Author Archives: Bob Pitt

Scottish Defence League routed in Glasgow

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Glasgow demo

Standing precariously on a bin as thousands of people swarmed into George Square banging drums and chanting, anti-racist campaigner Aamer Anwar yesterday proclaimed a victory for the people of Glasgow over “racism, fascism and the Scottish Defence League (SDL)”.

His celebration followed a day in which the far-right group’s threat to march on Glasgow Central Mosque came to nothing, as police penned its members into a pub before bussing them to various spots on the periphery of the city, extinguishing the chances of a conflict before it had the chance to ignite. There were a few minor skirmishes in and around the city centre between the tiny SDL contingent and rival demonstrators, who were out in their thousands. Five people were arrested.

Although both sides claimed to have achieved their aims, the sheer numbers that mustered under the banner of Scotland United, a broad-spectrum alliance of political parties, trade unions and civil society groups, demonstrated that most of Glasgow has little truck with the ‘anti-Islamic’ policies of the SDL and its English counterpart.

Mr Anwar, speaking at the head of a thousand protesters as they marched into George Square, said: “Just over 100 members of the Scottish and English Defence Leagues came to Glasgow today, skulked in a pub and were then bussed off away from the city centre. We proved that the only group that the people of Glasgow would tolerate on their streets were Scotland United. I would call this a victory.”

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Sarkozy repeats call for ban on veil

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Nicolas_SarkozyPresident Nicolas Sarkozy has reiterated his belief that the burqa, the head-to-toe veil worn by some Muslim women, has no place in secular France.

“France is a country where there is no place for the burqa, where there is no place for the subservience of women,” he said in a speech on French national identity. He was speaking on Thursday in the Alpine town of La Chapelle en Vercors in his first intervention in a country-wide debate begun last month on what it means to be French.

Public meetings are due to take place in some 450 government offices around the country, involving campaigners, students, parents and teachers, unions, business leaders and French and European lawmakers. The debate will end with a conference early next year on the twin questions of “what it means to be French today” and “what immigration contributes to our national identity.”

The Socialist opposition has accused the government of pandering to anti-immigrant sentiment to shore up support on the Right ahead of regional elections in March. It has said the debate risks alienating France’s large immigrant communities. But Mr Sarkozy on Thursday defended the “noble debate” and said: “Those who do not want this debate are afraid of it.”

Daily Telegraph, 13 November 2009

Update:  See “France will oppose but not ban burqas”, Reuters, 13 November 2009

Further update:  See also Tom Heneghan’s piece, “France retreats from burqa ban plan amid burst of hot air”, at FaithWorld, 13 November 2009

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Why Islam was behind the Fort Hood massacre

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Kevin_Myers“Jihad can be formed as a result of the teachings of an imam, but it boils down to a personal contract between Allah and the believer, based on an extreme interpretation of Islam…. This notion of a personal contract with Allah, that authorises a believer to break even the most civilised and civilising laws of the Koran, is a sure-fire recipe for murderous irrationality and social anarchy. And these have become the defining feature of almost every Muslim society in the world….

“Hence Fort Hood Texas, September 11 New York, July 7 London, Holland, Denmark, Belgium, France, Norway, Bali, Kenya, Tanzania, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Iran, Anatolia, Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bali, Bombay and Australia. Such universal belligerence has no universal cause, other than in the universality of Islam, which seems so often to respond lethally to local conditions, whatever they are.

“… somewhere inside the greater Islamic mind is an absurd sense of victimhood: and where there is no local grievance, why then there is always ‘Palestine’, as if those few disputed acres in the vast Islamic landmass of Afro-Asia merited the unanimous and indignant global furies of all Muslims, from Delhi to Dearborn. This same querulous organ of self-pity also resents Muslims becoming the subject of intelligence operations after an Islamic atrocity….

“This is a sealed moral system, an internal autonomy that is immune to penetration or logic. Fear of such accusations of Islamophobia – phobophobia – almost certainly prevented Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s superior officers from disciplining him for his public jihadist outpourings. Pre-emptive action would certainly have been portrayed by the liberal media as Islamophobic discrimination against a patriotic Muslim, and would have enraged that reliable stock-character of media portrayal, ‘moderate Muslims’. Thirteen genuine patriots are now dead as the price of such phobophobic appeasement.

“More importantly, the US must now wake up to the consequences of its open-door immigration policy, just as Britain did four years ago after July 7. The subsequent pattern will presumably be similar. Watch now, as ‘victimised’ American Muslims close ranks, the burka and the hijab become commonplace amongst their womenfolk and the rest of the US asks in tones of awestruck horror: My God, what have we done?”

Kevin Myers in the Irish Independent, 10 November 2009

For earlier examples of Myers’ thoughtful comments on the issues of Islam and migration, see “Forget lily-livered liberalism, time to take stand and say we don’t want Muslim immigrants“, and “Huge areas of Britain have become foreign colonies. That could be tomorrow’s Ireland, too“. The latter piece was enthusiastically endorsed by the BNP.

Update:  See Yusuf Smith’s comments at Indigo Jo Blogs, 15 November 2009

Mad Mel’s moderate Muslim test

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Writing in the Jewish Chronicle, Melanie Phillips tells us that “it is very important to separate moderate Muslims from Islamists”. But this poses the question: “how can you tell a genuine moderate from the dissimulators?”

And yes, you guessed it, the answer is that “the issue that defines true Muslim moderation is the absence of any hostility towards Israel”.

So, by that criterion, Mad Mel’s list of moderate Muslims would include Irshad Manji and … well, nobody else comes to mind, really.

According to Phillips, even Ed Husain is an extremist. When he opposed Israel’s assault on Gaza she accused him of adopting “the very narrative and rhetoric that are driving Muslims to mass murder”!

Attempt to smear Osama Saeed and Azad Ali

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A radical Muslim cleric alleged to have inspired the Fort Hood gunman has been praised in the past as “a preacher of peace” by a prominent SNP candidate with close links to Alex Salmond.

The FBI is investigating communications between Major Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people at the US Army base in Texas, and Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born Muslim cleric now based in Yemen. Mr Awlaki has a large following in Britain and counts prominent mainstream Muslims among his supporters.

In 2006 Osama Saeed, who has been selected as the SNP candidate for Glasgow Central for the next general election, wrote that Mr Awlaki “preached nothing but peace”.

Last night Mr Saeed, who was researcher to Mr Salmond before he became the Scottish First Minister, distanced himself from Mr Awlaki, saying that he now felt “cheated” by the cleric. Mr Saeed said: “I completely disagree with what he has said about Fort Hood, and a host of other matters which he has more recently written and spoken about.”

Mr Awlaki, 38, who on his blog described Major Hasan as “a hero”, has been a regular visitor to Britain and delivers frequent lectures to audiences here by video or via the internet.

Azad Ali, president of the Civil Service Islamic Society, wrote last November that Mr Awlaki was “one of my favourite speakers and scholars”. Mr Ali, whose society’s patron is Sir Gus O’Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, distanced himself from the cleric’s views last night. He said: “I reject them and disassociate myself from them completely.”

An SNP spokesman said last night: “Anwar al-Awlaki formerly expressed moderate views – his more recent comments are disgraceful and have been condemned by all right-thinking people, including Azad Ali and Osama Saeed. Any attempt to smear any individual in the UK over this would be appalling.”

Times, 12 November 2009

Needless to say, this witch-hunt originates with Harry’s Place, Standpoint and the Spittoon.

Update:  See Osama Saeed’s post, “Times run with Centre for Social Cohesion briefing”, Rolled-up Trousers, 12 November 2009

Further update:  And here is the Quilliam Foundation’s helpful contribution, headed “Quilliam calls on Muslim organizations to reject jihadism”.

Pensioner attacked on way home from mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An Asian man in his 70s suffered a fractured eye socket in what police have called a “cowardly” racially motivated attack. The victim was struck in the face by one of two men who approached him near the traffic island in Coventry Street, Kidderminster, when he was returning from a prayer meeting.

After the assault, which happened at 7.45pm on Friday, October 30, the men walked off into Radford Avenue and were seen turning right into Gilbert Scott Way.

The victim was taken to Kidderminster Hospital and, though he was not detained, is now receiving ongoing treatment for the eye injury.

One of the two men sought by police, who were both white and described as in their early 20s, was about 6ft tall with dark hair and wearing a blue and red top with white sleeves. The other was shorter, had lighter hair and wore a pale blue T-shirt under a darker blue, hooded top which had white numbering on the front.

PC Saqib Mahmood said: “This was a cowardly, unprovoked attack on a frail pensioner who was in no position to defend himself.

“He was on his way back from prayers at a mosque and dressed in traditional white robes. We believe he was singled out for no other reason than his appearance and as such it was a racially motivated assault. Nothing was said beforehand and there was no attempt to rob him.

“Fortunately incidents of this nature are rare here but having said that even one is still too many and I would urge anyone who saw what happened or has any idea who might be responsible to get in touch with us.”

Witnesses or anyone with information should call PC Mahmood on 0300 333 3000, quoting incident reference 658-S-301009, or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Asian Image, 10 November 2009

BNP slammed over anti-Muslim Pac-Man spoof

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Mark Collett PacmanA British National Party official has been accused of racism over an anti-Muslim message posted on the internet.

Mark Collett, the BNP’s publicity director, created a spoof of the Pac-Man computer game with the caption “Sortin’ out Muslims since 1980” and has uploaded it to a number of websites.

The image, which shows caricatures of Muslim women in veils being attacked by the computer character, is accompanied by a personal message from Collett on his Facebook page. He wrote: “Pac-Man knows how to deal with Muslims! I made this, I hope it makes you all smile! Feel free to send it out and spread the joy.”

Collett was cleared in 2006 of inciting racial hatred after a jury heard he had told a meeting in Keithley: “Let’s show these ethnics the door in 2004.”

But Muslim MP Shahid Malik, a minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government, has accused Collett of being “twisted” and said the game proves the BNP is racist.

He told Sky News: “If this is the work of Mark Collett, it only serves as further demonstration of what a sick, twisted and vile individual he is. It is useful to highlight this type of attitude in the leadership of the BNP. It helps expose the true face of this racist and fascist organisation.”

Collett’s comments about “how to deal with Muslims” are at odds with his party’s public statements on immigration and leader Nick Griffin’s claims the party is not racist.

The policy section of the BNP website claims the party is not opposed to non-whites, so long as whites stay the majority. It states: “We accept that Britain always will have ethnic minorities and have no problem with this as long as they remain minorities.”

Yet Dr Rob Berkeley from the Runnymede Trust, which campaigns to promote a multi-ethnic Britain, describes Collett’s game and comments as “clearly racist”. He said: “It is more evidence, if it was needed, that the BNP is a racist party, or at minimum a party of racists.”

Collett told Sky News his spoof Pac-Man picture was “simply a joke” and said he did not want to “sort out” Muslims. He said: “The Pac-Man character eats ghosts, but to suggest that anyone in the BNP wants anyone to eat women in burqas is laughable. It’s not suggesting that anyone needs sorting out, it was simply a joke.”

Sky News, 12 November 2009

Muslim lawyer ordered not to wear headscarf at Spanish court

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Spanish female lawyer has filed a complaint against a judge who ordered her to leave the courtroom because she was wearing the Muslim headscarf, press reports said Wednesday.

Moroccan-born Zoubida Barik Edidi, 39, was assisting a colleague at a trial related to Islamist terrorism at the National Court on October 29, when judge Javier Gomez Bermudez told her she could not stay in the room because of the headscarf she was wearing with her gown. Barik replied she had been to other trials with her scarf on. “I am the one who gives orders here,” Gomez Bermudez answered.

Barik has filed a complaint at the judges’ organ CGPJ, accusing Gomez Bermudez of discrimination and abuse of power, and arguing that Spanish law did not prohibit lawyers from covering their heads.

Earth Times, 11 November 2009

Fort Hood and the Clash of Civilizations

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Since the Ft Hood atrocity, I’ve seen a meme going around that it somehow  exposed a contradiction between ‘political correctness’ and ‘security’. The avoidance of Nidal Hassan’s religion out of fear of offending anyone, goes the argument, created the conditions which allowed him to go undetected and unsanctioned in the months and years leading up to his rampage. American security, therefore, demands dropping the ‘political correctness’ of avoiding a confrontation with Islamist ideas and asking the ‘tough questions’ about Islam as a religion and the loyalty of Muslim-Americans. This framing of the issue is almost 100% wrong.”

Marc Lynch’s Foreign Policy blog, 11 November 2009

Dirty tricks campaign against Salma Yaqoob

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Respect Party leader Salma Yaqoob has called in the police after becoming the victim of a dirty tricks campaign apparently targeting white voters. Professionally produced leaflets bearing the Respect logo have been posted to addresses in Moseley, Kings Heath and Balsall Heath bearing a fictitious quotation from Yaqoob saying “I am not big on Britishness.” They also show Muslim protestors in Luton jeering troops on their return from Aghanistan.

Yaqoob, a Sparkbrook councillor and prospective parliamentary candidate for Hall Green, commented: “This isn’t just a personal attack on me, it’s an attack on the whole community and is clearly designed to be divisive.  Anyone who knows me would understand that what whatever my thoughts on the war in Afghanistan, I would never target soldiers for criticism – only politicians.”

The leaflets combine fact with fiction, since they also include another quotation from Yaqoob which is accurate in an obvious attempt to confuse even well read members of its target audience – white voters in the constituency who are sent the leaflets by post.

One person who received a copy was Louise Maycock of Balsall Heath who contacted The Stirrer. “It wasn’t stuffed through my letter box. It was sent to me personally at my home address”, said Louise. “It was inflammatory and specifically designed to whip up Islamophobia.”

When asked if she had any idea who would produce such a leaflet, Yaqoob remarked: “You have to ask yourself who would benefit from these kind of attacks.”

The Stirrer, 10 November 2009