Gary Lineker has been forced to apologise after accidentally ridiculing two Muslim footballers during a match commentary on TV.
When the players celebrated a goal by dropping to their knees and bowing their heads in the Islamic prayer position, Lineker said it looked as though they “ate grass”. The gesture is often used by Muslim players to celebrate.
A nationalist political party leader visited Skegness last week to add his voice to the mounting opposition against a halal abattoir in the town.
British National Party chairman Nick Griffin MEP spoke with fellow opponents during a small demonstration outside the Heath Road slaughterhouse last Tuesday morning. Speaking after his visit Mr Griffin said:
“Halal ritual slaughter is an extremely cruel practice, which any native British person would rightly be taken to court for carrying out. We don’t believe any exception should be made for reasons to do with political correctness or otherwise. As a civilised people it is our responsibility to treat animals with decency. The way we treat animals reflects on us and our society.”
Police made 13 arrests when a protest at the site of a recently-approved new mosque turned violent. Around 200 people were involved in the demonstration on St Mark’s Road, which saw members of far-right groups including the English Defence League clashing with anti-fascists and members of the Muslim community.
Scores of police armed with batons were called in as the disorder escalated, and a firecracker in a glass bottle was seen being thrown at officers. Despite numerous objects hitting police officers and nearby homes, it is understood there were no injuries and no damage to property.
Two men both aged 32 have since been charged with being drunk and disorderly. They are both due to appear before Sunderland magistrates on October 26. Eight men arrested on suspicion of public order offences and another three arrested on suspicion of affray have been bailed pending further enquires.
The National Front has pledged to make the demonstrations a monthly fixture, although supporters were asked not the bring NF flags to the event on pain of being removed by far-right organisers who said they would create the wrong impression. A number of protesters among the far-right groups were not from Sunderland, with some travelling from Bradford and Edinburgh.
Plans to convert a former council transport depot into a new mosque were put forward in 2011 and approved by Sunderland City Council in August. The application by the Pakistan Islamic Centre attracted almost 700 letters of objection and a petition of more than 1,400 signatures.
Sky Tyne and Wear, 7 October 2012
See also “Sunderland antiracists stand firm against EDL, NEI, NF and BNP”, UAF news report, 6 October 2012
Update: Spark FM has an interview with Gary Duncan of Sunderland Anti-Fascist Coalition.
Britain could have its first Sharia-controlled zone if plans for a mega-mosque more than four times the size of St Paul’s Cathedral get the go-ahead.
The East London mosque, known as the Riverine Centre, will hold 9,312 worshippers, compared to 2,400 at St Paul’s. The 16-acre site in West Ham will include 40ft minarets, an Islamic library, a dining hall, multi-use games areas, tennis courts, sports facilities and eight flats for visiting Muslim clerics.
The Sunderland mosque protest wasn’t the only far-right anti-Muslim demonstration in the UK yesterday. Britain First, a small fascist grouping led by former British National Party councillor Paul Golding and the party’s ex-fundraiser Jim Dowson, held a protest in London demanding “justice for victims of Muslim grooming”. They demonstrated outside Downing Street before marching down the road to Parliament Square where they burnt a Saudi flag. (There is of course a clear connection between the Saudi monarchy and the disappearance of Charlene Downes in Blackpool.)
Britain First claims that their demonstration was attended by “around 80-100 patriots, from several organisations”. Judging by the photographs on their own website it looks like no more than a couple of dozen were there. However, Paul Golding’s claim that a “disciplined delegation from the English Defence League” was among those participating is interesting, given that other organisations that were represented included the BNP and the ex-EDL breakaway group the Infidels. According to Hope Not Hateanother participant was the veteran neo-Nazi Eddie Stamton, who a year ago was proscribed by the EDL, along with the Infidels.
The Reverend Alan Clifford of Norwich Reformed Church first came to prominence back in 2004 when the local paper published a front-page article under the headline “I Think Islam Is Evil, Says Pastor”, with the subheading “Church leader backs BNP view on faith”.
The story concerned a letter Clifford had written to the Norwich Evening News declaring his support for the views on Islam expressed by Nick Griffin. The British National Party leader had been exposed in a BBC TV documentary which showed him telling a party meeting that Islam is a “wicked, vicious faith” and accusing Muslims of raping white girls as “part of their plan for conquering countries”. In his letter Clifford said that Islam was indeed an “evil religion” and that Griffin had been correct to describe it as “a monster in our midst”.
Justice denied: The UK’s sovereignty and dignity sold as Babar Ahmed and Talha Ahsan are not allowed a British trial
Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan today lost their appeal for a stay on their extradition to the United States. For upholders of human rights and civil liberties, Friday 5th October 2012 will be a black letter day. It is the day when the pleas of two British citizens to be tried in a British court came to naught. It is the day when the Metropolitan Police emerged scott free from having to explain why the information collected from Babar Ahmad’s home was provided to the US prosecutor but not to our own Crown Prosecution Service. This was the day when the Government’s media strategy of linking the cases of Abu Hamza with those of Babar Ahmad and Talha Ahsan yielded its malevolent fruits. It will take a very long time for trust to be restored.
A man has pleaded guilty to subjecting a police officer to a torrent of racist abuse.
David Hammond, 41, of South Street, Hemsworth, admitted shouting, swearing and using racist insults against PC Junaid Farooq. He appeared before Pontefract Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Anti-fascist protesters have called for a peaceful multi-cultural rally on the day the extreme right English Defence League descends on Rotherham.
A Muslim group battling to build a bigger mosque in Dudley has said it may ditch a High Court appeal after opening last-minute talks with the council on alternative plans.