CoE chief: Anti-Muslim feeling on rise in Europe

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Council of Europe’s secretary general says the anti-Muslim beliefs of confessed Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik are shared by more Europeans than most people would like to believe.

Thorbjoern Jagland told the AP in an interview Wednesday that only a “very small minority” of like-minded individuals would act on those beliefs as Breivik did. But Jagland said he’s very concerned that xenophobic attitudes – especially toward Muslims – are getting worse in Europe.

Breivik has confessed to killing 77 people in a bomb attack and shooting spree in Norway last July. But he denies criminal guilt, saying he’s in a state of war and believes the massacre was necessary to save Norway and Europe from being overrun by Muslim immigrants.

Associated Press, 12 October 2011

‘The Cold War on British Muslims – The Instigators and Funders’ – successful meeting at House of Commons

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Cold War on British Muslims meeting platform

On Tuesday 11th October, the Middle East Monitor (MEMO) and the Cordoba Foundation (TCF) co-hosted the authors of the recent SpinWatch report on the spread of Islamophobia in the UK. The event took place in the House of Parliament and was sponsored by Simon Danczuk, MP for Rochdale, and chaired by the former foreign affairs editor for the Guardian, Victoria Brittain. The report entitled “Cold War on British Muslims: An Examination of Policy Exchange and Centre of Social Cohesion” was presented by the co-authors Professor David Miller, Tom Griffin and Tom Mills, who briefly described their findings and their analyses. They were joined on the panel by Dr Robert Lambert, former head of the Muslim Contact Unit and co-director of the European Muslim Research Centre (EMRC) at the University of Exeter and a part time lecturer at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV) at the University of St Andrews.

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‘Don’t accuse London universities of being hotbeds for terrorists,’ says head of UCL

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Malcolm Grant has the serene demeanour that might be expected of the head of one of London’s most prestigious universities. But mention the Government’s latest counter-terrorism strategy and its insistence that universities must do more to look for potential extremists, and his mood changes.

“That was just stupid,” he says, with a look of exasperation on his face as he rounds on ministers for their accompanying suggestion that previous inaction has allowed campuses to become breeding grounds for terrorists.

“It was stupid to say that of those convicted of terrorism offences, more than 30 per cent had been to university, and to suggest that there was a link. It is simply a reflection of the fact that a large proportion of the population have been to university. There seems to be no evidence of a causal connection between attendance at university and engagement in religiously inspired violence.”

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Add Muslim college students to the list of locals the NYPD spied on

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Associated Press’s series on NYPD spying continues today with the news that Muslim students at colleges in New York were investigated covertly by the secret NYPD and CIA program that also monitored community centers, government allies, and entire neighborhoods in the years after September 11. The new report places NYPD undercover officers at schools including Brooklyn College, Baruch, Hunter, City College, Queens College, La Guardia, and St. John’s, where they sought out student radicalization. But according to experts, their methods “may have broken a 19-year-old pact with the colleges and violated U.S. privacy laws, jeopardizing millions of dollars in federal research money and student aid.”

“The government, through the police department, is working privately to destroy the private lives of Muslim citizens,” said Moustafa Bayoumi, an English professor at Brooklyn College.

New York Magazine, 11 October 2011

See also “CAIR seeks DOJ probe of NYPD violation of Muslim students’ privacy”, CAIR press release, 11 October 2011

More on Saturday’s EDL demo (3)

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL OLFA placards

This photograph from the EDL protest last Saturday has been widely circulated around the internet, with comments mainly focusing on the disparity between the EDL’s claim that the event was organised by “Angels” and the physical appearance of the individuals in the picture. However a more sigificant aspect of the photo is the placards they are holding, two of which jointly promote the EDL and the One Law For All campaign.

The EDL/OLFA placards were displayed prominently on the demonstration itself (see here, here and here). This not the first time that publicity for the One Law For All campaign has featured on a far-right protest – one of their placards was seen last year on an English Nationalist Alliance march – but it is certainly unprecedented for OLFA’s logo and slogans to appear on propaganda material produced by the far right.

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Protest against Muslim ‘racism’ at Yorkshire school

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Residents held a candle-lit protest at a school’s open evening alleging racism amongst pupils. But the headteacher of Thornhill Community Science College, Jonny Mitchell, said the claims were unsubstantiated.

Around 12 protesters met outside the school in Valley Drive as it held an open evening. Organiser Shaun Maddox said: “There is no community cohesion here at all. There seems to be a barrier between the white community and the Muslim community.” He said he had heard several allegations of Asian pupils attacking white pupils. Mr Maddox, of Valley Road, Thornhill, said: “We need to address these issues and have an open public debate.”

After the protest, Mr Mitchell said: “It’s a concern that people are telling untruths and making these unsubstantiated claims.” Mr Mitchell said that a very small proportion of fights amongst current pupils were reported as racially motivated. He said:

“Since the start of the year there have been five fights, if you can call them that, and none have been reported as racially motivated. You can look at it two ways when an Asian pupil and a white pupil have a fight. The public perception of that may be that it is racist, but it might be that they simply disagree about something.”

Mr Mitchell said that pupils from different ethnic backgrounds were encouraged to work together and mixed at break times.

Dewsbury Reporter, 10 October 2011

Posted in UK

EDL falsely claims to have recruited Joey Barton

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Stephen Lennon with Joey BartonThe English Defence League has claimed that Queens Park Rangers footballer, Joey Barton, has joined their far-right group.

A picture of Barton standing next to EDL leader, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has appeared on the EDL Support Group Facebook page with the caption “Joey Barton joins the EDL”.

However, Barton and the club strongly deny any links with the far right extremists. In a statement released by the club, Barton said “As a Premier League footballer it is common to pose for photographs with people you do not know, as is the case here. I had no idea who the person was. I simply agreed to his request for a photograph. I have absolutely no connection with such a group.”

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More on Saturday’s EDL demo (2)

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hel Gower EDL(2)A video report of Saturday’s English Defence League and Unite Against Fascism demonstrations features Hel Gower, head of the EDL’s admin team and PA to the leadership.

Interviewed as she and her colleagues hand in their “EDL Angels are not sick” petition at Downing Street, Gower repeats the official line that the EDL’s women members are “wives, mothers, grandmothers, aunts”. This is no doubt true, but it doesn’t prevent the laughably misnamed “Angels” from also being racists and neo-Nazis.

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EDL falsely claims to have recruited Joey Barton

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Stephen Lennon with Joey BartonThe English Defence League has claimed that Queens Park Rangers footballer, Joey Barton, has joined their far-right group.

A picture of Barton standing next to EDL leader, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has appeared on the EDL Support Group Facebook page with the caption “Joey Barton joins the EDL”.

However, Barton and the club strongly deny any links with the far right extremists. In a statement released by the club, Barton said “As a Premier League footballer it is common to pose for photographs with people you do not know, as is the case here. I had no idea who the person was. I simply agreed to his request for a photograph. I have absolutely no connection with such a group.”

Last year, a similar picture of Yaxley-Lennon standing next to glamour model, Katie Price appeared on the EDL’s Facebook page along with the claim that she also supported the group. At the time, a spokesperson for Price’s management company said “She is not and will not be associated with the English Defence League. Kate had no reason to suspect he had any connection with any group.”

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