Category Archives: UK

Canada: JDL backs EDL

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Yaxley Lennon arrestUnder the slogan “Take a stand against the forces of political Islam” the Jewish Defence League of Canada is holding a rally at the Toronto Zionist Centre in support of English Defence League leader “Tommy Robinson” which will feature a live video link with Stephen Lennon himself. It takes place on 11 January, the day before Lennon’s return to court on a charge of assaulting a police officer at an EDL demonstration in November.

Update:  See “Controversial anti-Islamic group plans rally in Toronto”, National Post, 5 January 2010

EDL-supporting rabbi deludes himself that Jonathan Sacks would be interested in debating him on Islam

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Nachum Shifren with Carroll and LennonThe rabbi who spoke at an English Defence League rally two months ago has apparently challenged Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks to a televised BBC debate on “Is Islam a religion of peace?”

Californian Nachum Shifren was the speaker at the far-right group’s October rally outside the Israeli Embassy. He called Muslims “dogs” and criticised British community leaders and rabbis for speaking out against him, saying: “To all my Jewish brothers who have called me a Nazi… I say to them they don’t have the guts to stand up here and take care of business.”

Now Rabbi Shifren, who lost a bid for a Californian state senate seat, claims he is planning a TV debate with the Chief Rabbi on “the Islamification of Britain, cultural Marxism in western liberalism, multiculturalism and its effect on the host society”.

In an email seen by the JC, Rabbi Shifren says he has set rules for the debate structure, to be followed by the Chief Rabbi and the BBC – despite no known interest in such a programme from either party.

He demands that the debate should not be moderated or edited, with no “extraneous commentary.” He adds: “The programme should not be advertised or announced using such inflammatory labelling as ‘far-right ‘extremist.’ i.e. not served up in terms that suit the Marxist-Islamist agenda of the BBC. This is strictly a bout between two combatants from which the listener and viewer may draw their own conclusions.” He also requests that no audience be present at the debate to avoid “Trotskyist structures.”

No-one from the Chief Rabbi’s office was available for comment.

Jewish Chronicle, 31 December 2010

Right-wing blogosphere froths at the mouth over Muslim ‘Batman of Paris’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bilal Asselah

So the Batman franchise runner in Paris, France is an young man of Algerian Muslim descent. How did DC expect the blogosphere to react?

Warner Todd Huston wrote:

Unfortunately, readers of Batman will not be helped to understand what troubles are really besetting France. In this age when Muslim youths are terrorizing the entire country, heck in this age of international Muslim terrorism assaulting the whole world, Batman’s readers will be confused by what is really going on in the world. Through it all DC makes a Muslim in France a hero when French Muslims are at the center of some of the worst violence in the country’s recent memory.

It’s PCism run amuck, for sure.

Avi Green wrote:

How about that, Bruce Wayne goes to France where he hires not a genuine French boy or girl with a real sense of justice, but rather, an “oppressed” minority who adheres to the Religion of Peace. And this is a guy whose very parents were murdered at the hands of a common street thug!

I’m guessing that the writer, David Hine, is taking out his leftist anger on France for finally taking steps to fight back against creeping shariah and Islamic supremacism, by banning the niqab for starters.

While Angry White Dude told us:

Nightrunner? I thought it was written in the Koran that every Muslim’s name has to be Muhammad … including women. Or is that just the savage terrorists? Or is that redundant? Nightrunner the Muslim sidekick will have strange new powers to bury women to their waists and bash their heads in with large rocks. Batman has been needing that skill for a while ever since Catwoman went out to check the mail without wearing her cat burqa. Well, I guess AWD will have to go another 49 years without reading Batman comic books to protest!

And now comic book creator Bosch Fawstin has responded with his own comic book take on the situation.

Batman Betrayed

Fawstin states:

I personally don’t think Batman is built to take on butchers like al Qaeda, since DC Comics thinks having Batman kill would kill the character. (Heroes don’t kill? What of our heroic soldiers?)  But I sure as hell don’t think Batman should be used to sell the Big Lie that “Islam means peace.” And, believe it or not, this is the second time in two months that Batman has been used in Islamic propaganda, the first being in the unreadable JLA/the 99 #1. At this rate, Superman converting to Islam is inevitable.

Rich Johnson at Bleeding Cool, 30 December 2010

collaboration between DC Comics and Teshkeel Comics of Kuwait, in which the Justice League of America joins forces with a group of Islamic superheroes called The 99.

See also Ology, 29 December 2010

Muslim Safety Forum responds to reports that police seek replacement for Section 44

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Concern over reports on replacement to Section 44

MSF is concerned over reports that senior police officers are seeking a replacement power to Section 44.

According to a report in the Guardian Newspaper, senior police officers are seeking a stop and search power to enhance counter terrorism street policing similar to Section 44. This power seems to be seeking what Section 44 was originally meant to entail: a time constrained, geographically limited and exceptional police power to stop and search people.

However, the MSF feels in light of the huge damage Section 44 has done to community-police relations without any apparent successes and the inability of UK police forces to, on their own accord, address this disproportionate use of it, we remain sceptical and concerned about this alleged recall of the power in a different guise by the police.

Shamiul Joarder, MSF’s lead on Counter Terrorism said:

“If true then we would find this development a major concern to us. We have contacted the police requesting an urgent meeting to explain this media report.”

He further added:

“The MSF has deep concerns over the reduction of police accountability through the proposed changes to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) which will, either directly or indirectly, increase police powers of all terrorism and general stop and searches/accounts whilst simultaneously reducing police accountability.

In this new context to allow for the draconian power such as s.44 in whatever guise will simply alienate vast swathes of communities who we have only just managed to build a working relationship with.”

Muslim Safety Forum press release, 30 December 2010

See also ENGAGE, 30 December 2010

Update:  And see Salma Yaqoob‘s comments.

Non-storm over Jeremy Clarkson’s ‘burka’ stunt

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Prats in niqabsThe pathetic decision by Jeremy Clarkson and his co-host Richard Hammond to dress in niqabs during a Top Gear programme from Syria (this is what passes for humour in such circles) has provoked an outbreak of mass Muslim outrage, if the right-wing populist press is to be believed.

Yesterday’s Daily Mail featured a lengthy article headlined “Top Gear stars cause religious row after dressing up in burkas on Boxing Day special” and the Daily Star went with “Clarkson in Burka gear storm”, while the Daily Express warned of “Protest fears over Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear stars in burkhas”.

Today the story has been taken up across the world, in countries where Top Gear presumably (if inexplicably) enjoys an audience. A report in Australia’s Herald Sun is headed “Top Gear burka sketch sparks outrage” and the Sydney Morning Herald has “Top Gear stars cause row after burqa-style stunt”. In South Africa the Independent Online covers the story as “Top Gear slammed for burka stunt”, while the Hindustan Times opts for “Top Gear stars spark religious row”.

But even a cursory examination of the Mail and Star reports reveals that this is an entirely confected controversy. Not a single leading Muslim organisation or individual in the UK has even bothered to comment on the issue, still less express outrage. The papers were reduced to approaching Anjem Choudary, the head of a tiny group of nutters who are repudiated by the entire British Muslim community, to ask for a quote. Needless to say, he obliged: “The burka is a symbol of our religion and people should not make jokes about it in any way.” And the story is padded out by citing a handful of comments culled from Twitter and internet discussion forums.

We had the same nonsense inflicted on us last July when the Mail carried a story headlined “Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson sparks fury over ‘burka babes’ underwear joke” (now amended to “Jeremy Clarkson outrages viewers by announcing on Top Gear he’d seen saucy underwear beneath Muslim woman’s burka”). In that case the “outrage” consisted of seven complaints to the BBC and a tweet by Lily Allen.

This is of course all part of a right-wing narrative about intolerant Muslims reacting with “fury” to any slight against their faith. In reality, it seems clear that the Muslim community, like the writer of this post, find it difficult to work themselves up into a state of indignation over the puerile antics of a man widely dismissed as a reactionary sexist bore.

‘David Cameron must face the challenge of Islamisation’ says Torygraph

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Daily Telegraph follows up yesterday’s interview with Marine Le Pen with a leader opining that the Front National is “not an appropriate model for a political party” in Britain (though presumably far-right racist parties are OK in France). However, there is the prospect of “Right-wing populism” winning support in the UK on the basis of anti-Muslim sentiment.

Such sentiment has a firm basis in reality, according to the Torygraph: “Muslims have migrated to Britain in enormous numbers over the past 40 years; one of the heaviest waves of immigration was encouraged by the last government”, “fears of social fracture are understandable” given that “around 40 per cent of the Muslim community support the establishment of Sharia”, and the government’s empowering of “unelected ‘community leaders'” has “caused huge resentment”.

And the Torygraph’s solution? – “the Government needs to start dismantling an Islamisation that threatens the freedoms of ordinary Britons”.

Update:  See Yusuf Smith’s comments at Indigo Jo Blogs, 29 December 2010

The dodgy demographics that Yusuf challenges are also the subject of a scaremongering post by Torygraph leader writer and Catholic Herald editor Damian Thompson, who asks: “What does this mean for liberal Britain?” To which you might be inclined to respond: since when has the Daily Telegraph been a defender of liberalvalues?

Further update:  See also ENGAGE, 30 December 2010

EDL members accused of attempted insurance scam

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Caris coachAlmost 80 far-Right extremists are trying to claim for whiplash injuries after a coach crash – when there were only 25 people on board the vehicle and just 57 seats.

Supporters of the English Defence League have been accused of attempted insurance fraud after dozens sought compensation for neck injuries.

The claims were lodged after the coach carrying members to a rally was in a collision in which it sustained minor damage. Driver Christopher Cartwright said he would be amazed if any of those on board were hurt, adding: “There was not much more than a scratch on the back corner.” But days after the accident during a journey from Gateshead to Preston last month, the claims for injuries allegedly caused by the crash began to flood in from EDL supporters.

Coach firm bosses said only 25 people were on the vehicle, but more than three times that many claims had been made. Maria Caris, of Caris Coaches in Gateshead, said she is considering legal action amid fears that EDL members are trying to cheat her company. She said: “They must think we’re idiots. There are 78 claims in so far and the phone is still going with people asking for our insurance details. They are all saying they were on the coach.”

The rally in Preston ended in violent clashes with the police, who arrested 14 people for public order offences and drunk or disorderly behaviour. Mrs Caris said: “These ‘whiplash injuries’ could have been caused when they were fighting with the police in Preston.”

Daily Mail, 27 December 2010

But what else can you expect from the EDL? After all, their leader Stephen Lennon told an EDL protest in Peterborough earlier this month that Muslims make up 10% of the population, when the real figure is around 3%. Maths clearly isn’t the EDL’s strong point.

As for Caris Coaches, some of us might think they brought this on themselves. The moral of the story is – don’t hire out transport to ignorant racist hooligans with criminal records.

Bishop of St Albans urges Christians to ‘stand firm’ against EDL

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Rt Rev Alan Smith 3The Bishop of St Albans spoke of the need to “stand firm” against racism in society. The Rt Rev Dr Alan Smith used his Christmas sermon in St Albans Cathedral to warn against “destructive powers which try to divide communities, races and religions”.

He acknowledged “hatred and unrest” could be found within Britain, using the example of the controversial marches undertaken by far-right group the English Defence League (EDL), which provoked clashes in town and cities during the year.

He said: “But hatred and unrest is not just found in far away places. In the past year we have seen racist marches on our streets in London and Bolton, in Dudley and Peterborough, in Aylesbury and Bradford, led by individuals who want to stir up unrest.

“Even as I speak, demonstrations are being planned in Luton in six weeks’ time which could seriously undermine community relations. Some people are even trying to commandeer Christianity to support their cause.”

Press Association, 25 December 2010

Emails show Mayor Bloomberg’s office’s help and desire to get Ground Zero mosque built

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Daily Mail picks up on a story that has already done the rounds in the right-wing media in the US (the paper has in fact lifted it directly from the New York Post). It concerns the release of emails between Nazli Parvizi, commissioner of New York’s Community Affairs Unit, and Feisal Abdul Rauf and Daisy Khan, which reveal the assistance given by Parvizi with the planning application for the Park51 development – the so-called Ground Zero Mosque.

You have to read right to the end of the report before you find the information that counters the main thrust of the article. A spokesperson for Mayor Bloomberg is quoted as pointing out that Parvizi’s job is “to help groups navigate city government, and from helping prepare for a Papal visit to extending approval of a Sukkah in a midtown Manhattan park, this kind of assistance is typical of its regular work”.

But this is of course the Mail‘s usual procedure. It is able to claim that its reporting is balanced because it has quoted an opposing view, while relying on the fact that most readers won’t get beyond the scaremongering headline and the opening paragraphs.

Stand by for the usual outpouring of anti-Muslim vitriol in the comments section to the Mail‘s report.