Stephen Lennon to be appointed deputy leader of the British Freedom Party

Posted on by Bob Pitt

UAF Luton anti-EDL demonstrationEDL News has the details. According to leaked documents they have acquired, at a meeting of the English Defence League and the British Freedom Party in February it was agreed that EDL leader Stephen Lennon (“Tommy Robinson”) would become deputy leader of the BFP, currently led by former UKIP parliamentary candidate Paul Weston.

This follows on from the political alliance declared by the EDL and BFP last November. The intention is to announce the decision at a press conference in Luton on 5 May before an EDL demonstration in the town later that day.

Continue reading →

Tory MP’s anti-halal bill rejected

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An attempt by a Bradford MP to make it law for all halal and kosher meat to be clearly labelled, allowing shoppers to have freedom of choice, has been thrown out.

Shipley MP Philip Davies said people had a right to know what they were eating and a change in the law would benefit everyone. He said: “My Bill would benefit those people who want to make sure their meat is kosher or halal before purchasing it, just as much as those who want to make sure it isn’t kosher or halal.”

But Manchester Gorton MP Gerald Kaufman opposed the Bill, forcing MPs to vote, on grounds Mr Davies was singling out two minorities. He said he would not have opposed the Bill if it had a wider scope, including labels on any chicken being sold that had been kept in “dreadful conditions”.

MPs voted by 73 against Mr Davies’ Bill and 70 in favour.

Continue reading →

Amnesty International finds bias against European Muslims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Amnesty InternationalA new report from Amnesty International has found that some European Muslims are regularly denied employment and educational opportunities because of widespread cultural and religious stereotypes that lead to discrimination against them.

The report, titled “Choice and Prejudice: Discrimination Against Muslims in Europe“, examines the lives of Muslims in Switzerland, France, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands. It found that individuals who wear specific forms of dress, like a head scarf, or other symbols associated with Islam, do worse with jobs and schooling because of prejudicial attitudes and legal impunity in these European states.

Continue reading →

Temple University, Philadelphia: protestors condemn Geller and Spencer’s ‘irrational hatred’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Temple University protestProtestors who had filled the auditorium seats at an anti-Muslim event on Temple University’s campus Monday night left the room quite empty when they marched out in opposition after the discussion began.

The organization hosting the “Islamic Apartheid Conference,” Temple University Students for Intellectual Freedom, says its mission is to introduce controversial issues often left out of mainstream debates and defends its right to political incorrectness. Panelists at the conference included Robert Spencer, contributor to the blog Jihad Watch, and Pamela Geller, famous for her hostility to the proposed construction of an Islamic community center near the site of the World Trade Center.

Continue reading →

Brookfield, Milwaukee: crowd largely supports mosque amid sharia law concerns

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Brookfield forumReligion dominated a forum Monday about a proposed mosque in Brookfield, with nary a question about traffic or location, as most in the audience backed the facility for the Islamic Society of Milwaukee.

Amid concerns about sharia law and Muslim treatment of women, a crowd largely supported a proposed mosque in Brookfield, applauding a man who apologized to local Muslims for some of the negative reaction they have faced.

Continue reading →

St. Louis County Jail changes search policies to address Muslim religious concerns

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The St. Louis County jail has decided to change its search policies after hearing from Muslim leaders who were upset over the forced removal of a woman’s religious headscarf earlier this year.

From now on, a woman wearing a hijab will be allowed to go into a private room to have the headscarf searched, then will be allowed to put it back on for the rest of the time that she is held at the jail — at least for as long as jailers are processing her arrest. The jail is still researching how to handle the issue with inmates who are housed there long-term.

Continue reading →

Norwegian Defence League protest flops

Posted on by Bob Pitt

NDL Stavanger demo ad

Police say about 40 far-right radicals have held a peaceful rally to protest what they call the “Islamization of Norway and Europe”.

The demonstration in the southwestern city of Stavanger was held Saturday by the Norwegian Defence League, an anti-Islam organization closely associated with the English Defence League.

Saturday’s demonstration opposed a recent parliamentary decision to amend the country’s constitution to separate the state from the church. That means Norway no longer has a state religion and that all religions will be treated equally.

Continue reading →

Lars Hedegaard acquitted on anti-Muslim hate speech charge – Mad Mel still not entirely happy

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Over at her Daily Mail blog (which used to be hosted by the Spectator until they got hit by a costly libel action) Melanie Phillips hails as “a victory” the decision by Denmark’s Supreme Court to overturn the conviction of Lars Hedegaard on a charge of inciting hatred against Muslims.

Mad Mel’s only criticism is that Hedegaard was acquitted on the technicality that he had made the offensive statements in the course of an interview which he claimed he had no idea would be published and therefore had “no intention of disseminating his remarks to a wider audience”. Whereas Phillips evidently believes Hedegaard should have the absolute right to incite hatred against Muslims without any restriction whatsoever.

It appears to have escaped Phillips’ attention that Article 266b of the Danish Penal Code, under which Hedegaard was charged, was originally introduced in 1939 in order to defend Denmark’s Jewish community against the incitement of hatred by far-right antisemites. Presumably Phillips thinks that was a mistake.

National Front aims to revive 70s ‘glory days’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

NF Islam Out of Britain placardIn the febrile politics of the 1970s the National Front (NF) ruthlessly exploited working-class fears over immigration to create a far-right threat unseen in Britain since Sir Oswald Mosley.

The party’s shows of strength saw police and anti-fascists clash violently on the streets, while at the 1979 general election the NF was able to mobilise more than 300 candidates and attract nearly 200,000 votes.

Yet its decline was as dramatic as it was precipitous. Rocked by a series of internal feuds and the electoral success of the breakaway British National Party (BNP), within a decade the NF was commanding little more than a few dozen supporters.

Now, amid mounting fears that the far right is riding a rising tide of Islamophobia in Britain, the whites-only party is seeking to stage an unlikely comeback. At next month’s London Assembly, local council and mayoral elections it is putting up 35 candidates – the highest number it has fielded for 30 years.

Continue reading →

French far-right soars in presidential vote

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Front National demonstrationThe anti-immigrant far right emerged as a potentially major force in French politics with a record showing by its candidate Marine Le Pen in the first round of presidential elections.

Le Pen, who rails against European unity and what she says is the Islamization of France, took third place with more than 18 percent of the vote.

Her backers could play a critical role in the final round of elections May 6, helping determine whether conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy sinks or survives in his battle with Socialist challenger Francois Hollande, who held a thin lead in the first-round vote.

Continue reading →