Monthly Archives: May 2012

Purley Muslim group lodge appeal against Islamic community centre refusal

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Muslim group has reignited the battle for an Islamic community centre in Purley by appealing against the council’s decision to refuse it.

In March the Advertiser reported how the plan was defeated by Tory councillors who said the centre, for 5 Russell Hill Place, would be “detrimental” to residents living above and for motorists who use the car park the site faces onto. However, this week we surveyed residents in the flats above the site, with the result suggesting the majority of them support it.

Purley Islamic Community Centre (PICC) has lodged an appeal which could end with a £10,000 bill. A council ruling is expected within the next 10 weeks.

PICC spokesman Usman Sadiq said: “We are determined to establish a centre within Purley and after careful consideration have decided to appeal the council’s decision. I am certain the centre will benefit the whole community and aims to provide a number of services targeted for local Muslim families but will be available to all.”

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Scottish Defence League wins appeal to hold rally in Edinburgh

Posted on by Bob Pitt

SDL Glasgow February 2012(2)The Scottish Defence League has won an appeal to hold a rally in the capital. The group previously had a request to march through Edinburgh rejected by the City of Edinburgh Council. At Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Wednesday it was granted permission to gather on Regent Road on Saturday.

Anti-fascism group Unite Against Fascism Edinburgh have said the city’s residents will be “rightly outraged” by the decision. Luke Henderson from the group said: “This is not about freedom of speech; this is about vile racists bringing a message of hate into Edinburgh. They want to divide communities and spread fear and violence. Edinburgh is one city of many cultures and in this town there is overwhelming opposition to racism and organised racists and fascists.”

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Prominent Islamophobes identified as ‘heading up the radical right’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Gaffney with GellerIncreasing anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. has shown enormous growth in the past two years, leading the Southern Poverty Law Center to mention three notorious Islamophobes on their list of “30 new activists heading up the radical right.”

The SPLC finds that “[a]n anti-Muslim movement, almost entirely ginned up by political opportunists and hard-line Islamophobes, has grown enormously since taking off in 2010, when reported anti-Muslim hate crimes went up by 50%.”

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French Muslim group denounces mosque vandalism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Draguignan mosque vandalism (2)

A leading French Muslim group says three mosques have been vandalized over the past week and is urging authorities to punish the perpetrators.

The French Council of the Muslim Faith, or CFCM, said racist insults and Nazi slogans were scrawled on a mosque in the southeastern town of Tarascon and another in the eastern city of Strasbourg on Tuesday and Wednesday. It said the mosque in the southern town of Draguignan was vandalized May 17.

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Muslims detained by FBI for spending too long in lavatory

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A group of Muslims was detained Wednesday at Orlando Sanford International Airport, apparently because of a misunderstanding over an Islamic cleanliness ritual, authorities said.

The captain of Allegiant flight No.625 from Allentown, Pa., radioed ahead and asked airport police to meet the plane when it landed about 8:30p.m., said Larry Dale, airport director and commander of its 11-member police force.

Members of the group were lingering in the lavatory and asked for a cup, arousing suspicion, Dale said. An FBI agent was interviewing three men late Wednesday, but it appeared that the travelers were detained because of a religious custom dictating cleanliness and that they would be released.

“In today’s world, we’d rather be cautious,” Dale said.

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EDL thug who threatened robbery victims with meat cleaver is jailed

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A violent thug used a meat cleaver to threaten victims during a six-week campaign of robbery and burglary to fund a £600-a-week drink and drug habit.

Daniel Grant, 22, was jailed indefinitely yesterday after a court heard he had a hatred of people not like him and he enjoyed carrying weapons because it made him feel “on top of the world”.

Grant committed eight robberies in Leeds between December and January this year, taking £3,000 worth of valuables from victims. Some were assaulted or threatened with a meat cleaver and other weapons.

Leeds Crown Court heard Grant holds openly racist views and is an active member of the English Defence League, a far-right protest group. After his arrest he claimed he carried weapons because other people were “needled-up” and may attack him because of his political views.

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Muslims to gather to combat anti-Shariah movement

Posted on by Bob Pitt

ICNA-MAS conventionSome 15,000 Muslims are expected at this weekend’s 37th annual convention of the Islamic Circle of North America in Hartford, where the theme of “Defending Religious Freedom: Understanding Shariah” reflects the worry that anti-Muslim activists are fanning fear of Islamic law to marginalize U.S. Muslims.

The May 26-28 gathering, which is also sponsored by the Muslim American Society, is the second-largest Muslim convention in the U.S., behind only the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America, which draws between 30,000 and 40,000 people.

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Swastikas and racist graffiti on Strasbourg mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Strasbourg mosque fascist graffiti

Racist graffiti was found on Wednesday 23 May on the wall of a Muslim place of worship in Strasbourg, which the mayor had made available to the Muslim community in 2009 to build a small mosque in the neighbourhood.

The graffiti included swastikas and the slogans “dirty Arab”, “Islam out”, “no mosque”, and “Ries collaborator”, a reference to the Socialist mayor of Strasbourg, Roland Ries.

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Orange County Republicans remove notorious Islamophobe from post as vice chair

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Last night, the Republican Party of Orange County Central Committee voted 47 to 16 in favor of removing Deborah Pauly from her post as First Vice Chair of the OCGOP.

The motion to remove Pauly was brought on by OCGOP Chairman Scott Baugh stating that Pauly’s behavior has been divisive, vulgar and has caused much distraction and division within the Republican party. At 9:28pm, the votes were announced and Pauly was officially removed as First Vice Chair.

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Arrest over racist graffiti at Wakefield mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Markazi Jamia MasjidRacist yobs scrawled graffiti on the side of a mosque. The offensive slogan was daubed on the side of the Markazi Jamia Masjid Mosque, on Grange Street.

The Central neighbourhood police team (NPT) arrested an 18-year-old man from Darnley this afternoon. Officers believe another suspect was also involved in the attack which happened on April 20.

Anyone with information should contact the NPT on 101.

Wakefield Express, 23 May 2012

Posted in UK