Author Archives: Bob Pitt

Tel Aviv bus driver verbally assaults Arab women wearing hijabs

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Two female Arab students were insulted and verbally abused Wednesday afternoon by a Dan bus driver for wearing their traditional hijabs. When they got on the bus near Tel Aviv University, the driver reportedly said to them: “What is this disgusting Islamist look? You look like IS.”

Another passenger who was on the bus with them turned to the driver and expressed her shock and dismay. “I told him he should be ashamed of himself”, she told Channel 2 News, “and that his job is to drive people and not to make hurtful comments about how they dress.”

The students themselves did not respond and went to take their seats. When they got off they phoned Dan’s service center to complain, and also reported the incident to the bus conductor at the station by the university.

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Far-right terrorist Breivik tries to set up fascist network from his prison cell

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The right-wing extremist who murdered 77 people in 2011 is trying to set up a criminal network of fascists from his prison cell, according to Norwegian authorities.

The country’s correctional services agency, Kriminalomsorgen, says it has intercepted around 220 letters written by Anders Breivik to people who he had never contacted before his imprisonment.

“When we take security considerations around Breivik, it’s communication control that is most central,” Erling Fæste, the deputy director of correctional services for the southern region, told Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang.

“This is where we believe that the danger is greatest, partly because we fear that he using letters to create a network that can commit criminal acts.”

The authorities have now put a stop to Brevik sending out mass mailings in order to stop him from building up contacts. “Breivik has no intention of tying ordinary and healthy friendships. The strategy seems to be plenty sent letter to associate as many contacts as possible,” Kriminalomsorgen said in an explanation of its decision.

The right-winger has previously tried to build a political party while in prison, though he has had no success so far.

Breivik openly admits he is against multiculturalism and his political views are predominantly centred around his Islamophobia.

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Michele Bachmann: Obama embraced ‘agenda of Islamic jihad’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Michele BachmannOutgoing Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) says President Obama has embraced the “agenda of Islamic jihad” at every turn.

“I have been very surprised, to answer your question, to see the president of the United States, at every turn, cut the legs off of our ally Israel, and in fact embrace and lift up the agenda of Islamic jihad,” she said in an interview released Wednesday with “Washington Watch“, a radio show produced by the socially conservative Family Research Council.

Bachmann criticized the president for writing to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to encourage a deal on Tehran’s nuclear program. “This really is a spiritual battle that we’re dealing with,” she added. “And while the president continues to say that this is not about the religion of Islam, I beg to differ.”

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Britain still grappling with controversial review of the Muslim Brotherhood

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Supporters of Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood wave Egyptian flags during a rally in protest against the recent violence in Egypt, outside of the Eminonu New mosque in IstanbulDon’t hold your breath if you are waiting to read the British government’s controversial review of the Muslim Brotherhood.

It could be months yet before this sees the light of day – a reflection of difficulties over how to handle an extremely sensitive topic as well as wider confusion about the role of political Islam after the disappointments of the Arab spring.

Downing Street is still refusing to say when or how it will release the review, which was ordered by David Cameron in April amidst accusations that he had bowed to pressure from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – all viscerally hostile to Islamists as well as heavyweight allies and trading partners for the UK. But the word in Whitehall is that it is still not imminent. And if it has not appeared by March it may then be too close for constitutional comfort to May’s general election – which means it might never surface at all.

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President praises Germans on refugees amid rallies

Posted on by Bob Pitt

PEGIDA (2)

Germany’s president on Wednesday praised his compatriots’ willingness to take in refugees and said he is glad that most people don’t want to “seal Germany off,” a message that comes as growing anti-Islam demonstrations in an eastern city have worried many.

President Joachim Gauck’s Christmas message didn’t mention directly the rallies in Dresden organized by a group calling itself Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West, or PEGIDA. But he said society “needs its citizens to respect each other and to heed each other, day in, day out.”

Mainstream German politicians have been divided between outright condemnation of the rallies and saying that demonstrators’ concerns should be taken seriously. Immigration has emerged as a contentious topic lately in Germany, partly due to a sharp rise in asylum applications, particularly from Syrians.

Gauck said he wanted to tell those “worried by developments in the world” not to be afraid. “Taking fears seriously does not mean giving in to them,” he said.

He praised Germans’ “great willingness … to take in refugees” and said it was encouraging “that the vast majority of us do not share the views of those who want to seal Germany off.”

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Melbourne Muslim woman Nasrin’s justice ordeal after being attacked twice in two days

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Nasrin pulled on her long black abaya and pinned her hijab in place. She did it despite knowing that this day, more than ever, her Islamic dress would make her a target.

It was the Tuesday morning after the Sydney siege at the Lindt cafe in Martin Place and Australia had woken to horror headlines of the death of two hostages. While Nasrin grieved for the victims, she also steeled herself for the worst.

As she left her house in the outer Melbourne suburb of Fawkner, she decided that she would remove the password lock from her mobile, to save her a few seconds if she needed to call police.

Sure enough, the mother-of-three would later dial triple zero after a man allegedly began shouting expletives at her as she travelled into the city to work. More than a week later, the police investigation remains ongoing after a 40-year-old Merlynston man was spoken to and released.

Since October, the IT professional says she has been abused three times by strangers who have taken offence to her Islamic dress.

Two of the episodes took place on the Upfield train line during or shortly after the fatal cafe siege. The other was in October, when Nasrin, who wished to use just her first name, said some politicians were advocating banning the burqa in Australia, fuelling anti-Islamic sentiment.

“The government isn’t doing anything to address these issues and I’m an innocent victim of their ignorant bigoted comments by the parliament members,” she said. “We need to hold people accountable from the top.”

There has recently been a surge in reports of violence and harassment against Australian Muslims. In the six days to Tuesday there were 27 reports made to the Islamophobia Register, including at least three in Victoria.

The register’s spokeswoman, Lydia Shelly, suspects there may be many other cases that have gone unreported. She said the majority of public attacks were against women and often in the presence of children.

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Australian Defence League head Ralph Cerminara charged after provoking brawl outside mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Ralph CerminaraThe head of the Australian Defence League is one of three people who have been charged over a brawl near a mosque in Sydney’s west overnight.

Ralph Cerminara and a second member of controversial anti-Islamic group will face court on Tuesday after they were arrested in Lakemba on Monday night and charged with affray. A third man, who is not a member of the league, was also arrested during the brawl and has been charged by police.

Officers were called to Haldon Street in Lakemba about 8.40pm on Monday to break up a fight involving about 10 men. “Police have been told the fight followed derogatory remarks allegedly made by two men towards people attending the mosque,” a NSW Police spokeswoman said.

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German business slams growing anti-Islam rallies

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Ulrich-GrilloA powerful German business leader slammed a growing anti-Islam movement in the country on Tuesday, saying Europe’s top economy needed more immigration to remain competitive and should take in more asylum seekers.

The president of the German Federation of Industry, Ulrich Grillo, said the emergence of the group “Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident” or PEGIDA, which has been holding weekly marches, was undermining the country’s interests and values.

“We have long been a land of immigration and we must remain so,” he told German news agency DPA. “As a prosperous country, and also out of Christian love for our fellow man, our country should take in more refugees.”

Grillo blasted the PEGIDA protests, which organisers have billed as a grassroots movement, calling participants “neo-Nazis and xenophobes”. He said the group was trying to harness fears of Islamist terrorism “to smear a whole religion” which he called “unacceptable”.

Grillo’s federation represents the political interests of more than 100,000 companies employing around eight million people.

He said Germany’s rapidly ageing population needed a strong influx of qualified newcomers to support the economy and the social welfare system. “Considering our demographic development, immigration ensures growth and prosperity,” he said.

He urged political leaders to do more to stand up to PEGIDA. “The political class has got to try harder to make citizens see the opportunities and diminish their fears,” he said.

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