Writing at the Middle East Monitor, Bob Lambert draws the lessons from Mohammad Sawalha’s successful libel action against the Spectator and Melanie Phillips.
Category Archives: UK
Geller claims that Park51 is ‘the second wave of the 9/11 attack’
Over at Think Progress Tanya Somanader draws our attention to Pamela Geller’s speech last weekend when she received an award from the David Horowitz Freedom Center for “her efforts in defense of Judeo-Christian civilization”, as Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch put it in his adulatory introduction.
Geller used her acceptance speech to describe the misnamed “Ground Zero Mosque” as “the second wave of the 9/11 attack”:
You have to understand that we’re in a war. We are at war now. It’s not coming. It’s not around the corner. It’s now. The Ground Zero Mosque is the second wave of the 9/11 attack…. We are under attack. Obviously, the violent jihad, the academic jihad, the sociological jihad, the cultural jihad, the academic jihad, we have been infiltrated at the senior level of the Department of Defense…. This is not a conventional war. Each one of you must fight this war … you are each activated…. We have not yet recovered the bodies from 9/11 and we’re under attack with the Ground Zero mega-mosque. And make no mistake, Cordoba, iconic of Islam’s conquering of the West, it’s quite deliberate…. It is a triumphal mosque. Because one shmuck in New York says “it’s a mosque of healing” doesn’t make it so. It’s ridiculous, it’s insulting.
Somander observes that “this thoughtless comparison appears to be a new rallying cry for Geller”. Indeed, in response to news that the developers of Park51 have applied for funding from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Geller has written:
“Imagine the gall of these Islamic supremacists. The very idea that the infidels should finance the second wave of 911 attacks on the American people again exhibits the contempt Rauf and his gang have for the filthy kuffar.”
Will HP dig deep for Mad Mel?
In his Diary column in the Independent earlier this week Matthew Norman outlined the background to Mohammad Sawalha’s successful libel action against the Spectator and Melanie Phillips:
In July 2008, Mad Mel lifted and embellished a mistake from the neocon website, Harry’s Place, regarding Mohammad Sawalha, a Palestinian-born British man whom Al Jazeera had mis-transcribed referring to “evil/noxious” Jews at a rally. In fact, as Arabic experts later confirmed to High Court superstar Tugendhat, he referred to the “Jewish lobby”. Al Jazeera corrected it instantly, and Harry’s Place later, yet MM magisterially ignored requests for a simple correction until a trial was imminent, when she caved. This unwonted arrogance has presented a six-figure bill for damages and costs to The Spectator, which at the time of writing continues to host her deliciously deranged blog.
Given their responsibility for getting Mel and the Speccie into this mess, it would seem only reasonable that Harry’s Place should make a substantial contribution to the payment of Mohammad Sawalha’s costs and damages. Can we take it that the chaps will be organising a whip-round?
Spectator and Mad Mel apologise to Mohammad Sawalha and pay damages
Mohammad Sawalha –v– The Spectator (1828) Publishing Limited and Melanie Phillips
The Spectator and Melanie Phillips have apologized to Mohammad Sawalha and paid him substantial compensation for damages and all legal costs over an article falsely alleging that he made an anti-Semitic remark.
On 2 July 2008, the Spectator website published an article by Melanie Phillips entitled “Just Look What Came Crawling Out” (“the Article”). The Article falsely stated that Mohammad Sawalha had referred to Jews in Britain as “evil/noxious”. Mohammad Sawalha has worked hard to build strong relations between communities of different faiths and no faith both in Britain and internationally, and was therefore shocked and outraged to read such a false and offensive accusation. It was immediately pointed out to the Spectator and Ms Phillips that this was a mistranslation of a transcript of an interview, which contained a typographical error, rendering the relevant phrase meaningless. It was also pointed out that the publisher of the original transcript of the interview had corrected the quotation already, making clear that Mr Sawalha had made no such anti-Semitic comment.
Rather than carrying out the reasonable and obvious course of action of amending the Article, Melanie Phillips instead chose to go on and publish a further article, entitled “Taking the Airbrush to Evil”, repeating the highly insulting false allegation made in the Article and casting doubt on the suggestion that there had been a typographical error.
The truth about Andrew Gilligan
Mehdi Hasan replies to Gilligan’s attack on his interview with Lutfur Rahman.
Muslim Council of Britain responds to Ware’s Panorama programme
MCB Statement on Panorama Story – “British Schools, Islamic Rules”
Tuesday 23 November 2010In relation to the BBC Panorama programme on Muslim schools, the Muslim Council of Britain issued the following statement: “The vast majority of Muslim schools in this country offer a much-needed service to British Muslims. Many full-time Muslim schools have achieved impressive results in educational league tables, and part-time schools inspire young Muslims to contribute to the common good.
“The Muslim Council of Britain is heartened that the majority of Muslim schools work towards established standards, striving to promote an agenda that recognises Britain’s cherished pluralism. We hope that those few schools that fall short of such objectives, if indeed they do, redouble their efforts for the benefit of their own children”.
Commenting on the programme itself, the Muslim Council of Britain said: “The programme’s incendiary title and commentary from the programme’s presenter has already contributed to the mood-music that Muslims are somehow separate, foreign and un-British. Responsible reporting would examine faith schools in its totality.”
John Ware had complete disregard for the value of Ofsted inspection, a nationally recognised body governing schools, and chose to seek something of a minority to cause contention. The programme did not represent a fair documentation as it failed to inform of the Muslim schools that have conveyed successful achievements and pass rates and was inept to fully highlight the findings from rigorous Ofsted inspection.
MCB press release, 23 November 2010
See also iERA press release, 23 November 2010
Police to step up patrols around mosques as EDL heads for Preston
Police patrols are to be stepped up around Preston’s mosques on Saturday as around 1,200 protesters head into the city to take part in two demonstrations.
Chief Supt Tim Jacques, head of Preston Police, revealed the plans ahead of the demonstration by the English Defence League and counter demonstration by Unite Against Facism and the Trade Union Council.
Police officers’ days off have been cancelled and specially trained public order officers are being drafted in from other parts of the county to support the policing operation, which will see the mounted branch, road police and other units taking to city centre streets.
Today Chief Supt Jacques said it would be one of the biggest police operations seen in Preston in recent years but insisted the city was “open for business as usual” on Saturday – the fourth week before Christmas and the first official Christmas shopping weekend.
He said: “We are working with the community and police officers are going to be in the areas where the mosques are on Saturday to reassure people. We have had lots of meetings with the mosques and are working with the demonstration organisers in terms of minimising the impact. There are no planned demonstrations outside any mosques but it is in our minds.”
Lancashire Evening Post, 23 November 2010
Details of the Unite Against Fascism protest can be found here.
Update: It is good that the police appear to have accepted that the EDL represents a violent threat to the Muslim community in Preston – previously they argued that the EDL is a peaceful, non-racist organisation. This reluctance to recognise the real character of the EDL is unfortunately not restricted to the police in Lancashire. See also the Morning Star, which reports that the new head of police domestic extremist units, DCS Adrian Tudway, has claimed that the EDL is not a far-right group.
Mosque attacked following march against ‘Muslim extremists’ in Kingston upon Thames
Masked men threw bottles of beer and urinated on a mosque following a march against Muslim extremism.
Bacon was also left on cars near Kingston Mosque during the attack by a group of 10-15 youths on Sunday.
Kingston Mosque claimed baseball bats were also used in the incident on East Road, but this was not confirmed by police. However officers did recover two pieces of wood near the scene.
Islamophobic fruitcake visits Wales
A self-proclaimed nun convicted of religious harassment has travelled to Wales to spread her message. The Catholic Church has officially urged people to steer clear of Sister Ruth Augustus, who it says belongs to an order which she has made up.
Augustus – who has spent years touring the world with a three foot tall fibreglass Virgin Mary statue – was arrested after telling Muslims in London: “You’re probably terrorists – get back to your own country.” She was fined £200 by Westminster magistrates for the offence.
But the 70-year-old told Wales on Sunday she was glad to be in Wales for a month-long tour (but without the statue). She has already been to Cardiff and Pontypridd and is planning to visit Swansea, Barry, Flint, Cardigan, Aberystwyth, Welshpool and Wrexham, simply chatting to people in streets and shops in a bid to spread her religious message.
Clad in a Pope Benedict T-shirt, wearing a rosary and clutching a Pope Benedict bag, Augustus, from Birmingham, said she was touring Wales because a Christian Britain was important to her. “The whole civilisation comes from our Christian faith,” she said. “Before that people were wandering around eating each other, like they did in Africa.”
Panorama’s John Ware embarks on another witch-hunt
ENGAGE takes up tonight’s Panorama programme British Schools, Islamic Rules.
For more on John Ware, see here.