The Arkansas State University newspaper The Herald reports on a lecture by Nonie Darwish.
Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement official relieved of duties
A top Immigrations and Customs Enforcement official who sent an Islamophobic email to a Helena immigration attorney has been relieved of his supervisory duties, according to lawyers involved in the case.
Earlier this month, Bruce Norum, the supervisory detention and deportation officer for the Helena Department of Homeland Security ICE field office, forwarded a racially charged email to Shahid Haque-Hausrath, a Helena immigration attorney of Pakistani descent.
Haque-Hausrath, a natural-born U.S. citizen who was raised in a Muslim household, took offense to the email and filed official complaints with DHS and the U.S. Department of Justice. Haque-Hausrath’s complaint maintained that it is unacceptable for a top-ranking ICE official with authority over immigrants of all races, nationalities and religious backgrounds to send such a racially charged email to anyone, especially from a work computer and during work hours.
JC apologises to Tafazal Mohammad
The Jewish Chronicle has issued the following retraction:
“On 13 May 2011 we published articles which suggested that Tafazal Mohammed was a Jihadist who may have supported violent extremism. We accept that this is not the case and that Mr Mohammed unequivocally condemns acts of violence, including the 7/7 bombings. We are happy to put this right and apologise to him for any distress caused.”
The articles in question were a front page report and a comment piece by the JC‘s political editor Martin Bright. Both articles have now been removed from the paper’s website (see here and here). As we pointed out at the time, the evidence presented to the 7/7 inquest provided no basis for Bright’s “jihadist” claims and consequently “the JC‘s accusations against Tafazal Mohammad fall apart”.
One Society Many Cultures
Bob Lambert explains why this Saturday’s One Society Many Cultures/Unite Against Fascism conference is necessary.
CoE chief: Anti-Muslim feeling on rise in Europe
The Council of Europe’s secretary general says the anti-Muslim beliefs of confessed Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik are shared by more Europeans than most people would like to believe.
Thorbjoern Jagland told the AP in an interview Wednesday that only a “very small minority” of like-minded individuals would act on those beliefs as Breivik did. But Jagland said he’s very concerned that xenophobic attitudes – especially toward Muslims – are getting worse in Europe.
Breivik has confessed to killing 77 people in a bomb attack and shooting spree in Norway last July. But he denies criminal guilt, saying he’s in a state of war and believes the massacre was necessary to save Norway and Europe from being overrun by Muslim immigrants.
‘The Cold War on British Muslims – The Instigators and Funders’ – successful meeting at House of Commons
On Tuesday 11th October, the Middle East Monitor (MEMO) and the Cordoba Foundation (TCF) co-hosted the authors of the recent SpinWatch report on the spread of Islamophobia in the UK. The event took place in the House of Parliament and was sponsored by Simon Danczuk, MP for Rochdale, and chaired by the former foreign affairs editor for the Guardian, Victoria Brittain. The report entitled “Cold War on British Muslims: An Examination of Policy Exchange and Centre of Social Cohesion” was presented by the co-authors Professor David Miller, Tom Griffin and Tom Mills, who briefly described their findings and their analyses. They were joined on the panel by Dr Robert Lambert, former head of the Muslim Contact Unit and co-director of the European Muslim Research Centre (EMRC) at the University of Exeter and a part time lecturer at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV) at the University of St Andrews.
‘Don’t accuse London universities of being hotbeds for terrorists,’ says head of UCL
Malcolm Grant has the serene demeanour that might be expected of the head of one of London’s most prestigious universities. But mention the Government’s latest counter-terrorism strategy and its insistence that universities must do more to look for potential extremists, and his mood changes.
“That was just stupid,” he says, with a look of exasperation on his face as he rounds on ministers for their accompanying suggestion that previous inaction has allowed campuses to become breeding grounds for terrorists.
“It was stupid to say that of those convicted of terrorism offences, more than 30 per cent had been to university, and to suggest that there was a link. It is simply a reflection of the fact that a large proportion of the population have been to university. There seems to be no evidence of a causal connection between attendance at university and engagement in religiously inspired violence.”
Add Muslim college students to the list of locals the NYPD spied on
The Associated Press’s series on NYPD spying continues today with the news that Muslim students at colleges in New York were investigated covertly by the secret NYPD and CIA program that also monitored community centers, government allies, and entire neighborhoods in the years after September 11. The new report places NYPD undercover officers at schools including Brooklyn College, Baruch, Hunter, City College, Queens College, La Guardia, and St. John’s, where they sought out student radicalization. But according to experts, their methods “may have broken a 19-year-old pact with the colleges and violated U.S. privacy laws, jeopardizing millions of dollars in federal research money and student aid.”
“The government, through the police department, is working privately to destroy the private lives of Muslim citizens,” said Moustafa Bayoumi, an English professor at Brooklyn College.
New York Magazine, 11 October 2011
See also “CAIR seeks DOJ probe of NYPD violation of Muslim students’ privacy”, CAIR press release, 11 October 2011
EDL falsely claims to have recruited Joey Barton
The English Defence League has claimed that Queens Park Rangers footballer, Joey Barton, has joined their far-right group.
A picture of Barton standing next to EDL leader, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has appeared on the EDL Support Group Facebook page with the caption “Joey Barton joins the EDL”.
However, Barton and the club strongly deny any links with the far right extremists. In a statement released by the club, Barton said “As a Premier League footballer it is common to pose for photographs with people you do not know, as is the case here. I had no idea who the person was. I simply agreed to his request for a photograph. I have absolutely no connection with such a group.”
EDL falsely claims to have recruited Joey Barton
The English Defence League has claimed that Queens Park Rangers footballer, Joey Barton, has joined their far-right group.
A picture of Barton standing next to EDL leader, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has appeared on the EDL Support Group Facebook page with the caption “Joey Barton joins the EDL”.
However, Barton and the club strongly deny any links with the far right extremists. In a statement released by the club, Barton said “As a Premier League footballer it is common to pose for photographs with people you do not know, as is the case here. I had no idea who the person was. I simply agreed to his request for a photograph. I have absolutely no connection with such a group.”
Last year, a similar picture of Yaxley-Lennon standing next to glamour model, Katie Price appeared on the EDL’s Facebook page along with the claim that she also supported the group. At the time, a spokesperson for Price’s management company said “She is not and will not be associated with the English Defence League. Kate had no reason to suspect he had any connection with any group.”