“It is evident to me that the men have been denied the basic right to liberty for many years. Their extradition to the US is a travesty of justice.” Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari draws the lessons from the shameful decision to extradite British citizens Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan.
Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia
Riverine Centre trustees outline development plans to Newham Recorder
The team behind plans for Newham’s so called ‘mega mosque’ have met theRecorder for the first time to spell out their vision.
At the site of the proposed development in Canning Road, West Ham – also known as the Abbey Mills Mosque – were four of the prime proposers. Solad Mohammed, one of three trustees, was with project volunteers, including their spokesman, Yousuf Aslam, to show us around last week.
As we walked across the former industrial site, close to historic Abbey Mills Pumping Station, they explained how they hope to transform the grounds into a tranquil and peaceful place for Muslim worshippers and the wider community.
Rotherham locals plan unity demo against racist EDL
Rotherham will unite on Saturday to see off the racist English Defence League, who plan to march through the town. Trade unions, anti-fascists and faith groups came together at a packed public meeting on Monday to plan the town’s peaceful counter-protest.
Prince Edward Island Muslims refuse to be intimidated by attacks on mosque
Najam Chishti of the Muslim Society of P.E.I. outside the Masjid Dar As-Salam mosque
Zain Esseghaier has been a Charlottetown resident for the last 33 years, married an islander and raised a family here. Though his modest two-story mosque has been the target of three serious threats over the past year – last week a bottle of gasoline was left at the entrance and the structure plastered with “Defeat Jihad” posters – he remains steadfast, refusing to be intimidated.
DC Metro ad gets makeover within hours
A controversial ad was posted in four Metro stations under court order Monday, but within hours one had already been covered with yellow Post-it notes giving an alternative message to the ad, which equated Muslims with savages.
Debbie Polhemus, of D.C., covered up the letters of the ad, which read “In Any War Between the Civilized Man and the Savage, Support the Civilized Man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.”
Rabbi Jill Jacobs explains message behind New York subway ads
Inae Oh of the Huffington Post interviews Rabbi Jill Jacobs, executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America, which took out an advertisement urging New York subway users to “help stop bigotry against our Muslim neighbors”, in an effort to counter Pamela Geller’s notorious “savages” ad. Rabbi Jacobs explains:
“I was very concerned that people might think that these ads speak for the Jewish community, as Geller couches her anti-Muslim message in the language of supporting Israel. The suggestion that she is speaking only about terrorists, and not about Muslims in general, falls apart as soon as you read her writings, which are fear mongering about Muslims in the U.S. and in the world, and about Islam as a religion.”
She adds: “I want to spread the message that 1800 rabbis – along with the majority of the American Jewish community – believes in partnership with our Muslim neighbors. We, of course, oppose all acts of terrorism. We will not, however, allow the actions of a small minority to be an excuse for dehumanizing an entire people.”
Trade Unions, politicians and activists pledge to oppose English Defence League march in Norwich
A coalition of faith groups, trade unions and community organisations vowed today to do all it could to oppose a planned march by the English Defence League (EDL). The group, called We are Norwich, said it would do “all in its power” to peacefully oppose the EDL demonstration.
Toledo: multifaith gathering advocates unity
After a week dealing with the devastation that a fire caused at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo, members and friends of Toledo’s Muslim community were able to gather for prayer. Congregants did so under a tent Sunday because on Sept. 30 an arsonist burned the mosque’s prayer room.
The suspect in the case, Randy Linn, is now in custody and has been charged with two felonies.
13 arrests at Sunderland mosque protest
Police made 13 arrests when a protest at the site of a recently-approved new mosque turned violent. Around 200 people were involved in the demonstration on St Mark’s Road, which saw members of far-right groups including the English Defence League clashing with anti-fascists and members of the Muslim community.
Scores of police armed with batons were called in as the disorder escalated, and a firecracker in a glass bottle was seen being thrown at officers. Despite numerous objects hitting police officers and nearby homes, it is understood there were no injuries and no damage to property.
Two men both aged 32 have since been charged with being drunk and disorderly. They are both due to appear before Sunderland magistrates on October 26. Eight men arrested on suspicion of public order offences and another three arrested on suspicion of affray have been bailed pending further enquires.
The National Front has pledged to make the demonstrations a monthly fixture, although supporters were asked not the bring NF flags to the event on pain of being removed by far-right organisers who said they would create the wrong impression. A number of protesters among the far-right groups were not from Sunderland, with some travelling from Bradford and Edinburgh.
Plans to convert a former council transport depot into a new mosque were put forward in 2011 and approved by Sunderland City Council in August. The application by the Pakistan Islamic Centre attracted almost 700 letters of objection and a petition of more than 1,400 signatures.
Sky Tyne and Wear, 7 October 2012
See also “Sunderland antiracists stand firm against EDL, NEI, NF and BNP”, UAF news report, 6 October 2012
Update: Spark FM has an interview with Gary Duncan of Sunderland Anti-Fascist Coalition.
MCB condemns extradition of Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan
Justice denied: The UK’s sovereignty and dignity sold as Babar Ahmed and Talha Ahsan are not allowed a British trial
Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan today lost their appeal for a stay on their extradition to the United States. For upholders of human rights and civil liberties, Friday 5th October 2012 will be a black letter day. It is the day when the pleas of two British citizens to be tried in a British court came to naught. It is the day when the Metropolitan Police emerged scott free from having to explain why the information collected from Babar Ahmad’s home was provided to the US prosecutor but not to our own Crown Prosecution Service. This was the day when the Government’s media strategy of linking the cases of Abu Hamza with those of Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan yielded its malevolent fruits. It will take a very long time for trust to be restored.