Nathan Lean, author of The Islamophobia Industry: How the Right Manufactures Fear of Muslims replies to the recent WSJ article by Jonathan Schanzer which characterises the term Islamophobia as “a nasty neologism”.
Thanet EDL leader resigns after local paper exposes anti-Muslim Facebook posts
A member of the Thanet division of the English Defence League has quit the extreme political party after being contacted by the Isle of Thanet Gazette over posts on his Facebook page.
Gary Field’s page on the popular social networking site is under the pseudonym of Pat Riot. Messages posted since the start of the year, when he was the EDL’s area organiser, include comments directed towards Muslims.
The Isle of Thanet Gazette asked Mr Field to respond to posts put on his Facebook account. But after speaking with our reporter, Mr Field then said in a statement that he had left the EDL.
Joint leader of EDL Kevin Carroll arrested on suspicion of race hate crime
The joint leader of the far-right English Defence League has been arrested on suspicion of a race hate crime.
Kevin Carroll, cousin of the anti-Islam group’s founder Stephen Lennon, was arrested on Saturday morning by officers investigating allegations he posted a message inciting racial hatred on Facebook.
On the unreliability of think tanks
Australia, in common with other “Western” countries, has something of a track record when it comes to scaremongering over the Islamist organisation Hizb-ut-Tahrir and the threat to civilised society it supposedly represents.
University’s new centre to study rise in anti-Islam far right
A British university has established a dedicated centre to study the extremist far right, with a particular focus on the increase in violent anti-Islamic sentiment and the possibility of a lone, Anders Behring Breivik style attack.
The Centre for Fascist, Anti-Fascist and Post-Fascist Studies at Teesside University will be formally launched later this month at an event marking National Holocaust Memorial Day. Beginning with two academics, Professor Nigel Copsey and Dr Matthew Feldman, the centre will specialise in both the history of far-right radicalism in this country, and current trends and dangers.
New Jersey mosque runs into opposition
When a local Islamic organization hired Bernardsville architect Daniel Lincoln to design a new mosque, he set out to create a building that would serve its purpose as a house of worship and fit into the colonial and bucolic character of this township’s Liberty Corner.
He’s proud of the result. The 4,252-square-foot building with white siding and a gray roof could be mistaken for a large home. Remove the crescents, and the two 35-foot minarets could pass for chimneys.
But many of the people who would be neighbors of this mosque aren’t as appreciative.
“When they look at this building, all they see are the letters M-O-S-Q-U-E,” said Lincoln, who also is president of the Historical Society of the Somerset Hills.
Another French mosque suffers far-right graffiti attack
A mosque at Val-de-Reuil in Normandy in north-western France was sprayed with far-right graffiti last Wednesday night. Slogans included “Anti-Islam”, “Long live the FN” and “France, love it or leave it”. As the Collectif contre l’Islamophobie en France points out, these days every week brings new acts of Islamophobic vandalism.
Investigation launched after claims of mosque attack in NATO base
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an official investigation into a mosque attack at the NATO İncirlik Air Base in the southern province of Adana, following claims that the attack was carried out by U.S. soldiers, Doğan News Agency has reported.
Turkish and U.S. generals, as well as other relevant authorities, will be asked for information about the incident as part of the investigation, reports said.
Local media in Adana had earlier reported that a number of soldiers at the İncirlik base entered the mosque on New Year’s Eve, destroying its minbar and windows along with the Quran. Turkey’s chief of staff subsequently denied the allegations.
Windows in the prayer room were broken by unknown individuals and there was some additional small-scale damage, the chief of staff said in a written statement issued late Jan. 10.
CAIR protest against Pamela Geller at Maryland conservative conference
Months after a debate over controversial anti-Muslim billboards in some Metro stations erupted, the woman behind those ads appeared at an event in Annapolis.
And that controversy followed Pamela Geller to the event convened by the Maryland Conservative Action Network (MDCAN).
Protesters outside held signs with messages such as “Hate is Not an American Value.”
‘Mosque buster’ lawyer gives free advice on how to block worship
A self-styled “mosque buster”, who boasts that he has blocked plans for 16 mosques across Britain, was once linked to the far-right English Defence League (EDL) and claims that Islam encourages paedophilia, sexual abuse and pimping.
Gavin Boby, a planning lawyer from Bristol, urges his followers to undermine planning applications for mosques by raising their opposition with councils.