Support for Lincoln anti-racism rally, despite far right disruptions

Posted on by Bob Pitt

LARF rally

Tensions were high at an anti-racism rally in Lincoln on Wednesday night as far right supporters targeted the meeting.

The Lincoln Against Racism and Fascism (LARF) campaign group hosted the ‘Rally Against Racism’ meeting at the Lincoln Labour Club on Newland on January 15, ahead of the planned ‘March Against Racism’ on January 18 – at the same time as the East Anglian Patriots’ second anti-mosque protest.

In the hours before the meeting, the venue was plastered with National Front stickers, which have now been removed.

Around 20 people attended the meeting, which was briefly interrupted by shouting from outside the building.

Two men, wearing Union Jack hats, were asked to leave after they demanded entry, saying: “We’re not here to throw punches, even though some people wanted to come and smash them to bits. It’s all going to come to a head on Saturday.” The men were removed by police.

LARF spokesperson Nick Parker said: “The attempt to delay the proceedings and intimidate us should not be ignored. We will not be intimidated into remaining silent when the far-right organises in our communities, and we won’t ignore their threat and hope they’ll go away.

“We’re calling for everyone to come out onto the streets and join us on Saturday to mobilise against the racism and division that the far-right seeks to spread.”

Steve Score, an anti-racism activist from Leicester, made a guest speech at the rally. He said: “Groups like the East Anglian Patriots cannot be just ignored and hoped to go away. I hope that, at the very least, the demonstration on Saturday shows that there is opposition to these groups coming to Lincoln to try and stir things up.”

Continue reading →

South Carolina: Man pleads guilty to gunfire near Muslim village

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Residents of a Muslim community near York remain concerned for their safety even after a neighbor – who had denied shooting weapons nearby and shouting threats, obscenities and racial slurs before Christmas – pleaded guilty in court.

“Any time someone fires weapons and uses racial slurs, it is a problem,” said Saeed Shakir, mayor of the Islamville community northeast of York. “We are no different than anyone else. We treat people with respect, and we expect to be safe in our homes and on our property.”

Some residents at Islamville, a rural enclave of hundreds of Muslims who have lived there for more than three decades, consider the actions of Joshua Allan Casey, who is white, terrorism and hatred toward the group over religion and race.

In the Dec. 21 incident, Islamville residents called York County Sheriff’s deputies after hearing gunfire and someone yelling racial slurs. When deputies found Casey, 37, walking out of the woods nearby, they smelled alcohol on his breath, according to a sheriff’s report.

Continue reading →

Robust policing set for second Lincoln mosque protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Robust policing will be in place in Lincoln city centre on Saturday, January 18, for a planned anti-mosque protest and an anti-racism counter demo.

Lincolnshire Police and City of Lincoln Council said they have carefully planned resources to minimise the impact on residents and shoppers during the two protests.

The East Anglian Patriots will hold an anti-mosque protest in Lincoln from 12.45pm to 1.45pm, the second protest after an initial demo in the city in June 2013.

Continue reading →

Cricklewood protest against ‘terrorist’ Muslim Brotherhood

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Britain First Cricklewood protestA far-right organisation is planning to hold a protest outside the headquarters of a major Egyptian political group in Cricklewood on Saturday.

Members of Britain First (BF) plan to march into the borough following revelations that Muslim Brotherhood (MB) are operating from a flat above shops in Cricklewood Broadway.

MB was a praised political group in Egypt but were ousted from power amid popular demonstrations. They are believed to be launching a fight-back against Egypt’s military rulers from their new home.

Continue reading →

Judge rules in favor of Muslim woman on no-fly list

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Rahinah Ibrahim (2)A Muslim woman now living in Malaysia struck a blow to the U.S. government’s “no-fly list” when a federal judge ruled Tuesday (Jan. 14) that the government violated her due process rights by putting her on the list without telling her why.

Muslims and civil rights advocates say the no-fly list disproportionately targets Muslims, and they hope the ruling will force the government to become more transparent about the highly secretive program.

“Justice has finally been done for an innocent woman who was wrongly ensnared in the government’s flawed watch listing system,” Elizabeth Pipkin, a lawyer representing Rahinah Ibrahim, said in a statement.

Continue reading →

Scottish Defence League plans anti-mosque protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Scottish Defence League is planning to demonstrate at Eastwood high school.

On Saturday January 25, members of the controversial group intend to gather to voice their concerns about a proposal to build a mosque in school grounds. The council decision on the subject is set for January 29.

An East Renfrewshire spokesman described the decision to demonstrate as “damaging to our communities and without local support”.

He continued: “A consultation with local residents around changes to a proposed site for a mosque has recently concluded. While there has been opposition to the site identified, the majority who disagreed were opposed only to a particular site and continue to support the view that a mosque is required in East Renfrewshire.

“This has been a robust consultation process on a local planning matter and nothing more. The attention of SDL is shameful and entirely for their own ends.”

Continue reading →

Head says Lennon’s school visit would have been ‘a good opportunity for our students to hear about extremism’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Duchess's High School AlnwickThe headteacher of the school at the centre of the media storm over the cancelled appearance of Tommy Robinson has said that the decision was related to protocol on school visitors. Duchess’s Community High School head Maurice Hall said:

“The planned visit was organised through the Quilliam Foundation, a well-respected anti-extremism think-tank and would have involved Tommy Robinson and Usama Hasan (co-founder of the Quilliam Foundation). This would have been a good opportunity for our students to hear about extremism and how it develops, as well as what can be done to counter the dangers of extremism.

“However, it appears that procedures for outside visitors to school may not have been followed on this occasion and so the visit was cancelled. We are now carrying out a full review of policies and procedures relating to visitors taking part in lessons, which will be concluded by the end of half-term.

“We hope to find other opportunities to help our students, who live in a relatively non-diverse community, to meet and learn from people from a range of cultures and faiths.”

Continue reading →

French MEPs criticise government’s silence over mosque desecration

Posted on by Bob Pitt

French members of the European Parliament from the Alliances des Outre-Mers and Front de Gauche have issued a joint statement criticising leading figures the government for failing to condemn the desecration of a mosque in the French overseas territory of Mayotte, allegedly by soldiers in the French army.

Against a background of official denunciations of the antisemitism of Franco-Cameroonian comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, the MEPs’ statement warns the government against applying double standards when it comes to taking a stand against racial and religious hatred.

Coalition calls on Michigan Republican Party to condemn anti-Muslim comments by National Committeeman

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Dave AgemaA coalition of American Muslim and Arab-American organizations based in Michigan today call on the Michigan Republican Party to condemn recent hostile comments made about American Muslims by Republican National Committeeman Dave Agema.

Agema recently posted on his Facebook account: “Have you ever been to a Muslim hospital? Have you heard a Muslim orchestra? Have you seen a Muslim band march in a parade? Have you witnessed a Muslim charity? Have you seen Muslims shaking hands with a Muslim Girl Scouts (sic)? Have you seen a Muslim Candy striper? Have you ever seen a Muslim do anything that contributes positively to the American way of life?”

Continue reading →

Fascists behind campaign against Muslim cemetery

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Britain First Solihull cemetery campaign (2)

A controversial application seeking approval to build a 4,000-plot Muslim cemetery on Greenbelt land in Catherine de Barnes has received well over 1,000 objections.

But many of those are from a ‘patriotic political movement’ called Britain First, which has set up a website dedicated to stopping the development.

The organisation – which has the motto ‘Taking Our Country Back’ on its logo – also has a ready-penned letter of complaint which objectors simply have to add their details to to make an objection to the scheme.

Solihull Council is currently in the process of confirming which complaints are genuine in terms of including their name and address.

Continue reading →