Nadiya Takolia defends the hijab.
Or, as CiF Watch would have it: “iEngage’s Nadiya Takolia demonstrates again how proponents of, or at least apologists for, the most reactionary movements within Islam continue, under the veneer of human rights, to attempt to avoid being held responsible for an adherence to reactionary, racist, and violent political agendas.”
Redditch residents put on a show of unity and defiance as a march through the town from the EDL passed off peacefully.
More than 100 officers were drafted in from across the West Mercia force area as well as Warwickshire, West Midlands and British Transport Police to help control the event and tensions were high throughout the day as a large counter demonstration, made up of residents from all sections of Redditch’s community and members of United Against Facism, attempted to get near to the main EDL rally.
Between 100 and 150 members of the EDL from across the region turned out for Saturday’s rally which saw speeches made from the bandstand although police officially estimate the figure at about 40. The event lasted for about half an hour during which members of the group urged people to “wake up to the facts” about Islam and made a number of anti-islamic statements and chants.
Rival marches by a far-right group and anti-fascists have passed off without major incident. The Scottish Defence League (SDL) and Unite Against Fascism held separate marches towards St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh where they also held their own rallies.
Lothian and Borders Police said around 80 people were at the SDL event while around 300 attended the counter-protest. The force said it organised an extensive police operation for the events and that no one was arrested.
Luke Henderson, of Unite Against Fascism, said: “It was fantastic: the streets of Edinburgh belonged to the anti-racists today. We really represented the diversity that makes Edinburgh the multicultural and vibrant city that it is today.”
Press Association, 26 May 2012
See also BBC News, 26 May 2012
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a law aimed at keeping the state’s courts or government agencies from basing decisions on Islamic or other foreign legal codes, and a national Muslim group’s spokesman said Friday that a court challenge is likely.
The Dutch press reports that Fioritti College in Lisse has suspended a teacher named Anand Soekhoe and will not be renewing his contract, after he posted anti-Muslim comments on Twitter.
A review by the state Attorney General into the New York Police Department’s secret surveillance operation targeting Muslim businesses and mosques in New Jersey found the NYPD did nothing wrong.
The three-month probe, ordered by Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa, concluded there was no evidence to show the NYPD’s activities in the state violated New Jersey’s civil or criminal laws.
A Muslim group has reignited the battle for an Islamic community centre in Purley by appealing against the council’s decision to refuse it.
In March the Advertiser reported how the plan was defeated by Tory councillors who said the centre, for 5 Russell Hill Place, would be “detrimental” to residents living above and for motorists who use the car park the site faces onto. However, this week we surveyed residents in the flats above the site, with the result suggesting the majority of them support it.
Purley Islamic Community Centre (PICC) has lodged an appeal which could end with a £10,000 bill. A council ruling is expected within the next 10 weeks.
PICC spokesman Usman Sadiq said: “We are determined to establish a centre within Purley and after careful consideration have decided to appeal the council’s decision. I am certain the centre will benefit the whole community and aims to provide a number of services targeted for local Muslim families but will be available to all.”
The Scottish Defence League has won an appeal to hold a rally in the capital. The group previously had a request to march through Edinburgh rejected by the City of Edinburgh Council. At Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Wednesday it was granted permission to gather on Regent Road on Saturday.
Anti-fascism group Unite Against Fascism Edinburgh have said the city’s residents will be “rightly outraged” by the decision. Luke Henderson from the group said: “This is not about freedom of speech; this is about vile racists bringing a message of hate into Edinburgh. They want to divide communities and spread fear and violence. Edinburgh is one city of many cultures and in this town there is overwhelming opposition to racism and organised racists and fascists.”
Increasing anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. has shown enormous growth in the past two years, leading the Southern Poverty Law Center to mention three notorious Islamophobes on their list of “30 new activists heading up the radical right.”
The SPLC finds that “[a]n anti-Muslim movement, almost entirely ginned up by political opportunists and hard-line Islamophobes, has grown enormously since taking off in 2010, when reported anti-Muslim hate crimes went up by 50%.”
A leading French Muslim group says three mosques have been vandalized over the past week and is urging authorities to punish the perpetrators.
The French Council of the Muslim Faith, or CFCM, said racist insults and Nazi slogans were scrawled on a mosque in the southeastern town of Tarascon and another in the eastern city of Strasbourg on Tuesday and Wednesday. It said the mosque in the southern town of Draguignan was vandalized May 17.