Category Archives: Far right racists

Exeter: ‘burka ban’ demonstration flops, anti-racists rally to celebrate diversity

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Anti Racists come together in Exeter today for a celebration of diversity, in contrast to the English Defence League who were holding a ���Ban the Burka��� event along Exeter High Street. Exeter, UK. 12/02/2011

The Exeter division of the racist English Defence League was humiliated in Exeter today. Just 15 racists turned up to a “Ban the Burqa protest” in the Devon city.

In contrast, up to 300 people took part in a celebration of diversity on the streets of Exeter to show the EDL’s politics of hate and division are not welcome there. People came in and out of the event, which had local speakers and children’s activities.

The antiracist event brought together people from all different beliefs and backgrounds – Christian ministers, people from the mosque and the synagogue. Lord Mayor Marcel Choules sent a message of support. Members of Exeter Labour Party, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats attended.

The celebration was supported by the Devon branch of the National Union of Teachers and the Exeter Anti Cuts Alliance. There was a “Feminists against the Burqa Ban” banner along with many others.

Children’s activities were organised by the Woodcraft Folk – a poster where children drew flags of the world was very popular, along with making friendship bracelets and a “We Love Exeter” poster.

Speakers from UAF, the Woodcraft Folk and the Exeter Anti Cuts Alliance addressed the crowd. A student from Egypt spoke about the victory of the Egyptian people over the country’s dictator and about how Muslim and Christian protesters had stood side by side in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

The well organised, peaceful and uplifting celebration of diversity was very different to the racists’ protest. At the start of the diversity event, 10 of them turned up unannounced, seeking a confrontation. They seemed to be taken aback by the number of people who had turned out to oppose them.

The EDL were led away by police and then stood for an hour in the High Street where they were barracked by members of the general public before retreating to a pub.

Mike Gurney from Exeter UAF said:

Today was a great day for Exeter, for antiracism and for all those who oppose prejudice. The EDL were humiliated – they claimed on their Facebook page that over 100 would attend their event – they only managed 15. It was great to see Christians, Jews and Muslims standing together side by side to oppose the EDL.

The EDL’s claims that Muslims are going to impose Sharia Law on Britiain is laughable – Muslims make up only 2.7% of the population. Today the people of Exeter showed that the EDL’s politics of hate are not welcome here and will be challenged whenever it arises.

UAF news report, 12 February 2011

See Cliver Chilvers’ photos at Demotix.

More photos here.

Update:  See also the Express & Echo, 14 February 2011

Sarkozy joins attack on multiculturalism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sarkozy3French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared Thursday that multiculturalism had failed, joining a growing number of world leaders or ex-leaders who have condemned it.

“My answer is clearly yes, it is a failure,” he said in a television interview when asked about the policy which advocates that host societies welcome and foster distinct cultural and religious immigrant groups. Of course we must all respect differences, but we do not want … a society where communities coexist side by side.

“If you come to France, you accept to melt into a single community, which is the national community, and if you do not want to accept that, you cannot be welcome in France,” the right-wing president said. “The French national community cannot accept a change in its lifestyle, equality between men and women… freedom for little girls to go to school.”

“We have been too concerned about the identity of the person who was arriving and not enough about the identity of the country that was receiving him,” Sarkozy said in the TFI channel show.

Sarkozy said in his television interview Thursday that “our Muslim compatriots must be able to practise their religion, as any citizen can,” but he noted “we in France do not want people to pray in an ostentatious way in the street.”

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen late last year came under fire for comparing Muslims praying in the streets outside overcrowded mosques in France to the Nazi occupation. Marine Le Pen said there were “ten to fifteen” places in France where Muslims worshipped in the streets outside mosques when these were full.

AFP, 10 February 2011

Exeter: police prepare for right-wing ‘ban the burka’ demonstration in city centre

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Devon and Cornwall Police are preparing for a potential flash point with the right-wing English Defence League and anti-fascist campaigners set to converge on Exeter at the weekend.

The controversial group is understood to be taking part in a “ban the burka” protest in the city centre on Saturday while there is expected to be a counter rally by anti-racist campaigners, including the group Unite Against Fascism.

English Defence League supporter Jim Myers, from Exeter, said the protest was not being organised by EDL. “We haven’t organised it, we’re just supporting it,” he said. “It has been organised by another group, the United People of Britain.”

Supporters of the group, which claims to be non-racially or politically motivated, say they will be wearing balaclavas and burkas to emphasise their message.

Meanwhile, Unite Against Fascism (UAF) is planning to meet at Bedford Square, in the city centre, between 11am and 2pm.

Liz Allnatt, of UAF, said: “People of Exeter are more concerned about jobs and pay and what is going to happen to their local services. Exeter is a beautiful city and people of all different beliefs and backgrounds usually get along here. The Muslim community has added to the city. The annual Respect Festival is a huge, well-attended celebration of Exeter’s diversity.”

This is Cornwall, 10 February 2011

See also “Groups will stage event to celebrate city’s diversity”, Express & Echo, 9 February 2011

Cameron’s scapegoating will have a chilling, toxic impact

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Blaming Islamists and multiculturalism for the backlash from US and British wars risks fuelling violence on the streets, Seumas Milne argues.

Guardian, 10 February 2011

As Milne points out, Cameron’s line on Muslims and multiculturalism “has been hailed by the far right”. And not just in the UK. The Financial Times quotes Front National leader Marine Le Pen applauding Cameron’s speech for endorsing the politics of her own party: “It is exactly this type of statement that has barred us from public life for 30 years. I sense an evolution at European level, even in classic governments. I can only congratulate him.”

Dutch government rejects headscarf ban in schools

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Religious schools in the Netherlands may not ban Muslim pupils from wearing headscarves simply if it contradicts their core values, the cabinet said on Tuesday in answer to questions from the anti-Islam PVV.

In addition, the argument that the wearing of headscarves shows a lack of equality between men and women gets equally short-shrift from the ministers. “Fashion dictates all sorts of differences between the way men and woman dress,” the ministers said.

Meanwhile, a Muslim girl at the centre of a row over her headscarf at a Catholic school in Volendam has agreed to cover her head in the assembly hall and in school corridors only, the Telegraaf reports.

Dutch News, 9 February 2011

EDL supporters arrested on suspicion of publishing anti-Muslim videos

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Police arrested two men yesterday for allegedly publishing a catalogue of vile and racially inflammatory material on the internet.

One of the men, from Paignton, is thought to be responsible for a series of anti-Muslim videos. He was one of two men arrested by Devon and Cornwall police on suspicion of publishing racially inflammatory material at 8.30am yesterday. He and a 41-year-old unnamed male, also from Paignton, were yesterday bailed by Police until May. Material was confiscated from an address in South Devon and a banner was removed from the boot of a car.

A police spokesman said: “We have investigated a number of incidents across the internet after they were brought to our attention last year. We have yet to analyse what has been seized and will then be in a better to look at what, if any, offences have been committed.”

This is Devon, 10 February 2011

One Million United points out that the English Defence League have helpfully identified the two arrested men as members of the EDL.

EDL Devon arrests

Sikh demonstrators in Luton deal a heavy blow to the EDL

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sikhs Against EDL

A delegation of Sikhs marched proudly joining a big rally against the English Defence League (EDL) held in Luton on Saturday 5th February 2011. They played the Dhol, a Punjabi war drum, as they entered the rally carrying a banner that read “Sikhs Against the English Defence League – Fighting Intolerance since 1699”, a reference to the establishment of martial Sikhism by the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

They were greeted with cheers by more than two thousand demonstrators gathered in the Park Square, in the center of Luton, who gave the marching Sikhs a great applause.

This comes as a great blow to the English Defence League as they had claimed that they are getting support from many Sikhs. The demonstration by “Sikhs Against the EDL” shows otherwise.

The Sikh protesters shouted slogans against Guramit Singh, one of the self-styled EDL leaders from Sikh background and called him a traitor. They claimed that he had brought shame to the Sikh community and should be locked up due to some of his recent speeches.

Varinder Singh spoke on behalf of the Sikh delegation and pointed out that the Sikh community has a proud tradition of fighting Fascism in the Second World War. He asked, “Given our proud history, how can Sikhs not oppose the racism and Fascism espoused by the EDL?”

Varinder Singh went on to condemn Guramit Singh (ethnic spokesperson for the EDL) and other racist traitors of Sikh origin joining EDL and expressed that these individuals should be held accountable.

Balwindar Singh Rana, also from a Sikh background said, “The Sikhs Against the EDL have launched a ‘Joint Statement‘ which has already gained support from some of the major Sikh and Hindu organisations, including many Sikh Student Societies, as well as many prominent individuals in this country. People are waking up to the dangers of the racist poison that is being spread by the EDL and they will no longer fall for their ‘divide & rule’ tactics.”

He further added: “In the ’70s and ’80s, whether we were Sikhs, Hindus or Muslim, we were all united against the racists and fascists of the National Front and the BNP. We now have to show the same unity again if we are going to halt this tide of racist hatred by the EDL.”

Salvinder Singh Dhillon from the Indian Workers Association pointed out that the rally was being attended by all communities was a proof that they all stand shoulder to shoulder against promotion of racism and fascism. He said that, “The poison of racism serves to divide people and weaken their common struggles against the attacks by the state on their livelihood, against imposition of tuition fees, and the pending massive spending cuts in social services, health and education.”

The rally was organised by Unite Against Fascism (UAF), a broad based organisation supported by numerous individuals and organisations including trade unions and members of parliament. Various speakers expressed their opposition to EDL and the racist British National Party (BNP). There was also a further protest in the Bury Park, near the Mosque, organised by the Muslim community and attended by nearly two thousand people.

SikhNet News, 8 February 2011

Dutch minister rejects Wilders’ charge that withdrawal of ham rolls means the ‘Islamisation of the Netherlands’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Home Affairs Minister Piet Hein Donner has rejected suggestions that the fact the police in Gelderland are not served pigmeat any more is an illustration of Islamisation of Dutch society.

The province’s corps is no longer served any ham rolls, according to local newspaper De Gelderland. This meat is not “halal” for Muslims. Party for Freedom (PVV) MPs Geert Wilders and Hero Brinkman had complained to the minister about this “example of unacceptable Islamisation of the Netherlands.”

According to the Christian democratic (CDA) minister, there is no question of this. In a letter to parliament, he writes that the “halal lunch packages” are only an “organisational measure”. Because a number of people “for whatever reasons do not eat pigmeat,” it was simply easier to scrap ham from the menu.

“Possibly the same could happen if the number of vegetarians increases enormously,” according to the CDA minister. “This would not be evidence of vegetarisation of Dutch society either.”

NIS News, 9 February 2011

Daily Star gives free publicity to the EDL … again

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL to become political partyENGAGE draws our attention to the front page of today’s Daily Star which reports the EDL’s supposed threat to contest parliamentary and council elections, under the headline “English Defence League to become political party”.

As you might expect, this being the Daily Star, the headline is not entirely accurate. The report begins breathlessly: “The English Defence League is set to break into mainstream politics with a bid to get MPs in Parliament. It wants to field official EDL candidates in national and council elections.”

But it goes on to quote EDL leader Stephen Lennon as saying something rather less dramatic about the EDL’s plans to transform itself into a political party:

“We aren’t ruling it out. I think this country needs a party that’s not afraid to say things some would consider unpopular. My hope is still that the Tories will take a tougher stance. We are a single issue group and at the moment we would rather have a dialogue with the other political parties – but that could change.”

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New German anti-Muslim party calls Islam ‘totalitarian’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Stadtkewitz and Wilders posterThe leader of a newly created anti-Islamic party in Germany said he wants to stop the immigration of Muslims and described Islam as a “totalitarian system” bent on supplanting western liberal values.

In an interview with The National, Rene Stadtkewitz, 46, said Muslims were not integrating into German society as well as other immigrants and that authorities should become stricter, by banning headscarves in school, stopping public funding for teaching young children the Quran and curbing the influence of Islamic organisations.

“Islam is far more than a religion. It’s an entire model of society that is incredibly binding for many people,” he said. “It’s basically a political system with its own legal system that seeks to regulate all aspects of life. We criticise the socio-political component of Islam, which I see as an ideological one similar to other totalitarian systems, and which I think is dangerous.”

He called Islam “the opposite of a free society” and said the faith posed a threat because it sought to instil different values in Germany, and because it encouraged immigrants to segregate themselves.

Mr Stadtkewitz, a former member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), set up his party, Freedom, last October. He had been expelled from the CDU’s parliamentary group in the Berlin city assembly for inviting Geert Wilders, the controversial Dutch Islam critic and head of the Party for Freedom, to Berlin for a conference.

Mr Stadtkewitz said his party now had 1,400 members and was setting up regional branches across Germany. It plans to contest its first election in September when Berlin votes for a new mayor and city parliament. Mr Stadtkewitz said the aim was to cross the 5 per cent threshold needed to obtain seats in the assembly. “If that goes well, we’ll prepare for the general election in 2013,” he said.

He wants a temporary halt to immigration and favours introducing Swiss-style referendums in Germany. He said he would not stand in the way of a public vote on banning the construction of minarets, as Switzerland did in 2009, although he saw such a move as just “scratching at the surface” of the problem.

Mr Stadtkewitz denied accusations that he was a far-right populist. He said his party was espousing mainstream views about Islam and was part of an “uprising” by people across Europe against growing Islamic influence. “Anyone who criticises Islam stands in the centre of society,” he said. “Islam is becoming more visible in western countries and people are starting to rise up against that.”

The National, 7 February 2011

Outside of Germany, it may be recalled, one of the Freedom Party’s most prominent supporters is Daniel Pipes.