Monthly Archives: May 2011

Judge rules against Murfreesboro mosque opponents

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Murfreesboro mosque protestA judge has ruled that construction of a new mosque in Rutherford County does not harm the residents who sued the county to stop it. The judge did allow plaintiffs to pursue claims the county violated an open meetings law in approving the site plan for the mosque.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Joe Brandon Jr. had argued that the mosque violated his clients’ constitutional rights, claiming that the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro’s members were compelled by their religion to subdue non-Muslims.

In a ruling issued Tuesday, Chancellor Robert Corlew dismissed most of the complaints raised by the 17 plaintiffs, except for claims that the county violated the state Open Meetings Act by not providing proper notice for the meeting at which the mosque site plan was approved. The court has not set a date to hear the open meetings complaint.

“Our families and children have gone through a lot,” said the mosque’s spiritual leader, Imam Ossama M. Bahloul. “I think we can all agree that we should concentrate on common goals, and we’ve tried to be friends with everyone, even with those opposed to the project. It’s obvious this Muslim community did not harm anyone.”

Design plans for the mosque are being finalized, and building permits are being sought, Islamic Center spokesman Saleh Sbenaty said.

Tennessean, 20 May 2011

See also “Mosque foes dealt setback”, Daily News Journal, 20 May 2011

And “Fighting mosques in the name of freedom”, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2011

Catalan far right capitalises on anti-Muslim sentiment

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Plataforma per CatalunyaIt’s a blunt campaign message – a video shows three attractive young women in miniskirts skipping with a rope in the Spanish city of Igualada, to the accompaniment of a traditional Catalan folk song.

Suddenly, the image changes to “Igualada 2015” and shows three women dressed in burkas skipping to the rhythm of an Arab song.

Plataforma per Catalunya is a far-right party created nine years ago by former supporters of General Francisco Franco in the north-eastern industrial province of Catalonia, and running in Sunday’s regional elections in Spain. Last year the party gained almost 3 per cent of the vote in the regional elections and now expects to increase its local vote five-fold, going from 17 to more than 100 council members across Catalonia and possibly winning control of some cities.

Plataforma per Catalunya is riding a growing wave of anti-immigration sentiment, where many blame foreigners – 12 per cent of the Spanish population – for rising crime and a lack of jobs, in a country with 20 per cent official unemployment.

“We didn’t have much money so I did this video to create an impact, but I never imagined the huge reaction it would provoke,” Roberto Hernando, the party’s number two candidate and director of the video, told The Scotsman yesterday. “We keep getting e-mails and letters from people across Spain begging us to expand nationally. With this crisis we shouldn’t allow more immigrants into the country, especially Muslims who want to impose their culture upon others.”

Scotsman, 19 May 2011

Protestor calls for Miami mosque to be ‘razed to the ground’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Mosque should be razed to the groundThe South Florida Imams accused of terrorism were arrested right in front of their mosques, disrupting the neighborhoods around them. Monday night, one of those neighborhoods saw more commotion.

Mosque protester Mark Dubynsky says standing outside the Flagler Mosque in West Miami-Dade with a sign demanding the mosque be razed to the ground was about self-expression. “This is not about hate, this is about not keeping a shrine that promotes hate in the neighborhood,” he told CBS4’s Natalia Zea.

Mosque worshipper Samad Nassirya feels differently. “That’s a threat, he’s threatening us,” he told Zea.

Dubynsky drove from Palm Beach to the mosque to make a statement, after the mosque’s imam Hafiz Khan was arrested and charged with funneling money to terrorists. “I think if your leader, your church, your mosque is supporting terrorism then I think that building, that mosque needs to be torn down,” said Dubynsky.

Nassirya called police Monday evening, saying Dybynsky and his sign were scaring fellow Muslims away from their evening prayer service. “People come here five times to pray and now all the women and children are scared to come here and we’re gonna lose all our people,” he said.

Nassirya is especially upset, because he doesn’t believe the allegations against his imam. “It’s ridiculous. He’s a saintly man, he’s a saintly man.”

CBS Miami, 16 May 2011

Via Islamophobia Today

Cf. “Does the arrest of an imam and his sons reinforce stereotypes of Muslims?”, South Florida Sun Sentinel, 17 May 2011

French mosque covered in racist and fascist graffiti

Posted on by Bob Pitt

El Hijra mosque

Le Progrès reports that the walls of the El-Hijra mosque in Champagnole were covered with swastikas and slogans such as “Death to Arabs” and “France for the French” on Saturday night. In thirty of existence the mosque had never had to face this kind of aggression or experienced any particular problems in connection with its activities. The association that manages the mosque and the mayor have both filed complaints.

Via Islam in Europe

Flintshire residents advised to avoid Deeside as English Defence League prepares for protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Police are alerting people to steer clear of Deeside this weekend as controversial right-wing group the English Defence League (EDL) stages a second protest against “militant Islam”. A march is to be held in Shotton from noon on Saturday, organised by EDL Deeside division member Graeme England.

He said: “We will be meeting at Shotton train station and will march from there to the site of the old Shotton Lane Social Club, where there will be some speeches. It will be an unofficial demo as the EDL leaders won’t be there, but we are expecting hundreds of members. It will be larger than last time we protested.”

About 100 EDL supporters marched through Shotton in January to voice their opposition to Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society’s plan to open an Islamic cultural centre at the derelict site of the town’s former social club, which was torched a couple of weeks later.

Mr England said: “We will also have the North West Infidels with us on the march. They are similar to the EDL in that we are fighting for the same cause – both our groups are against militant Islam. Our primary aim is to protest against a proposed mosque for Shotton. Burning the club down was a sign the community does not want it here.”

Flintshire Chronicle, 19 May 2011

The JC and the ‘jihadist’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

JC Pears headlineLast week’s Jewish Chronicle – the same issue that included Geoffrey Alderman’s column applauding the murder of Vittorio Arrigoni at the hands of al-Qaeda – also featured a front-page splash by its political editor Martin Bright, who reported that:

“An organisation which hosted an associate of 7/7 ringleader Mohammed Sidique Khan in the House of Commons has been bankrolled by one of the UK’s most prominent Jewish philanthropists, the JC can reveal.”

The charity referred to was Forward Thinking, which aims to encourage greater understanding between Muslim communities and wider society, promote peace in the Middle East and facilitate dialogue between the religious and secular worlds. And the Jewish philanthopical organisation was the Pears Foundation. The “jihadist” who spoke at the reception in parliament was Tafazal Mohammad, the head of an organisation called Muslim Youth Skills which advises clients such as the Metropolitan Police on how to engage with young Muslims.

The purpose of Bright’s report was clearly to warn off sections of the Jewish community who might be inclined to associate with organisations that take a more balanced view of the Palestinian resistance than the JC does. As Bright explained: “Forward Thinking was founded by William Sieghart, who has called for a reassessment of the West’s ‘distorted image of Hamas’.” (The reference is to an article published in the Times in December 2008.) Yet despite this the Pears Foundation had – shock, horror – given £23,000 to Forward Thinking between 2008 and 2010.

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EDL supporters in armed forces under investigation

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Freedom Parade For Soldiers Returning From Afghanistan
Supporting British troops … by endangering their lives

Defence chiefs are investigating a claim that soldiers from the 1st Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment have been photographed showing their support for a far-right anti-Islam group.

Several pictures are under investigation. One shows soldiers from regiment – which recruits in Cumbria – posing next to the flag of the English Defence League (EDL) at a homecoming parade for the regiment in Blackburn last year. Eight soldiers are seen standing next to the flag, bearing the words: “EDL supports Duke of Lancaster Regiment.” Another more controversial picture shows a uniformed solider, allegedly in Helmand Province, his face hidden by a black scarf as he brandishes a pistol and stands in front of before the EDL flag.

The pictures – which have not yet been confirmed to be genuine – could help radicalise some Muslims, and inflame divisions between Islam and the West.

Kevin Caroll, 41, who is joint EDL leader, said the organisation was opposed to racism, but the Cumbrian branch is currently publishing an on-line video crammed with anti-Islamic slogans. The first of these shows a medieval crusader in battle armour, under the slogan: “Jihad works both ways.” Another slogan tells viewers: “Let the crusade begin.”

News & Star, 17 May 2011

See also Lancashire Telegraph, 17 May 2011

The photographs were first published in the Sunday Times, captioned “Soldiers flaunt support for anti-Muslim league”. Contributors to Exposing… have suggested that the photos were supplied to the paper by the EDL itself as a publicity stunt. The fact that this is likely to further endanger the lives of British soldiers serving in Afghanistan was evidently of no concern to the “patriots” of the EDL.

Arson attack on Houston mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Houston mosque arsonA fire was set at a mosque in southwest Houston, and the suspected arsonists were caught on surveillance video.

An automatic alarm went off early Saturday at the Madrasah Islamiah off Bintliff. When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke and quickly worked to put the flames out.

The surveillance footage is brief, but it’s one of few clues investigators have to go on. Awni Kussad, an elder at the mosque, says the video shows what appears to be two young men going to the back of the building, carrying what may be a can of accelerant. The suspects are seen in the video running to a getaway car.

“If you have a problem with the mosque and you like to build fires, we can go build a little fire somewhere. If you want to ask me or find from me what we are all about, we’d be happy to talk to you,” Kussad said. “Don’t just come and burn a place – any place for that matter – and run away like that.”

The alarm sounded when glass was broken, but there was also someone staying inside the mosque who called 9-1-1.

The crime didn’t stop a group of men from Sunday evening prayer. In the next room, the smell of smoke remained and you can see burn marks across the room.

Kussad says fortunately firefighters were able to stop it before much structural damage was done. “It’s not really a lot of damage,” he said. “It’s more moral damage than anything else.”

KTRK, 16 May 2011

Update:  See “CAIR asks FBI to probe Texas mosque arson as hate crime”, CAIR news release, 16 May 2011