EDL supporter fined for racist rant at Asian police officer in Huddersfield

A Bradley man has admitted racially assaulting an Asian police officer. And a court heard he then made an English Defence League salute after he was arrested.

Laszlo Michael Lankovits, of Elder Road, Bradley, pleaded guilty to a racially aggravated public order offence on May 21.

Kirklees Magistrates were told yesterday that the remarks were made when Lankovits was arrested at his mother’s address for breaching bail conditions.

Prosecutor Astin Bill told the court Lankovits said to the female officer: “I am British. I’ve served in the army. Where are you from? Go back to your own country.”

He told the court that once in custody Lankovits then shouted out EDL before putting his hand to his chest and making a salute.

Defence solicitor Jonathan Slawinski told the court that his client deeply regretted his actions and was not a member of the English Defence League.

Huddersfield Examiner, 7 June 2012

Via ENGAGE

Suffolk man who threatened that mosque would ‘be burned down’ gets community order and fine

A man posted a racially offensive comment on Facebook during a group discussion about a Bury Free Press front page, a court has heard.

Luke Janzen joined in a debate started by one of his friends about The Falcon pub, in Bury St Edmunds, being converted into a mosque, saying if that happened it would “be burned down”.

When he appeared at Bury St Edmunds Magistrates’ Court on Friday, the 22-year-old, of Clay Road, Bury, pleaded guilty to sending an offensive message by public communication network.

Prosecuting, Colette Griffiths said the case was “an unusual matter” which stemmed from Janzen posting a comment on March 17. She told the court he wrote: “If there’s going to be a mosque in Bury then the f*****’s going to be burned down.”

Janzen was arrested 10 days later after police researched the social networking site following complaints about abusive comments that had appeared on it. He told police “well, we have all got our own opinions,” said Mrs Griffiths.

She added: “He said it was a silly thought, that he was thinking if there was a mosque there, someone was bound to burn it down and not that he intended to burn it down.”

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After no-fly problem, Muslim student walks into U.S.

An American-born Muslim student who was prevented from flying to San Diego from Costa Rica after being told his name was on the U.S. government no-fly list returned home Thursday evening after flying to Mexico and then walking across the pedestrian border crossing to his waiting family.

Kevin Iraniha, 27, was met by his father, Nasser, brothers Jahan and Shervin, and several representatives from the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, including executive director Hanif Mohebi. The council came to Iraniha’s aid this week after a friend referred the family to the organization, Mohebi said.

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Minnesota: Tea Party candidate for state rep. compares Muslim women to garbage bags

Cindy Pugh garbage bags photoTea Party candidate for state representative Cindy Pugh uses her Facebook profile to defend Scott Walker, criticize Barack Obama, and boast about her ongoing campaign to defeat incumbent state Rep. Steve Smith, a Republican from Mound.

But she also used it recently to compare Muslim women and children clad in traditional Islamic garb to garbage bags.

Pugh shared the above photo on May 21 with the following commentary: “Disturbing … that women & little girls are OK with dressing like this!!! What will it take for these women to stand up and say, ‘NO’!? Wondering if they will ever do that?!”

The photo was originally uploaded by “Proud to be an Infidel,” a Muslim-bashing page with the following slogan: “It’s not Islamophobia when they are really trying to kill you.”

City Pages Minneapolis, 7 June 2012

Police called to ‘large scale disorder of EDL’, court told

Michael Rafferty and Ricky Burley (2)A court heard how police called to a “large scale disorder” were forced to use pepper spray and brandish Tasers to tackle a “very aggressive” crowd.

Two men, Ricky Burley, aged 43 [on right of picture] and 34-year-old Michael Rafferty [on left] both appeared at Plymouth Magistrates Court to face trial on charges of resisting police officers in Exeter Street on August 31 last year. Burley, of High Street, Stonehouse, also faces a charge of threatening behaviour. Rafferty, of Woolwich, London, but formerly from Devonport denies the charges, as does Burley.

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Minnesota bakery workers in dispute over dress code

More than 30 Somali employees at a bakery walked out in protest Monday after the owner ordered female workers to wear mid-calf skirts after a woman’s long dress recently got caught in a boot washer, MyFoxTwinCities.com reported.

Mike Knowles, the owner of Dianne’s Fine Desserts, told the Faribault Daily News that the new guidelines were installed for safety concerns. Somali workers, however, call the new rules an attack on their Muslim religion.

The women reportedly showed up to work in their full-length attire and were given the option to adjust their skirts or leave. About a dozen women left and they were joined by 20 men who say the dress code goes against teachings in the Koran.

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Judge rejects ‘national security’ defense in Muslim’s bias suit

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today welcomed a federal judge’s ruling that rejects a claim by a Washington, D.C., hotel that it had the right to discriminate against a Muslim employee because of a “national security exemption.”

United States District Judge Barbara J. Rothstein ruled yesterday that “the national security exemption does not immunize Defendant from liability as to Plaintiff’s retaliation claim.”

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‘Mosque’s terror links’ investigated by Charity Commission

Masjid-al-TawhidAn east London mosque is being investigated by the Charity Commission over potential links to terrorist and extremist groups.

In a letter seen by BBC London, the commission says it is beginning a statutory inquiry into the Masjid-al-Tawhid mosque in Leyton. It comes as liberal Imam Dr Usama Hasan resigned from the mosque following death threats for teaching about evolution and women’s rights.

In the letter, the Charity Commission states the investigation will look at whether the Masjid-al-Tawhid Trust “allowed individuals with potential links to terrorist organisations to use the charity to promote and/or express extremist views; and/or the trustees have taken appropriate steps to safeguard the reputation of the charity.”

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Revoked-plates man had first asked for ‘HAJIKLR’

ICUHAJI plateWhen an Iraq War veteran filed an appeal last month to get back his personalized license plates, his attorney claimed the Department of Motor Vehicles had misinterpreted them.

The tag that read “ICUHAJI” was intended only as a message of support for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said. Not as a threat against Arabs.

What Andrew D. Meyer failed to mention was the content of the previous message his client had tried to get on his plates: HAJIKLR.

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