Reading this story just now, my jaw literally dropped.  A German judge refused to grant a woman who was being physically abused by her husband a quick divorce (that is, without the usual 1 year separation period) because—and I am serious—she is Muslim and the beating of one’s wife is “sanctioned” by the Koran.

Of course, the case has caused outrage, but I find it disturbing that the xenophobic right-wing has latched on to the decision as proof that the brown invasion in Europe is causing a corrosion of so-called Western values.  The case is horrendous (aside from the separation of church and state issue) because it actually affirms the thinking behind that xenophobia—if you come from another culture, you will not be treated as an equal in your new home, you have no guarantee of civil or human rights.  After all, where you come from, you didn't have any rights to begin with.

Furthermore, it is hypocrisy to apply the Koran in this case, yet argue that white German culture trumps Islam in the hijab debate.