Andrew Brown examines the European links of Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer.
Category Archives: UK
Leo McKinstry on the ‘Ground Zero mosque’ controversy
The proposal is a deliberate act of provocation against America and Judaeo-Christian civilisation.
The reason that the hijackers were determined to destroy the Twin Towers was because they were seen as a graphic symbol of American enterprise. Once the mosque is erected, it will become a symbol of Islamic triumphalism, an assertion of Muslim power over the West….
Tolerance is a one-way street when it comes to Islam. Muslims constantly demand that our society respects their sensitivities; only last week it was revealed that all meat served in Harrow secondary schools now has to be halal. Yet, as the Ground Zero controversy shows, there is no reciprocal concern shown by Muslims for indigenous cultures.
For all President Obama’s blather about bridge-building, the fact is Islam is an ideology that spells misery, oppression and misogyny wherever it gains power….
The Ground Zero mosque is indicative of a climate of appeasement and self-loathing that has gripped the political class in the West. It is grotesque that, in the name of freedom, our leaders refuse to challenge a doctrine that would destroy our freedoms. Here in Britain, the supine state has allowed domestic terrorism, forced marriages, child sex trafficking, immigration abuses and honour killings to flourish for fear of being labelled “racist”.
In America, the results have been just as deadly, as shown by the case of Major Nidal Malik Hasan. Despite his declared support for Islamic terrorism, US army top brass refused to act against him. Then, in November last year, he shot dead 13 of colleagues.
None of those men would have died if the destructive creed of multi-culturalism had not been so strong. Tolerance in the face of extremism is killing our society. The 9/11 attacks should have galvanised the west. Instead, 10 years later, it is looking like our death knell.
The EDL and how to stop them
Asghar Bukhari of MPACUK argues for a change of strategy by the Muslim community.
‘Don’t let the Muslims force their barbaric ways on us’ – anti-Halal leaflet in Harrow
This is a leaflet that has been distributed by an unnamed group outside a school in Harrow, protesting against the provision of Halal meat. It reads (spelling and grammar as in original):
To Parents
Did you know that your school is going to supply Muslim Halal meat for school dinners not just for Muslims but for all children. You don’t know this because your Head Teacher Katrina Mildner the Chair of Governors Ted Sturdy and Harrow Council choose not to tell you because you are of no importance. They are putting the Muslims beliefs before yours, the reason is they have no respect for you or your children or your beliefs.
English meat is slaughtered humanely so the animal doesn’t not suffer unlike the Halal method. The Bird or Animal have verses read from the Karan as part of the preparation before they slit it’s throat and let it bleed to death. This can take up to 370 seconds for a Calf to die. All the blood then has to be drained out. It is cruel and inhumane by our Western standards. Don’t let the Muslims force their barbaric ways on us, let’s stick to our principles and our way of life or we will lose them forever. This is our England.
You can tell the school you don’t want your child eating Halal. You can complain to the council. Or you can get other mothers and fathers to sign a petition and send this in.
How Phil Woolas fought the general election
Over at Indigo Jo Blogs, Yusuf Smith draws our attention to this disgraceful leaflet distributed by Labour MP Phil Woolas during his recent election campaign in the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency.
Two days before polling day the Lib Dem leader of Oldham Council lodged a complaint with the Equality and Human Rights Commission about Woolas’s election material. “I believe that this type of inflammatory literature is incredibly detrimental to community relations and promoting equality”, he wrote. And who could disagree?
The defeated Lib Dem candidate Elwyn Watkins, who lost to Woolas by only 103 votes, has challenged the election result on the basis that false claims about him were made in Woolas’s leaflets, including the allegation that he appealed for support from “Muslim extremists”. A court hearing will be held on 13 September to decide whether the election should be re-run.
North London Central Mosque condemns continuing witch-hunt
Witch hunt against North London Central Mosque (NLCM) intensifies
North London Central Mosque press release, 11 August 2010
As we enter the blessed month of Ramadan the NLCM in Finsbury Park, Islington is working closely with its partners in Islington council, Islington police, our MP Jeremy Corbyn and community partners to respond to false and malicious allegations from unscrupulous journalists, bloggers and think-tanks who have embarked on a witch hunt against NLCM.
At the same time NCLM is working closely with the same partners to respond to the threat of further hate crimes following a recent incident in which a pig’s head was fixed to the entrance gates of the mosque. We note with some concern that the English Defence League and its allies vilify us as “extremists” and quote our critics in the media in support of their hate filled Islamophobic campaigns. For that reason – for the safety of the mosque and the safety of our community – we want to clear NLCM’s name of false and dangerous allegations.
Cowards and criminals who stuck pig’s head on NLCM should be ashamed of themselves
Half a decade on since the days of Abu Hamza, a lot has changed in Finsbury Park. North London Central Mosque is now a beacon in the north Islington community. The management and congregation are doing sterling work in the area, not just for local Muslims but with their non-Muslim neighbours too. What was once a place of hatred and division is now one of pride and progress.
The cowards and criminals who stuck a pig’s head on the mosque’s railings in the dead of night last week should be ashamed of themselves. There is no place for such bigotry and sacrilege in our ward, which is home to people of every culture and creed, and is brighter and better for it.
Councillor Andy Hull, Labour Party member for Highbury West, Islington Town Hall, Upper Street, N1
Letter in Islington Gazette, 11 August 2010
Four police officers charged with assault on Babar Ahmad
Four police officers have been accused of assaulting terror suspect Babar Ahmad as they arrested him in 2003 in London.
The officers, all members of the Metropolitan Police’s territorial support group, will be charged with causing actual bodily harm. The Crown Prosecution Service said Pcs Nigel Cowley, John Donohue, Roderick James-Bowen and Mark Jones will appear before magistrates on September 22.
Simon Clements, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Babar Ahmad was arrested by the officers on suspicion of terrorism offences. Mr Ahmad suffered a number of injuries during that arrest, including heavy bruising to the head, neck, wrists and feet.
“The Crown Prosecution Service received a file of evidence on how those injuries were caused from the Independent Police Complaints Commission in 2004. We took the view at that time that there was insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction of anyone involved.
“Following Mr Ahmad’s successful civil proceedings for compensation from the police in the High Court last year, his solicitors asked the CPS to look at the evidence again. The Director of Public Prosecutions asked the Special Crime Division to do so. We have now completed our review of the evidence.
“Our conclusion is that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to charge four of the officers involved in the arrest of Mr Ahmad with causing actual bodily harm to him, contrary to the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.”
The four officers will be summonsed to appear at City of Westminster magistrates’ court in central London.
Ahmad, 36, was held by a team of police officers who raided his home in Tooting, south London, in December 2003. In March last year the Met paid £60,000 damages as lawyers for Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson admitted he was the victim of violence.
In a statement, Ahmad said: “I am pleased that the CPS has decided that a jury will hear the evidence in this case and it will now be for the jury to determine whether any police officer should be punished for the assault upon me in December 2003. I have no further comment to make at this time.”
BNP want Jewish ‘comrades’ to fight Muslims
Members of far-right organisations are urging colleagues to support an unlikely ally – Israel. Small groups of BNP and English Defence League supporters are championing the Jewish state as part of a perceived struggle with the Muslim world. They call for Israel and the BNP to be “comrades in arms”.
One person commenting on a pro-BNP blog suggested that the party should open an office in Israel to “show solidarity with the Israeli people”. But Jon Benjamin, Board of Deputies chief executive, warned: “No one in their right mind should have any truck with the BNP or their ilk.”
A blogger on The Green Arrow, an independent website which supports the BNP, encouraged others to look to Israel to avoid the West’s “meek surrender to Islam”.
Under the name Reconquista, the blogger wrote: “Against the backdrop of an enormous anti-Israel propaganda campaign waged by Muslims and by the Marxist left, Israel continues to fight for its very survival.
“I believe it is absolutely imperative for British Nationalists to be fully aware of the lies, deceptions, hypocrisy and moral cowardice surrounding Israel and the Jewish people.”
One person commented on the blog: “I have written several times calling for committees for the mutual defence of white and Jewish communities to be set up here. Both people are under attack… Jewish people need to stop opposing us as their enemy.”
Another adds: “We need Israel. We must join with them to fight this terrible wave of Islam trying to take over the world. The Jews know all about ethnic cleansing, and they will never allow themselves to be in that position again.”
In May, the extreme right-wing anti-Islamic fundamentalism group the English Defence League launched a “Jewish division”, encouraging Jews to “lead the counter-Jihad fight in England”.
Mr Benjamin said: “Short-term political expediency and pronouncements of this kind are merely a cynical ploy by the BNP to try to re-invent themselves to capture the support of those who should know better.”
A CST spokesman said: “There may be the odd BNP activist who thinks that antisemitism is stupid, and there may well be others who think that supporting Israel is a good idea, but none of it changes what the BNP is all about.”
Dawkins compares the veil to a bin-liner, says he feels ‘visceral revulsion’ when he sees women wearing it
The outspoken atheist Professor Richard Dawkins has re-ignited the furore over the burka, describing it as a “full bin-liner thing”. The 69-year-old author and scientist told of his “visceral revulsion” when he sees women wearing the controversial Islamic clothing.
Professor Dawkins made the comments in an interview with Radio Times discussing his forthcoming documentary about the dangers of faith schools. Last night he stood by his remarks and told the Daily Mail: “I do feel visceral revulsion at the burka because for me it is a symbol of the oppression of women.”
Seyyed Ferjani, of the Muslim Association of Britain, said of Professor Dawkins’ comments: “I think it is ignorant and Islamaphobic. This kind of thing has been on the rise for some time. Britain is a diverse and free society. It is a woman’s choice if she wishes to wear a burka, a niqab or not. Why does it matter to this man what a woman is wearing? We should be encouraging respect and understanding for each other.”
It is not the first time Professor Dawkins, who is the author of books including The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion, has attracted criticism for his views on Islam. In 2008, he said: “It’s almost impossible to say anything against Islam in this country, because you are accused of being racist or Islamophobic.”
Unfortunately, accusations of racism and Islamophobia haven’t had the slightest restraining effect on Dawkins. His website recently featured a vile video rant against the so-called “Ground Zero mosque” in New York by UKIP-supporting “comedian” Pat Condell, of whom Dawkins (along with many BNP members) is a great admirer. Rejecting complaints about the video by visitors to his site, Dawkins wrote: “I think it is well arguable that Islam is the greatest man-made force for evil in the world today. Pat Condell is one of the few with the courage to say so.”