Shock revelations by JC: Ken Livingstone thinks author of ‘Celsius 7/7’ is Islamophobic and that Zionists want to isolate Qaradawi

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Gove CelsiusFormer Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has claimed Education Secretary Michael Gove is “stridently Islamophobic”.

Mr Livingstone made his comments in an interview after being asked about his invitation to controversial Egyptian cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi during his time as mayor. He said “fervent Zionists” such as Mr Gove had wanted to “isolate” Sheikh al-Qaradawi because of his criticisms of Israel.

Mr Livingstone added: “Just look at [Gove’s] writings and the general tone he takes is to depict Islam as genuinely a threat. He’s at the extreme end of this.” He told the London Loves Business website that “people like Michael Gove and others have been stridently Islamophobic for some time, and they assume there are votes in this”.

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Challenging misinformation about Muslims and lazy caricatures of Islam

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“There is a lot of misinformation about the British Muslim community. In 2009 the Gallup Coexist Index found that only 36% of the British public thought that British Muslims were ‘loyal to this country’ as opposed to 82% of the British Muslim community. The surprise at the findings of Muslim pride in Britain is rooted in a prejudice that leads people to believe that it is paradoxical for someone to hold both their religious and national identities as important. Lazy caricatures of Islam as contradicting many of the rights and values that are seen as quintessentially British – particularly freedom and democracy – only exacerbate this problem.”

Mark Greer at Comment is Free, 23 November 2011

See also “Media report on Proud British Muslims”, ENGAGE, 22 November 2011

Fascists promote petition to ban sharia law

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The British National Party is promoting an e-petition calling on the government to ban sharia law in the UK. BNP leader Nick Griffin is quoted as saying:

“The Muslim community are pushing ahead with setting up sharia law in parts of Britain and are banking on little opposition because of people’s fears of being branded ‘racists’ if they dare to voice their objections. It is important that the Government know that the British people will not allow Sharia Law to be established in Britain through the back door.”

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‘The Queen hosts a halal state banquet’ shock

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Abdullah Gul with QueenThe Queen held a halal state banquet at Buckingham Palace for Turkish President Abdullah Gul tonight and promised British backing for his country’s bid to join the European Union.

She celebrated ever-closer political and economic ties between the two nations, despite concerns over allowing the predominantly Asian and Muslim country into the EU.

“We have come through a great deal together to develop what is, today, a very modern partnership,” she said. “In Europe, the British Government remains committed to working with you to secure your place in the European Union.”

The 85-year-old monarch and 170 British and Turkish guests sat down to a completely halal state banquet of lamb from the royal estate at Windsor in the palace ballroom.

“It’s a matter of politeness that it’s halal. The President and his wife are guests of the Queen. We wouldn’t do a separate menu for them so everyone eats the same,” a palace spokeswoman said.

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Opponents of Sheepshead Bay mosque lose appeal

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sheepshead Bay mosque opponents
Protestors against Sheepshead Bay mosque – no mention of traffic or parking problems

A group of Sheepshead Bay residents who claim that a planned mosque is using a zoning loophole to skirt parking requirements lost their latest attempt to halt the controversial project, after the Board of Standards and Appeals unanimously rejected their claims today.

Though it hasn’t attracted as much attention as Park 51, the Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan, the mosque planned for 2812 Voorhies Avenue, on a residential block between East 28th and East 29th streets, has inspired protests, a lawsuit and challenges before the Department of Buildings.

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Herman Cain thanked God his doctor wasn’t a Muslim

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Herman Cain faced a backlash today over his admission that he was worried about being treated by his cancer doctor because he “sounded too foreign.”

The Republican presidential candidate said he was worried the physician – a Dr. Abdallah – was not Christian after learning he came from Lebanon. After being told his doctor was, indeed, a Christian, Cain said he whooped: “Hallelujah! Thank God!”

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Columbia, Maryland: community group to counter backlash against women-only swimming sessions

Posted on by Bob Pitt

People Acting Together in HowardConcerned about backlash against a women-only swim program initiated by members of the Muslim community, People Acting Together in Howard members plan to take a stand at tonight’s Columbia Association meeting. “We’ll have some people there, so if there are negative comments, we’ll be there to present the other side,” Wendel Thompson, a member of Bethany United Methodist Church, said Monday.

In reading letters to the editor that have appeared in the Baltimore Sun, as well as comments made online at Columbia Patch and the Huffington Post, Thompson said he is concerned that much of the opposition is rooted in anti-Muslim sentiment.

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Bloc identitaire leader in court over pigs’ mask raid on council meeting

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bloc identitaire in Angers

A 43-year-old civil servant, the local leader of the Bloc identitaire who works at the Angers prefecture, has appeared in court on Monday charged with obstructing the council.

On 8 April he provided pigs’ masks to a group of young Bloc identitaire activists. They disrupted the Angers city council, shouting “Not a penny for the mosque”. They then handed out leaflets to councillors on which it was written that Anjou was not “a land of Islam”.

Shocked by this intervention, the mayor had to suspend the council proceedings and filed a complaint. A civil party at trial, the mayor of Angers claimed a symbolic €1.

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French mosque is target of arson attack and Nazi graffiti

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sud Ouest reports that when a member of staff arrived at the mosque in Villeneuve-sur-Lot in south west France on Saturday morning they found that the slogan “Islam out of Europe” had been daubed on the walls in black paint along with swastikas and “88” (Nazi code for “Heil Hitler”). A wooden pallet had been set on fire against the front door but had only caused minor damage. Police also discovered a bottle thought to contain a fire accelerant.

A report by Ajib (via Islam in Europe) points out that the graffiti and arson at Villeneuve-sur-Lot is the latest in a series of criminal attacks on French mosques. Earlier this month the mosque in Montbéliard was the target of an arson attack that caused serious damage. A few days before, on the day of Eid al-Adha, Muslims in Saint-Armand-les-Eaux in the département du Nord were shocked to discover racist graffiti on the door of their mosque.

In a statement condemning the attack in Villeneuve-sur-Lot the Conseil Francais du Culte Musulman reiterates its call for a parliamentary inquiry into the rise of anti-Muslim hatred in France.