Dutch politician Geert Wilders on Wednesday defended his anti-Islamic rhetoric during the final day of hearings in his trial for inciting hatred and discrimination. “The Netherlands is threatened by Islam. Islam is an ideology of hate and destruction. Islam threatens Western values and norms,” Wilders told the judges, the daily De Volkskrant reported.
The full text of Wilders’ speech can be read here.
Under the headline “Jewish and Muslim leaders urge European Union heads not to pander to extreme-right”, the World Jewish Congress reports on a meeting in Brussels of Jewish and Muslim representatives.
The joint declaration they adopted included the following passage:
“We are troubled by the growth of racist and xenophobic movements. We believe that individuals and organizations espousing such malign and hateful ideologies represent a grave threat to the fundamental European values of pluralism, democracy, mutual respect and cooperation….
“We wish to work together with all Europeans of conscience to put a stop to any group that espouses racist or xenophobic ideologies long before they are in a position to gain legislative or other power. We must never allow anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia or racism to become respectable in today’s Europe. In that regard, we call upon all political leaders not to pander to these groups by echoing their rhetoric.”
Nobody outside of the far-right organisations being condemned here could object to that, you might think. You’d be wrong. Over at FrontPage Magazine Phyllis Chesler, the self-proclaimed “founding voice of the modern feminist movement”, writes:
“Why is a group of Jews trying to help Muslims … by appealing to European governments not to ‘pander to right wing forces’ which are, belatedly, beginning to gather in response to a Muslim population which is hostile to Western and European values, does not wish to assimilate, and is both separatist and violent?
“Had Muslims come in total peace these ‘right wing forces’ may have, indeed, been a reflection of European racism towards Arabs and dark-skinned ‘Easterners’. But the alleged ‘Islamophobia’ is not based on bigoted considerations of color, faith, or ethnicity; it is, rather, based on the increasing danger that Muslims pose to the stability and character of Europe.”
Update: Still, Chesler does have her fans (even if they can’t spell her name):
The English Defence League has posted a link on its Facebook page to the UK Mosque Searcher facility on the Muslims in Britain website, urging EDL supporters to use it in order to identify the mosques in their area.
Dutch anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders often “went far” in his criticism of the Muslim religion, but he never overstepped acceptable boundaries, his lawyer said in court Monday.
“He goes far, but he never goes too far,” lawyer Bram Moszkowicz told the Amsterdam district court where the flamboyant politician faces hate speach charges. “He doesn’t speak out because it’s funny. He speaks out over the gravest danger facing our Western civilisation: an increased Islamisation,” Moszkowicz told judges.
“Acts of terror have been committed… with the Koran in hand, in London, in Madrid,” he added, referring bombings in the two capitals. “If there’s a threat, Mr Wilders speaks out about it,” said Moszkowicz in the trial, broadcast live on Dutch national television’s website.
The Sofia Municipality will request a decreasing of the volume of the Sofia central mosque speakers, stated mayor Yordanka Fandakova Sunday.
Speaking in an interview for TV7, the Sofia mayor, who is a representative of Bulgaria’s center-right GERB ruling party, said the measure will be taken to tone down tensions following the May 20 incident, in which representatives of extreme nationalist Ataka party, including MPs, attacked Muslims during Friday prayer.
The Ataka supporters had gathered that Friday on a protest motivated precisely by a request to lower the allegedly excessive volume of the minaret speakers of the Banya Bashi mosque in downtown Sofia. Several persons of both sides were injured in the disgraceful incident, which provoked the outrage of Muslims and large parts of Bulgarian society.
Key GERB representatives, including PM Boyko Borisov, Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov and Sofia mayor Yordanka Fandakova failed to firmly condemn the events, simply characterizing them as a “lamentable” incident marking the inception of campaigning for municipal and presidential elections in the fall.
Sunday Fandakova said that the Ataka supporters had obviously breached public order and full investigations are underway. Nevertheless, she said she will press for lower levels of sound from the mosque during prayers.
“We will do everything possible to lower the volume, in order to decrease tensions. I believe that in this way we will go back to a normal tone of discussion, for safeguarding religious freedoms precludes interfering with public order by means of excessive noise from loudspeakers,” stated the mayor of the Bulgarian capital.
Tory blogger Graeme Archer, who was recently awarded the Orwell Blog Prize, has written an unpleasant article for the Daily Telegraph (“The East End villains who thrive behind a veil of multiculturalism”) in which he asserts that the “increasing Islamisation” of London’s East End has led to threats and violence against gay men, women and non-Muslims.
You might have thought the potential for right-wing scaremongering over this particular urban myth had been pretty well exhausted by now, but Archer manages to extract some further poison from the issue, even though we’ve heard most of this before from the likes of Andrew Gilligan or the Daily Mail.
Anti-fascism protesters today mounted a “peace vigil” as the English Defence League (EDL) demonstrated close by on Blackpool Promenade.
The different protests were kept more than a mile apart by police who mounted a huge security operation to ensure public safety. While the larger EDL rally was held near south pier, the smaller anti-fascism rally gathered on the headland by central pier.
Weyman Bennett, national secretary for Unite Against Fascism (UAF), said: “We’re here because we believe these organisations are exploiting a tragedy to politically profit and we want to make it clear we reject racism and fascism and anyone who tries to divide our society. At a time of economic crisis we do not want to see right wing groups attacking people.”
Paul Jenkins, North West organiser for UAF, said the group had support from people across Blackpool. He added: “I think it is very important to say this is not just UAF this is an event supported by local people who have been working with groups to show that the EDL and racism is not welcome in Blackpool.”
Mr Jenkins said the EDL were using the Charlene Downes case as a respectable window dressing for a more sinister agenda. He said: “Undoubtedly they’re trying to exploit a very tragic event for their own agenda and it says a lot about a group who try to exploit such a tragic event. We want everyone to know the EDL are not welcome in Blackpool. Our problems are not caused by race or ethnicity and we will not allow our community to be divided, we will stand united.”
Around 40 people with banners and plaques gathered on the Promenade next to Central Pier to maintain a peaceful vigil. Along with UAF members, a Catholic priest and representatives from the local muslim community attended, as well as Blackpool councillor Mark Mitchell.
Blackpool Muslim representative Tasurraf Shah said: “We all should unite as one, no matter what colour or religion. Our religion – Islam – promotes love and peace and that’s what we should portray. We should be educating people of the true values of Islam. Blackpool’s diverse and has a wonderful culture here, it doesn’t matter what your colour or religion is.”
Coun Mitchell added: “It’s fantastic to be here, we’re doing something for the human spirit. Blackpool’s slogan is ‘it’s a place where difference makes no difference’. It’s deeply disappointing to see groups like the EDL here. It does nothing for tourism and it may lead to an impression that Blackpool is a home for racist hooligans.”
A 17-year-old youth has been ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid community work after carrying out a religiously aggravated attack on a police officer.
The Cherry Willingham youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was previously found guilty of assaulting off-duty Muslim police officer PC Rizwaan Chothia by Lincoln magistrates following a two-day trial held earlier this month.
He faced trial alongside Daniel Odling, 26, of High Street, Blyton, near Gainsborough, who was found guilty of religiously aggravated threatening behaviour and fined £450 and ordered to pay £500 costs plus a £15 victims’ surcharge.
Far-right activists have attacked trade union meetings and anti-racist groups in the past month in what campaigners and politicians say is an escalating campaign of intimidation and violence.
In the latest incident, a 20-strong group hurled concrete pillars, glass and rocks at a meeting on multiculturalism organised by Labour councillors in Barking, east London.
“It was terrifying,” said Beverley, 48, an NHS worker who was hit by a rock, leaving her hand so badly damaged that she needed surgery and was on a drip in hospital for three days. “These people seem to think they can bully and intimidate people into staying away.”
The attack last Thursday followed incidents in Liverpool, Brighton and east London involving people who claim to be supporters of the English Defence League (EDL), a far-right street movement.
Anti-racist campaigners said the attack in Barking appeared to be well organised and targeted. The group “appeared out of nowhere” as people were gathering in the foyer and had lookouts stationed outside as the assault continued.
“All of a sudden about 20 men and one woman came running across the car park screaming E-E-EDL,” said Beverley, who did not want to give her second name in case of reprisals. “We rushed to lock the glass door … but they didn’t break stride, they just ran at it and smashed into it. They were head-butting it, kicking it, throwing things at it.”
The reinforced glass came away in chunks, which were hurled at the unionists and anti-racist campaigners trapped in the foyer. Beverley said: “They were crazed on the other side of this glass wall … They started ripping pieces of glass off and frisbeeing them at us through the holes and then they started hurling rocks at us.”
George Barratt, a Labour councillor for Barking’s Mayesbrook ward, who was due to speak at the meeting on multiculturalism and racism, said: “It is extremely disturbing. We don’t want these thugs here and we won’t tolerate them attacking our meetings.”
Weyman Bennett, from Unite Against Fascism, said: “These attacks are escalating in their frequency and in the level of violence. They are now targeting trade unionists and elected councillors as well as anti-racists – it is classic fascist tactics and cannot be ignored.”
See also “Hooded thugs attack office before meeting in Barking”, Barking & Dagenham Post, 26 May 2011
Cf. Martin Smith, “EDL now acts like a classic fascist organisation”, UAF, 19 May 2011
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