Category Archives: Far right racists

Mad clergyman bashes Bish

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hat tip, as they say, to the fascists of the British National Party who have drawn our attention to a contribution from the Rev Alan Clifford to the Torygraph’s online debate over the question “Should the Archbishop of Canterbury resign?“:

Sir, May a case not be made that the Archbishop of Canterbury has betrayed his ordination and consecration vows (see below)? He is not called to be a ‘PC’ mouthpiece in a posture of appeasement towards Muslims, especially when the creeping Islamification of the UK is already making considerable progress. Dr Williams is not called to ‘explore’ the possible accommodation of aspects of shari’ah in a UK legal context but to declare the Word of God. According to his ‘penitential apology’ at the Church of England Synod, he completely misreads his duty to honour the Lordship of Christ in these (and other) areas. Christ said “Beware of false prophets” (Matt. 7:15), and who was more false than the Prophet Muhammad? The double standing ovation the Archbishop received was sickening to hear. Such is the apostasy of those who clapped.

I leave readers to judge the above remarks in the light of promises Dr Williams made at his consecration: ARE you ready, with all faithful diligence, to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrine contrary to God’s Word; and both privately and openly to call upon and encourage others to the same? Answer: I am ready, the Lord being my helper.

The Form of Ordaining or Consecrating of an Archbishop or Bishop. The Book of Common Prayer(1662).

Yours faithfully,
The Revd Dr Alan C. Clifford
Pastor, Norwich Reformed Church
7 Woodside Park
Attleborough, NORWICH NR17 2JL

Austrian state bans mosques

Posted on by Bob Pitt

VIENNA — The southernmost Austrian state of Carinthia has passed a law effectively banning the construction of mosques, drawing fire from the opposition and Muslims for religious freedom violations.

“I can only recommend to all to have the courage to stand up effectively against this Islamisation that is creeping through Europe and represents a totally different culture,” Governor Joerg Haider was quoted as saying by Reuters. “We are really the pioneers on this,” added Haider, also the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Future of Austria party.

The law requires plans for any building of “extraordinary architecture or size” to be approved by a commission to judge its compatibility with the standard look of towns. This means that mosques would stand little chance of permits.

The new law drew immediate rebuke from the opposition and Muslims alike.

“We are creating a law for something that doesn’t exist,” fumed provincial Social Democratic leader Gaby Schaunig. Schaunig said there was no request to build a mosque in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic province.

Carinthia is home to 11,000 Muslims out of an estimated 400,000 population, the second-lowest Muslim population in Austria. Muslims, estimated at 400,000 or nearly 4 percent of the population, also denounced the law.

Omar Al-Rawi, the spokesman for Austria’s Islamic community, said it violated principles of equality and religious freedom and put Austria’s reputation on the line.

Islam Online, 13 February 2008

Feds charge 3 with firebombing mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Islamic Center of ColumbiaNASHVILLE, Tenn. — Three men have been charged in the firebombing of a small mosque over the weekend, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

Authorities said Eric Ian Baker, 32, Michael Corey Golden, 23, and Jonathan Edward Stone, 19, had planned for a week to burn down the Islamic Center of Columbia, about 40 miles southwest of Nashville, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul O’Brian said.

The men are accused of using gasoline, rags and empty beer bottles to set fire to the storefront mosque on Saturday. The men, who were arrested later that day, are facing federal charges of unlawful possession of a destructive device and state charges of arson.

The federal complaint filed against the men says Stone and Baker told officers they were members of the Christian Identity movement, an extreme doctrine that claims white Europeans are God’s chosen people. The complaint also said Baker spray-painted swastikas on the walls of the building, including the phrase “White Power.”

Associated Press, 13 February 2008

See also Al Arabiya, 13 February 2008

Veil to be banned on Dutch buses?

Posted on by Bob Pitt

De Volkskrant has the latest on the continuing political saga of whether, and to what extent, burqas should be banned in the Netherlands. Despite the fact that there’s only a limited number of women wearing this type of garment, the issue keeps stirring up strong political sentiments.

Earlier, the cabinet agreed that burqas would be banned for government workers and at schools. On Friday, the government is expected to announce that burqas will also be banned from public transport. And for those of you cynical enough to believe that all of this has anything to do with Islamophobia, the ban, if introduced, will also apply to balaclavas and crash helmets.

De Volkskrant writes that a ban on burqas was first proposed by Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders in 2005, but the previous cabinet never got round to it as a result of internal divisions.

The current government coalition has decided against a general ban on burqas, arguing that a ban is only justified when the garment in question “seriously hampers integration and communication”.

However, when this is the case, societal interests outweigh religious freedoms such as the wearing of burqas. It will come as no surprise that the Freedom Party does not think the ban is going far enough, and has submitted a bill banning the wearing of burqas not only in all public spaces, but also at home.

Expatica, 7 February 2008

Muslim graves latest target of Austria extremists

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Graz cemetery vandalismVandals damaged or destroyed dozens of graves belonging to Muslims in the Austrian city of Graz, heightening tensions in the southern city where a local politician made disparaging comments about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Police in Graz, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Vienna, said about 60 gravestones belonging to Muslims were found overturned or broken in the central cemetery, but said it was unclear when the vandalism took place. Officials said they could not rule out the possibility that extreme-right groups active in the city may have been behind the attack.

Tensions have risen in Graz since a local female politician from the right-wing Freedom Party disparaged the Prophet Muhammad, calling him a “child molester” who wrote the Quran during “fits of epilepsy.”

Al Arabiya, 6 February 2008

‘Anti-mosque initiatives tap into a fear of Islam’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Spiegel Online interviews Oliver Geden, an expert on right-wing populism at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Regarding the tactics of far-right parties like the BZÖ and FPÖ in Austria, Geden states:

“These parties are very clever. They usually focus on the question of minarets, so they can say: ‘We’re not calling for a ban on Islam, but Muslims don’t need minarets to pray.’ If they claim that mosques or even small prayer halls should be banned, then many people would say that was going too far…. The man in the street has probably never thought about minarets before, but it taps into his fear of Islam and he can easily relate to the issue. The right-wing populist parties have an underlying narrative which is against Muslims, but in public they only say that they are against minarets, which they see as symbols of Islamic superiority. Then, if they are accused of being racist, they can counter by saying: ‘Well, we’re only against minarets – what’s your problem?'”

Far-right party tries to ban mosque construction

Posted on by Bob Pitt

BZOA far-right party in the Austrian state of Carinthia, led by the notorious right-wing politician Jörg Haider, is trying to ban the construction of mosques and minarets. They’ve presented a draft law designed to prohibit “unusual” buildings that don’t fit in with traditional architecture.

In the latest anti-Islam initiative by right-wing politicians in Austria, the government in the state of Carinthia, which is led by right-wing populist Jörg Haider, has presented a bill that would hinder the future building of mosques in the state.

“With the help of this law, it will be de facto impossible to construct mosques or minarets in Carinthia,” Uwe Scheuch, the minister responsible for urban planning, told journalists Saturday at a press conference where he presented the draft law. Scheuch, who belongs to Haider’s right-wing Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) party, insisted, however, that the law would not infringe on Austria’s constitutional right to freedom of religion.

BZÖ will need the support of the conservative Austrian People’s Party if it is to get the draft law passed in the state government. That seems assured, however, as the People’s Party had asked the state government last year to prepare a draft law to ban the construction of mosques and minarets.

The draft law reflects a growing wave of anti-Muslim sentiment in Austria, where Muslims make up around 4 percent of the population. Another Austrian state, Vorarlberg, which has the highest proportion of Muslims in Austria, is also considering a ban on minarets.

Erwin Pröll, the governor of the state of Lower Austria, who belongs to the People’s Party, recently described minarets as “alien” to Austrian culture in a television interview. Susanne Winter, a politician for the right-wing Freedom Party, which Haider used to belong to before splitting off to set up the BZÖ, called the Prophet Muhammad a “child molester” during a recent election campaign.

Spiegel Online, 28 January 2008

Row over Islamist cleric’s visa

Posted on by Bob Pitt

YusufalQaradawiAn Islamist cleric who has defended suicide bombings and the execution of homosexuals is to be allowed to enter the UK, sparking a major row between government departments.

The Observer understands that senior civil servants in the Home Office and Foreign Office have recommended that ministers approve an application by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who is banned from entering the United States, to come to London for medical treatment.

The news has prompted unease in the Department for Communities and Local Government, which fears that allowing Qaradawi in might offend other faith groups as well as many Muslims.

There were calls last night for ministers to reject Qaradawi’s application. “Qaradawi has been banned from the US since 1999,” said Dr Irfan al-Alawi, international director of the Centre for Islamic Pluralism. “Why should the British government allow him to come here?”

Observer, 27 January 2008

See also “Foreign Office approves visit by anti-semitic Muslim fascist” by Adrian Morgan. The irony of a self-proclaimed admirer of Nick Griffin denouncing fascism will not be lost on readers of Islamophobia Watch.

For the views of actual fascists on Qaradawi see Stormfront.