Category Archives: UK

More admirers for Andrew Gilligan

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL Close East London Mosque Now“Andrew Gilligan is one of the most lucid journalists out there and therefore he understands incredibly well the threat of Islamic supremacism to free societies.”

Now, who do you think wrote this? Could it be Melanie Phillips? Or perhaps Pamela Geller? No, it’s the English Defence League, whose Wiltshire Division have reproduced Gilligan’s recent attack on ENGAGE on their website.

But then, this is not the first time that Gilligan has proved an inspiration to the far-right boot-boys of the EDL. It was his TV documentary witch-hunting the Islamic Forum Europe, “Britain’s Islamic Republic”, that prompted the EDL to demand that the East London Mosque should be closed down and threaten to stage an intimidatory demonstration in Tower Hamlets.

Hull antifascists mobilise against BNP mosque protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hull UAF bannerMore than 250 people from Hull braved the snow and freezing temperatures to resist attempts by the fascist British National Party to demonstrate outside a local mosque.

About 20 members of the BNP and the racist English Defence League were spotted in and around the park near Pearson Park Mosque but ran away when they saw the size of the protest organised by UAF.

Speakers from local trade unions and a spokesperson from the mosque addressed the crowd, calling for unity to stop the BNP and EDL.

Worshippers from the mosque joined the crowds chanting anti-BNP/EDL slogans – and they provided refreshments for the trade unionists, students and other local antiracists and antifascists.

UAF news report, 4 December 2010

See also “High-profile policing at protest on mosque extension defended”, Yorkshire Post, 5 December 2010

Review of Faith Matters pamphlet on the EDL

Posted on by Bob Pitt

REVIEW

Nigel Copsey, The English Defence League: Challenging Our Country and Our Values of Social Inclusion, Fairness and Equality, Faith Matters 2010

Crossposted from Socialist Unity

I downloaded this pamphlet with high expectations. I’m not exactly a fan of Faith Matters and its director, John Ware admirer Fiyaz Mughal, but Nigel Copsey is the author of Contemporary British Fascism: The British National Party and the Quest for Legitimacy, which is an excellent account of the BNP’s origins and development. So I anticipated that this pamphlet would provide some useful insights into the character of the EDL. It turned out to be a major disappointment.

Copsey is a capable researcher and if you want a detailed and accurate summary of the origins and structure of the EDL you can find it here. But for some reason Copsey goes out of his way to downplay the far-right character of the organisation he is studying. While we can perhaps agree with Copsey that the EDL is “not an archetypal far-right organisation or movement” and that we should “avoid viewing it simply through the prism of the established far right” (emphasis added), the problem is that Copsey refuses to characterise the EDL as a far-right organisation in any sense at all. Rather, he argues, it is “best understood as an Islamophobic, new social movement, born of a particularly unattractive and intolerant strand of English nationalism”.

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BBC reveals Welsh Defence League links with neo-Nazis

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Welsh Defence League 2

An undercover investigation by BBC Wales into a group campaigning against Muslim extremists has found links with neo-Nazi supporters.

Secret footage in Monday’s Week In Week Out programme also exposes criminal activity amongst some supporters of the Welsh Defence League (WDL). Publicly, the WDL says it is a non-racist organisation. A judge who has examined the evidence in the programme said some were acting to “inflame racial hatred”.

The WDL has been aligned to the English Defence League. It was set up last year by an ex-soccer hooligan and author Jeff Marsh in response to Muslim extremists abusing troops returning from Afghanistan. It has attracted hundreds of followers and held demonstrations in Cardiff, Swansea and Wrexham.

Posing as a new member of the group, an undercover journalist accompanied a number of Welsh supporters to a protest. Some were caught on camera and online, making racist comments about Muslims. Two admitted involvement in racist violence at demonstrations organised by the defence leagues in other parts of the country. One invited other WDL followers to join him in burning a Koran and joked online about how best to kill black people. Another talks about driving Muslims out of the south Wales valleys.

Examining the evidence in the special programme, Judge Mark Powell QC said: “It’s mindless, its racist, the purpose of what they are doing is to inflame racial hatred…I think from what you have shown me it is criminal behaviour and no doubt something that the police would want to look at.”

Shadow Welsh Secretary Peter Hain, who has campaigned for years against racist groups, said: “I think every mainstream politician in Wales, wherever they are based, should make it a priority to talk to young people to explain the WDL is in a long line that goes back through the Nazis.

“And I don’t say that lightly because, that is the exact political situation in which Hitler was able to come into power because main stream politicians did not deal with the grievances in Germany. Now I’m not suggesting the WDL is anything like as powerful as Hitler’s Nazi party became, the WDL is a tiny marginalised party, but once you allow these groups to gain credibility that’s where you could end up.”

Det Ch Supt Adrian Tudway, the national co-ordinator for domestic extremism, advises local forces on the threat posed by the various defence leagues. “I think it’s a very significant threat. It’s one I know the police service are taking very seriously, together with the Home Office and local authorities,” he said.

“Unmasked: Welsh Defence League” is on BBC One Wales at 2030 GMT on Monday 6 December.

BBC News, 6 December 2010

‘Islamophobia’ by Chris Allen: buy now

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Islamophobia Chris Allen“Islamophobia” is the long awaited book by Chris Allen that attempts to understand and contextualise one of the most dangerous prejudices in today’s world.

Published by Ashgate at £16.99 (paperback) and £55.00 (hardback) it is available to buy NOW at a substantially discounted price from www.islamophobiabook.com.

What the publishers say about the book:

Despite numerous sources suggesting that Islamophobia is becoming both increasingly prevalent and societally acceptable in the contemporary world, there remains a lack of textual sources that consider either the phenomenon itself, or its manifestations and consequences. There is no authoritative text that attempts to understand or contextualise what might be seen to be one of the most dangerous prejudices in the contemporary climate.

Chris Allen begins by looking at ways of defining and understanding Islamophobia. He traces its historical evolution to the present day, considering the impact of recent events and their aftermath especially in the wake of the events of September 11, before trying to understand and comprehend a wider conception of the phenomenon. A series of investigations thematically consider the role of the media, the contemporary positioning of Muslims throughout the world, and whether Islamophobia can be seen to be a continuum of historical anti-Muslimism or anti-Islamism, or whether Islamophobia is an entirely modern concept. The issue of Islamophobia is considered from the perspective of the local, regional, and global. The incidence of Islamophobia, and the magnitude of the phenomenon and its consequences, is one that warrants a greater investigation in the world today.

This book is both academically and socially relevant and necessary.

Listen to an interview with Chris Allen here.

Four arrests over Stoke-on-Trent mosque arson

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Stoke mosque arsonFour teenagers were arrested yesterday after an arson attack on a Staffordshire mosque – described by police as a racially-motivated crime. The fire began at a newly-built mosque in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, at 6.30am.

Police detained three men and a woman in their late teens. Firefighters were called after smoke was seen coming from the mosque. Police said they were investigating a link between the attack and damage to a nearby gas main. The mosque was not seriously damaged.

Chief inspector Wayne Jones said: “We are treating this as a racist attack on a religious building.” He added: “I am sure the community are as appalled as we are at this behaviour. I would appeal for anyone with information to come forward. Local neighbourhood police officers are meeting with members of the community to keep them informed and to address their concerns and obvious anger about this criminal incident.”

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