Melbourne anti-Islamophobia protest cancelled

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A key organiser of an Islamic rally to be held in Melbourne on Sunday has cancelled the protest amid fears of a backlash and police concerns it will be overrun by violent activists.

Swaybah Javed, who had helped invite supporters through social networking to a rally outside the city’s State Library, said she’d been forced to scrap the event.

“I am calling off the protest as I do not want more violence on the streets, as Islam does not promote violence,” the university graduate said today. “It is a shameful day for Australia when Islamophobia has boiled over to the point where it is impossible to carry out a peaceful protest.”

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French Muslim teenager jailed

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A French Muslim teenager who was arrested for wearing a full Islamic veil has been sent to prison for two months after being convicted of biting a policewoman.

Louise-Marie Suisse, 18, was stopped by two police officers near a mosque in the centre of Marseille in late July. She was wearing a full-face veil, in breach of a ban introduced last year, and refused to cooperate with the police when asked to produce identity papers, her trial was told.

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Civil rights group condemn anti-Muslim New York subway ads

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Pamela Geller AdMuslim civil rights groups and community organisations have condemned a series of anti-Islamic advertisements that will be appearing in New York’s subway stations next week.

The ads had initially been rejected by the city’s Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) but were later allowed after a legal appeal ruled them to be expressions of freedom of speech. One ad reads: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad.”

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Procter & Gamble sued for religious discrimination

Posted on by Bob Pitt

XLC ServicesTwo Cincinnati-based companies are facing a lawsuit over the termination of a former Muslim worker. The lawsuit, filed in an North Carolina court Monday, claims a woman named Safa Elhassan was fired from Procter & Gamble facilities after facing discrimination in the workplace.

Elhassan worked for P&G through XLC Services, a Cincinnati-based company that provides manufacturing services and warehouse management to other companies, at P&G facilities in Guilford County, N.C.

The lawsuit charges P&G and XLC with religious harassment, religious discrimination, failing to accommodate after religious discrimination in the workplace, national origin discrimination, sexual discrimination, two counts of retaliation, negligence, unfair and deceptive trade practices, assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

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Moscow protest leads to cancellation of new Islamic centre

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Moscow anti-mosque protest

Up to 2,000 people rallied in a Moscow neighborhood after local authorities announced the building of a Muslim cultural center and mosque in the area. The protest ended with officials being forced to cancel the planned construction.

The impromptu demonstration on Wednesday evening was gathered through social networks. Residents of the Mitino district came to voice their fears over the plans to build a Muslim cultural center and mosque in the neighborhood, which would be able to accommodate up to 60,000 believers during a service.

The would-be Muslim prayer house is subject to much speculation, even though construction project is far from being finalized. The rumor mill describes it as “a 13-story mega mosque,” which would broadcast calls to a morning prayer all over the neighborhood.

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Sam Harris defends ‘the freedom to offend an imaginary God’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sam_HarrisSam Harris presents his characteristically nuanced thoughts on The Innocence of Muslims and what he terms “the latest wave of Muslim hysteria and violence”. He writes:

“Consider what is actually happening: Some percentage of the world’s Muslims – Five percent? Fifteen? Fifty? It’s not yet clear – is demanding that all non-Muslims conform to the strictures of Islamic law.”

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Hereford: police investigate racist comments about Muslim community centre

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Police are investigating racist comments made over the internet in response to plans for a Muslim place of worship in Hereford. Comments were made via social networking sites after plans for a community centre for Muslims were revealed.

One comment posted on the Hereford Masjid Fundraising Campaign’s Facebook page, which has since shut down, threatened to contaminate any land identified as a potential site and referred to the group as vermin.

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Australia: Senate rejects Greens motion condemning Wilders’ ‘hateful anti-Muslim views’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Richard Di NataleThe Senate has rejected a Greens motion calling on parliament to condemn the “hateful anti-Muslim views” of controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders, who is seeking an Australian visa for a speaking tour.

Greens senator Richard Di Natale [pictured] said on Thursday it was “critically important” his motion be supported, particularly after last week’s protests in Sydney by members of the Muslim community angry about a US film on Islam.

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Police fail to bring charges against far-right activists

Posted on by Bob Pitt

NWI banner

Five men arrested in dawn raids by counter-terrorism officers on suspicion of posting race hate material will not face any charges, The Northern Echo can reveal.

The suspects – including two men from the North-East – were detained in April when dozens of plain-clothed and uniformed officers swooped on several addresses across the UK. Computers, laptops and mobile phones were seized during the operation.

But last night, the North-East Counter Terrorism Unit revealed that, following discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), it had been decided no charges would be brought.

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British Social Attitudes Survey reveals negative views of Muslim migrants

Posted on by Bob Pitt

BSA Survey 2012ENGAGE has a useful summary of the latest British Social Attitudes Survey and what it reveals about popular views on migration in general and Muslim migrants in particular.

Overall opinion of the settlement of migrants is negative, with only 24% of respondents holding a positive view and 60% rating the impact negatively. 75% of respondents advocated a reduction in immigration and 51% a large reduction.

The public are significantly more concerned now than they were a decade ago about the economic impact of migration, but there has been an even bigger growth in opposition to the cultural impact. Those who view the cultural impact of immigration as “very bad” have increased from 9% in 2002 to 21% in 2011.

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