Author Archives: Bob Pitt

European discussion of Islam – ‘dumb, offensive and provocative’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Farish Noor“It is interesting to reflect on the asinine times we live in, particularly if like me, you are involved in that nebulous thing called ‘inter-cultural dialogue’. Over the past four weeks, I have been engaged in numerous rounds of dialogues between Western Europeans and Muslim migrant communities in Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin; and in every single one of these encounters, I came across stereotypes of Muslims and Islam that were so shallow and puerile that I am almost embarrassed to recount them here. Worst still, these pedestrian musings on Islam and Muslims were not the offerings of everyday punters, but those who claimed to be well-known and admired scholars and historians.

“In one of these exchanges, I was told the following: that ‘Islam is a fascist, woman-hating, Christian-killing, gay-bashing macho male ideology of hatred that was built on fourteen centuries of conquest and bloodshed, murder and rape. That is why there cannot be integration of Muslims into Europe, because the Muslims that we have here are the savages of the Arab world who are barbaric, violent and brutal. They do not believe in reason and the Enlightenment and Islamic civilisation has not produced anything scientific, rational or humane’. Try substituting the word ‘Muslim’ for ‘blacks’ and one would see how far-fetched and racist such claims really are.

“Now why is it that whenever we speak of Islam and Muslims today, some of us think they have the license to drop their IQ level by a hundred points or so? Is discussion on Islam a license to say anything dumb, offensive and provocative just for the sake of riling up the masses and grabbing a few headlines?”

Farish A. Noor in the Daily Times, 28 September 2007

‘I’m from Afghanistan, I’m a Muslim. I’m going to stab every white person’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The fascists of the British National Party have discovered yet another example of the Islamic assault on Western Civilisation:

“A race-hate gang that screamed racist abuse as they went on a violent rampage through the streets of Southampton’s city centre last year have escaped jail terms! The seven arrested were part of a larger gang that assaulted British shoppers, leaving some unconscious and bleeding in the street. They are known to have attacked at least seven people during their drug and drink fuelled attacks – yet only one has been jailed and then only for a miserable drugs offence! Indeed the court was told that one of the racist thugs said, whilst waving a knife in the faces of two terrified female shoppers: ‘I’m from Afghanistan, I’m a Muslim. I’m going to stab every white person’.”

BNP Regional Voices, 27 September 2007

Except that, if you read the Daily Echo report, it’s clear from the names of the convicted youth that they were in fact Sikhs.

McNulty defends Kelly over MCB

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Tony McNultySpeaking at a Labour Party conference fringe meeting, Home Office security minister Tony McNulty has stated that it was “a mistake to treat the Muslim Council of Britain as if it was the only voice of British Muslims and to ‘elevate it to an exclusivity that wasn’t warranted’,” according to a BBC news report.

He claimed that the MCB’s response to the failed terror attacks in London and Glasgow this summer had been “profoundly different” to 7/7 and praised former communities secretary Ruth Kelly for “recalibrating” the relationship between the government and the MCB.

Of course, the “recalibration” carried out by Kelly involved shunting a genuinely representative organisation like the MCB aside in favour of the ridiculous neocon-inspired Sufi Muslim Council that represents nobody at all – but had the advantage from Kelly’s standpoint that, unlike the MCB, it didn’t criticise UK foreign policy.

As for the MCB’s supposed “profoundly different” reaction to the London and Glasgow terrorist attacks compared with their response to 7/7, this is a myth that appears to be accepted wisdom in government circles – home secretary Jacqui Smith made the same claim in a recent interview with the New Statesman – but lacks any basis in fact.

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Quebec women’s council calls for hjab ban

Posted on by Bob Pitt

MONTREAL — The Quebec government should ban civil servants from wearing visible religious symbols at work to promote the province’s status as a secular society, the Quebec Council on the Status of Women says. That means female Muslim teachers should not be allowed to wear a hijab in public schools, said the council’s president, Christiane Pelchat. “Teachers are role models and they should be promoting equality between men and women,” Ms. Pelchat said.

She used the following example to show how reasonable accommodation would impinge upon the right to equality between the sexes. A teacher in a public elementary school converts to the Muslim faith and wishes to wear the niqab, the veil that covers her face in its entirety except for the eyes. But the council says the government should not let her display the religious symbol.

“The niqab sends a message of the submission of a woman, which should not be conveyed to young children as part of a secular education which is required to promote equality between men and women,” the council said it a statement released yesterday. The council has determined that the niqab is a religious sign that is discriminatory towards women, Ms. Pelchat said. “It is only women who are covered,” she said. “Are there Muslim men who are covered up?”

The council is a 20-member body that advises the government on issues relating to women.

Canada.com, 27 September 2007

Left-Right anti-Muslim alliance in the Netherlands

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Council of ex-MuslimsCritic of Islam, Ehsan Jami, and Freedom Party leader, Geert Wilders, compared the Prophet Mohammed to Adolf Hitler in a co-written article published in the Dutch daily Volkskrant Thursday.

In their article, Wilders and Jami say strong criticism of Islam is absolutely necessary. “If we do not act now against the far-reaching Islamisation of the Netherlands, then the 1930s will be revived. The only difference is that back then the danger came from Adolf Hitler, while today it comes from Mohammed.”

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BMI denounces Tories’ selection of Boris Johnson

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Boris JohnsonBritish Muslim Initiative views the Conservative choice of Boris Johnson as the mayoral candidate as an affront to the sensitivities and beliefs of London Muslims. In a city in which one in eight of its population is Muslim, Johnson has demonstrated an antipathy to the Quran that borders on the realm of the bigotry.

During the debate on the religious hatred bill Johnson is recorded as saying “if this bill makes any sense at all it must mean banning the reading in public or in private of a great many passages of the Quran itself”. He also wrote in one of his articles “the Koran is full of stuff that plainly falls into that category (religious hatred)”.

Mohammad Sawalha Chair of BMI said: “In the light of such invective BMI affirms any individual aspiring to represent the people of London must demonstrate respect for all its communities. Mr Johnson is on the hostile path with the religious and ethnic minorities and he would destroy the great harmony enjoyed in London.”

Mr Sawalha further added: “What is required at this juncture is a Mayor who has the understanding of the needs of the great many communities in London and unite them, unfortunately Mr Johnson does not fit that bill. Boris Johnson’s record of hostilities and disdain for the sacred book of Muslims must automatically disqualify him from their support, to the same degree that his public offence and disrespect for black and ethnic minority communities should equally render him unworthy of their support.”

BMI press release, 27 September 2007

Knowledge lacking of Islam, Mormonism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Most Americans say they know little to nothing about the practices of Islam and Mormonism but say their own religious beliefs have little in common with either of these faiths, according to a national survey released Tuesday. Forty-five percent of those polled said Islam was more likely than other religions to encourage violence among its believers.

Although 58% of respondents said they knew little or nothing about Islamic practices, 70% of non-Muslims said Islam was very different from their own religious beliefs. Pew Forum senior fellow John Green said that respondents’ knowledge of Islam might be even lower than the survey results suggested. Respondents “tend to overestimate their own knowledge, so these figures may well underestimate their lack of knowledge,” he said.

The survey found that public attitudes toward Muslims have grown more negative in recent years, with 35% of respondents expressing an unfavorable view. In 2002, the figure was 29%. Respondents who knew a Muslim or who were college graduates were more likely to express positive views about Islam.

But the belief that Islam encourages violence has increased even among groups that have relatively favorable views of Muslims. According to the survey, college graduates are just as likely as those with no college experience to associate violence with Islam.

“We’re not surprised,” said Safaa Ibrahim, executive director of the Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “It’s difficult to remove the tarnish of twisted interpretations of terrorists from what Islam means.”

Los Angeles Times, 26 September 2007

See also the Pew Forum, 25 September 2007

Posted in USA

The worst of Worcester

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Worcester“Think of Worcester and a vision of a pretty cathedral, rolling hills and the famous Malvern natural springs would probably come to the mind of Guardian readers…. The truth is, if you are British Pakistani or Pakistan-born male, there are few less desirable places to live in Britain than Worcester.

“Why? The following brutal attacks have occurred on Pakistani taxi drivers in recent times: • A driver was doused with petrol and set on fire. • Another was left with psychological problems after being smashed over the head with a metal bar. • Another was almost choked to death with his seatbelt. • Another was stabbed and left for dead. • In yet another incident, a driver suffered severe facial injuries after being lured by his passengers into a quiet cul-de-sac….

“Some of the community I spoke to blame the British National Party for ratcheting-up racial tensions through leaflets that complain migrant workers take up jobs previously held by ‘British’ students. Others warn of the Islamification of Britain and appeal for an end to new mosques in the city. Pakistanis claim that the attacks follow terrorism-related stories that appear in the media; it gives white racists an excuse to relieve their frustration on innocent cab drivers. Only this summer a CS gas canister was thrown into Worcester Central Mosque.”

Nadeem Badshah at Comment is Free, 26 September 2007

‘PC cops endanger public’ fascists claim

Posted on by Bob Pitt

BNP fascism“Politically correct cops are failing to protect the public from possible terrorist attacks from Islamic extremists. That’s the stark conclusion from the latest figures from Scotland Yard which reveal that more than half of the 32,000 people stopped under the Terrorism Act between April and August this year were white….

“It is ludicrous that the Met’s well paid chiefs haven’t got their head around the fact not a single one of the Islamic terrorists who blew themselves up along with 52 innocent commuters on 7th July 2005 was of white European descent, that not a single member of the failed 21st July bombings was of white European descent and that the failed bombers who targeted the West End of London and Glasgow Airport in August were all Asian (specifically Middle Eastern/Pakistani Asian) males.

“It is the Met’s misguided fear of alienating ethnic minority communities that places the entire British public in danger.”

BNP news report, 26 September 2007