CRASBO for EDL member who attacked Islamic literature stall

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL attack Islamic literature stall in Hyde ParkAn English Defence League member who become involved with a clash with Muslims in Hyde Park has been banned from attending future marches without notifying police in advance.

Brian Bristow, 38, of no fixed address, was one of three men who admitted threatening behaviour towards a man running a stall providing Islamic literature near Speakers’ Corner, in October last year. The victim was verbally abused and had his possessions thrown around.

Earlier in the day, the men had attended an EDL rally outside the Israeli embassy in Kensington, which ended in a confrontation between EDL members and anti-fascist campaigners in Hyde Park.

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Opposition to mosque has nothing to do with race or religion, Blackpool protestors claim

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Around 100 residents gathered to demonstrate their opposition to a mosque which they claim is operating illegally.

The Muslim worship centre has sparked controversy since opening without planning permission in a former take-away on Waterloo Road, South Shore. On Tuesday night Natasha Shah, co-owner of the mosque, faced a barrage of criticism from opponents to the scheme.

Protesters said their anger had “nothing to do with race or religion” but that they were concerned the development would trigger traffic and parking problems in that part of South Shore.

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Posted in UK

‘No ragheads’ response to plan for Islamic centre in Illinois town

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Timoth Sylvia, pastor of HOPE United Church of Christ in Naperville, first noticed the signs saying “Vote No to Mosque on 248” early this week.

The signs relate to the possible annexation into Naperville of a 14-acre property on 248th Avenue just south of 95th Street. The land is currently owned by the United Church of Christ’s national organization. However, the Islamic Center of Naperville is working to purchase the land and get it annexed into the city. The site includes a four-bedroom house which United Church of Christ used for offices before moving to its new location at 1701 Quincy Ave. in Naperville this summer. The rest of the property is farmland.

The annexation was discussed on Wednesday night at the Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. The meeting may have been the spark for those who put the signs up in the area.

Sylvia said he got word Monday that signs had been put up on the property. He said one sign put in the front yard of the property said “No Ragheads on 248”. “It was just disheartening,” he said. There were also signs saying a basic “Vote No to Mosque on 248” on utility poles up and down 248th Avenue, he said, and also along stretches of Route 59 in Naperville.

Naperville Sun, 6 October 2011

See also Chicago Tribune, 7 October 2011

Posted in USA

EDL: not saluting but waving

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A blog called European Son has an interview with James Cohen, the recently-appointed head of the English Defence League’s Jewish Division.

The bit that made me laugh was where the interviewer points out “there have been many, many photographs of EDL members giving Nazi salutes”, to which Cohen replies that “a lot of those pictures are just guys hailing taxis, and waving at friends”.

EDL nazi salute
‘Taxi!’ EDL member hails cab

Moroccan Islamist leader threatens to sue Dutch newspapers over false terrorism accusations

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hassan BakirMoroccan Islamist Hassan Bakir has fled back from Spain to the Netherlands. After ten weeks of detention and house arrest, waiting for a Spanish decision about his extradition to Morocco, he thought it was time to go. Back in the Netherlands, he wants to clear his reputation. “I am falsely depicted here as a dangerous terrorist.”

Last Friday, the Spanish council of ministers authorized the judge to proceed with the extradition procedure of Hassan Bakir to Morocco. For Bakir it was the last drop. “I didn’t do anything wrong. All that time I have waited for them to find that out and release me. But the decision of the council of ministers really scared me so I decided to flee.” He left the address where he was under house arrest and travelled over land to the Netherlands in two days.

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Hertz suspends praying Muslim shuttle drivers

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Zainab AweisIn the three years she’s worked as a shuttle driver for Hertz at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Zainab Aweis, had always taken time out of her shift each day to pray.

An observant Muslim, she prays five times a day – with one, sometimes two of those prayer times falling during her shift. “That was the one benefit of the job,” the 20-year-old said.

On Friday, she and 33 other drivers – all of them Somali Muslims – were suspended indefinitely from their jobs after they took religious breaks to pray while at work without first clocking out. A spokesman for Teamsters Local 117, which represents the workers, said it is trying to get the workers back on the job.

While the drivers were allowed two 10-minute breaks during their work shifts during which they could pray, Teamsters officials said managers had agreed in negotiations that workers would not have to clock out and in, though the contact itself does not address the matter.

And the workers and their union said Hertz had previously not required that workers clock out for prayer. The union said it has filed an unfair-labor-practices complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against Hertz for failing to notify the union in advance of what it called a policy change.

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White House intervened to block notorious Islamophobes addressing security conference

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The CIA and Department of Homeland Security abruptly canceled a conference in August on homegrown U.S. radical extremism in what officials close to the issue say was an effort to block two conservative anti-terrorism experts from presenting their views.

The conference was slated for Aug. 10 through 12 at agency headquarters in McLean and was to have been hosted by the CIA Threat Management Unit. It was organized by the intelligence subcommittee of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

“The conference topic is a critical one for domestic law enforcement, and the sponsors – in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security – have decided to delay the conference so it can include insights from among other sources, the new National Strategy for Counterterrorism in an updated agenda,” wrote CIA police officer Lt. Joshua Fielder in an email announcing the postponement in early August.

According to people close to the conference, the event was ordered “postponed” after Muslim advocacy groups contacted the Department of Homeland Security and the White House about the scheduled speakers, who included Stephen Coughlin and Steve Emerson, both specialists on the Islamist terror threat.

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Belgium: constitutional court refuses to suspend veil ban law

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Belgium’s highest court on Wednesday refused to suspend a law banning the wearing of burqas, but said it was still examining whether the recently-adopted act is legal.

The Constitutional Court ruled that there was no evidence that the two women who have appealed against the law have suffered serious discrimination, the Belga news agency reported – leaving no ground to suspend it.

The measure came into force in July, making Belgium the second in Europe after France to criminalize the burqa, which completely covers women’s bodies, as well as other types of Islamic veils.

Anyone caught in public places with their face completely or partially covered – thus preventing identification – is liable to a fine of up to 137 euros (182 dollars) and up to seven days’ imprisonment.

DPA, 6 October 2011

FBI Director says anti-Muslim counterterrorism training sessions were ‘isolated incidents’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Robert MuellerFBI Director Robert Mueller told the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday that the counterterrorism training sessions conducted by his bureau that claimed American-Muslims were likely to be terrorist sympathizers were isolated.

Mueller called the FBI training materials in question “inappropriate offensive content” but asserted they weren’t commonplace, calling the incidents “an aberration.”

“I think that’s a very valid concern. And as I have pointed out, I think this is a very unusual occasion,” Mueller said.

“We have undertaken a review from top to bottom of our counterterrorism training. I think these are isolated incidents,” Mueller said. “We have 34,000 employees and we do a great deal of training. We understand the sensitivity and the importance of assuring that that training that we give to our persons are appropriate.”

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Three years’ detention for racist teenager who brutally attacked pensioner outside mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

------ Wire Picture Name:sfkst190711mosque-1.jpgA teenager who brutally attacked an elderly worshipper outside a mosque has been given three years’ detention.

Samuel Cassidy, 16, left 71-year-old Muhammed Iqbal with horrific injuries after kicking and stamping on his head, even after he lay unconscious, during the racist attack.

Mr Iqbal, a retired shopkeeper, was opening up Ayrshire Central Mosque in Kilmarnock for early morning prayers shortly before 2am when Cassidy pounced, calling him a “Paki b******”.

Nancy Beresford, prosecuting, said Cassidy pushed Mr Iqbal to the ground before kicking and stamping on his head and body. Witnesses said the attack continued after the grandfather lay unconscious on the ground. She said: “This continued for what they thought was about ten minutes.”

Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard Cassidy fled before two more worshippers arrived on the scene. One was a doctor and gave first aid while an ambulance was called. Mr Iqbal was taken to Crosshouse Hospital suffering from severe facial injuries. He needed scans and was kept in hospital for several days. The court heard Cassidy boasted in a text message: “I have just left a Paki in a puddle of blood.”

Cassidy, of Bishopton, Renfrewshire, admitted racially aggravated assault to severe injury in July.

The attack caused widespread disgust in the Kilmarnock district, where Mr Iqbal was decribed as a “pillar of the community” for more than 40 years. Dr Shaheen Mirza, vice-chairman of Ayrshire Central Mosque, said after the incident: “It is a sad day when an elderly gentleman of any community is viciously attacked. How you treat your elderly is a gauge of the community’s civility you live in.”

STV, 6 October 2011