Author Archives: Bob Pitt

Ehsan Jami joins Wilders’ party

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Amsterdam — A Dutch self-declared ex-Muslim and critic of Islam has joined the rightist Freedom Party PVV which is also highly critical of Islam, its party leader confirmed Thursday.

Iranian-born Ehsan Jami, 24, may run for a council seat in The Hague in the upcoming local elections in 2010. Or, he may try to enter parliament following the general elections in 2011, PVV leader Geert Wilders said. “I think he prefers parliament,” Wilders said, adding Jami was someone “with guts and interesting viewpoints.”

Jami, born and raised in Iran, previously was a council member for left-wing Labour in Leidschendam-Voorburg near The Hague. In the spring of 2007 he established a committee for former Muslims demanding Muslims’ right to renounce their faith.

In September of that year he wrote an op-ed essay together with Freedom Party leader Wilders in the national daily Volkskrant, in which they compared Mohammed with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Labour subsequently expelled Jami from the party, but he continued as an independent councilman in Leidschendam-Voorburg. Both the liberal VVD and the Freedom Party tried to recruit Jami in the following months.

DPA, 1 October 2009

‘Fierce public opposition’ to expansion of Muslim burial ground

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Waltham Forest Muslim Burial TrustWaltham Forest’s Muslim burial ground will see two new buildings and a new carpark constructed despite fierce public opposition.

Dozens of angry residents packed the public gallery at last night’s (Tuesday) planning meeting. They voiced concerns over the disturbance that could be caused by the new buildings, which include a hall for funeral services, as well as a new 82-space carpark.

Concerns were also raised over the number of amendments made to the application since 2007 as well as the possible risk of flooding on the site. But the Environment Agency has said it is satisfied the flood risk has been resolved and officers insisted changes to the application were minor.

Run by the Waltham Forest Muslim Burial Trust, permission had already been given to extend the burial ground but was halted by a Sport England project. Cllr Midge Broadley said: “That permission still remains. To me, it’s quite obvious it will need service facilities. Most cemeteries have a carpark, so the principle of a carpark has got to be accepted.”

Officers also deemed the new use of the site to be in keeping with its status as green belt land. Permission has now been granted on the condition the new buildings are sustainable and energy efficient.

Waltham Forest Guardian, 30 September 2009

Posted in UK

Calling the EDL what it is

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Luton riotNick Lowles of Searchlight reports that he has been inundated with indignant emails from English Defence League supporters objecting to his description of them as “hooligans”. Perhaps Nick should be grateful they’re not threatening to take him to court for libel. But his reply to the EDL’s complaints is spot on:

“Nearly all their key people are football hooligans – many with related convictions and banning orders. Most of the people they are mobilising around the country are from the football hooligan networks. I do not call the EDL a fascist organisation because it is not (though this doesn’t make any less dangerous and of course there are many active fascists within it and at a senior level) but organically linked and driven by football hooligans it is. I should also add racist and Islamophobic as well.”

Hope Not Hate blog, 30 September 2009

Certainly a more accurate understanding of the character of the EDL than that shown by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

Fathima Bary, Islam and apostasy

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An emotional Fathima Rifqa Bary – whose personal writings reveal that she wants to be a modern day prophet – said of her parents:

“My parents are Muslim… I don’t know if you know about honor killing… They have to kill me… Because if they love Allah more than me, they have to do it. It’s in the Quran. And you can, like, give them knowledge about it [gestures to someone off camera, who says something unintelligible].”

It seems that Fathima’s understanding of the Quran comes from whomever she pointed to, who I can only assume is her pastor (or pastor’s underling more likely). A few more dry runs could have perfected the performance. She just had to memorize a few verses to prove her claim:

13:6 If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend, which is as your own soul entice you secretly, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods,” which you have not known not you, nor your fathers;

13:7 Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, near to you, or far off from you, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;

13:8 You shall not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall your eye pity him, neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him:

13:9 But you must surely kill him; your hand must be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

13:10 And you must stone him with stones, that he die; because he has sought to thrust you away from the LORD your God.

Well, that’s pretty damning evidence right there. That sounds a lot like “honor” killing: “If your brother…or your son or your daughter….entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and worship other gods’…You must kill him…you must stone him with stones, that he die.” Well, if that’s in the Quran, then we better ban all Muslim immigration to America!

But before we call Homeland Security, I hope you don’t mind if I check the Quran to verify if those verses exist. [Flipping through pages of Quran] Hmmm, can’t seem to find it.

Oh wait, *smacks forehead*, I remember now where those verses are from. Ahh yes, they are from the Bible (Deuteronomy, 13:6-10). There are of course many other Biblical verses in the same vein, such as 2 Chronicles 15:13 which reads: “All who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.”

Oopsie doopsie! Maybe it’s not such a good idea to randomly quote someone else’s scripture or medieval texts without any context as a proof to demonize a people or to fear monger.

LoonWatch, 28 September 2009

Scottish Defence League demo opposed by police

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Scotland’s largest police force has promised to “oppose” a demonstration by anti-Muslim extremists if the event is intent on stirring up racial hatred. It is the SDL’s intention to hold a demonstration in Scotland on November 14 that is worrying local authorities, police and community activists.

Authorities believe the SDL has earmarked George Square in Glasgow or land near the city’s sheriff court building as possible locations for the demonstration. The latter venue is close to Glasgow Central mosque, a focal point for Strathclyde’s 30,000 Muslims. Another option being considered for the protest, according to websites used by EDL supporters, is the Hillhead Tavern in Kilmarnock. Al-Huda Educational Society of Kilmarnock has hopes of buying the pub and turning it into Ayrshire’s first mosque.

However, the Sunday Herald understands that Strathclyde Police are ready to oppose any application for a rally that stirs up racial tensions. Inspector Brian Gibson reportedly told a public meeting in Glasgow last week that such a proposal would not be welcomed by his force.

Groups need a local council’s permission if a rally requires the use of a “public space”, such as George Square, or if a procession involves road closures. It is at the point of a formal application that a police force can advise a local authority on whether an event should take place.

Osama Saeed, chief executive of the Scottish Islamic Foundation, said: “We congratulate Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde Police for the stance that they’ve taken on the SDL. The likelihood is, though, that even if banned there will be an illegal protest. We have to be ready for that. Some sort of action against this protest is inevitable and necessary, though it is essential that it is peaceful.”

A police spokesperson said: “A police officer in attendance at the [public] meeting stated if an application was received from a group whom we believe were intent on causing racial hatred on the streets, then Strathclyde Police would oppose it.” A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said he was not aware of an SDL application having been made yet.

Sunday Herald, 27 September 2009

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EDL not extreme rightwing group, claims Met commissioner

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The significance of the far right should not be “overplayed” after clashes between anti-Islamic groups and Asian youths, the head of Scotland Yard warned on Thursday.

Far-right protests in Birmingham, Luton and Harrow had caused distress to Muslim communities, said Sir Paul Stephenson, commissioner of the Metropolitan police, “and I anticipate further problems”.

But he said: “We’ve got to be very careful to keep the problem in context and not to overplay [the far right’s] significance and give them an oxygen that serves their purpose.”

Sir Paul told the Metropolitan Police Authority the EDL and Stop the Islamisation of Europe were not viewed as extreme rightwing groups and could not be barred from protesting under the law that bans incitement to racial hatred.

Financial Times, 25 September 2009

What Stephenson told the MPA, in response to a question about the SIOE/EDL demonstration against Harrow Central Mosque, was that the EDL “per se are not viewed as an extreme right wing group in the accepted sense and have the right to protest”.

Board of Deputies and CST call on government to boycott MCB

Posted on by Bob Pitt

In a joint statement to the Department of Communities and Local Government, the Board of Deputies and the Community Security Trust have demanded that the government must make any future engagement with the Muslim Council of Britain “contingent on them representing a greater range of views than those of the Islamists, and firmly rejecting violence in all circumstances, including in overseas conflicts”.

Jewish Chronicle, 24 September 2009

See the reponse by ENGAGE, who write:

“We wonder what the BoD would think if UK Muslims were to write to the CLG demanding that the government break off relations with them until they represent a wider base of British Jewish opinion than they currently do as a condition to government engagement with it? And what if the MCB were to lambast the BoD leadership as ‘Zionist’, in the same way that the BoD calls the MCB’s views ‘Islamist’? …

“During Israel’s criminal aggression against Gaza – now widely recognised as war crimes – the BoD supported a rally in Trafalgar Square in support of Israel. The question to be asked now is whether, given the extensive documentation (Breaking the Silence, Amnesty International, UN) of Israeli war crimes in Gaza, the BoD itself should be critiqued for its allegiance to a state guilty of perpetrating them?”

Update:  See also ENGAGE’s letter to the JC.

EDL claims it has Muslims’ support (yes, really)

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL NoMoreMosquesThe English Defence League last night claimed it had been swamped with messages of support from all races. And the masked men also said followers of Islam had contacted the EDL after the group produced a video proclaiming it is “anti-fascist”.

Yesterday the Daily Star revealed exclusive photos of the group’s swastika-burning video, which was its response to critics who say the organisation’s true motives can be compared to the Nazis.

The EDL said its campaign is only against hate-preaching fanatics, terrorists and Sharia Law. It says it has wrongly been linked with the far-right and BNP and only calls for integration. It said moderate Muslims were welcome in the country.

Daily Star, 24 September 2009

Update:  See also “Richard Desmond and the far-right”, Tabloid Watch, 27 September 2009

Muslim prayer rally at Capitol Hill provokes hysteria from Christian Right

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Richard Bartholomew has the details.

Update:  See also Washington Post, 25 September 2009

The Rev. Canon Julian Dobbs, leader of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, is quoted as warning that the Islam on Capitol Hill event is “part of a well-defined strategy to Islamize American society and replace the Bible with the Koran, the cross with the Islamic crescent and the church bells with the Athan”.