Police in Kirklees are appealing for information from the public after a series of incidents in Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike and Dewsbury that followed an English Defence League (EDL) demonstration on Saturday in Cleckheaton.
Yearly Archives: 2012
‘There is no real hunt. It’s fixed’, says former FBI informant who infiltrate southern Californian mosques
Craig Monteilh describes how he pretended to be a radical Muslim in order to root out potential threats, shining a light on some of the bureau’s more ethically murky practices.
Bay City, Michigan: Man may avoid jail in ethnic intimidation case if he writes 10-page report on ‘the greatest accomplishments of Muslims’
BAY CITY — A Bangor Township man who police said yelled racial slurs outside a Bay City bar has accepted a plea deal, and he may avoid jail if he writes a convincing report on Muslims’ cultural contributions.
Delane D. Bell, 25, earlier this month pleaded no contest to a two-year felony count of ethnic intimidation. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss misdemeanor counts of assault and battery and malicious destruction of property between $200 and $1,000.
Kingston Mosque attack trial continues
A man accused of taking part in an attack on Kingston Mosque denied making up lies to clear his name, a court has heard.
The prosecution claimed all nine men on trial at Kingston Crown Court could be identified on CCTV walking toward the mosque in a large group on November 21, 2010.
Martin Pottle, 23, of Hanworth, interrogated by police on January 6, 2011, was accused in his interview of making up a story about walking to Sainsbury’s with a friend, whose name he could not remember, so his friend could top-up his phone.
Jordan Ellingham, 21, of Feltham, said he went on the march to be “a bit patriotic”, heard people say “let’s go to the mosque” and was “intrigued” so went to East Road, the jury heard.
Mr Ellingham told police: “I didn’t know what was going on. A bit of shouting and then I think a few things being thrown by people.” He said: “I weren’t aggressive, weren’t violent.”
Kingston Guardian, 21 March 2012
As we have previously noted, both Pottle and Ellingham are associates of Joel Titus, the English Defence League’s former national youth organiser, as is another of the defendants, Paul Abley. Last year, following a series of violent incidents on EDL demonstrations, Titus was slapped with an ASBO banning him from attending any further EDL protests or loitering outside mosques.
More than half of Canadians mistrust Muslims, poll says
More than half of all Canadians believe Muslims can’t be trusted and nearly as many believe discrimination against Muslims is “mainly their fault,” according to the results of a new national survey released ahead of Wednesday’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
The online poll of 1,522 Canadians, commissioned by the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies and Toronto-based Canadian Race Relations Foundation, also highlights how Canadians see the Internet as by far the leading conduit for racism in the country, and that more than one-third of respondents say they’ve “witnessed a racist incident” in the past year.
ACS executive director Jack Jedwab described the results as a “disturbing” sign that racism not only remains a problem in the country but that many Canadians feel comfortable holding transparently discriminatory views, then saying things like: “If we feel this way about you, it’s your fault.”
Ayman Al-Yassini, executive director of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, said the findings provide more reasons to promote better inter-faith and inter-cultural relations and to “build bridges among different communities” in Canada to combat discrimination. “This is also more evidence that the Internet has become the major vehicle for spreading hatred and prejudice,” he said.
Mob gathers at court as Yorkshire teenager charged with Facebook smear of Afghan soldiers
A Yorkshire teenager today denied posting a grossly offensive message on Facebook about the deaths of six British soldiers in Afghanistan.
Azhar Ahmed, 19, appeared at Dewsbury Magistrates’ Court charged under the Communications Act 2003 with sending a message that was grossly offensive on March 8.
A racially-aggravated public order charge was withdrawn at today’s hearing and Ahmed denied the new charge that was put to him.
Ahmed, of Fir Avenue, Ravensthorpe, West Yorkshire, was bailed and will stand trial at Huddersfield Magistrates’ Court on July 3. He has been bailed to an address not given to court.
There was a large police presence outside court as around 50 far-right protesters staged a noisy demonstration when the defendant arrived and left.
Sharia law, free speech … and the racist far right
Over at the National Secular Society blog Anne Marie Waters of the anti-sharia campaign One Law For All (OLFA) complains that the London School of Economics students’ union adopted a resolution defining Islamophobia as “a form of racism expressed through the hatred or fear of Islam, Muslims, or Islamic culture, and the stereotyping, demonization, or harassment of Muslims, including but not limited to portraying Muslims as barbarians or terrorists, or attacking the Qur’an as a manual of hatred”. Waters demands: “Who decides what constitutes hatred and are we now being told what we can and can’t be afraid of?”
Waters will, however, be pleased to hear that there are still people who staunchly uphold her right, and that of fellow OLFA spokesperson Maryam Namazie, to whip up fear of Islam. OLFA’s campaign against sharia has recently been endorsed by the white supremacist website Stormfront. Some might feel embarrassed to receive the support of far-rightists whose promotion of hostility towards Islam is clearly part of a general programme of inciting racial hatred. But then, as Waters herself puts it, who decides what constitutes hatred?
Robert Spencer embraces Andrew Gilligan
We dealt rather contemptuously with Andrew Gilligan’s “revelation” that Ken Livingstone is intending to turn London into a “beacon of Islam”. However, in the interests of balance, it should be pointed out that Gilligan does have his admirers:
The real ‘two-tier system’ in operation
This demonstration outside Dewsbury Magistrates’ Court tomorrow has been organised by the Yorkshire Division of the English Defence League in protest against Azhar Ahmed, the young man charged with a “racially aggravated public order offence” over a Facebook comment which, while arguably “threatening, abusive or insulting”, involved no actual racial element at all. (The EDL held a small demonstration against Ahmed in Dewsbury on Saturday which resulted in two of their members being arrested for causing criminal damage.)
Croydon: Tory councillors vote down Islamic Centre plans after Gavin Boby is allowed to give evidence
Tory councillors have been branded “perverse” after rejecting plans for an Islamic Centre in Purley. The six voted against the proposal despite planning officers recommending the development be approved.
And questions have also been raised as to why committee chairman councillor David Osland allowed “Mosquebuster” Gavin Boby to address the chamber, despite knowing of his links to the far-right English Defence League.
Councillors further clashed at the meeting – policed by around eight Met officers – which ended in plans for an Islamic place of worship coupled with multi-faith community facilities defeated by an all-Conservative six votes to an all-Labour five.