Reports and comment from Islamophobia Watch 1‑7 December

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Reports and comment from Islamophobia Watch 1‑7 December 2014

Swiss police probe arson at Islamic centre

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Flums Islamic centre arson

Swiss police say they’re investigating a suspected case of arson at an Islamic center in eastern Switzerland.

Police in the canton (state) of St. Gallen said a man on his way to morning prayers reported a broken window and a smoldering fire early Sunday at the Islamic-Albanian cultural center in the town of Flums.

They say firefighters quickly brought the fire under control and an initial investigation suggested it was set deliberately. No one was hurt and police say they have no indication who may be responsible.

Continue reading →

Another far-right Facebook fraud

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Luton Muslims confront Choudary's supporters

This is the latest in our occasional series of misleading far-right Facebook memes (see also here and here). It was posted yesterday on the English Defence League’s Facebook page, with the evident aim of inciting fury among EDL supporters about the supposed Muslim takeover of the UK.

In that regard it was highly successful. Here are the comments the post provoked.

They range from anti-migrant rhetoric (“Enoch Powell was right about immigration. Look what has become of Britain”), through crude racist abuse (“look at the smelly rag head wearing scum bags”, “Disgusting Muzzrats”, “Packie twats”), to open calls for violence (“Crush the Muslim religion! Burn them!”, “Filthy sand monkeys need a bomb placing in the middle of them!!”, “Me+gun+plenty of bullets= problem solved”).

Continue reading →

Franklin Graham: ‘Islam is a religion of war’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Franklin GrahamThe son of Billy Graham who now heads his father’s evangelistic organisation has described Islam as a “religion of war” and urged Christians to attempt to convert Muslims to their own faith.

Franklin Graham, the fourth of Billy Graham’s five children, said he had not softened his stance since he controversially referred to Islam as a “very wicked and evil religion” in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 that brought down the World Trade Centre in New York.

More recently, he criticised The Episcopal Church’s National Cathedral in Washington for permitting its first Muslim prayer service. On his Facebook page he wrote: “It’s sad to see a church open its doors to the worship of anything other than the One True God of the Bible who sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to earth to save us from our sins.”

His views contrast with those of the Pope, who on his recent three-day visit to Turkey was moved to pray alongside Grand Mufti Rahmi Yaran in Istanbul’s Blue Mosque. Beside working to build better relations with Muslims, Pope Francis is also reaching out to evangelicals, a move which came about because of his friendship with the late Bishop Tony Palmer, a charismatic of the Communion of Evangelical Episcopal Churches.

Franklin Graham told Christian Today that his own views on Islam remained the same as in 2001. “I have not changed my opinion at all.” He said he looked at Islamic State, at the Taliban and Boko Haram and thought: “This is Islam. It has not been hijacked by radicals. This is the faith, this is the religion. It is what it is. It speaks for itself.”

Continue reading →

Jail for Leeds thug who threw can of alcohol over Muslim woman

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Kravier FreemanAn Islamophobic thug who threw a can of alcohol over a Muslim woman and her child as they walked along the street has been sent to jail.

Kravier Freeman hurled foul-mouthed racist abuse and threatened the woman with a butcher’s knife during the incident in Leeds.

Leeds Crown Court heard that the victim was a young white woman who had converted to Islam and married a Muslim man. Freeman targeted the 21-year-old as she walked past his home on Berkeley View, Harehills, on July 5, this year.

Freeman, 31, was out of prison at the time of the incident and had been drinking heavily throughout the day with others. The victim was walking home with her son after getting food from a takeaway at around 8.30pm.

Nick Addlington, prosecuting, said Freeman approached the woman and said: “Why are you with a p***? Why are you wearing those clothes? You are not a Muslim!” Freeman then followed her down the street and called her a “Muslim bitch” before throwing the can of alcohol over her and her child.

The woman asked Freeman why he was behaving like that and he replied: “Because I hate Muslims.” Freeman then produced a sliver butcher’s knife and began waving it around as children stood close by. He then said: “Watch what I am going to do when your husband comes out.”

Continue reading →

Detective warned reporter not to investigate Ukip politician

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Gerard Batten website

Scotland Yard is investigating claims that a serving police officer perverted the course of justice by warning journalists against writing about the “political affairs” of a Ukip MEP.

Detective Constable Tony Holden sent an unsolicited email to two reporters from The Sunday Times and The Independent after they contacted Gerard Batten over the London MEP’s alleged links to far-right political organisations and proposed anti-Muslim policies, including banning halal meat.

Continue reading →

Zionist Federation cancels Mordechai Kedar lectures … but only at schools

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Mordechai Kedar with Geller and Spencer at SION conference
Mordechai Kedar with Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer at a Stop Islamization of Nations conference in 2012

The Zionist Federation this week cancelled appearances at three Jewish schools by an outspoken Israeli academic following concerns about his links to an anti-Islamist activist banned from Britain.

Dr Mordechai Kedar, an expert on Israeli Arabs who regularly appears to defend Israel on Arabic stations such as Al Jazeera, was due to begin a speaking tour on Wednesday night. But ZF chairman Paul Charney said that he had removed the schools from the tour after the intervention of the Board of Deputies.

Dr Kedar, who lectures at Bar-Ilan University, has spoken at events organised by Stop the Islamisation of Nations, founded by the Jewish American Pamela Geller, who was banned from Britain last year in a move supported by the Board of Deputies.

At a 2012 Sion conference, where speakers also included Tommy Robinson, then of the English Defence League, Dr Kedar urged Europeans to have more babies. Muslims, he declared, were “multiplying – somebody said [like] rats”.

The Board had said “their biggest concern would be about him visiting schools”, Mr Charney explained. “To which I replied that I would pull him from the schools so as not to have an argument, to which they replied they were glad to reach accommodation on this.”

Continue reading →

Proposed mosque site in Sydney’s south-west attacked by vandals

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Padstow mosque vandalism (1)

Vandals have caused an estimated $50,000 worth of damage to a proposed mosque site in Padstow in south-west Sydney. The 6,000 square metre industrial site on Enterprise Avenue has become the target of anti-Muslim groups as the factory has been peppered with anti-Islam and race hate stickers. The United Muslims of Australia (UMA) purchased the site in July this year in the hope of turning it into a mosque and multi-purpose community centre.

UMA estimated the damage will cost about $50,000 to repair due to severe damage to electrical systems. “The place has been ransacked, they’ve gone right through and ripped out all the electrical,” UMA operations officer Mohammad Kourouche said. “They’ve ripped out all the power, electricity and generators, they’ve taken the nuts and bolts out of everything and probably caused about $50,000 worth of damage.”

Shaykh Shady Alsuleiman from UMA said the incidents were disheartening. “Unfortunately we had a few incidents on that site, a break and enter, vandalism and anti-Islamic stickers stuck on the place and we’re very upset to hear that,” he said. “It was very saddening and disheartening to see that some of the local members were unhappy with the presence of the UMA in Padstow. It is very unfortunate that the religion and race has been dragged into this Islamophobia and this backlash within the Padstow community.”

Continue reading →

Muslim-hating man rams Missouri teen with SUV, severing his legs and killing him

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Quran is a virus disease woreste than Ebola

A 15-year-old boy died on Thursday night in spite of doctors’ efforts to save his life after he was deliberately struck by a car in a collision that severed both of his legs.

According to Kansas City, Missouri’s WDAF-TV, the boy was exiting the Somali Center of Kansas City with a friend when a driver in his 30s rammed his car into them both. The driver reportedly targeted the boys because of their Muslim faith.

The attack took place on Thursday at around 5:30 p.m. as the boys were getting into a parked car.

“It became pretty clear that this was not an accidental crash, there is a considerable amount of evidence that leads us to believe it was intentional,” said Sergeant Bill Mahoney of the Kansas City Police Department.

The second boy was not seriously hurt in the impact, but the deceased 15-year-old’s legs were severed at the scene and he reportedly lost a tremendous amount of blood. Paramedics rushed him to Children’s Mercy Hospital where a surgical team labored in vain to save him.

Continue reading →

‘Vile bigot’ sent faeces-smeared cards to Cornwall Islamic Community Centre

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Eric King outside Truro Magistrates' Court.Angry about the Islamic State mass murders and beheadings he had seen in the news, a man took out his fury on an Islamic Community Centre at Carnon Downs, sending grossly offensive cards there which he had smeared with his dog’s faeces.

One of the pictures showed Allah having intercourse with a pig, and another, a naked woman sitting on an Islamic State flag, both containing offensive messages.

The sender, 60-year-old Eric King, of Wheal Eliza Close, St Austell, who was said to have a bad heart and needed to walk with a stick, pleaded guilty to sending an indecent or grossly offensive letter to Tipu Choudhury at the Cornwall Islamic Community Centre and sending two indecent or grossly offensive messages on Facebook.

Alison May, for the CPS, said Mr Choudhury was the general secretary at the community centre in Carnon Downs where there was a designated Muslim prayer area. He received an envelope in the post containing two cards with pictures on them and offensive messages, and smelling of excrement.

One of the messages on Facebook claimed it was sacrilege for the centre to have replaced the former Christian church which was there with what he described as the evil of the Muslim religion, saying: “Get out of the country”.

When he was seen by the police, King said: “There will be a war soon”. He said he did not like anything to do with Islam and saw Facebook as a mechanism for him to have a voice. “They can preach against us, why not us against them?” He had a previous conviction for assaulting a police officer and for harassment.

Continue reading →