The English Defence League’s Facebook page has linked to a report by Beacon Radio that the Dudley Muslim Association have submitted their plans for a new mosque and community centre to the local planning authority.
Category Archives: Anti-Muslim violence
Three EDL members in court over Cambridge demo
An English Defence League supporter who clashed with Asian men after a protest march cannot carry out his community work as part of a multi-ethnic group, a court heard.
Nathan Hopkins appeared before magistrates in Huntingdon when he was accused of being part of a group of English Defence League (EDL) members who got embroiled in a fight outside the Queen Anne Terrace car park, Cambridge, after a march through the city last Saturday. One of the Asians was punched in the head repeatedly during the fracas by Hopkins, prosecutor Laura Mardell told the court.
The 18-year-old, of Lombardy Drive, Peterborough, admitted using threatening behaviour and was given a 12-month community order, with 40 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs.
Magistrates requested a report on whether Hopkins would be suitable for community work and the court probation officer said that although he was suitable, the nature of the offence meant he could not take part in the multi-cultural work teams and would have to go on an individual placement.
Ms Mardell said Hopkins told police he had gone to Cambridge with a group of 20 other EDL supporters and he had been a member of the EDL since December 2010, “joining after believing too many extremists were coming into the country”.
Two other EDL supporters also appeared before magistrates charged with public order offences. Simon Pearson, 28, of Whitehill Road, Abbey, Cambridge, denied using threatening words and behaviour in the area of Christ’s Pieces and his case was adjourned to August 31.
Shaun Hughes, 48, of Wethersfield Road, Colchester, was accused of using threatening behaviour and assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty. Hughes was released on bail until August 18 with conditions that he does not attend any EDL rallies or enter Cambridgeshire apart from for court appearances.
Ms Mardell said Hopkins’ case arose when a group of around 10 EDL supporters clashed with a group of Asian men in the Parkside area. A fight started and police saw Hopkins punching an Asian man in the head three or four times.
Three convicted after racist attack on Islamic college
An angry mob shouted racist abuse at the gates of an Islamic college, sparking a confrontation with Muslim students, a court heard.
A bottle and stones were thrown after the group of drunken teenagers goaded residents at the college, in Willows Lane, Deane, in March last year. Two of the group climbed the gates to confront students but were beaten up and taken to hospital, Bolton Crown Court was told.
Niall Briercliffe, Barry Lomax, Aaron Buckley and Bhavesh Patel all admitted affray.
Patel, aged 19, of Brandon Street, Daubhill, was first to enter the college but after he threw missiles about five students rounded on him, leaving him unconscious with a suspected fractured skull. Buckley, aged 18, of Canterbury Grove, Daubhill, told a doctor he had been attacked with a cricket bat and hit in the face with a brick. Police investigated the two defendants’ injuries but no charges were brought.
Briercliffe and Lomax stayed behind the gates of the college with a group of others, who swore, shouted racist abuse and some threw stones.
Sentencing, Recorder Brian Cummings QC said: “You went into the grounds of the college, making confrontation almost inevitable.”
Patel was given a 10-month sentence suspended for two years and ordered to complete 100 hours unpaid work. He was ordered to pay £100 compensation. Buckley was given a six-month sentence suspended for two years and ordered to complete 60 hours unpaid work. He was ordered to pay £100 costs.
Lomax, aged 18, of Horeb Street, Bolton, was given a 10-month sentence suspended for two years and ordered to complete 100 hours unpaid work. He was ordered to pay £100 compensation. Briercliffe, aged 17, of Church Avenue, Daubhill, was given a 12-month youth rehabilitation order and ordered to complete 200 hours unpaid work.
71-year-old Muslim seriously assaulted outside Kilmarnock mosque
Police at Kilmarnock are continuing enquiries and appealing for information after an elderly man was seriously assaulted in the early hours of Friday 15 July 2011.
The 71-year-old Asian man was discovered with serious facial injuries around 0130 hrs on Friday 15 July 2011 outside the Community Mosque in Hill Street, Kilmarnock. It is believed that he was attacked prior to opening the Mosque for a prayer session and was discovered by two fellow members of the Mosque who informed the emergency services.
The injured man was taken by ambulance to Crosshouse Hospital where he is currently being treated for his injuries. Hospital staff describe his condition as stable.
‘It’s a white country, not a Muslim state’, BNP supporter told Asian neighbours
A man who made his Asian next door neighbours’ lives a misery with his anti-social and racist conduct was spared immediate jail.
Burnley Crown Court heard how Nigel Hesmondhalgh, 36, who had a British National Party sticker in the window of his Accrington home, was abusive and insulting to the couple, repeatedly picking on the wife. He piled dog dirt up in the alley outside their home and told them: “It’s a white country, not a Muslim state.”
Hesmondhalgh, said to be the carer for his brother, who has learning difficulties, told the husband of the couple he should be scared and shouted support for the BNP. The couple had lived in their home for 14 years before he moved in.
The defendant, of Stanley Street, Accrington, was given 36 weeks in custody, suspended for two years, with 18 months supervision and the Thinking Skills programme. Martin Hackett, defending, said Hesmondhalgh had been very close to his mother who died last July and he may have been adjusting.
Lancashire Telegraph, 13 July 2009
Consulting Hesmondhalgh’s Bebo profile, we find him indignantly denying that any racist language was directed against his neighbours – a claim rather undermined by the accompanying messages Nigel Hesmondhalgh says:”Kill All The Fuckin Pakkis”and What Is The Difference Between A Tea Towel And A Baseball Bat? FUCK ALL The Both Wrap Nicely Round A Pakkis Head.
And this thug has escaped a prison sentence.
Fife man sentenced for attack on Muslim woman
A Fife drug addict who assaulted a Muslim woman by pulling a burka from her head has been sent to jail. Duncan Gandy grabbed the woman’s burka as she walked through the Kingdom Shopping Centre in Glenrothes last month, leaving her extremely distressed.
Sheriff Grant McCulloch told the 31-year-old accused, who was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the incident, that custody was the only appropriate sentence for what he termed an offensive, frightening and demeaning attack.
Gandy, of Provosts Land, Leslie, appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Tuesday after previously admitting assaulting Shaheen Khan by pulling her burka from her face and head. He was sentenced to 135 days in prison for the attack. He also admitted breaching bail conditions, for which he was sentenced to an additional 60 days.
Sheriff McCulloch pointed out that the accused had admitted a racially-aggravated assault, and added, “Suddenly, without warning, you pulled the burka from her face. That was clearly offensive, clearly frightening and clearly demeaning for her.
“There is no mitigation that can be put forward other than the fact you were under the influence of illegal substances. That, in my view, is an aggravation not a mitigation and I take the view that only a custodial sentence is appropriate.”
The sheriff said the sentence would have been 180 days had it not been for Gandy’s early guilty plea.
His jail term was welcomed by a Fife organisation promoting racial equality and awareness. Naeem Khalid, co-ordinator of Fairness, Race Awareness and Equality (FRAE) Fife, said Gandy had committed an attack on a vulnerable woman as well as on her faith.
“Everyone’s religion should be respected,” he said. “This was a disappointing event and there needs to be redress towards that. People must have the freedom to practice their religion and the freedom to express that.
“The burka is a principle of her faith and, for me, to remove that is attacking her faith and belief. She was a vulnerable female and the attack will have other repercussions as it will affect her confidence to walk in public.”
Via ENGAGE
Arson attack on Accrington mosque
Four blazes were started in Accrington today (13 July) in an arson spree which spread to a mosque.
Firefighters tackled the most serious fire at the Faizane Madina Mosque in Richmond Road after flames from a nearby shed containing three gas cylinders spread.
Dozens of firefighters from Great Harwood and Haslingden raced to the scene at just before 3.30am as crews from Accrington Fire Station were busy fighting another arson blaze in Fairfield Street.
The fire began to spread to the place of worship as crews fought to keep the propane gas cylinders cool with jets of water. Crews remained at the scene for more than four hours battling the blaze and the people living closest to the mosque had to be evacuated from their home.
And as firefighters began to breathe a “sigh of relief”, believing they had the situation under control, a mains gas pipe leading to the mosque ruptured. Engineers from the National Grid were called to the area and it was cordoned off immediately as they tried to bring the leak under control. The mosque suffered damage to its wall, roof and windows.
Nabeela Kashif, who lives next door, said she saw black smoke pouring in through her bathroom window. The 40-year-old, who was evacuated with her husband, Kashif, 39, and their five-year-old son, Ibrahim, said: “I woke up after I heard a noise and when I looked out of the window we saw a huge fire. It was a really scary experience and the firefighters told us all to leave the house.”
Update: Expose has a screenshot of EDL members’ responses to the attack.
Police appeal for photographic evidence of EDL violence in Halifax
Police are asking the public for their pictures and video of violence that erupted when the English Defence League descended on Halifax at the weekend.
Divisional commander for Calderdale Chief Superintendent Chris Hardern says they are investigating a clash between some of the far-right group and counter-demonstrators at King Cross and the break-out of EDL members from the Eureka car park. He urged residents who saw what happened, have footage or photographs, or who witnessed any other trouble, to get in touch.
Calderdale councillor Faisal Shoukat (Lab, Park) says he was assaulted after EDL supporters turned up at the counter-demonstration. He said he was speaking to organisers of the counter-protest as they were setting up when EDL supporters turned up and started damaging the gazebo and speakers.
“They started shouting racist abuse and opening up a banner with racist remarks on it and they chanted ‘EDL’,” he said. He suffered bruising to the back of his head and kidney area. He said one of the EDL members was filming the incident.
The EDL had been told they could hold their protest in the Eureka car park, and the museum shut for the day because of the demonstration, but some of the group came intent on marching on the town’s streets. Coaches are believed to have let some off in Sowerby Bridge, from where some marched into Halifax and others took buses into King Cross and the park opposite the William IV pub where the counter-demo was planned.
Police marched the protesters into the Eureka car park where the mob hurled glass bottles at police, shouted anti-Islamic chants and “Let’s go mental” before breaking fencing to get out of the car park and onto the Eureka grounds. Officers donned riot gear and escorted the EDL supporters to coaches and the rail station and out of Halifax.
Anyone who can help the police should call 0845 6060606 or CrimeStoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
Russian neo-Nazis who murdered Muslims jailed for life
A court in Moscow has sentenced five members of a neo-Nazi gang to life in prison for the racially motivated murders of 27 people. Several other members of the outlawed Nationalist Socialist Society were also found guilty – including one woman – and given jail terms of up to 23 years.
The gang targeted Muslims and dark-skinned migrants during 2007-8.
The defendants in the dock joked with each other, taunted the judge and attempted Nazi salutes in handcuffs. As the verdict was read out, they shouted: “Our conscience is above your laws, we’ll be back”, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported.
The 18-month trial heard that the gang had hunted down people in Moscow who were or appeared to be from central and south-east Asia, Africa or the Caucasus region, and brutally attacked them. Ringleader Lev Molotkov, who pleaded not guilty, was described by presiding judge Nikolai Tkachuk as “an extraordinary danger to Russian society”.
In total, 12 people were found guilty of murder, inciting racial hatred, attempting terrorism and participating in extremism. At least one attack was filmed and posted on the internet. Molotkov and four others were sentenced to life, while a young woman, Vasilisa Kovolyova, was among those jailed for for between 10 and 23 years.
Cambridge: EDL protestors prevented from attacking mosque and then throw Qur’ans at Muslims
Members of the English Defence League (EDL) made a failed bid to target a Cambridge mosque after they marched through the city.
The incident came after a relatively peaceful march by the EDL through the city centre in which scuffles with police broke out along with bottle-throwing. Officers threw up a cordon around the mosque in Mawson Road and managed to quell the troublemakers.
Officers quelled some of the flashpoints sparked as around 200 EDL marchers were taunted by a small number of counter-protesters from an earlier 1,500 strong demonstration by Unite Against Fascism.
But members of the EDL, who arrived in coaches from across the country to Queens’ Green, also began fighting amongst themselves.