Aamer Anwar responds to the hysteria provoked by Channel 4’s announcement that it will be broadcasting the adhan every day during Ramadan
The unedited version of this article can be read here.
New fascist party has EDL links
A sinister new group of right-wing extremists is trying to revive Oswald Mosley’s notorious British Union of Fascists party. Calling themselves the 21st Century Blackshirts, members look up to former Smethwick MP and sympathiser Mosley as their spiritual leader.
Qaradawi calls on Egyptians to support Mursi
A leading Qatar-based cleric declared in a religious edict, or fatwa, on Saturday that Egyptians should support ousted President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood and the military should withdraw from the political scene.
Egyptian-born Youssef al-Qaradawi, one of the most prominent Sunni clerics in the Middle East, said in the fatwa posted on his website that the military’s intervention to depose Mursi on Wednesday was against democracy and the constitution.
Former UKIP councillor faces no charges over Facebook posts
A UKIP councillor who admitted sharing offensive material about Muslims on Facebook will not face charges, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.
West Mercia Police said Eric Kitson, 59, was questioned but not arrested over “concerns raised by the public”. In May a computer was seized and a property in Stourport searched for evidence. The CPS said there was “insufficient evidence” to charge the former Worcestershire county councillor.
Labour council rejects disabled man’s Ramadan fast help plea
A disabled man who is unable to feed himself has said his local council is refusing to pay for two hours of extra care to help him fast during Ramadan.
Imraan Adam, from Derby, has cerebral palsy and is fed his meals by carers. He said in order to fast between sunrise and sunset he needed additional help very early in the morning. Derby City Council said his request was denied because of its “challenging” financial status and because he already got a “substantial level of support”.
Mr Adam, who graduated from the University of Derby with a first class journalism degree, said: “I can’t do anything with my hands and I need to be physically fed. It means I have to come up with the money myself – or I can’t fast.” He said it would cost about an extra £30 a day – the current weekly cost of his support is nearly £2,000.
In previous years the city council has paid for the extra care.
Ipswich: Anti-fascism group to lead march against ‘politics of hatred’
A broad coalition of Ipswich people including members of all major trade unions, the Labour party and many other community groups will be marching on Sunday in support of the town’s tradition of multiculturalism. The march is organised by Ipswich Unite Against Fascism (UAF).
David Ellesmere, leader of Ipswich Borough Council, said: “Ipswich has a long and proud history of being a diverse town where people of all communities get on. Extremists who seek to create divisions amongst Ipswich people do not speak for us. They are not Ipswich and we will not let them divide us.” Miles Hubbard Unite regional officer said: “By marching we are showing that there is no place for the politics of hatred in Ipswich.”
The march will gather at Giles Circus in Queen Street, Ipswich at 11am. For more information, contact Unite Ipswich on 01473 250321.
Tommy Robinson, the EDL and the Oxford Union
“Simon Blackaby thinks that you can’t have a debate about nationalism without inviting the leader of a violent and reactionary gang of racist thugs. We disagree.”
Tessa Frost and Orlando Lazar-Gillard challenge the thinking behind the proposal to invite English Defence League leader Stephen Lennon to speak at the Oxford Union.
Public meeting to counter Croydon anti-Islam protest
An academy is to host a public meeting to counter an anti-Islam demonstration in Croydon later this month. Oasis Academy Shirley Park in Ashburton will hold a roundtable event on Thursday July 11 for locals to publicly reject the protest by the English Volunteer Force (EVF).
The EVF, an English Defence League splinter group, is to stage a rally at the UK Border Agency’s Lunar House headquarters on July 27. The group says it is protesting “Islamic, African and east European immigrants,” who it claims “suck and bleed our country dry”. Oasis’s meeting, which will be held at its the primary academy building in Long Lane, will invite community groups and local residents to respond to the EVF and celebrate the diversity of Croydon. The meeting, hosted by Oasis founder Steve Chalke, will run from 7pm to 11pm.
Bonnyrigg mosque plans prompt backlash
Plans to open a mosque and Muslim community centre in central Bonnyrigg have sparked concern among local residents. Midlothian Council has received 37 written objections to applicant Mohammed Asaf’s application to turn property at 81-83 High Street into a meeting place for local Muslims.
Anti-Muslim acts on rise in France: CCIF annual report
The Committee against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) says there has been a steady rise in anti-Muslim acts in France in recent years. The CCIF said in its annual report on Wednesday that the number of anti-Muslim acts jumped to 469 cases in 2012 from 298 in 2011, and 188 in 2010.
The report also denounced France’s civil service as “one of the principal vectors of Islamophobia” as it said bureaucrats often over-interpreted official secularist policies to incorrectly reject to serve Muslim women who wear Islamic headscarves.
According to the law, civil servants and girls who attend state schools are banned from wearing headscarves, but adults using a public service are not. However, some French officials refuse to conduct a civil wedding or issue documents if the woman concerned covers her hair, the report said.
The CCIF report added that anti-Muslim acts have increasingly targeted people, especially women, adding that assaults against mosques had approximately doubled in 2012 compared with the year before.