Category Archives: UK

Daily Mail exposes the Islamification of Narnia

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Narnia fans’ fury after Liam Neeson claims Aslan – the symbol of Christ – could also be Mohammed”, reads a furious headline in the Daily Mail. Neeson, who provides the voice of Aslan the lion in the new film of C.S. Lewis’s book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, has scandalised middle England by claiming that the character is also based on other religious leaders.

“Aslan symbolises a Christ-like figure”, Neeson has stated, “but he also symbolises for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries. That’s who Aslan stands for as well as a mentor figure for kids – that’s what he means for me.”

The Mail has tracked down Walter Hooper, Lewis’s former secretary and a trustee of his estate, who says that the author would have been outraged. “It is nothing whatever to do with Islam,” he is quoted as saying. Hooper attributes Neeson’s remarks to political correctness and a desire to be “very multicultural”.

Childcare manager ran racist blog, claimed that Muslims ‘smell of curry and have a stupid religion’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A childcare centre manager behind a racist internet blog has been found guilty of misconduct by the care workers’ watchdog. Helen McClymont also leaked confidential information about children in her care on her daily blog, called “Helen’s Life”.

Now, the care manager faces being banned from working with children after an inquiry found she showed “ingrained attitudes of prejudice and racism”.

On her web page she ranted about Muslims, saying that “they smell of curry and have a stupid religion”.

The childcare worker, manager of Steelrings day care centre for children in Paisley, also posted racist remarks about Italians, Venezuelans and black people, while working at the centre earlier this year.

Scotsman, 3 December 2010

A mosque could be built in an old Bristol factory despite objections

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bristol disused factoryA mosque could be built in an old factory on a Bristol industrial estate despite a string of objections.

A decision by councillors is due to be made next week, nearly nine months after the plans were submitted.

The proposal, to convert the former Weston White factory in Aiken Street, Barton Hill, proved controversial when it was announced earlier this year, with extreme right-wing supporters making up part of an internet group against the application.

But despite more than 50 letters of objection, it has been recommended for approval by council officers.

The site, a former packaging factory empty since it closed in 2008, is owned by the city council.

Of the 75 letters received by the council over the plans, 14 were “judged to contain racist content” and were rejected. From the remaining letters, 50 objected and 11 were in support.

Avon and Somerset police’s Crime Reduction Unit said officers had concerns that, if built, the mosque could be targeted. It said any attacks would be “robustly and fully investigated and any such possibility should not compromise the planning decision process.”

A petition with 96 signatures has been submitted in support of the mosque, and Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy has also written to the council giving her backing.

People against the proposals argued there are “already enough mosques in Bristol” and said it would encourage segregation of the community by catering for a specific ethnic group.

There are currently around half a dozen main mosques in Bristol; including ones in Totterdown, Kingsdown, Montpelier and two in Easton.

Some objectors said the loss of employment use was not acceptable while others called for housing on the site. Other objections included excessive noise, increased traffic and inadequate bicycle parking.

Concerns were also raised about potential conflict with the Lord Nelson pub opposite, on the grounds that “Muslims are not supposed to drink alcohol but would attend the mosque on Friday nights”.

Statements in support of the plans say the centre would benefit the community in general, help with integration and would provide a social space for Somali women.

The officer’s report recommending approval is due to be considered by the council’s development control committee next Wednesday. It states:

“The applicants say that due to the rise in the Somali population there is an urgent need for a suitable community gathering place in the Barton Hill area. The applicants also advise that it is their intention to encourage all members of the local community to make use of facilities, regardless of faith, race, age or ethnicity.”

The report argues that the community benefits would outweigh the loss of employment land and that complaints about noise would be unlikely. It states:

“It was recognised early in the consultation period by officers that the application had the potential to generate racial tension. Members are being advised that whilst community tensions may result from the proposal they are not in themselves sufficient grounds to resist the development.”

Although not mentioned in the report, more than 1,200 people joined a protest group against the mosque on the social networking site Facebook. Some of the comments posted contained offensive language, while others claimed mosques were “breeding grounds for terrorists” and called on visitors to the site to vote for the anti-immigration British National Party.

Batook Pandya, director of Bristol Support Against Racist Incidents, said he believed the centre could help with community cohesion. He said:

“When the Somali community came to Bristol they put quite a large number in Barton Hill. There were some problems at first but they have settled and they are now part of the community. If there is respect on both sides, we can co-exist.

“The biggest issue is parking. If they can assure local residents that it won’t get stupid for them to park I think it will be good. There will be a community cohesion room where we can invite schools to understand the culture.”

The chief executive of community organisation Barton Hill Settlement Joanna Holmes said: “Many people who live in Barton Hill would use a mosque, however some people are concerned about parking and noise nuisance. We are aware that a few people are against the mosque and hopefully their concerns can be dealt with.”

The applicant, Khalif Abdirahman, was not available for comment yesterday. But Hassan Naqvi, a member of the Council of Bristol Mosques, said a mosque in Barton Hill would be for the whole community, not just Muslims. Mr Naqvi said:

“We are working with the Somali community in Barton Hill to plan for this so that we can engage with the wider society and community of Bristol. This is a project in Bristol’s Muslim community to unite people. It will be open to everyone, of whatever faith. It will bring people together, not segregate them.”

Bristol Post, 2 December 2010

EDL cancel Harrow protest over Halal school menus due to ‘Tommy’s court case’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An Islamaphobic group has reportedly called off a planned Harrow demonstration due to the start of its founder’s trial.

The English Defence League (EDL) had been due to protest against Halal meat being served in schools outside Harrow Civic Centre, in Station Road, on January 15. But forum pages for the group say the event has been canceled because of the start of “Tommy’s court case”.

Stephen Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, is facing a charge of assaulting a police officer following a counter-protest in Kensington against an Islamist group which burned poppies to mark Armistice Day. He pleaded not guilty at West London Magistrates Court and his trial is due to start on January 12.

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BNP tries to regain lost ground in Stoke by scaremongering over halal meat

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Say No to IslamFar-right politicians in Stoke-on-Trent are campaigning for halal meat to be taken off school menus.

Seventeen of the 93 city schools are offering the ritually-slaughtered meat in their canteens after at least 10 per cent of parents backed the move. But the British National Party (BNP) is calling on Stoke-on-Trent City Council to ban the halal meat on animal welfare grounds.

BNP group leader Councillor Michael Coleman today denied the campaign is an attack on Muslims. Instead he urged councillors to stop the “barbaric method of slaughter”.

“The council tries to make out that it is just an option, but I don’t believe that is the case in all these schools. I think it is just being served up and pupils are not even aware that they are eating it. It’s against the law for me to kill an animal in that way, but it’s fine for a Muslim or a Jew to do it. It’s an unacceptable state of affairs.”

Halal meat has been provided to some city schools since 2000. It is estimated that halal meat accounts for about four per cent of the meat served in the 17 schools. All the schools offer an alternative to halal meat, except St Mark’s Primary.

Shelton Islamic Centre director Rana Tufail, said: “I am not aware of any problems caused by serving halal meat in schools in the last 10 years.” Community Voice Councillor Peter Kent-Baguley accused the BNP of “making mischief” against Muslims. He said: “The BNP are fiddling while our services burn, and are patently seeking to make trouble.”

Parents today hit out at the BNP motion which goes before the council on December 9. Sarah Richardson, whose nine-year-old son, Jordan, attends St Mark’s Primary, said: “I don’t see what the fuss is about. Jordan loves the food at school.” Jordan, of Whitmore Street, Hanley, said: “I really like the halal burgers, but my favourite school dinner is curry.”

The Sentinel, 30 November 2010

See also BNP news report, 24 November 2010

No doubt the BNP hopes this campaign will restore their political fortunes in Stoke-on-Trent, where election defeats and defections have reduced them to five councillors from a high point of nine, while in this year’s general election BNP candidate Simon Darby received a derisory 7.7% of the vote in Stoke-on-Trent Central, a seat the BNP thought it had a good chance of winning.

EMRC report shows how mosques combat political violence

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Islamophobia_and_Anti-Muslim_Hate_CrimeDemonised Mosques Tackle Political Violence

Launching our new report Islamophobia and anti-Muslim Hate Crime: UK case studies at the London Muslim Centre (Saturday 27 November) and the Birmingham Central Mosque (Sunday 28 November) we highlighted the success of the East London Mosque in Whitechapel, the Masjid al-Gharaaba in Luton, the North London Central Mosque in Finsbury Park and other UK mosques in tackling political violence of two kinds: on the one hand, tackling arson attacks and intimidation by far right thugs against mosques and Muslims; on the other, tackling al-Qaeda inspired violent extremism.

Criticising a small number of lazy journalists and politicians who wrongly conflate the East London Mosque and other mosques with extremism we dedicated our report to Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari, the chairman of the East London Mosque who has empowered and encourageed local youth workers involved in successful violent crime reduction initiatives in one of the UK’s poorest neighbourhoods.

At the heart of defending Park 51, the so called Ground Zero Mosque, Professor John Esposito flew in from New York to deliver a powerful keynote speech in support of UK and US mosques in the face of violence, intimidation and demonisation and in support of our research findings.

Sadly, as our report highlights, a significant number of smaller mosques and isolated Muslim communities in market towns and suburbs throughout the UK do not have the resources or support to defend themselves against political violence and anti-Muslim hate crimes of all kinds.

We therefore note with enthusiasm the formation of an overdue All Party Parliamentary Commission on Islamophobia – after a long campaign led by Dr. Bari – and call on parliamentarians to defend demonised mosques and to offer support to isolated mosques under seige.

Dr. Robert Lambert and Dr. Jonathan Githens-Mazer, co-directors of the European Muslim Research Centre, University of Exeter.

European Muslim Research Centre press release, 29 November 2010

The 224-page report can be downloaded here.

Eric Pickles recycles ‘war on Christmas’ myth

Posted on by Bob Pitt

bnp demonstrationTabloid Watch takes up the press release “Councils should take pride in Christmas celebrations“, issued by Communities and Local Government secretary Eric Pickles, which repeats the familiar right-wing nonsense about the abolition of Christmas. The press release states:

“Mr Pickles urged councils to take pride in Britain’s Christian heritage; celebrating the nativity and all the traditions that have sprung up around it from tinsel and tree lights to turkey.

“We should actively celebrate the Christian basis of Christmas, and not allow politically correct Grinches to marginalise Christianity and the importance of the birth of Christ. The War on Christmas is over, and likes of Winterval, Winter Lights and Luminous deserve to be in the dustbin of history.”

Mr Pickles explained that the Christian festival has previously been ambushed by those intent on re-branding Christmas as a bland “Winter festival”, insisting that multi-cultural Britain can enjoy Christmas without abandoning its underlying Christian heritage in a misguided attempt to appease these politically correct “Grinches”.

See also Enemies of Reason, 27 November 2010

Massive vote fraud in Egyptian elections – still no word of criticism from Harry’s Place

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Members of Egypt’s largest opposition party braced for a bruising defeat in parliamentary elections Sunday amid reports that proxies of the ruling party [National Democratic Party – NDP] committed widespread fraud and prevented election monitors working for rival candidates from monitoring the polls.

Muslim Brotherhood leaders said government security forces and election officials kept their delegates from entering dozens of polling stations and prevented many of their supporters from casting ballots.

“The government has used all the means to prevent people from going to polling stations,” Muslim Brotherhood campaign coordinator Mohammed Mursi said Sunday night as the polls were closing. “It seems the regime does not want to have real opposition in parliament.”

In the weeks leading up to the election, Egyptian security forces detained hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters and disqualified many of its candidates.

Opposition politicians and human rights activists said they recorded dozens of cases of ballot stuffing, vote buying and voter intimidation. Outside several key polling stations, bands of men in civilian clothes beat back voters and supporters of opposition candidates, in some instances working in coordination with police forces, human rights activists and witnesses said.

“It’s a situation in which the ruling party has a relatively free hand to manipulate the results,” said Tom Malinowski, the Washington director of Human Rights Watch, who was among the group’s representatives monitoring the situation outside polling stations Sunday. “The government’s objective seems to be to make voting simultaneously dangerous and futile to discourage everyone other than those mobilized by the ruling party from going to the polls.”

In Alexandria, Egypt’s second-largest city and a Brotherhood stronghold, opposition candidates described overt violations. “The ballot boxes arrived full,” Brotherhood candidate Sobhy Saleh said in an interview Sunday morning. “The will of the people is being stolen.” On Sunday night, an aide said Saleh had been wounded in clashes and was recovering at a hospital.

At the polling station at the Hoda Shaarawy School in Cairo’s upscale Dokki neighborhood, women dressed in head scarves banged on the green gate, pleading to be allowed to cast votes. Election officials held them at bay for most of the day and opened the doors only to allow in voters bused in by NDP activists.

Washington Post, 29 November 2010

We’ve already pointed to the failure of websites like Harry’s Place, who erupted in fury at the attack on democracy in Iran, to express even the slightest criticism of the attack on democracy in Egypt. Apparently it’s cause for outrage if an anti-western Islamist regime suppresses its opponents, but a matter of insignificance if a pro-western regime suppresses an Islamist opposition.

See also Newsweek, 29 November 2010