Category Archives: UK

Detention of Shaikh Asif Farooqui condemned

Posted on by Bob Pitt

As the police are granted more time to question the five individuals apprehended on suspicion of inciting terrorism overseas, the family of Shaikh Asif Farooqui has released a statement expressing their shock and dismay at the arrest of the 62 year old preacher. The family’s statement reads:

“It is simply incredible to those that know him and his work to imagine he could be involved in the promotion or incitement of any kind of violence. It is particularly shocking that, having influenced so many, young and old, male and female, to live as law-abiding, trustworthy citizens, he is now being accused of actions which he has so openly opposed for so long. He has always gone out of his way to foster good relations with the local police in order to work together as a community and this makes his arrest all the more disgraceful and unacceptable.”

ENGAGE, 19 November 2009

BNP signs its first non-white member… but he’s only joined because he hates Muslims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Rajinder Singh BNP TVAn elderly Sikh who describes Islam as a “beast” and once provided a character reference for Nick Griffin during his racial hatred trial is set to become the British National Party’s first non-white member.

Rajinder Singh has been sympathetic towards Britain’s far-right party for much of the past decade even though he currently remains barred from becoming a member because of the colour of his skin.

But last weekend the BNP’s leadership took their first steps towards dropping its membership ban on non-whites after the Human Rights Commission threatened the party with legal action. The move will be put to a vote of members soon.

Martin Wingfield, the BNP’s communications and campaigns officer, has already put forward the case for Mr Singh’s membership, telling members on its website: “I say adapt and survive and give the brave and loyal Rajinder Singh the honour of becoming the first ethnic minority member of the BNP.”

A BNP spokesman said last night: “He is perhaps the kind of immigrant you want if you are going to have them.” Mr Singh, a former teacher from Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, says he would be “honoured” to become a card-carrying member of the BNP.

Mr Singh and another Sikh from Slough who goes by the pseudonym Ammo Singh have previously co-operated with the BNP and have been used by the party’s leadership to try to woo Asian supporters, particularly Hindus and Sikhs living in areas where tensions with Muslims run high. The party has had little success, however, with all mainstream Sikh and Hindu groups widely condemning the BNP.

But Rajinder Singh and Ammo Singh – who keeps his identity secret but is thought to be an accountant in his late thirties – have answered Mr Griffin’s call, thanks to the BNP’s staunchly anti-Islamic rhetoric since September 11.

Mainstream Sikh groups said they were appalled. Dr Indarjit Singh, director of the Network of Sikh Organisations, said: “Sikhism stresses equality for all human beings. Therefore Sikhs who are true to their faith, will having nothing whatsoever to do with any party that favours any one section of the community.”

Independent, 20 November 2009

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‘Frightening’ racist response to planned mosque in Weston-super-Mare

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Shocked anti-racism campaigners have described the public reaction to a planned mosque in Weston as “frankly frightening”.

North Somerset Council this week revealed it had to discard 97 per cent of 157 letters of objection to a proposed Muslim Centre in Orchard Street because of their racist nature. Authority planners say some of the comments, mainly from anonymous or fictitious names, have been passed to police for investigation.

The prejudiced response has alarmed Bristol-based charity Support Against Racist Incidents, which has one worker in North Somerset.

Director Batook Pandya told the Mercury: “This should give a warning shot to the council of the potential racist tendency in the society. What this is telling us is that the majority of people who bothered to write in expressed a racist view, and that is very worrying. Are they making these comments in fear or are they naïve? For a small town like Weston I find this situation frankly frightening.”

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Witch-hunt against UK Muslim organisations over Fort Hood

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Writing at Islam Online, Inayat Bunglawala examines how Anwar Al-Awlaki’s support for the Fort Hood killings has been used to promote “a modern version of a McCarthyite witch-hunt against leading UK Islamic organizations and Muslim individuals”.

Update:  Predictably, Inayat has come in for some stick over the following statement:

It is very unfortunate that Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi has been barred from visiting the UK since early 2007 by the British government, following pressure from pro-Israeli lobbies. Sheikh Al-Qaradawi is an Islamic scholar who commands huge respect among millions of Muslims worldwide. As a regular past visitor to the UK, he would consistently urge British Muslims to shun all forms of extremism and to focus their energies on ensuring that their children excelled in education.

“His long experience of dealing with youths influenced by extremist and takfiri ideas (ideas involving accusations of backsliding from Islam) would surely have been a valuable asset in the struggle against Al-Qaeda-inspired propaganda.”

Equally predictably, Inayat’s critics include mad Melanie Phillips, Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, the Spittoon and Edmund Standing.

You could, of course, base your opinion of Qaradawi on the word of ignorant bigots like that. Alternatively, you could consult the analysis of people who actually know something about the subject.

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Harrow UAF Unity Rally Saturday 21st November

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Unite Against Fascism – Festival of Unity
Saturday November 21, 7pm-9.45pm
Victoria Hall, Sheepcote Road, Harrow HA1 2JE

Brent & Harrow Unite Against Fascism invites you to a celebration of Harrow’s diversity with speakers, great entertainment and refreshments.

Speakers include Tony McNulty MP, Bob Crow General Secretary RMT, Weyman Bennett Unite Against Fascism, Jo Lang President Harrow NUT, Abdul-Omer Mohsin Unite Convenor, Harrow & Edgware Bus Garages.

With entertainment from Mecca2Medina, Lady S, Ian Saville Socialist Magician, Truthseeker, DPZ and Shanakee.

Come along bring friends and family and enjoy the warm atmosphere of unity that is our community, black and white. Union banners welcome.

More scaremongering from Quilliam?

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Quilliam FoundationSome of Britain’s most dangerous Al-Qaeda leaders are promoting jihad from inside high-security prisons by smuggling out propaganda for the internet and finding recruits. In an authoritative report, Quilliam, a think tank funded by the Home Office, claims “mismanagement” by the Prison Service is helping Al-Qaeda gain recruits and risks “strengthening jihadist movements”.

Sunday Times, 15 November 2005

Although the study is not yet available online, the reliability of Quilliam’s allegations may perhaps be judged by the shock-horror revelation in their press release that “Faraj Hassan Al-Saad, a Libyan detainee then fighting extradition to Italy on terrorism charges, used prison call boxes to appear live on the Islam Channel” which is “run by Mohammed Ali Harrath, a convicted Tunisian terrorist who is the subject of an Interpol ‘Red Notice’.”

Quilliam recommends “establishing specialised a de-radicalisation centre [sic] to house imprisoned extremists, in order to tackle prison radicalisation”. Now, who do you suppose might be looking to get the contract to run that de-radicalisation programme?

Still, it’s good to know that Quilliam are spending taxpayers’ money on something other than hiring libel lawyers to threaten their critics.

Scottish Defence League routed in Glasgow

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Glasgow demo

Standing precariously on a bin as thousands of people swarmed into George Square banging drums and chanting, anti-racist campaigner Aamer Anwar yesterday proclaimed a victory for the people of Glasgow over “racism, fascism and the Scottish Defence League (SDL)”.

His celebration followed a day in which the far-right group’s threat to march on Glasgow Central Mosque came to nothing, as police penned its members into a pub before bussing them to various spots on the periphery of the city, extinguishing the chances of a conflict before it had the chance to ignite. There were a few minor skirmishes in and around the city centre between the tiny SDL contingent and rival demonstrators, who were out in their thousands. Five people were arrested.

Although both sides claimed to have achieved their aims, the sheer numbers that mustered under the banner of Scotland United, a broad-spectrum alliance of political parties, trade unions and civil society groups, demonstrated that most of Glasgow has little truck with the ‘anti-Islamic’ policies of the SDL and its English counterpart.

Mr Anwar, speaking at the head of a thousand protesters as they marched into George Square, said: “Just over 100 members of the Scottish and English Defence Leagues came to Glasgow today, skulked in a pub and were then bussed off away from the city centre. We proved that the only group that the people of Glasgow would tolerate on their streets were Scotland United. I would call this a victory.”

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Mad Mel’s moderate Muslim test

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Writing in the Jewish Chronicle, Melanie Phillips tells us that “it is very important to separate moderate Muslims from Islamists”. But this poses the question: “how can you tell a genuine moderate from the dissimulators?”

And yes, you guessed it, the answer is that “the issue that defines true Muslim moderation is the absence of any hostility towards Israel”.

So, by that criterion, Mad Mel’s list of moderate Muslims would include Irshad Manji and … well, nobody else comes to mind, really.

According to Phillips, even Ed Husain is an extremist. When he opposed Israel’s assault on Gaza she accused him of adopting “the very narrative and rhetoric that are driving Muslims to mass murder”!

Attempt to smear Osama Saeed and Azad Ali

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A radical Muslim cleric alleged to have inspired the Fort Hood gunman has been praised in the past as “a preacher of peace” by a prominent SNP candidate with close links to Alex Salmond.

The FBI is investigating communications between Major Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 people at the US Army base in Texas, and Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born Muslim cleric now based in Yemen. Mr Awlaki has a large following in Britain and counts prominent mainstream Muslims among his supporters.

In 2006 Osama Saeed, who has been selected as the SNP candidate for Glasgow Central for the next general election, wrote that Mr Awlaki “preached nothing but peace”.

Last night Mr Saeed, who was researcher to Mr Salmond before he became the Scottish First Minister, distanced himself from Mr Awlaki, saying that he now felt “cheated” by the cleric. Mr Saeed said: “I completely disagree with what he has said about Fort Hood, and a host of other matters which he has more recently written and spoken about.”

Mr Awlaki, 38, who on his blog described Major Hasan as “a hero”, has been a regular visitor to Britain and delivers frequent lectures to audiences here by video or via the internet.

Azad Ali, president of the Civil Service Islamic Society, wrote last November that Mr Awlaki was “one of my favourite speakers and scholars”. Mr Ali, whose society’s patron is Sir Gus O’Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary, distanced himself from the cleric’s views last night. He said: “I reject them and disassociate myself from them completely.”

An SNP spokesman said last night: “Anwar al-Awlaki formerly expressed moderate views – his more recent comments are disgraceful and have been condemned by all right-thinking people, including Azad Ali and Osama Saeed. Any attempt to smear any individual in the UK over this would be appalling.”

Times, 12 November 2009

Needless to say, this witch-hunt originates with Harry’s Place, Standpoint and the Spittoon.

Update:  See Osama Saeed’s post, “Times run with Centre for Social Cohesion briefing”, Rolled-up Trousers, 12 November 2009

Further update:  And here is the Quilliam Foundation’s helpful contribution, headed “Quilliam calls on Muslim organizations to reject jihadism”.

Pensioner attacked on way home from mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An Asian man in his 70s suffered a fractured eye socket in what police have called a “cowardly” racially motivated attack. The victim was struck in the face by one of two men who approached him near the traffic island in Coventry Street, Kidderminster, when he was returning from a prayer meeting.

After the assault, which happened at 7.45pm on Friday, October 30, the men walked off into Radford Avenue and were seen turning right into Gilbert Scott Way.

The victim was taken to Kidderminster Hospital and, though he was not detained, is now receiving ongoing treatment for the eye injury.

One of the two men sought by police, who were both white and described as in their early 20s, was about 6ft tall with dark hair and wearing a blue and red top with white sleeves. The other was shorter, had lighter hair and wore a pale blue T-shirt under a darker blue, hooded top which had white numbering on the front.

PC Saqib Mahmood said: “This was a cowardly, unprovoked attack on a frail pensioner who was in no position to defend himself.

“He was on his way back from prayers at a mosque and dressed in traditional white robes. We believe he was singled out for no other reason than his appearance and as such it was a racially motivated assault. Nothing was said beforehand and there was no attempt to rob him.

“Fortunately incidents of this nature are rare here but having said that even one is still too many and I would urge anyone who saw what happened or has any idea who might be responsible to get in touch with us.”

Witnesses or anyone with information should call PC Mahmood on 0300 333 3000, quoting incident reference 658-S-301009, or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Asian Image, 10 November 2009