Writing at The Third Estate, Reuben R draws our attention to the fact that David Starkey, under fire over his disgraceful racist contribution to a Newsnight debate on the riots last week, is an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society.
Reuben asks whether the NSS will now sever its links with Starkey. Unlikely, I would say, given the past record of the organisation.
The family of a terror suspect has launched a fresh petition urging the government to finally give him his day in court.
This month marks seven years since Babar Ahmad, from Fountain Road, Tooting, was imprisoned without trial following an extradition request from the United States.
To mark the unhappy milestone, his family has set up an e-petition calling on the official government website urging them to put him on trial in the UK. They are aiming to get 100,000 signatures to force a parliamentary debate about the case.
Mr Ahmad’s father, Ashfaw Ahmad, said: “This anniversary brings back dreadful memories of that day seven years ago when I received a call from the police telling me that my son had been arrested. Babar – it’s been 7 years but we will not let you be forgotten.”
Babar Ahmad remains in a maximum security prison in Worcestershire where he has become the longest-serving British terror detainee without a formal charge.
An IT technician at Imperial College, London, he was believed to be the leader of a small UK based group providing “logistical support, financial assistance, recruits and computer expertise” for overseas Jihadi groups when he was arrested.
He was later released without charge but was placed back in custody in August, 2004, awaiting extradition to the United States on terror charges. His final appeal against extradition is currently with the European Court of Human Rights, with a judgement expected later this year.
Wandsworth Guardian, 13 August 2011
Sign the petition here
A major charity that tackles racism in schools has been forced to expand its work to combat the growing influence of the English Defence League (EDL), its chief executive has warned.
The EDL, which has organised a series of protests which have turned violent, has become a “significant street force”, according to Ged Grebby from Show Racism the Red Card.
“The rise of Islamophobia combined with organisations like the EDL show we have a real problem in society,” Mr Grebby said. “There’s no doubt some young white people do feel disenfranchised. The EDL has given us a kick up the backside. It has been a focus for young people in particular.”
Show Racism the Red Card, which delivers workshops to schools to tackle racist attitudes, has made a series of films to tackle anti-Muslim sentiments. It now also speaks to children about homophobia and prejudice against asylum-seekers.
The expansion of its work follows a report released by the charity last month, which found that racism is still a “very real issue” in English schools. More than eight out of 10 teachers questioned said they had witnessed racist jokes, name-calling and stereotyping by pupils; 31 per cent said they had witnessed racist attitudes among fellow teachers.
Mr Grebby said teachers needed better training to combat racism, especially anti-Muslim abuse. “On traditional racism teachers are quite confident,” he said. “But when it comes to Islamophobia they are terrified. They worry if it’s an issue they don’t know a lot about, it could make things worse if they tackle it.”
Kevin Carroll addresses the rather thin ranks of the UK’s ‘biggest street movement’
The EDL protest in Telford yesterday passed off relatively peacefully. During the rally itself there were only around half a dozen arrests for offences including possession of offensive weapons, and later three people were arrested for assaulting police officers. Police estimates put the attendance at 300-350 but other accounts suggest that the real figure was much lower.
The Home Secretary Theresa May has this morning banned tomorrow’s planned marches in Wellington in a move that has been welcomed by Telford & Wrekin Council.
The Council had written to the Home Secretary Theresa May requesting the EDL march be banned following a recommendation by West Mercia Police. This request was made under Section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986.
The decision means that all marches including a planned counter Unity march will be banned from taking place in Telford and Wrekin. It is however expected that the English Defence League will still carry out a static demonstration in Wellington tomorrow, which West Mercia Police has decided will take place in Church Street.
Councillor Shaun Davies, cabinet member for Community Cohesion, said: “We welcome the fact that the Home Secretary has approved our request for the marches to be banned. However, there will still be a significant multi-agency operation in Wellington tomorrow in anticipation of a static protest. Telford & Wrekin Council and West Mercia Police have worked very closely over the past few weeks to develop a comprehensive plan for before, during and after the event.
“People can be reassured that both organisations have the resources available and the experience to deal with any incidents on the day. We have also worked very closely with local residents and the business community in Wellington and we would like to thank them for their support. Telford & Wrekin Council has always said that it does not want this to take place in the borough.”
Chief Inspector Keith Gee of West Mercia Police said: “Even though the Home Secretary has given her consent it does not prevent any static assemblies taking place, which are still lawful provided they remain peaceful, and we have no legal powers to prevent them. We shall do everything possible to ensure that any assembly on Saturday remains peaceful and poses the least amount of disruption possible for those not involved in the assembly.”
Shropshire Live, 12 August 2011
See also Independent, 12 August 2011
The usual objection from anti-fascists to bans on EDL marches is that the police escort them from their assembly point to the place where they are holding their static protest, so the EDL get to have a march anyway. I admit to unfamiliarity with the topography of Telford, and have had to resort to google maps, but it appears that the EDL coaches will park in Ten Tree Croft car park and then the demonstrators will cross over into Church Street where they will hold their rally (in the park, presumably). If so, it won’t be much of a march. And they will be kept north of the railway line, outside the town centre.
There is a lively debate taking place in the UK media between left and right wing commentators as to the causes of the English riots, in which hundreds of shops and businesses have been looted. However, both sides agree that the looting has been inexcusable. I hope both sides will also agree with me that Muslims have played an important role in helping to tackle the looting and preserve public safety. This would be an especially important acknowledgment if it came from those Islamophobic commentators who consistently denigrate Muslims.
“When accused of terrorism we are Muslims, when killed by looters, we become Asian”, a Muslim student explained to me. He was commenting on the media reporting of the death of three young Muslims in Birmingham on Tuesday night. Like many other Muslims, they were bravely defending shops and communities as rioters went on a violent rampage of looting.
In recent days Muslim Londoners, Muslims from Birmingham, and Muslims in towns and cities around England have been at the forefront of protecting small businesses and vulnerable communities from looting. Having worked closely with Muslim Londoners, first as a police officer and more recently as a researcher, for the last ten years this commendable bravery comes as no surprise to me. But their example of outstanding civic duty in support of neighbours is worth highlighting – especially when sections of the UK media are so quick to print negative headlines about Muslims on the flimsiest of pretexts.
Bob Lambert writes at Al Jazeera, 12 August 2011
A minister at Ely Cathedral has voiced his concerns over people’s attitude towards Muslims.
Alan Hargrave, Canon Missioner at the cathedral, is urging people of all religions to be more open-minded when it comes to Muslims wanting to build a small mosque in the city. Speaking in this month’s Ely Cathedral Newsletter, Canon Hargrave says people should be willing for Ely to be a multi-faith society.
His views come just weeks after the English Defence League (EDL) threatened to stage a protest in the city to fight plans to build the Muslim prayer centre.
Canon Hargrave said: “The reports about a possible EDL march in Ely are deeply disturbing. Muslims, along with Christians and Jews, have always been one of the great Abrahamic faiths, who share much in common. Over the centuries, for the most part, the three faiths have lived together relatively peacefully.
“If we oppose their building a place of worship, they will not go away and we will merely build the sort of tensions, fears and hatred that have fuelled the extremism we have witnessed in recent years – among Christians as well as Muslims. Freedom of worship is something we enjoy in our democracy – indeed it is central to it and something we ought to defend at all costs.”
Members of the Ely Muslims group announced they wanted to build a “miniature mosque” in Ely in February. The management committee of the Paradise Centre had told them they would lease them part of its land, along New Barns Road, if they gained planning permission to build the prayer centre.
The group currently has around 50 members who gather inside the Paradise Centre on Fridays.
Members of the English Defence League (EDL) have claimed that they patrolled the streets of Cambridge to prevent “rioting”. They say they “cleared” Mill Road of up to 100 people – but traders say the group was unwelcome and there was no sign of any violent disorder erupting.
About a dozen members of the Cambridge division of the EDL marched down the road on Tuesday night chanting: “These are our streets; you are not going to wreck them” and “EDL, EDL”.
A member of the EDL, who did not wish to be named, said: “We cleared 100 people from Mill Road without any violence. We don’t want rioters on our streets and we went to Mill Road to stop them. We chanted and patrolled the road and moved on one group of about 50 and another about the same number. We have the right to protect the community. We were there from about 9.30pm to 11.30pm to stop any rioters.”
Foudil Rerizani, owner of Algerian restaurant Al Casbah in Mill Road, was confronted by the group. He said: “There was a group of about 10 or so people who were very loud and aggressive shouting ‘EDL, EDL’. They looked at me and said ‘You are open tonight, you won’t be tomorrow’. They weren’t stopping anyone from rioting. There was no-one on the street who was rioting. It’s total rubbish.”
West Mercia Police this morning made a recommendation to Telford & Wrekin Council to make an application to the Home Secretary Theresa May to ban the EDL march that is planned for Saturday. The march could be banned under Section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986. A decision – which would prevent any marches taking place – is expected later today.
Speaking about the latest developments, Assistant Chief Constable Simon Chesterman, from West Mercia Police, said: “Although a ban may now be imposed, we would ask people to remember that this ban does not prevent an assembly taking place on Saturday in Wellington.
“With that being the case, West Mercia Police continue to plan for a major operation at the weekend and we would like to reassure local people that a significant police presence will be on duty all day. We will have the resources available to deal with every likely eventuality.”
Council leader Kuldip Sahota said: “We have now begun the formal legal process to apply to the Home Secretary for a ban on all marches in the borough of Telford and Wrekin. This includes the planned English Defence League march and any counter demonstrations.
“The Council’s position has always been that we do not want the EDL march to take place in our borough and I said that publicly at the Full Meeting of Council on July 28. We have now received new advice from West Mercia Police and are writing to the Home Secretary formally requesting all marches be banned and that West Mercia Police are provided with the necessary additional resources in order to keep the peace.
“We believe the march could pose a threat to public safety, given the riots elsewhere in England and are calling on the Home Secretary to use her powers to ban the march. We have also been working extremely closely with the local community in Wellington and Telford at large and the vast majority do not want this march to go ahead.”
Shropshire Live, 11 March 2011
No doubt reports like this and this helped to convince West Mercia Police to change their position on the EDL march.
If the EDL do go ahead with a static protest, the police should be urged to use their powers under Section 14 of the Public Order Act to contain and restrict it, as was done in Dewsbury recently.
The anti-EDL unity demonstration will also be restricted to a static assembly if Theresa May agrees to impose a ban, but that seems a small price to pay if the EDL can be prevented from holding an intimidatory march through Wellington.
The Cordoba Foundation presents its Spring / Summer 2011 edition of Arches Quarterly, a journal providing nuanced analysis of the issues and developments in the arena of dialogue, civilizations, and a rapprochement between Islam and the West.
In this edition, Arches Quarterly explores early Muslim contacts with European Societies, their contributions to culture and civilisation as well as their historical legacies, in an attempt to better understand Europe’s Islamic roots and the place of Islam and Muslims in contemporary Europe.
Download Arches Quarterly here
To order a hard copy of Arches, click here