Martin Bright is not happy. Hopefully the news will spoil Andrew Gilligan’s holiday too.
Category Archives: UK
Thurrock, Essex: Labour councillor suspended following racist email allegation
A Thurrock Labour councillor has been suspended by her party for passing on allegedly racist comments in an email.
The suspension was announced four days after it was revealed that Belhus councillor Sue Gray had forwarded an email to people on her mailbox which purported to be an official email detailing Bedfordshire Police’s protocol guide for dealing with terrorism suspects who may be Muslims.
At the end of the email a comment was posted saying: “This is unbelievable. It’s now predicted that Britain will become an Islamic state by 2070. (Time to think about your children/grandchildren). Please forward this e-mail asap so that 40 per cent of British voters who didn’t vote last time might get the message.”
The email forwarded by Cllr Gray was passed to a police officer, who reported it and Essex police have confirmed an investigation to establish whether the crime of inciting racial hatred has taken place.
Cllr Gray issued an immediate apology when the story entered the public domain, saying she had inadvertently forwarded the email, one of many she receives, without reading it fully. She distanced herself from the comments within it, but the Labour party have announced her suspension pending an investigation.
Essex Enquirer, 14 February 2011
Via ENGAGE
LSE invitation to Sarrazin condemned
A German banker who has said “all Jews share a certain gene” and described Muslims as “dunces” will speak tonight at the London School of Economics amid a row over free speech.
Anti-fascist campaigners vowed to demonstrate outside the LSE during Thilo Sarrazin‘s appearance in a debate on multiculturalism. The former executive member of the Bundesbank caused outrage in Germany last year with his comments, in which he also attacked Basques. He was removed from the country’s central bank and raked down by the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, who called him “stupid”.
Civitas-inspired campaign against speaker at York University ISoc
The invitation of Islamic Scholar Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari to speak at the University on Wednesday has sparked controversy across campus. Several campus societies, including StandforPeace, Amnesty International, Jewish Society, Freedom Society and York Conservatives, have collectively launched an official complaint, claiming that al-Kawthari “poses a threat to social cohesion at York” and that “his views are out of place in a civilised, free and equal society”.
The concern is centred on a report by the thinktank CIVITAS, profiling the Mufti, which explicitly states: “he places severe restrictions on male doctors treating female patients; he rules that women may not swim (even for medical reasons) where a male lifeguard is present, or where there are non-Muslim women; using tampons is ‘disliked’; a woman may not travel beyond 48 miles without her husband or a close relative accompanying her; a female is encouraged to remain within the confines of her house as much as possible; polygamy is permissible.”
Sam Westrop of StandforPeace, who has led the campaign against him speaking at York, has also pointed out that al Kawthari “legitimises rape” in his claim that “the narrations of the beloved of Allah clearly signify the importance of the wife obeying her husband in his request for sexual intimacy. It will be a grave sin (in normal circumstances) for the wife to refuse her husband, and even more, if this leads the husband into the unlawful.”
Speaking to Nouse, Westrop added: “It is a terrifying state of affairs that persons such as al-Kawthari are allowed to propagate their views on university campuses, and that the Union and University should so blithely approve such a speaker. We would all be up in arms if the far right popped up on campus stating that homosexuals have no rights and that capital punishment is suitable for adultery; so why should we hold back with people such as al-Kawthari? We urge the Islamic Society to change the speaker for this event, to someone far less disgusting.”
However, Dinah Salah, President of the York Islamic Society who organised for al Kawthari to speak at York as part of Islam Week, has spoken out against the allegations. She stated that the societies had been “recklessly sensationalising” his views and that they are being taken “bizarrely out of context”.
Salah continued: “It is important to note that socially conservative views should not be confused with violent extreme views. We find it deeply problematic that individuals seek to tarnish the good name and reputation of Muslim scholars under the premise of ‘extremism’ and ‘‘islamism’ based on misquotes of a very serious issue.
“We feel that such an approach is not cohesive to good campus relations and seeks to alienate Muslim students from engaging properly in their Students’ Union and hindering their development of a strong Islamic identity. The Islamic Society stands in favour of freedom of expression, with the only exception being when it incites hatred or violence. How can there be meaningful progression in our society, when individuals seek to restrict opinions and prevent constructive challenges of diverse views?”
See also The Yorker, 13 February 2011
It might be noted that Sam Westrop’s views on freedom of expression are somewhat contradictory, to say the least. Last year he condemned the exclusion of Douglas Murray, director of the Civitas-funded Centre for Social Cohesion, from the platform of a fringe event at NUS conference following complaints by FOSIS. According to Westrop, Murray should have been welcomed as a speaker because of the “importance to uphold freedom of speech”.
Murray, it may be recalled, addresed the Pim Fortuyn Memorial conference in 2006 on the subject “What are we to do about Islam?” He demanded “Why is it that time and again the liberal West is crumpling before the violence, intimidation and thuggery of Islam?” and offered the following solution: “It is late in the day, but Europe still has time to turn around the demographic time-bomb which will soon see a number of our largest cities fall to Muslim majorities. It has to. All immigration into Europe from Muslim countries must stop…. Conditions for Muslims in Europe must be made harder across the board.”
More recently, Murray welcomed the formation of the EDL as “a grassroots response from non-Muslims to Islamism”.
Westrop, it seems, is in fully in favour of free speech for anti-Muslim hate preachers like Murray, but not for socially conservative Deobandi scholars like Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari.
It is also interesting to see Westrop putting himself forward as a defender of women’s rights. In May 2009 he invited UKIP MEP Godfrey Bloom to address the university’s Freedom Society, despite Bloom’s notoriously reactionary views on that issue. Bloom is on record as stating that “no self-respecting small businessman with a brain in the right place would ever employ a lady of child-bearing age”, that he doesn’t think women “clean behind the fridge enough”, and that his role as MEP is “to represent Yorkshire women who always have dinner on the table when you get home”.
Channel 4 denies it ‘unfairly targeted’ Islamic school
Channel 4 on Monday denied accusations that it “unfairly targeted” an Islamic school in Birmingham with “surreptitious” recording for a Dispatches documentary due to air tonight.
The Darul Uloom Islamic High School is one of the educational establishments due to feature in tonight’s Dispatches investigation into allegations of assault at Islamic schools across the UK. The school said on Monday it was “concerned that the truth has been distorted completely” in some of the allegations made by Dispatches.
Channel 4 responded that its investigation is “clearly in the public interest” and “shows secret footage of numerous adults on different occasions teaching pupils as young as 11 years of age contempt for other religions and wider society”. “We stand by our investigation and think the programme speaks for itself,” the broadcaster said.
Lessons in Hate and Violence, made by independent producer Hardcash, investigates allegations that some teachers in Islamic schools regularly assault young children and teach a message of hatred and intolerance. West Yorkshire police earlier on Monday arrested one man in Keighley in connection with footage due to be aired tonight.
A statement released by the school on Monday said: “We feel that a certain media channel has targeted us unfairly by surreptitiously recording inside our school for a period longer than six months. Over that period of time they have selectively gathered a handful of quotes and comments allegedly from some teachers, which they are using to attempt to portray our school in a light completely contrary to its ethos.”
The school, which is funded in part by charitable donations, added that its official policy was to “promote tolerance and appreciation of other religions” and that the majority of its students go on to become “upright citizens”.
“No school can claim to be immune from incidents that require remedial action,” the school said. “What we have demonstrated repeatedly, is that our procedures have dealt with contraventions in the past, and will continue to do so. These actions have included expulsions of students, and dismissals of teachers, as long as six months prior to us having knowledge of the surreptitious recording.”
Darul Uloom added that it would close early for half-term because of concern for the safety of pupils travelling to and from its site in the Small Heath area of Birmingham.
Three charged with Haywards Heath mosque arson
Three 19-year-old men have been charged with arson following a fire at a newly-renovated mosque in West Sussex. The fire at the mosque in Wivelsfield Road, Haywards Heath, was started in the early hours of Sunday. It opened in November after being renovated at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Daily Star backpedals on support for EDL
Only last Wednesday an editorial in the Daily Star was claiming that there was “visibly growing support” for the English Defence League, which was “attracting people across Britain to its ranks”.
EDL leader Stephen Lennon (“Tommy Robinson”) was quoted as saying that EDL members “have no problems with race” and that their only objection is to “barbaric” Islam.
Commenting on the EDL’s supposed threat to field candidates in parliamentary and council elections, the Star observed that the organisation “could soon become a political force”, in which case “Tommy and his followers will have to be taken very seriously”.
What a difference four days can make.
The Star has now done a 180-degree turn on the EDL. An editorial in today’s issue attacks the EDL’s claim to be “non-racist, non-violent and the voice of reason against the spread of Islamic fundamentalism in this country”. It dismisses the EDL as an organisation whose “membership is tiny” and refers to the criminal records of some of its leading figures.
The editorial concludes that “blaming all our problems on innocent God-fearing Muslims is not the answer” and pledges that “we’ll never stop making that clear to the rag-tag bunch of thugs called the EDL”.
Could it be that Star‘s owner Richard Desmond was seriously embarrassed by the adverse publicity he received over his paper’s backing for the EDL and has ordered a change of line?
The transformation of the Star‘s editorial line on the EDL extends to its reporting.
The front page of last Wednesday’s issue notoriously featured a headline declaring “English Defence League to form political party”. The accompanying article included a sympathetic interview with Stephen Lennon, who was given a platform to claim that the EDL would soon have more Facebook followers than the Tories or Lib Dems, outline his organisation’s plan to ban the Qur’an and reveal his ambition to appear on the BBC’s Question Time.
The previous day the Star had given a boost to the EDL’s planned protest in Birmingham next month (which has since been postponed). An article headlined “English Defence League: We’ll stand up and fight for Britain’s brave heros” began:
“The English Defence League (EDL) is planning a huge march after two Muslim councillors snubbed a British war hero given the George Cross. Councillors Salma Yaqoob and Mohammed Ishtiaq caused fury by sitting down as more than 100 other politicians gave L/Cpl Matthew Croucher a standing ovation at a civic event.”
However, it was obvious even from the Star‘s own report that Lennon had no immediate plans to set up a political party, while the EDL’s publicity for its Birmingham protest did not include any reference to Salma Yaqoob and Mohammed Ishtiaq’s so-called “snub” of L/Cpl Croucher. It appeared that it was the Star itself that was putting pressure on the EDL to stand for elections and to target the two Respect councillors. The paper was not merely championing the EDL – it was proposing their political tactics to them.
What a contrast the coverage of the EDL in today’s Star presents.
One article reports that “Lennon admits that the group, made up of football hooligans and other hoodlums, has no hope of becoming a political party”. No mention is made of the fact that it was the Staritself, rather than Lennon, who was pushing the line that the EDL was about to enter electoral politics and posed a serious threat to the established parties.
On the matter of Matthew Croucher, the Star now reports: “A hero Marine has slammed far-right extremists who claim they will be marching in his name at an anti-Muslim demonstration. The English Defence League say they will parade on behalf of George Cross winner Matt Croucher in Birmingham next month. They claim to be outraged after Muslim councillors failed to join in a standing ovation for the Royal Marines Reserve…. He said: ‘They won’t be marching in my name and I won’t be joining them’.”
The Star even accuses Lennon of attempting to “hijack the issue by announcing a March 19 demo on behalf of Matt”. Again, no mention is made of the fact that it was the Star itself rather than the EDL who was pushing the idea that the proposed demo should concentrate on that particular issue.
As for the EDL leader’s claim that his organisation is not racist, theStar is now prepared to accept the well-known fact that “Lennon has experience of far-right politics dating back several years. He joined the British National Party in 2004 and attended at least one BNP meeting in Luton in 2007.” (For a photo of Lennon at the 2007 BNP meeting, which was addressed by the veteran fascist Richard Edmonds, see here.)
Today’s paper also features an article headlined “Paedo rap for EDL leader”, which reports the now rather old news that the EDL’s Richard Price has been convicted on child porn charges and that he was initially backed by Lennon, who claimed Price had been framed. The Star quotes an unnamed EDL member as having quit the EDL on the grounds that it “has a paedo in its leadership ranks”.
Of course, it is good that the Star‘s “Hurrah for the Blackshirts” moment appears to have passed and that the EDL will not have a daily paper acting as its cheerleader, but there are grounds for scepticism about the paper’s change of line.
For one thing, this isn’t the first time that the Star has promoted the EDL and then backed off. As I pointed out in an earlier post, in September 2009 the paper published an article under the headline “Case for the defence“, which gave credence to the EDL’s claim that they “oppose Nazis and racists”, and the next day published a follow-up piece which uncritically repeated the EDL’s assertion that they had been “swamped with messages of support from all races” as a result of the Star‘s original report. The Star then retreated from this position in the face of criticism, only to return to its promotion of the EDL last week.
Secondly, there is no sign that Star is going to change its obsessive and invariably inaccurate scaremongering against the same “innocent God-fearing Muslims” who it now claims to be defending from the EDL. Yesterday’s attack on Zakir Naik is repeated in today’s paper, which also continues the Star‘s familiar practice of publicising the rantings of Anjem Choudary with the evident aim of misleading its readers into believing that this irrelevant idiot with his few dozen followers represents a significant force within British Islam.
Even if the Star refrains from giving the EDL its official seal of approval and takes to describing them as “far-right extremists”, the fact remains that it is the misrepresentation of British Muslims by the Star and the rest of the right-wing popular press that provides the conditions in which far-right racist organisations like the EDL can thrive and grow.
How the Daily Star changed its line on the EDL
Daily Star editorial, 9 February 2011
Critics say the English Defence League is a racist, extremist organisation that’s filled with hate. The group’s leader Tommy Robinson strongly denies this. He says members have no problems with race. But he admits he is against “barbaric” Islam and the way it affects Britain.
Whatever side of the fence you fall, one thing’s for sure. There is a visibly growing support for the EDL. It is attracting people across Britain to its ranks who feel the same way.
This should be a warning to the major political parties. Key voters are so fed up with them that they are looking elsewhere. And there are real underlying issues here with Brits who feel abandoned by their leaders.
The EDL are now planning to field election candidates. If the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems don’t heed this and address key issues they could soon become a political force. Then, whether you like them or not, Tommy and his followers will have to be taken very seriously.
Daily Star editorial, 13 February 2011
The English Defence League reckon they are on the march. They claim to be non-racist, non-violent and the voice of reason against the spread of Islamic fundamentalism in this country.
It’s time for a few facts.
Their membership is tiny. Police said last week’s demo, supposed to be the biggest event in the group’s history, attracted just 1,500 supporters.
The voice of reason, they say. Really? We’ve already revealed how one member was a people smuggler. They’ve defended another who is a convicted sex offender and drug user.
These are tough times and no one supports Britain’s working class more than us. And no one has been harder on Islamic extremists than this newspaper.
Don’t worry – we’ll continue to hold Britain’s main political parties to account to ensure they get us all a better deal. And we’ll keep a close and critical eye on their immigration policies too.
But blaming all our problems on innocent God-fearing Muslims is not the answer.
And we’ll never stop making that clear to the rag-tag bunch of thugs called the EDL too.
More Mail nonsense about halal meat
The Church of England has told its schools to ensure they are serving non-halal food after concerns that a number are only providing meat slaughtered according to Islamic law.
The official guidance was issued after Church members complained that the use of halal meat was effectively “spreading sharia law” across Britain. The Church’s financial arm has also come under pressure to withdraw its investments – worth millions of pounds – in supermarkets that do not clearly label halal food.
The moves follow disclosures by The Mail on Sunday last year that halal products were widespread in schools, hospitals, pubs and sporting venues but members of the public were not informed.
More than 10,000 Christians, many of whom have reservations about eating meat from animals that are bled to death while an Islamic prayer is recited, have signed a petition calling for proper labelling.
Animal rights campaigners have also expressed anger because animals are often not stunned before their throats are cut with a sharp knife.
Alison Ruoff, a long-standing member of the Church’s “parliament”, the General Synod, said:
“The Church is only just waking up to this. We have been pathetic and mealy-mouthed but we should be really concerned about this. There is a lot of fear about upsetting Muslims but as a Christian you have to stand up for Christian values. Because we are unwittingly eating halal meat, we are spreading the practice of sharia law.”
Mrs Ruoff has challenged the Church Commissioners, who manage the Church’s £4 billion assets, to sell its shares in supermarkets that did not clearly label halal food.
The Rev Patrick Sookhdeo, an Anglican cleric who runs the international Barnabas Fund charity for Christians facing persecution, said some extremist Muslims viewed the growing use of halal food as part of their efforts to “impose” sharia law on the West.
Mail on Sunday, 13 February 2011
The Mail‘s campaign last year featured headlines such as “How 70% of New Zealand lamb imports to Britain are halal… but this is NOT put on the label”. Readers were invited to believe that halal slaughter inflicts unnecessary suffering on animals, although in reality all halal lamb from New Zealand has been stunned before slaughter. The objection to halal meat by Christian right-wingers has nothing to do with alleged animal cruelty. It boils down to the fact that “an Islamic prayer is recited” while the animal is killed.
Hate preacher beats ban by beaming vile rants to your telly
A hate preacher banned from entering Britain has been broadcasting messages into people’s homes via satellite TV.
Zakir Naik, 45, claims “every Muslim should be a terrorist” and was prevented from visiting the UK by Home Secretary Theresa May, 54, last year. Eight months on and the Islamic loudmouth is a key figure in poisonous satellite channel Peace TV, which is being shown in the UK.
Yesterday broadcasting watchdog Ofcom revealed it was investigating the channel after a complaint from a viewer about its extremist messages. Programmes on Peace TV have praised Mujahideen fighters in Iraq, labelled Jews an “enemy of Islam” and claimed 9/11 was an “inside job”.
Tory MP Patrick Mercer said: “The Home Secretary dealt with Naik extremely effectively. I think she will be furious to discover he still has a licence to spread his poison on satellite television. Ofcom should revoke it immediately.”
Naik was banned from entering the country after it was judged his presence was “not conducive to the public good”. During the British court case, Home Office officials also suggested his sermons acted as inspiration for the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
During his appeal, lawyers for the firebrand revealed he was chairman of Universal Broadcasting Corporation Ltd, a company registered in Britain. UBCL has held the broadcasting licence for Peace TV since 2007.
Naik was also named as chairman of the Islamic Research Foundation International, which appears to have given £1.5million to the channel in 2009.
Hannah Stuart, of the Centre of Social Cohesion, said: “Zakir Naik has been excluded from the UK. To allow him to continue to broadcast here makes a mockery of that decision.”
An Ofcom spokesman said: “We are in the middle of an investigation about Peace TV. Ofcom will not tolerate extremism on British television and transgressors will be dealt with.” But Peace TV was defiant, with a spokesman for the channel saying: “We have received no complaints in the last two years.”
See also Evening Standard, 11 February 2011
The “every Muslim should be a terrorist” quote is taken from Naik’s response to a 2003 Times of India report about a group of police officers, including an Inspector Angre, “who between them, have gunned down more than 300 alleged criminals in the past five years. The very mention of their names evokes terror in the underworld”. Dr Naik stated: “The moment the underworld hear the name of Inspector Angre, they are terrified, so Inspector Angre of the Mumbai Police Force is a terrorist for the underworld of Mumbai.”
He continued: “As far as terrorist is concerned, I tell the Muslims that every Muslim should be a terrorist…. What is the meaning of the word terrorist? Terrorist by definition means a person who terrorises. When a robber sees a policeman he’s terrified. So for a robber, a policeman is a terrorist. So in this context every Muslim should be a terrorist to the robber…. Every Muslim should be a terrorist to each and every anti-social element. I’m aware that terrorist more commonly is used for a person who terrorises an innocent person. In this context, no Muslim should even terrorise a single innocent human being.”
It is quite clear that the “every Muslim should be a terrorist quote” is taken out of context in order to attribute to Naik a position that is the opposite of the one he actually holds.
As for Naik having “labelled Jews an ‘enemy of Islam'”, that would appear to refer to a speech in which he quoted from the Qur’anic verse stating that “strongest in enmity towards the Muslims are the Jews and the pagans” and continued: “[The Qur’an] does not say that the Muslims should fight with the Jews … the Jews, by nature as a whole, will be against Muslims … there are many Jews who are good to Muslims, but as a whole … the Qur’an tells us, as whole, they will be our staunchest enemy.”
Quite aside from the fact that this is a crudely literalist intepretation of verse 5.82 of the Qur’an (as Qaradawi points out, “this verse talks about an historical position” – it refers to a specific conflict between Muslims and Jews in seventh-century Arabia) Naik’s position is clearly objectionable. While he emphasises that the Qur’an “does not say that Muslims should fight with the Jews” and points out that “there are many Jews who are good to Muslims”, he does promote a stereotypical view of Jewish attitudes towards Muslims.
But Naik is hardly alone in this. Earlier this week Roy Greenslade got into trouble with the Jewish Chronicle over a piece on his Guardian blog. Criticising the Daily Star‘s proprietor Richard Desmond over the paper’s support for the EDL, Greenslade wrote: “As a Jew, he may well have negative views of Muslims.” However, nobody is actually arguing that Greenslade should be banned from blogging for the Guardian.
It might be added that Naik’s views on Jews’ attitudes towards Muslims are significantly less offensive that Melanie Phillips’s views on Muslims’ attitudes towards Jews. Phillips is of course a well-known media commentator in the UK, regularly appearing for example on Radio 4’s Moral Maze. Yet we don’t hear anyone demanding that the BBC should have its broadcasting licence withdrawn.
Finally, the spectacle of a spokesperson for the Centre for Social Cohesion supporting a ban on Naik and Peace TV sets a new standard in chutzpah. The CSC’s director is Douglas Murray, who is an admirer of the EDL, an organisation dedicated to whipping up hostility towards Muslims, and has himself openly called for the persecution of Muslim communities living in Europe. If people are to be banned from travelling to other countries on the grounds that they could incite hatred, countries outside the UK might like to consider imposing a ban on Douglas Murray.
Exeter: ‘burka ban’ demonstration flops, anti-racists rally to celebrate diversity
The Exeter division of the racist English Defence League was humiliated in Exeter today. Just 15 racists turned up to a “Ban the Burqa protest” in the Devon city.
In contrast, up to 300 people took part in a celebration of diversity on the streets of Exeter to show the EDL’s politics of hate and division are not welcome there. People came in and out of the event, which had local speakers and children’s activities.
The antiracist event brought together people from all different beliefs and backgrounds – Christian ministers, people from the mosque and the synagogue. Lord Mayor Marcel Choules sent a message of support. Members of Exeter Labour Party, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats attended.
The celebration was supported by the Devon branch of the National Union of Teachers and the Exeter Anti Cuts Alliance. There was a “Feminists against the Burqa Ban” banner along with many others.
Children’s activities were organised by the Woodcraft Folk – a poster where children drew flags of the world was very popular, along with making friendship bracelets and a “We Love Exeter” poster.
Speakers from UAF, the Woodcraft Folk and the Exeter Anti Cuts Alliance addressed the crowd. A student from Egypt spoke about the victory of the Egyptian people over the country’s dictator and about how Muslim and Christian protesters had stood side by side in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
The well organised, peaceful and uplifting celebration of diversity was very different to the racists’ protest. At the start of the diversity event, 10 of them turned up unannounced, seeking a confrontation. They seemed to be taken aback by the number of people who had turned out to oppose them.
The EDL were led away by police and then stood for an hour in the High Street where they were barracked by members of the general public before retreating to a pub.
Mike Gurney from Exeter UAF said:
Today was a great day for Exeter, for antiracism and for all those who oppose prejudice. The EDL were humiliated – they claimed on their Facebook page that over 100 would attend their event – they only managed 15. It was great to see Christians, Jews and Muslims standing together side by side to oppose the EDL.
The EDL’s claims that Muslims are going to impose Sharia Law on Britiain is laughable – Muslims make up only 2.7% of the population. Today the people of Exeter showed that the EDL’s politics of hate are not welcome here and will be challenged whenever it arises.
UAF news report, 12 February 2011
See Cliver Chilvers’ photos at Demotix.
More photos here.
Update: See also the Express & Echo, 14 February 2011