Category Archives: Anti-Muslim violence

Psychiatric tests for mosque bomb threat man

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Neil MacGregorA man who threatened to blow up Glasgow Central Mosque has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment. Neil MacGregor also threatened to kill a Muslim a day until all mosques in Scotland were closed.

At Glasgow Sheriff Court, Sheriff Andrew Mackie told the 36-year-old he appeared to be suffering from mental illness. McGregor will appear again in four weeks time after being assessed at Murray Royal Hospital in Perth.

MacGregor admitted telephoning and e-mailing Strathclyde Police to make the threats from a flat in Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow, between January and February 2007. The court heard that the e-mail read:

“I’m a proud racist and National Front member. We as an organisation have decided to deal with the current threat from Muslims in our own British way, like our proud ancestors. Our demands are very small. Close all mosques in Scotland. If our demands aren’t met by next Friday, we’ll kidnap one Muslim and execute him or her on the internet, just like they did to our Ken Bigley.”

MacGregor then followed up the e-mail with a call threatening to blow up Central Mosque.

Ordering McGregor to undergo a psychiatric assessment, Sheriff Mackie told him: “It has been clear for some time your mental health has been causing concern. This may be related to you having previously served in the forces, although doubt has arisen as to whether you actually served in a combat zone.”

BBC News, 3 July 2009

Meanwhile the Financial Times reports that Sir Norman Bettison, chief constable of West Yorkshire police, has told a security conference in London: “There is a growing right-wing threat, not just Al-Qaeda.” And a spokeswoman for Searchlight is quoted as saying that police forces were paying increased attention to the threat but courts too often dismissed those caught as deluded loners. “Far-right terrorism is a serious problem. The courts have not always treated it so,” she said.

Belfast Islamic Centre receives far-right racist threats

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Members of a south Belfast Islamic community centre are in fear of being attacked after it was targeted by a threatening racist letter from a loyalist far-right organisation this week.

The Belfast Islamic Centre on Wellington Park was among organisations, businesses and politicians in south Belfast that have received racist threats over the last few days.

The Islamic Centre, established in 1978 by a group of Muslims from the local community, received a threatening letter on Monday claiming to be from a loyalist far-right organisation stating: “Keep Northern Ireland for white British people.”

Muhammad al-Qaryooti, the centre’s director, said the letter was extremely racist. “The letter said they had ‘no sympathy for foreigners — get out of the Queen’s country’,” said Mr al-Qaryooti.

Belfast Telegraph, 1 July 2009

Police and media accused of double standards over anti-Muslim violence

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Scottish man who describes himself as a “proud racist” has admitted threatening to bomb Glasgow Central Mosque and engage in targeted killings of Muslims. Neil MacGregor has been convicted of a breach of the peace but there has been surprise in some quarters that he was not charged with terrorist offences. Critics have also said that the case would have attracted considerably more media interest if the man’s motivation had been Islamic rather than anti-Islamic.

In an email to Strathclyde police, MacGregor demanded the closure of all mosques in Scotland, threatening to kidnap and behead one Muslim each week if this demand were not met. He later called police to say that he had planted a nail bomb in Glasgow Central Mosque but police found nothing suspicious after evacuating 100 worshippers. MacGregor pleaded guilty and has been remanded in custody but sentencing was deferred yesterday by Glasgow Sherriff Court.

Comparisons have been made with the case of the Islamic militant Mohammed Atif Siddique, who was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in 2007 for collecting and circulating terrorist material. Siddique’s lawyer Aamer Anwar, suggested this week that the authorities would bring terrorism charges against Muslims but not against white racists.

However, a spokesperson for the Crown Office insisted that “The facts of the case made it clear that this was a hoax bomb threat which was racially aggravated. There was no evidence of terrorist motivation or intention.”

Osama Saeed of the Scottish Islamic Foundation responded by saying “It’s all too easy to dismiss MacGregor as a fantasist and lunatic – many of the Muslims convicted of terror offences could be similarly described.”

Saeed, who is also the Scottish National Party’s prospective Parliamentary candidate for Glasgow Central, criticised the lack of media coverage. “Imagine if a Scottish Muslim pleaded guilty to threatening to blow up Glasgow Cathedral and behead one Christian a week until all British troops were pulled out of Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said. “It would be splashed over every newspaper in the land.”

But the story has spread quickly in online discussions, not only amongst Muslims. “I just feel angry that a chance to convince the Muslim community that there is no bias against them has fallen flat on its face” wrote the Christian blogger Graham Martin yesterday. “This whole situation might actually be used to justify further violence.”

Ekklesia, 20 June 2009

Greenwich Islamic Centre petrol bombed twice in a week

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Mohamed KoheealleeA brave caretaker was hurt as he risked his life to save a mosque torched by arsonists in the second petrol bomb attack in a week.

Mohamed Koheeallee, 62, raced to tackle 7ft flames at the Greenwich Islamic Centre in Plumstead Road at 12.15am on Tuesday. Grabbing a bucket of water, he extinguished the fire as it spread inside but when he opened a fire exit, he was engulfed by flames burning his arm and his face.

Choking with smoke inhalation and despite his injuries, he carried on dousing the fire until the mosque was safe but when he tried to tackle the source of the blaze he was pushed back by its intensity.

Holy texts, including the most sacred in Islam – the Koran – were burned.

Mr Koheeallee, who believes the attack was racially motivated, was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance to be treated for smoke inhalation and burns and was later discharged. He said: “It makes me feel really bad to see the burnt holy scriptures. If these people have a problem they should be brave enough to say it to my face, but not like this.”

The caretaker had also dealt with another arson attack at the mosque which had been less serious but had taken place a week before at approximately the same time of night.

The centre’s director, Dr Tariq Abbasi, said “enough is enough,” and has called on the new Greenwich borough commander Richard Wood to take action.

Dr Abbasi said: “This is as bad as it can get. Nobody deserves this. Seeing burnt copies of the Koran, the emotional impact has been devastating.  Monetary loss is one thing, the building can be re-built, but the emotional scars can last for years. The Muslim community see this as a racist attack on a place of worship.”

He said a racist minority may have been encouraged after BNP members won seats in the European elections.

Bexley Times, 17 June 2009

Via ENGAGE  See also Asian Image, 18 June 2009

In the European elections the four London boroughs in which the BNP registered its highest votes were Barking & Dagenham 19.3%, Havering 14%, Bexley 12.3% and Greenwich 8.4%.

Update:  See “CCTV images released after Mosque fire”, Bexley Times, 31 July 2009

Police appeal for witnesses after Stortford mosque attack

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Police are today (Thursday, June 11) appealing for witnesses and information following a racially aggravated assault and criminal damage at Bishop’s Stortford’s mosque.

On Monday, April 25 at around 9pm a group of about five men approached the Islamic cultural centre at Millars 2, off Southmill Road, and had a verbal altercation before one of them punched a community member and smashed a window. They returned shortly after and there was a further confrontation.

Sgt Keith Cassells, investigating, said: “We are appealing for anyone who was in the area at the time who may have seen these men or the altercation take place to contact police on 0845 3300222.

“This was an unprovoked incident which has been distressing for all those involved. Bishop’s Stortford Neighbourhood Team is working closely with the community members at the mosque and will be increasing patrols in the area.”

Alternatively, call Crimestoppers free and in confidence on 0800 555111.

Two men, a 30-year-old and a 26-year-old, both from Bishop’s Stortford, have been arrested and released on police bail until June 22.

Herts & Essex Observer, 11 June 2009

Hate messages sprayed on California mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Cypress mosqueA Southern California mosque was vandalized with graffiti including expletives and threats early Thursday, shortly after President Barack Obama’s address in Egypt to the Muslim world.

A police officer on patrol at 4 a.m. spotted the hate messages painted on the front wall of the Islamic Center of Cypress, said Sgt. Tom Bruce. The paint was still wet, he said.

Rusty Kennedy, executive director of the Orange County Human Relations Commission, said the graffiti was about 4 feet or 5 feet tall and spread over up to 30 feet of the wall.

In an e-mail to Muslim-American community leaders, Kennedy reported that the graffiti read in part: “We will kill you all” and “U.S. military is going to kill you all.”

Kennedy said it was likely the graffiti was prompted by Obama’s outreach to the Middle East. The vandalism occurred about an hour after Obama’s speech at Cairo University in Egypt aired live on the West Coast.

“I think that in the realm of hate crime you see there is often a reactionary element to it, so the Obama initiative … may very well have been what triggered this hate crime,” he said.

Associated Press, 4 June 2009

Thug demands ‘what’s your religion’ before launching racist attack

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A man has told of a “horrifying” attack during which a group of friends were racially abused by a gang wielding baseball bats and golf clubs. One man was physically attacked by the group, leaving him with back injuries.

One of his friends told BBC Scotland that they had been approached by a man while they were in an Edinburgh garden. The man made racially abusive comments towards the four men, who were of Asian origin, before returning with a group of friends to carry out the attack.

The 21-year-old man who was injured in the attack Monday night was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for treatment and released the following day.

One of the Asian men, who wants to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals, told BBC Scotland about the incident. He said the group of friends had been in the garden in East Pilton Farm Avenue when a man passed and asked them their religion.

“One of my friends said we were Pakistanis and he suddenly started being abusive about Pakistanis and Asians,” he said. “My friend said: ‘Please leave this place, we are having a good time, I want you to have a good time, take care of yourself’, but he couldn’t stop. He went away for about 15 minutes and came back with four of his friends and they were shouting leave our country, which is quite horrifying.”

He said the men then started hitting his friend with a golf club and baseball bats. The man said he was able to pull his friend into his flat. The gang smashed a glass door, but fled when police were called. The man said his 21-year-old friend was still in “a lot of pain”.

BBC News, 3 June 2009

Resisting extremism in Luton

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Anti-Al-Muhajiroun-protest2Farasat Latif was taking his daughter to school when he found out that the mosque he ran in Luton had been firebombed by right-wing extremists.

In the middle of the night two men in a stolen silver BMW had driven up to the Masjid Al Ghurabaa in the Bury Park area and poured petrol through a side window before making their getaway.

The anger that Mr Latif felt following that fire on 4 May could have been directed solely at the bigots who set his mosque alight. But the people he was most furious with were a motley collection of 15 to 20 young men who regularly preached a radical and intolerant brand of Islam from a street stall down the road and had helped foster the image that Luton was an Islamist stronghold.

Two weeks earlier those same men – most of whom are former members of the banned Islamist group Al Muhajiroun – had greeted soldiers of the Royal Anglian regiment who were returning from Iraq with screams of abuse and placards declaring them “Butchers of Basra”, “murderers” and “baby-killers”.

The protest outraged whole swaths of Britain, not least Luton’s 25,000 Muslims who knew all too well that their town would once again be associated with extremism.

Once the Masjid Al Ghurabaa was firebombed, in what police suspect was a retaliatory hate attack, Mr Latif sadly concluded that Luton’s ordinary Muslims were paying the price for the actions of the “Al Muhajiroun boys”. Which is why he decided to act against them. Shortly after Friday prayers last week he and 300 supporters marched down to Dunstable Road where the sect often set up their stall and told them in no uncertain terms that they were no longer welcome in Luton.

Mr Latif hopes that their decision to turn on the extremists within their own community will now prompt Luton’s white community to do the same. “I believe people on all sides are sick of the extremists,” he said. “I now hope the white working class will weed out the fascists and hate mongers just like we now have. Otherwise things will only get worse.”

Independent, 3 June 2009

Read Islamic Centre statement (pdf) here.

‘No Sharia’ demonstrators riot in Luton

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Luton riotNine people have been arrested after hundreds of anti-Islamist protesters clashed with police yesterday. The streets of Luton descended into violence after demonstrators, many hiding their faces behind balaclavas, brandished England flags and chanted at officers.

A group called March for England was said to have organised the rally as a peaceful protest against Muslim extremists. They were joined by a local group United People of Luton.

The mob, which included teenagers and women, held banners with slogans such as “No Sharia Law in the UK” and “Respect our Troops”. Some protesters wore masks with the horned face of Sayful Islam, a hardline Muslim activist in Luton who took part in an anti-war rally in March, which disrupted a homecoming parade for troops.

But chaos broke out when a crowd of around 500 ran away from police who had been escorting the protest along its route, and ran down side streets towards the town centre. Officers on horseback and police dogs were deployed, and policemen drew batons to defend themselves.

Groups of young men in balaclavas and England shirts chanted outside the city centre and one balacava-clad protester held a Rottweiler on a chain, while others clashed with police in riot gear. One Asian man was hit across the face with a banner and left with a bloody nose.

Police said during the disturbance three car windscreens were smashed and a window at a take away restaurant in Chapel Street had been broken. Last night Luton town centre was calm as police maintained a presence on the streets.

A spokesman for United People of Luton, Wayne King, said many people in Luton were concerned and annoyed that the Muslim community in the town had not taken steps to deal with Sayful Islam’s “hate-filled preachings”. The 24-year-old, who wore a T-shirt with the words “No surrender to Al-Qaeda” on it, said:

“We decided enough was enough after the soldiers got heckled as they marched through the town centre by the Muslim extremists. Our community has been racially attacked for the last 10 years. A mosque in the town got set on fire a few weeks ago and it made national news but churches in Luton are regularly being set fire to.”

Daily Mail, 25 May 2009

For the background, see Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion, 25 May 2009

For an eyewitness account, see Three Counties Unity, 25 May 2009

Also http://www.reconciliationtalk.com/

Meanwhile, over at his Lionheart blog, Paul Ray endorses the rioting. In reply to a comment objecting to “headlines of masked men and violence”, Ray demands:

“What are you doing about the Islamification of Great Britain? Islam has taken over Luton, and the police and council have done nothing but sit back and allow it to happen. This is the culmination of the past 25-30 years. The people of Luton have now arisen to reclaim their community!!! How do you expect them to do it? …

“No one thinks that removing the militant wing of Islam from our land is going to be easy, and if the government will not do it then the people will, and they will quite obviously be wearing balaclavas to do that, because the government will come down on them for defending their community…. So decide where you stand and who you stand with.”

No doubt Luton Council will bear this in mind next time Ray applies for permission to hold a demonstration in the town.

Update:  Read Unite Against Fascism statement on the Luton riot here.

Further update:  Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion points out that the photograph in the Mail report, captioned “Catalyst: Anti-war Islamists protested during an Army march in Luton earlier this year – partly sparking yesterday’s response”, is not of the notorious Al Muhajiroun protest but of a different event entirely.