Category Archives: UK

Exeter: police prepare for right-wing ‘ban the burka’ demonstration in city centre

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Devon and Cornwall Police are preparing for a potential flash point with the right-wing English Defence League and anti-fascist campaigners set to converge on Exeter at the weekend.

The controversial group is understood to be taking part in a “ban the burka” protest in the city centre on Saturday while there is expected to be a counter rally by anti-racist campaigners, including the group Unite Against Fascism.

English Defence League supporter Jim Myers, from Exeter, said the protest was not being organised by EDL. “We haven’t organised it, we’re just supporting it,” he said. “It has been organised by another group, the United People of Britain.”

Supporters of the group, which claims to be non-racially or politically motivated, say they will be wearing balaclavas and burkas to emphasise their message.

Meanwhile, Unite Against Fascism (UAF) is planning to meet at Bedford Square, in the city centre, between 11am and 2pm.

Liz Allnatt, of UAF, said: “People of Exeter are more concerned about jobs and pay and what is going to happen to their local services. Exeter is a beautiful city and people of all different beliefs and backgrounds usually get along here. The Muslim community has added to the city. The annual Respect Festival is a huge, well-attended celebration of Exeter’s diversity.”

This is Cornwall, 10 February 2011

See also “Groups will stage event to celebrate city’s diversity”, Express & Echo, 9 February 2011

London Assembly member condemns Cameron’s attack on multiculturalism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Murad at SRtRC launchAn influential voice of the Bangladeshi Diaspora has weighed in against British and German governments move rejecting multiculturalism.

Murad Qureshi, since 2004 a powerful London-wide elected Assembly Member in the capital’s City Hall, was responding to the British prime minister David Cameron’s assertion last week that multiculturalism was a failed policy.

He appeared to be echoing similar remarks made by German chancellor Angela Merkel last October in which she said Germany’s attempts to form a multicultural society have utterly failed. Cameron’s speech at the Munich Security Conference on Feb 5 focused on the challenges posed to the UK by ‘home-grown’, British Islamic extremism and radicalisation.

Bangladeshi-born Qureshi, in his second term as a Labour politician at City Hall, was scathing about Cameron’s statement. He pointed out that while Merkel was at pains to underline that “Islam is part of Germany”, the British leader did not offer any such qualification in his comments.

Qureshi says: “We did not hear a similar condemnation of right-wing extremism from the PM. All this while many thousands of Londoners celebrated with the Chinese community the beginning of their new year in Central London. We did not hear him talking about this aspect of multiculturalism, its cultural and linguistic form but just its recent religious manifestation, largely in response to world affairs. In his attempt to curry favour with Merkel, he picked on the Muslim communities of the UK.”

Qureshi also launched a broadside at apparent divisions within the Conservative Party about Islam and multiculturalism. On January 20, the party’s Muslim co-chairman Baroness Warsi expressed her views that it had become socially acceptable to be prejudiced against Muslims. Her fellow cabinet member, the secretary of state for education, Michael Gove, is meanwhile on record as saying: “Islamism [is] a totalitarian ideology [which turns to] hellish violence and oppression'”. Qureshi said: “So clearly in the cabinet, Gove has won the debate and got the ear of the PM and not Warsi.”

Cameron’s speech in Germany coincided with a demonstration in Luton in the UK by the newly-emergent far-right street protest group the English Defence League. An exasperated Qureshi stated: “The final insult is that the EDL supporters were quoting him as justification for their march”.

bdnews24.com, 11 February 2011

Surprise, surprise – Douglas Murray agrees with Cameron, says multiculturalism has failed

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The BBC website has a video of part of last night’s Question Time, in which Centre for Social Cohesion director and EDL admirer Douglas Murray expressed his agreement with David Cameron’s attack on multiculturalism.

This is hardly surprising, though from Murray’s perspective Cameron no doubt classes as a bit of liberal wimp on such issues. After all, Murray notoriously calls for resistance to “the demographic time-bomb which will soon see a number of our largest cities fall to Muslim majorities”, favours a complete ban on immigration from Muslim countries, holds that “conditions for Muslims in Europe must be made harder across the board” and concludes that “from long before we were first attacked it should have been made plain that people who come into Europe are here under our rules and not theirs”.

Thankfully, the New Statesman‘s political editor Mehdi Hasan was on hand to give Cameron and Murray’s views the trashing they deserve.

Canada: Christian fundamentalist party calls for ban on Muslim immigration, applauds Cameron’s comments on multiculturalism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

CHP-logoThe federal Christian Heritage Party is calling for a national moratorium on immigration from Muslim countries to curb increasing radical Islamist power in Canada.

Mike Schouten, CHP candidate for South Surrey-White Rock-Cloverdale, admits his party’s stance on this issue will likely result in charges of racism. But he says it’s about protecting Canadian values as outlined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. “This issue, because of the climate of political correctness, is not allowed to be talked about,” Schouten noted.

The CHP’s call for the moratorium comes on the heels of British Prime Minister David Cameron’s recent speech at the Munich Security Conference. His nation’s “hands-off tolerance” approach to immigrants who reject Western values has failed, he admitted. “I believe it’s time to turn the page on the failed policies of the past.”

Shouten considers Cameron’s comments “powerful”. “Prime Minister Cameron’s acknowledgment that multiculturalism has, in essence, been a failure shows just how complacent the West has been towards radical Islam.” At issue, Schouten argues, is the attempt to import Islamic sharia law into Canada.

Twenty percent rise in racist incidents in Scotland

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Increased levels of Islamophobia and negative attitudes towards Polish people could be behind a 20% rise in racist incidents in Scotland, experts have said.

Every day in Scotland, 17 people are abused, threatened or violently attacked because of the colour of their skin, ethnicity or nationality. Statistics showed that 6171 incidents of racism were recorded in 2009/10 – a rise of 20.4% from the 5123 racist incidents recorded in 2008/9.

The figures, revealed in a freedom of information request to Scotland’s eight police forces, come despite there only being a 13% increase over the previous five years. Part of the rise is thought to be down to an increase in anti-Polish attacks, with the Federation of Poles in Great Britain saying there has been an annual 20% rise in racist incidents.

Alastair McIntosh, fellow at the Centre of Human Ecology and a co-author of studies into racism in Scotland, said Islamophobia is also a problem in Scotland. He said:

“Whenever you have the fear of poverty, people tend to become xenophobic, and I think that’s an increasing issue in Scotland with the economic problems we’ve had recently. Muslims in particular are having a hard time of it, and they all seem to get tarred with the same brush. It would be true to say Islamophobia is a problem in this country.”

According to figures released in 2010, race hate victims were most likely to be of Pakistani origin, with 48% of all those targeted classed as Asian, followed by white British. The majority of victims – 76% – were men and the vast majority of race hate perpetrators – 96% – were classed as white British. Of these, most were men aged 16-20, followed by men under the age of 16.

Strathclyde Police reported the highest number of incidents with 2826, while Lothian and Borders Police dealt with 1494 incidents. The lowest recorded total was in Dumfries and Galloway, where police dealt with 70 racist incidents.

STV, 11 February 2011

Cameron’s scapegoating will have a chilling, toxic impact

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Blaming Islamists and multiculturalism for the backlash from US and British wars risks fuelling violence on the streets, Seumas Milne argues.

Guardian, 10 February 2011

As Milne points out, Cameron’s line on Muslims and multiculturalism “has been hailed by the far right”. And not just in the UK. The Financial Times quotes Front National leader Marine Le Pen applauding Cameron’s speech for endorsing the politics of her own party: “It is exactly this type of statement that has barred us from public life for 30 years. I sense an evolution at European level, even in classic governments. I can only congratulate him.”

EDL supporters arrested on suspicion of publishing anti-Muslim videos

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Police arrested two men yesterday for allegedly publishing a catalogue of vile and racially inflammatory material on the internet.

One of the men, from Paignton, is thought to be responsible for a series of anti-Muslim videos. He was one of two men arrested by Devon and Cornwall police on suspicion of publishing racially inflammatory material at 8.30am yesterday. He and a 41-year-old unnamed male, also from Paignton, were yesterday bailed by Police until May. Material was confiscated from an address in South Devon and a banner was removed from the boot of a car.

A police spokesman said: “We have investigated a number of incidents across the internet after they were brought to our attention last year. We have yet to analyse what has been seized and will then be in a better to look at what, if any, offences have been committed.”

This is Devon, 10 February 2011

One Million United points out that the English Defence League have helpfully identified the two arrested men as members of the EDL.

EDL Devon arrests

Sikh demonstrators in Luton deal a heavy blow to the EDL

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sikhs Against EDL

A delegation of Sikhs marched proudly joining a big rally against the English Defence League (EDL) held in Luton on Saturday 5th February 2011. They played the Dhol, a Punjabi war drum, as they entered the rally carrying a banner that read “Sikhs Against the English Defence League – Fighting Intolerance since 1699”, a reference to the establishment of martial Sikhism by the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

They were greeted with cheers by more than two thousand demonstrators gathered in the Park Square, in the center of Luton, who gave the marching Sikhs a great applause.

This comes as a great blow to the English Defence League as they had claimed that they are getting support from many Sikhs. The demonstration by “Sikhs Against the EDL” shows otherwise.

The Sikh protesters shouted slogans against Guramit Singh, one of the self-styled EDL leaders from Sikh background and called him a traitor. They claimed that he had brought shame to the Sikh community and should be locked up due to some of his recent speeches.

Varinder Singh spoke on behalf of the Sikh delegation and pointed out that the Sikh community has a proud tradition of fighting Fascism in the Second World War. He asked, “Given our proud history, how can Sikhs not oppose the racism and Fascism espoused by the EDL?”

Varinder Singh went on to condemn Guramit Singh (ethnic spokesperson for the EDL) and other racist traitors of Sikh origin joining EDL and expressed that these individuals should be held accountable.

Balwindar Singh Rana, also from a Sikh background said, “The Sikhs Against the EDL have launched a ‘Joint Statement‘ which has already gained support from some of the major Sikh and Hindu organisations, including many Sikh Student Societies, as well as many prominent individuals in this country. People are waking up to the dangers of the racist poison that is being spread by the EDL and they will no longer fall for their ‘divide & rule’ tactics.”

He further added: “In the ’70s and ’80s, whether we were Sikhs, Hindus or Muslim, we were all united against the racists and fascists of the National Front and the BNP. We now have to show the same unity again if we are going to halt this tide of racist hatred by the EDL.”

Salvinder Singh Dhillon from the Indian Workers Association pointed out that the rally was being attended by all communities was a proof that they all stand shoulder to shoulder against promotion of racism and fascism. He said that, “The poison of racism serves to divide people and weaken their common struggles against the attacks by the state on their livelihood, against imposition of tuition fees, and the pending massive spending cuts in social services, health and education.”

The rally was organised by Unite Against Fascism (UAF), a broad based organisation supported by numerous individuals and organisations including trade unions and members of parliament. Various speakers expressed their opposition to EDL and the racist British National Party (BNP). There was also a further protest in the Bury Park, near the Mosque, organised by the Muslim community and attended by nearly two thousand people.

SikhNet News, 8 February 2011

Some good news about ‘Islamic terror’ (David Cameron please take note)

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Ever since 9/11, Islamophobia has been a recurrent problem in a number of Western societies, including the United States. It’s been fueled by opportunistic politicians, hate-mongering bloggers, and any number of the other usual suspects. The lingering fear of Islam undergirds the present concerns that the turmoil in Egypt might give groups like the Muslim Brotherhood greater political influence there.

Trying to inject reason and evidence into this sort of debate is usually futile, but I do wish to report some good news. Remember the avalanche of Muslim-based terrorism that was about to descend upon the West? Well, according to the EU’s 2010 Terrorism Situation and Trend Report, the total number of terrorist incidents in Europe declined in 2009. Even more important, the overwhelming majority of these incidents had nothing whatsoever to do with Islam.

The report is produced by Europol, which is the criminal intelligence agency of the European Union. In 2009, there were fewer than 300 terrorist incidents in Europe, a 33 percent decline from the previous year. The vast majority of these incidents (237 out of 294) were conducted by indigenous European separatist groups, with another forty or so attributed to leftists and/or anarchists. According to the report, a grand total of one (1) attack was conducted by Islamists. Put differently, Islamist groups were responsible for a whopping 0.34 percent of all terrorist incidents in Europe in 2009.

Stephen M. Walt at his Foreign Policy blog, 9 February 2011

Evidently the news has failed to reach David Cameron, who last weekend told the Munich Security Conference:

It is important to stress that terrorism is not linked exclusively to any one religion or ethnic group. My country, the United Kingdom, still faces threats from dissident republicans in Northern Ireland. Anarchist attacks have occurred recently in Greece and in Italy, and of course, yourselves in Germany were long scarred by terrorism from the Red Army Faction. Nevertheless, we should acknowledge that this threat comes in Europe overwhelmingly from young men who follow a completely perverse, warped interpretation of Islam, and who are prepared to blow themselves up and kill their fellow citizens.

Guardian letter: signatories warn against Cameron’s ‘dangerous declaration of intent’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

We believe David Cameron’s statement that multiculturalism has failed was a dangerous declaration of intent (Blaming the victims, Editorial, 7 February). His speech was reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher’s infamous 1978 statement that Britain was “being swamped by alien cultures”. He has branded Britain’s Muslims as the new “enemy within” in the same way as Thatcher attacked the miners and trade unions.

David Cameron is attempting to drive a wedge between different communities by linking Britain’s multicultural society with terrorism and national security. His speech was made on the same day as the English Defence League brought its bigotry and violence to the streets of Luton. Mr Cameron’s aim is simple as it is crude – to deflect the anger against his government’s cuts from the bankers and on to the Muslim community. The prime minister is aping attacks by other European leaders like France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, who passed legislation banning the veil, and Angela Merkel, who has also made statements denouncing multiculturalism in Germany. We believe our multicultural society and the respect and solidarity it is built on is a cause for pride, and reject any moves by this government to undermine and destroy it.

We must not allow this coalition government to turn the tide back to the days when it was acceptable, through ignorance and fear, for people with a different religion, culture or skin colour to be scapegoated and treated as inferior or outsiders (seewww.PetitionOnline.com/mcfeb11/petition.html).

Martin Smith Love Music Hate Racism

Peter Hain MP

Jeremy Corbyn MP

Ken Livingstone

Salma Yaqoob Respect

Bob Crow National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers

Billy Hayes Communication Workers Union

Mark Serwotka Public and Commercial Services Union

Zita Holbourne TUC

Dr Rob Berkeley Runnymede Trust

Ziauddin Sardar writer

Farooq Murad Muslim Council of Britain

Dr Rob Berkeley Director, Runnymede Trust

Professor Tariq Modood Centre for the study of ethnicity and citizenship,University of Bristol

Mohammed Sawalha British Muslim Initiative

Dr Chris Shannahan

Benjamin Zephaniah poet

Lauren Booth broadcaster and journalist

Michael Rosen author

China Miéville author

Dr Avaes Mohammad poet, playwright, performer, analytical chemist

Sabrina Mahfouz poet and playwright

Tulisa Contostavlos, Dino Contostavlos and Richard Rawson N-Dubz,

Drew McConnell Babyshambles

Lowkey musician

Itch The King Blues

Daniel Stephens musician

David Peter Meads musician

Blaine Harrison Mystery Jets

Adio Merchant, Simeon McLean Kid British

Jeff Mirza comic/actor

Sabby Dhalu Unite Against Fascism and One Society Many Cultures

Lindsey German Stop the War Coalition

Hassan Mahamdallie

Weyman Bennett Unite Against Fascism

Gary McFarlane NUJ and Expose the BNP

Kanja Ibrahim Sesay NUS

Frances Rifkin Equity

Dr Jonathan Githens-Mazer European Muslim Research Centre

Bruce Kent One Society Many Cultures

Shemiza Rashid Creative Muslim Network

Laura Miles University and College Union

Gargi Bhattachryya University and College Union

Sean Vernell University and College Union

Sue Bond Public and Commercial Services Union

Revd Ray Gaston

Madani Younis Freedom Studios, Bradford, and the Artists of Freedom Studios

Mohammed Ali Aerosolarabic

Luqman Ali

Kinsi Abdulleh

Sarah Pickthall

Ayaan Aden

Tristan McConnell

Rabbi Lee Wax Chairperson, Inter religious Conference for European Women Theologians

Musleh Faradhi Islamic Forum Europe

Bruce Kent Pax Christi

Professor Danny Dorling Sheffield University

Letter in the Guardian, 9 January 2011