Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia

Portsmouth: far right groups may be fuelling increase in race attacks

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Portsmouth mosque demonstration

Far right groups are thought to be one of the causes behind a rise in race hate attacks in Portsmouth, The News can reveal.

New figures show that 455 incidents were reported to the city’s Racial Awareness Service over a nine-month period – a 25 per cent year-on-year rise. Police also say hate crime – which includes those targeted because of their race or religion – went up by 16 per cent in the city to 317 last year. Fareham, Gosport, Havant and Waterlooville also saw a nine per cent rise in hate crime.

Sharon Furtado, who manages Portsmouth City Council’s Racial Awareness Service, said: “The rise (in race attacks) could be due to a whole host of reasons. Last year we had the elections and the British National Party and far right groups had more of a platform to express their views. Sometimes people listen to them and it touches a chord with them. It could also be down to the recession and there being a feeling that immigrants are coming in and taking jobs. We don’t know what the trigger is that makes someone decide to act.”

Last November, up to 100 people were involved in a demonstration at the Jami Mosque in Victoria Road North, Southsea [pictured]. The protest was sparked after a small group of Muslim extremists – not from Portsmouth – burned poppies in London during the two-minute silence on Armistice Day. The English Defence League was blamed for organising the protests, which resulted in several arrests and charges.

Portsmouth News, 28 March 2011

CAIR calls for assault on Muslim cabbie to be investigated as hate crime

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today called on the Department of Justice to investigate as a hate crime an incident in which a Southern California Muslim taxi driver was assaulted after being asked about his religion.

CAIR-LA said the Muslim driver was allegedly assaulted when he arrived at a Newport Beach, Calif., cigar lounge on March 19in response to a call for a taxi. The alleged victim reports that he was confronted by the owner of the facility when he inquired if anyone had requested a taxi. The man who identified himself as the owner allegedly told the victim, “I am a Marine officer, f**k you.”

Shortly after the verbal confrontation, a woman came out of the cigar lounge and confirmed that she had requested the cab. The victim stepped out of the cab to talk to the woman. According to the victim, three men then came out of the facility and confronted him, pushing him repeatedly and asked questions such as “What’s your religion?” “Where are you from?” and said “We’re going to f**k you up like we f**ked up your country.”

The alleged assailants reportedly followed the victim to his taxi when he returned to push the vehicle’s emergency response button, which failed. Once inside his taxi, the victim had begun to call 911 when one the attackers allegedly sat in the seat behind him, placed him in a headlock and proceeded to punch him. The other two men and the owner also allegedly began punching the victim. After a few minutes, the lounge owner reportedly said, “Stop, we’ve f**ked him enough.”

The victim sought medical treatment for facial and head injuries. Since the incident, he has missed work and reports that he is afraid to go to work.

CAIR press release, 28 March 2011

Herman Cain says he would not appoint a Muslim to his administration

Posted on by Bob Pitt

As the Republican presidential nomination process begins, one GOP candidate is making a name for himself as the Islamophobia candidate: Herman Cain.

Earlier this week, Cain gave an interview to Christianity Today in which he declared that, “based upon the little knowledge that I have of the Muslim religion, you know, they have an objective to convert all infidels or kill them.”

ThinkProgress caught up with the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza today at the Conservative Principles Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, to discuss his comments further. We asked him, in light of his statements on Islam, would he be comfortable appointing any Muslims in his administration. Rather than skirting the question or hedging his answer, as most presidential aspirants are wont to do, Cain was definitive: “No, I would not”:

KEYES: You came under a bit of controversy this week for some of the comments made about Muslims in general. Would you be comfortable appointing a Muslim, either in your cabinet or as a federal judge?

CAIN: No, I would not. And here’s why. There is this creeping attempt, there is this attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government. This is what happened in Europe. And little by little, to try and be politically correct, they made this little change, they made this little change. And now they’ve got a social problem that they don’t know what to do with hardly.

The question that was asked that “raised some questions” and, as my grandfather said, “I does not care, I feel the way I feel.” I was asked, “what is the role of Islam in America?” I thought it was an odd question. I said the role of Islam in America is for those that believe in Islam to practice it and leave us alone. Just like Christianity. We have a First Amendment. And I get upset when the Muslims in this country, some of them, try to force their Sharia law onto the rest of us.

Cain’s apparent rationale for refusing to even consider a Muslim nominee for any position in his administration is as simple as it is abhorrent: he believes all Muslims would try to “force their Sharia law onto the rest of us.” This type of bigotry has been promoted by conservative figures like Frank Gaffney and Brigitte Gabriel for years. Now, it appears to be seeping into the presidential race via Herman Cain.

Think Progress, 26 March 2011

Detroit congressman calls for investigation into border harassment of US Muslims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, is asking for a federal investigation into allegations that border control agents are unfairly targeting Muslim Americans traveling between the United States and Canada. In a statement today, Conyers, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said he was “contacting the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to initiate an investigation of these allegations.”

Conyers called for an investigation after the Michigan chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations said Thursday it had received a rash of complaints from American Muslims about their treatment at border crossings. “We welcome Congressman Conyers’ concern regarding reported violations of American Muslims’ civil liberties and look forward to his leadership in addressing this issue in the Congress,” said a statement Friday evening from Dawud Walid, executive director, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Michigan

The travelers said they were detained for questioning for unreasonable amounts of time and asked if they knew terrorists. “I had an American passport, and I was put in a cell for four hours,” Ann Arbor teacher Kheireddine Bouzid, who is of Algerian descent, told reporters at a CAIR-Michigan press event on Thursday. “They asked me if I could give them the names of any terrorists.”

Detroit News, 25 March 2011

Update:  “CAIR applauds Rep. Conyers’ call for probe of border harassment”, CAIR press release, 26 March 2011

Ketron amends anti-sharia bill

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bill_KetronTennessee lawmakers are rewriting a bill that described Islamic law as a threat to U.S. security and seemed to equate peaceful Muslim practices with terrorism.

State Sen. Bill Ketron and House Speaker Pro Tempore Judd Matheny, both Republicans, offered the revision after questions arose about the proposed bill’s constitutionality. “The revision reflects our original intention to prevent or deter violent or terrorist acts, but does so without any room for misinterpretation regarding the language’s affect on peaceful religious practices,” said Ketron.

Muslim and civil liberty organizations strongly criticized the original bill, saying its focus on Shariah law unfairly targeted Muslims and equated religious rituals such as dietary restrictions with terrorism. The bill now contains no references to Islam, but will allow Tennessee to prosecute those who offer financial or material support to known terrorist entities.

“I think it’s a victory for common sense and legislative restraint,” Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told The Tennessean. “This is a win for Tennessee’s Muslim community.”

Religion News Service, 25 March 2011

See also John Esposito and Sheila Lalwani, “Fear of sharia in Tennessee”, Comment is Free, 25 March 2011

Update:  See “Ketron Shariah bill not fixable”, Daily News Journal, 27 March 2011

Muslim leader says Flintshire mosque still a priority

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The man behind proposals for an Islamic Cultural Centre at a disused social club destroyed by fire says he is uncertain what the site’s future holds.

Mohammed Munchab Ali, chairman of the Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society, told the Leader that plans to establish a centre with a mosque in Flintshire remain in place despite Shotton Lane Social Club being burned to the ground early on February 4.

But he said any possibility of developing on the former social club land is out of the group’s hands and they remain in the dark over what the likely future of the site is.

Police yesterday confirmed they are continuing to investigate the cause of the blaze, although they have said they are treating it as suspicious.

Mr Ali, who reached an agreement for the society to move into the social club shortly before the fire, said: “What happens with the site in Shotton is beyond our control. We are still waiting to hear from the police about the fire. The situation has not really changed since the fire but we still want to create an Islamic Cultural Centre in Flintshire.”

The group is continuing to use Queensferry Community Centre but retain hopes they can expand by moving into a larger facility despite the fire and protests against the proposed development. Their hopes for a new centre include inviting all members of the Flintshire community to come and learn more about Islamic culture and to provide more facilities for women and children.

“Although we are still able to use the community centre, it is a limited facility,” added Mr Ali, owner of the Bengal Dynasty chain of restaurants.  “We are finding difficulties because of the small space available and we wanted to expand our activities. “The reasons why we wanted to move are still in place.”

The site is now in the hands of receivers, with the remains of the building having been demolished. Community leaders earlier this week called for action to be taken quickly over the future of the land and clear up the “eyesore” of rubble that remains.

Mr Ali said he felt people had stopped talking about the fire during the past seven weeks but added there has been plenty of support for his organisation’s aims. He said: “A lot of people have written to us since the fire.  We have had people wiring and saying they were very sorry about what had happened. If there is a positive over what happened, it has been the support we have received from people.”

The Leader, 25 March 2011

Stoke-on-Trent mosque fire suspects charged with arson

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Stoke mosque arsonTwo men have been charged in connection with a fire at a mosque in Stoke-on-Trent.

Emergency crews were called when live CCTV footage showed smoke coming from the mosque in Regent Road, Hanley, at about 0630 GMT on 3 December, 2010.

Two men from the city, aged 23, and 28, have been charged with arson with intent to endanger life. Staffordshire Police said the men were due to appear before North Staffordshire magistrates on Friday.

BBC News, 24 March 2011

See also The Sentinel, 25 March 2011

Update:  See “Hanley mosque arson attack suspects bailed for crown court”, The Sentinel, 26 March 2011

Further update:  See also “English Defence League activist charged with arson & intent to endanger life”, Exposing the English Defence League, 28 March 2011