Category Archives: Far right racists

Islam is biggest threat to Sweden since World War II says far-right leader

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jimmie Akesson2With their party conference just barely over, the ultra right wing Sweden Democrats are creating headlines in Sweden again. In an article in Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet Jimmie Åkesson, party leader, writes that Islam is the greatest threat against Sweden since WWII.

According to Åkesson “today’s multicultural Swedish power elite is completely blind to the dangers of Islam”. He goes on to say that there are 10 Muslim terror organisations established in Sweden today, that Sweden has the highest number of rapes in Europe and that Muslim men are highly represented among the offenders. He concluded his article by saying that if the party is elected into parliament in 2010, he will do everything in his powers to “change the trend”.

Per Hultengård, lawyer for the Swedish Newspaper Publishers’ Association, told Aftonbladet that the article can be read as a warning to Swedish Muslims, not in the least due to Åkesson’s promise at the end. “I would take that as a threat,” said Per Hultengård to Aftonbladet. According to Jan Hjärpe, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Lund, the rhetoric used by Åkesson has clear racist undertones. “This is the same kind of propaganda that was used by Nazi anti-Semites,” Hjärpe told Aftonbladet.

Aftonbladet‘s Jan Helin decided to print the article against the advice of legal experts. “I have decided to take that risk. Åkesson’s text is important because it shows clearly on what values a party, on its way into Parliament, rests on. You may think that he is right or wrong in his views. But through reading this article you get a chance to consider what the Sweden Democrats actually believe,” Helin writes in Aftonbladet.

In the latest opinion polls the Sweden Democrats received 4.7% of votes. This means that if elections were held today the party would get in to Parliament.

Radio Sweden, 19 October 2009

See also the response by Anna Waara, chairperson of Swedish Muslims for Peace and Justice, “What do the Sweden Democrats want to do with us Muslims?”, The Local, 21 October 2009

You can watch Alan Lake, the businessman who bankrolls the English Defence League, speaking at a Sweden Democrats meeting here and here.

EDL fails to spread its poison in Wales

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Anti-EDL demonstration Newport

Newport anti-fascists scored a major victory this weekend when an impressive show of local unity stopped the English Defence League’s (EDL) attempt to spread its racist poison in Wales.

The EDL had planned a rally in the city’s John Frost Square on Saturday to launch the Welsh Defence League, but a 500-strong counterprotest and a complete lack of local support forced it to cancel.

This followed the fascists’ disastrous visit to Swansea last weekend, where they were driven off by a larger counterdemonstration.

“Newport is a multicultural city with an industrial background,” explained Ian Titherington of Searchlight Cymru, “and today’s fantastic turnout shows that racists are not welcome here.”

Campaigners, joined by local politicians and faith groups, occupied the square to celebrate multicultural Newport with live music, including a drum band and an impressive performance from the Cor Cochion Caerdydd (Cardiff Red Choir).

Unite Against Fascism marched through the city centre before joining the rally, which also heard speeches from Welsh Assembly Minister John Griffiths and local Labour MP Paul Flynn.

Morning Star, 26 October 2009

See also “Racists day off” on Paul Flynn’s blog, 24 October 2009

English Nazis plot to bring terror to streets of Scotland

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A mob of English racists and neo-Nazis planning to invade Scotland can be exposed by the Sunday Mail today.

The far-right trouble makers are planning to march in Glasgow under the banner of the Scottish Defence League near the country’s biggest Mosque.

Despite portraying themselves as Scots, the right-wingers – including senior BNP activists – will travel to Scotland from Birmingham, Luton, London and Carlisle.

The ragbag army of football hooligans, far-right activists and racist thugs want a confrontation with Scots Muslims.

They have even started selling s20 Scottish Defence League polo shirts on eBay for marchers to wear.

Organisers have admitted that previous marches have been attended by fascist thugs from Combat 18.

They hope to take advantage of the heightened profile given to the far right from Nick Griffin’s Question Time appearance on Thursday.

Sunday Mail, 25 October 2009

Mad Mel on the rise of the BNP

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Melanie Phillips Jihad in BritainIn this week’s Spectator Mad Melanie Phillips has another go at explaining the factors behind the rise of the BNP.

And, wouldn’t you know it, these include “uncontrolled immigration, multiculturalism, the loss to the EU of Britain’s ability to govern itself. Most toxic of all, however, is the threat from Islamic supremacism and the concern of the disenfranchised white voters that the political establishment is supinely going along with the progressive Islamisation of Britain.”

As we’ve pointed out in the past, Phillips’ analysis of the BNP’s political appeal always omits one major contributory factor, namely the legitimisation of their hysterical anti-Muslim propaganda by “mainstream” right-wing journalists like Phillips herself.

See also “Mel P rationalises the BNP’s anti-Muslim prejudice”, ENGAGE, 23 October 2009

Philadelphia university allows Wilders to preach hate

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Temple UniversityAmid tight security and a large turnout of protesters, Dutch right-wing lawmaker Geert Wilders told an assembly of Temple University students that Europe and America must fight an ongoing “stealth jihad” that threatens democracy and free speech.

“Where Islam sets roots, freedom dies,” Geert Wilders told the students during his 30-minute address organized by a new student group called Temple University Purpose and funded by the David Horowitz Freedom Center.

If the spread of Islam continues unabated in the Western world, “you might at the end of the day lose your Constitution,” he told the assembly. “Wake up, defend your freedom.” He also touched on common themes in his speeches, including calling for an end to Muslim immigration and referring to the Muslim holy book, the Quran, as “an evil book” that promotes violence and intolerance.

A question-and-answer session was cut short after the tone of the event began to turn nasty, when some in the crowd of several hundred students began shouting jeers. Wilders’ security detail quickly ushered him from the room.

Before his remarks at Temple, a public university serving about 34,000 students, Wilders showed his 15-minute anti-Islam film, “Fitna,” which juxtaposes passages from the suras, or chapters, of the Quran with images of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, beheadings, shootings and speeches from clerics advocating violence against non-Muslims.

Temple officials issued a statement saying the university “is a community of scholars in which freedom of inquiry and freedom of expression are valued. We respect the right of our student organizations to invite people who express a wide variety of views and ideas.”

Fox News, 21 October 2009

See also the Philadelphia Daily News which reports:

Before the speech, held in Anderson Hall, more than 50 protesters had denounced the appearance of Wilders at the school. Members of All Sides, an organization that seeks to promote peace between Israel and Palestinians, held pink pom-poms and shouted, “Hey Hey, HO, HO, this racist bull—-‘s got to go.” Standing next to them with signs decrying Wilders’ views were members of the Student Senate, Democratic Socialists and the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance.

“Wilders speaks out about free speech while at the same time banning the Quran,” said Megan Chialastri, vice president of All Sides. “Banned books are not free speech and there is no way around that,” Chialastri said. “This is hate speech at its core,” said Monira Gamal-Eldin, president of the Muslim Students Association.

And over at Jihad Watch Robert Spencer reports the protest under the headline “Heavily indoctrinated student thugs shout down Wilders at Temple University”.

Temple Uni protest against Wilders

Left too soft on Islam, claims Aussie journalist

Posted on by Bob Pitt

James Button“Sitting in his office in Antwerp, Filip Dewinter says he wants to keep religion out of public life, protect free speech, promote democracy and ensure the equality of men and women.

“He talks like a progressive. But as head of the Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) party, which gets 20 per cent of the votes in the Flemish half of Belgium, he is one of the most far-right politicians in Europe. His adviser hands me a leaflet showing a minaret with a red line through it. ‘Stop Islamising’, the slogan demands. ‘No mosques in our neighbourhood.’ …

“Islam is the greatest challenge to old politics since the fall of communism. It has scrambled categories of right and left. The right steals the left’s language to allege that Muslims do not fit in because they do not respect Western values of pluralism, women’s rights and even gay rights….

“The populist Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn was often labelled right-wing but said, fairly or unfairly, that he was hostile to Islam because he did not want to ‘have to go through the emancipation of women and homosexuals all over again’. He entered politics partly out of rage at young Muslim men smashing the windows of his gay bar.

“Left liberals, meanwhile, are thrown into confusion, or worse. In 2004, the left-wing Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, hosted a visit by Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a Muslim cleric whose fatwas endorse wife-beating and the murder of homosexuals….

“The left rightly points out that most Muslims are not extremist. Yet it is so afraid of appearing racist or asserting Western cultural superiority that it seems unable to acknowledge any problems associated with the Muslim faith at all….

“Responding to both radical and fundamentalist forms of Islam gives the democratic left a chance to rediscover its core beliefs. It should not cede ownership of Western values to the right, values that the left fought for centuries to create.”

James Button in the Sydney Morning Herald, 22 October 2007

Hindu groups slam BNP claims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hindu groups across the country have united to slam claims made by BNP leader Nick Griffin that British Hindus support the policies of the BNP. In a joint statement the Hindu Council UK, National Council of Hindu Temples and City Hindus Network said they were against what the BNP stood for.

Mr Griffin made his claims during an interview on Sky News’ Sunday Live with Adam Boulton. The BNP leader was speaking after pledging to lift a bar on non-whites joining the party in response to court action by The Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Speaking to Adam Boulton he claimed: “A large number of the settled ethnic minority population, Sikhs, Hindus and so on, are actually very much in favour of the British National Party’s stance about stopping any further immigration.”

The claim, however, was denied. In a joint statement, Dr Rao, Chair of the Hindu Council UK, Sanjay Jagatia, General Secretary of the National Council of Hindu Temples, and Dhruv Patel, Chair of the City Hindus Network hit back at Mr Griffin.

“The claim made by Nick Griffin that Hindus back BNP is totally without foundation,” the statement said. “Hindu Council UK, the National Council of Hindu Temples and City Hindus Network have had no contact with the BNP and as a peaceful law abiding community we do not agree with Nick Griffin’s views or policies. We would also like to reiterate that we totally condemn all forms racism and religious intolerance.”

The Asian Today, 20 October 2009

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Far-right protesters in Swansea burn anti-Nazi flag

Posted on by Bob Pitt

WDL burn anti-Nazi flag

Far-right activists gathered in the centre of Swansea over the weekend to protest against Islamist extremism. Members of the Welsh Defence League performed Nazi salutes and jeered at the hundreds of people who gathered in opposition to the rally. One man scaled a building to take down an anti-Nazi flag, which was then set on fire. South Wales police said a 25-year-old man was arrested for a racially aggravated public order offence and was detained.

Guardian, 18 October 2009

Welsh Defence League cancels protest in Newport

Posted on by Bob Pitt

WDL SwanseaA protest planned by the Welsh Defence League in Newport this weekend has been cancelled, police said today.

The demonstration, which was supposed to voice objections to the conversion of a church in Victoria Road into a mosque and multi-faith community centre, had been due to take place on Saturday. But Gwent police confirmed today they had been informed it will no longer go ahead. A counter-protest is still thought to be taking place.

South Wales Argus, 19 October 2009