Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia

‘Pakistanophobia’ spiralling in France

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The July 7 London attacks perpetrated by four British Muslims, including three of Pakistani origin, are having domino effects on the Pakistani minority in France, sparking an unprecedented Pakistanophobia.

“This close media and security scrutiny is really playing on the nerves of the Pakistanis in France,” Abdel Rahman Quraishi, the chairman of the Federation of Pakistani Organizations in France , told IslamOnline.net.

“A right-wing newspaper, for instance, launched a ferocious campaign against Pakistanis in France and placed them in one basket, calling them a ‘cause for concern.’”

Quraishi, who is also the imam of the main Pakistani mosque in Saint Denis, northern Paris , said the federation is planning to take legal action against the newspaper.

“A delegation representing the Pakistani minority went to the British embassy in Paris immediately after the attacks and offered heartfelt condolences,” he recalled.

Islam Online, 14 August 2005

MCB responds to the Observer’s ‘investigation’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

In an extraordinary attack today, The Observer (Sunday 14th August 2005) has published a front page article, a two page ‘Investigation’ on pages eight and nine, together with an editorial, all seeking to vilify the Muslim Council of Britain.

Over three years ago, the Home Affairs editor at The Observer, Martin Bright, achieved some notoriety amongst British Muslims when he penned a cover story for the New Statesman (10th December 2001) entitled ‘The Great Koran Con Trick.’ In that piece, Bright tried his hardest – and quite miserably failed – to disprove the Divine origin of the Holy Qur’an.

So it was surprising to say the least to see that the front page story (‘Muslim Leaders in Feud With BBC’ and ‘Radical Links of UK’s ‘moderate’ Muslim Group’) in The Observer today was authored by the very same Martin Bright. Given Bright’s background we were not exactly anticipating reading a work of meticulous research and even-handedness. And we were proven correct in our assumption straight away.

MCB Press release, 14 August 2005

End this chorus of intolerance

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“At one level, the attack on multiculturalism is no more than a refined, middle-class version of ‘Paki-bashing’. Yet people who ought to know better have joined in the chorus of intolerance. To demand that Muslims abandon their way of life – what they eat, how they dress, which way they choose their husbands and wives – is to make a frontal assault upon their faith.”

Roy Hattersley in the Guardian, 12 August 2005

SSP backs Muslim Association of Britain London demonstration

Posted on by Eddie Truman

SSPThe Scottish Socialist Party Executive last night unanimously agreed to support the call by the Muslim Association of Britain for an all Britain demonstration on 24th September in support of civil liberties, support for the victims of the London bombings, the condemnation of terrorism and in solidarity with the Muslim community in Britain.

Two of the SSP’s MSPs, Colin Fox and Tommy Sheridan will speak at public meetings in Edinburgh and Glasgow in the run up to the demonstration.

Colin Fox, SSP national convenor, today highlighted the headlong assault on civil liberties by the New Labour government since the July 7th London bombings and the massive rise in anti Muslim racism that has swept the UK in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

Religious hate crimes, mostly against Muslims, have risen six-fold in London since the bombings, figures show. There were 269 religious hate crimes in the three weeks after 7 July, compared with 40 in the same period of 2004.
Racist attacks in Scotland have risen by almost a quarter since the London bombings, according to police figures. There were 438 incidents reported from 7 July to the end of the month. That was up by 79 on last year, with 64 of those directly linked to the bombings.

Colin said today: “The SSP unequivocally denounced the terrorist bombs in London immediately after the attacks and we do so again today. These were acts of barbarism that have no place in society and the fact that amongst those killed were several devout Muslims shows that the bombers were in no way a part of the Muslim community a whole.

“The headlong rush into repressive legislation by the government must be resisted by all progressive forces in society; repression will never defeat terrorism as 30 years of history in Northern Ireland shows. The legislation the government is proposing is absolutely draconian and the SSP will be joining with the Muslim Association of Britain and other organisations in opposing this grave threat to our civil liberties.

“We stand together with the Muslim community in opposing the wave of racism and anti Muslim violence that has swept the country following the bombings in London. The SSP calls on all it’s members and supporters to make their voice heard in opposition to racism and Islamophobia and against the draconian measures being put forward by the New Labour government.”

Students rebuff Blair

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Students at Middlesex University have this week reiterated their decision to allow the Islamic organisation Hizb ut Tahrir to continue its activities on campus, despite moves by the Government to ban the group.

Keith Shilson, president of the Students’ Union, said: “If Tony Blair wants to ban an organisation known to be responsible for acts of violence, he should ban the British National Party, not a non-violent Muslim organisation. The union wishes to uphold a policy that prevents Islamophobia on its campuses, and Hizb ut Tahrir is neither an extremist group, nor a group that supports terrorism. The organisation rejected the July 7 attacks, issuing a statement that said the bombings had no justification and were illegal according to Islamic law.”

This is Hertfordshire, 10 August 2005

Anti-Muslim hate crime on rise in Wales

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Muslim woman has described her fear during a racist attack on her Cardiff home, as a UK-wide study into the effects of hate crime is launched.

The £100,000 Victim Support research project aims to develop new guidelines and support for victims of hate and race crime. It comes as Muslims in Wales face rising levels of violence and intimidation after the London bombings. In July, animal parts and a racist letter were left at a Cardiff mosque. And on Wednesday, a Muslim woman, who did not want to be identified, told BBC Wales how her home had been attacked last week.

She said: “We were sitting in our living room when we heard this man shouting outside our door. He was throwing things, picking up stones from our front garden and throwing them at our door and our window. And then he smashed a section of our double-glazed window. He was shouting [a series of abusive names]. It was quite scary, because we didn’t know what he had. My niece was sleeping in the front room.

“We don’t feel secure at all. When you are in the house you are always fearing whether someone will come in or try and force their way in. They can do anything, they can put things in our letter boxes. And when you go out, you are always paranoid, always looking around and people do give you funny looks anyway, especially since the London bombings.

“You kind of think ‘I shouldn’t wear traditional clothing just in case somebody makes a comment, I’d rather fit in with the crowd and look more westernised’ and I don’t like doing that. I’m British but I’m also Pakistani. I’m Muslim and that’s my culture.”

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The new chauvinism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

George Monbiot“Out of the bombings a national consensus has emerged: what we need in Britain is a renewed sense of patriotism. The rightwing papers have been making their usual noises about old maids and warm beer, but in the past 10 days they’ve been joined by Jonathan Freedland in the Guardian, Tristram Hunt in the New Statesman, the New Statesman itself and just about everyone who has opened his mouth on the subject of terrorism and national identity. Emboldened by this consensus, the Sun now insists that anyone who isn’t loyal to this country should leave it. The way things are going, it can’t be long before I’m deported.”

George Monbiot in the Guardian, 9 August 2005

Labour MPs turn on Blair’s 12-point proposal

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Labour MPs are concerned that Tony Blair’s sweeping 12-point plan for tackling the threat posed by Islamist terrorism may hinder the very goals he seeks to achieve.

A former Home Office minister, the level-headed John Denham who now chairs the home affairs select committee, has expressed dismay that the government has abandoned the cross-party approach it pursued after the London bombings.

“The government responded to the bombings initially with a very measured approach, a very serious approach, good coordination across government,” he told the BBC.

“The last few days really give this sense that the government have got into a real state of nerves about the whole thing; it is displaying a lack of confidence in its own strategy and I think they’ve got to get a grip on it very, very quickly, stop floating half-baked ideas and get back to proper cross-party consensus on the serious measures that need to be taken.”

Labour backbenchers fear that Mr Blair is responding to tabloid criticism, exacerbated by militant comments on BBC Newsnight last week, and doing what he often does for good and ill – prodding a cautious Home Office into taking what may prove unwise steps.

What they see as Mr Blair “grabbing the agenda before it grabs him”, No 10 regards as a prudent attempt to address voters’ legitimate feelings. “Why the hell can’t we do something about these people?” as one senior MP puts it.

Guardian, 9 August 2005

See also Independent, 9 August 2005

Letter to Guardian defending Hizb

Posted on by Bob Pitt

I agree with the two Muslim MPs who oppose the banning of Hizb ut-Tahrir (Islamist clerics face treason charges, August 8). As a scholar who has some knowledge of their operations in the UK and abroad, I am convinced their modus operandi is through traditional political campaigning, not violence. Believing that nation states in the Middle East are artificial creations of western powers to divide Muslims and exploit oil resources, they seek social justice through the formation of a single Islamic state that serves the poor rather than corrupt clients of foreign powers. They argue that violence cannot be used to take control of the state, but the state can use the military to defend itself against other states.

As a political geographer and Christian socialist, I believe their historical analysis is correct and their conclusion well-reasoned. I cannot share their vision, for it ultimately maintains the Quranic commitment to just war theory that is as much part of the Middle East’s problems as the variants deployed by George Bush and Tony Blair. However, they are not terrorists and parliament must resist this unreasonable attack on freedom of speech.
Dr Nick Megoran
Cambridge University

Letter in Guardian, 9 August 2005