Yearly Archives: 2012

Arson attack on West Bank mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Vandals set fire to the entrance of a West Bank mosque on Monday, damaging the door, in an attack that villagers blamed on Jewish settlers.

Residents of the Palestinian village of Orif, near the city of Nablus, said a group of settlers from a nearby settlement came to the mosque before dawn, poured gasoline on an old carpet near the mosque’s door, and set it ablaze.

“The settlers tried to break into the mosque, but it was locked,” Orif resident Issam al-Safadi told Reuters. “So they settled with burning the old carpet and the door.”

Israeli rights group B’tselem says vigilante settler groups are suspected of vandalizing at least 10 mosques in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since 2009.

Reuters, 19 November 2012

Update:  See “Israeli settlers burn mosque in Palestinian village”, Press TV, 19 November 2012

Bristol EDL leader arrested in connection with graffiti attacks on mosques and Sikh temple

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL Mickey BaylissThe leader of the English Defence League (EDL) in Bristol has been arrested in connection with graffiti sprayed on mosques and Sikh temples.

Mickey Bayliss, from Upton Cheyney near Bitton, was arrested on Wednesday, along with another man.

The two had their properties searched but were not charged and have been released on bail.

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University of Virginia: Martha Nussbaum berates Western Islamophobia

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Renowned philosopher Martha Nussbaum addressed a packed auditorium Friday afternoon, berating Western Islamophobia, a problem Nussbaum said continues to plague the country today.

“Once, not very long ago, Americans and Europeans prided themselves on their enlightened attitudes of religious toleration, although everyone knew that the history of the West has actually been characterized by intense religious animosity and violence,” she said.

Nussbaum, a service professor of law and ethics at the University of Chicago, said blatant legislative discrimination against Muslims in the United States, France, Belgium, Germany, and Spain, among other countries, requires examination.

“Our situation calls urgently for critical self examination as we try to uncover the roots of ugly fears and suspicions that currently disfigure all Western societies,” Nussbaum said.

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Oklahoma Muslim on no-fly list to return to U.S.

Posted on by Bob Pitt

On Monday, November 19, representatives of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK) will meet a Muslim Air force veteran who had been barred from returning to Oklahoma when he finally arrives at Will Rogers World Airport.

“We welcome the positive development in this case and hope Mr. Long will not face any bureaucratic difficulties when he returns to his native land,” said CAIR-OK Executive Director Adam Soltani.

Following intervention by CAIR-OK, Saadiq Long, a U.S. citizen and Air Force veteran living in Qatar, was allowed to board a Delta Airlines flight (3316) due to arrive at 5:02 p.m. on Monday. He has been struggling to return home for six months after being denied boarding on two previous flights to visit his terminally-ill mother, apparently because he had been placed on a government no-fly list.

CAIR press release, 18 November 2012

See also “Oklahoman on ‘no fly’ list allowed to fly home”, KOCO.com, 18 November 2012

Michigan church bans Islamic prayer from service

Posted on by Bob Pitt

First Congregational ChurchThe word seemingly came out of the blue:

Choral director Jeffrey Cobb told his singers and orchestra – roughly 180 local adults and teens drawn from college, a high school, and churches – that a pastor barred an Islamic prayer from the piece they planned to sing.

Their concert was to be performed the next day, on Veterans Day, at First Congregational Church in Traverse City for the annual Mel Larimer Concert Series.

Pastor David Walls and other church officials wanted nothing to do with the Islamic Call to Prayers portion of the performance. They did not want to offend their congregation and military veterans they planned to honor that day, church leaders said.

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Posted in USA

Lynton Crosby told Boris Johnson not to waste his time chasing votes from ‘f****** Muslims’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Lynton_CrosbyThe man David Cameron has picked to head his election campaign once launched a foul-mouthed rant against Muslims.

Outspoken Australian “fixer” Lynton Crosby used the phrase “f****** Muslims” in a diatribe while working for London Mayor Boris Johnson.

But No 10 officials said the Prime Minister has no intention of changing his mind about appointing the strategist, despite the new revelations.

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