Across the UK, serious violent racial attacks are still on the increase, as are incidents of persistent “low-level” harrassment – of people, their homes, and businesses.
July bombings – blame them on Islam says Geoffrey Alderman
Geoffrey Alderman addresses the causes of the July bombings. He rejects as mere rationalisation an Al-Qaida statement claiming the attacks were in response to Britain’s participation in the invasion of Iraq, and argues that the bombings were in fact inspired by Islam.
Muslim convert rejects radical label
British Muslim, Abdur Raheem Green, has been blocked from coming to Australia. Mr Green attempted to board a plane from Sri Lanka to Wellington on Monday. The plane was due to make a one-hour stop in Brisbane en route. “I was told I could not board because the plane had to stop in Australia,” Mr Green told The Australian.
A man described by some Australian media as one of Britain’s most radical Muslim converts starts a speaking tour today for New Zealand Islamic Awareness Week. Abdur Raheem Green, who rejects the radical label, had been due to speak at the Auckland University of Technology on Monday but the public lecture was cancelled because he had to change his flight plans when he was refused entry to Brisbane for a one-hour stopover. Mr Green said he was told when checking in at Sri Lanka about three days ago that he could not land in Brisbane but was given no reason by the Australian High Commission.
New Zealand Herald, 9 August 2005
See also ABC News, 11 August 2005
The ban followed a right-wing campaign against Abdur Raheem Green, aimed at depicting him as a violent extremist.
College cuts ties with Islamic institute
“A University has severed its ties with an Islamic college alleged to have links with a radical cleric who is likely to be banned from entering Britain”, the Times reports. Yes, it’s another attack on Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
UK majority back multiculturalism
The majority of British people think multiculturalism makes the country a better place, a BBC poll suggests. But 32% think it “threatens the British way of life” and 54% think “parts of the country don’t feel like Britain any more because of immigration”.
SSP backs Muslim Association of Britain London demonstration
The Scottish Socialist Party Executive last night unanimously agreed to support the call by the Muslim Association of Britain for an all Britain demonstration on 24th September in support of civil liberties, support for the victims of the London bombings, the condemnation of terrorism and in solidarity with the Muslim community in Britain.
Two of the SSP’s MSPs, Colin Fox and Tommy Sheridan will speak at public meetings in Edinburgh and Glasgow in the run up to the demonstration.
Colin Fox, SSP national convenor, today highlighted the headlong assault on civil liberties by the New Labour government since the July 7th London bombings and the massive rise in anti Muslim racism that has swept the UK in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.
Religious hate crimes, mostly against Muslims, have risen six-fold in London since the bombings, figures show. There were 269 religious hate crimes in the three weeks after 7 July, compared with 40 in the same period of 2004.
Racist attacks in Scotland have risen by almost a quarter since the London bombings, according to police figures. There were 438 incidents reported from 7 July to the end of the month. That was up by 79 on last year, with 64 of those directly linked to the bombings.
Colin said today: “The SSP unequivocally denounced the terrorist bombs in London immediately after the attacks and we do so again today. These were acts of barbarism that have no place in society and the fact that amongst those killed were several devout Muslims shows that the bombers were in no way a part of the Muslim community a whole.
“The headlong rush into repressive legislation by the government must be resisted by all progressive forces in society; repression will never defeat terrorism as 30 years of history in Northern Ireland shows. The legislation the government is proposing is absolutely draconian and the SSP will be joining with the Muslim Association of Britain and other organisations in opposing this grave threat to our civil liberties.
“We stand together with the Muslim community in opposing the wave of racism and anti Muslim violence that has swept the country following the bombings in London. The SSP calls on all it’s members and supporters to make their voice heard in opposition to racism and Islamophobia and against the draconian measures being put forward by the New Labour government.”
‘Muslims are not cockroaches’
It may like to call itself proudly the “birthplace of human rights”, but when it comes to dealing with Islamist clerics, France is rarely reluctant to set such scruples aside.
The country waited only days after the London bombings before summarily expelling its first two radical preachers. It has since sent two more packing and plans to deport a total of some two dozen by the end of this month.
Underlining a longstanding difference in approach between London and Paris, an interior ministry official said France had “no problem whatsoever” in deporting anyone accused of inflaming anti-western feeling – even if they had French citizenship and were formally recognised as preachers by the Muslim community.
The planned arrests and expulsions follow repeated statements by the interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, since the July 7 London attacks that France “must and will act against radical preachers capable of influencing the youngest and most weak-minded”.
Fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, that in Britain have, until very recently, protected the controversial clerics, count for precious little in France when the speech concerned is considered an incitement to hatred or violence.
Students rebuff Blair
Students at Middlesex University have this week reiterated their decision to allow the Islamic organisation Hizb ut Tahrir to continue its activities on campus, despite moves by the Government to ban the group.
Keith Shilson, president of the Students’ Union, said: “If Tony Blair wants to ban an organisation known to be responsible for acts of violence, he should ban the British National Party, not a non-violent Muslim organisation. The union wishes to uphold a policy that prevents Islamophobia on its campuses, and Hizb ut Tahrir is neither an extremist group, nor a group that supports terrorism. The organisation rejected the July 7 attacks, issuing a statement that said the bombings had no justification and were illegal according to Islamic law.”
Anti-Muslim hate crime on rise in Wales
A Muslim woman has described her fear during a racist attack on her Cardiff home, as a UK-wide study into the effects of hate crime is launched.
The £100,000 Victim Support research project aims to develop new guidelines and support for victims of hate and race crime. It comes as Muslims in Wales face rising levels of violence and intimidation after the London bombings. In July, animal parts and a racist letter were left at a Cardiff mosque. And on Wednesday, a Muslim woman, who did not want to be identified, told BBC Wales how her home had been attacked last week.
She said: “We were sitting in our living room when we heard this man shouting outside our door. He was throwing things, picking up stones from our front garden and throwing them at our door and our window. And then he smashed a section of our double-glazed window. He was shouting [a series of abusive names]. It was quite scary, because we didn’t know what he had. My niece was sleeping in the front room.
“We don’t feel secure at all. When you are in the house you are always fearing whether someone will come in or try and force their way in. They can do anything, they can put things in our letter boxes. And when you go out, you are always paranoid, always looking around and people do give you funny looks anyway, especially since the London bombings.
“You kind of think ‘I shouldn’t wear traditional clothing just in case somebody makes a comment, I’d rather fit in with the crowd and look more westernised’ and I don’t like doing that. I’m British but I’m also Pakistani. I’m Muslim and that’s my culture.”
Asians hurt in attack
Asian teenagers violently assaulted by racist thugs in a mindless reprisal for the London bombings were not even followers of Islam.
The revelation came as Sutton police disclosed the vicious revenge assault on the five innocent Asians who were sitting in Gillian Park in Sutton Common Road on Friday, July 29. The attack left one victim with a broken jaw needing a metal plate and stitches above his eye, and another with six stitches in his lip. Two more victims were treated for cuts, bruises and swellings in hospital.
Detective Inspector Michael Smith, of the Sutton police community safety unit, said: “This was an appalling unprovoked attack, based on ignorance. We are absolutely sure this was a reprisal attack. The attackers in Sutton were accusing their victims of being responsible for the bombings in London. They thought anyone who had dark skin would be Muslim.”