Category Archives: Right wing

Modernising Muslims sign up as Scottish ambassadors to Islam

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Scottish Islamic Foundation“Scottish Muslims are planning a radical campaign to play a greater role in the country’s civic life, to change the perceptions of their religion and to promote Scotland as an ideal country for Muslims to live and invest in.

“Members of the newly formed Scottish Islamic Foundation (SIF) are planning to launch the campaign, which will engage with issues such as the removal of nuclear weapons from Faslane and the environment. Women will also be given a voice within mosques and will be encouraged to form committees to decide policies specific to them.”

The Sunday Herald reports on the actual role played by the Scottish Islamic Foundation, in contrast to the ludicrous potrayal of the SIF promoted by the likes of Douglas Murray and Melanie Phillips.

‘Muslim council chiefs ban tea and sandwiches during Ramadan’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Tower HamletsCouncillors have been ordered not to eat during town hall meetings while Muslim colleagues fast during the holy month of Ramadan. All elected members at Left-wing Tower Hamlets Council in East London have been sent an email asking them to follow strict Islamic fasting during September no matter what their faith.

But some members of the Labour-run council say the demands favour one religious group over the others. Dr Stephanie Eaton, leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said she would ignore the restrictions. She said: “We object to the request that non-Muslim councillors observe the fasting rules for Ramadan. Our community consists of a huge number of different religions, all of which should be valued, and no one religion should be accorded more status or influence than others.”

This is not the first time the council, which has a broad ethnic make-up, has courted controversy. It has been criticised in the past for being “overly politically correct” after calling its staff Christmas meal a “festive meal”. And it has also staged a Bonfire Night party which featured a Bengal tiger instead of Guy Fawkes.

Daily Mail, 29 August 2008

See also World Net Daily, 29 August 2008

And, of course, the story has been seized on by the British National Party, who declare it to be “a dramatic example of how Britain is being steadily colonised by Islamic culture”.

Update:  You thought this was probably one of those”political correctness gone mad” stories, of the type that was pioneered back in the ’80s in order to discredit left-wing councils and is now used to encourage paranoid fantasies about a Muslim takeover of the West?

You’d be right. See “Tower Hamlets denies imposing Ramadan request on council staff“, which reports:

“The authority today strongly denied the claims that all staff had been told to follow rules governing Ramadan, including suggestions that councillors would be stopped from consuming drinks and biscuits during meetings. A spokeswoman said the memo had been intended to stop non-Muslims eating the Iftar packs. She said: ‘At no stage have we imposed Ramadan arrangements on all staff’.”

Cologne mosque gets go-ahead

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Moschee-Neubau in KölnAfter much controversy, Cologne City Council finally voted in favor of building Germany’s largest mosque in the city.

All parties except the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and the extreme right anti-mosque initiative Pro Cologne voted in favor of building the mosque, which will be Germany’s largest. Cologne Mayor Schramma, who has gone back and forth on the issue, in the end voted against his own CDU party in favor of the mosque’s construction Thursday.

The new mosque will now be built on a site in Ehrenfeld, an industrial section of Cologne where there is currently a working mosque operating out of an old factory.

“They can start tearing down the old factory building tomorrow,” Josef Wirges, the local council member for Ehrenfeld and member of the Social Democrats (SPD) told SPIEGEL ONLINE. “I think the new mosque will be such an architectural masterpiece that tour buses will take people to see it after they visit the Cologne Cathedral,” enthused Wirges.

But far-rightists have made a racket about this particular mosque since plans to build it were announced last year. The extreme-right Pro Cologne has held 5 of the 90 seats in the city council since 2004. They launched a vociferous campaign against the mosque – drumming up support from as far away as Austria and Belgium. Jörg Haider, head of the right-wing Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) supports the Cologne protesters and has launched an attempt to ban mosques in his native Austria.

The anti-mosque campaign has been under observation by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, because of its “sweeping defamation of foreigners is suspected of violating human dignity.”

Although mosque supporters have won this battle, the war over integration in Cologne is not finished. Pro Cologne has planned a controversial “Anti-Islamization Congress” for Sept. 19. The city expects an influx of prominent far-rightists from around Europe – and 40,000 counter-protesters.

Spiegel Online, 29 August 2008

Abbey Mills Mosque: ‘No pledges have been broken’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Abbey Mills Mosque logoMosque developers this week denied breaking promises to keep neighbours abreast of the controversial project. Newham councillor Alan Craig, outspoken opponent of the proposals, had criticised mosque backers Tablighi Jamaat, who want to build a 12,000-capacity complex in West Ham.

“Tablighi Jamaat pledged an open day event during the summer at which we would view the work, see an exhibition and meet their architects and consultants,” said Mr Craig, leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance group. “It is now almost the end of summer with the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan just two weeks away, yet there is still no sign of the event.”

He added that worried locals have had five months “with the threat of this huge mosque hanging over their heads” yet still are given no information. “This silence is not golden. It represents yet another false claim and broken promise by Tablighi Jamaat.”

A statement from the developer’s PR company said: “The trustees have not changed their plans to stage two major consultation events. These will take place prior to making a formal planning application for this project.”

The statement expressed disappointment that progress has been slower than expected. “It is not the case that the trustees have broken a promise of any kind to the community. The trustees will ensure that all residents and those who have expressed interest through our website will be informed in plenty of time when the Work in Progress exhibition will be held.”

Newham Recorder, 26 August 2008

Sun apologises to Arunas Raulynaitis

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Arunas Raulynaitis“An article on March 29, ‘Everyone off my bus, I need to pray‘, stated that Arunas Raulynaitis, a London bus driver and a Muslim, asked passengers to leave his bus so he could pray and that passengers later refused to re-board the bus because they saw a ruck-sack which made them think he might be a fanatic. The article included pictures of Mr Raulynaitis praying.

“We now accept that these allegations were completely untrue. Mr Raulynaitis is not a fanatic and he did not ask passengers to leave his bus to allow him to pray. In fact, he was praying during his statutory rest break. We apologise to Mr Raulynaitis for the embarrassment and distress caused.”

Sun, 15 August 2008

Swiss Christian Democrat leader calls for veil ban

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The president of the centre-right Christian Democratic Party Christophe Darbellay proposed a nationwide veil ban in a recent interview with the broadsheet Tages-Anzeiger. It would also apply to holidaymakers from Arab countries in resorts like Interlaken, where the visitor segment from Middle Eastern countries has seen rapid growth, and female tourists wearing the niqab and burqa are becoming a common sight. Tourism industry representatives have reacted with scepticism to the CDP’s proposal.

Jungfrau Zeitung, 18 August 2008

‘As race wars split Georgia, could it happen in Britain?’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

douglas_murrayDouglas Murray of the Centre for Social Cohesion writing in the Daily Express:

“In Britain we look at scenes like those emerging from Georgia in the last week and congratulate ourselves that at least we do not have to worry about such conflict. But the truth is Britain, like any nation, should observe the feuding in the Caucuses and reflect on whether we really are that different. Some warning notes have already sounded.

“It is now seven months since the Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, warned of the existence of ‘no-go areas’ within Britain. The reaction from leading politicians was dismissive. Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, described the comment as ‘inflammatory’ and ‘a gross caricature of reality’. But the fact is that the Bishop was onto something….

“Instead of fostering integration and cohesion between communities, successive UK governments and local authorities have encouraged separatism between ethnic and religious groups. Instead of being strong and standing up to the grievance-mongers and activists, they have pandered to such people….

“Telling people communities could run parallel lives in Britain ended in disaster. Immigrants were given no incentive to adapt to their new home; those already in the country resented the separation of their new neighbours and so the walls grew. But whenever people highlighted the dangers of segregation it was their comments rather than foolish government policies that were denounced….

“Last year the Commission for Racial Equality wound up. When several years ago its Chairman Trevor Phillips admitted that the multicultural experiment had failed he was hailed for his bravery in speaking out. Would that he had done so earlier!”

Julie Burchill on the superiority of Christianity over Islam

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“When one considers the shocking plight of British Muslims who seek to convert to Christianity, it seems to me quite offensive that Christianity should be dismissed by Dawkins and his like in the same breath as Islam.”

Julie Burchill in the Guardian, 14 August 2008

In fact, Dawkins shares Burchill’s views on the superiority of Christianity over Islam. Still, why let facts get in the way of anti-Muslim bigotry, eh Julie?