Say it loud, I’m vile and proud

Shirin Aguiar-Holloway reports on Abdel Sharif Gawad, the BNP candidate in Bradford, whose candidacy has produced dissent within the fascists’ own ranks. Gawad is of Armenian heritage, and his grandfather was a Muslim convert to Christianity.

Paul Maszarof, local TUC activist, said: “They [the BNP] think it’s a good old laugh, ‘Let’s get an Islamic-sounding name and see if we can whip things up.’ It can only be to cause trouble and provoke a response.”

Gerry Gable, head of the anti-fascist monitoring organisation Searchlight, said: “The Bradford organiser has actually resigned over this and some of the activists are refusing to work with this guy. By putting him up, the BNP are trying to pretend they are not really racist. It’s clearly a wind-up to the Muslim community.”

Mr Maszarof added: “They’re going through a different organiser each week. Dozens of their activists are refusing to lift their finger. It’s a fairly spectacular own goal.”

BLINK, 10 April 2006


At least one BNP member is happy with Nick Griffin’s strategy: “Of course some members are going to be upset at this latest move, but they have to realise that the BNP would have never got in unless they did change (and thank God for that), and Nick seems to be changing all the right things, while leaving the important things such as the absolute rejection of islam as anything other than a ‘vile, wicked cult’ in place. And good for him, now we all have a chance at seeing the next century out in a free country, or at least our children do.”

BNP and Me, 8 April 2006

Christian Democrat leader, Wilders reject charge of ‘Islam bashing’

geert wilders (1)AMSTERDAM — Maxime Verhagen, the parliamentary party leader of the Christian Democrat Party (CDA), and MP Geert Wilders have angrily rejected a claim they are guilty of rabble-rousing in the debate over Islam and Sharia Law.

The accusation has been levelled against them by researcher Jan Schoonenboom of the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR). Schoonenboom has spoken out against Verhagen’s call to ban any political parties that advocate Sharia in the Netherlands.

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Rising Islamophobia makes Birmingham fertile ground for BNP

BNP leaflet 3“This party’s for white people, I make no bones about that,” says Simon Darby, the man leading the far right’s expansion in Birmingham.

The British National Party’s regional organiser – already a councillor in nearby Dudley and one of 23 BNP councillors in the country – believes the party can exploit increasing Islamophobia and disillusionment with mainstream political parties to make gains in local elections on 4 May.

The problem with Birmingham, says Mr Darby, is that there are so many non-whites. “Birmingham will become an Islamic city in 10 to 20 years, and to a lot of people that is quite startling, that a city in the middle of England can swap over to sharia law.”

Independent, 8 April 2006

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Tatchell shame over this platform share

Letter in Tribune, 7 April 2006

It is ironic that, only a week after Peter Tatchell’s article attacking the anti-fascist movement in Tribune, he appeared on the platform at the “Freedom of Expression” rally which had the support of the British National Party and Civil Liberty, whose director is Kevin Scott, a BNP organiser and candidate at the 2005 general election.

I am shocked at Tatchell’s decision to speak on this platform. The BNP exists in the tradition of the Nazis, who not only opposed freedom of speech in the abstract, but exterminated millions of people in the death camps. The BNP denies the reality of the Holocaust and calls for an all-white Britain.

As the secretary of the National Assembly Against Racism, I will unite with everyone who will fight against fascism so that such murderous policies can never be pursued in Britain, even if I profoundly differ with them on many other questions.

Had he attended the Unite Against Fascism conference he would know that this very point was made by almost every speaker, including the Muslim Council of Britain.

Lee Jasper

The Bolsheviks and Islam

“Faced with a possible disaster in Iraq, the political establishment has closed ranks to scapegoat Islam. On the day of the London bombings in July 2005, Blair’s foreign secretary Jack Straw set the tone for a renewed onslaught, crudely dismissing any connection with Iraq. Solidarity with Muslims in the anti-war movement has been pilloried by the right’s most effective allies – critics with left-liberal credentials. The response to the racist cartoons published in European newspapers has highlighted the extent of Islamophobia in so called liberal circles – and confusion on the left.”

Dave Crouch in International Socialism No.110, Spring 2006

Regarding the Bolsheviks’ practice in government, Crouch writes:

“Sharia law had been a central demand of Muslims during the February Revolution of 1917 and, as the civil war drew to a close in 1920-1921, a parallel court system was created in Central Asia and the Caucasus, with Islamic courts administering justice in accordance with sharia law side by side with Soviet legal institutions. The aim was for people to have a choice between religious and revolutionary justice.

“A Sharia Commission was established in the Soviet Commissariat of Justice to oversee the system. In 1921 a series of commissions were attached to regional units of the Soviet administration with the purpose of adapting the Russian legal code to the conditions of Central Asia, allowing for compromise between the two systems on questions such as under-age marriage and polygamy.”

A million miles away from the Islamophobic absurdities of Maryam Namazie, Homa Arjomand and their fellow sectarians in the Worker Communist Party of Iran, you’d have to agree.

Liars and their lies

Fascist at MFE“Brett Lock of Outrage is free and easy with accusations of lies, when tilting at the Socialist Action windmill. He would do well to observe that there is little point in lecturing others about your own sins. Notwithstanding his claim that the BNP ‘boycotted’ the rally over ‘free speech’, the BNP’s own site, and its Civil Liberty front, are quite clear. They supported the rally and their members attended. One of the bourgeois liberals that Lock makes mention of, Johann Hari, is quite open about the fact that he marched with fascists.”

Letter from Tony Greenstein in the Weekly Worker, 6 April 2006

See also the letter from Ian Donovan.

Meanwhile, having backed Tatchell’s decision to share a platform with hard right-wingers and racists, Lock continues to defend Outrage’s call for the Muslim Council of Britain to be denied a speaker at the Unite Against Fascism conference in February. There is, Lock explains, no real difference between the MCB and the fascists: “a BNP success in the local elections would be catastrophic, but frankly, given current indicators, the success of an MCB-aligned candidate could be equally disastrous for gay people”.

Lock & Load, 6 April 2006

A testing time for immigrants

A new entrance test for would-be immigrants to the Netherlands has been condemned by some as Islamophobic and detrimental to the country’s economy. The “civic integration” test, part of a broader government policy shift on immigration, came into effect in February.

It includes the compulsory viewing of a film which includes scenes of gay men kissing and topless women. Critics say the film, which forms part of a study pack for would-be immigrants, is designed to discourage applicants from Muslim countries who may be offended by its content.

Arzu Merali, spokeswoman for the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, says the test indicates that Muslims are not welcome. People seeking entrance from other EU countries, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan do not have to take it.

“Sadly the Dutch authorities are now openly exhibiting the type of Islamophobia that sends a very clear message to wider society,” Merali said. She said the message is that new Muslim immigrants are unwelcome, as are those already present who do not conform to a uniform idea of a Dutch citizen.

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‘Freedom of speech’

Padraig Reidy of the New Humanist has a go at Denis Fernando, Socialist Action, Respect, the Muslim Association of Britain and Eamonn McCann – all in one short Tribune piece. Needless to say, they’re all guilty of “selling out political ideals to religion”. By which, of course, he means “Islam”.

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