Fears are mounting over a march through Weymouth by the right-wing English Defence League protesting at Islamic extremism.
The newly-formed Weymouth branch of the group organised the march following a TV programme that showed Islamic extremists on the streets of the town. They will be undertaking the protest in Weymouth on Saturday, April 30 at 1pm to protest the “entrapment of the youth of Weymouth by extremist Muslims”. A counter march by opponents of the EDL will take place at the same time.
Continuing its practice of shamelessly promoting and embracing controversial statements by Donald Trump, Fox Nation is hyping an interview Trump gave to Christian Broadcasting Network’s (CBN) David Brody, in which he said that “[t]here’s something” in the Quran “that teaches some very negative vibe” and defended the assertion that there is “a Muslim problem” in the United States.
Fox Nation may not realize it, but Trump’s charge that there is “a Muslim problem” originated with Fox’s own Bill O’Reilly. During an appearance on The View in October 2010, O’Reilly asserted that “Muslims killed us on 9-11” while discussing a proposed Islamic center in New York City. O’Reilly later apologized, saying, “If anyone felt that I was demeaning all Muslims, I apologize,” but pushed back against his critics by repeatedly insisting that “there is a Muslim problem in the world.”
O’Reilly continued to defend his remarks during an interview with Trump, who agreed that a “Muslim problem” exists, saying: “Absolutely. Absolutely. I don’t notice Swedish people knocking down the World Trade Center.”
CLAYTON, Mo. — An office manager at Bankers Life and Casualty subjected two U.S. citizens to racial slurs and fired them because of their Palestinian descent and Muslim religion, the men say.
Ali Badran and Warrad Warrad say their boss, Daniel Colvis, insulted them repeatedly about their race, religion and ethnicity. Colvis is or was the manager of Bankers’ Chesterfield office, according to the complaint in St. Louis County Court. The insults included being called “goat fuckers” and “sand niggers;” being told, “please don’t blow yourselves up;” and being asked, “is Osama Bin Laden your uncle?”, and “did you do a dance on 9-11?” the men say.
Badran and Warrad say Colvis fired them even though they had a better sales history than their Caucasian counterparts. They say Colvis harassed women and African-American employees as well. They seek damages for lost income, suffering and humiliation.
Leaders of the Islamic Center of Springfield say they received a threatening letter targeting Muslims on Sunday and earlier that day found charred remains of three Qurans.
The anonymous letter says that Muslims “stain the earth”, and the author vows “Islam will not survive”. A copy of the letter was provided by the Rev. Mark Struckhoff, executive director for the Council of Churches of the Ozarks. At the end of the five-line typed letter is a drawing of a ram’s head with the slogan “Death to Islam!” printed below it.
“I do not understand. What are they gaining from this?” asked Wafaa Kaf, coordinator of the women’s section at the Islamic Center and one of the center’s leaders who described the charred books. “Have they accomplished anything? Are they happy now?”
This isn’t the first reported crime against the Islamic Center, 2151 E. Division St. On Jan. 8, worshippers were confronted with hate-filled graffiti scrawled across the walls of the building.
“You bash us in Pakistan. We bash you here,” the red spray paint said. Other messages were sexual, including a drawing of a penis near the women’s entrance and a reference to Allah being gay. Two days later, another act of vandalism broke off an exterior water spigot. However, the FBI did not initiate a hate crimes investigation into those incidents.
See also CAIR press release, 14 April 2011
Update: See “Bigotry at Islamic Center is an affront to all”, editorial in News-Leader, 15 April 2011
A resident living near a disused pub fears it will be burnt down if it is turned into a mosque.
Winifred Penner, who lives near The Plough Pub in Manor Road, Bletchley, is worried about a possible backlash if plans to transform it into a Muslim place of worship are approved by Milton Keynes Council tomorrow. The 83-year-old, who has lived in Manor Road for more than 60 years, said:
“I’m worried that if anyone’s against it they might do some damage – and we’re right by it. There’s good and bad in everyone, so I can’t say I don’t want the mosque there, but I’ve heard rumours that they’re going to burn it down if it gets given the go-ahead. Just a few weeks ago somebody threw a whole pig’s head on the roof.”
Following reports of repeated vandalism, the police and Milton Keynes Council have even been forced to install CCTV overlooking the former music venue.
Paul Saunders, 63, who also lives in Manor Road, added: “It’s a great concern, the BNP have been there already. Somebody has already got up onto the roof and painted ‘NO’ on it.”
Two letters in today’s Guardian on the French veil ban. One is from Liz Fekete of the Institute of Race Relations who writes:
The observation of French niqab wearer “Anne” (Facing the ban, 12 April) that the debate on the ban on the full-face veil has led to stigmatisation and hate is also true here.
On Monday I attended an anti-racist rally in London outside the French embassy, where peaceful demonstrators protested against the ban on the grounds that Muslim women should not be criminalised for what they choose to wear. We were attacked on two sides by members of the English Defence League.
Over the last few years we have seen how Islamophobia breeds a culture of suspicion. As that morphs into a culture of hate, one must fear for the future.
Police are investigating claims of racist bullying at a school.
Khadeja Fahat, 13, has now left Bramhall High in Stockport claiming she was targeted by bullies more than 30 times since September. The Year Eight pupil claims other children called her racist names, tipped out the contents of her bag, vandalised her school work and, on one occasion, punched her. Her mum, Saiqa Shabir, claims the school has refused to tackle the problem and has reported the alleged bullying to the police.
Greater Manchester Police confirm they have recorded Khadeja’s complaint as a hate crime and plan to visit the school, which insists it has fully investigated the claims and has done everything to support her.
Mrs Shabir, a Muslim of Pakistani origin, said: “I feel my daughter has been robbed of her education. We can’t believe that in the 21st century this has happened. The school has not done enough to stop it happening. The attitude is if those responsible apologise afterwards then it is all okay. The school is letting my daughter down. This whole thing has left her very insecure and withdrawn. She used to be a bright confident young girl.”
Rutherford County attorneys will ask Chancellor Robert Corlew III today to reject nearly all aspects of a lawsuit to stop the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro from building a mosque and community center. County Attorney Jim Cope and his firm’s partner Josh McCreary contend that 14 new plaintiffs who recently joined the three original plaintiffs have no standing in a September-filed lawsuit against the county.
The county was sued after the Regional Planning Commission approved the local Muslim congregation’s site plans last May for a 52,960-square-foot community center with a mosque on Veals Road off Bradyville Pike southeast of the city.
The case began with plaintiffs Kevin Fisher, Lisa Moore and Henry Golczynski seeking an injunction to stop the county from issuing more building permits. Their attorneys’ Joe Brandon Jr. of Murfreesboro and Tom Smith of Franklin argued the future ICM building would be a Shariah training center for jihad rather than a place of worship, but Corlew by November ruled against their request and stated that “Islam is in fact a religion.”
Brandon and Smith filed new motions Tuesday arguing that all 17 plaintiffs have standing when it comes to the proposed ICM building.
They contend that Fisher has standing because he’s an African American Christian who’d be discriminated against and subjugated as a second-class citizen under Shariah law and be denied his civil rights; Moore has standing because she’s a Jewish female who’s targeted in a Muslim call to kill Jews in “jihad” in support of Palestine and as a woman whose rights would be subordinate to those of men in Shariah law; and Golczynski, who lost a son killed while serving in the U.S. Marines in a combat in Fallujah, Iraq, by insurgents pursuing jihad as dictated by Shariah law.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys also stand by the other 14 plaintiffs who joined the case because they live near the proposed ICM building. The document goes on to say that all such Shariah teaching and practices will interfere with the plaintiffs’ use and enjoyment of their land and cause them extreme emotional distress, which discriminates against them and denies them their civil rights to equal protection.
Three more men have appeared in court accused of being part of a gang which targeted Kingston Mosque in an Islamophobic attack.
Jordan Ellingham, 20, of Camden Avenue, Feltham, Martin Pottle, 22, of Hounslow Road, Hanworth, and James Stacey, 18, of Ashurst Drive, Shepperton, appeared in Kingston Magistrates’ Court on the morning of Tuesday, April 12.
They were jointly charged with being part of a mob which smashed a window at the East Road mosque, urinated in the foyer, threatened the congregation and laid bacon on windows and cars on November 21 last year.