Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia

Stop these exclusion orders against Muslim preachers

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sources tell me that the Home Office is currently considering issuing two exclusion orders. One would be against a Jamaican-born Muslim preacher called Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips and the other against Zakir Naik, who is due to arrive in the UK on Friday to begin a speaking tour to huge audiences at the Sheffield Arena, London’s Wembley Arena and the LG Arena in Birmingham’s NEC. Naik is based in Mumbai, India and has in recent years built up a huge international following among Muslims. His lectures and debates on the topic of comparative religion are played continuously on Peace TV – the satellite channel that he founded.

This is just the latest in a series of “naming and shaming” exclusion orders that began a couple of years ago when the former Labour government said that it would introduce a policy of banning “preachers of hate” from visiting the UK. At the end of last month the Sunday Times ran an article about Zakir Naik that seems to have panicked some people in the government. For his part Naik has since issued a press statement saying that he “unequivocally condemns acts of violence including 9/11, 7/7 and 7/11 [the serial train bombing in Mumbai], which are completely and absolutely unjustifiable on any basis.”

We already have a sufficient number of laws on the statute books to deal with incitement to hatred and violence, and the fact is that both Bilal Philips and Zakir Naik have visited the UK on several occasions in the past – and their speaking tours have passed by without incident. Neither speaker has said anything that has got them in trouble with the law, so why not just uphold our existing laws rather than seek to pre-emptively ban them? It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the exclusion order policy is yet another government PR gimmick designed to show that it is getting tough on those it regards as being extremists.

Inayat Bunglawala at Comment is Free, 15 June 2010

EDL ‘not welcome’ in Wembley says council leader

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDLdemonstrationThe top councillor in Brent has said a protest against a Muslim peace conference in Wembley is “not welcome”.

Councillor Ann John, Labour’s leader of Brent Council, hit out at the English Defence League (EDL), which is targeting the Al-Khair Peace Conference due to be held on Saturday, June 26, at Wembley Arena.

She said in a letter: “Brent is Britain’s most diverse multi-cultural and multi-faith borough and our diversity is our strength. The planned demonstration is a deliberate provocation aimed at creating fear amongst the Muslim community and undermining community relations. The EDL is not welcome here.”

Cllr John was writing on behalf of the 40 Labour councillors in the borough, and backed the move by Unite Against Fascism (UAF) to hold a counter-demonstration on the same day in opposition to EDL.

Harrow Times, 15 June 2010

Anti-Islamisation ‘pork and wine’ Paris party slammed

Posted on by Bob Pitt

AperoAnti-racism activists have condemned plans to hold a “pork sausage and wine” party in a multi-ethnic Paris district to protest against what the organisers call the area’s “Islamisation”.

SOS Racisme called for the event scheduled for Friday in the Goutte d’Or area of north Paris to be banned because it sent out a “message of hate and of violence towards groups of people because of their real or supposed origins”.

The opposition Communist Party said in a statement that “this disgusting joke seeks to exacerbate the differences that make for the richness of the 18th arrondissement (district)”.

Sylvie Francois, a local resident, told French radio that she set up a Facebook page for the event to fight against what she saw as the increasing “Islamisation” of her area.

The project has been publicised on internet social networking sites by a small far-Right group that calls itself the Bloc Identitaire.

Paris police said they will meet with the event’s organisers on Tuesday to consider their official request for permission to hold the event.

AFP, 14 June 2010

See also France 24, 14 June 2010

Muslim conference in Wembley target for EDL protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL in BirminghamA protest group that tours the country staging “anti-jihad” demonstrations is planning a rally in Wembley against a Muslim peace conference.

The English Defence League (EDL) is recruiting members for the demonstration outside Wembley Arena on Saturday, June 26. The protest is aimed at the Al-Khair Peace Convention 2010, being organised by Muslim charity the Al-Khair Foundation to “remove misconceptions, false fear and hate of Islam and Muslims globally”.

During the weekend, the internet has been flooded with EDL supporters spreading the word about the protest and recruiting people to come along.

EDL has picked out Dr Nakir Zair, president of the Islamic Research Foundation, an Indian-based charity set up in 1991 to try to raise awareness of the ideals behind Islam, for particular criticism. Dr Zair, a keynote speaker at the conference, is labelled by the EDL as an “Islamist apologist” who is responsible for organising “stealth jihad” under the pretense of talking about peace.

The EDL demonstration, planned between 2pm and 8.30pm, could face opposition from Unite Against Fascism (UAF), a protest group that regularly turns out to EDL events.

Brent Green Party member and UAF activist Martin Francis wrote on his blog: “The fact that the EDL wants to protest at an attempt at dialogue speaks for itself. Discussions on how to combat the EDL’s unwelcome presence in Wembley will be discussed over the next few days by Brent and Harrow Unite Against Fascism and other organisations.”

Harrow Times, 14 June 2010

Brooklyn: interfaith marchers in support of mosque are jeered and abused

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sheepshead Bay anti-mosque protestorA peace march in support of a controversial proposed mosque in Sheepshead Bay turned ugly on Thursday after residents jeered marchers, most of whom were from outside the area.

“This is a Jewish neighborhood – build a mosque in your own neighborhood,” yelled Stan Yunatanov, who lives across the street from the proposed house of worship and cultural center planned for Voorhies Avenue between East 28th and East 29th streets. Another woman, who refused to give her name, yelled, “[Muslims] don’t love America. They hate America.”

There were no arrests, but tensions – which were already high ever since the Muslim American Society purchased the property earlier this year – was definitely of Biblical proportions during the “Children of Abraham Interfaith Peace Walk,” the seventh annual march for the Park Slope-based group.

The peace group originally planned to have its march in Coney Island, but decided to have it in Sheepshead Bay to support the embattled mosque project. “It’s a show of support for the right of all faiths to worship,” said Rabbi Ellen Lippmann, one of the event organizers and the head of Kolot Chayeinu, a Jewish congregation that holds its services in a Park Slope church.

The show of support had a distinct “outsider” feel, however. Organizers said that they tried to get locals involved, but failed. “We tried to recruit local clergy, but nobody wanted to join the walk,” said Rev. Tom Martinez, another Park Slope-based cleric.

As a result, the march started on Voorhies and Ocean avenues. In all, about 200 children and adults – many waving American flags – walked peacefully down Emmons Avenue and up Bedford Avenue before turning down Voorhies, where they were greeted with the catcalls. Some opponents held photos of Muslims burning an American flag and denounced the mosque’s affiliation with the Muslim American Society, which has been tied to Hamas and Hezbollah.

The Brooklyn Paper, 11 June 2010

CAIR calls on FBI to investigate hate crime against California Muslim

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA) today called on the FBI to initiate a hate crime investigation into an attack on a local Muslim allegedly beaten after being called a “terrorist.”

CAIR-SFBA said the Sunnyvale, Calif., resident was walking down the street Friday afternoon when he was approached by three young men who asked him if he was Jewish. When he said he is Muslim, one of the alleged assailants reportedly responded, “That’s worse, you’re a terrorist.” After the alleged victim tried to explain that Islam does not permit terrorism, he was reportedly punched multiple times in the face, resulting in lacerations. Police are searching for a young male suspect.

“Whenever racial, ethnic or religious slurs are used by alleged perpetrators, additional state and federal hate crime charges should be considered,” CAIR-SFBA Programs and Outreach Director Zahra Billoo. “This disturbing incident shows that Jewish and Muslim Americans must continue to work together to challenge bigotry and intolerance.”

CAIR news report, 12 June 2010

Peter Oborne slams media’s Muslim slurs as ‘un-British’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Peter_OborneColumnist Peter Oborne warned that Muslims were being unfairly represented in the media at a conference on Islamophobia on Saturday.

The Highbury-based journalist said his anger at Islamophobia stemmed from patriotism. He said: “We should stand up for British values and that means examining how society treats Muslims.”

The journalist, who writes for the right-leaning Spectator and Daily Mail, spoke alongside left-wingers including Tony Benn and Islington North Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn at the conference in the Camden Centre, off Euston Road. “I teased the audience about being on the other side of the barricades from them in, for example, the Cold War,” he said. “But I believe  in dialogue.”

Mr Oborne, who made a documentary two years ago examining the rise of intolerance against Muslims, told the audience Islamophobia was “un-British”. He added: “One of the greatest things about being British is that we have an enormous sense of fairness and religious tolerance and decency and there’s this tradition of protecting minorities.

“You are, in the media, able to tell lies about Muslims – to misrepresent them, fabricate stories about them in many ways that shame Britain. There were, for example, those stories about how Muslims had tried to get piggy banks banned because of political correctness – but just imagine if some of those headlines had said ‘Jew’ rather than ‘Muslim’.”

Islington Tribune, 11 June 2010

Possible legal challenge to spy cameras in Muslim areas

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A counterterrorism surveillance project targeted at two Muslim neighbourhoods in Birmingham could be halted after human rights lawyers pledged to seek a judicial review.

There were angry scenes at two public meetings in the city this week, when officials were confronted over the findings of a Guardian investigation into the scheme to gather data about vehicles entering Sparkbrook and Washwood Heath.

Under Project Champion, the suburbs will be monitored by 150 automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras – three times more than in the entire city centre. The cameras form “rings of steel”, meaning residents cannot enter or leave the areas without their cars being tracked. Data will be stored for two years.

Testing of cameras has begun, but plans to go live in early August are in jeopardy after lawyers acting for Liberty began gathering evidence for a legal challenge.

Lawyers from Liberty said Project Champion’s focus on predominantly Muslim areas may constitute a breach of rights to non-discrimination under article 14 of the Human Rights Act. “Spying on a whole community will only hamper efforts to tackle extremism,” said Corinna Ferguson, legal officer for Liberty. “This misguided scheme must not go ahead.”

The absence of any formal public consultation could also form grounds for a legal challenge, she added.

Guardian, 11 June 2010

Anti-Muslim abuse in Minnesota schools

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The U.S. Department of Education has agreed to look into possible civil rights violations at two Minnesota public schools, after a group based in St. Paul filed complaints against the two districts.

The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed the complaints in March, saying Somali and Muslim students were harassed about their race and religion.

These included name-calling, vulgar language, derisive comments about Muslim traditions and obscene gestures, threats on Facebook and the refusal of a school bus driver in St. Cloud to pick up Muslim students at bus stops.

Taneeza Islam, civil rights director for CAIR, a Muslim advocacy organization, said the organization is pleased that a neutral body will look into its complaints.

Meanwhile, a St. Cloud Baptist minister is defending himself against charges of racism after he placed an ad in a newspaper claiming that “when Muslims take over a nation they will destroy the constitution, force Islam on society, take freedom of religion away, and persecute all other religions.”

In a radio interview, the Rev. Dennis Campbell of Granite City Baptist Church insisted he was not racist and his ad was misjudged. Other religious leaders condemned the ad as fear mongering, shocking and untrue.

GIN, 9 June 2010