David Miller reports on the “Ten years of terrorism and counter terrorism” conference in Glasgow.
Category Archives: UK
Commons Select Committee invites US Islamophobe to testify about Muslim radicalisation
Tomorrow, the British Parliament will hold a hearing on the “roots of violent radicalisation” in the Muslim community in that country. The first witness before the committee will be Rep. Peter King (R-NY). King will reportedly be the first member of Congress to ever address a committee of Parliament….
King, who has said Muslims are “an enemy living among us” and that there are “too many mosques in this country,” is not an appropriate “expert” to testify about radicalization in the United States. Additionally, multiple witnesses that King had wanted to call during his own investigation had to withdraw or be dis-invited due to their anti-Muslim bias. One witness withdrew because he was involved with a militia that tortured and killed Muslims, and another was rejected because of her stridently anti-Muslim views targeting not just extremism but the religion itself.
Despite the fact that almost twice as many terror plots since 9/11 came from non-Muslim groups, King refused to widen his hearings to examine radicalization in other areas. He even questioned the patriotism of Muslims in the United States, accusing the community of not cooperating with law enforcement authorities – despite the fact that around a third of terror plots that have been broken up since the 9/11 attacks were broken up with the help and assistance of Muslim American communities.
Zaid Jilani at Think Progress, 12 September 2011
TUC: NUJ to call for support against EDL
The National Union of Journalists intends to call on delegates at the TUC conference to publicly condemn alleged attacks on the press by members of the English Defence League.
The union has submitted an emergency motion to the conference over the alleged attacks, which it claims included a photographer being set on fire and another journalist sexually assaulted at an EDL rally earlier this month.
The motion, which the NUJ hopes to have accepted and added to the agenda of the conference today, calls on TUC members to publicly condemn the actions of the EDL, as well as campaigning against far-right groups and offering assistance to affiliate unions if their members are threatened. It also calls on the police to take action to identify and prosecute EDL supporters who attack trade unionists.
The NUJ claims to have received numerous reports of journalists being harassed, racially abused, and having bottles and fireworks thrown at them by the anti-Islamic group.
The motion submitted to the TUC conference calls the alleged attacks “aviolation of press freedom and an attack on our democracy”. “Far-right attacks on media workers are aimed at deterring them from carrying out their work and are designed to intimidate trade union members and stop the media reporting on far-right activity,” it adds.
A spokesperson for the Met police confirmed that the force was investigating an allegation of assault at the rally in which a 17-year-old had his clothing set alight and suffered minor burns.
Are the EDL’s opponents motivated by contempt for the working class?
According to Brendan O’Neill they are. In a piece on his Telegraph blog headed “A glimpse into the class hatred at the heart of the anti-EDL clique”, the Spiked editor expresses his indignation at a widely publicised YouTube clip in which “anti-EDL campaigners describe a female supporter of the EDL as ‘the most tattooed, horrible scrote of a woman’ they have ever seen and then laugh as they talk about how she was ‘kicked up the arse’ by a left-wing protester”. For O’Neill, the video “confirms what draws many young middle-class liberals towards anti-English Defence League campaigning: it provides them with a semi-legit cover for expressing their fear and loathing of the white working classes”.
EDL clash with locals in Edgware Road
EDL members have descended onto one of London’s most famous streets and have had clashes with locals, this evening. Around 50-100 EDL members are currently on Edgware Road, a part of London dominated by the Arab community.
Chairs and windows have been smashed and police are trying to separate the two groups. The Edgware Road area is completely gridlocked with traffic tailing back all the way to White City and the Westfield shopping centre in Shepherds Bush
A London Air Ambulance has arrived in nearby Hyde Park, which is at the top of Edgware Road at the Marble Arch crossing. Some people have said that someone has been seriously injured although this is unconfirmed.
Earlier, EDL members clashed with the group Muslims Against the Crusades outside the 9/11 memorial near the US Embassy. 4 arrests were made.
Update: See also the Evening Standard which reports an eyewitness as saying that the clash took place at the Tyburn pub: “There was a group of EDL guys drinking outside the pub when a large group of Muslims walked past. The EDL started hurling racist abuse at the Muslims who took offence. They got angry and were yelling back. Then the EDL guys picked up pub furniture and started throwing glasses and chairs and tables at the group in the street.”
Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood – they’re all part of the same Islamist movement, claims Blair
Tony Blair, interviewed by John Humphrys on this morning’s Radio 4 Today programme, explains that the “war on terror” is not just against al-Qaeda but against all forms of “radical Islamism”.
He poses the rhetorical question about 9/11: “was this a group of isolated people, terrorists, with an ideology, who committed a terrible atrocity or was this group at the furthest end of a spectrum of what I would call radical Islamism, and therefore this is something far bigger, far greater than even we assessed after September 11?”
Blair opts firmly for the latter: “It’s not just about a movement prepared to use terror. The ideology, the narrative that gives rise to this is far deeper and far broader. When I’m in the Middle East now and you see for example the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood, or Hamas, you look at the role that Iran is playing in the region, I think it’s a big mistake to say this was just about Bin Laden and a group of terrorists.”
Perhaps Harry’s Place should contact Blair and offer him a guest post.
Edinburgh protests: anti-fascists outnumber Scottish Defence League
Hundreds of police have staged a show of force in central Edinburgh at a rally by the Scottish Defence League. Almost 200 supporters of the far right group were heavily outnumbered by officers drawn from forces across the central belt. They were penned in after the city council refused them permission to march.
A counter demonstration of about 400 Unite Against Fascism protesters was allowed to hold a procession. They marched along Princes Street before attending a rally.
Hearts and minds: London’s street battle with al‑Qaeda
Dominic Casciani interviews Bob Lambert, former head of Scotland Yard’s Muslim Contact Unit and author of the forthcoming book Countering Al Qaeda in London.
See also the interview with Bob Lambert on Radio 4’s Today.
And Peter Oborne’s review in the Daily Telegraph, 10 September 2011
Two more in court over EDL attack on Plymouth kebab shop
Two men have appeared before Plymouth magistrates accused of resisting police officers. Ricky Burley, aged 43, and 33-year-old Michael Rafferty appeared together charged with offences in Exeter Street on August 31.
Burley, of High Street, Stonehouse, denied threatening behaviour and resisting or obstructing a police officer. Rafferty, of Queen Street, Devonport, denied obstructing or resisting a second officer. Plymouth magistrates were told the incident happened outside the Wild Coyote pub, now called the East End bar.
They were released on bail on the same condition until their trial before magistrates on a date to be set in the next few months.
UKIP welcomes European anti-immigration parties to its conference
Ukip has been accused of pandering to xenophobia by inviting two prominent figures from European anti-immigration parties to address its annual conference today.
The star speaker will be Timo Soini, the leader of the True Finns, a previously fringe nationalist party which scored a surprise success by coming third in the Finnish general election. Ukip has been attracted by the fiercely Eurosceptic outlook of the party, which tapped into opposition to offering financial support for Mediterranean nations hit by the Eurozone crisis.
But the True Finns have also described immigrants as “parasites on taxpayers’ money” and suggested ethnically Finnish women should study less and spend more time having babies.
Mr Soini will be joined by the MEP Barry Madlener, of the Dutch Freedom Party. Its leader, Geert Wilders, has attacked Islam as a violent religion and compared the Koran to Mein Kampf.
Update: UKIP reports that Madlener “gave a strong speech on the importance of retaining national identity and received a standing ovation for his inspirational words”.