A man has been arrested after death threats were allegedly made on Facebook following a TV appearance by a former Birmingham City Councillor.
Salma Yaqoob, a former Respect councillor, shared the threats with her Twitter followers after she appeared on the BBC’s Question Time on Thursday.
West Midlands Police said a 37-year-old man from Corby has been arrested on suspicion of malicious communications. He is being held by Northamptonshire police, a spokesperson said.
That’s the headline to Tony Parsons’ column in today’s Daily Mirror.
Parsons assures his readers that most of the Islamophobic incidents that followed Lee Rigby’s murder took place online, and “some cretin foaming at the mouth on Twitter or Facebook is simply not the same as having someone stick a bottle through your window, or attack you in the street” (which of course ignores the fact that the former may well inspire the latter). He asserts: “The ‘anti-Muslim backlash’ is somewhere between a grotesque exaggeration and a plain old lie.”
This is just a rehash of the discredited Gilligan thesis. Parsons, however, adds a few ignorant and incoherent arguments of his own.
The Coordination contre le Racisme et l’Islamophobie reports that on 20 May in the town of Argenteuil near Paris a 17-year-old Muslim woman named Rabia B., who was wearing a headscarf, was attacked by three men who punched and kicked her, and tore off her headscarf, while shouting “dirty Arab” and “dirty Muslim”. The CRI condemns the inadequate response of the police and local council to the incident.
In an interview with Oumma TV, Rabia describes the attackers as skinheads.
Pinellas County’s Republican Party is facing criticism from some of its own members for inviting a University of Central Florida academic to give an anti-Islam speech at its next meeting.
In its June newsletter, the group publicized that Dr. Jonathan Matusitz, an assistant professor, would be giving a 45 minute speech called “The Islamic Threat to America.” The speech is scheduled to take place roughly an hour before the organization’s executive committee meets and hears from Blaise Ingoglia, the vice chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.
On Thursday, Chris Latvala – son of State Sen. Jack Latvala, and a likely candidate for the State House in 2014 – took to Facebook to say he was disappointed in the party. “I am a born again Christian saved by grace alone, through christ alone, but a local county republican meeting should not be an avenue to bash a religion that is practiced by many in Pinellas County including fellow Republicans,” he wrote. “As a party our focus should be trying to win the vote of every voter regardless of their religious beliefs.”
Muslim women who conduct tours at the Central Mosque have defended the practice of inviting school trips to gain an understanding of their faith.
School groups from as far away as Newcastle and Inverness regularly travel to take part in weekly tours around the King Fahd Mosque in Potterrow.
Each group is met by a member of the Muslim Women’s Association of Edinburgh (MWAE) who shows them the building’s main rooms – the main prayer hall, the multi-purpose room and the library.
The only stipulation made is that no shoes are worn in the main prayer hall. No demands are made for females to cover up and children are not asked to take part in any religious service.
Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly provided a platform for Tommy Robinson, head of the English Defence League, a violent, extremist anti-Muslim hate group in Great Britain.
O’Reilly hosted Robinson on The O’Reilly Factor to discuss the EDL’s efforts to, as Robinson described, “fight for Christianity, fight for our children’s future, fight for our culture, and fight for our country’s identity, which is completely under attack.” Robinson went on to claim that British politicians aren’t doing enough to suppress the growth of Muslim communities in the United Kingdom, adding “actions speak a lot louder than words.”
Although O’Reilly mentioned press reports describing the EDL as “fascist” and “racist” and described the group’s views as “militant” at the beginning of the segment, he failed to note the EDL’s history of incendiary and often violent actions. A 2010 “undercover investigation” by The Guardian found that the organization planned protests against Muslim communities in “a blatant attempt to provoke mayhem and disorder”:
Former Respect leader Salma Yaqoob’s appearance on BBC’s Question Time last night was typically impressive and won her at least one unlikely admirer.
Salma’s appreciation of the support she received was soured by the revelation that an EDL supporter with the Facebook identity of Steve Littlejohn had posted threats against both Salma and Unite Against Fascism joint secretary Weyman Bennett.
He wrote: “if that salma yaqueb’s there, cut her fucking throat, rip weyman bennets teeth out with pliers and carve edl across all the asian scum who try and attack us”.
The victim of a suspected Woolwich revenge attack has said she forgives the person who scrawled “Dead Muslim” on her front door.
Police believe Njaimeh Jawara was targeted because of her religion in the wake of last month’s horrific murder in south east London, during which two suspected Muslim extremists hacked serving British solider Drummer Lee Rigby to death.
Mrs Jawara was made aware of the sickening graffiti, inscribed in permanent ink, by a neighbour while she was away from her East Grinstead home.
Unbeknown to the vandal, Mrs Jawara, known as Jenny to friends, has a son who has served for 15 years in the British Army, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hundreds of people came together this evening to hold a vigil outside the Islamic community centre in Muswell Hill that was destroyed in a suspected arson attack.
Residents, politicians and anti-fascist groups turned out to show their solidarity with staff and users of the Somali Bravanese Centre in Coppetts Road, which burnt down in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
An English Defence League supporter who shouted abuse and used threatening behaviour during a demonstration in Walsall has been warned he could face a jail term.
Jack Beasley travelled from Durham to take part in the protest which brought Walsall town centre to a standstill on September 29 last year. Miss Rhiannon Jones, prosecuting, told yesterday’s hearing at Walsall Magistrates Court that the 23-year-old also allegedly threw a “missile” towards police. She said Beasley was seen on CCTV pointing aggressively at police and swearing.