Category Archives: UK

Double standards in Sheffield

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A lecture by a controversial Muslim speaker has been called off at the last minute by Sheffield Hallam University – the second cancellation in a month.

Jalal Ibn Saeed had originally been asked to speak at an event titled The Pursuit of Paradise organised by the Sheffield Hallam Islamic Society but pulled out at short notice. The society booked another speaker, Murtaza Khan, claimed by opponents to be an anti-Semitic extremist.

But university authorities stepped in and told the society to cancel the meeting as the speaker had been changed at a late stage. A spokesman said: “Changing the speaker invalidated the conditions of the booking and therefore event due to take place last night had to be cancelled. The society were advised of this.”

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Twelve EDL supporters convicted over protest outside Muslim MEP’s home

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL protest against Sajjad KarimA politician’s eight-year-old daughter was “petrified” when anti-Islamic protesters marched into the garden of their home with banners and banged on the window.

Lancashire MEP Sajjad Karim’s home was targeted by the English Defence League (EDL) as part of a day of protests against “radical Islam” in the county on July 2 last year. Speaking from Brussels, Mr Karim, who was due to give evidence, said: “It is not the sort of thing any child should ever have to be prepared for.”

Twelve admitted public order offences at Preston Crown Court and will be sentenced on May 25.

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London Elects sanctions Islamophobic material

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Election bookletLondon Assembly member Murad Qureshi has written to complainabout the election address from the British National Party that appears in the booklet distributed by London Elects to inform voters about the 3 May elections for the London Mayor and Assembly.

The BNP’s appeal to voters features a quote from their phoney non-Reverend Robert West which reads: “I’m backing the British National Party because they support our traditional Christian faith. We need strong leadership to protect our national identity from the threat of Islam.”

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Racist attacks on Islamic centre in Altrincham

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Altrincham Islamic Cultural CentreHale’s Islamic Cultural Centre has been hit by a series of series of racially motivated attacks in the past month.

The Grove Lane site has had windows smashed four times overnight since April 1, with items as large as house bricks and coping stones. CCTV has now been installed in the hope of deterring more attacks at the Centre, which is home to an interfaith community group.

Trustee Amjad Latif said: “We want this to stop now before it escalates any further. Our emotions have changed from anxiety to anger as the incident continue. We feel this is a deliberate attack on the Muslim community.”

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Nazi-saluting pub landlord says he was just pointing at the TV … and he left the EDL because ‘unsavoury characters’ had joined it

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Barry Smith pointing at TV (2)A pub landlord pictured with his arm aloft in front of an Ulster flag says: “I was just pointing to a television screen.”

The photograph of Barry Smith has been circulated on the internet by campaigners who claim it appears to be a Nazi-style salute. But Mr Smith insists that his pose in the photograph, taken by one of his friends in a German bar as they watched a TV broadcast of a match in the 2006 World Cup, is innocent.

It was republished on the website by the campaign group Portsmouth Nazi Watch, having first been posted by Mr Smith on his Facebook page. Mr Smith, who runs The Alma Arms, in Highland Road, Eastney, says he has since deactivated his Facebook page on advice from police.

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Lutfur Rahman ate my hamster

Posted on by Bob Pitt

East London News replies to yet another witch-hunting article attacking Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman and his supporters, noting: “The point of the Telegraph article is not only to have a go at Tower Hamlets but also to have a go at Ken Livingstone in the run up to the election of London Mayor on 3rd May.”

Now, who do you suppose wrote that witch-hunting article? Yes, right first time, it was Andrew Gilligan. That’s the same Andrew Gilligan who was forced to resign from the BBC after the exposure of his inaccurate reporting and was saved by Boris Johnson who gave him a job at the Spectator. Gilligan evidently feels this is a debt that still needs repaying.

‘We don’t want EDL coming to our town’, is message from We Are Luton meeting

Posted on by Bob Pitt

We Are Luton meeting

Speakers at a meeting last night called for people in Luton to come together and oppose the “Islamophobia” of the English Defence League, who are holding a protest rally in Luton on May 5.

The EDL have been told by Bedfordshire Police that they can hold their rally in Park Street, while coalition group “We Are Luton” are being allowed to protest in Wardown Park.

“We Are Luton” is made up of different groups, including trade unions, Unite Against Fascism (UAF), the Green Party and the Luton Council of Mosques.

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Stephen Lennon to be appointed deputy leader of the British Freedom Party

Posted on by Bob Pitt

UAF Luton anti-EDL demonstrationEDL News has the details. According to leaked documents they have acquired, at a meeting of the English Defence League and the British Freedom Party in February it was agreed that EDL leader Stephen Lennon (“Tommy Robinson”) would become deputy leader of the BFP, currently led by former UKIP parliamentary candidate Paul Weston.

This follows on from the political alliance declared by the EDL and BFP last November. The intention is to announce the decision at a press conference in Luton on 5 May before an EDL demonstration in the town later that day.

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Tory MP’s anti-halal bill rejected

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An attempt by a Bradford MP to make it law for all halal and kosher meat to be clearly labelled, allowing shoppers to have freedom of choice, has been thrown out.

Shipley MP Philip Davies said people had a right to know what they were eating and a change in the law would benefit everyone. He said: “My Bill would benefit those people who want to make sure their meat is kosher or halal before purchasing it, just as much as those who want to make sure it isn’t kosher or halal.”

But Manchester Gorton MP Gerald Kaufman opposed the Bill, forcing MPs to vote, on grounds Mr Davies was singling out two minorities. He said he would not have opposed the Bill if it had a wider scope, including labels on any chicken being sold that had been kept in “dreadful conditions”.

MPs voted by 73 against Mr Davies’ Bill and 70 in favour.

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