BNP mosque leaflet dismissed as ‘rubbish’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A plea for racial tolerance has been made after a British National Party leaflet claimed people in a West town had been denied the chance to comment before a “mosque” was given planning approval.

Plans for an Islamic centre above and behind a kebab shop in Yeovil was given planning permission in 2003 after an application was made for a change of use from office to religious meeting rooms.

The BNP leaflet claimed the public should have been told the use was specifically for an Islamic centre or mosque, and that failure to do so showed a “culture of institutionalised silence and deceit” by officials and councillors. The leaflet, promoted by Robert Baehr, a BNP candidate in South Somerset district council elections, has already been delivered to hundreds of homes in Yeovil.

Candidates from other parties yesterday dismissed the BNP’s claim as “rubbish”. John Grana, one of 12 candidates standing under the banner of the Central Committee, Local Residents Working Together, said:

“This sort of leaflet is laughable and divisive. We stand for religious tolerance and freedom of thought. Yeovil welcomes people from everywhere. If I trace my own ancestry, I find Italian, Irish, Scottish and English blood. There is a richness in the mix we have.”

Simon Gale, the council’s head of development and building control, said: “In planning terms there is no requirement to state the distinctive religious use.”

Western Daily Press, 25 April 2007

Giuliani plays the Islamic terror card

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Maybe Rudy Giuliani could be forgiven for trying out various stump speeches on his Republican audiences now that his campaign for President is up and running. But the message he is delivering as he tours New Hampshire needs to be rejected, indeed repudiated, because as Barak Obama noted Giuliani’s stump speech reached a new low in American political discourse. Reports just in from New Hampshire (4.24.07) suggest that Giuliani thinks the issue he has been pushing may be pure electoral gold: the fear which he believes American voters have of Islamic Terrorism.”

Counterpunch, 26 April 2007

Terror leaks: both Home Office and police implicated

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Al Qaeda Behind PlotThe row over allegations that lives were endangered by leaks about major anti-terrorism operations deepened last night as it emerged that there were a series of disclosures about one highly sensitive investigation.

As Tony Blair rejected calls for an inquiry, and Liberal Democrats called upon the police to investigate, it emerged that journalists received up to three separate briefings about an allegation that a group of men was planning to abduct and behead a Muslim British soldier.

The Guardian has been told that an aide to John Reid, the home secretary, was responsible for one of those leaks, and has also learnt that there is strong suspicion among the highest-ranking police at Scotland Yard that one of their own officers also briefed the media. The controversy centres on a series of raids which led to nine arrests across Birmingham in February. Six men were subsequently charged with a number of terrorist offences.

Defence lawyers are expected to argue that it will be impossible for any of the men arrested in Birmingham to receive a fair trial as a consequence of the leaks at the time of their arrest. One lawyer, Tayab Ali, said he had been told by a senior West Midlands officer that the disclosures may have been an offence under the Official Secrets Act.

Guardian, 26 April 2007

Now Muslims can wear veils in ‘our’ courts

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Veils in 'our' courts“Muslim women were yesterday given the full backing of the law to wear veils in court – even if they are standing trial for crimes. Defendants who are told they must remove their face-covering garment could even be allowed to give evidence in secret so as not to offend them. Senior judges ruled that religious dress – including the full niqab which leaves only the eyes exposed – should be allowed for anyone involved in a court case unless justice is threatened….

“Last night critics said the guidance undermines the most basic of principles – that justice must be seen to be done. Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘People are entitled to see what is going on. All this pussy-footing around, judges have no comprehension of the damage they’re doing for community cohesion by coming out with this barmy stuff’.”

Daily Express, 25 April 2007

See also the Express editorial, headed “Disgraceful veil rule will fuel further anger”, which opines:

“The decision to give the green light for full-face veils to be worn in court by lawyers, witnesses and even defendants drives a coach and horses – or should that be a camel train? – through British legal tradition…. On Monday the Treasury announced it will set up sharia-approved financial products especially for Muslims. Yesterday the legal establishment took the first step towards allowing British Muslims to regulate their interactions with the courts according to sharia law. The British people will not put up with these crazy acts of cultural surrender for much longer.”

Indistinguishable from the sort of thing you might read on the BNP website, isn’t it?

Muslim women glad Hirsi Ali quit Netherlands

Posted on by Bob Pitt

For three years Somali-born Ayaan Hirsi Ali galvanized Dutch society with a frank account of her traumatic past and her conviction that Islam is a violent, misogynous religion.

That conviction led to death threats, the murder of her associate, filmmaker Theo van Gogh and, her critics say, the alienation of precisely those she aimed to engage as relations between Muslims and non-Muslims deteriorated as never before.

Now almost a year since the former Dutch parliamentarian hit headlines worldwide for admitting she lied to gain asylum in the Netherlands, many of the Dutch-Muslim women Hirsi Ali sought to stir and inspire state bluntly they are relieved she is gone.

The 37-year-old now works for a U.S. think-tank, while her international profile as an ex-Muslim critic of Islam soars.

“I am glad that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is gone, because now the tone has softened, it has become less extreme and tensions have eased,” said Nermin Altintas, who runs an education centre for migrant women.

Hirsi Ali is held responsible by many in the Muslim community for “Islamising” the Netherlands’ migrants, polarizing communities and diverting attention from those trying to boost integration in what they see as a more constructive approach.

“Let her call one woman forward and show how she really helped her,” said Famile Arslan, a 35-year-old family lawyer. “We worked for 10, 15, 20 years to help emancipate Muslim women… and she stole the respect we should have had as grass-roots movements working for change.”

Reuters, 24 April 2007

‘Hijab: a political symbol’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Re: ‘The hijab is more than a head cover; Around the world similar head gear provides security and a tie to culture’ (Opinion, April 23). The hijab is indeed more than head cover. In some countries it is a symbol of what patriarchal societies do to dominate and oppress women. Something to celebrate here in Hamilton on the McMaster campus? I think not. The hijab in the West is more a cultural and political symbol than it is religious apparel. In some cases it represents the most radical and fundamentalist political views of Islam today.”

Letter in Hamilton Spectator, 25 April 2007

Uncovering being Muslim in post-9/11 Melbourne

Posted on by Bob Pitt

With a predominantly Islamic population, Indonesia’s Muslims see their faith reflected at every turn: in media, in government policy, in education, even in fashion and food. But next door in Australia things are very different.

With little more than 1 percent of its population Islamic, there is little or no reflection of Australian Muslim society, except when something goes wrong. And that lack of positive societal recognition for one particular religious group is causing social ostracism for many Australian Muslims, particularly in these years following Sept. 11, 2001.

The fallout from that disaster half a world away has shaken Australia’s multicultural foundations, with ordinary Australian Muslims made social pariahs, as Chinese-Indonesians were denied Indonesian citizenship rights until recently, and as many Australian Aborigines are given unequal treatment simply for being black.

Jakarta Post, 24 April 2007

Fascists hold mass demonstration in Barking & Dagenham (not)

Posted on by Bob Pitt

BNP St George's DayAs part of its campaign to defend “English culture” against the rampaging Islamic hordes, the British National Party organised a St George’s Day celebration in its stronghold of Barking & Dagenham.

Though the fascists claim that “over 100 supporters” joined their parade, I can only count about 20 adults and a handful of children. Don’t know what happened to the rest of them. And check out the green costume, which I think is supposed to be a dragon.

As a theatrical spectacle, this event clearly fell somewhat short of the Nuremberg rallies.

More pics of the fearsome dragon here.