Labelling Britain a “breeding ground for terror” lends weight to the EDL, when the group’s activities should be under scrutiny, too.
Bob Lambert writes at Comment is Free, 13 December 2010
Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia
‘Muslims for Bush’ founder defects to Democrats because of anti-Muslim bigotry in Republican party
Muhammad Ali Hasan, a member of the wealthy and influential Colorado Republican Hasan family and a past state House and treasurer candidate, said he is switching parties.
Speaking at the University of Colorado-Boulder on his experience growing up Muslim in the American West and later in conversation with the Colorado Independent, Hasan said he is ending his affiliation with the party for the bigotry he believes has shaped Republican politics over the last year. The FOX News regular and founder of Muslims for Bush said he met recently with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the controversial Democratic leader won him over.
Hasan said he felt alienated between national Republican leaders on one side railing against the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” and gays and illegal immigrants and, on the other, state Republican delegates convinced that as a candidate for treasurer he was angling to install sharia finance laws. He said the GOP convention in May was a low point. “You experience bigotry sometimes but I often just think it’s probably my personality that the person doesn’t like. At the convention, though, that was the first time I felt the real thing. It was the worst experience of my life.”
Hasan suspects a whisper campaign swept the convention, sounding a warning against placing a Muslim in charge of investing the state’s revenues. “Some goons were telling people that there’s a passage in the Koran that encourages Muslims to lie, that lying is considered a good thing in the service of advancing a Muslim or sharia agenda. I don’t know who was behind the rumor, but I’ve read the Koran, and I don’t know what they were talking about.”
He said the weekend of the convention he watched hundreds of supporters fall away. Delegate after delegate approached him and mentioned the Koran and said in so many words that they weren’t sure they could trust him. “It hurt. People who had said they were voting for me were now coming up to me and saying ‘You know, I hear you could be lying to us.’ I was shocked. I got the courage to approach some of them, people I had talked to and who said they were voting for me. Here they were wearing J.J. Ament stickers. I was like, you know, wow, and they said ‘But how do I know you’re not going to assert some form of sharia law against Colorado?'”
Hasan said he was deflated after talking to one woman at length. “I told her I started Muslims for Bush. I’m proud of that. I told her I have been a vocal fiscal conservative for years. I said I’ve given to Republican candidates on the federal and state level. I helped get Republican candidates elected to House seats in 2008 when Democrats were winning everything… Finally I asked her ‘There’s nothing I can say to win your vote because my name is Muhammad, am I right?’ and she said ‘Yeah, that’s probably right.'”
EDL invites Pastor Terry Jones to speak at Luton demonstration
Home secretary Theresa May is under intense pressure to ban controversial anti-Muslim preacher Terry Jones from Britain after far-right activists said he had agreed to address them at a demonstration about “the evils of Islam”.
The English Defence League (EDL) said it was “proud to announce” that the US pastor, who caused outrage with plans to burn the Qur’an on this year’s anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, would be attending the event in Luton in early February. Jones confirmed that he would be arriving in the UK. The pastor’s website said he intended to visit the EDL’s “biggest demonstration to date” in February. The website stated: “During the protest, Dr Terry Jones will speak against the evils and destructiveness of Islam in support of the continued fight against the Islamification of England and Europe.”
President Barack Obama warned in September that Jones’s planned Qur’an burnings would be a “recruitment bonanza” for al-Qaida and the US state department said it would put the country’s citizens at risk across the world.
The EDL announced Jones’s planned visit on its Facebook site yesterday, saying he would attend “our biggest demo to date” and describing it as “the big one”. There are fears that copies of the Qur’an could be burned by extremists.
The last time the EDL marched in Luton, 250 of their supporters went on the rampage through an Asian area of the town. Shop windows were smashed, cars overturned and a number of people were attacked. Thirty-five people were arrested as a result of the violence. Eleven people were arrested yesterday as 500 EDL supporters marched in Peterborough.
News of Jones’s planned visit comes as the head of the police intelligence unit on domestic extremism reveals that the EDL and related splinter groups have become his biggest concern.
Adrian Tudway, the national co-ordinator for domestic extremism, told the Observer: “We look at the extreme right and left, but currently our biggest single area of business are the various groups which call themselves defence leagues. These defence leagues can be found across England.”
The unit is monitoring a “number of individuals” connected to extreme rightwing groups, details of which are disseminated to local police forces.
See also “Koran-protest pastor Terry Jones may be banned from UK”, BBC News, 12 December 2010
Further details at Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion
Update: See Jon Cruddas, “Ban the hateful Pastor Jones”, Comment is Free, 12 December 2010
Faiths unite after attack on Stoke mosque
Faith leaders across Stoke-on-Trent have come together in a show of solidarity after an attempt to blow up a mosque.
Members of North Staffs Forum of Faith were among those that met at the Muslim Welfare and Community Association at Hanley’s Equality House yesterday. They then walked across to the mosque in Regent Road, which was the target of an arson attack last Friday.
Arsonists connected a hose pipe to the gas supply of a nearby empty house before feeding it through a window at the Hanley mosque which is still under construction. Rubbish was then set alight on the ground floor, seemingly in an attempt to trigger an explosion.
Lloyd Cooke, chief executive of the Saltbox Christian Centre in Hanley, said: “We are deeply concerned at this recent event. We wanted to meet together as a sign of support and unity and to affirm that an attack on one faith is an attack on all. We are saying no to violence, crime and hate and no to the attack on the mosque. But we are saying yes to tolerance, peace and understanding.”
The Bishop of Stafford Geoff Annas said: “We make no attempt to hide our differences. We all have our ways of approaching God. The community needs to work together to safeguard the freedom God has given us and we rejoice in that.”
Before people walked over to the mosque Imam Abrar Hussain recited a chapter from the Koran. And outside the mosque they lit candles to symbolise light, hope and peace.
Rana Tufail, who helped raise money to build the mosque, said he was grateful to people for turning up. The Shelton Islamic Centre director said:
“It’s important that we are all here today to express our opinions and show our disgust at what happened to the mosque. This attack shocked a lot of people. The perpetrators were trying to destroy peace, providence and harmony. They were trying to destroy this beautiful building, which now when you look inside is smoke-logged and depressing. But with the help of the whole community it will be completed and it will be used by everybody.”
Peter Barber, chairman of districts for Stoke-on-Trent and Chester Methodist Church, said: “There is huge support in the community. It is important to show that with faith communities standing together we can stay strong. Attacks like this aim to destroy communities but we won’t let that happen.”
EDL spews hatred of Islam in Peterborough
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of assaulting police officers during an English Defence League (EDL) march and counter-protests in Peterborough.
There were other arrests as the EDL marched and rallies were held by the TUC and Unite Against Fascism. Cambridgeshire Police said two people were also arrested for affray during a minor disorder in Wellington Street. And two people were held over possession of an offensive weapon at Peterborough railway station. The force said an estimated 500 protesters were involved.
EDL leader Tommy Robinson said: “Militant Islam is probably at its peak in this country. The problem will get worse and worse unless it’s tackled, and that’s what the English Defence League is trying to do.” Shortly after 1300 GMT he gave a speech via a loudspeaker in Lower Bridge Street. Some supporters chanted “EDL” and “I’m England till I die”.
Unite Against Fascism said it and Peterborough TUC had called for a “march for unity” from Bishops Road car park to show local opposition to the “invasion” by the EDL. “The EDL hope to stir up hatred against the city’s Muslim population and the many migrant agricultural workers who travel from across Europe to work on farms during the harvests,” a spokesman said.
Update: See “Celebratory mood in Peterborough as racist EDL seen off”, UAF news report, 11 December 2010
Further update: Here are some quotes from the rambling speech by “Tommy Robinson” (Stephen Lennon) to the EDL rally in Peterborough: “Islam rules this country with fear… For fifteen years we have allowed 10 per cent to dictate to 90 per cent. No fucking more.” “Islam has never been a religion of peace. It never will be a religion of peace.” “Islam is a disease. [Shouts of ‘fucking scum’ from the crowd.] It is a disease. Winston Churchill once said Islam in a man is the same as rabies in a dog.”
So much Lennon’s lying claim that the EDL is opposed only to “militant Islam” or “Islamic extremism”.
Lennon also made his familiar pitch for support from the Sikh and Hindu communities: “The biggest community I wish to thank are the Indian community of this country, the Sikhs and the Hindus of this nation. They are the most British. If ever there is an example of integration it is the Sikh and Hindu communities. These people wear our badge of pride. 88,000 of them died in the world war. It has been left to us to educate the uneducated of this country to the difference between Sikhism, Hinduism and Islam.”
If anyone needs educating it’s Lennon. This idiot talks about the “Indian community” as being made up of Hindus and Sikhs, but is evidently unaware 13.4% of the population of India is Muslim, compared with 1.9% who are Sikhs. But then, this is a man who thinks that Muslims constitute 10% of the population of the UK (the real figure is around 3%). Still, Lennon isn’t quite as thick as his mob of violent racist followers, who fail to make any distinction between Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims, and habitually abuse all British citizens of South Asian origin as “Pakis”.
As for Lennon’s attempt to counter charges of racism and fascism by applauding the readiness of Hindus and Sikhs to “integrate”, while simultaneously spitting bile against Muslims, Nick Griffin has been playing that game for years. But then, we know that Lennon was once a member of the BNP, so he obviously learnt a lot from his former leader.
Particularly risible was Lennon’s pious condemnation of the current student protests: “The demonstrations in London have disgusted us all. We never want to see British police attacked by the people of this country.” This from a man who in 2005 received a 12-month prison sentence for assault after kicking a police officer in the head.
Postscript: And Sky News, disgracefully, has provided Lennon with a platform to repeat his attacks on Muslims. In the course of a televised interview Lennon stated:
“It’s only in our country that our politicians are not talking up for us against the struggle against Islam. We have been sold out and led to believe that Islam is a religion of peace. It’s not. It never has been. It never will be. And it’s time to make a stand against it … twenty years down the line we will be over-run by Islam, because Muslims are breeding at four point four children. That’s what they’re having on average. We’re having one point three.
“Now, they keep saying, we’re a minority, we’re a minority. But their communities are going to quadruple over the next twenty years. And that wouldn’t be a problem if they were integrating. If they weren’t being taught hatred from the age of four against every single one of us in their madrassa schools, it wouldn’t be a problem. But it’s a ticking time bomb. Unless we wake middle England up now to realising what is coming to a town near you, in towns and cities like Luton, where I live, it’s a disaster waiting to happen. So, unless it stops and we wake people up, there’s going to be civil unrest across this whole country.”
Lennon has his own proposals for dealing with this threat: “I’d like to pull any Muslim that doesn’t swear allegiance to Queen and country. Anyone who goes against trying to undermine our country with Shariah law. Get rid of all the Shariah law courts. Stop all Islamic immigration into this country.”
Speak out against racism and Islamophobia conference tomorrow
Speak out against racism and Islamophobia
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Saturday 11 December
10am–6pm
Mary Ward House
5/7 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SN
• Ken Livingstone
• Doreen Lawrence OBE
• Shabana Mahmood MP, Shadow Home Office Minister
• Jack Dromey MP, Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government
• Anas Altikriti British Muslim Initiative
• Sir Geoffrey Bindman
• Christine Blower General Secretary, National Union of Teachers
• David Smith London Citizens
• Kay Carberry Assistant General Secretary, TUC
• Rt.Rev Stephen Cottrell The Bishop of Chelmsford
• Dr. Edie Friedman Executive Director, Jewish Council for Racial Equality
• Dr. Jonathan Githens-Mazer Co-Director, European Muslim Research Centre (EMRC)
• Billy Hayes General Secretary, Communication Workers Union
• Diana Holland Assistant General Secretary (Equalities), Unite the Union
• Talha Jamil Ahmad Muslim Council of Britain
• Bruce Kent Vice President, Pax Christi
• Jean Lambert MEP Green Party
• Claude Moraes MEP Labour Party
• Lisa Nandy MP Labour Party
• Peter Oborne Daily Telegraph‘s chief political commentator
• Ismail Patel You Elect
• Kanja Sesay NUS Black Students’ Officer
• Martin Smith Love Music Hate Racism
• Hywel Williams MP Plaid Cymru
• Salma Yaqoob Leader, Respect Party
Conference themes include:
• Reversing the tide of reaction – racism and Islamophobia today
• Muslims under siege
• No racist concessions to the BNP and EDL
• Defending our freedoms – no to religious bans
• One Society Many Cultures
Media partner: New Statesman
Supported by:
• TUC
• Unite the Union
• CWU
• POA
• BECTU
• Unite Against Fascism
• British Muslim Initiative
• NUS Black Students Campaign
• Left Foot Forward
• Liberal Conspiracy
Registration fees:
Organisation delegates £20
Individuals £10 (waged) £5 (unwaged)
To register online please visit http://www.onesocietymanycultures.org/2010/11/conference-register/
Church cuts bishops where Muslims outnumber Christians by seven to one
Thus the headline in today’s Daily Telegraph. The recommendation by the Church of England’s Dioceses Commission that three dioceses in the Yorkshire area should be merged into one was flagged up well in advance. This issue has already been hammered to death by the Mail on Sunday back in October followed by the Daily Express and the Daily Star (see the response by ENGAGE).
Still, you can never have too many scaremongering articles about the Muslim threat to Christian civilisation, can you?
Elsewhere in the Torygraph, under the heading “A tipping point for religion in Britain?“, the Sunday Telegraph‘s Religious Affairs and Media Correspondent, Jonathan Wynne-Jones, tells us that it is
difficult not to see the merger – or axing depending on which way you’re looking at it – in the context of the rise of Islam in Britain. In Bradford, one of the dioceses that is being subsumed, Muslims make up as much as three-quarters of the population in some parishes.
A report published by the Church earlier this year discussed the issues facing clergy trying to minister in areas with high numbers of ethnic minorities. It revealed the percentage of Christians is as low as 10 per cent in some parishes.
When Michael Nazir-Ali, the former Bishop of Rochester, warned of “no-go areas” in Britain for non-Muslims, he was widely ridiculed and criticised, but the Church’s report suggests that his critics have their heads in the sand. Bleak and rather extreme it may have been, but statisticians have already predicted that by 2035 there will be more active Muslims in Britain than church-going Christians.
The claim that “Muslims make up as much as three-quarters of the population in some parishes” in Bradford is clearly an exaggeration. There is no parish in Bradford where the Muslim population reaches that figure, and there are just two parishes in which Muslims make up over 70% of the population (see below). With regard to the UK as a whole, to put Wynne-Jones’ claim that “the percentage of Christians is as low as 10 per cent in some parishes” in proportion, the CofE report that he cites, Sharing the Gospel of Salvation, found that there are only 1,000 parishes, out of a total of 13,000, in which more than 10% of people are of non-Christian faiths. Among these 1,000 parishes, the report identified one in Leicester where the Christian population was 10.8% and one in Bradford where the figure was 10.9%. As the tables below illustrate, the two parishes were hardly typical, even of these two cities with their untypically large populations of South Asian origin:
Wynne-Jones writes that “statisticians have already predicted that by 2035 there will be more active Muslims in Britain than church-going Christians”, but the key phrases here are “active Muslims” and “church-going Christians”. Even if you accept the statistical analysis in the 2008 Christian Research Religious Trends report that Wynne-Jones cites (and the CofE dismissed its findings as “flawed and dangerously misleading”), the report stated that there were only 1.6 million Muslims living in Britain today compared with 41 million Christians. By 2035, Christian Reseach predicted, there would be 1.96 million active Muslims in Britain, compared with 1.63 million church-going Christians. So, if the number of active Muslims in the UK were to exceed the number of active Christians, then that would be primarily due to a decline in the number of Christians who practise their faith, rather than because there had been a dramatic increase in the number of Muslims.
As for Nazir-Ali’s disgraceful nonsense about “no-go areas”, he defined them as areas in which “a strict Muslim ideology” prevails and consequently “people of a different race or faith face physical attack”, although it was notable that he failed to specify where these areas were to be found. That was bad enough, but Wynne-Jones’ position is even worse. What he appears to be arguing is that non-Muslims face the threat of violent assault not just in areas supposedly dominated by “a strict Muslim ideology” but in areas where “active Muslims” outnumber church-going Christians. The CofE’s Sharing the Gospel of Salvation report of course suggested nothing of the sort, and its authors would undoubtedly be appalled to have their research misrepresented in this way.
See also the comments by ENGAGE.
Stoke-on-Trent Council rejects BNP motion against halal slaughter
Yesterday’s meeting of Stoke-on-Trent City Council debated a motion from the British National Party condemning halal slaughter. The BNP motion called for “a change in the law to minimise or prevent any further animal cruelty as a result of this barbaric method of slaughter” and for “an immediate ban on the use of all halal meat products in our schools”. It was heavily defeated.
Pits n Pots reports.
Arson attack on Berlin Islamic centre is third incident in a fortnight
An Islamic centre in Berlin was hit by an arson attack on Thursday, with an assailant hurling a petrol bomb against the building’s facade. It was the third such incident involving a Muslim building in the capital in a fortnight.
The assailant threw a bottle filled with flammable liquid against the front of the cultural centre belonging to the Iranian community of Berlin and Brandenburg on Ordensmeisterstraße in the Tempelhof district, police said.
Greens MP Volker Beck held Chancellor Angela Merkel and Bavarian state premier Horst Seehofer indirectly responsible for the attack. This autumn Merkel declared that “multiculturalism has failed utterly” and Seehofer railed against Muslim immigrants – remarks widely seen as intensifying an already divisive debate over integration and Islam in Germany.
Residents alerted the fire department because an area of the building’s façade several metres wide was ablaze. Two people were in the centre at the time of the attack, but they were unharmed. The fire burnt itself out and left behind blackened brickwork. Police were investigating on the grounds of attempted arson.
Last month, similar attacks were launched against the Al Nur and Sehitlik mosques, both in the Berlin district of Neukölln. No one has so far been arrested.
Beck, who is the human rights spokesman for the parliamentary group of the environmentalist Greens, said Merkel’s comments and inflammatory remarks by Christian Social Union leader Seehofer had made sweeping judgements linking immigrants to people who refused to integrate and Islamists who opposed Germany’s constitution.
Former central banker Thilo Sarrazin, whose book “Abolishing Germany” kicked off the toxic immigration debate, as well as conservative politicians and even the populist Bild daily were pushing “an attempt at social division” that could “give impulse” to such attacks, he said.
See also “Berlin police probe spate of anti-Islam arson attacks”, AFP, 9 December 2010
Peterborough: Sikhs join with Muslims to oppose EDL
Representatives from Peterborough’s Sikh community came out in opposition to the English Defence League (EDL) at a city mosque.
Representatives from the two Gurdwaras in Peterborough met with Muslims from local mosques at the Faizan e Madina Mosque in Gladstone Street last night. Their purpose was to show their support to the city’s Muslim community and to distance themselves from EDL leader Gurmeet Singh, who is also a Sikh.
A statement signed by representatives from Sri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara Sahib and Gurdwara Baba Budha Sahib Ji said:
“On behalf of the Peterborough Sikhs we vehemently oppose the views of the EDL and any of its members. In Peterborough, Sikhs have worked hard to build relationships with other religious communities and have expressed our concern that this demonstration could upset the balance of the wider community.”