Category Archives: UK

‘Thought crime has come to Britain’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Thought crime has come to Britain. We knew that in principle, as wave after wave of legislation has pushed the scope of anti-terror laws from deeds and plans to words. The case of Samina Malik, the Heathrow airport worker and jihadi fantasist convicted on Thursday under the Terrorism Act, confirms it beyond reasonable doubt.”

Boyd Tonkin in the Independent, 12 November 2007

Tonkin draws attention to the existence “an inflammatory anthem crammed with sanguinary images of ‘scarlet standards’ and the ‘martyred dead’, sung by a British political conspiracy once dedicated to overturning the entire economic order of society. After a spine-chilling evocation of ‘martyrs’ who died in ideological battle, the sinister ditty (‘The Red Flag’) explains why this movement’s symbol is ‘deepest red’: ‘ere their limbs grew stiff and cold/ Their hearts’ blood dyed its every fold’. Truly chilling stuff. Surely, the leader of an organisation who sanctioned the singing of such a grotesque hymn to sacrificial death should at least have his hard drive examined by our Thought Police?”

Muslim brands Britain ‘Nazi’ – according to the Express

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“War widows and MPs reacted angrily last night after a Muslim leader warned Britain was becoming like Nazi Germany. Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari said perceptions of Muslims were so negative there was a danger that people’s minds would be ‘poisoned as they were in the Thirties’. His comments, made on the eve of Remembrance Sunday, came as a Sunday Express poll showed the Conservatives surging into an eight-point lead over Labour on the back of public concern about immigration….

“Tory MP David Davies described Dr Bari’s comments as ‘extraordinary’. He said: ‘If there is a backlash in this country, it will come because of comments like this. Britain led the world against Nazi Germany. It is extraordinary that this man should be given a platform for his views and that the Government is affording him respect. The message has to go out that no one invited Muslims into this country – they chose to come here for a better way of life. Anyone who comes here has to learn our language and respect our way of life and traditions. There are far too many people who seem to think they do not have to obey our rules but demand that we change our way of life to suit them. It has got to stop’.

“War widows gathering for the national remembrance service at the Cenotaph in London also voiced anger. Kathleen Woodside, 87, from Liverpool, who helped to found the War Widows Association of Great Britain after her husband Charles was killed on the last day of the war in Italy on March 1, 1945, said: ‘I am against this kind of talk. It is as if the Muslims want to take us over’.”

Sunday Express, 11 November 2007

Update:  See “Comparisions with the 1930s”, MCB press release, 15 November 2007

Islamophobia on the internet – even the Mail draws the line at Jihad Watch

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jihad Watch logo

The Mail on Sunday examines the hatred generated by the right-wing internet campaign against the so-called “Rage Boy”, Kashmiri Islamist protestor Shakeel Ahmad Bhat:

“Don’t you hate Islamic Rage Boy? ‘MoBlows’, writing on the Jihad Watch website, certainly does. ‘I just want to put my fist down his throat’, he says. The ‘boy’ in question rose to prominence earlier this year when he was photographed at a demonstration in Srinagar, capital of Indian-administered Kashmir…. On Jihad Watch, which says its aim is to bring public notice to the role that jihad theology and ideology play in the modern world, ‘The Goobs’ writes: ‘Can you IMAGINE how nasty it would smell standing next to this nutter? Whatcha wanna bet he hasn’t ever owned a can of Right Guard?’ … Many other internet postings about Rage Boy are so revolting that they cannot be published in a family newspaper.”

Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch is indignant that his hate-filled website should be criticised in this way (particularly by the Mail, which he regards as “a cut above the general run of clueless, collaborationist and dhimmi fishwraps”). He writes: “As I’ve said many times, I believe in free inquiry, and that the antidote to bad speech is more speech, not forcible silencing.”

UK terror tactics ‘create unease’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Abdul Bari at TUCThe head of the Muslim Council of Britain has said the government’s approach to terrorism is creating an atmosphere of suspicion and unease.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Daily Telegraph, Muhammad Abdul Bari said the amount of discussion relating to Muslims was disproportionate. He cited Nazi Germany in the 1930s as an example of how people’s minds could be poisoned against a whole community.

Dr Bari also called for more emphasis on positive aspects of Muslim culture. Scaring the community “If your community is perceived in a very negative manner, and poll after poll says that we are alienated, then Muslims begin to feel very vulnerable,” he said. “We are seen as creating problems, not as bringing anything and that is not good for society.”

BBC News, 10 November 2007

Update:  See “Comparisions with the 1930s”, MCB press release, 15 November 2007

The MCB points out that Dr Bari said nothing about Nazi Germany in his interview. This was an interpolation by the Telegraph.

 

Bushra Noah case – ‘nothing to do with race or religion’ says Tory

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“The owner of a hair salon in London’s King’s Cross is being sued for not hiring a Muslim girl who refused to take off her headscarf. Sarah Desrosiers, 32, runs Wedge, a salon specialising in cutting-edge, urban, punky styles. One glance at 19-year-old Bushra Noah will tell you she is none of those things.

“Yet she is suing for £15,000, claiming that she’s the victim of religious discrimination. Poppycock. This case has nothing to do with race or religion, but plenty to do with an ill-suited job applicant using their faith as a means to extort money aboard Britain’s Great Grievance Gravy Train. What next? Ugly Betty suing for not getting the top job at Vogue?”

William Hague’s former press secretary Amanda Platell in the Daily Mail, 10 November 2007

Potterrow mosque in terror row

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Muslim student leaders have condemned a report published last week which insinuated links between an Edinburgh mosque and hate-literature. The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) branded the report by the right of centre think tank The Policy Exchange as a “PR stunt” which could undermine ongoing efforts to advance interfaith dialogue and community cohesion across Edinburgh.

The report was published after a culmination of a year-long project in which researchers visited 100 mosques across Britain. It claimed that a pamphlet found at the Islamic Centre of Edinburgh, which is linked to the Edinburgh Central Mosque on Potterrow, advocated the killing of Muslims who have turned their back on their religion.

Faisal Hanjra, spokesman for FOSIS condemned the think tank’s report stating: “The Policy Exchange document does nothing more than present single sentences, from often large documents, out of context. The report also fails to adequately define the term ‘extremist literature’ instead applying this label to anything outside of the authors’ own personal realm of social acceptability. Finally, the report arrives at the illogical conclusion that this literature is in part responsible for terrorism, something not supported by the actual contents of the report.”

The Islamic Centre of Edinburgh refused to comment on the allegations but a senior source branded the report as a “smear campaign” which damaged the reputation of the Edinburgh Mosque, widely renowned as being at the forefront of building bridges between the Muslim community and the wider British society. Secular schemes run at the Centre such as the Mosque Kitchen are particularly popular with students.

Student, 8 November 2007

Hairdresser sued over Muslim headscarf ban

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bushra NoahA hair salon owner is being sued for religious discrimination after refusing a Muslim teenager a job as a stylist because she wore a headscarf.

Sarah Desrosiers said she refused 19-year-old Bushra Noah the position because it was an “absolutely basic” requirement that customers could see their stylist’s hair. The 32-year-old, whose “alternative” salon in London specialises in “urban, funky punky” cuts, has already spent £1,000 fighting the case. Miss Noah wants £15,000 for injury to her feelings plus an unspecified amount for lost earnings. She maintains that her headscarf is an integral part of her religious beliefs.

Miss Desrosiers, who denies any discrimination, said: “The essence of my line of work is the display of hair. To me, it’s absolutely basic that people should be able to see the stylist’s hair. It has nothing to do with religion. It is just unfortunate that for her covering her hair symbolises religion.”

Daily Telegraph, 9 November 2007

See also Evening Standard, 8 November 2007

Defend Aamer Anwar – public meeting

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Aamer Anwar and Asif Siddique (brother of Mohammed Atif Siddique) will be speaking at a public meeting on Tuesday 13 November

7.30 pm, Mitchell Theatre, Granville Street, Glasgow

Other speakers include Alasdair Gray (author), Doug Jewell (CAMPACC), Carlo Morelli (UCU), Noman Tahir (IWitness), Jonathan Shafi (Glasgow Stop The War Coalition)

Admission Free – All welcome. Doors open 7pm

Sponsored by SACC and Glasgow Stop The War Coalition