Category Archives: Right wing

‘We’ll ease up on Muslim fanatics’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Labour slammed the brakes on its war against violent extremism yesterday – amid fears it had upset Muslim voters. Millions spent preventing Asian kids becoming terrorists will now be used to tackle right-wing racists in WHITE areas. Community cohesion minister Shahid Malik admitted he was softening his stance because Muslims felt stigmatised.

More than £45million a year has been spent on measures to prevent Al-Qaeda recruiting young Muslims in the UK. It included action to break up Islamic ghettos and stop university hate preachers.

Mr Malik, the first British-born Muslim MP, yesterday unveiled plans to broaden the scope of the campaign. He announced: “We shall be putting a renewed focus on resisting right-wing racist extremism. We cannot dismiss or underestimate the threat.”

Mr Malik told Sky News: “You speak to any Muslim in this country and they are as opposed as you and I are to extremism and terrorism. The frustration is they are constantly linked with terrorism as a community as a whole.”

His action contrasts with the tough stance of ex-minister Hazel Blears. She broke links with Muslim groups that failed to denounce extremists. Her adviser Paul Richards said: “The good work by Hazel is being undone in the name of political correctness.”

Former shadow home secretary David Davis said: “This has been watered down for purely political reasons. Labour has always seen Muslim voters as its own property.”

Sun, 10 August 2009

The Daily Mail, for its part, reports Shahid Malik’s interview under the headline “Labour ‘weakens’ fight against Muslim extremism”.

The Daily Express goes with “£45 million war against extremism is ‘soft on Muslim youths'”. The headline is based on a comment by Paul Richards: “There is a real danger that if ministers relax the focus on Muslim youth, then it dilutes efforts to tackle terrorism.”

Richards goes on to warn that there is “also now a chance that ministers could invite the Muslim Council of Britain back into Whitehall after relations were frozen with the organisation earlier this year”.

See also the Daily Telegraph, 10 August 2009

Update:  See the NLGN’s new report Stronger Together: A new approach to preventing violent extremism, which underpins the change of emphasis by DCLG.

And the interview with John Denham here.

And Inayat Bunglawala’s comments here.

And MCB press release here.

Blackwater founder implicated in murder

Posted on by Bob Pitt

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAOver at The Nation Jeremy Scahill reports that former employees of Blackwater, the private military and security company that worked as a contractor for the United States government during the invasion and occupation of Iraq, have made some shocking acusations against its owner Erik Prince, including allegations of involvement in the murder of individuals who were co-operating with federal authorities investigating the company.

Among the charges against Prince is that he “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe”, according to a declaration by one of the witnesses. The declaration continues:

“To that end, Mr. Prince intentionally deployed to Iraq certain men who shared his vision of Christian supremacy, knowing and wanting these men to take every available opportunity to murder Iraqis. Many of these men used call signs based on the Knights of the Templar, the warriors who fought the Crusades.

“Mr. Prince operated his companies in a manner that encouraged and rewarded the destruction of Iraqi life. For example, Mr. Prince’s executives would openly speak about going over to Iraq to ‘lay Hajiis out on cardboard’. Going to Iraq to shoot and kill Iraqis was viewed as a sport or game. Mr. Prince’s employees openly and consistently used racist and derogatory terms for Iraqis and other Arabs, such as ‘ragheads’ or ‘hajiis’.”

Via Lenin’s Tomb

Prepare for the Islamic Antichrist, warns new book

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Islamic AntichristRichard Bartholomew draws our attention to the publication by WorldNetDaily of a new book, The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth about the Real Nature of the Beast, by one Joel Richardson. It is advertised on the WND site as a “devastating account of the possible connection between the Biblical Antichrist and the Islamic Mahdi”.

WND explains: “The Bible predicts that in the last days a charismatic leader will establish a global following in the name of peace. The Koran also predicts that a man will rise up to lead the nations, pledging to usher in an era of peace. The man in the Koran is called the Mahdi, or Islam’s savior. However, the man in the Bible is the Antichrist. Could it be possible that this is the same person?

“Richardson’s stunning research and analysis suggest that it is. In ‘The Islamic Antichrist’, he exposes Western readers to the traditions of Islam and predicts that the end times may not be that far away. His book will stun readers who are unaware of the similarities between the Antichrist and the ‘Islamic Jesus’.”

Richard Barthlomew also notes a follow-up post at WND in which Joel Richardson suggests that the election of Barack Obama may well foreshadow the arrival of the “Islamic Antichrist”. The article is subtitled: “Massive wealth redistribution will be economic policy of the Beast”!

WND explains: “Richardson says the Book of Daniel reveals the Antichrist will invade the wealthy nation of Israel specifically to plunder and gain control of its commodities and wealth. ‘But what is so interesting is the Bible tells us his reason for seizing this wealth is to give it away to his followers,’ says the author. ‘While slightly more violent than Obama’s tax plan, it is no less populist in its methodology of radical wealth redistribution’.”

Assorted rightwingers who can’t tell the burkha from the niqab condemn police

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A police force has been accused of wasting public money after three officers dressed in burkhas and pretended to be Muslim women for a day. Two sergeants and a community support officer wore either a full burkha or a Muslim dress and headscarf as part of an “In Your Shoes Day”.

But the idea was blasted as a “complete waste of police time and taxpayers’ money”, by Douglas Murray of The Centre For Social Cohesion. “It’s not the duty of police to empathise with particular sections of the community. It is the duty of the police to prevent crime,” said Mr Murray.

The day was branded “an absurd div­ersion from real policing” by Matthew Elliott of The Tax Payers’ Alliance. People want the police out catching criminals, not indulging in politically correct gimmicks,” he added.

The burkha was a “symbol of oppression of women” which police should not enc­ourage, said Sid Cordle, of the Christian Peoples Alliance. “Are they going to go out dressed as prostitutes or the homeless to see how they feel?” he added.

Metro, 4 August 2009

See also the Daily Mail and the Daily Express.

Scary Muslim visits East London Mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Tatchell No Islamic StateThe usual suspects – Harry’s Place, Peter Tatchell – have been trying to whip up a scare over the fact that Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, will be speaking at the East London Mosque this evening. “I don’t understand why the Home Secretary is allowing al-Sudais into Britain, given that similar hate preachers have been banned”, Tatchell has declared.

This is not al-Sudais’s first visit to the East London Mosque. In 2004, on the occasion of the opening of the London Muslim Centre (see here and here), he told thousands of worshippers:

“Muslims should exemplify the true image of Islam in their interaction with other communities and dispel any misconceptions portrayed in some parts of the media…. Muslims should remember that throughout this long history Islam has carried the message of building communities, not isolating themselves…. The history of Islam is the best testament to how different communities can live together in peace and harmony.”

Frightening, huh? Clearly Tatchell is right. This preacher of hate should be banned.

Update:  And here’s the Evening Standard and the East London Advertiser – both of which take their cue from Tatchell – making their usual helpful contributions to building harmonious relations between London’s diverse communities.

Further update:  Tatchell has also inspired the coverage over at Jihad Watch. He must be so proud of himself.

Standing reveals his real agenda

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Edmund StandingEdmund Standing has published the second part of his eGov monitor article on the BNP.

The opening paragraphs are an attack on the Muslim Council of Britain, although Standing evidently detests that organisation so much he can’t even bring himself to use its name. According to Standing, the MCB “deliberately fosters a sense of Muslim self-pity and a victim mentality (just as the BNP deliberately fosters white self-pity)”.

(You can just imagine how Standing would respond to a self-styled anti-fascist who attacked the Board of Deputies for fostering “a sense of Jewish self-pity and a victim mentality” and drew a parallel between the BoD and fascism.)

As any anti-fascist activist could tell you, the MCB has in fact long played a major role in combating the BNP by mobilising the Muslim community against it (see for example here, here, here, here and here). But Standing sees fit to ignore all that. He is clearly more interested in cranking out the anti-Islamist agenda of Harry’s Place than in actually combating fascism.

This is really divisive stuff and if anti-fascists were to take it seriously it would undermine a united fight against the BNP. In that connection, I’m surprised that a genuine and well-respected anti-fascist site like Lancaster Unity has seen fit to publish Standing’s article without even referencing the sharp criticisms that have been made of his warped analysis and bigoted views.

Update:  For a more detailed critique, see ENGAGE, 4 August 2009

Further update:  See also Sunny Hundal’s piece at Pickled Politics, which includes this perceptive comment by Yahya Birt.

More Tory hysteria over HT

Posted on by Bob Pitt

HizbFurious residents are demanding to know why a Muslim extremist organisation they say is “peddling divisive hatred” was allowed to hold a conference for 2,000 people in London’s East End.

They contacted Tower Hamlets councillors about Hizb ut-Tahrir taking over Stepney’s Troxy theatre for the conference last Sunday (July 26), with police being deployed outside.

“It is extremely dangerous that this organisation is coming to the East End,” council Tory Opposition deputy leader Tim Archer told the East London Advertiser. “Hizb ut-Tahrir is known for peddling hatred and violence that can be divisive in the community.”

East London Advertiser, 31 July 2009

In reality, Hizb ut-Tahrir is a peaceful if highly sectarian organisation that poses no threat whatsoever to the people of East London. But what else can you expect from the Tories, given that David Cameron is on record as calling for HT to be made illegal?

Needless to say, Cameron isn’t calling for a ban on the far-right British National Party, even though no HT members have been convicted of the sort of violent crimes that BNP members have. Clearly the Tories apply different standards to white fascists than they do to brown Islamists.