Showing posts with label Muslims. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Muslims. Show all posts

Sunday, 10 November 2013

Political Correctness gone insane: US school being forced to changemascot by Pro Arab group





A Southern California high school sports' team is not scoring any points for its name, the "Arabs."

In a letter this month, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee accused the school of stereotyping and demanded a name change.

The group is also seeking a change of the Coachella Valley High School mascot.

The group said it was "shocked to learn that the Arab" is the official mascot of the high school in Thermal.

Continued use of the "Arab" mascot perpetuates demeaning stereotypes of Arabs and Arab Americans," it said. " Coachella Valley High School's gross stereotyping cannot be tolerated."

The school has a mascot that "depicts a man with a large nose, heavy beard, and wearing" a traditional head covering, the group said.

During halftime, "a female dressed as belly dancer entertains the mascot by dancing for him," it added.

But for the school, the mascot and cheerleaders shouting "Let's go Arabs. Let's go," is nothing new.

It has been going on since the 1930s, CNN affiliate KESQ reported.
Coachella Valley Unified School District Superintendent Darryl Adams says he is not taking the concerns lightly.

"We're very sensitive to that and how we're going to work to make sure, maybe sometimes you should have some consultations when we're working with other groups and cultures," Adams told the affiliate.

----------

Wednesday, 16 October 2013

Immigration: Britons Want 'Drastic Action'



The Home Secretary says the Government understands people's concerns after a Sky News poll shows a desire for tougher rules.




A UK Border Agency officer checking a passport
Video: A quarter of people say a decade of immigration has brought no benefits

Gallery: UK Immigration Sky Poll Result

The Home Secretary has insisted the Government is tackling immigration after a Sky News poll revealed a demand for "drastic action".
Theresa May told Sky News steps were already being taken to tighten rules on migrants' access to benefits as she noted the findings of the survey.
It found more than two thirds of the British public believe the UK population is too large and want the Government to go further. 
Some 67% of people questioned said the coalition's attempt to reduce net migration to 100,000 a year was not sufficient and that more should be done.

Joey Jones on Sky poll
The poll of 1,508 adults was conducted for Sky News by Survation

More than a quarter of those polled (27%) believe the wave of immigration Britain has experienced in the last decade has brought no positive benefit to the nation.
And more than half (52%) say they will be more likely to vote for a party that promises to "significantly" reduce the level of migration.
The poll, conducted by Sky News as part of a week-long examination of the issue of immigration, found the people most concerned about the impact of immigration are the ones least likely to have been exposed to migrants.
For example, 71% of people who live in the countryside think drastic action is needed, compared with 53% in urban areas.
And 71% of people who don't know any immigrants well support drastic action, compared with 58% who say they know immigrants well.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage told Sky News that immigration levels in Britain had been too high for the past 15 years. He said there were currently "too many people coming into the country for  too few jobs". 

People take citizenship test 1

Two thirds of the rising population is likely to come from immigration

"The biggest social problem is that it (immigration) has led to a massive oversupply in the unskilled labour market," Mr Farage said.
"It's led to a lot of youngsters being unable to get work - a doubling roughly of youth unemployment since 2004 - and that affecting not just the white working class ... but also affecting the settled ethnic minorities in this country.
"We've got too many people coming into the country for too few jobs, and now we learn that there isn't just displacement of British people in the jobs market, but there are now 600,000 East Europeans on unemployment benefits."
But Mrs May insisted: "The Government understands the concerns that people have about immigration and concerns that over the years perhaps people feel politicians haven't addressed this in the way that they should.
"Immigration overall has been good for the country. What is a problem is when immigration is not controlled when we see it putting pressure on jobs, wages and public services.

Immigration UK Week Promo

"Some people have raised concerns about people getting access to benefits. We are tightening up the rules on people claiming benefits and a number of other areas as well."
She denied Government "scaremongering" was to blame for the finding that those with the strongest feelings about migrants lived in areas the least affected.
David Cameron's spokesman agreed the issue was a "real priority" for people and said the Government was taking "very real and important measures in this area".
Chancellor George Osborne, speaking from Beijing, also stressed the determination to cut immigration and pointed out it had already fallen by a third since 2010.
He told Sky News: "We inherited a situation from the Labour government where they had signed away all these treaties which allowed these new countries to join the European Union to come to Britain.
"There were no controls on the borders. We have got a grip on that situation. David Cameron, Theresa May and the whole government have imposed limits on immigration."
Championing foreign investment, he added: "One of the things Britain has to do is not rely on immigration for its economic success. We need to go and make our own way in the world."
Boris Johnson, also in Beijing, told Sky's Mark Stone that "in an ideal world" Mr Cameron would make control over access from EU countries part of his renegotiation with Brussels.
He called for longer periods before people coming to Britain could claim UK benefits, but admitted the way forward was now "very, very hard".
"You have got to crack down on illegal immigrants and stop them coming with a much tougher border regime. But at the same time you don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater," he said.
"We have had something like a 60% reduction in immigration from New Zealand and I'm not sure that is entirely what we wanted to achieve."
The UK population is set to rise from 62 million in 2010 to 73 million by 2035.
Approximately two thirds of the increased population is likely to come from increased immigration.
Between 2001 and 2011 the population of England and Wales grew by 3.7 million - the biggest increase in 200 years - with 2.1 million immigrants accounting for the majority of the increase.
The poll of 1,508 adults - conducted for Sky News by Survation - found widespread concern among the public about the impact immigration has had on public services.
The majority of those questioned believe the NHS, education system, and housing and welfare systems have been negatively affected by immigration.
And almost three quarters (74%) are concerned about the prospect of Romanians and Bulgarians being allowed free entry to Britain later this year.
Almost two thirds of those who took part in the poll (64%) believe employers should be given tax breaks for employing young, unemployed Britons.
And over half (52%) say companies should be forced to offer jobs to UK-born workers first.
Some 42% of those questioned believe the current debate about immigration in the UK is being unfairly shut down by accusations of racism.
A similar number, 40%, feel they will be labelled a bigot if they raise the issue in public.
In some good news for the coalition, almost two thirds of people (63%) support a new rule for British people to have a minimum income of £18,600 if they want to bring a non-EU spouse into the country.
A similar number, 65%, agree with a Home Office proposal that travellers from certain countries judged to be "high-risk" should pay a £1,000 bond to be allowed to visit Britain.

By Joey Jones, Deputy Political Editor
---------------------------------------

Tuesday, 15 October 2013

"Islamophobia Dictionaries," New Mega-Mosques and Other Recent Events A Survey of Islam in Europe: September 2013


In Denmark, construction crews raised the first-ever minaret on September 3 that will alter Copenhagen's low-rise skyline in a colossal project to build the biggest mega-mosque in Scandinavia. The so-called Grand Mosque was made possible through a grant of 150 million kroner ($26 million) from Qatar. This gift has led critics voice concern that the mosque will become a mouthpiece for radical Islam in Denmark.

From Britain to Greece, and Spain to Slovenia, Muslim immigration and the accompanying rise of Islam are transforming the European way of life in ways unimaginable only a few years ago. What follows is a brief survey of 20 noteworthy stories involving Islam in Europe during just the month of September 2013.

In Britain, the Department of Education revealed that is recruiting former agents of the British secret service, MI5, to investigate the alleged infiltration of British schools by Islamic extremists. The agents will form part of a new counter-extremism unit, established to investigate schools in which radical activity has been suspected. Speaking to the Sunday Times on September 29, Education Secretary Michael Gove said some schools are being "taken over" by Muslim hardliners in the hope of radicalizing pupils and staff. He also said he was determined to "weed out" schools whose practices do not conform to British values.

survey published by the BBC on September 25 revealed that more than a quarter of young British people distrust Muslims and feel Britain would be better off if there were fewer of them in the country. Of the 1,000 young people questioned in the survey conducted by ComRes, a leading market research agency, 27% of 18-to-24-year-olds said they did not trust Muslims, while 28% said Britain would be better off with fewer Muslims. It also emerged that 60% thought the British public had a negative image of Muslims, and 44% said Muslims do not have the same values as the rest of the population.

A separate survey published by Lord Ashcroft Polls on September 1, showed that six in ten Britons thought immigration had produced more disadvantages than advantages for their country; only 17% thought the pros outweighed the cons. The biggest concerns were about migrants claiming benefits or using public services without having contributed in return.

Elsewhere in Britain, a judge on September 16 ordered a Muslim defendant to take off her full-face veil to give evidence in court. But -- in a case that made legal history -- he said the woman could retain the veil for all other parts of her trial. Judge Peter Murphy said the court should recognize "freedom of religious expression," but that allowing her to retain the niqab during her evidence, as she wanted, would "drive a coach and horses through justice administered in England and Wales for centuries." Murphy said "the niqab has become the elephant in the courtroom" and there was widespread anxiety among judges over how to tackle the issue. He added that he hoped "Parliament or a higher court will provide a definite answer to the issue soon;" and that "If judges in different cases in different places took differing approaches [to the niqab] the result would be judicial anarchy."

In other news, a total of 186 Muslim inmates at three different prisons are suing the British government, claiming their human rights were violated after tests confirmed that halal food being served to them contained pork meat. A total of 11,248 Muslim prisoners make up 13.1% of the jail population in Britain. The legal cases come amid fears of a growing "culture-of-being-compensated" among prisoners. More than £60 million ($97 million) was paid to criminals, prison staff and visitors to British jails over the past four years for prison-related incidents.

On September 12, the Birmingham Metropolitan College reversed a ban on Islamic veils after Muslim students complained of discrimination, and launched an online petition drive that gathered more than 8,000 signatures in just two days. The college backed away from its ban just hours before a mass demonstration by hundreds of Muslim students threatened to disrupt the normal functioning of the college.

In Denmark, construction crews in Copenhagen raised the country's first-ever minaret on September 3. The 20-meter (65-foot) tower-like structure that will alter Copenhagen's low-rise skyline is the finishing touch on a colossal project to build the biggest mega-mosque in Scandinavia. The so-called Grand Mosque, which will cater to Sunni Muslims, was made possible thanks to a 150 million kroner ($26 million) donation from the Persian Gulf Emirate of Qatar. This gift has led critics to voice concerns that the mosque will become a mouthpiece for radical Islam in Denmark.


An illustration of the Grand Mosque of Copenhagen.

In France, a new "Dictionary of Islamophobia" published on September 13 systematically takes the words and expressions spoken by politicians, journalists, intellectuals, artists and writers in France and claims to show how "Islamophobia is becoming commonplace today." Each entry in the 366-page dictionary provides the context and an explanation of the offending words. The book calls for vigilance to advance the concept of "living together."

In Germany, the state of Lower Saxony on September 30 signed a preliminary "state treaty" with local Muslim representatives to recognize Islam as an official religion. The document addresses 30 specific grievances presented by the Muslim community, which constitutes around 7% of the overall population of the state. According to the minister-president of Lower Saxony, Stephen Weil, "A mutual skepticism has occurred in the past and our government wishes to show its respect to the Muslims with this treaty." Similar "treaties" have recently been signed in Bremen and Hamburg.

Also in Germany, judges at the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig on September 11 ordered a Muslim schoolgirl to take part in mixed-sex swimming lessons. Her parents had insisted that the girl, 13, not take part in swimming lessons at her school in Frankfurt because she felt "uncomfortable" going swimming with "bare chested" boys near her. She either wanted to be allowed to skip the lessons or be given special instruction on her own. The court ruled that the "social reality of life in Germany came above her religious beliefs," and ordered her to attend swimming lessons wearing a full-body-covering garment known as a "burkini," in order to accommodate her beliefs.

Meanwhile, a dispute in Berlin over efforts by multiculturalists to ban Christmas was resolved on September 19 after Mayor Klaus Wowereit stepped in to declare that Christmas is still legal. A row erupted after the left-leaning Green Party in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin announced that the traditional Christmas markets that have taken place in the neighborhood for generations would henceforth be held under the religiously-neutral term, "Winterfest." Muslims make up roughly one-third of the population in Kreuzberg. Wowereit said he had received complaints about the ban from angry people all across Germany and said the dispute had harmed Berlin's reputation.

In Greece, Infrastructure Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis on September 17 announced the fourth auctioning of the project for the construction of a taxpayer-funded mega-mosque in Athens. The three previous competitions to build the mosque in the Votanikos area of Athens took place on July 9, 18 and 26 but failed to attract suitable bids after some companies say they had received threats from groups opposed to the mosque. Critics of the mosque say Athens, which is being kept afloat by an international bailout, cannot spare the one million euros ($1.4 million) it will cost, considering that Greece is in a sixth year of recession, with record high unemployment and sinking living standards.

In Iceland, the Reykjavík City Council on September 19 approved a building permit for the construction of the first mosque in the country. Members of the city council -- which is led by Reykjavík Mayor Jón Gnarr, who identifies himself as an anarchist -- say they hope the prime location will make the mosque a prominent landmark in the city. Critics of the mosque, however, say the project is being financed by donors in the Middle East who are seeking to exert control over -- and radicalize -- the growing Muslim community in Iceland.

In Italy, Mohammed is now the most common name among small business entrepreneurs in Milan, the country's main industrial, commercial and financial center. According to a new report published by the Milan Chamber of Commerce on September 3, more companies were established over the past twelve months by men named Mohammed than by those named Joseph (second place) and Marco (third place). Mohammed also outnumbered other traditional Italian names such as Giuseppe, Luca, Andrea, Roberto and Antonio. This development -- a reflection of the broad changes taking place in Italian society due to mass immigration -- marks the first time that Muslim business owners have displaced native Italians from the top spot of the annual list of company startups.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Refugee Agency said, on September 13, that nearly 6,000 Syrians have arrived in Italy so far this year, a massive spike from 369 refugees in 2012. On September 25, three boats carrying more than 700 asylum-seekers landed on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, the southernmost point of Italy and a major gateway for illegal immigration into the European Union. On September 14, the Italian Coast Guard said it rescued 800 migrants (herehere and here) in three different vessels off the coast of Sicily. On September 7, the Italian Coast Guard intercepted another 700 asylum-seekers off the coast of Syracuse.

In Slovenia, Muslims laid the foundation stone of the country's first mosque in the capital Ljubljana on September 14. Construction of the mosque is expected to begin in earnest in November and is projected to take three years, at a cost of some €12 million ($16 million). Around 70% of the construction costs are being paid for by Qatar. Slovenia, a mostly Catholic country of two million people, has a Muslim population of 50,000.

In Spain, an annual report published by the Attorney General's Office on September 19 says that radical Islam is gaining in strength in Spain, and warns of a "high risk" of jihadist-inspired terrorist attacks. The report says Spain is repeatedly mentioned in online jihadist websites, and is the focus of irredentist claims to Al Andalus, the Arabic name given to those parts of Spain, Portugal and France that were occupied by Muslim conquerors (also known as the Moors) from 711 to 1492.

Also in Spain, police on September 16 arrested Yassin Ahmed Laarbi, the alleged ringleader of an Al-Qaeda jihadist network recruiting fighters for the war in Syria. Laarbi, alias Pistu, was arrested in Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in northern Africa. He is believed to be the head of a cell of eight men who were arrested in a police operation on June 21. At the time, Laarbi successfully eluded police. The network was engaged in recruiting, indoctrinating and facilitating the movement of dozens of Islamists to training camps and war zones, particularly in Syria. Spanish police say they have evidence that dozens of jihadists traveled from Ceuta and Morocco to Syria with the help of this network.

Meanwhile, hundreds of migrants stormed the Spanish border with Morocco on September 17, in the latest in a wave of thousands of migrants trying to reach Spain. Around 300 migrants tore down part of the six-meter (20-foot) high fence around Melilla, a Spanish exclave bordering northern Morocco, and about 100 made it through. In a separate incident, another 350 migrants tried to reach Spain's other North African territory, Ceuta, by swimming to one of its beaches from a nearby Moroccan shore.
In Switzerland, Ticino became the first Swiss canton to approve a ban on face-covering headgear in public places, following a vote on September 22. Just over 65% of voters in the Italian-speaking canton voted in favor of the change to the law. The Ticino initiative did not explicitly target Muslims -- the phrasing voted on was, "nobody in public streets or squares may veil or hide their face" -- but in practice it means women in Islamic burkas and niqabs.


Monday, 16 September 2013

UK being urged to ban veils - common sense for a change coming out of Britain



The UK government is being urged to consider banning Muslim girls from wearing veils in public places such as schools, a Lib Dem Home Office minister has said.



Jeremy Browne said he was "uneasy" about restricting freedoms, but urged a national debate on the state's role in stopping veils being imposed on girls.

Typically a Muslim group said it was "disgusted" by the minister's call. Well that was predictable wasn't it?
'Very cautious'
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Mr Browne suggested action might be needed to protect the freedom of choice for Muslim girls too young to decide for themselves whether they wanted to wear the veil.
Many rightly see the veil as a symbol of oppression against woman and there has been a growing debate in the UK in banning this medieval garment of make domination.
"I think this is a good topic for national debate. People of liberal instincts will have competing notions of how to protect and promote freedom of choice," Mr Browne said.
"But there is genuine debate about whether girls should feel a compulsion to wear a veil when society deems children to be unable to express personal choices about other areas like buying alcohol, smoking or getting married."
Very true indeed and refreshing to hear common sense for a change coming out of the UK.
He added: "We should be very cautious about imposing religious conformity on a society which has always valued freedom of expression."
Speaking on Sunday at the Lib Dem party conference in Glasgow - before the article was published - Mr Browne said the UK had a "proud record" in the country of defending freedom of religious choice and the rights of religious minorities but the state also had a role in protecting peoples' individual liberty.
'Disgusted'
Also Sarah Wollaston, a Conservative MP for Totnes, said she was disgustedthat women's  rights were being put second place to political correctness and full-length burkas had "nothing to do with freedom" and prevented some women from "participating fully & equally in society" while the niqab veil - which almost entirely covers the face - made its wearers "invisible".
In a series of messages on Twitter, she denied "pandering" to anyone on the issue and suggested politicians who were afraid to talk about the matter risked "selling out women's rights".
Very very true indeed.
"Feminists should be allowed to say that they find the niqab deeply offensive without being accused of being bigoted or islamophobic."
But predictably Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadhan Foundation - a group that works with young Muslims in the UK and a group that has been criticised in the past for having extremist ties said he was "disgusted" by Mr Browne's call.
"This is another example of the double standards that are applied to Muslims in our country by some politicians.
"Whatever one's religion they should be free to practise it according to their own choices and any attempt by the government to ban Muslim women will be strongly resisted by the Muslim community."
Well this MALE chauvinist is very contradictory because its clear that the majority of women in the Muslim community ARE NOT free to practice anything 'according to their choices' 

Tuesday, 23 July 2013

UK Taxi Rapes "No Woman is Safe in a Cab"

note - UK getting more and more like an Islamic state every-day.

Taxi rapes are rarely reported; apparently because the politically incorrect crimes are not deemed to be newsworthy. BBC radio host Sam Mason, a single mother, was fired after she called a taxi company and requested a "non-Asian" driver to take her 14-year-old daughter to her grandparents' home; preferably a female driver. The operator refused, and said, "We would class that as being racist." Mason responded, "It's not your 14-year-old girl." A BBC spokesman said, "[Mason's] comments were completely unacceptable…she will no longer be working for the BBC."
Great Britain is in the throes of a rape and pedophilia epidemic unlike anything the country has experienced in living memory.

Many of the sex crimes are being perpetrated by Muslim child grooming gangs responsible for drugging, raping and torturing hundreds and possibly thousands of British girls.

But another wave of sex crimes involves predatory Muslim taxi drivers who are raping female passengers. The number of so-called taxi rapes is snowballing to such an extent that a British judge has issued a warning that no woman can expect to be safe while traveling in a cab.

Reliable statistics on taxi rapes nationwide are difficult to obtain, and Freedom of Information requests seeking accurate data on cab-related sexual assaults are routinely denied (here and here).

A London taxicab. (Source: James Barrett)

However, a much acclaimed report produced by the London Metropolitan Police Service estimates that on average there are a total of 1,125 sexual assaults, including rapes, each year involving taxi drivers in just London; this works out to approximately 22 sexual assaults against women by taxi drivers each week in England's capital city alone.

Moreover, according to a report entitled, "Ending Violence against Women and Girls in the UK," published by the Home Office in March 2013, only around one in ten women who experience serious sexual assault report it to the police. As a result, one can infer that the actual number of taxi rapes across Britain as a whole is far greater than many are willing to admit.

Apart from a few high-profile cases, taxi rapes are rarely reported by national newspapers in Britain, apparently because the politically incorrect crimes are not deemed to be newsworthy.

But a survey of stories buried deep inside local newspapers shows that taxi rapes are occurring in all parts of England, Wales and Scotland on an almost daily basis.

In a recent case in London that was reported by national newspapers, Mohamed Hacene-Chaouch, 46, was sentenced to seven years in prison for raping a 24-year-old female passenger in his unlicensed taxi. Hacene-Chaouch -- an Algerian married father of five -- assaulted the woman after she got lost in Soho, central London.

The woman, who had been celebrating a friend's birthday and had become inebriated, told the jury that the last thing she remembered was being in the back of a car and being taken to an ATM machine. She said she drifted in and out of consciousness but woke up inside the car in front of her east London home to find Hacene-Chaouch raping her. Although Hacene-Chaouch denied the allegations, the crime was filmed by CCTV cameras.

Judge Wendy Joseph at the Old Bailey accused Hacene-Chaouch of being a sexual predator and said: "It must have been clear to you that she was helplessly and hopelessly drunk. She trusted you to take her safely home. She was clearly vulnerable, she was obviously helpless and in your power, and I regard this as a significant feature." Joseph added: "I haven't heard a single word of remorse in any way, shape or form."

Hacene-Chaouch -- who was acquitted of an almost identical attack in London in 2004 -- showed no emotion and stared straight ahead as the judge read the sentence. But as he was told he would be banned from working or seeking work as a taxi driver for 10 years, he gestured to his wife, who was watching the proceedings in the public gallery, and shouted: "Allah is great! I am innocent!"

In nearby Windsor, Anshul Sharma, 23, was charged with raping a 19-year-old woman who mistook his car for a legitimate taxi. She had been searching for a cab in the early hours of the morning when she was approached by Sharma, who claimed he was driving a licensed taxi. After she was in the car, he drove her to a remote location where he raped her.

In Blackburn on July 9, Talib Hussain, 62, was charged with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl, a passenger in his taxi. In Blackpool on July 8, Turkish-born Fatih Top, 38, was charged with raping an 18-year-old woman who was a passenger in his cab.

In Shrewsbury on July 6, Ahmet Baser, 34, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for raping an underage girl in his taxi. The victim and her friend were picked up by Baser's taxi outside a downtown night spot. After dropping off her friend, Baser went on to drive his victim into the remote countryside, where he raped her before taking her home.

In Nottingham on June 12, police said they were looking for an "Asian" taxi driver who sexually assaulted a 19-year-old passenger in his cab.

In Berkshire on May 21, Arshad Arif, 28, appeared at the Reading Crown Court on charges of driving a 17-year-old passenger in his cab to a remote park some 25 miles from her home and raping her twice. Arif was identified after it emerged he had earlier allowed the schoolgirl to use his phone, with her father noting down the number.

In Oldham on May 16, Tamur Yaqub, 32, was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of attempting to rape a 15-year-old girl in the back of his car. The jury heard that Yaqub -- a married father of six -- had dragged the girl into his private-hire taxi after spotting her walking home. Judge Jeffrey Lewis of the Manchester Crown Court said: "You used considerable force against a girl who was no match for you. You subjected her to degradation and you have shown not the slightest remorse."
In Hemel Hempstead on May 7, Mashain Pitchei, 45, was sentenced to four years in prison for raping a 20-year-old female passenger. Pitchei, who pretended to be a taxi driver, was parked in the downtown Marlowes district when he offered a lift to the victim, who had been on a night out with friends. Believing it was a licensed taxi, she got into the vehicle and he drove off. Pitchei then pulled over in a suburb where he raped her.

In Heaton on April 11, Mohammed Akram, 35, pled guilty to sexually assaulting a woman in his taxi. After the woman entered the vehicle, Akram -- a married father of four -- drove to a remote location, where he attacked her.

In Peterborough on February 20, Mohammed Umar Anwar, 31, lost an appeal against the City Council's decision to revoke his taxi license after he admitted to police that he got a 15-year-old female passenger to perform a sex act on him when she had no money to pay the fare.

In Manchester on February 18, Elhadi Sakhri, 42, was sentenced to seven years and ten months for two counts of raping men who were passengers in his taxi. Sakhri -- who was granted asylum in Britain after complaining he faced persecution in Algeria because he was bisexual -- forced once of his victims up against a wall and raped him. He dragged the other victim by his arms down an alleyway where he raped him.

In London on February 6, police said they were looking for an "Asian" man accused of sexually assaulting three women in the Canning Town district.

In Leeds on January 9, Mohammed Shahin, 28, was sentenced to seven years in prison for raping a 20-year-old passenger who fell asleep in his taxi as he drove her home. A jury at the Nottingham Crown Court heard that from the moment the woman got in, Shahin switched off the GPS tracking system that monitored his vehicle's movements, suggesting he had a sinister motive from the outset. When she woke up, she found that Shahin had parked in a remote street in an unknown location. He then climbed into the back of the car and raped her before dropping her off near her home. The judge ordered that Shahin, after serving his sentence, be deported to his home country of Bangladesh.

In Accrington, Mohammed Ishaq, 38, was accused of raping a 35-year-old female passenger after taking her home. Also in Accrington, Mohammed Baig, 45, was accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old passenger. After dropping her off at her home, Baig left the victim with the words, "I'll look for you. I'll come and find you."

In Billingham, Khalile Maqsood, 31, was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison for abducting and raping a 20-year-old female passenger at knifepoint. Maqsood -- a married father of four -- offered the victim a lift. But when she got into the taxi he took a series of wrong turns, then stopped in a deserted parking garage and turned off the engine.

Maqsood told jurors that the victim had led him on and had been "really up for it." He added: "I'm only human at the end of the day. She'd come on to me. I made a mistake. I just gave in to temptation. She led me on. She consented to it. That's what she wanted."

The cab driver -- whose wife was pregnant with their fourth child when he committed the offense -- was expressionless as he was led from the dock. Judge Rodney Jameson of the Newcastle Crown Court said Maqsood had shown little understanding of, and no remorse for, what he had done.

In East Sussex, Abul Malik, 29, was jailed for seven years after being found guilty of raping a 19-year-old female passenger when she could not pay for her £6.80 ($10) fare home.

In Edinburgh, Ibrahim Selman fled Scotland after raping a woman and assaulting several others while working as a taxi driver. Selman, who was in the UK as an illegal immigrant, went on the run to the Sudan days after holding a female passenger hostage, repeatedly raping her and leaving her for dead in the street.

In Hull, Masoud Rahimi, 37, was convicted of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old female passenger. The Iranian-born Rahimi denied it was him until the CCTV footage was shown to him, with the girl fleeing from his car as he was filling up the tank with gasoline.

In London, Salam Rahman, 27, and Mohammed Elahi, 26, were jailed for nine years for gang-raping two female passengers, one of whom was a 26-year-old newlywed. In Clapham, south London, Atiq Rehman, 20, tricked a 22-year-old woman into thinking he was a legitimate taxi driver. Rehman, an illegal immigrant from Pakistan who was twice refused asylum in Britain, raped the woman for 45 minutes while asking her how many children she wanted to have.

Also in London, Assadullah Razaq, 31, was sentenced to eight years in jail for raping a 28-year-old female passenger. The defense attorney said that Razaq, an Afghan refugee and a married father of three, admitted to having sex with the woman, but maintained it was not rape. His attorney said Razaq came to Britain after being tortured by the Taliban, and that something had affected his mental state.

At King's Cross in central London, police said they were looking for a Turkish cab driver who raped an 18-year-old passenger after driving her to a remote location. After the attack, he took her to Gloucester Place in Westminster where he pushed her from his vehicle and left her lying in a gutter.

In Manchester, Shahjahan Islam was sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting a 27-year-old female passenger. The victim had been out with friends when she decided to go home and got into a taxi driven by Islam. She gave Islam her address, he programmed it into his GPS and departed. After several minutes the woman realized they were going the wrong way. Eventually he stopped the car, climbed into the passenger seat and tried to rape her. DNA recovered from the woman led officers to identify Islam as the suspect.

In Newport, South Wales, Asif Iqbal, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for raping two female passengers on late-night rides home. Iqbal's wife was also jailed for six months after admitting to perverting the course of justice by offering money to one of the victims to withdraw her complaint. Police fear many more women may have been attacked by Iqbal, who targeted women outside pubs and nightclubs in the hope they would be drunk.

In Portsmouth, Muhammed Hasan, 35, was accused of locking a 19-year-old woman with learning disabilities into his cab and sexually assaulting her. In St. Helens, Mazish Muzaffar, 43, was charged with assaulting a female passenger in his taxi.

In Sheffield, Zahoor Mahmood, 40, was jailed for eight years for sexually assaulting two female passengers. Instead of taking his first victim to her home, he locked her in his cab for more than two hours, got into the back with her and tried to get her to snort cocaine to get her "in the mood." Three weeks later, Mahmood -- a married father of four -- spotted a 17-year-old girl walking home after a night out. He offered to take her home for free when she said she had no money for the fare, but then locked her in his cab for an hour, tried to get her to snort cocaine and then molested her. Before the attacks, Mahmood, who has been driving taxis in Sheffield for more than 15 years, had twice been stripped of his license after being convicted of drug offenses, but twice won appeals that allowed him to continue working.

In Teesside, Pakistani-born Liaqat Ali, 42, was sentenced to seven years in prison for raping a 16-year-old passenger as she dozed off drunk in his taxi. Ali -- a married father of four -- stopped for the girl in Middlesbrough and drove her to a secluded spot, where he attacked her. Ali admitted to picking the victim up but denied anything had happened. Once results of DNA evidence were obtained, he admitted to having lied.

The list goes on and on. Not surprisingly, more and more women-only taxi cab firms are springing up around the UK to cater to women who prefer to see another female at the wheel. Women-only taxi firms now include London Lady ChauffeursPink Ladies in Warrington and Ladies Only Travel in Bradford.

A women-only taxi service has yet to arrive in Bristol, where BBC Radio host Sam Mason was fired after she called a taxi company and requested a "non-Asian" driver to take her 14-year-old daughter to her grandparents' home. Mason, a single mother, told the operator that "a guy with a turban on would freak her daughter out," and insisted they send an English driver -- preferably a female English driver -- instead.

The operator refused to book a car and said: "We would class that as being racist. We can't just penalize the Asian drivers and just send an English one." Mason responded: "It's not your 14-year-old girl, is it?" To which the operator answered: "Yes, but that's racist to say you don't want an Asian driver."

The BBC was alerted to the conversation after it was recorded and sent to The Sun newspaper.

Mason was subsequently suspended and fired 24 hours later. A BBC spokesman said: "Although Sam Mason's remarks were not made on-air, her comments were completely unacceptable and, for that reason, she has been informed that she will no longer be working for the BBC with immediate effect."