Yearly Archives: 2013

Conservative councillor suspended for alleged racism against Muslims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Chris JoannidesA Conservative councillor has been suspended and is under investigation after allegedly making anti-Muslim comments and sectarian remarks on a social media website, The Guardian has learned.

Chris Joannides’s Facebook page contained material comparing Muslim women who wear the burqa to rubbish bags. Another post included sexual remarks in a discussion about a flasher, and a comment that his work as a councillor was getting in the way of his social life.

Joannides is a councillor in Enfield, north London.

News of the incident comes as the Conservative party leader, David Cameron, considers measures to try and increase the low levels of support the party receives from ethnic minority voters. The Conservatives are trying to shed their “nasty” party image and appear more inclusive.

His fellow Conservative councillors decided to suspend Joannides over the comments, which are being investigated.

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New street protest movement to hold demo against Abu Qatada?

Posted on by Bob Pitt

English National Resistance protest

You may recall that Britain First, a far-right groupuscule headed by former BNPers Jim Dowson and Paul Golding, organised a unity meeting in Dartford last month to discuss plans for a new anti-Islam street protest movement to replace the declining and fragmenting English Defence League.

The protest movement has now been formally launched. It’s called the English National Resistance and describes itself as a “new disciplined organisation that will mobilise patriotic activists against any attack on our English culture, rights and heritage”.

As is the way with such things, the English National Resistance presents itself as a far-right unity initiative, claiming to have brought together “a multitude of different existing patriotic groups”. So far, however, it would appear to be little more than a Britain First front organisation.

The ENR’s first event is scheduled for tomorrow, 2 February, with a planned march through Stanmore to the house of Abu Qatada. Whether it will in fact take place is as yet unclear, as Qatada’s lawyers have applied to the High Court for an injunction to prevent the demonstration going ahead.

Given that the protest is likely to attract a derisory number of participants, the BF/ENR leaders are probably hoping that the injunction is granted. That way they can milk the situation for the maximum publicity – High Court sides with Muslim terrorist and deprives decent British patriots of right to free speech, you know the sort of thing – while avoiding the public exposure of the minuscule forces they actually represent.

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Times reveals High Court’s shock sharia decision

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Times sharia divorces headlineYesterday the Jewish Chronicle carried a report (“Jewish divorce ruled OK in landmark High Court decision”) of a decision by a High Court judge to refer a Jewish divorce case to a Beth Din (rabbinical court) for arbitration, at the request of the couple involved in the divorce.

Here, you might think, would be an opportunity for some responsible reporting in the mainstream press on the subject of religious courts, showing how they can play a legitimate role in civil cases and countering the ignorant bigotry commonly displayed over the issue of sharia councils.

Of course, a responsible press is precisely what the UK lacks. Instead, we have newspapers ever eager to promote an “Islamification of Britain” narrative. So it’s no surprise that the story has made the front page of today’s Times under the headline “High Court opens way to Sharia divorces”.

The actual report, by the paper’s legal editor Frances Gibb, is in fact reasonably balanced, and avoids the sharia hysteria suggested by the headline. Many people, however, won’t see past that headline – or will take their cue from the version of the Times report published by the Mail, which has provoked the usual spate of Islamophobic raving from readers.

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Hijab for a day: Non-Muslim women who try the headscarf

Posted on by Bob Pitt

BBC News reports on World Hijab Day.

Update:  Mad Maryam Namazie offers her thoughts on the subject: “Today is World Hijab Day! What next? Maybe we can all try to mutilate our daughters on World Mutilation Day or marry off our girls on World Child Marriages Day? How about a day when our male guardians can track our whereabouts to make sure we aren’t leaving the country.”

Qaradawi ‘scholar of the year’ again in OnIslam poll

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Winning 39.9 percent of votes, Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, is chosen for the second consecutive year as the Scholar of the Year by OnIslam visitors. The selection reflects the great impact of Dr. Al-Qaradawi in the fields of Islamic scholarship and da`wah and the high esteem he is held in.

Despite his old age, Al-Qaradawi, 86, is remarkably known for his active involvement in the events touching the Muslim Ummah,whether in person or through the organizations he heads, such as the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS). That goes in line with his deep belief in Islam as a comprehensive way of life and his conviction that the role of scholar is far greater than retreating to a mosque and teaching people about the devotional rituals of Islam.

The atrocities committed by the Syrian dictator, Bashar Al-Asad, and the massacres of Muslims in Myanmar, along with the challenges facing the Egyptian revolution were among the major events in 2012 that had much of Dr. Al-Qaradawi’s concern and effort. Besides, in the scholarship arena, Dr. Al-Qaradawi continues to add to his list of books, that has exceeded 170. He is working now on a new, more elaborate edition of his famous book Al-Halal wal-Haram fil Islam (The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam).

OnIslam, 31 January 2013

BNP campaign fails: Oswestry’s first Muslim centre gets go-ahead

Posted on by Bob Pitt
Shropshire Patriot Islamic conquest of Oswestry

An example of British National Party propaganda against the centre

Controversial plans for Oswestry’s first Muslim centre have been given the go-ahead. It will be sited in a 19th century former Presbyterian church.

The bid to change the church in Oswald Road, into a Muslim prayer centre sparked more than 70 objections and led to the town being targeted in a leafleting campaign by the British National Party.

But more than 40 people wrote in support of the bid by Oswestry Muslim Society and permission was given by Shropshire Council planning officers under delegated powers.

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Threats against Muslims prompt extra security at Texas capitol

Posted on by Bob Pitt

AUSTIN — A string of threats is prompting a boost in security at the State Capitol.

The threats are directed at hundreds of Muslims who are in Austin for ‘Muslim Day at the Capitol.’ They represent Islamic organizations and mosques from across the state of Texas.

According to the Texas Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), threats were posted online and also came in over the phone. Law enforcement stepped up protection, making additional Department of Public Safety troopers visible along the south steps of the building.

The Texas Muslims are visiting the Capitol to meet with lawmakers and ignite positive interactions. There have been similar rallies at the start of a new legislative session for a few years now. However this year, threats against the group escalated.

According to CAIR people started posting messages on a blog site called Bare Naked Islam a few weeks ago. Some people threatened gun violence. Others wrote about killing and capturing participants.

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