Yearly Archives: 2011

Hijab-wearing ‘flash mob’ protests at right-wing bloggers’ conference

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Protestors at RightOnlineMINNEAPOLIS — A group of around ten women in Muslim headscarves crashed the RightOnline conference for about ten minutes Saturday, protesting what they said was an incident targeting Muslim women Thursday night.

The event was the latest spark kicked up by the proximity of Netroots Nation and RightOnline. The two conferences are blocks apart – RightOnline is being held in a hotel many Netrootsers are staying in – and interaction between the progressives at Netroots and the conservatives at RightOnline has been inevitable.

A spokesperson for the group of women told TPM they weren’t sure of the identity of the man responsible for the Thursday incident – when two hijab-wearing women were followed by a man with a cell phone camera who reportedly asked them why they were dressed the way they were “in America” – but rumors that the incident involved an employee of conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart were rampant at Netroots.

The women who arrived at RightOnline were Netroots attendees, and were accompanied by blogger Joe Aravosis and gay rights advocate/provocateur Dan Choi.

The spokesperson for the “flash mob,” Allison Nevitt, told TPM that there was a larger message to their protest beyond the Thursday incident, which Nevitt said had been reported to Minneapolis police. “The point was mostly that Muslim women are an equal part of this nation, and that we have an equal right to exist here,” Nevitt said.

TPM, 18 June 2011

Update:  See “Right-wing blogger charged with harassing Muslim women”, above.

EDL attack Muslims during anti-mosque protest in Dagenham

Posted on by Bob Pitt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJZWtY5ESKQ

See also reports at Hope not Hate here, here, here and here.

Update:  See “EDL’s vicious attack on Muslim bystanders”, MPACUK press release, 20 June 2011

Update 2:  See “Brothers who faced racist attack after EDL march talk to Socialist Worker”, Socialist Worker, 25 June 2011

Soccer referee banned for wearing hijab

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sarah BenkiraneMONTREAL — A former Lac St. Louis soccer referee is blowing the whistle on rules she said prevent her from practising her religion.

Sarah Benkirane, 15, was told after two years of refereeing for the soccer association that she was out of a job, after a complaint surfaced over her wearing her hijab while calling games.

“For me it’s not really an option to take it off,” she explained of her traditional Muslim head scarf. “It’s part of my religion. It’s part of who I am. It’s the way I express myself, so I think I should be allowed to wear it as long as I’m not causing any harm to anybody else and I’m not.”

Under Rule 4 of the FIFA guidelines, which govern the Lac St. Louis Soccer Association, players must not only avoid wearing any item which threatens to cause choking or injury, but also “must not have any political, religious or personal statements.” All rules for players also pertain to referees under FIFA rules.

Edouard St. Lo, executive director of the Lac St. Louis Soccer Association said he agrees with the regulations. “It’s not just safety, because it does talk about political, religious and any kind of personal feeling that the person wants to display on the field. That’s why they’re all wearing the same thing,” he said.

Benkirane has drawn support from some parents, who have signed a petition allowing her to play. “Absolutely she should be able to wear it – it’s her choice,” said one mother.

CTV, 18 June 2011

Update:  See “Soccer referee refused right to wear hijab a second time”, CTV, 20 June 2011

Arrests at anti-Islamic protest during Dearborn’s Arab International Festival

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bible Believers protest DearbornA small group of anti-Islamic protesters caused a ruckus at the Arab International Festival Friday, resulting in the arrest of several festival attendees.

The group, who identified themselves as the Bible Believers, held up signs referring to Islam as a “religion of murder” and urging Muslims to “repent” while standing in the festival’s free speech zone, located at Miller Road and Warren Avenue.

A group of counter-protesters and onlookers gathered around the area – some of them shouting at the Bible Believers and throwing water bottles, trash and shoes.

Wayne County and Detroit police, including mounted officers, quickly rallied to keep the public away from the anti-Islamic protesters. At least two people resisted, resulting in separate arrests.

Police were not able to confirm how many arrests were made at the festival.

Dearborn Patch, 17 June 2011

See also WXYZ.com, 17 June 2011

EDL thug tried to punch two elderly men during Halifax demo

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An English Defence League member who threatened two elderly Asian men has been handed a suspended prison sentence. Darren Buck, 50, was involved in the demonstration with the far-right group in Halifax town centre on April 16.

Calderdale Magistrates Court heard how around 200 EDL members turned out for the demonstration which they claimed was in protest at two of their number being attacked the week before. At around 2.30pm police reported that a large gathering of protestors were congregating outside The Plummet Line pub, Bull Close Lane, Halifax, and were trying to break through the police line.

It was at this time that officers saw Buck, a former sheet metal worker, acting aggressively towards the two elderly asian men. Officers said he was seen trying to punch the two men but he missed and was consequently arrested.

Buck was interviewed by police and admitted the offence saying he was demonstrating to show solidarity with his fellow members. He also told them he had been an EDL member for about a year but didn’t have any racist beliefs. Buck pleaded guilty to a charge of using insulting or abusive language with the threat of violence.

Judith Poole, chair of the magistrates, said: “We feel this offence is so serious that only custody is appropriate. You were part of a group of 200 people, over 200 police officers had to be in attendance and it was a Saturday afternoon with a lot of people around who must have been really frightened.”

Buck, from Wombwell, Barnsley, was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison which was suspended for 12 months. He will be subject to a curfew on Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 9pm for 20 weeks and must pay costs of £85.

Halifax Courier, 18 June 2011

Ex-soldier Simon Beech charged with arson attack on Stoke mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A former soldier has appeared in court charged in connection with an arson attack at a mosque in Stoke-on-Trent.

Simon Beech, 23, of Hartshill Road in the city, denied arson with intent to endanger life, committing arson recklessly and criminal damage.

Live CCTV footage showed smoke coming from the mosque in Regent Road, Hanley, last December.

He was a serving soldier at the time of the fire, but was discharged by the 2nd Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment.

Garreth Foster, 28, of Hartshill Road, also pleaded not guilty to the same charges when the pair appeared at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Friday.

They were both released on bail are due to appear before the court again in December.

BBC News, 17 June 2011

For Beech’s links to the EDL, see Exposing the English Defence League, 28 March 2011

Probation error allows thug to avoid jail sentence over assault at EDL anti-mosque protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Blaise SilvesterA thug who was arrested after trouble flared at a protest outside a mosque has avoided going to jail after a judge said his hands were tied.

Blaise Silvester was part of a group of people demonstrating outside the Jami Mosque in Victoria Road North, Southsea. The group were protesting on November 13 last year after a small group of Muslim extremists burned poppies in London during the minute’s silence on Armistice Day.

The police arrived and set up two cordons to keep the protesters and members of the mosque and its supporters apart. But when 20-year-old Silvester saw his opportunity he ducked under the police tape and ran into the gathering, swinging punches. He was quickly arrested and carried off.

The offence was committed while Silvester had a six-month suspended prison sentence hanging over him for a previous assault. But Judge Graham White said that while it was his instinct to activate the suspended sentence he couldn’t because the probation service had failed to contact Silvester about rehabilitation. That mistake kept him out of jail.

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Why trade unions must defend multiculturalism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

It is well understood in the trade unions today, that the economic policy of the coalition government is a major assault upon working class living standards. Correctly, this has led the majority of trade unions to organise in opposition, in some manner or another, to this policy.

Unfortunately, what is not so well understood is that the social policy of the same government is an equally devastating attack upon the working class. In particular, David Cameron’s recent statements concerning multi-culturalism and the Muslim community, and immigrants, represents the social corollary of a reactionary economic policy. If you are going to inflict the biggest reduction in living standards since 1945, then a good dose of racism, Islamaphobia and xenophobia helps to divide the opposition.

As usual, the Conservatives demonstrate a degree of intelligence in the manner in which they promote their policy. David Cameron, whilst steering public opinion towards respectable forms of Islamaphobia, also tacks back by insisting that Islam is a good religion, and Muslims are generally peaceful. But it is evident that the suggestion that Muslims have to accept “our” values places them in total as a problem for the rest of society.

Billy Hayes – the blog, 14 June 2011

Multiculturalism must go, says Dutch home affairs minister

Posted on by Bob Pitt

UTRECHT-CDA-CONGRESDutch society and its values must take precedence and integration policy should go, home affairs minister Piet Hein Donner told parliament on Thursday evening during the presentation of his integration bill.

Donner spoke of a “change of direction” in which the government “will distance itself from the relativism contained in the model of a multicultural society”. Society changes, he said, but must not be “interchangeable with any other form of society”, according to press reports.

It is not the government’s job to integrate immigrants, he said. General policy on schooling, jobs and housing gives them ample opportunity for integration.

Donner wants an end to integration policy and a tougher approach to people who ignore Dutch values or disobey the law. He is planning to introduce a law making forced marriage illegal and he wants tougher measures for immigrants who lower their chance of employment by the way they dress.

If necessary, the government will introduce extra measures to allow the removal of residence permits from immigrants who fail their integration course.

Dutch News, 17 June 2011

See also RNW, 17 June 2011