Author Archives: Bob Pitt

Muslim convert not a threat, says judge

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The high court today quashed a control order restricting the movements of a British convert to Islam on the grounds that there was “no reasonable suspicion” that he was planning to travel abroad to engage in terrorist activity.

Cerie Bullivant, 25, from Dagenham, Essex said he was pulled into “the depths of despair” after MI5 alleged that the order was necessary because of suspicions that he planned to travel to Iraq or Afghanistan.

But Mr Justice Collins, sitting at London’s high court, quashed the order, which had been imposed under anti-terrorism laws. He ruled: “There is no reasonable suspicion that establishes that.”

Lawyers for Bullivant had argued that the accusations were “baseless” and that he was the victim of an abuse of power.

Towards the end of last year, Bullivant attempted suicide while being detained in Belmarsh prison.

Guardian, 22 February 2008

Britain did host US torture flights

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We did host US torture flightsBritain did host US torture flights

By Louise Nousratpour

Morning Star, 22 February 2008

FOREIGN Secretary David Miliband made a forced apology yesterday after admitting that an air base on the British territory of Diego Garcia was used by CIA torture flights.

Mr Miliband’s belated admission stood in stark contrast to new Labour’s previous claims that the US had not used British territory or airspace for “rendition” flights.

In the face of credible evidence gathered by human rights organisations, former foreign secretary Jack Straw and former prime minister Tony Blair both flatly denied that rendition flights had touched down on British soil.

In a Commons statement, Mr Miliband told MPs that he was “very sorry” that previous information given by ministers had been “incorrect.”

Details of the two flights, which stopped to refuel at the Indian Ocean island in 2002, were only passed to the government by US authorities last week. Mr Miliband claimed that this was due to an “administration error” on the part of the US. He hailed Washington’s “voluntary” decision to disclose the information as a sign of US commitment to ensuring that it will not happen again.

Campaigners and Labour MPs reacted furiously to the disclosure, warning that the US had “deliberately lied” to the British government and would do it again.

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Qaradawi ban denounced across Muslim world

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Britain’s refusal of visa to cleric sparks anger in Muslim world

BBC Monitoring, 20 February 2008

By Mohamed Shokry

The British government has recently refused an entry visa to prominent Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi on the grounds that he justifies terrorism. The decision, announced on 7 February, has drawn angry reactions from the Muslim world.

Egyptian-born, Qatar-based Al-Qaradawi is widely seen in the Muslim world as a symbol of moderation and advocate of inter-faith dialogue. He is the head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars. Al-Qaradawi visited the UK in 2004 and received a warm welcome from the mayor of London, Ken Livingstone.

The visa refusal decision has been widely viewed by Muslims as motivated by influential lobby groups in Britain.

Decision to widen “gap” between Muslims, British people

Al-Qaradawi, who condemned the 11 September 2001 attacks on the USA, has nevertheless always described attacks carried out by Palestinians as “martyrdom operations”. Al-Qaradawi is banned from entering the USA.

“Britain does not tolerate the presence of a person like Al-Qaradawi on its soil. This is because of his extremist ideas and support of terrorist acts. His presence will cause divisions within society,” a British Home Office spokesman told the pan-Arab London-based daily Al-Sharq al-Awsat.

Some Muslim scholars have warned the British government that the decision may have a bad impact on the relations between Muslims and British people.

“The government should go back on its decision because this harms British interests and Muslims’ feelings. It will widen the gap between us and the British people,” Dr Azzam al-Tamimi, the head of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought, told the Qatar-based pan-Arab TV Al-Jazeera’s “Behind the News” programme on 7 February.

“I am afraid this decision will send the wrong message to Muslims across the world on the British society and its culture,” Muhammad Abd-al-Bari, chief of the Muslim Council of Britain, commented following the decision.

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Muslim leader decries American ‘bigotry’ against Islam

Posted on by Bob Pitt

American culture’s view of American Muslims and Islam is steadily deteriorating under an onslaught of “bigotry” on cable news shows, newspaper op-ed pages and in the blogosphere, an Arab-American activist told an audience at Tulane University here Tuesday. That’s a significant shift, said Hussein Ibish, founder of the Foundation for Arab-American Leadership in Washington, D.C.

Since 9/11, he said, commentators such as Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Charles Krauthammer, Daniel Pipes and David Horowitz have transferred old anti-Arab stereotypes to Islam, in a stream of “incredibly bigoted commentary” that would not have been tolerated before then.

In this context, Ibish said, the West sees Islam as bent on its destruction and American Muslims as suspected allies who cannot credibly deny otherwise. Thus, ethnic profiling becomes reasonable and forced internment or mandatory identification of Muslims becomes a potential remedy, he said.

While most of the anti-Islamic rhetoric comes from the right, it occasionally comes from the left as well, he said.

Finally, a student of American popular culture would find that anti-Islamic rhetoric sounds vaguely familiar, Ibish said. That’s because in tone and substance it almost exactly tracks the anti-Semitic messages that filled American culture between the world wars.

USA Today, 21 February 2008

Campaigners to protest against racist Express coverage

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Anti-racism campaigners will protest outside the offices of the right-wing Daily Express newspaper today over the paper’s incessant attacks on refugees and Muslims.

The protest has been called in response to inflammatory headlines such as “Over 860 migrants flood in every day,” “Migrants send our crime rate soaring” and “Soft touch Britain: You pay £21m benefits to migrant workers.”

The lunchtime protest has been organised by Media Workers Against the War, Stop the War Coalition, Stop the War Muslim Activists Network and the British Muslim Initiative.

A Media Workers Against the War spokesman said that the headlines in pornographer Richard Desmond’s papers and the stories that go with them “twist flimsy, inadequate and misleading ‘evidence’ in order to pander to prejudice. They do nothing to inform Express readers. On the contrary, they incite race hatred,” he said.

Stop the War Coalition spokesman Chris Nineham added that such “disgusting attacks” on Muslims are a threat both to the Muslim community and to all those who value civil liberties.

The protest will take place from 12.30-2pm outside the Northern & Shell Building, 10 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R.

Morning Star, 21 February 2008

Resisting Islamic law

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“Westerners opposed to the application of the Islamic law (the Shari’a) watch with dismay as it goes from strength to strength in their countries – harems increasingly accepted, a church leader endorsing Islamic law, a judge referring to the Koran, clandestine Muslim courts meting out justice. What can be done to stop the progress of this medieval legal system so deeply at odds with modern life, one that oppresses women and turns non-Muslims into second-class citizens?”

Daniel Pipes poses the question.

Jerusalem Post, 20 February 2008

March today over Qaradawi visa

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Qaradawi 5DOHA — While supporters of Qatar-based Islamic scholar Dr Yousuf Al Qaradawi have announced to protest in front of the British embassy this afternoon, a senior official of the embassy said here yesterday that the mission is welcoming any “peaceful protest”.

The protest plan follows the recent denial of entry visa for Qaradawi to the UK. “We recognize people’s right to protest peacefully and we have no problem about that,” Roddy Drummond, Head of Mission told the press yesterday.

Asked why Qaradawi was denied the visa, he said, “It was a decision by the British government and the reason was conveyed to Qaradawi.”

“We will inform our government about the demonstration but we can’t say whether it would make any change in their decision,” he added.

The official said the embassy had no security concerns arising from the demonstration plan. “We believe it will be a peaceful protest and we have full trust on the Qatari law enforcing authorities,” said Drummond, adding that the mission had not requested any special security arrangements.

The Peninsula, 20 February 2008

JP back on bench after veil uproar

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The magistrate reprimanded for refusing to deal with a Muslim woman because she was wearing a veil says he is delighted to have returned to sit on the bench.

Ian Murray, of Bath Crescent, Cheadle Hulme, was back at Manchester Crown Court last week following an absence of more than six months. But he says the furore surrounding his decision to walk out when faced with niqab-wearing Zoobia Hussain – who subsequently complained – has not diminished his appetite to be part of the judicial process.

He is currently awaiting the outcome of his own complaint over the treatment he received during a probe into his actions, which resulted in a formal reprimand and training on “appropriate judicial guidelines”.

Stockport Express, 20 February 2008

Pigs’ heads left at mosque site in Sweden

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Pigs' heads at Gothenburg mosque site

Göteborgs-Posten reports that severed pig’s heads were left in Ramberget at a site where the construction of a new mosque is planned. Bachar Ghanoum of the Swedish Muslim Foundation is quoted as saying that the anti-Muslim climate has grown worse and people now openly express bigoted views that they previously kept to themselves. He says that he regularly receives hostile letters and phone calls.