Man jailed for bacon attack on Edinburgh Central Mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A man who attached bacon to the handles of a mosque’s main door before throwing the meat inside has been jailed for ten months.

Wayne Stilwel, 25, was caught on CCTV throwing the bacon into Edinburgh’s Central Mosque on January 31, 2013. Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard Islam prohibits its followers from eating pork and Stilwel’s actions offended people at the mosque.

Stilwel pleaded guilty to a breach of the peace before Sheriff Gordon Liddle at a hearing last month. On Tuesday, the sheriff said his actions had been “grossly offensive” and he had no option but to jail him.

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Police see bias motive for New Hampshire mosque vandalism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SMuYcYfXf8

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said today that law enforcement authorities in New Hampshire are investigating a bias motive for extensive vandalism of the construction site for the Islamic Society of Greater Manchester.

CAIR said the vandalism, which cost more than $30,000 to repair and included a number of smashed windows and attempted arson, occurred in July but was not determined to be bias-motivated until recently. The perpetrators were caught on video surveillance cameras.

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New Miss America accused of being ‘Arab’ and ‘terrorist’ on Twitter

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The news of an Indian-American contestant winning the national Miss America beauty pageant, has resulted in a barrage of racist messages over the internet.

Although Nina Davuluri told a press conference after winning Miss America that she was “so happy this organization has embraced diversity,” social networking platform Twitter erupted with users expressing their displeasure at her victory. Reactions to Davuluri’s success in the competition included claims that she was of Arab origin.

Offensive comments ranged from outrage at the proximity of the “Arab” win to the Sept. 11 attacks, to her faith, to jokes about her having possible ties to militant group al-Qaeda.

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Posted in USA

Couple claim lifeguard at Bexhill pool made racist gestures

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An outraged couple claim a lifeguard at a local swimming pool made racist and anti-Islamic comments and gestures against them.

Neaal Blake, 35 and his 26-year-old wife Sophia, of Cornfield Terrace, St Leonards, were with their four children at Bexhill Leisure Pool in the Ravenside Retail Park when the alleged incident happened.

Mrs Blake claims the lifeguard made the racist gestures at her husband, a converted Muslim, when he saw his Arabic tattoo on his back, which is the Fajr, or ‘dawn prayer’, the first of the five daily prayers offered by practising Muslims.

She said: “As my husband got out of the pool to go on the slide with my four-year-old son Isa, one of the lifeguards was looking at Neaal’s tattoo, went to his colleague and started taking the mickey by mimicking the loud war cry used by Islamic terrorists. He then did a gesture with his hands minicking a bomb exploding.

“I was very shocked and had a go at him but he had nothing to say. I asked to see the manager to make a complaint. It was the first day out swimming as a family and we feel we can’t go back there.”

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Sun calls for restrictions on the veil

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sun Unveiled front pageThis is the front page of today’s Sun. The accompanying editorial is behind a paywall so we reproduce it below.

In contrast to yesterday’s rant by Trevor Kavanagh, the editorial strikes what is, for the Sun, a tone of reasoned moderation.

It comes out firmly against a complete ban on wearing the veil in public, though that stance is hardly going to have any impact on the rights of Muslim women, given that there isn’t the slightest prospect of such a law being introduced in the UK for the foreseeable future.

The Sun even admits that women who wear the veil are not necessarily oppressed or acting under compulsion: “While the Taliban used the burka to suppress women in Afghanistan, those wearing them here are mainly young – and doing so by choice. They see physical modesty as key to their faith. And they already feel ‘liberated’ … from being judged on their appearance.”

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EDL threats lead to cancellation of anti-racism concert

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Steamboat Tavern cancellation noticeAn anti-racism gig was cancelled after police advised that opponents could disrupt it and there was “potential for violence”.

The Love Music Hate Racism event, featuring over a dozen local acts, was due to take place at the Steamboat Tavern in Ipswich on Sunday but it was called-off at lunchtime. The organisers said the decision gave the “green light” to racists. Police said the decision to cancel the concert was made by the venue.

Lauren Bulaitis, 16, one of the gig organisers, said: “I completely understand why the pub pulled the event, but it’s still such a shame. We were completely let down by the police and racism was given a green light in Ipswich yesterday.”

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Des Plaines, Illinois: Islamic group sues over rejection of mosque plan

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Another federal court battle is brewing over a northwest suburb’s refusal this summer to let a 160-member Islamic group open a mosque in a vacant building in an industrial area.

The lawsuit filed Monday against Des Plaines and five of its aldermen is the latest to take on a “knee-jerk reaction to something Islamic or Muslim,” said Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Chicago.

His group helped win a $445,000 settlement from DuPage County in a similar case earlier this year. Now, it’s backing the case brought by the American Islamic Center and its attorney, Tony Peraica. “We believe this was done for discriminatory reasons,” Peraica said.

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Woman says she was accosted in mall over her Islamic veil as Liberals threaten election over Quebec charter

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Montreal protest against Charter of Values
Saturday’s demonstration in Montreal against the so-called ‘Charter of Values’

The leader of the Quebec Liberals appears prepared to do everything he can to stop the Parti Quebecois government’s proposed charter of values – including fight an election over the issue. Philippe Couillard says he’s against any law that leads to employment discrimination and that Muslim women who wear a veil will always be welcome in his own party.

The PQ plan will become law “over my dead body,” Couillard said Sunday at a party meeting on women’s issues in Montreal. “The big mistake that the government is making is to make people believe that, in order to defend what is specific about Quebec, we must trample on other people’s rights.”

The PQ wants to forbid public employees from wearing religious headwear, including the veil, as part of a proposed charter announced last Tuesday.

Couillard’s remarks came after a Quebec woman of Algerian origin wearing an Islamic veil said she and her son were accosted at Place Laurier shopping centre in Quebec City two weeks ago by a woman citing the charter who demanded they change their religion and remove the headscarf.

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