A Cardiff man has gone on trial accused of sharing a terrorist song entitled Virgins Of Paradise.

Zakaria Afey, 20, from St Mellons, allegedly disseminated the nasheed poem on January 12 2017.

He is also accused of having the terrorist manual How To Survive In The West on May 15 2017.

Opening his trial, prosecutor Michael Bisgrove said: “This is a case about dissemination and the possession of a terrorist manual.

“It is not bombs or bullets or knives, it’s electronic material, the kind that is used with frightening effect to indoctrinate and train predominantly young men who go on to commit acts that are becoming all too familiar.

“The defendant is charged with two offences, both relate to documents discovered when Mr Afey’s phone was seized and interrogated.

“The majority of the evidence comes directly from his phone handset.”

Mr Bisgrove told jurors the manual allegedly found on the defendant’s phone could be used to train would-be terrorists on “how to commit acts of terror and how to remain undetected while living in the West”.

The prosecutor went on to describe how the defendant’s Samsung Galaxy was seized after a search of his home in October 2017.

Afey confirmed it was his and handed over the password to the handset, asking if the search was related to terrorism, the Old Bailey heard.

He allegedly told officers he was “interested in my religion” and read a lot but did “not support terrorism in any way”.

He expressed concern they might find something but insisted he only wanted to understand all the aspects of his religion.

The defendant denies the charges against him and the trial continues

Donned in eye-patches and a spaghetti bridal headdress, two New Zealanders have celebrated the first legally recognised ‘Pastafarian’ marriage on board a pirate ship, in a milestone of recognition for the bizarre global ‘religion’.

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, whose stated beliefs are in a god made of spaghetti, have amassed followers around the world.

The group initially formed as a sarcastic criticism of Christian creationist teachings at schools in the United States.

“We decided to do a pirate wedding mainly because it shows respect to the Pastafarian faith. Pastafariansm believes that all humans are decendants of pirates,” groom Toby Ricketts said alongside bride Marianna Fenn.

Followers who wear colanders on their heads and revere pirates insist that they are not a spoof church and that their beliefs are genuine. The group also celebrates holidays such as ‘Talk like a pirate day’.

New Zealand’s government earlier this month agreed to an application from member Karen Martyn to become a legal marriage celebrant after the group was deemed to comply with the country’s regulations.

“Does ye take this feisty wench to be yah lawfully wedded best mate? Does yea promise to stay at the helm even when seas are rough?” Karen Martyn, and self-declared ‘Ministeroni’ asked the couple.

Martyn told reporters that many more Pastafarian weddings were being planned.

When Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of The Prophet Mohammed early in 2015 there was a violent and deadly backlash. The magazine’s office were invaded and several employees were murdered in cold blood. A few years ago a Danish magazine published other cartoons and there was a vociferous Muslim outcry. These and other events have prompted many commentators, comedians and controllers of various media to speak in defence of the ‘freedom of speech’. Why should they restrain themselves when discussing Islam? A new phrase ‘self-censorship’ has been coined and applies explicitly to matters with a Muslim and Islamic links. The implication is that commentators are being asked by the state or the establishment voluntarily to impose restrictions on what they say.

Let me say from the outset that I am not a Muslim but I have a personal interest in the history of religious practices and from that an interest in interfaith issues. Until late in life I had no idea what about Islam. Like many older people, my religious education did not introduce Islam as a religion, but from history I learned that Moors were ‘alien invaders’ spreading across North Africa until they were halted in Spain by Christians. My knowledge of the Crusades paints a picture of an ‘alien culture’. And Muslims are antithetical to Christianity in a now largely secular Western world.

As I learn more about Islam, I learn that its underpinning principles are sound, but that some Muslims just do not get it. These views can and should be challenged. This challenge will only prove successful if the challenger is informed.

Most Western commentators and opinion formers are ill-informed. I do not consider myself to be anywhere near the best informed but I know when I need to ask questions and undertake research.

For many of us, Muslims are people who have strange codes, have peculiar eating fads and a strange addiction to hygiene. Most of all they have a cruel method of slaughtering animals to eat. We have no idea that the ‘strange’ dress codes have evolved from a Middle Eastern culture that informs many Western dress codes – even if only in vestigial form. We fail to emphasise with the fact that in the Middle East, in particular, eating pig meat would have been a public health disaster and that hygiene is associated with the preparation of meat. Western professionals, who should know better, deny that correct halal slaughter is a humane process.

Most of us just do not understand Islam and fear it. We mistrust Muslims (hardly surprising when a violent rogue minority blow up planes over Egypt).

In the first week of November (2015) the BBC commissioned or permitted Roger Scruton to challenge the concept of “self-censorship” and the implied threat to the freedom of speech. Not only did he have two “Points of View” he was given a further run in an ensuing “Feedback”.

One comment leapt out immediately. It seems victims have a duty not to take offence. A second hit me after a goodnight’s rest and related to the antisemitism before World War II.

I am sorry but no one of us has the right to tell someone else that they are wrong to be offended. How do we know? We don’t. My nephew’s partner is christened “Katherine” and hates the short form “Kate”. Many shortened names are used endearingly. A colleague at work announced that she wants to be addressed as “Steph” because “Stephanie” is what mother calls her when she’s been naughty. We endearingly use other nicknames but do we know that the named party is happy with theirs. If they are not and say so repeated use constitutes bullying.

We must never presume that the targets of our “freedom of expression” will not and should not take offence. We need to negotiate. I call one young lady at work “Eric” (after Eric Morecombe). This was arrived at after negotiation. The details are work specific and personal. I am not sure that they would want others to copy me.

I doubt for one moment that Roger Scruton hates Muslims in general. No doubt he associates with some and may have worked closely with others with no ill-will.

Before the outbreak of World War II, antisemitism proved endemic. It was ‘normalised’. Those of use born during and after the WWII can only look back to the pre-war years through the prism of a modern attitude to Jews and Judaism. These are those post-Holocaust years and when we look back we cannot conceive Nazi Germany’s genocide. The post-Holocaust images simply haunt us – but this is after the event.

Just look at the Catholic Church’s complicated relationship with antisemitism and the death of Christ. Not until 1965 did the church acknowledge that Jews could not historically nor in the modern sense be collectively blamed for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Former Pope Benedict took this a step further in 2011.

Before WWII, antisemitism did not receive the scrutiny it would today. It was normalised and even parts of the Royal Family were not immune from it. This is important. Roger Scruton suggests that antisemitism occurred because “freedom of expression” was suppressed. He argues that non-Jews whose spoke in their defence were silenced but hold that thought: Jews were in a minority and a nominally Christian Western world was mostly antisemitic. Non-Jews speaking for Jews proved a minority.

Fast forward to 2015 and our understanding of Islam remains poor. Few non-Muslim community leaders know how to challenge the foundations underpinning anti-Muslim sentiment. Those people who do, people like me perhaps, are in a minority. Like Muslims themselves they have poor access to the media, which are no better informed than many community leaders.

Before the war I wonder if many reasonable people, especially those in leadership, ever thought to question why a minority group, Jews, should be ridiculed because they did not eat pig meat. Did they know why pig meat was offensive? Probably not. In 2015 and defiling a mosque with a pig’s head will be logged as specific hate crime. This was not some years ago. I recall the BBC broadcasting a comedy programme in which the victim of an analogous hate crime was mocked because he reacted to it. Yes, the victim overreacted and the reaction may not have been Islamic but “freedom of speech” currently permits such ridicule and Roger Scruton’s defence of this stance must surely be questioned by the “institutions” that seek to preserve the right to offend.

Bruce Brown (@theoldbrewer) writes in a personal capacity. You can find more of his musings here.

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Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and commemorates the creation of the Earth. During this two day celebration, the traditional greeting “L’shanah tovah”… “for a good New Year” rings loud among members of Jewish communities.

Ancient Hebrews relied upon the Torah, which celebrated it on the “seventh month” or Nisan. Passover also begins in Nisan. Today, Rosh Hashanah falls between September and October (or Tishrei).

Jews believe that God weighs a person’s good and bad deeds over the previous year, and decides what the year ahead will bring. God records this information in the Book of Life. God seals this book on the festival of Yom Kippur.

Rabbi Jonathan Romain, noted that the Book of Life created a  ‘theological catastrophe’ that created false assumptions and blame upon God for human deeds. Romain pointed to Avot (Ethics of the Fathers) 3.19 to remind Jews of their free will and agency in decisions that impact the year ahead.

Rabbi Naftali Brawer reflected that this time of year creates of a paradox of comfort and fear under God’s scrutiny. He wrote “It is frightening, because under God’s scrutiny there is no place to hide. Indeed, this is the major theme of the Days of Awe. Yet it is also comforting to know that we matter to God and that our lives and actions are of consequence“.

Hence why another traditional Rosh Hashanah greeting is Gmar Chatima Tova or “Be inscribed and sealed for a good year” .

Others know this holiday as Yom Teruah – or the day of the shofar blast. A synagogue ritual involves the blowing of the shofar, or a ram’s horn trumpet, a hundred notes form a special rhythm. Some fashion these horns from antelopes or ibex; but not cattle due to its association with the idolatrous Golden Calf.

From a historical perspective, the horn reminds Jews about the binding of Isaac or a tool of intimidation in battle. Other examples of it use included the coronation of kings.

Food plays an important part in Rosh Hashanah. The tradition of apples and honey dates back to the 14th century. Some Sephardi Jews avoid honey during this holiday period and substitute it for sugar. Different Jewish communities across the globe add their own nuances to dishes.

With an emphasis on sweetness, a sweet carrot stew called a tzimmes is often served.  Challah (Hallah) bread, baked in a round loaf, symbolises both the circle of life and year remains a customary home treat. Pomegranates, with their 613 seeds, serve as the traditional reminder of each commandment a Jews must keep.

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