EDL receive ‘lukewarm reception’ in Batley

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL Bately August 2014EDL protesters in Batley received a lukewarm reception today when they held their first national demonstration in the town.

Up to 350 people from across the country are believed to have taken part in the rally, which was held in Batley market place. But local campaigners and residents said that the far-right group were not welcome in the area and that the event had been a ‘huge waste of taxpayers money.’

Hundreds of police officers from Yorkshire, Humberside and beyond were drafted in to oversee the demo, which was called in protest at what the EDL say is the growing influence of Islam and English people “treated as second class citizens.” A group marched from the Wellington pub into the square, where they gathered for just over one hour from 1pm to hear speeches, whilst surrounded by police.

Considerably smaller than the national demonstration that took place in Dewsbury in 2012, they waved St Georges Cross and Israeli flags whilst chanting ‘Yorkshire’ and ‘EDL’. It is the first time a national EDL protest has been held in the region since joint founder Tommy Robinson left in 2013, when he sighted concerns of ‘dangers of far-right extremism’ and violence.

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North West Infidels’ anti-mosque protest ‘should not have been allowed in residential area’, says councillor

Posted on by Bob Pitt

NWI banner Astley Bridge Mosque protest August 2012The North West Infidels’ anti-mosque protest should not have been allowed in a residential area, a councillor claims.

Cllr Guy Harkin said he and his Crompton ward colleagues were “profoundly unhappy” that protesters from outside of Bolton were bussed in by coaches to the area for the demonstration on Saturday.

But police said they offered other locations to protesters – but they were adamant that they would protest close to the mosque.

Cllr Harkin said: “People have the right to a peaceful protest, but the lot on Saturday looked like the cast of Benefits Street. They are thugs. Why should a national protest be allowed to come into a small side street, in the middle of our ward?

“You have a demonstration attracting people from across the country, and it struck me it is just not acceptable to bring these people into a residential area. It wasn’t a peaceful protest. It was a violent protest that was contained by the police who stopped it becoming a major incident.”

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Man accused of disrupting Ramadan at Brooklyn mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Islamic Society of Bay RidgeA Williamsburg man allegedly disrupted Ramadan for Muslim worshipers in Bay Ridge, after he repeatedly drove by their mosque blasting Israeli music, law enforcement sources said Friday.

The 20-year-old Chaim Weiss decorated his 2013 Honda with a handful of Israeli flags and pumped up the music as worshipers were inside a mosque at 68th Street and Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge at 4 a.m. July 20, a criminal court document states.

Mohamed Elnashar, executive director of the Islamic Society of Bay Ridge, captured the whole thing on video surveillance, which shows the man driving by at least six times in the flagged ride, the court documents charge.

Weiss allegedly then parked in front of the mosque, which was filled with a large congregation of people who approached and tried to stop him, law enforcement sources said.

Weiss fled the scene and drove back and forth four more times with the Israeli hits playing as the religious ceremony was in session, the sources said.

He then set up shop in front of the mosque again, displaying the Israeli flags on his ride, all while Elnashar read from the Quran – though he had to stop because the music was too loud, the documents show.

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Dutch Jewish group dumps Wilders over Islam comments

Posted on by Bob Pitt

geen excuus voor jodenhaatA Dutch Jewish group dropped the politician Geert Wilders from a petition against anti-Semitism.

The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, or CIDI, had approached Wilders for his signature along with other well-known Dutchmen. But the group dropped Wilders’ name when the petition appeared on Thursday as a full-page ad in De Telegraaf daily.

“In the Netherlands, everyone must live safely, also Jews,” read the petition. The petition noted that it was not an “expression of solidarity with Israel’s government.” Rather, the 86 signatories said: “Criticism of Israel? Okay. Jew-hatred? No way.”

CIDI director Esther Voet told the Volkskrant daily that Wilders, the leader of the far-right Party for Freedom, was removed after he criticized a joint declaration earlier this week by Jewish community representatives and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

In an open letter this week, Wilders accused Rutte of ignoring “the elephant in the room,” adding: “You fear Islam so you will not say what everybody knows: The more Islam grows in the Netherlands, the more anti-Semitism grows.”

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Michigan man charged for attempting to pull off Muslim mom’s veil and cloak

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jonathan Patrick DeuelA Michigan man is facing jail time for an alleged assault against a Muslim mom. Jonathan Patrick Deuel, 29, was charged with ethnic intimidation and misdemeanor assault and battery on Thursday for what Muslim activists are calling a “hate crime.”

The July 19 attack came as the woman and her family were enjoying a day at a Meridian Township mall. 26-year-old woman was walking to her car with her 5-year-old daughter when a group of three – two men and one woman – surrounded her. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the attackers attempted to pull off the woman’s niqab and abaya – the traditional veil and cloak that some Muslim women wear in public.

The woman was allegedly knocked to the ground while her attackers shouted slurs and cursed at her. The assailants fled after the woman’s husband heard her cries and rushed to the scene. The mom was hospitalized for 36 hours, complaining of chest pain and a numbness in her left arm.

Meridian Township Police announced that Deuel will be the only suspect charged for the attack. The ethnic intimidation charge is a felony which could cost Deuel up to two years in prisonl and a $5,000 fine, MLive reports. The misdemeanor charge could carry an imprisonment of up to 93 days and fines of up to $500.

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EDL rally: Bishop Tony Robinson condemns English Defence League for stirring up divisions in Kirklees

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A bishop has condemned the English Defence League for trying to divide communities in Kirklees. Bishop of Pontefract the Rt Rev Tony Robinson spoke out ahead of an EDL rally and counter demonstration in Batley tomorrow.

Up to 700 police officers from West Yorkshire and beyond are on standby as hundreds of EDL supporters descend on the town. The counter demonstration – called We are Batley – will be held at the same time, organised by Kirklees Unite Against Fascism and Huddersfield TUC.

In a statement Bishop Robinson, also interim Bishop of Huddersfield, said: “I condemn the action of all who seek to divide and sow the seeds of distrust between our communities. In particular we deplore, in the strongest terms, the activities of the English Defence League, directed against our Muslim brothers and sisters.

“I fully endorse the words spoken by Her Majesty the Queen: ‘Religions can never become vehicles of hatred, that never by invoking the name of God can evil and violence be justified. Today, in this country, we stand united in that conviction. We hold that freedom to worship is at the core of our tolerant and democratic society.’”

As many as 600 EDL supporters could turn up in Batley Market Place for a rally at 2pm. Kirklees police commander Chief Supt Tim Kingsman has already warned that his officers will deal with any disorder firmly.

The EDL, which held similar rallies in Dewsbury in 2011 and 2012, says it is protesting against the growing influence of Islam in the town and English people being treated as “second class citizens.”

The catalyst for the rally was said to be the opening of the Al Hashim Academy, a Muslim educational establishment, at the former Batley Art College building in Cambridge Street, Batley. According to its website, the academy aims to “prevent youth from terror and community vices.”

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Ellesmere Port ‘mosque’ subject to racist attack by alcoholic

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Martin Peter SallisA drunk who drew swastikas and KKK symbols on children’s bunting and hung it outside a proposed mosque in Ellesmere Port, claimed he was influenced by school and TV shows.

Martin Peter Sallis strung up a plastic England flag and garden bunting scrawled with racist slogans and symbols, with messages threatening to “burn down the mosque” with Muslims in it.

The 42-year-old alcoholic said he learned the hateful slogans while he was “at school” and from recent TV shows, before drawing them in red on the bunting which he had spotted hanging in his mum’s garden.

Unemployed Sallis said he carried out the crime because he wanted to “fit in” with the local community who he claimed were against proposals for an Islamic cultural centre in King Street, Ellesmere Port.

Sallis, of Sutton Way, Great Sutton, initially claimed he strung the bunting outside the religious building as a “joke” when he was drunk, but later told police he had wanted to “cause fear, alarm and distress to the Muslim community” following the hate crime between June 27-30 this year.

Chester magistrates today (August 8) imposed a restraining order forcing him to stay away from the proposed religious centre for 12 months. He was also sentenced to a 12 month supervision order, with a drug rehabilitation requirement, a three month curfew, and ordered to pay £145 – £85 of which was court costs.

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Kansas GOP official Gavin Ellzey resigns over Muslim comments

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Gavin Ellzey tweet

Gavin Ellzey, vice chairman of the Kansas GOP’s 3rd District Congressional Committee, resigned Wednesday night just hours after his tweet encouraging the offending of Muslims became the focus of news stories.

In a brief email to Clay Barker, the Kansas GOP’s executive director, and 3rd District chairwoman Vicki Sciolaro, Ellzey said he was stepping down immediately. “I feel that is the best for the GOP,” Ellzey wrote.

He sent the message at 8:50 p.m. Wednesday, about four hours after The Star posted a story about Ellzey’s comments on Muslims. In a tweet in early July, Ellzey wrote that “offending Muslims is the duty of any civilized person,” and added, “especially with a .45.”

In an interview, the Overland Park resident said he had overreacted to news reports about Christians being “crucified” overseas. He said he had no intention of shooting anyone and did not own a gun.

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Toddlers at risk of extremism, warns Education Secretary

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Nurseries are at risk of being taken over by religious extremists, the Education Secretary will warn as she announces that toddlers are to be taught “fundamental British values”.

In her first major policy announcement, Nicky Morgan will say that local authorities will be obliged to use new powers to strip nurseries of their funding if they are found to “promote extremist views”.

She will also say that toddlers should be taught “fundamental British values in an age-appropriate way” as part of a drive to protect children from religious radicals.

Nurseries that teach creationism as scientific fact will be ineligible for taxpayer funding, under the new rules.

Mrs Morgan’s announcement comes in the wake of the “Trojan Horse” plot by Islamist radicals to take over state schools in Birmingham.

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Dearborn residents on terrorist watch list second only to New York, report says

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Among the U.S. cities that have the most residents on the government’s terrorist watch list is one that stands out because of its comparatively small population: Dearborn.

Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit, was described by The Intercept, an online news site that reports on issues of national security, as having the second-highest concentration of people designated by the government as “known or suspected terrorists.”

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, along with other civil rights organizations, will hold a press conference Aug. 8 at Dearborn City Hall to call for a congressional inquiry into how the government could label Dearborn as such.

The report said that Dearborn’s ranking, just behind New York City and ahead of Houston despite their significantly larger populations, has to do with its concentration of Arab and Muslim Americans.

“Given that there has not been a Dearborn resident who has ever committed an act of terrorism in the homeland, nor any significant pattern of residents being involved in international terrorism, we have serious concerns that federal law enforcement views Dearborn as a suspect community primarily based on its Arab and Muslim demographics,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid in a news release.

Dearborn has the largest percentage of Arab Americans in the country, according to The Intercept report. “At 96,000 residents, Dearborn is much smaller than the other cities in the top five, suggesting that its significant Muslim population – 40 percent of its population is of Arab descent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau – has been disproportionately targeted for watchlisting,” the report said.

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