Category Archives: Anti-Muslim violence

BNP candidate posted threats of violence on Facebook page

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Susan-HarwoodA BNP candidate has been displaying highly offensive material that advocates violence against members of a Muslim organisation on her Facebook site. Politicians from mainstream parties have condemned Susan Harwood, a BNP candidate in Torfaen at next week’s National Assembly election.

The material, which uses abusive four-letter language about a group called Muslims Against Crusades, was featured on Ms Harwood’s Facebook site, but has since been removed. The Conservative candidate in Torfaen is Natasha Asghar, a Muslim.

Labour’s Lynne Neagle, who has represented the seat since the Assembly was formed and is seeking re-election, said: “This is outrageous behaviour by someone who pretends to be a respectable candidate in a democratic election. It’s one thing to oppose an organisation’s views, but her actions go far beyond legitimate criticism.

“It is totally unacceptable that BNP candidates continue to behave like this. People across Wales should know that a vote for the BNP is a vote for thugs and racists of the worst sort. If the BNP had a shred of decency, they would drop Susan Harwood as a candidate.”

Welsh Conservative candidate for North Wales and vice-president of the anti-fascist group Searchlight Cymru, Mark Isherwood said: “These appalling and offensive comments show the BNP in their true colours. People across Wales will deplore these racist and bigoted comments … and I am confident that the BNP will be defeated at the ballot box.”

Ian Titherington, director of elections for Plaid Cymru, said: “The BNP is struggling for candidates and scraping the barrel.”

Wales Online, 28 April 2011

Hooligan avoids jail after throwing bottle during EDL protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL Nuneaton September 2010A man who took aim with a bottle as English Defence League supporters clashed with young Asians during an army parade has escaped being jailed – despite being sentenced for affray days before the clash.

Daniel Groves, 23, of Kettlewell Close, Warwick, pleaded guilty at the crown court in Leamington to a charge of affray and was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years. He was given 18 months supervision, banned from all pubs and clubs for three months and made subject to a 8pm to 6am electronic-tag curfew for the same period.

The court heard that Groves had convictions for affray and public order offences and four days before the clash had been given a community sentence for an affray in Warwick town centre.

Prosecutor Vicki Lofrese said in September the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers were on parade in Nuneaton when police spotted English Defence League (EDL) supporters heading towards a pub.

She said: “Large banners were being paraded and slogans shouted from members of that group, including ‘I am English ’til I die’ and ‘St George in my heart’. Police saw a group of about 20 in the drinking area outside singing the same slogans and ‘Taliban scum’ as a group of young Asian men began to congregate outside.”

As the tension mounted and police struggled to keep them apart, Groves was spotted throwing the bottle, which smashed near the Asian youths, and he was arrested after a struggle.

Leamington Courier, 23 April 2011

Springfield: community backs Islamic Center against threats

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Vandalism and threats aimed at a local Muslim community have inspired others in Springfield to stand with the Muslims and in opposition to bigotry. Representatives of faith groups, human rights advocates and city government will join members of the Islamic Center of Springfield on Saturday afternoon to speak against recent incidents at the center and for religious freedom.

Carl Haworth with the Interfaith Alliance, which organized the event, said “everyone who supports religious freedom” is invited to join. “We want to show that we feel everyone has the right to be here as long as they want to contribute to the Springfield community and make this their home,” said Haworth.

City Councilman Bob Stephens said representatives from the city will be on hand. “Because those acts of vandalism were so despicable, we felt there definitely needs to be some representation from the city,” he said. “Springfield is not like this.”

George Davis, president of the city’s Human Rights Commission, said Saturday’s event will “show unity in diversity”. “Our community has people of many faiths and cultures,” he said. “We want to make it clear bigotry will not be tolerated through displays of actions.”

Francine Pratt, president of the local chapter of the NAACP – National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – said the civil rights organization will also be represented. “We want to show them that we love them and embrace them,” she said. “We have to stick up for what’s right.”

Members of the Islamic Center will be on hand to greet the community visitors.

“The wide range of response from the community at all levels … is very profound,” said Wafaa Kaf with the center and a member of the Interfaith Alliance. “All, from the ground up and from top down, agreed upon a call to action in response to hate crimes, burning the holy Quran, and the threatening letter against Islam and Muslim community of Springfield.

“The crowd wants to show that they, ‘average citizens,’ are united, and that such hatred actions against Islam are not welcome in our community, which promotes mutual respect and trust between interfaith groups. Every one of us is adding a hand toward shaping a better community.”

News-Leader, 22 April 2011

Vandals desecrate Muslim graves in High Wycombe

Posted on by Bob Pitt

High Wycombe Cemetery broken gravestone

Vandals have attacked 20 Muslim graves at a cemetery in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Headstones were pushed over and ornaments from the graves strewn around the cemetery in Hampden Road. The graves were vandalised between 2100 BST on Wednesday and 0800 BST on Thursday.

Thames Valley Police said it took the incident extremely seriously and was supporting families and the community as well as hunting the vandals. Supt Gilbert Houalla said:

“I am disgusted that these people could be so thoughtless and cowardly and cannot believe that anyone could do something so unbelievably shocking to the graves of loved ones. The community should feel reassured that we take incidents of this nature extremely seriously and will be doing all that we can to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

“It appears that the vandals have specifically desecrated Muslim graves and I am at a loss as to what was going through the minds of those involved. This is not only an attack on the Muslim community but is an attack on us all. We must now all work together to find whoever has done this.”

BBC News, 22 April 2011

See also Bucks Free Press, 21 April 2011

For the likely inspiration behind the attack see here, here and here.

Update:  See “Community outcry after Muslim graves desecrated in High Wycombe”, Bucks Free press, 24 April 2011

Gang of schoolgirls attack Muslim woman wearing headscarf

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A gang of schoolgirls attacked a Muslim woman after mocking her for wearing a headscarf. Four teenage girls, two wearing school uniform, kicked and knocked the woman to the ground before trying to remove the item of religious dress during the incident in North Cheam between 7pm and 9pm on Wednesday, April 13.

The 26-year-old was walking along Stonecot Hill towards London Road, near the territorial army centre, when she noticed she was being followed by the girls, who were teasing her about her headscarf. One of the girls kicked her, before she crossed the road in an attempt to get away. The girls caught up with the victim, kicked her again, and during a struggle to remove the victim’s headscarf, kicked her again after she fell to the ground.

The attackers fled after a car pulled over to help the woman. The driver then took the woman home.

Police are now appealing for information to catch those responsible. One of the girls is described as 5ft 7in tall, of medium build with long blonde hair extending to her mid-back, and wearing a white shirt and navy skirt school uniform. Another wearing the same uniform was 5ft 6in tall, with dyed red hair. A third is described as Eastern European in appearance with small eyes.

Anyone with information should call Sutton Police Station on 0300 123 1212 and ask for the Community Safety Unit quoting reference number 4004250/11.

Sutton Guardian, 21 April 2011

CAIR: Georgia mosque targeted by hate vandalism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today called on state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate two apparently bias-motivated attacks on a Georgia mosque as hate crimes.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says vandals twice this month shattered doors and windows of the Islamic Center of Cartersville with rocks, one of which was reportedly painted with “Muslim murderers”. Local police are investigating the incidents and the FBI has been “asked to determine if the attacks fall under federal hate crime laws”.

“The hate message on a rock used to damage this mosque is a clear indication of a bias motive,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “State law enforcement authorities and the FBI should take whatever actions are necessary to protect the congregation’s right to worship without fear of attack.”

CAIR press release, 19 April 2011

Scotland and the veil

Posted on by Bob Pitt

When a gang of youths launched a terrifying attack on a young Scottish Muslim family in broad daylight, the victims were left in no doubt about why they were targeted: the veil. Glasgow-born Samina Ansari and her loved ones were assaulted because she was wearing a traditional Islamic hijab, which covers the hair, but not the face.

It happened last year, when Ansari, her husband and their baby were driving along a main road. The gang, armed with bricks and chains and accompanied by a snarling dog, surrounded the car, shouting “get the Paki bastards” and “go back to your own country”, before attempting to smash the car windows.

Samina locked the doors while her husband frantically dialled 999, fearing for the safety of the baby in the back seat. One man brought the chain down on to the windscreen, while another tried to smash in through the passenger window. Luckily, the young Muslim mother was able to speed off when the men moved away from the front of the car.

“It was racist,” she said. “But it was also Islamophobic. It only lasted a minute-and-a-half, but the trauma lingered for months. I felt too scared to go out walking with my baby in a pram. It was horrible.”

The trauma of the attack pushed Samina into launching a campaign to educate the Scottish public about the veil and Muslim women’s decision to wear it. She accepts she faces an uphill struggle. Across Europe, hostility is growing against this most visible sign of Islamic faith, with many seeing it as provocative and political, or a sign of male oppression and the subservience of women.

Samina Ansari and the charity she works for, Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Centre, have made a documentary, Hijab – The Light Behind the Veil, to promote their reasons for wearing the hijab and describing the prejudice they face for donning a veil on a day-to-day basis.

At the launch of the film, politicians, police officers and community leaders gathered to watch it in the hope of gaining a greater understanding of Muslim women’s faith. The film will be distributed to public bodies to help teach state officials about the veil in the words of Islamic women.

Sunday Herald, 17 April 2011

Unfortunately, presumably in the interest of “balance”, the report finds it necessary to quote mad Maryam Namazie of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran on the veil:

“Is wearing it a choice for women, given you have an Islamic movement gaining political power and making it compulsory wherever they can? … I think the full-face-covering niqab should be banned. We also need to stand up to Islamism’s demands to restrict rights for citizens in society.”

Montreal: Muslims call for crack down on hate crime after repeated attacks on mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) is calling for harsher penalties and zero tolerance for hate crimes in the wake of an attack last week on a Dorval mosque.

“It is indeed distressing that in a pluralistic and multicultural society such as ours, we have religious institutions being targeted again and again in crimes of hate and violence,” Salam Elmenyawi, president of MCM, said on Saturday. “These attacks go against the very Canadian values and principles that we are all committed to and must be condemned in the strongest terms.”

Elmenyawi’s comments follow an overnight break-in last Monday at a mosque at the corner of Neptune Blvd. and Nightingale Ave. in Dorval. The intruders broke in through a fire exit door and stole a computer and fired steel bolts through a couple of windows. In 2009, the mosque was vandalized four times, usually with graffiti painted on walls. The last time it was vandalized was in September 2009.

Montreal Gazette, 16 April 2011

Possible case of arson at Islamic Center of North Detroit

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Detroit mosque fireThe fire, smoke and water damage is visible in a classroom and prayer area of a Detroit mosque. Smoke and flames were seen coming from the Islamic Center of North Detroit on North McDougall around noon on April first.

No one was hurt, but an insurance investigator who came to check out the damage immediately became suspicious. “I have a feeling that the fire did not start accidentally,” said insurance investigator Michael Roarty. “Just based upon the examination of the burn patterns that were up there.” He called the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Agents took samples and looked for evidence on the roof of the building where it’s believed the fire started.

“It would be a big tragedy if someone either inside this neighborhood or outside came to put a mosque on fire,” said Dawud Walid with the Council on American-Islamic Relations Michigan.

In the wake of the fire, daily prayer services have been moved to a nearby school. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the suspected arsonist.

WJBK, 14 April 2011

Iranian student attacked in UK over hijab

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Zahra Kazemi SalehAn Iranian Muslim girl has reportedly come under attack in Britain after refusing to remove her hijab amid a new wave of Islamophobia in Western countries.

The incident occurred on Wednesday when London resident Zahra Kazemi Saleh was attacked by four young British women as she was going home from school, Tabnak reported on Thursday.

The Iranian member of the Muslim Student Council was attacked in broad daylight by the girls who did not like Zahra’s refusal to take off her hijab. Zahra sustained facial injuries in the encounter, which is not the first act of violence against a Muslim in Europe.

London’s Muslim Student Council condemned the attack, and blamed the British government for supporting the spread of Islamophobic opinions in the country.

Press TV, 15 April 2011