriches this community, yet it also contributes to the appearance of ideological deadlocks and collisions. The result is a multitude of vast cultural clefts separating people today. Hence the search for a process of peace-making through the promotion of tolerance. * UNESCO's Declaration of the Principles of Tolerance states that "tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human. Tolerance is harmony in difference". The Oxford Dictionary states that tolerance is the ability to tolerate the beliefs and actions of others and to permit them. It also describes tolerance as being "the capacity to endure hardship or pain". However, when the pain of acceptance sometimes exceeds its threshold, can tolerance still achieve harmony? One could then consider tolerance as promoting passivity toward injustices that violate our basic human rights. Without attempting to further understand people who are different from us, this form of tolerance can actually lead to intolerance. It can shut down conversations rather than encourage them. *This kind of tolerance can be a form of avoidance ― it prevents individuals from asking questions, learning about themselves and others. By defining the limits of tolerance, one might run the risk of promoting intolerance too. Instead one should view it as the capacity to question what should and should not be tolerated through action, not passive acceptance. Self-criticism should be the basis of this new approach. It is with self-criticism that one can start to form stronger bonds; delving deeper into understanding one's self can lead to an understanding of others. * Xenophobia, a phenomenon that affects the entire world, is the product of a timorous conscience, namely of individuals who lack sufficient self-confidence and who do not feel secure in their personal status. Strangers are thus regarded as a threat. It is precisely when we do not feel sure of ourselves that we consider others, especially strangers, a danger. *It is unfortunate to think that attitudes are not changing fast enough. Many of us had thought that globalization, television, the Internet and people's increased eagerness to travel would lead to greater tolerance, yet we are regularly confronted with the opposite. The element of exclusion/isolation is key. In 2006 a report entitled "Muslims in the European Union ― Discrimination and Islamophobia" stated that the main issues in regard to tolerance are, on one hand, a large proportion of society discriminating against Muslims and, on the other hand, a problem of self-isolation by Muslims. * However, the more people live, talk and work together, the more they recognize the value of the other. Without these kinds of interaction, one cannot gain recognition of equal value. It is thus important to see how understanding through self-criticism is a valuable goal. It involves active dialogue with others, and asking questions that test our perceptions of others ― such as their religious practices, traditional attire and belief systems. Instead of quickly developing preconceived notions, we must define others for ourselves. Genuine communication is imperative if one is to learn about others on their own terms. It is also sometimes important to reject a certain state of conditioning. We retain the right to no longer engage in the negative aspect of labeling or judgment. Thus, this kind of tolerance can promote the impetus to refuse corruption, bigotry, and prejudice. *Instead of passively accepting one's fate by normalizing and tolerating a corrupt system, one should question, reason and actively criticize. No longer can we be lenient toward a system bound to self-destruct as a result of human intolerance. Sometimes a refusal to tolerate the status quo is needed to galvanize change. It is through active intolerance that one can improve the basic human welfare of a nation and its citizens. No longer can one hold onto the constant expectation that tomorrow's policies will solve today's issues. It is obvious that action toward a better future starts now. * Tolerance born out of real understanding becomes a great transformative activity. It promotes true integration, fusing people from various backgrounds into a truly global and multicultural community. *― Josiane Bechara is a researcher at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at AUB. Christelle Sadeghi is currently a student at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, **Belgium**. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).***
