Yearly Archives: 2014

UKIP roared with laughter at ‘comedian’ who told ‘jokes’ about Muslims and East Europeans

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Paul EastwoodNigel Farage and hundreds of his UKIP supporters roared with laughter – as a comic cracked a string of offensive jokes about foreigners. The party’s leader clapped as Paul ­Eastwood took swipes at Indians, Muslims and Poles at a gala dinner marking the climax of its spring conference.

Referring to the Olympics, he told guests: “Poland did well. They took home bronze, silver, gold, lead, copper – anything they could get their hands on.” To claps and cheers he went on: “Team Somalia – they did well, didn’t they? They had to apologise. Didn’t realise sailing and shooting were two different events.”

Eastwood then asked: “Any Midlands people here? Wonderful! My favourite accent is a Midlands accent.” He then attempted an impression of an Asian voice. Eastwood chanted an Islamic call to prayer, mocking it as a “traditional Midlands folk song”.

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St. Paul police now allow employees to wear hijab

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Kadra MohamedSt. Paul, Minn. — The St. Paul Police Department is now allowing employees to wear a police-issued hijab headscarf, according to an announcement Saturday.

St. Paul Police Chief Thomas Smith said he knows of only one other department in Washington, D.C., that allows the hijab in the United States, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Cities in Canada and Great Britain allow Muslim officers to wear police-issued hijabs while in uniform, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The St. Paul announcement comes in tandem with the recent hiring of their first Somali woman, Kadra Mohamed. She serves as a Community Liaison Officer. Although the Twin Cities has the nation’s largest Somali-American population, Garaad Sahal was St. Paul’s first and remains the only sworn Somali-American police officer, joining in late 2012.

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Hundreds protest outside police headquarters after Moazzam Begg charged

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Moazzam Begg protest Birmingham

Hundreds of people called for the release of former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg today in a protest outside West Midland Police’s headquarters. The demonstration was held just hours after 45-year-old Begg was charged with Syria-related terrorism offences at Westminster Magistrate’s Court. Around 500 people attended.

Police closed Snow Hill Queensway and part of Colmore Circus in the city centre as a safety precaution while protesters gathered outside police headquarters Lloyd House.

During the demonstration, a statement from Begg’s daughter was read out by Asim Qureshi, the Research Director for CAGE. “No six-year-old should remember their father being kidnapped and thrown into the back of a car. My father was released to our home safe in England without charge and without trial from Guantanamo by the time I was ten. He has lived in the home with the belief that England will keep us safe from unjust cruelty.

“Most would keep quiet after an experience like Guantanamo. My father never stayed silent. He fought to give a voice to the voiceless.

“To relive that moment once again four days ago was a nightmare I never hoped to encounter again. We are standing strong and we are ready for what may be a long and drawn out fight. My request to you all on behalf of my father and our family is do not let these issues rest and continue the struggle. Innocent until proven guilty.”

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FIFA lifts ban on head covers

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Football’s world governing body FIFA has authorised the wearing of head covers for religious purposes during matches.

That will allow female Muslim players who wear a hijab in everyday life to cover their heads during matches as well. FIFA added that male players will also be authorised to do so following a request from the Sikh community in Canada.

“It was decided that female players can cover their heads to play,” said FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke at a meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the sport’s lawmakers, in Zurich.

“It was decided that male players can play with head cover too,” he said, although they will not be the same as those worn day to day. “It will be a basic head cover and the colour should be the same as the team jersey.”

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Football fan ripped up pages of the Koran while telling steward at away game ‘we hate Muslims’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Mark Stephenson with beerA football fan who ripped up pages torn from the Koran at a football match, and told a steward “we hate Muslims”.

Middlesbrough fan Mark Stephenson, 25, was at an away game in Birmingham when he was handed pages of the Muslim holy book by a fellow supporter. He proceeded to rip up the pages, and gestured with a lighter as if he were about to set them on fire.

The “through and through fan”, part of a group of 20 attending a championship game between Middlesbrough and Birmingham City, was asked by a steward what the book was. Stephenson, who had been drinking, replied: “It’s the Muslim Bible, we hate Muslims.”

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Scottish Defence League member jailed over mosque arson threat

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Derek PhinA man has been jailed for posting a Facebook comment about burning down a mosque in the wake of soldier Lee Rigby’s murder. Derek Phin, 46, posted the comment because he believed the soldier’s killers were being protected by the authorities following the attack.

Fusilier Lee Rigby was off duty in southeast London when he was attacked and killed on May 22 last year. Radical groups then tried to exploit the soldier’s murder, resulting in attacks and protests against the UK’s muslim community.

Phin, from Aberdeen, posted a comment on Facebook stating Edinburgh Central Mosque should be burnt down on July 2 during a counter demo. The post on a page belonging to the Scottish Defence League read: “Burn the mosque down when the meeting is ongoing.”

The mosque was due to be packed at the time for a meeting organised by pressure group Unite Against Fascism in response to extreme right wing protests.

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CAIR-AZ condemns ADL’s stereotyping of Muslims in Bill 1062 debate

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-AZ) today called on the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to apologize for stereotypical statements made about Muslims during recent debate over Arizona Senate Bill 1062, which would have shielded businesses from lawsuits if employees acted on religious beliefs to discriminate against customers.

In testimony before a state Senate committee the ADL’s assistant regional director posed a scenario in which, “A Muslim-owned cab company might refuse to drive passengers to a Hindu temple.”

“It is unconscionable that a group purporting to defend civil rights would resort to religious bigotry to promote its political agenda,” said CAIR-AZ Board Chair Imraan Siddiqi. “The introduction of this stereotypical scenario gave way to the narrative that Muslims are in some way serial abusers of ‘religious freedom based denials of service,’ which is completely baseless.”

Siddiqi noted that Muslims, like the majority of other Arizonans, believe that those serving the public must treat all customers equally, or be prepared to seek another line of work.

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Kingston students become fifth to officially condemn ‘Student Rights’ group

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Kingston university students passed a motion against the Henry Jackson Society front group ‘Student Rights’ last night at their annual ‘Big Student Meeting’.

The SU becomes the fifth in the country to formally condemn the activities of the group, following motions at four University of London institutions: LSE, Goldsmiths, UCL and Birkbeck.

Students at the meeting who support the ‘Real Student Rights’ campaign said the Vice Chancellor of the university was also in attendance and witnessed students vote unanimously in favour of the motion.

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