Inayat Bunglawala, Huma Qureshi, Simon Woolley, Nadiya Takolia and Bim Adewunmi respond to Mehdi Hasan’s recent piece on the Islamophobic abuse he’s endured.
See also Gary Younge, “Who thinks about the consequences of online racism?”, Comment is Free, 12 July 2012
A 21-year-old man has been arrested during a demonstration by Far Right campaigners in Swansea.
Police intervened during the demonstration in the city centre on Saturday organised by the South Wales National Front in Union Street.
Officers made the arrest for an alleged racial public order offence. They also confiscated banners and posters to ensure there was no breach of the peace.
The 21-year-old man is believed to be from Swansea and has been released on bail following the arrest.
South Wales Evening Post, 9 July 2012
As the NF’s own report makes clear, the demonstration was directed against “Muslim rapists” and involved protestors brandishing placards featuring the popular racist slogan “Our children are not halal meat”.
Far right members from organisations in Germany, Sweden and the UK attended a meeting in the European Parliament on 9 July at which literature was sold to attendees.
While one keynote speaker described how “The pansy left are auditioning to be the Muslim’s prison b*tch” and said the mainstream media represented “a threat to life and liberty.”
The same speaker stated: “A society which becomes more Muslim becomes less everything else.”
‘Sikhs Against the EDL’ to join the counter demonstration against the EDL march in Bristol on Saturday 14th July
Sikhs from London, West Midlands and Cardiff will be marching against the English Defence League (EDL) in Bristol on Saturday 14th July under the banner of ‘Sikhs Against the EDL’.
They will be there to support the counter demonstration against the EDL march in Bristol on the same day. The counter demonstration is being organised by a multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-faith organisation known as ‘We Are Bristol’. It is a broad-based network of local community groups, political organisations and trade unions. Their aim is to ‘celebrate diversity and oppose racism and fascism’ and to show the EDL that they are not welcome in Bristol.
The far right English Defence League has been given a clear message by city council leader Simon Cook [pictured] – “We don’t want you in Bristol.”
The EDL, which describes itself as an anti-Islamist group, is planning to press ahead on Saturday with its controversial march through the city.
Meanwhile, a group of trade unions, community groups and anti-racist organisations called We Are Bristol will stage a counter demonstration opposite the Bristol Hippodrome at the same time.
Labour councillor Mike Wollacott (Brislington East) wrote to Mr Cook, inviting him to attend the anti-EDL demo. But Mr Cook has turned down the invitation, saying he thought it would send out the wrong message.
Have you ever been called an Islamist? How about a jihadist or a terrorist? Extremist, maybe? Welcome to my world. It’s pretty depressing. Every morning, I take a deep breath and then go online to discover what new insult or smear has been thrown in my direction. Whether it’s tweets, blogposts or comment threads, the abuse is as relentless as it is vicious.
You might think I’d have become used to it by now. Well, I haven’t. When I started writing for a living, I never imagined I’d be the victim of such personal, such Islamophobic, attacks, on a near-daily basis.
Mehdi Hasan writes at Comment is Free, 8 July 2012
Trade unionists, community groups and local MP Kelvin Hopkins are backing a ‘We are Luton’ march to oppose the racists and fascists of the English Defence League on Saturday 5 May.
UAF is mobilising nationally for this demo.
>> Why you should be in Luton on 5 May
>> Download demo leaflet here
A man who wielded knives, broke down his neighbours’ front door and threatened to kill them, has been jailed.
Leeds Crown Court heard how Daniel Smith [on left of photo] had 167 previous convictions before he was locked up for 10 further offences today.
The 39-year-old was not present for his sentencing because he was taken back to Armley prison from the court at lunchtime after destroying two toilets in the court cells.
An EDL thug who stormed a peaceful protest before hurling a lit firework has walked free from court.
Anthony Crawford sparked pandemonium when he lobbed the explosive at anti-jubilee protesters as they gathered for a rally in Newcastle city centre.
It landed in the hood worn by Barnaby Drew, from Byker, Newcastle, who was left with burns after it exploded on his shoulder and set fire to his hair. The 19-year-old’s pals patted down his body to stop it spreading, and the force of the blast burned a hole in his jumper. He was left partially deafened when the firework perforated his eardrum.
But now, after admitting one charge of assault by beating, Crawford, 22, of Elmway, Chester-le-Street, County Durham, has escaped a prison term after magistrates handed him a 15-week suspended sentence.