Athens mosque blocked again

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Golden Dawn anti-mosque protestThe saga of the Athens mosque, the realization of which has been delayed for years and seemed a settled issue last November, continues. Work for the construction of the Muslim temple has been blocked again, this time by political maneuvers and an appeal presented by a university teacher, two navy officials, a cultural association and the ultra-conservative bishop of the Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, all of whom are against the presence of the worshipping place in the Greek capital, the only one in Europe still without a temple for its more than 200,000 residents of Muslim faith.

Precisely because of the legal recourse – and the fear that a judge may rule for the complainants – the infrastructure ministry has made it known that it has not yet signed the contract to carry out the 946,000 euro project on which the tender was won five months ago by the consortium composed of four of the largest Hellenic businesses: Aktor, Terna, JP & Avax and Intrakat. The preceding four tenders for assigning construction were not successfully completed since the participating companies withdrew after threats and intimidation received from extremist right-wing groups, like the neo-Nazi Chrysi Avgì (Golden Dawn) party and residents of the Votanikos neighborhood, where the place of worship is supposed to be built, all of whom are contrary to the presence of Muslims in their zone in fear that it could become a gathering place for Islamic extremists or even a “den of terrorists”.

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Far-right campaign against Muslim councillor falls flat

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Councillor Dipu AhadPolice investigating a city councillor for sending an allegedly racist message on social media have dropped their case against him.

Dipu Ahad, who represents Newcastle’s Elswick ward, was quizzed by Northumbria Police after members of the public complained he had retweeted an image racially targeting the far-right English Defence League. But the case was dropped over a lack of evidence and Mr Ahad denies the tweet had racist overtones.

He said: “I’m glad that the Crown Prosecution Service have seen sense and they realise what I do in the community and that the tweet wasn’t racist. I’m not saying that I didn’t retweet it, but sometimes you tweet something and it comes up as a link and the picture doesn’t come up. This has been a campaign against me from the far right. It is sad that the police have questioned me over this.”

The message is alleged to have been shared on Twitter by the Muslim father-of-two on March 10 and contains an image of a loaf of bread containing the words ‘white’ and ‘thick’ on its packaging. Shortly afterwards, he was questioned by the police and spoken to by senior staff at Newcastle City Council after two members of the public complained.

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New probe launched into Birmingham Trojan Horse leaks

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Officials at the Department for Education and Ofsted are under investigation over leaks in the Trojan Horse inquiry.

Birmingham Council leader Sir Albert Bore said the Cabinet Office was investigating the unauthorised release of information to a national newspaper. He spoke after reports claimed that six city schools were to be put into special measures following the Trojan Horse probe.

“Leaks to the press at this time are in my view wholly reprehensible and completely unacceptable,” Sir Albert said. “A leak inquiry is being undertaken by the Cabinet Office which I understand will be thorough.”

The Sunday Telegraph revealed that six inner city schools would be put into special measures when Ofsted published its findings early next month.

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Education trust accused of Islamist ‘Trojan Horse plot’ receives hate mail

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Park View schoolThe trust that runs schools at the centre of claims of a Islamist “plot” in Birmingham says it has received hate mail after a series of leaks purporting to come from Department for Education and Ofsted investigations were published in the media.

Park View education trust, the governing body of the Park View, Nansen and Golden Hillock schools in Birmingham, said that the leaks and disclosures were “causing unwarranted and unnecessary alarm amongst families who are seeing reports of their schools ‘closing’ and teachers being ‘removed’ alongside any number of other sensational allegations.

“And just this morning one of our schools received hate mail, which we can only conclude is a direct consequence of media reporting,” it said.

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Teachers complain about behaviour of Ofsted inspectors investigating ‘plot’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Teachers from Birmingham schools being investigated by Ofsted over an alleged Islamist takeover plot have reportedly been told their schools will be downgraded because they were “not teaching anti-terrorism”.

Other teachers were asked by Ofsted inspectors if they were homophobic, according to Roger King, the National Union of Teachers’ executive member for Birmingham, who said he had received complaints from members whose schools were being investigated in one of several inquiries into the alleged plot. “You do question how objective Ofsted were when they went into those schools,” King said.

The claims come as Sir Michael Wilshaw, the chief inspector of schools in England, announced he was going to Birmingham to take personal charge of the investigation into 16 schools in the city, amid media reports claiming all the schools had been downgraded after visits by Ofsted inspectors.

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Islamic extremism a ‘deadly’ problem for charities, William Shawcross says

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Islamist extremism is the “most deadly” problem charities face, the chairman of the sector’s watchdog has said.

William Shawcross, who took on the role at the Charity Commission in October 2012, said it was “ludicrous” that people with convictions for terrorism or money laundering were not automatically disqualified from setting up charities or becoming trustees. He said he has written to the prime minister, David Cameron, to ask for changes to the law.

Shawcross told the Sunday Times the commission was taking tough measures against any charity that was “sending cash to extremist groups in Syria” or “dispatching young Britons for training in Syria by al-Qaida or other extremist groups”.

In his first interview since becoming chairman, he said: “The problem of Islamist extremism and charities … is not the most widespread problem we face in terms of abuse of charities, but is potentially the most deadly. And it is, alas, growing.

“I’m sure that in places like Syria and Somalia it is very, very difficult for agencies always to know what the end use of their aid is, but they’ve got to be particularly vigilant.”

Observer, 20 April 2014

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Posted in UK

Man who shot at Illinois mosque sentenced to probation

Posted on by Bob Pitt

David ConradA man accused of firing a high-powered pellet gun at a Morton Grove mosque in 2012 was sentenced to 30 months probation after pleading guilty Friday.

David Conrad, 51, pleaded guilty to felony reckless discharge of a firearm and knowingly damaging school property, court records show. Judge Garritt E. Howard sentenced Conrad to 30 months probation, records show.

The incident happened about 9 p.m. Aug. 10, 2012, while worshippers were celebrating the holy month of Ramadan at the Muslim Education Center, 8601 N. Menard Ave., police and mosque officials said at the time.

Though the damage to the building was minor, there were about 500 people inside the mosque for prayers at the time of the shooting, and many kids from the congregation were outside of the building during the service, the Sun-Times previously reported.

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