South Dakota state Rep. condemned for ‘joke’ about Muslims that went viral

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Betty OlsonSouth Dakota state Rep. Betty Olson says she was just trying to be funny when she ended two recent newspaper columns with jokes about Muslim terrorists, 7-11 clerks, Motel 6 managers and the president of the United States.

But her comments went viral across South Dakota and the country this week, with many online comments referring to her as a racist, an ignorant Republican unfit for public office, and an embarrassment to South Dakota.

Her columns, carried in the weekly Butte County Post and online under the header Grand River Roundup, deal with the everyday occurrences of small western South Dakota communities in and around House District 28B, which includes all or part of Butte, Harding and Perkins counties. Topics often include harvest updates, high school football, cattle roundups, rodeos, campfire coffee, parades and the ever-changing weather.

But when she concluded her Sept. 10 column with a made-up warning from ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood that claimed if the U.S. continued meddling in Middle Eastern hot spots, they would end up cutting off America’s supply of 7-11 and Motel 6 managers, cab drivers, customer service reps for Dell, AT&T and AOL, as well as U.S. presidents, it ignited a viral firestorm and generated innumerable and decidedly unfavorable comments on internet websites and social media.

“You should be ashamed, Betty Olson,” one poster wrote to Talking Points Memo, a national website that published Olson’s remarks. “Once again, the comments you find humorous are racist, degrading and beyond disgusting. Shame on you and all who support your backwoods mentality.”

“I cannot believe, in this day & age, that someone as blatantly racist as you is allowed a public forum to make your sweeping generalizations about groups of people,” an East River South Dakota resident wrote. “Your callous disregard for the office of President of the United States, and your disrespect of a people you obviously know nothing about shows the world your true colors.”

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Czech Interior Ministry rules that spa town must respect Muslim dress codes

Posted on by Bob Pitt

TepliceThe Czech Interior Ministry has decided that the north Bohemian town of Teplice cannot issue a decree banning people from covering their faces in connection with the Arab clients of the local spa, daily Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) writes in its regional supplement today.

The Teplice town hall was considering introducing such a ban in order to make some Arab tourists more respect “European rules” and keep public space tidy.

“A decree cannot regulate the covering of faces,” the ministry writes in a letter to Teplice Mayor Jaroslav Kubera.

The ministry says such a public notice would affect Muslim women who cover their faces in accordance with their religious belief and this would go against the Czech Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, the paper writes.

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Skaters come to aid of Muslim women attacked in a bigoted tirade

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Newcastle anti-racist skatersMeet the anti-racism heroes who came to the aid of two Muslim women as they were being attacked in a bigoted tirade in Newcastle.

The friends, who were skating at Newcastle West when they intervened to help the mother and daughter on Monday night, say more people need to take a stand against “weak” and “cowardly” vilification.

Scott William Papworth, 27, has denied verbally attacking the women and threatening to kill those who came to their aid, claiming he was only one of numerous people in the vicinity and that he had been acting in self-defence against the skating group. It’s alleged he swore at the women and told them: “We are Westerners and you’re not meant to be here.”

Mr Papworth, of Bingleburra outside Dungog, pleaded not guilty to five charges in Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday, including that he intimidated and stalked the women, assaulted one of the men who came to their aid and stole two mobile phones. Mr Papworth was refused bail after magistrate Ian Cheetham described the verbal assault as “made on a racial basis upon persons who were innocently going about their business”.

Prosecutor Sergeant Karl Moir urged the magistrate to consider the charges “in the present climate”. “We are not just looking at a vacuum here,” he told the court.

In a statement tendered to court, police alleged the two women were wearing traditional Muslim hijabs as they drove along Smith Street about 7pm on Monday. A man allegedly approached their vehicle and said, “We are Westerners and you’re not meant to be here” and then he punched the driver’s side wing mirror.

The daughter drove five metres and got out to fix the mirror. But as she tried to get back in the car, police allege the man forced the left side of his body into the car, took hold of the steering wheel and put his foot on the accelerator for about 10 seconds. The car was in park and didn’t move.

The statement said Patrick Burgess, James Turvey and four other men saw what had happened and became concerned for the women’s safety.

As they approached the car they heard the man yell out “you Musi c—s”. Police allege the man turned on the six friends and threatened to kill them. The man allegedly stole two of their mobile phones and ran off but was struck by a skateboard thrown by one of the friends. He later allegedly punched Mr Burgess.

“He was saying the worst things [to the women], racist profanities [then] he started swinging at each of us while we were trying to defuse situation as best we could,” Mr Burgess told the Newcastle Herald.

Mr Burgess said he felt “so disgusted” the women had been subjected to the abuse. “People need to know that this is not OK,” he said. “The way this situation has gotten is so not acceptable, and people need to start taking action and actively condemning this sort of activity. It’s the indifference of good people that is bringing us down.”

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Birmingham’s Bar Risa forced to host EDL for second year

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bar RisaA Birmingham bar has been forced by police to house EDL members before a city centre rally this weekend – for the second time in two years.

Bar Risa has now reluctantly agreed to the request, despite violent scenes elsewhere in the city during last summer’s protest after hundreds of the supporters had been housed inside the Broad Street venue.

A spokesman told the Mail: “We have been asked by the police to host the EDL during their protest as they wanted to contain them in one bar in order to help keep the streets of Birmingham safe.

“We very firmly said no and asked them to find an alternative venue. We did this because we do not, have not and will never support the EDL in any way, shape or form. In addition, we know how much it upset some of the local community last year, and having helped the police last time, it seemed right that they ask someone else.

“The police have since asked us several times and we have continually said no. The police stance however is that Risa is the only bar big enough and close enough to the centre of the protest to house the EDL as one group. Their view is that Risa would be doing the city of Birmingham, the community and the police a great service.

“Given the repeated police requests we had little option other than to help the police manage this situation. We have therefore decided to help, but will not be making any profits from hosting this group.

“As we did last year, we will donate all profits made during the time they are with us to the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. Last year this sum was £1,500. Before making this decision, we discussed the situation with the local community leaders who are currently assisting West Midlands Police in their planning for the EDL protest, and we have their full support.”

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CAIR asks DOJ to probe Arkansas business declared ‘Muslim-free zone’ by owner

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jan MorganThe Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today said it has asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate a Hot Springs, Ark., shooting range that has been declared a “Muslim-free zone” by its owner.

The owner claims the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agrees with her claimed right to bar customers based on their faith.

In a letter to Attorney General Holder, CAIR wrote in part:

“[The shooting range owner] appears to be misinterpreting the advice given to her and refusing service to all Muslims, which cannot be a correct interpretation of compliance with federal gun laws and the U.S. Constitution.

“Given the recent spike in anti-Muslim rhetoric, including Islamophobic statements by government officials, community leaders and media outlets, death threats, and other bias incidents targeting Muslims, I urge you to investigate this matter soon.

“CAIR believes that systematically banning Muslims from a place of business is a violation of federal laws prohibiting racial and religious discrimination and will inevitably result in a hostile environment for ordinary Muslims in Arkansas.”

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Brisbane man charged with threatening to set Muslim woman’s headscarf on fire

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Brisbane man has been charged after allegedly threatening to set a Muslim woman’s head scarf on fire.

The 26-year-old woman left an Islamic centre in West End on September 9 and was walking down Boundary St when three men outside a pub approached her, police say. One then allegedly threatened to set her head scarf on fire.

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No bail for man accused of abusing Muslim women

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A man has been refused bail after pleading not guilty to verbally attacking two Muslim women as they drove through Newcastle, north of Sydney.

Scott Papworth, 27, is accused of yelling abuse about Islam and punching a side-view mirror as a woman, 26, and her mother sat in a car in the city about 7:00pm (AEDT) last night. Police say Papworth followed the pair as they drove away and continued the abuse after they pulled over to fix the car’s mirror.

Papworth is also accused of punching a man who tried to help the women, and stealing mobile phones from two people who intervened, before being apprehended by members of the public.

In Newcastle Local Court this afternoon, Papworth pleaded not guilty to two counts of intimidation, two counts of larceny, one count of assault and one count of malicious damage. Police prosecutor Karl Moir told the court it was “a racially provoked attack on innocent people” and the allegations were very serious given the “present climate” relating to Islam in Australia.

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Racist group Australian Defence League blamed for Muslim threats

Posted on by Bob Pitt

ADL anti-Muslim threatsDeath threats against the nation’s leading Islamic cleric and threats to bomb Sydney’s two biggest mosques are included in a letter signed by ultra-right-wing racist group the Australian Defence League.

The letter, signed “A. D. L, Australian Defence League”, threatens “Australia” will fight “Islam”, “Terror for terror … bomb for bomb”. It includes the words “Lakemba Mosque”, “Auburn Mosque” and chief Muslim leader “Grand Mufti”, with the capitalised word “BOOM” written below each.

The owner of prominent Muslim clothing store Boutique Nour al Houda in Greenacre, in Sydney’s southwest, said he received the letter about a month ago and reported it to police.

After becoming the target for racially motivated abuse in recent weeks, the store owner – who wanted to be known only as Sal – has removed a collection of large flags, including some displaying the Islamic creed praising Mohammed, the national flags of several Middle Eastern countries and the Australian flag.

“We have a business to run, we don’t need these wankers coming around and telling us they’re going to blow us up, so we took them all down,” Sal said. “Now we are suffering … we live in Australia, one of the best countries in the world, and now we are the targets.”

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Michigan mom outraged that Islam is included in 10th graders world religion project

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Social media erupted after the mother of a tenth-grader used Facebook to voice her concerns about a world history assignment in which students were asked to explain Islam as if they were speaking to third-graders, Fox 17 reports.

The furor over the lesson plan at Jenison High School began when a concerned mother, Jeannette Hall, posted the following on Facebook:

Jennette Hall Facebook

Hall’s initial post misidentifies the point of the assignment, which was not to teach actual third-graders about Islam, but to synthesize information learned in class in a manner that could be taught to hypothetical third-graders.

Her confusion is, perhaps, understandable, given her further complaints on Facebook, including one in which she asks, “I can’t comprehend why prayer is not allowed in school, but teaching (any) religion is? What happened to separation of church and state?”

“By requiring my daughter to make a pamphlet promoting another god, they are violating my religious beliefs,” she continues. “Also, they are presenting false information about who Allah is. They are using subjective language by describing his names as ‘beautiful’. That’s an opinion! In my opinion, it’s SICK and twisted!”

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Posted in USA

Four men go on trial over ‘EDL violence’ in Birmingham

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Williams, McKenzie, Wilkie and Edge
From left, Shane Williams, Paul McKenzie, Thomas Wilkie and Andrew Edge

Police were injured and property damaged as English Defence League members tried to break through a police cordon in Birmingham to get at counter demonstrators, a court heard.

The violence occurred on July 20 last year by EDL demonstrators “only concerned in causing public disorder,” it was claimed. Thomas Wilkie, 22, of Kent Road, Wednesbury, Paul Mckenzie, 48, of Braemar Road, Billingham, Cleveland, Andrew Edge, 44, of Wellington Road, South Stockport and Shane Williams, 26, of Dragon Lane, Leicester, all denied a charge of violent disorder.

David Bennett, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said around 1,800 EDL supporters had gathered outside Bar Risa by 1pm on the day of the demonstration.

“Officers had become concerned at this stage given the numbers. There were also members of the public with views opposing those of the EDL and there were verbal confrontations,” he said. “It was then decided that the police would move on the demonstrators to Centenary Square. That is when the trouble really began.”

Mr Bennett said there were a number of EDL demonstrators peacefully listening to speeches being given on a stage outside the Birmingham Rep. “But there were a large number of EDL demonstrators who were not really interested in peaceful demonstration at all and only concerned in causing public disorder, despite being given numerous warning by the police,” he said.

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