Allen West ‘NUTS!’ letter sold for $2,625 on eBay

Allen West NUTS letter framedThe Council on American-Islamic Relations Florida announced Tuesday that a letter in which then-Congressman Allen West wrote “NUTS!” sold on eBay for $2,625.

The eBay listing shows West’s brief note from Aug. 4, 2011, addressed to Nezar Hamze and Hassan Shibly of CAIR Florida. They had sent the South Florida congressman a letter that July expressing their concerns about his association and support of individuals they said “have been identified as anti-Islam extremist(s),” and urging West to cut his ties with them.

“I am writing to you with regard your recent letter: ‘NUTS!'” West responded, CAIR said. The letter concluded with the words “Steadfast and Loyal” above West’s signature, name and title. West still has not fully explained his meaning, CAIR said.

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Police investigate racist notice at Horsham mosque

Police are investigating a racist message which was stuck to the front door of a mosque in Horsham.

On Friday January 18 a notice was found on the front of Madina Mosque in Park Terrace East, Horsham, which included racist language.

It is believed that the notice was placed on the mosque between 7pm on 17 January and 7am on 18 January. The incident was reported to Sussex Police on Monday 21 January and is being investigated as a hate crime.

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EDM calls for police to record Islamophobia as a crime

ENGAGE draws our attention to an Early Day Motion on “Recording Islamophobia as a crime”, tabled by Labour MP Keith Vaz and jointly sponsored by fellow Labour MP John McDonnell and Conservative MP Peter Bottomley. It states:

That this House notes the recognition of anti-Muslim sentiment and hate crime in the Department for Communities and Local Government’s document Creating the Conditions for Integration; further notes that the document acknowledges the limited collection of data on anti-Muslim hate crime; recognises that currently only the Metropolitan Police Service specifically records this hate crime under the definition Islamophobia as a specific crime flag, similar to anti-Semitism, racism and others, whereas the recording of this crime outside of London is under different recording flags in different constabularies; and believes that all police constabularies should record this hate crime under the same flag, which will bring national uniformity in the recording of this crime and enable authorities to gather data that will aid in tackling this issue.

You can write to your MP and urge them to support the EDM here.

ENGAGE points out that you can also send the EDM to your Police and Crime Commissioner and ask if, and how, they will implement the recommendation in their policing plan and local crime strategy.

EDL racists convicted over attack on Plymouth kebab restaurant

Hayley Wells & Kelly WattersonPlymouth based racist Hayley Wells pleaded guilty to racial and religiously aggravated assault at Plymouth Crown Court this morning.

The offences took place in August 2010 after an English Defence League meet and greet turned into drunken violence and a takeaway restaurant was attacked. Staff had to lock the group out after threats were made, abuse shouted and glass and bottles were thrown around the shop which at the time had in it an eight week old baby and a 14 year old child.

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Another ‘Muslim patrol’ video feeds Islamophobia

The Commentator provides an update on its “Muslim patrol” report with a more recent video, also apparently from Tower Hamlets, in which the self-appointed mutaween target a man they take to be gay.

The harassment recorded here is significantly more unpleasant and intimidatory than in the first video, and we can only hope that the people responsible are quickly identified, arrested and prosecuted. In fact the case underlines the need for new legislation to introduce specific homophobically aggravated offences, on a par with the racially and religiously aggravated offences already on the statute book.

However, it is almost certainly the same two individuals who are involved in this most recent video, one of whom carries out most of the actual harassment while the other records the victim’s response on his mobile phone. This doesn’t prevent The Commentator from referring to “Muslim Patrols” in the plural, in order to suggest that it is part of some wider and more frightening pattern.

Hope Not Hate profiles ‘mosquebuster’ Gavin Boby

Law and Freedom Foundation logoThe Mosquebuster

Hope not hate, January-February 2013

Late last year a smartly dressed man in an office in Bristol was celebrating a decision to refuse a planning application for a mosque in Chingford, Essex. It was just the latest in a long list of victories for Gavin Boby. Dave Porter profiles a man who strives to block new mosques because of his hatred of Islam and Muslims in general.

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‘Yes Africa is a terror hotbed…but fanatics are here too’

Trevor Kavanagh takes the opportunity to use the Algerian gas plant attack and the conflict in Mali in order to paint the British Muslim community as a terrorist threat:

Britain is a melting pot of nationalities and faiths, home to hundreds of thousands of Malians, Iraqis, Syrians, Somalis, Kenyans, Nigerians, Yemenis and Pakistanis.

Not all are grateful. Indeed, many are becoming outspokenly defiant. Some have colonised suburbs in major cities. One London borough is so staunchly Muslim it has become known as the Islamic Republic of Tower Hamlets.

Last week, hooded gangs of self-appointed religious police [in reality, probably just two individuals – ed.] roamed Muslim-populated suburbs ordering women to cover up and confiscating liquor. Police are investigating YouTube clips which show the men branding mini-skirted white girls as “naked animals”.

MI5 claims thousands of young British-born Muslims have been radicalised – some of them trained in bomb-making and terror tactics in the badlands of Pakistan. That number has certainly grown in recent years.

The security forces have done a remarkable job in keeping a lid on this threat at home. It is now more than seven years since the 7/7 London bombings and the terrorists have been silent. But Mali and Algeria should remind us of Gerry Adams’ chilling warning about the IRA: “They haven’t gone away.”

Now, as David Cameron warned yesterday, we face a global threat which could take “years, even decades” to resolve. He might have added, “if ever”.

The Sun, 21 January 2013

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Teenager detained for pulling hijab from woman’s head in racist attack

A teenager pulled a hijab from a woman’s head in a racist attack on her in a park. Paige Bain and her aunt Eileen Kennedy assaulted Umaimi Musa as she was sitting with her friend Mary Marandran in Glasgow.

On Monday, Glasgow Sheriff Court heard 16-year-old Bain also attacked Mrs Marandran, who was five months pregnant at the time of the incident in the city’s Royston Road.

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Scottish Defence League mobilises handful of supporters for Pollokshields protest

Pollokshields policeA protest by a handful of far-right demonstrators marking the first anniversary of the murder of a man by Asian youths threatened to bring chaos to a residential area of Glasgow.

Mounted police, helicopters and scores of officers yesterday were deployed on to the streets of the city’s Pollokshields, home to Scotland’s largest Asian community, despite a maximum of 10 members of the Scottish Defence League (SDL) turning up.

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