Category Archives: UK

One silver lining to the assault on our freedoms

Posted on by Bob Pitt

One silver lining to the assault on our freedoms

By Jeremy Corbyn

Morning Star, 22 November 2006

LAST weekend, the Stop the War coalition organised an enormous assembly linking the war and the defence of minorities and freedom of expression. Two days later, the British Muslim Initiative and Liberty came together to host a rally in Westminster’s Central Hall on the theme of Islamophobia.

Intolerance is not new in Britain. The Jews were thrown out in the 13th century and they were not allowed back until Oliver Cromwell allowed them in the 17th century. However, they suffered persecution for centuries more to come, with hysterical campaigns in the 19th and 20th centuries run by the popular media which enabled the far-right to gain ground.

Black migrants suffered racist abuse and stereotyping in the 1950s and, later, Asian and other groups suffered in the same way.

The Irish were singled out for special vilification and, after the 1974 Prevention of Terrorism Act, they had the unwelcome attention of the state itself forced upon them. The PTA was finally replaced by the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent acts, all of which have been designed to give excessive and unaccountable power to the security services.

The US may operate a blot on human existence in Guantanamo Bay, but Britain has Belmarsh and is holding dozens of foreign nationals indefinitely without trial, appeal or action date.

Ever since 2001, the vocal campaign against Islam has gained momentum. It has been given occasional puffs of credibility by public statements.

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Inayat Bunglawala writes in support of MPACUK

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Inayat Bunglawala of the MCB has written to MPACUK expressing support for them in response to the Observer‘s smear against Asghar Bukhari:

“This story has mysteriously surfaced at this time in a clear attempt to try and discredit Asghar Bukhari and MPACUK. Asghar’s donation of sixty pounds to David Irving over six years ago may be regarded as perhaps overly idealistic and indeed naive. However, it is disgraceful – though not unexpected, of course – that the usual suspects have tried to use this incident in an attempt to portray Asghar as an anti-semite. I know that Asghar is a staunch critic – and rightly so – of Zionism and the bloody and repressive policies of the Israeli government, but also that he has absolutely no truck whatsoever with anti-semitism or any other form of racial prejudice. I hope MPAC will not be deterred by this episode and continue to focus on encouraging British Muslims to play their full role in the mainstream of British society and not allow themselves to be marginalised through inaction and passivity.”

MPACUK news report, 21 November 2006

Anti-racist groups withdraw support for CRE race conference

Posted on by Bob Pitt

CRE RIPLeading anti-racist groups are withdrawing support for a Commission for Racial Equality conference.

The CRE’s Race Convention is being criticised for being over-priced and for having “inflammatory” titles for workshops. The 1990 Trust and other organisations are also concerned about the CRE’s event being sponsored by a bank with links to the slave trade.

The campaigning body has joined forces with many other BME groups to organise an alternative race conference, called the Race & Faith Leadership Summit. This event will have free entry and will discuss the real concerns of Black communities and will run on the same day as the CRE’s Race Convention.

The Race & Faith Leadership Summit will take place next Monday (27th November 2006) at London’s City Hall, SE1.

This event is supported by dozens of organisations including the Muslim Council of Britain, the National Black Police Association, and the public sector union UNISON.

For more details, and to register, log on to: http://www.blink.org.uk/docs/rsflyer.htm

BLINK news report, 21 November 2006

Historic rally condemns Islamophobia and attack on liberties and freedoms

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Anas AltikritiIn what was an almost unprecedented representation of all facets of Britain speaking from the same stage, the rally co-organised by the British Muslim Initiative and Liberty on Monday, 20th of November, unequivocally condemned the recent spate of attacks on Islam and Muslims, and pledged to fight the erosion of civil liberties and freedom of thought and conscience.

The hundreds who attended the event at the Westminster Methodist Central Hall listened to the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, as well as representative from the Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Respect and Green Parties, speakers from the Christian, Muslim,Jewish and Sikh faiths as well as delegates from trade unions, the anti-war movement and the world of media and arts.

Anas Altikriti [pictured], spokesman for BMI who chaired the event, said afterwards: “The line-up said it all. Muslims do not stand alone in facing the barrage of racist attacks levelled against them, nor do others of any faith or of thought who see what is dear to them being systematically disparaged and compromised. Despite the broad spectrum from which the speakers came from, the message was almost one and the same: the people of this country will not stand by and watch the Muslim community or any other, be attacked, vilified, demonised or marginalised by a minor sector laden with either ignorance or racist tendencies, or possibly both”.

Altikriti added: “It was fascinating to see that almost all the speakers touched on the problem we all faced with politicians and the policies we have both at home and overseas in creating the present climate and exacerbating the problems faced by Muslims and many others and allowing the extreme-right and the racist elements in society ground to spread their rhetoric and deeds of hate.”

The rally will serve as a first step towards holding a conference by the end of January from which a new broad and far reaching formal coalition will emerge to defend freedom of religion and culture and tackle the problem of Islamophobia, unanimously condemned last night as the new face of racism in our midst.

BMI news report, 21 November 2006

See also Mathaba.net, 21 November 2006

‘Fanatics – fit in or ship out’, says Jon Gaunt

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jon_Gaunt“The Dutch are right to ban the Burka and we should do the same. It’s not a religious obligation and is increasingly being worn as an act of defiance against the majority way of life.

“Hiding your face isn’t about modesty, it’s about cowardice and a refusal to engage with the host society. It is intended to separate out these women from the mainstream. It is a sign of subjugation, even indoctrination, that women are second-class citizens.

“Well, at the risk of upsetting these extremists, I’m afraid I want to live in a society where women are equal and where my two beautiful girls have the same opportunity as boys. I can’t see how they can get that if they’re dressed to make them almost invisible from modern society.

“Inayat Bunglawala, a man obviously, from the Muslim Council of Britain, has reacted with horror to the Dutch proposals, saying: ‘One of the most wonderful things about living in Britain is freedom of association.’ How the hell can you associate with someone whose face you can’t see? How does dressing like a 14th-Century Dalek encourage freedom of association? The answer is that it clearly doesn’t.

“Our politicians should stop playing to the minorities and listen to the majority of Brits who are sick to the back teeth of this vocal but small band of religious extremists who want to spread division at every opportunity. We should ban the Burka, lift the veil and tell these fanatics to fit in or ship out.”

Jon Gaunt in The Sun, 21 November 2006

Mad Mel goes to Philadelphia

Posted on by Bob Pitt

madmelMelanie Phillips has been wowing her right-wing audience at Daniel Pipes’ Middle East Forum in Philadelphia. Joseph Puder reports:

“‘Britain stands at the precipice.’ Such is the view of British journalist Melanie Phillips in her recently published book, Londonistan, in which she argues that Britain and Europe are facing a civilizational test – and they are in danger of failing….

“In her book, Phillips pieces together the story of how Londonistan developed. Britain, she points out, is experiencing a collapse of self-confidence and national identity. The result is a paralyzing multiculturalism as well as a powerful instinct for appeasing extremists. In her remarks last week, Phillips suggested that the current climate threatens to ‘undermine the alliance with America and imperil the defense of the free world’….

“What Britons do not grasp, Phillips argues, is that they are in a war with an enemy that seeks to destroy them and impose an Islamic way of life governed by Sharia law – the latest polls indicate that 40 to 60 percent of British Muslims want Sharia law to govern Britain – thereby destroying their democratic institutions and nullifying their individual freedoms. ‘We do not understand in Britain that we are fighting a religious war. Instead, we’re appeasing it’, Phillips said.”

Front Page Magazine, 21 November 2006