Category Archives: Far right racists

Far-right arson attack on West Bank mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

al-Muayar mosque arsonPolice have launched an investigation into a West Bank mosque arson attack on Tuesday. Palestinians from the village of al-Muayar, near Ramallah reported that a carpet in the mosque was set fire in the early hour of the morning. A joint police IDF investigation was launched.

“We believe suspects set fire to a tire inside the mosque,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. “No actual damage was observed on the walls,” he added. A police forensics team arrived on the scene and began taking evidence.

Far-right graffiti was also found at the site, including the words “El Ain,” the name of a settlement outpost which was evacuated by security forces last week, sparking a clash which resulted in several injuries among right-wing activists and police. Police suspect the arson incident could be linked to last week’s outpost clearance.

Jerusalem Post, 7 June 2011

Police hunt for EDL supporter who attacked Asian man in Rochdale

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL thug ManchesterA racist thug who abused and attacked a passer-by in a shopping precinct is being hunted by police.

The man, who was wearing a T-shirt promoting the English Defence League, targeted a 31-year-old Asian man as he walked through the Wheatsheaf Centre in Rochdale town centre. Images from CCTV cameras have been released by police in a bid to identify him.

The thug began to racially abuse the man as he walked past then grabbed hold of his shirt collar and pressed a ballpoint pen to the side of his face. Police said the victim could also feel a sharp item being pressed to his back. He struggled free but the abuse continued until security guards intervened.

The thug then escaped. He is white, in his late 40s to early 50s, around 6ft tall and skinny. He was wearing a T shirt labelled “EDL Stockport”.

Sgt Colin Macdiarmid said: “The abuse this victim suffered can only be described as vitriolic and appalling. Thankfully he was not hurt though the behaviour of the offender led him to fear for his safety. Racist thugs are not welcome anywhere in Greater Manchester.”

Call police on 0161 856 9961 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Manchester Evening News, 7 June 2011

Wife of Ataka leader says violent assault on Muslims at Sofia mosque was equivalent to throwing eggs

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Kapka Siderova and husbandThe incident in front of the downtown Sofia mosque is a victory of democracy, Kapka Siderova, wife of the leader of the Bulgarian far-right, nationalist Ataka party, Volen Siderov, says.

On May 20, Ataka supporters, led by Siderov, shocked Bulgaria as its rally protesting against the use of loudspeakers by the mosque in downtown Sofia got out of hand, and activists of Ataka assaulted praying Muslims in front of the mosque.

The incident has had wider repercussions, all the way from Bulgarians flocking to lay flowers at the mosque as a sign of apology, to the start of investigation of Ataka for stirring ethnic and religious hatred and the consolidation of the voters of the Bulgarian ethnic Turkish party DPS (Movement for Rights and Freedoms).

In a Sunday interview for the TV channel bTV, Siderova said the “so-called clash was a way to earn the right to not be exposed to the wail of the Imam”. She insisted the boundaries of tolerance have not been overstepped because there was no fighting, just some pushing, adding things like this happen everywhere and all the time, giving as an example the visit of US President, George W. Bush, in Brussels when demonstrators threw eggs at him.

Novinite, 5 June 2011

The rise of far-right parties in Europe

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The current issue of the New Internationalist features a useful article on the rise of the European far right by K. Biswas, who writes:

The success of many far-right parties is predicated on a significant public distrust of Muslims. Over half of Danes believe that Islam hinders social harmony; three-quarters of citizens from the former East Germany want to ‘seriously limit’ the practice of Islam; half of Britons associate Islam with terrorism; four in ten French people see Muslims living in their country as a ‘threat’ to their national identity; more than half of Austrians believe that ‘Islam poses a threat to the West and our familiar lifestyle’.

Even though Muslims in Europe originate from different parts of the globe – Turks in Germany, North Africans in France, Pakistanis in Britain – they are portrayed as a single monolithic block, unable to integrate into European society. The populist press has played its role in generating public fears of Muslims. In Britain, which has elected no far-right representatives into its national parliament, the Daily Express and Daily Star blare out hate-filled statements from their front pages on an almost daily basis, characterizing Muslims as a homogenous group hell-bent on undermining the British way of life. ‘Muslim Schools ban our culture,’ ‘Muslims get their own laws in Britain,’ ‘Sniffer dogs offend Muslims,’ ‘Muslims tell British – Go to Hell’.

‘The media have uncritically incorporated the idea that “Islam equals threat”, therefore Muslims are a threat,’ according to Liz Fekete, the Chair of Britain’s Institute of Race Relations. The media are ‘constantly looking for the extreme voice within the Muslim community, because it’s an easy peg to hang a story on. So if a small extremist sect that doesn’t have any legitimacy within the Muslim community is organizing a protest, it becomes the major framework for any public discussion on Muslims.’

A ‘poppy-burning’ demonstration on Remembrance Day by the little-known group Muslims Against Crusades attracted a handful of extremists to Kensington in West London, yet made the front page of many national newspapers.

Israeli deputy minister joins with Belgian far right to warn against ‘growing Islamisation of the West’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Ayoob Kara and Filip DewinterBelgian Jews reacted with surprise at news that a member of the Israeli government met this week with a leader of the Flemish extreme-right party Vlaams Belang in Antwerp.

Ayoob Kara, a Druze who is Deputy Minister for the Development of Galilee and the Negev, met with Filip Dewinter who hosted him in the Flemish parliament followed by a meeting with other European extreme-rightist politicians and a visit to the heavily Muslim populated area of Antwerp North. According to the Flemish party, the visit came several months after a visit of Dewinter in Israel.

At a joint press conference Dewinter explained the need to warn against the growing Islamization of the West.

The Israeli embassy reacted with surprise and embarrassment. An embassy spokesperson told the Joods Actueel weekly magazine published in Antwerp: “We have learned about the visit through the press, we were not aware of this visit.”

He insisted that this was a private visit by Ayoob Kara, which was later confirmed by Mark Regev, spokesman of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Deputy Kara is in Belgium in his personal capacity and his visit does not reflect government policy,” said Regev.

But the local Jewish community says the visit risks to severely embarrass the community and Israel. “This visit is very damaging for us,” said Michael Freilich, editor in chief of Joods Actueel.

He said: “Israel and the Jewish community are not at war with Islam, we are at war with extremists, and that’s a quite a different thing. Singling out a religion, as the Vlaams Belang does, inevitably brings back dark memories of a not too distant past where it was Jews who were persecuted because of their religion. Is this the message we want to send to Europe? That Israel follows the racist ideology of Europe’s most notorious bigots?”

The Jewish community also stressed that it was precisely the Vlaams Belang party that proposed last month a bill in the Belgian Senate calling for amnesty for Belgian collaborators of the Nazis during WWII.

EJP, 4 June 2011

Christians show solidarity with Muslims in Shotton

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Shotton interfaith mealA group of Christians and Muslims have shared a meal to show “solidarity” in an area that has seen protests about plans for an Islamic cultural centre.

The event, Sharing Tables, Sharing Stories, was held at the Bengal Dynasty restaurant, Shotton, Flintshire. Organiser Mike Harrison said it showed harmony was possible in Shotton.

Last month, English Defence League protesters marched at the former Shotton Lane Social Club, proposed site for the new cultural centre. Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society had been planning to turn the property into a multi-cultural centre. The building burned down in a suspicious fire in February.

Tuesday’s event was organised by a local volunteers group, Together Creating Communities. North Wales organiser Mr Harrison said:

“This gathering demonstrates that despite the perceptions voiced in some sections of the media, Christians and Muslims can stand together. We hope that Sharing Tables, Sharing Stories will be the first step in showing protest groups that a multi-faith community can live together in harmony in Shotton.”

BBC News, 1 June 2011

Senior civil servant quits over Dutch government’s alliance with Wilders

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Annemieke NijhofA senior civil servant with the infrastructure and environment ministry has resigned because she no longer wishes to be associated with the anti-Islam PVV.

Annemieke Nijhof, director general in charge of water policy, told the NRC she has no trouble with doing her job, but is finding it increasingly difficult to deal with the tone of the integration debate in the Netherlands. “The PVV describes 1.6 million of my fellow countrymen as fundamentalists who are threatening the rule of law,” she told the paper.

Nijhof said Iraqi friends she has known for 15 years are complaining about the more unpleasant social climate in the Netherlands. “It is becoming taboo to warn about this… I worry things will go downhill even more, and am very worried about the next election,” she told the paper.

Last year, research by civil service magazine Binnenlands Bestuurshowed 60% of government officials had difficulty with the involvement of the PVV in government.

The party is not a formal cabinet member but has an alliance with the VVD and Christian Democrats on economic and immigration policy.

Dutch News, 3 June 2011

EDL Tower Hamlets demonstration set for August

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL Tower Hamlets demoThe English Defence League’s long-trailed protest in the East London borough of Tower Hamlets (see here, here and here) is now scheduled to take place on Saturday 27 August.

As we have previously noted, the proposal for a demonstration in an area described by the EDL leadership as “the heartland of Islamic terrorism” has been accompanied by explicit threats of violence by their supporters against the local Muslim community.

Continue reading →

Ataka faces fine over assault on Muslims at Sofia mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bulgaria’s nationalist party Ataka will be fined BGN 2500 – the maximum amount allowed – over the assault on praying Muslims at the Banya Bashi mosque, announced Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova.

On May 20, the far-right party led by Volen Siderov shocked Bulgaria as its rally protesting against the use of loudspeakers by the mosque in downtown Sofia got out of hand, and activists of Ataka assaulted praying Muslims in front of the mosque.

The incident has had wider repercussions, all the way from Bulgarians flocking to lay flowers at the mosque as a sign of apology, to the start of investigation of Ataka for stirring ethnic and religious hatred and the consolidation of the voters of the Bulgarian ethnic Turkish party DPS (Movement for Rights and Freedoms).

“A breach of the public order is punishable by a fine of BGN 100 to BGN 2500. In this case, the violation is of crucial importance to society, which is why we are will impose the maximum penalty”, Veska Georgieva, Director of the Sofia Municipality Inspectorate explained.

Novinite, 31 May 2011

Converted into pounds sterling 2,500 Bulgarian levs amounts to £1,114.

‘Muslim girl stoned to death under Sharia law’ claims Daily Mail

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A teenage Muslim girl was stoned to death under “Sharia law” after taking part in a beauty contest in Ukraine. Katya Koren, 19, was found dead in a village in the Crimea region near her home. Friends said she liked wearing fashionable clothes and had come seventh in a beauty contest.

Her battered body was buried in a forest and was found a week after she disappeared. Police have opened a murder investigation and are looking into claims that three Muslim youths killed her, claiming her death was justified under Islam.

One of the three – named as 16-year-old Bihal Gaziev – is under arrest and told police that Katya had “violated the laws of Sharia”. Gaziev has said he has no regrets about her death.

Daily Mail, 31 May 2011

Of course the article was immediately seized on by the English Defence League:

EDL Daily Mail stoning story

If you can stomach it, you can read the comments by EDL supporters here.

And the article provoked the usual succession of bigots into posting anti-Muslim comments on the Mail‘s own website:

“Would be nice to see some supporters of this faith speaking out against this all too common occurance.”

“In a recent demonstration by Muslims against the English, did I not see banners proclaiming ‘Sharia for Britain’.”

“How long before some idiot starts bleating about ‘Islamaphobia’ with reference to this news story? Im suffering from Islamaphobia myself I have a distinct aversion to young girls being brutaly murdered in the name of religion by cowards!”

“I wish apologists for the misogyny of ‘Islam’ would see how despicable their Sharia law is.”

“Another victim of the mysoginistic murder cult that is sharia law.”

“Where are the voices of ‘moderate’ Islam now? I can’t hear them, can you? Can anyone?”

“what a lovely religion NOT”

“Absolutely hideous! I am appalled that such behaviour is deemed justifiable under a law written over a 1000 years ago by uneducated warring idiots!”

“I hope the Archbishop of Canterbury is reading this he is rather a fan of sharia law as I recall, just shows how out of touch he is.”

However, there are several rather more informed comments that suggest the Mail‘s story of Sharia-inspired stoning is completely fabricated. For example:

“Daily Mail, stop lying and instigating hatred for Muslims! The original Russian article from Komsomolskaya Pravda of 28/05 does not mention any religious motives in this murder (I can provide the link to the original story). Katya wasn’t a Muslim. Katya Koren is not a Muslim name. There was no ‘three Muslim teenagers’ who ‘stones Katya’. there was just one mentally distrurbed boy of Muslim origin who hit her on the head once. He doesn’t know himself why he did it. People suspect because Katya rejected him. This has absolutely nothing to do with sharia, Muslims, religion etc. Who is making up such stories? You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

And: “The story is completely inacurrate. Katya Koren was a Ukrainian girl and she was an Orthdox Christian. That was not a stoning, but a cold-blooded murder by a psycho who happened to be from a mixed Ukranian-Tatar family. I am amazed, how things can be distorted.”

And: “This news, made by Russian propaganda apparatus, is provocation. Because the killer even has no any attitude to Islam. Katya is Russian, not Muslim. Boy is Slavic, but is adopted by Muslims. Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry Crimean Branch Press Chairperson Olga Bogoslavskaya said that murder is not motivated by religious belief. All world copied your news! Who will excuse?”

Also: “THE KEY FACTS: 1. Katya is an Orthodox Christian. 2. Bilyal is formally Muslim, just adopted by Muslim man 3. Bilyal is not religious, like his father, even didn’t go to mosque. 4. Murder is not done by stoning. 5. Internal Affairs Dep. announced that murder has no religious roots. 6. Such a news first appeared in pro-Russian media.”

See also “Katya Koren: Ukrainian beauty queen killed by disturbed classmate not Sharia law”, LoonWatch, 31 May 2011

Update:  The Mail has an new article on the case headlined “Was Muslim girl ‘stoned to death for taking part in beauty pageant’ actually murdered by a stalker?” Perhaps that’s a question the Mailshould have asked before it published the original inflammatory article. And the paper is still banging on about how “Sharia law prohibits women from taking part in beauty contests” – which, even if it were true, would hardly apply to Katya Koren, who wasn’t a Muslim.