Category Archives: UK

Are Muslims responsible for a huge rise in homophobic attacks in East London?

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Johann Hari has written an article for the gay magazine Attitude that he has posted on his blog, entitled “Can we talk about Muslim homophobia now?“, in which he states:

“East London has seen the highest increase in homophobic attacks anywhere in Britain. Everybody knows why, and nobody wants to say it. It is because East London has the highest Muslim population in Britain, and we have allowed a fanatically intolerant attitude towards gay people to incubate there, in the name of ‘tolerance’.”

Patrick Lilley has written to Johann Hari pointing out that figures released by the Metropolitan Police do not bear out the inflammatory claim that there has been such a huge increase in homophobic violence in “Muslim” areas of East London. Patrick has kindly allowed us to publish his letter here.

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Why are we not challenging violent Islamism in our schools?

Posted on by Bob Pitt

George ReadingsThe question is posed by George Readings of the Quilliam Foundation in a piece for Comment is Free, the purpose of which is to defend Quilliam’s policy of uncritical support for state surveillance of Muslims.

Given the inflammatory character of his charges, you might have thought that Readings would feel it necessary to present some very convincing evidence to substantiate the claim that support for violent Islamism is indeed a serious problem in Britain’s schools and that teachers are refusing to counter it.

Yet Readings provides just three examples to back up these accusations. He refers to the report that Hasib Hussain, one of the 7/7 bombers, made “supportive references” to al-Qaida in his exercise books but was nevertheless regarded by his school as a model student. He also offers a personal anecdote: “When I was at school in Birmingham, one of my contemporaries – a boy of 11 – regularly stated his desire to blow himself up outside the Israeli embassy. Teachers largely stood by bemused.” The third example is that of the “Christmas Day bomber” Umar Abdulmutallab, whose youthful support for violent Islamism consisted in expressing sympathy for the Taliban – at a school in Togo, west Africa.

And that’s the sum total of Readings’ evidence in support of his thesis that sympathy for violent extremism is rife among Britain’s Muslim pupils and schools are standing by allowing it to happen. But this is par for the course with Quilliam, who have never allowed facts to stand in the way of anti-Muslim scaremongering.

Another example that comes to mind is Ed Husain’s baseless claim that Britain is threatened by the development of Islamic ghettos where Muslims are particularly liable to be drawn towards terrorism. However, Husain’s drivel appeared in the Daily Mail, a paper with a long record of anti-Muslim propaganda. Reading’s piece has been published by the Guardian, from whom we might have expected a greater sense of responsibility.

Muslim cabbies angry as Manchester Airport prayer room closes after arson attack

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An islamic prayer room at Manchester Airport which was damaged in a suspected arson attack has been shut – for “health and safety” reasons. The cabin was used by taxi drivers and airport staff for worship but was closed suddenly by airport bosses earlier this week.

Two ceremonial garments inside the room were deliberately set ablaze on September 11 last year – the ninth anniversary of the attacks on New York’s Twin Towers.

Now the centre, on the airport’s taxi feeder park in Ringway Road, has been axed permanently – because chiefs say the building is dangerous and would cost too much to repair. But taxi drivers have reacted with anger – claiming around 500 people use the site every week and that it forms a crucial part of their daily routine.

One driver, a member of the Manchester Airport Taxi Drivers’ Association, said: “Everyone is furious that we were not consulted. We went to use it as normal and found it was locked up with a sign on the door saying it had been closed.

“Many Muslims go there five times a day to pray – we’ve used it for about a decade and are disgusted that it has shut without warning. We were all very upset when it was set on fire on September 11 and this feels like another kick in the teeth.”

Manchester Evening News, 25 February 2011

EDL leadership finally dissociates itself from English Nationalist Alliance

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bill Baker with EDL in Brighton
Bill Baker with the EDL at an ENA protest in Brighton, August 2010

The English Defence League has finally broken links with Bill Baker and his organisation. According to an EDL statement released yesterday: “The English Nationalist Alliance, and their leader ‘Bill Baker’, have, in no uncertain terms, been told to take their party politics elsewhere. Bill Baker is not welcome at any EDL event.”

You might wonder why it has taken the EDL so long to get round to this. The ENA and EDL have held a number of anti-Muslim protests together – in London last July, in Brighton in August and in Dagenham earlier this month – without any complaint from the EDL leadership. The sudden announcement that Bill Baker is persona non grata in the EDL would appear to be a panic reaction to a detailed exposé of Baker posted on the Exposing the English Defence League blog – and to Baker’s response, which has been to threaten violence against the authors.

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EDL threatens to break with Jewish division over ‘terrorist’ links – JTF leader blames ‘elements in the EDL who desperately want to be accepted by the leftwing establishment’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Roberta Moore with Jonathan HoffmanThe leadership of the English Defence League has distanced itself from the group’s Jewish Division, because of its partnership with the far-right American group Jewish Task Force.

The head of the EDL’s Jewish division, Roberta Moore [pictured, with Jonathan Hoffman], previously announced that the group was working with the JTF, whose leader Victor Vancier has been imprisoned for terrorism offences.

This week the EDL’s leadership issued a statement saying that if the Jewish Division continued relations with the JTF, they would sever ties with her. It said: “A member of the Jewish Division this week decided to link herself with terrorist organisation JTF. This was the decision and wishes of one single individual within the EDL, and does not mean that the EDL is linked with this movement.

“If they [the Jewish EDL] continue with their plans to forge links with the terrorist JTF, the EDL will have no option but to sever its links with the Jewish division as we cannot support terrorist sympathisers.”

But Ms Moore said she was determined to continue the affiliation. She said the EDL leadership who had released the statement were “complete idiots,” adding: “I have put my foot down; I am the one in contact with the JTF. If some people don’t like it, then screw them. There are lots of Jewish people very upset that the EDL put out that statement – and I haven’t received any personal messages telling me to cut off contact with Victor.”

However, the EDL made it clear that they and Ms Moore were at odds on the matter. A spokesman said: “The EDL never has and never will have any affiliations with the Jewish Task Force. Unfortunately Ms Moore has caused a great deal of trouble and unrest within the EDL because of her gung-ho attitude.”

Victor Vancier spent five years in prison from 1987 for 18 bomb attacks against Soviet targets in the US to protest against the treatment of Soviet Jews.

He posted on the JTF forum: “There are elements in the EDL who desperately want to be accepted by the leftwing establishment and the media. These elements have no principles or courage. Roberta Moore and the Jewish Division represent courageous and noble elements. If the EDL is not willing to work with JTF, then they are rejecting all rightwing Jews, evangelical Christians and others who believe in the right of the Jewish people to the entire land of Israel.”

Jewish Chronicle, 25 February 2011

So, the EDL leadership announced a week ago that the organisation “will have no option but to sever its links with the Jewish division” if the latter continues its connection with the JTF – and Roberta Moore says “screw them”. Well, has the EDL severed its links with its Jewish division, or even with Moore as an individual? No sign of it so far.

See also Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion, 19 February 2011

And Exposing the English Defence League, 17 February 2011

Update:  The EDL leadership has issued a further statement in which they directly address Roberta Moore: “we don’t approve of your discussions with the JTF. We hope that this was just an error in judgement”. Well, that’s cracking down hard on Moore, isn’t it? Clearly we can rely on the EDL leadership to take a firm stand against any of their members who are found to have links with terrorists.

EDL Deeside division’s Facebook page slammed as ‘racist’ and ‘plain stupid’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL Shotton protest 2A Facebook group has been set up for the “Deeside division” of the far-right English Defence League.

The online group – which has about 120 members – was created in the aftermath of last month’s EDL protest in Shotton town centre over a proposal to turn the former social club into an Islamic culture centre. On the homepage the site administrator – the person who set up the group – says the EDL Deeside Division’s mission is to “stop the Islamification of Great Britain”.

But it has been slammed by the North Wales Race Equality Network. A spokesman for the group said: “There are about 200 Muslims out of a population of 149,000 in Flintshire, or about 0.13%, and just 3% in Great Britain. This group is really pursuing something that is a red herring, because the notion Great Britain, let alone Deeside, is to become a Muslim country is just plain stupid.”

The page states: “We are the Deeside division of the English Defence League. Why English Defence league and not Cymru Defence league? Well to be honest we chose this because of the success of the EDL protest in Shotton. Also there is a large amount of English people that live in Deeside. Nothing taken away from the Cymru Defence League, we are all brothers fighting the same cause. We are not racist, Islam is a religion not a race!”

The launch of the group has also angered Unite Against Fascism national officer Martin Smith, who said the contents of similar EDL pages usually showed racist comments. He added: “Where the EDL tries to claim it is not a racist organisation on groups such as these, you only have to look on the pages to see they are full of racist-type material.”

Plans for the Muslim centre provoked strong protests and about 100 members of the EDL marched through the streets of Shotton to voice their opposition. The BNP also co-ordinated a leaflet campaign against the proposals.

The social club, which has been closed since August, was destroyed by arsonists earlier this month, and a police investigation is ongoing. Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society (FMCS), the group behind the plans, says it will look for an alternative venue.

Flintshire Chronicle, 24 February 2011

Cf. BNP news report, 23 February 2011

Ed Miliband to open a new chapter with the Muslim community

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Well, that’s the headline to Ahmed Versi’s interview with the Labour Party leader in the Muslim News. Whether Ed Miliband’s statements justify that headline you can make up your own mind. I would say they don’t.

It’s not Ahmed Versi’s fault. He poses some sharp questions – on Cameron’s “multiculturalism” speech, Labour’s relations with the MCB, counter-terrorism policy, failure by British governments to take action over Israel’s breach of UN resolutions, Labour’s attitude to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, etc – but Miliband just waffles and fudges the issues.

Posted in UK

ENA and EDL to hold more anti-mosque demos in Dagenham

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL in Green Lane2Far-right groups are forging ahead with a ­campaign of street protests in an attempt to stop a mosque and community ­centre opening in Dagenham.

The English Nationalist Alliance (ENA) has pledged to stage demonstrations every three weeks to prevent the opening of the facility in Green Lane, given the go-ahead despite 1,300 objections last month. The ENA announced its next protest will take place with the English Defence League on March 5, as it emerged the only way to overturn the planning ­decision would be to call for a judicial review.

Organisations would have until the end of next week to apply for the High Court review, given the strict, six-week legal deadline. A review could also incur considerable legal costs and protesters would have to demonstrate the planning decision made by councillors on January 17 had either been unlawful, irrational or biased.

ENA spokesman Bill Baker said: “Many of us are Dagenham residents, or have roots in Dagenham, and feel that this whole situation is going to create disharmony in the community if this centre is allowed to continue. On March 5 the ENA has again ­organised a demonstration in Green Lane and this is being backed by the EDL. We will keep returning to Green Lane every three weeks.”

Barking & Dagenham Post, 23 February 2011

Details of the previous ENA/EDL demo in Dagenham here.

More on Bill Baker here.

Update:  The EDL leadership has suddenly decided to break their links with Baker and the ENA. Consequently, the EDL London Region has announced that they will not be joining the 5 March protest (though they “wish the ena/bnp all the best with what they want to do”) and will hold their own demonstration a week later, with EDL leaders Stephen Lennon and Kevin Carroll as featured speakers.

Leader of campaign against Luton ‘super-mosque’ denies EDL membership

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The leader of a campaign to stop a large site in High Town being sold to Shia Muslims has denied he is motivated by involvement with the English Defence League.

Darren Carroll told our sister paper The Luton News this week that he had set up pressure group House the People, to demand Luton Borough Council preserve the Old Drill Hall site in Old Bedford Road for affordable housing.

He says people in High Town were consulted when the proposals to build homes on the site were originally put forward, but have met a wall of silence now that the site is being sold.

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