Ministry of Truth has the details.
Category Archives: Right wing
Grayling accused of double standards on ‘extremism’
The Tories were blasted yesterday for “perpetuating dangerous myths about the law” and “scapegoating the Muslim community” in a shallow attempt to grab votes.
Addressing the Conservative conference in Manchester, shadow home secretary Chris Grayling outlined his proposals for law and order.
In particular he dredged up the perennial spectre of Islamic extremism, pledging to outlaw groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir, which he accused of “actively inciting hate and violence.”
“Under this government the extremists have been free to protest on our streets and incite violence and hatred in the most blatant ways,” he said. He also pledged a crackdown on immigration, saying there would be “no open door to Britain.”
At no point, however, did he refer to far-right extremist groups such as the BNP and the English Defence League, which has staged anti-Muslim marches in cities across the country in recent months.
This omission was condemned by anti-racist campaign group Unite Against Fascism, which accused Mr Grayling of further demonising the Muslim community while ignoring the fascist threat.
A spokesman for UAF said: “There has been a rise in racist attacks, particularly on the Asian and Muslim population. There is a direct link between this increase and the atmosphere of fear and hatred whipped up against the Muslim community in the popular press.
“When Christopher Grayling goes on about extremist beliefs, the only time he mentions Muslims seems to be to further demonise them.
“Why not mention the extreme right-wing groups, who we have seen recently involved in bomb plots amongst other things? Why not address the issue of the EDL which has held marches and incited hate and violence?
“The issue of racism doesn’t seem to have been addressed. I hope this isn’t a signal that the Tories are not going to take this issue seriously.”
See also “Tory lies about Hizb ut-Tahrir are populist attempts to boost poll ratings”, Hizb ut-Tahrir press release, 7 October 2009
Tories will stop funds to ‘radical Islamist groups’
A conservative government would stop all funding to groups that promote radical Islamic ideology and target money at organisations with a record of bringing Britain’s diverse communities together.
In an interview with the JC, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said Labour’s policy risked creating ghettoes. He revealed that the Tories were planning an immediate review of the Prevent anti-extremism strategy, which he accused of channelling money to radical organisations.
The change would represent a shift away from the multiculturalism policy which critics charge with creating segregated religious and ethnic communities isolated from mainstream society.
Jewish Chronicle, 1 October 2009
Read Martin Bright’s interview with Grayling here. Bright reports: “Mr Grayling shares the concerns of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, and reported by the JC, that money is being used to fund dubious organisations. ‘I have some serious misgivings about the way in which Prevent money is being used. I think there are plenty of indicators that it is being channelled in a way that is actually in the end funding extremism rather than reducing extremism’.”
Bright comments approvingly that “Chris Grayling’s interview puts significant blue water between the Conservatives and Labour on extremism and anti-terror policy. The Shadow Home Secretary could not be clearer in his rejection of multiculturalism and the policy of ‘engagement for the sake of engagement’.”
Elsewhere in the JC, under the headline “Denham challenged on Prevent“, Bright reports that at the Quilliam Foundation’s Labour conference fringe meeting earlier this week Ed Husain attacked the government for funding “groups and institutions promoting radical Islamist ideology” and announced a Quilliam-sponsored campaign against Muslim organisations linked to Jamaat-e-Islami.
We have our own question for John Denham, one that we’ve raised before – how much longer will the government continue handing over taxpayers’ money to Husain and his obnoxious little gang of right-wing witch-hunters?
See also “Martin Bright praises Quilliam Foundation’s grand alliance with Zionists and neo-cons”, ENGAGE, 2 October 2009
New anti-Islam group, same old faces
A new organisation, Stop Islamization of America, has been launched. Richard Bartholomew examines the individuals behind it.
Board of Deputies and CST call on government to boycott MCB
In a joint statement to the Department of Communities and Local Government, the Board of Deputies and the Community Security Trust have demanded that the government must make any future engagement with the Muslim Council of Britain “contingent on them representing a greater range of views than those of the Islamists, and firmly rejecting violence in all circumstances, including in overseas conflicts”.
Jewish Chronicle, 24 September 2009
See the reponse by ENGAGE, who write:
“We wonder what the BoD would think if UK Muslims were to write to the CLG demanding that the government break off relations with them until they represent a wider base of British Jewish opinion than they currently do as a condition to government engagement with it? And what if the MCB were to lambast the BoD leadership as ‘Zionist’, in the same way that the BoD calls the MCB’s views ‘Islamist’? …
“During Israel’s criminal aggression against Gaza – now widely recognised as war crimes – the BoD supported a rally in Trafalgar Square in support of Israel. The question to be asked now is whether, given the extensive documentation (Breaking the Silence, Amnesty International, UN) of Israeli war crimes in Gaza, the BoD itself should be critiqued for its allegiance to a state guilty of perpetrating them?”
Update: See also ENGAGE’s letter to the JC.
EDL claims it has Muslims’ support (yes, really)
The English Defence League last night claimed it had been swamped with messages of support from all races. And the masked men also said followers of Islam had contacted the EDL after the group produced a video proclaiming it is “anti-fascist”.
Yesterday the Daily Star revealed exclusive photos of the group’s swastika-burning video, which was its response to critics who say the organisation’s true motives can be compared to the Nazis.
The EDL said its campaign is only against hate-preaching fanatics, terrorists and Sharia Law. It says it has wrongly been linked with the far-right and BNP and only calls for integration. It said moderate Muslims were welcome in the country.
Update: See also “Richard Desmond and the far-right”, Tabloid Watch, 27 September 2009
Muslim prayer rally at Capitol Hill provokes hysteria from Christian Right
Richard Bartholomew has the details.
Update: See also Washington Post, 25 September 2009
The Rev. Canon Julian Dobbs, leader of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, is quoted as warning that the Islam on Capitol Hill event is “part of a well-defined strategy to Islamize American society and replace the Bible with the Koran, the cross with the Islamic crescent and the church bells with the Athan”.
Sun apologises to Ummah.com
“Our story on January 7 about a ‘hit list‘ of top British Jews on the website Ummah.com was based on claims by Glen Jenvey who last week confessed to duping several newspapers and Tory MP Patrick Mercer by fabricating stories about Islamic fundamentalism. Following Mr Jenvey’s confession, we apologise to Ummah.com for the article which we now accept was inaccurate.”
See also the Guardian and the report by the Press Complaints Commission.
Damian Thompson on ‘the Islamic settlement of Britain’
Torygraph blogs editor Damian Thompson offers his thoughts on the demolition of the migrants’ camp in Calais:
“How interesting that French police waited until the end of Ramadan before forcibly dismantling the Calais ‘jungle’. That tells us something we really need to remember about a huge proportion of the illegal immigrants seeking to enter Britain: that they are pious Muslims.
“Note that there was a bigger fuss about the taking down of the mosque than there was about the removal of the makeshift houses. And note, too, that the refugees declared their determination to enter Britain (‘nothing will stop us’) almost in the same breath as their devotion to their place of worship.”
Thompson observes resignedly that he’ll “no doubt be accused of Islamophobia”. But that would be unfair. He isn’t some bigot who thinks Muslim migrants are all potential terrorists, he explains. He’s just against them because … well, because they’re Muslims.
Daily Star promotes EDL propaganda
The Daily Star provides a platform for the English Defence League to claim that they “oppose Nazis and racists as much as al-Qaida hate-mongers” and only wear balaclavas because they “all live in Muslim neighbourhoods where our faces would be recognised”.