Pav Akhtar draws the lessons from last month’s failed attempt by EDL sympathisers to organise an East End Gay Pride march through Tower Hamlets.
Category Archives: UK
EDL supporter who defaced Muslim World League building found guilty of aggravated criminal damage
A carer who wrote “EDL” and drew a religious cross on the wall of a mosque has been found guilty of aggravated criminal damage.
Andrew Baldwin, from Fitzrovia, admitted daubing the three letters – representing the far right English Defence League group – and the cross on the wall of the Muslim World League (MWL) building in Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, on December 10 and again on March 5. The 38-year-old, who is a full-time carer for his father, also admitted destroying a CCTV sign attached to the building on March 26. However, he denied a further charge that his actions were motivated by racial or religious hatred.
Giving evidence at Highbury Magistrates’ Court last Thursday, Baldwin said he was not an EDL member, but replied “yes” when asked by prosecutor Jonathan Efemini whether he supported the group. He said his graffiti had been aimed at “wrong’uns” rather than Muslims in general, adding: “Anyone going into that building to do their business and pray to their god, it’s not aimed at them. It’s aimed at the other types.”
Baldwin said he had wanted the message to be seen by “people who abuse our soldiers, burn poppies and commit terrorism on our train system”. In a police interview played to the court, Baldwin said he had ripped down the CCTV sign because he had been “having a bad day, I suppose”.
Defending, Dan O’Callaghan said Mr Baldwin had “never denied the basic fact of what happened” and had been “consistent in his representations that this was not religiously aggravated”. He added: “It was unwise and unpleasant to do it [graffiti] on the building he did it on, but what we say is the motive required under section 38 of the Crime and Disorder Act simply did not exist in this case.”
Judge Anthony Martin said Mr Baldwin’s evidence had been “inconsistent”, adding: “In our view that graffiti would offend a class of people rather than particular individuals.” He also said there was no evidence to suggest anyone who used the MWL building was involved in terrorism or the other acts cited by Baldwin.
In a statement read to the court at the start of the trial, Dr Ahmed Makhdoom, director of the MWL building, described the graffiti as “very disturbing”. He added: “I do not want this man [Mr Baldwin] to go to prison. I want him to understand what we do.”
Sentencing will take place on May 12.
BNP candidate posted threats of violence on Facebook page
A BNP candidate has been displaying highly offensive material that advocates violence against members of a Muslim organisation on her Facebook site. Politicians from mainstream parties have condemned Susan Harwood, a BNP candidate in Torfaen at next week’s National Assembly election.
The material, which uses abusive four-letter language about a group called Muslims Against Crusades, was featured on Ms Harwood’s Facebook site, but has since been removed. The Conservative candidate in Torfaen is Natasha Asghar, a Muslim.
Labour’s Lynne Neagle, who has represented the seat since the Assembly was formed and is seeking re-election, said: “This is outrageous behaviour by someone who pretends to be a respectable candidate in a democratic election. It’s one thing to oppose an organisation’s views, but her actions go far beyond legitimate criticism.
“It is totally unacceptable that BNP candidates continue to behave like this. People across Wales should know that a vote for the BNP is a vote for thugs and racists of the worst sort. If the BNP had a shred of decency, they would drop Susan Harwood as a candidate.”
Welsh Conservative candidate for North Wales and vice-president of the anti-fascist group Searchlight Cymru, Mark Isherwood said: “These appalling and offensive comments show the BNP in their true colours. People across Wales will deplore these racist and bigoted comments … and I am confident that the BNP will be defeated at the ballot box.”
Ian Titherington, director of elections for Plaid Cymru, said: “The BNP is struggling for candidates and scraping the barrel.”
UKIP by-election candidate backs Geert Wilders, says Islam is ‘morally flawed and degenerate’
Abhijit Pandya, an Indian-origin candidate for the Leicester South byelection, has sparked fury by making critical remarks about Islam in his blog less than a week before the May 5 elections.
Pandya, 31, is the candidate for the UK Independence Party, which is opposed to Britain’s membership of the European Union.
On his blog, Pandya called Islam “morally flawed and degenerate” and said he backed Geert Wilders, a controversial Dutch politician who allegedly called Islam a retarded ideology.
BNP anti-mosque campaigners arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order offence
The former leader of the city’s BNP was arrested while taking part in a protest against a new mosque. Kieren Trent was arrested in Victoria Street,Wolverton, during a demonstration held by the right-wing group on Sunday afternoon. A female who was at the protest was also arrested.
The demonstration took place following the decision by Milton Keynes Council’s planning committee to allow The Plough pub in Manor Road, Bletchley, to be converted into a mosque.
It is believed members of the BNP approached Councillor Mike Galloway, cabinet member for development and a member of the committee, because he had voted in favour of the plans.
Muslim community denounces document describing Montreal mosque as terror hub
MONTREAL — New WikiLeaks documents that describe a Montreal mosque as a terror hub are defamatory, says a local Muslim spokesman.
The newly leaked U.S. documents claim a Mauritanian terror suspect being held at Guantanamo Bay was the leader of a Montreal-based al-Qaida cell that planned terror attacks in the United States.
The secret documents, released by WikiLeaks on their website last weekend, also claim that members of al-Qaida were recruited and trained at Montreal’s Al Sunnah Al Nabawiah Mosque, where the terror suspect served briefly, possibly as an imam.
But the chairman of the Muslim Council of Montreal said the documents serve as an example of how the community’s institutions are unfairly targeted by authorities.
“Our allegations are certainly correct that we’ve been targeted and this is biased targeting,” Salam Elmenyawi said in an interview. “None of the information is based on evidence. It’s rather based on intelligence analysis and this analysis has certainly ignored any other facts that contradicted the conclusion.”
Elmenyawi said the documents defame the mosque and show a blatant bias against the Muslim community.
Update: See “WikiLeaks: Montreal mosque ‘is a top Al Qaeda recruiting zone'”, Daily Mail, 27 April 2011
Needless to say, the Mail fails to quote the views of the Muslim Council of Montreal.
The paper also takes the opportunity to publish a photo of the North London Central Mosque in Finsbury Park, with the caption “Finsbury Park Mosque in London was named by WikiLeaks as another Al Qaeda recruiting ground”. Yesterday’s Mail did the same, with another photo of the mosque captioned “‘Haven for extremists’: US intelligence experts describe Finsbury Park Mosque, in north London, above, as an ‘attack planning and propaganda production base'”.
Disgracefully, there is no mention in either article of the fact that this charge dates from the time when Abu Hamza al-Masri and his followers were in control and that the mosque has been under new management since 2005.
See NLCM press release.
Counter-protest against EDL in Weymouth on Saturday
Dorset Police have announced they will be separating two protests being held on Saturday as concerns grow over anti-Muslim feelings in the town.
The English Defence League (EDL) is a right-wing group that is against Islamic extremism and “radical Islam’s encroachment into the lives of non-Muslims” as well as the introduction of Sharia law into Britain. They announced a march after BBC3 screened a film about a former Weymouth lad who converted to Islam and was radicalised.
A peaceful counter protest will be held at the same time, 1pm, organised by people behind the Facebook page, Keep The Racist EDL out of Dorset, who are rallying people to join them in opposition to the EDL “bringing its hatred and violence to a diverse, tolerant Dorset”.
Assembly points for both groups have been designated at either end of the Esplanade in Weymouth, with the EDL due to meet at the pier bandstand and counter-demonstrators opposite the Pavilion.
Lord Knight of Weymouth, former Dorset South MP Jim Knight, has penned a blog voicing his fears that the EDL are “a bigger threat than the BNP”.
He says: “At a time of high unemployment, housing shortage and cuts to the welfare state we are particularly vulnerable to the rise of far right fascism. The possibility of that particular poison reaching somewhere as peaceful as Weymouth makes me anxious. That is why I will join others in publicly expressing our opposition to the English Defence League in Weymouth.”
BNP youth leader arrested over campaign against Bletchley mosque
Kieren Trent, leader of the British National Party’s “young adults” organisation Resistance, was arrested by Thames Valley Police yesterday (Sunday), according to a report on a far-right activist’s blog. His computer equipment was seized.
The arrest followed a demonstration in Wolverton, Milton Keynes, against a local councillor who voted in favour of granting planning permission to Bletchley mosque. Councillor Mike Galloway, a Liberal Democrat, is a member of the Milton Keynes Development Control Committee, which deals with planning applications, and chair of the Local Development Framework Advisory Group.
Bletchley mosque has been the target of BNP opposition since last autumn, with Trent leading several protests.
The Challenge of Islamophobia – press release from NUT conference
Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;
“The NUT is proud to be at the forefront of campaigning for equalities for all our children. Schools can provide the space and time to debate and learn about other cultures in an open and non-threatening environment.
“It is therefore extremely important that teachers have the training and resources to tackle issues that face modern society in order to deal with them in a constructive and informed fashion.
“The NUT believes respect should be accorded in our multicultural society, regardless of race, religion, gender, disability or sexuality. Many schools are excellent examples of how children and young people from all walks of life can work together in an environment that fosters pride and equality for everyone.
“Islamophobia has become a prevalent issue in recent times. Teachers need the knowledge and resources to address this issue with students.”
‘He’s an Arab’ – Denis MacEoin explains why you can’t trust Gilbert Achcar
Denis MacEoin, who was responsible for the discredited Policy Exchange report The Hijacking of British Islam among other axe-grinding anti-Muslim “studies”, has posted a “customer review” of Gilbert Achcar’s book The Arabs and the Holocaust on the Amazon website.
Not that MacEoin has actually bought the book, still less read it. But he has no hesitation in warning potential purchasers that Achcar is an unreliable historian, beginning with the charge that “He’s an Arab….” As one of the comments on MacEoin’s “review” points out: “One can imagine the uproar from you and your ilk if the assertion you make was followed by ‘He’s a Jew’.”