Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia

Dumfries rallies against SDL

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A rally is being staged in Dumfries to protest at a planned anti-Muslim demonstration by a far right group. The Scottish Defence League’s visit on May 18 is set to be countered by a march through the town staged by Dumfries TUC.

Secretary John Dennis said: “The Scottish Defence League (SDL) have a Facebook page called ‘Casuals United’, which is monitored by Unite Against Fascism. They alerted us to the fact the SDL have got four different places where they’re having anti-Muslim demonstrations. One of them’s in Dumfries.”

Mr Dennis says that the SDL visit was prompted by a planning application made on behalf of Dumfries Islamic Society for a mosque on Annan Road to allow visiting imams to stay overnight. He believes that the SDL will assemble for a static protest.

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Four arrests at EDL Leeds demo

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL Leeds protest May 2013

Four arrests were made at a Far Right demonstration in Leeds.

A huge police operation involving over 100 officers swung into action on Saturday (May 4) as the English Defence league marched through Leeds’ Lingfield estate – at the invitation of residents angered after the go ahead was given to plans to turn a derelict pub into a Muslim-run community centre.

A counter demonstration by Unite Against Fascism, which attracted around 120 people, was kept apart from the EDL by dozens more officers.

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Greeting card turns Muslim doll into terrorist

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Terrorist doll card

Writing in the Chicago Monitor, Ahmed Rehab of the Council on American-Islamic Relations draws attentions to this “joke” greeting card spotted by CAIR-Chicago in a local store.

The card, produced by a company called NobleWorks Cards, features a photo of a Muslim doll wearing a hijab accompanied by the words “The talking doll. Pull string for message, if you dare!” and “She’ll love you to death! She’ll blow your brains out!” The inside of the card features the message “Hope your birthday is a BLOW OUT!”

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Florida: anti-sharia bill dies in Senate

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A bill that would have banned Islamic, or Sharia Law, along with other foreign laws from being applied in state courts died in the legislature Friday.

Senate President Don Gaetz on Friday declared the bill (HB 351) “resolved” after its sponsor decided not to ask for the unanimous vote required to move the bill forward. It had failed a previous procedural vote on Thursday. The House approved the legislation on a 79-39 vote last month.

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ENGAGE submission to OSCE on anti-Muslim hate crime

Posted on by Bob Pitt

ENGAGE OSCE submission 2013ENGAGE have just published their submission to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe on anti-Muslim hate crime in the UK, as a contribution to the OSCE’s preparation of its Hate Crime Report 2012.

This is a thoroughly researched document which sheds a disturbing light on the widespread occurrence of anti-Muslim acts in Britain. It is certainly a much more substantial piece of work than anything produced by the government-backed TELL MAMA, despite the large-scale state subsidies the latter receives.

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Toronto: synagogue cancels Geller appearance after police intervention

Posted on by Bob Pitt

JDL Geller adYork Regional Police threatened to remove a rabbi as one of the force’s chaplains if he hosted a controversial anti-Islamist speaker at his Thornhill synagogue.

Insp. Ricky Veerappan, of the force’s diversity, equity and inclusion bureau, confirmed he and officers from the service’s hate crimes unit met with Rabbi Mendel Kaplan of the Chabad Flamingo Synagogue on Tuesday.

They expressed concern about an upcoming talk to be given by Pamela Geller, a vocal critic of radical Islam. She protested past plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City, and has posted anti-Jihad messages in that city’s subway system.

Subsequent to his meeting with police, Kaplan cancelled Geller’s May 13 talk, which was sponsored by the Jewish Defence League (JDL) – a hard-line advocacy group that had rented space in Kaplan’s synagogue for the event.

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California students pass anti-Islamophobia resolution

Posted on by Bob Pitt

After approximately five hours of discussion, the ASUCD Senate passed Senate Resolution 21 on April 25 with a 7-4-1 vote. The resolution condemns Islamophobic speech at the University of California. The resolution defined Islamaphobia as “the irrational fear of Islam, Muslims or anything related to the Islamic or Arab cultures and traditions.” Authors stated that it was written due to the concerns for students’ well-being, safety on campus and the administration’s failure to address issues.

During public discussion, some members of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and other students spoke in support of the resolution. Members of the Ayn Rand Society (ARS), the group that held the April 11 “Islamists Rising” event on campus, spoke in opposition of the resolution. The event held by the ARS, which featured panelists such as author Daniel Pipes, sparked a conversation about freedom of speech on campus and with the administration.

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