Monthly Archives: May 2012

California: EDL-supporting Senate candidate claims to defend ‘white Americans’ against threat of Islam

Posted on by Bob Pitt

San Mateo, CA — In the US Senate primary in California on June 5th, where 23 candidates vie to challenge Senator Dianne Feinstein in November, conservative candidates were recorded on video verbally attacking teachers, Muslims, and minority groups to excite their base at GOP and Tea Party venues.

The video was recorded at a “Get to Know Your Candidates” event hosted by the San Mateo GOP at the American Legion Hall here. Dr. David Levitt, the candidate who recorded the event, reports unmasked homophobia, Islamophobia, and racism in the Republicans’ speeches.

In the video Republican candidate Rabbi Shifren cries, “… I AM an Islamophobe, and everything we need to know about Islam, we learned on 9-11! I believe in peace and justice for everybody – but that’s not why they’re here…. We’re getting sucker-punched because we as white – yes I said it! – as white, Christian Americans are being taught that somehow WE are to blame for all the problems.”

Continue reading →

Rochdale grooming case: Add a few irrelevant facts, stir and let prejudice do the rest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Spot the odd one out. Jewish politician urged not to insult atheist party leader. Man from all-boys school sends intimate texts to attractive redhead. Straight black man wants same-sex marriage. Pakistani Muslims jailed for sexual assaults on white girls. The first three are ridiculously loaded and leading headlines. The last was a real one.

You may need some assistance here. Labour’s leader Ed Miliband has been advised not to burn his bridges with Nick Clegg in case a Lib-Lab pact is needed after the next election. Our old Etonian Prime Minister has been texting “lots of love” to Rupert Murdoch’s henchwoman Rebekah Brooks. Barack Obama has come out in support of gay marriage.

Nobody nowadays would dream of calling Miliband a “Jewish politician” in that way. So why are the 11 men convicted of sex offences in Rochdale described as “Pakistani Muslims”?

Paul Vallely in the Independent on Sunday, 13 May 2012

Al Jazeera on the US military’s anti-Islam classes

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Al Jazeera has obtained exclusive material of a course taught on a US military base implying that Hamas has influenced the US government at the highest levels.

The course is called “Understanding the Threat to America.” And in it are hundreds of slides that claim to link the Muslim Civil Liberties Advocacy Organisation (CAIR) and other American Muslim groups to the Palestinian group Hamas. It was taught to senior military officers at a base in the state of Virginia.

Continue reading →

MI5 feared British police attended terrorist camps

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Well, that’s the headline to a report in the Sunday Telegraph. The article itself centres on the case of Abdul Rahman, who was forced to resign from the Metropolitan Police in 2007 over an alleged visit to a “terrorist camp” in 2001:

Abdul Rahman had been a constable for almost three years when MI5 warned that he might have visited a training camp in Pakistan when he travelled there. He resigned rather than be dismissed from the force and is now suing Scotland Yard for compensation. He says he is entirely innocent and has never been to a terrorist training camp. His lawyers say he has never been questioned, arrested or charged under terrorism legislation.

Continue reading →

Kansas lawmakers pass anti-Islamic law measure

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A bill designed to prevent Kansas courts or government agencies from making decisions based on Islamic or other foreign legal codes has cleared the state Legislature after a contentious debate about whether the measure upholds American values or appeals to prejudice against Muslims.

The Senate approved the bill Friday on a 33-3 vote. The House had approved it, 120-0, earlier in the week. The measure goes next to Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who hasn’t said whether he’ll sign or veto the measure.

Continue reading →

Muslim Americans challenge ‘no fly’ list in appeals court

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A panel of federal judges grilled Justice Department lawyers on Friday over the government’s “no-fly” list, questioning whether those barred from commercial air travel for suspected terrorism ties are given any realistic avenue for appeal.

Government attorneys were asked to defend the process as lawyers for 15 Muslims in the United States who have been placed on the no-fly list sought to reinstate their constitutional challenge of the airline security measure.

The plaintiffs, who are U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents, said they learned of their “no-fly” status when they were blocked from boarding a commercial flight without prior notice, and were later denied any effective means of petitioning the government to be removed from the list.

“They have been deprived of their rights without redress,” Nusrat Choudhury, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer, said in court, adding that her clients “want the opportunity to be heard before a decision-maker.”

Continue reading →

Sajjad Karim refutes far-right lies about EDL protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL protest against Sajjad KarimLast July Sajjad and his young family were subjected to a vile and racist protest outside their Lancashire home. Readers of this website will know that 12 members of the English Defence League pleaded guilty for actions that day that included other unaceptable behaviour.

Sajjad welcomed the fact that the innocent victims that day were spared giving evidence and reliving their ordeal.

In the past few days lawyers acting on behalf of the EDL have attempted to thwart and silence journalists in the Lancashire and Manchester area. The EDL claimed their guilty pleas had nothing to do with the demonstration at the Karim house. Journalists were told they would be sued or reported to the Press Complaints Commission.

Continue reading →

Youth charged in Chantilly mosque vandalism case

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An 18-year-old has been charged with felony destruction of property for allegedly vandalizing a mosque that was under construction in Chantilly, Fairfax County police said.

Trenton M. Carter of the 14400 block of Round Lick Lane in the Centreville area was arrested May 3, police said. Carter and possibly other suspects allegedly threw rocks through most of the windows and door glass of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Mosque in the 4500 block of Ahmadiyya Drive in January, police and mosque officials said.

Police declined to release other details about the suspect, but said more arrests could be made and the investigation into the vandalism is continuing.

Washington Post, 11 May 2012

Muslim leaders warn of far right exploitation of Rochdale ‘grooming’ case

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Liverpool Crown Court far-right demonstrationFar right groups are exploiting the conviction of nine men who were part of a gang which groomed girls for sex to create a “climate of hate” against Muslims, community leaders have warned.

Muslim groups say they have seen an upsurge in hate mail and abusive phone calls since the trial ended this week and community leaders are bracing themselves for more Islamophobic attacks on individual Muslims and mosques across the UK.

“We are already receiving hate mail and hate phone calls even though we issued a very strong statement condemning those involved,” said a spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain. “If it can happen to MCB, you can just imagine what ordinary Muslims are facing as they go about their day-to-day business.”

Continue reading →