Category Archives: UK

London mayor backs anti-Islamophobia rally

Posted on by Bob Pitt

BMI_Liberty rallyIslamophobia on the March

By Ken Livingstone

Morning Star, 4 November 2006

On November 20, at Methodist Central Hall Westminster, a national rally will be held to defend freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Organised jointly by the British Muslim Initiative and Liberty, it has the support of a wide range of organisations, including faith groups, anti-racist campaigns and labour movement bodies.

The rally will be the first step in initiating a national campaign to defend freedom of religion and culture and to combat the rise of Islamophobia.

The aim is to support the principle that communities from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, of all religions and none, should live together in a spirit of tolerance and respect for each other’s customs and values.

London itself is in many respects a model for the sort of multicultural society we want to build. The diversity brought about by successive waves of migration has been a key factor in the success and dynamism of the capital.

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BNP backs bish

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The fascist British National Party has applauded the anti-Muslim comments by the Bishop of Rochester. They are particularly taken with the Bishop’s observation, in relation to Muslims, that “there can never be sufficient appeasement and new demands will continue to be made” – which is of course what the fascists themselves have repeatedly asserted.

The BNP’s Kent correspondent adds: “It is increasingly apparent that there are a growing number of people within the Church of England who are prepared to publicly express their concerns on issues related to the growth and influence of Islam in Britain in these troubled times – this is all to the good!”

BNP regional report, 5 November 2006

Charles Johnson is equally enthusiastic about the bishop’s call for an end to the appeasement of Islam: “This is exactly right, and has been borne out time and time again. It’s a primitive, tribal mentality that exists outside of rationality.”

Little Green Footballs, 5 November 2006

We have to deport terrorist suspects – whatever their fate

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Nick Cohen 2“Everyone now condemns past governments for allowing London to become ‘Londonistan’, a centre for Islamist exiles”, Nick Cohen tells us. Do they, now? And would those “Islamist exiles” include people like Rashid al-Ghannoushi, perhaps? Presumably so, because as far as Cohen is concerned there is no principled difference between democratic Islamists and Al-Qaeda supporters.

Cohen continues: “A foreigner who MI5 says is a threat to national security has no right to refugee status.” Such touching faith in the reliability of Britain’s security services. And none of your liberal whingeing about people being entitled to a fair hearing, or having a right to question the evidence MI5 might claim to have against them.

No, Nick’s quite clear about it. There is no realistic alternative – the suspects will simply have to be deported back to their countries of origin. And if those countries are headed by dictatorial regimes that habitually use torture against oppositionists … well, that’s just tough.

Observer, 5 November 2006

See also Lenin’s Tomb, 5 November 2006

Anti-fascists express disgust at BNP

Posted on by Bob Pitt

BNP NoAnti-fascist campaigners waving flags and placards gave BNP leader Nick Griffin a noisy reception as he arrived at Leeds Crown Court to answer race-hate charges yesterday. Mr Griffin was also greeted by a handful of far-right supporters as he arrived with co-defendant Mark Collett.

The BNP leader is charged over a speech he made in West Yorkshire in 2004, which was filmed by an undercover BBC reporter. Mr Collett faces four similar charges relating to two speeches that he made in the town during the same year.

Rodney Jameson QC opened the prosecution’s case by detailing the alleged racist remarks. He said that Mr Griffin had told a crowd at the Reservoir Tavern in Keighley, on January 19 2004, that Islam was a “wicked, vicious faith.” Mr Griffin is also alleged to have said that Asian Muslims were turning Britain into a multiracial “hell” as they tried to conquer the country. Mr Jameson said that Mr Griffin had urged the gathering to vote BNP to ensure that “the British people really realise the evil of what these people have done to our country.”

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‘Muslim degree course is set to cause controversy’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Under that heading this week’s Tribune reports that the University of Chester is to offer a degree in Muslim youth work, which has been developed in collaboration with Muslim agencies.

Ron Geaves, head of theology and religious studies at the university, is quoted as saying: “It seems to me that if ever a community was crying out for more skilled youth workers, it is the Muslim community. There are a huge number of Muslims who work already in the voluntary sector but are not qualified, which limits their career choices.”

Ann Cryer, Labour MP for Keighley, is not impressed. “I get a bit fed up with the idea that we have to have specific things geared to the Muslim community”, she tells Tribune. “Why can’t we have a youth worker working with all youngsters generally?”

Yakoub Islam adds:

In relation to this story, it is worth mentioning that Professor Ron Geaves is an ethnologist who has been working with British Muslim communities for over two decades. His research has seen him spend prolonged periods living within Muslim communities in England, particularly working class Barelwi Muslims who voices are seriously under-represented in every area of British society.

Ann Cryer’s comments are therefore all the more offensive for their willful ignorance, in the face of one of the most authorative academic voices on Muslims in Britain, whose knowledge of the impact of decades of discrimination against Muslims comes first hand. British Muslim communities are dogged by high rates of youth unemployment due to Islamophobia. Many young Muslims feel marginalised by British society. This is reflected in the rates of drug abuse and criminality, such that today Muslims make up 1 in 10 of the prison population in England.

Professor Geaves’ comments reflect his understanding of a desperate need; Anne Cryer’s reflect the bigotry of a desperate and despicable politician.

Camilla hides poppy behind ‘Muslim scarf’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Camilla Hides Poppy“Camilla meanwhile has being coming under fire from the Daily Express for one for not wearing a poppy. Yesterday they declared ‘Islamic Camilla dumps poppy’, because it was chaffing her ‘Muslim scarf’.

“Today, they are moaning that ‘she is wearing one but you can’t see it under Muslim scarf’. As you can see from the picture, she is wearing the traditional Pakistani daputta. This is a Muslim scarf how? The Express would do well to remember before stoking this Islamophobic and racist nonsense that tens of thousands of soldiers from the sub-continent laid down their lives in WWI for their British colonial masters, and if they’re sincere about commemorating the war veterans, then let’s focus on that.”

Osama Saeed at Rolled Up Trousers, 2 November 2006

Self-immolation – a new trend among Islamophobes?

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Angered and distressed by the threat of the evils of Islam to his country, his homeland, his family and his kinfolk a German vicar committed suicide by setting himself alight on Tuesday (31st) in protest. The 73 year old Roland Weisselberg poured petrol over himself and set fire to himself in the Erfurt monastery, where Martin Luther took his monastic vows in 1505. Tuesday was a national holiday in parts of Germany to celebrate the Protestant Reformation. Despite robust efforts by many on the scene who rushed to extinguish the flames, Mr. Weisselberg later died of his injuries. In a farewell letter to his wife the vicar wrote that he was setting himself on fire to warn against the danger of the Islamification of Europe.”

BNP news article, 2 November 2006

We can only hope that Nick Griffin and the entire BNP leadership are inspired to follow Mr Weisselberg’s example.

BNP not racist shock

Posted on by Bob Pitt

bnp-islam-poster“46-year old Nick Griffin is the head of the British National Party, which is sometimes described as ‘far-right’ and demonized in the media.

“Two years ago, he was talking about what he thought about Islam and asylum-seekers. Unbeknownst to Mr Griffin, he was being secretly filmed by the BBC. The comments were then screened on ‘The Secret Agent’, a documentary which was more of a PC smear campaign than an objective assessment of the current BNP party policy….

“The BNP had a previous history of racism from when it first began, but Nick Griffin has moved the party forward like no other figurehead before, and overt ‘racism’ has not featured in any of its documents or policies since he became leader. The party is against immigration, against the culture of giving tax-payers’ money to so-called ‘asylum-seekers’, and most importantly, it is against the spread of Islam.”

Western Resistance, 2 November 2006

Worth noting that the proprietor of this site is also a great admirer of Peter Tatchell.