Roberta Moore says journalists like Andrew Gilligan ‘deserve our respect’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Andrew-GilliganWe’ve been a bit remiss in not covering recent developments in the English Defence League.

Just to bring you up to speed, if you haven’t been following this, the EDL leadership have broken links with their millionaire financial backer Alan Lake following an Observer exposé of Lake that quoted his notorious article proposing the future execution of pro-Islamic “appeasers” like David Cameron, Nick Clegg and the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Jewish division of the EDL have since come out in support of Lake – and of the EDL’s Combined Ex-Forces (CxF) group who have also been expelled following an attack on a Plymouth kebab shop.

While scrolling through the discussion forum on Lake’s 4 Freedoms website in search of further information on these splits, one thing that caught my eye was an exchange earlier this week between a Paul Collings and one “Morrigan Emaleth” – a pseudonym used by former EDL Jewish division leader Roberta Moore.

Objecting to the way journalists have been pursuing Lake, Collingswrites: “when you think of the news storys they could report on, like the erosion of our freedoms, the deaths of child suicide bombers, the creation of muslim enclaves around europe. These are things they should, but are to scared to report on, so they instead chase their own tails. The media gives us with nothing but half truths and lies to read. All we,re left with is a choise of which lie to believe. Its hard to call them journalists.”

To which Emaleth/Moore replies: “Paul, There must be a very sinister reason why they are not reporting this. On the other hand I take my hat off to Andrew Gilligham and co. They report it. They deserve our respect.”

In view of the considerable assistance given by Andrew Gilligan to the cause of furthering far-right anti-Muslim hatred, you might have thought Moore would at least make the effort to spell his name correctly. It’s also a bit unfair not to mention the other journalists who are worthy of the “respect” of this vile Islamophobic bigot and her co-thinkers. Surely Martin Bright deserves a name-check too?

UMP councillor sent racist email

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A politician with the centre-right UMP party near Nice found others didn’t get the joke when he sent a ‘humorous’ email mocking the North African accent.

Gilbert Garelli, a local councillor in La Colle-sur-Loup in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, sent the email to a group of 20 friends. The offending missive was sent on August 1st, the first day of Ramadan, and mis-spelled certain words to mimic the accent.

It ended with the line “I wish you a good Ramadan”, with “I wish” written as “ji souhaite” rather than the correct “je souhaite.” He attached a copy of his Socialist party opponents’ programme to the email, in Arabic, adding “remember to read it from right to left!”

A large number of the recipients reacted with horror. A fellow party member, Corinne Guidon, told local newspaper Nice Matin it was not “her kind of humour.”

“It was just a joke,” Garelli initially told the newspaper but, as the scandal grew, he apologized publicly for his poor taste and sent a conciliatory email to the original recipients.

The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, didn’t see the funny side and has instructed his team to take action. “This is no laughing matter,” Pascal Condomiti, an advisor to the mayor, told Le Figaronewspaper. “We will be meeting about this and will probably suspend him from the party.”

The Local, 5 August 2011

Garelli email

N.J. Governor: ‘This Shariah law business is crap’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday slammed the anti-Muslim “crazies” who have raised objections to his nomination of a Muslim lawyer to become a state Superior Court judge.

“Ignorance is behind the criticism of Sohail Mohammad,” Christie said in response to a reporter’s question at a Thursday press conference. “Sohail Mohammad is an extraordinary American who is an outstanding lawyer and played an integral role in the post-September 11th period in building bridges between the Muslim American community in this state and law enforcement.”

Critics have used the very track record Christie cited to depict Mohammad, an Indian-American, as a radical unfit for the bench. Steve Emerson’s Investigative Project on Terrorism in January derided Mohammad as a “longtime mouthpiece for radical Islamists”. Emerson traced Mohammad’s career back to his work as an immigration lawyer on behalf of Arab men who were detained after 9/11.

Christie pointed out that many people were wrongly arrested during that time, and that none of Mohammad’s post-9/11 clients were charged with crimes of terrorism. Christie added that Mohammad set up “dozens of meetings” between government and law enforcement officials and members of the Muslim-American community to build lines of trust.

A reporter asked Christie a question about Shariah law, which only fired up the governor’s frustration. “Shariah law has nothing to do with this at all. It’s crazy. It’s crazy. The guy is an American citizen … and has never been accused of doing anything but honorably and zealously acquitting the oath he took when he became a lawyer…. This Shariah law business is crap. It’s just crazy. And I’m tired of dealing with the crazies. It’s just unnecessary to be accusing this guy of things just because of his religious background…. I’m happy that he’s willing to serve after all this baloney.”

Hatewatch, 4 August 2011

Rocks thrown through window of Iowa mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

CLINTON, Iowa — Police have opened an investigation after Muslims in Clinton reported that rocks were thrown through the window of their mosque.

Anis Ansari, president of the Islamic Society of Clinton County, said Wednesday that members who arrived for evening prayers on July 22 discovered a broken window with about 17 rocks thrown through it. He says the mosque is repairing the window, which is attached to an exit door, at a cost of $1,200.

A police report shows officers from Clinton responded that night and documented the damage. The report says police are investigating the damage as criminal mischief.

Ansari says mosque members are troubled by the incident and wonder about the motivation.

The Iowa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Wednesday asked the FBI to investigate.

Associated Press, 3 August 2011

See also Quad City Times, 3 August 2011

American Muslim sues employer for firing over beard

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Seattle-area Muslim man is suing his former employer, claiming he was fired as a security guard for refusing to shave the beard he wears for religious reasons.

Abdulkadir Omar, 22, filed his federal lawsuit July 15 in Seattle against Sacramento-based American Patriot Security, seeking back pay and unspecified damages for emotional pain and loss of enjoyment of life, among other reasons. “Growing up in this country, where the Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of religion, I was let down,” Omar said Thursday at a press conference.

According to the lawsuit, Omar was hired by a local manager of the security company in May 2009 and earned $9 an hour guarding a FedEx warehouse in Kent, Wash. He said he started the same day he was hired, and was not told about the clean-shaven policy.

In November 2009, a supervisor from headquarters told him he had to shave his beard because of company policy. Omar responded that his beard is part of his religious beliefs and refused. He was suspended, and then fired the following spring, the lawsuit said.

A representative from American Patriot Security declined to answer questions.

Omar filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which found that he was wrongfully terminated and had the right to sue, according to a press release by the Council for American-Islamic Relations.

“There’s no policy that can go against the law of the land,” said Arsalan Bukhari, executive director of the Washington state chapter of CAIR. “Civil Rights Act trumps any (company) policy.” Bukhari said companies need to accommodate someone’s religious beliefs unless it’s an “undue burden.”

Associated Press, 4 August 2011

See also Seattle Times, 4 August 2011

Indy joins Daily Mail in promoting sharia hysteria

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Christina Patterson“In this country, we don’t have Sharia courts – courts which turn a religious code for living into an actual legal system – but we do have at least 85 Sharia councils. And we have a growing number of people who are trying to turn whole areas, like Waltham Forest, into ‘Sharia controlled zones’, and who are sticking stickers saying things like ‘no alcohol, no gambling, no music or concerts, no porn or prostitution, no drugs, no smoking’ in shop windows, and saying that they will patrol the streets to enforce the Sharia code.”

Christina Patterson in the Independent, 3 August 2011

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EDL march will go ahead in Telford, with restrictions

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Strict conditions are set to be imposed by police on a proposed march by the English Defence League which is to take place in Wellington Town Centre on Saturday, 13 August.

The march will take place between 1pm and 3pm and follow a police designated route from Church Street, turning right into Market Street, right into Bridge Road, right again into Queen Street and returning to Church Street.

In a move aimed at minimising the impact of the demonstration on traders and the wider community the police are using powers under the 1986 Public Order Act which will stipulate when and where EDL supporters may gather and the route their march must take.

Shropshire Live, 4 August 2011

Telford & Wrekin Council statement on the march

Telford & Wrekin Council say they disappointed that the EDL march will be going ahead.

Cllr Shaun Davies, cabinet member for Community Cohesion, said: “The overwhelming voice from the community in Telford, and in particular in Wellington, is that people do not want this march in our town.

“The Council would not want the march to go ahead but we understand and appreciate the very difficult position that the Police are in.

“The law and free speech allows for demonstrations and only under very clear criteria can these be stopped. The police have told us that these criteria have not been met and therefore the march goes ahead.

“The Police have the experience, resources and expertise in handling such matters and we continue to work very closely with them to minimise any disruption this march may cause and most importantly protect the safety of the community.

“While Telford is united against this unwelcome march, it is very important the Council, the community and all our partners continue to get behind the police and to make sure it has as little impact as possible on people and daily life in the borough.”

The EDL are complaining that the police will be restricting their march under Sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act. However, given that EDL protests regularly result in serious public disorder, there is no obvious reason why the police could not have applied for a total ban on the march under Section 13.