Riverine Centre trustees outline development plans to Newham Recorder

NRAP Riverine Centre designThe team behind plans for Newham’s so called ‘mega mosque’ have met theRecorder for the first time to spell out their vision.

At the site of the proposed development in Canning Road, West Ham – also known as the Abbey Mills Mosque – were four of the prime proposers. Solad Mohammed, one of three trustees, was with project volunteers, including their spokesman, Yousuf Aslam, to show us around last week.

As we walked across the former industrial site, close to historic Abbey Mills Pumping Station, they explained how they hope to transform the grounds into a tranquil and peaceful place for Muslim worshippers and the wider community.

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Azhar Ahmed sentenced – EDL not happy

Azhar Ahmed, the young Muslim from Yorkshire who was convicted of posting offensive Facebook comments about British troops in Afghanistan, was sentenced at Huddersfield Magistrates’ Court today to a £300 fine and 240 hours of community service.

Here is the entirely predictable response of the English Defence League to Ahmed’s sentence, featuring their usual hypocritical whine about a “two-tier system”:

EDL Azhar Ahmed comment

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Prince Edward Island Muslims refuse to be intimidated by attacks on mosque

Najam Chishti

Najam Chishti of the Muslim Society of P.E.I. outside the Masjid Dar As-Salam mosque

Zain Esseghaier has been a Charlottetown resident for the last 33 years, married an islander and raised a family here. Though his modest two-story mosque has been the target of three serious threats over the past year – last week a bottle of gasoline was left at the entrance and the structure plastered with “Defeat Jihad” posters – he remains steadfast, refusing to be intimidated.

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DC Metro ad gets makeover within hours

A controversial ad was posted in four Metro stations under court order Monday, but within hours one had already been covered with yellow Post-it notes giving an alternative message to the ad, which equated Muslims with savages.

Debbie Polhemus, of D.C., covered up the letters of the ad, which read “In Any War Between the Civilized Man and the Savage, Support the Civilized Man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.”

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Rabbi Jill Jacobs explains message behind New York subway ads

Rabbi Jill JacobsInae Oh of the Huffington Post interviews Rabbi Jill Jacobs, executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America, which took out an advertisement urging New York subway users to “help stop bigotry against our Muslim neighbors”, in an effort to counter Pamela Geller’s notorious “savages” ad. Rabbi Jacobs explains:

“I was very concerned that people might think that these ads speak for the Jewish community, as Geller couches her anti-Muslim message in the language of supporting Israel. The suggestion that she is speaking only about terrorists, and not about Muslims in general, falls apart as soon as you read her writings, which are fear mongering about Muslims in the U.S. and in the world, and about Islam as a religion.”

She adds: “I want to spread the message that 1800 rabbis – along with the majority of the American Jewish community – believes in partnership with our Muslim neighbors. We, of course, oppose all acts of terrorism. We will not, however, allow the actions of a small minority to be an excuse for dehumanizing an entire people.”

Trade Unions, politicians and activists pledge to oppose English Defence League march in Norwich

A coalition of faith groups, trade unions and community organisations vowed today to do all it could to oppose a planned march by the English Defence League (EDL). The group, called We are Norwich, said it would do “all in its power” to peacefully oppose the EDL demonstration.

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