Lincoln BNP candidate arrested over ‘racist images’ on Facebook page

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Dean LowtherA British National Party candidate in Lincoln has been arrested over allegations of racist content on his Facebook page.

It was reported that anti-Islamic and other racist images and slogans appeared on the site of Dean Lowther, who is standing in Bracebridge ward in the city council elections.

Lincolnshire Police spokesman James Newall said: “Police have reviewed the material in question and a 45-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of producing material inciting racial hatred in the south of the city this morning. He is currently helping police with their enquiries.”

Lincolnshire Echo, 12 April 2012

According to an earlier report in the paper: “Muslim women were pictured with words stating that they are ‘heading our way’ and will claim benefits for their children from ‘our race traitor Government’.”

Time for the National Review to take a stand against Islamophobia

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Eli Clifton (co-author of the Center for American Progress report Fear, Inc. The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America) points out that National Review has apparently decided to purge itself of white supremacists and racists and asks how long the magazine and its website will continue to host anti-Muslim bigots like Robert Spencer, David Horowitz and Daniel Pipes.

Think Progress, 11 April 2012

299 women reported under veil ban law says French interior ministry

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Kenza Drider arrestOne year after France introduced a law banning women from wearing full-face veils in public, officials report that around 300 have been fined reported.

The ban on wearing the niqab in any public place was introduced on April 11th 2011. It is illegal for any woman to wear the veil except when they are at home, worshipping in a religious place or travelling as a passenger in a private car. Wearing the veil can lead to a fine of €150 ($200) and forced attendance at a citizenship class.

Interior ministry officials reported that “in one year there have been 354 police checks and 299 fines issued reports made,” reported Le Parisien newspaper.

Continue reading →

About time a GOP politician defended Muslim faith

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Barack Obama himself has never had the guts to say it.

Indeed, while it is famously difficult to prove a negative, it seems apparent that few people in all of politics and media have had the guts to say it. Did John McCain ever say it? Did Rick Santorum or Bill O’Reilly?

So let us plant a little flag for, mark with a yellow highlighter, the thing Rep. Raul Labrador said Sunday on Meet The Press: that “it wouldn’t matter” if President Obama were a Muslim. And if it seems rather much to be handing out medals for such a modest statement of principle, well . . . the principle has been under fire for so long that even a modest statement feels momentous.

In recent years, public figures have made news for refuting (like McCain) or failing to refute (like Santorum) the canard that Obama is a follower of Islam. But outside of Colin Powell, who did so a few years back on Meet The Press, it is difficult to think of many – or any – who have dared to confront the notion implicit in the lie. Namely, that being a Muslim is incompatible with being an American.

Leonard Pitts Jr. applauds Idaho Republican congressman Raúl Labrador’s statement on the NBC news/interview programme Meet the Press.

Miami Herald, 10 April 2012

Anti-racists unite to take on EDL threat in Luton

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL placards Luton February 2011
Placards at EDL demonstration in Luton in February 2011

Anti-fascist activists, Muslim groups, trade unionists and local councillors in Luton are banding together to see off the threat from the racist English Defence League (EDL).

The EDL is threatening to march through Luton town centre on Saturday 5 May. They have targeted the town several times in the past, notably in February last year.

But the groups behind the “We Are Luton” statement have vowed to oppose the EDL and mount a march to St George’s Square. That’s the place where the EDL assembled last time, with police help.

“The EDL is a racist group dedicated to promoting hatred and intolerance in society,” the statement reads. “Islamophobia – bigotry against Muslims – is as unacceptable as any other form of racism.”

Continue reading →

Vote for Boris, says English Defence League

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Casuals United Vote for Boris

You may remember that in the 2008 London mayoral election the British National Party called for a second preference vote for Boris Johnson. The EDL’s football hooligan section, Casuals United, has outdone the BNP by advocating a first preference for Johnson in this year’s election. Their call has been endorsed by the EDL Jewish Division.

The “shining beacon of Islam” quote and the reference to promising financial support to Muslims are of course taken from a piece by Andrew Gilligan, which misrepresented a speech given by Ken Livingstone at the North London Central Mosque.

Gilligan’s impact on the London mayoral election this year is far less than in 2008, when his witch-hunt of Ken’s then equalities advisor Lee Jasper produced screaming headlines on Evening Standard billboards across London. These days most of his “journalism” has been relegated to a blog on the Telegraph‘s website. Still, Gilligan must be gratified to know that he still has some influence somewhere, even if it’s among a gang of racist thugs.

Corsica: racist arson attack on Muslim prayer room

Posted on by Bob Pitt

France’s interior ministry says an arsonist has partially destroyed a Muslim prayer room in the Mediterranean island of Corsica’s capital city.

A ministry statement said racist inscriptions were found Monday on the front of the building housing the prayer room in Ajaccio after it was damaged in the early morning fire.

French Muslim leaders have voiced fear of renewed stigmatization following March attacks that killed seven people in southern France that were attributed to an Islamist who claimed al-Qaida links. Mohamed Merah was shot dead by police.

Rivals of conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy in presidential elections starting April 22 claim a recent sweep of terror suspects is an electoral ploy.

AFP, 9 April 2012

Norway’s mass killer Breivik declared sane

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Anders Breivik in handcuffsA second psychiatric evaluation of Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik has found him sane enough to face trial and a jail term. The findings contradict a previous evaluation, published in November, that found him legally insane.

Breivik is due to stand trial on Monday over a shooting spree last July, in which he admits killing 77 people. The question of his sanity decides whether he will be sent to a psychiatric ward or jail.

“The main conclusion of the experts is that Anders Behring Breivik is found to be not psychotic during the time of his actions on July 22, 2011,” the Oslo court said in a statement on Tuesday. “That means that he is considered criminally responsible at the time of the crime.”

Continue reading →

Berlin’s largest mosque targeted in hate crime attack

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bischof Dröge besucht Sehitlik-Moschee

Berlin’s largest mosque has been targeted in an Islamophobic attack in the German capital’s predominantly migrant district of Neukölln.

Unknown assailants threw several paint bombs at the Sehitlik mosque Saturday night. They also placed an insulting anti-Islam picture at the entrance to the building. Berlin police said that a threatening letter had been sent to the mosque recently.

Continue reading →