EDL’s Alan Lake backs Christian Voice anti-halal campaign

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Christian_Voice

Christian Voice will be leafleting football supporters attending the England v Ghana friendly at Wembley Stadium this evening to warn them that halal meat is allegedly being served in the stadium takeaways.

The text of the leaflet can be consulted here. It states:

“We asked the FA to confirm in writing that the beef burgers at Wembley are not halal. They refused. They would not even say if their halal chicken, lamb and any beef on sale is stunned before slaughter. Even if it is, that is not the point. A Muslim slaughterman still chants ‘Bismillah Allahu Akbar’ (meaning ‘In the name of Allah, Allah is the greatest’) over each halal animal killed, sacrificing it to Allah. Anyone buying halal meat will be eating Sharia Law.”

“Eating Sharia Law”! Well, at least we’re spared the usual lying nonsense from right-wing anti-halal campaigners about being motivated by concern for animal welfare.

Alan Lake of the English Defence League, who has a background in right-wing evangelical Christianity, has been plugging the event on his 4 Freedoms site. But without any evident success. On the Protest Against Unlabelled Halal at Wembley Facebook page all of 10 people are listed as “maybe attending”.

Update:  It appears that the leafleting was less than a total success. One supporter who joined Christian Voice leader Stephen Green in handing out the leaflets reports that “a muslim complained and a Policeman arrived with someone from the Brent Council to challenge me as to whether I had sought permission to give them out. I had not… and neither had Stephen… So they seized whet leaflets we had in our hands… and sadly we had to stop”. According to another account, the leaflets that Green and his supporters did manage to distribute were “discarded like confetti all along Wembley Way”.

Turkey urges Germany to stop attacks on immigrants

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Turkey urged Germany Tuesday to take measures to stop attacks on Turkish immigrant workers, saying they have been on the rise over the past several months.

“We expect the German authorities to apprehend the perpetrators in the shortest possible time and bring them to justice… We believe (they) will take the necessary measures to prevent the repetition of such attacks,” a foreign ministry statement said.

Turkish homes, mosques and associations in various German cities have become the target of attacks in recent months “which appear to have been driven by racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia,” the statement said. “For instance, 10 arson attacks have taken place over the past 10 days in some districts of Berlin such as Neukolln which are heavily populated by Turkish and other immigrants,” it added.

The statement slammed German politicians and media for “negative and prejudiced” attitudes towards immigrants which “make immigrants a target of xenophobic groups.”

AFP, 29 March 2011

Why quoting religious texts proves nothing

Posted on by Bob Pitt

OK, put your books away. We’re having a pop quiz.

Below are four quotes. Each is from one of two sources: the Bible or the Koran, although, just to make things interesting, there’s also a chance all four are from one book. Two were edited for length and one of those was also edited to remove a religion-specific reference. Your job: identify the holy book of origin. Ready? Go:

1) “. . . Wherever you encounter [non-believers], kill them, seize them, besiege them, wait for them at every lookout post . . .”

2) “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

3) “If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and worship other gods’ . . . do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death.”

4) “Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.”

All right, pens down. How did you do?

If you identified the first quote as being from the Koran (9:5) and the other three as originating in the Bible (Matthew 10:34, Deuteronomy 13:6-9, Numbers 31:17-18), I congratulate you on that degree in theology. If I have guessed correctly, most people will not have found it easy to place the quotes in their proper books. If I have guessed correctly, most people will have found a certain thematic similarity in them.

Leonard Pitts Jnr in the Miami Herald, 26 March 2011

Multiculturalism strengthens communities, study shows

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Multiculturalism is associated with strengthening the ties between different ethnic groups, according to an extensive study of English data.

A research team led by Dr Laia Bécares from the University of Manchester reveals that neighbourhoods with higher ethnic diversity are associated with higher rates of social cohesion, respect for ethnic differences, and neighbours of different backgrounds getting on well together.

The research, mainly funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, found that deprivation, not multiculturalism, was the root cause of fragmented communities.

The paper – published next month in Urban Studies – challenges critics of British multiculturalism, including most recently Prime Minister David Cameron.

“Politicians seem to link racial tensions to the perception that ethnic minority people and newly arrived migrants are not integrated into their host culture,” Dr Bécares said. “But our findings show it is not neighbourhood ethnic profile but neighbourhood deprivation which erodes social cohesion in England.”

She added: “Our study complements other research which shows that multiculturalism hasn’t failed: segregation in the UK is not increasing, and Muslim people are as likely to report they feel British as people from other minority religions.”

Asian Image, 28 March 2011

CCTV image may help find EDL supporter who attacked police officer

Posted on by Bob Pitt

CCTV imageDetectives hope new CCTV images will help them find a man who attacked a police officer at Chester railway station. An initial appeal to find the suspect failed, but British Transport Police hope the release of a new image [left] will encourage further witnesses to step forward.

The incident took place at about 4.40pm on Thursday, November 11, last year following a demonstration by the English Defence League in Chester.

After the demonstration a large number of EDL members arrived at the city’s station to catch trains. BTP officers attended and sought to control a swelling crowd, but as the number of people grew officers became involved in an altercation with several protesters.

During the fight PC Graham Funnell was assaulted twice and was kicked to the groin by one of the demonstrators.

DC Jaime Brannagan said: “PC Funnell was carrying out a civic duty to maintain order and protect members of the public when he was assaulted by the EDL member. BTP simply will not tolerate violence or aggression on the railway and will do everything in its power to bring those who behave inappropriately to justice.”

He added: “We were unsuccessful with our initial appeal to trace the man responsible, but I now hope, with the release of a CCTV image of a man we would like to speak to in connection with the incident, we will be able to jog someone’s memory and bring the offender to justice. It’s possible the offender is from Shropshire as several others in the group bought tickets to Shrewsbury, but it is also possible he is local to Cheshire or Merseyside.”

If you recognise the man from the CCTV, or have any information in relation to the incident, please contact BTP on 0800 40 50 40 or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. In all calls please quote reference 389 of 11/11/10.

Chester First, 28 March 2011

Portsmouth: far right groups may be fuelling increase in race attacks

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Portsmouth mosque demonstration

Far right groups are thought to be one of the causes behind a rise in race hate attacks in Portsmouth, The News can reveal.

New figures show that 455 incidents were reported to the city’s Racial Awareness Service over a nine-month period – a 25 per cent year-on-year rise. Police also say hate crime – which includes those targeted because of their race or religion – went up by 16 per cent in the city to 317 last year. Fareham, Gosport, Havant and Waterlooville also saw a nine per cent rise in hate crime.

Sharon Furtado, who manages Portsmouth City Council’s Racial Awareness Service, said: “The rise (in race attacks) could be due to a whole host of reasons. Last year we had the elections and the British National Party and far right groups had more of a platform to express their views. Sometimes people listen to them and it touches a chord with them. It could also be down to the recession and there being a feeling that immigrants are coming in and taking jobs. We don’t know what the trigger is that makes someone decide to act.”

Last November, up to 100 people were involved in a demonstration at the Jami Mosque in Victoria Road North, Southsea [pictured]. The protest was sparked after a small group of Muslim extremists – not from Portsmouth – burned poppies in London during the two-minute silence on Armistice Day. The English Defence League was blamed for organising the protests, which resulted in several arrests and charges.

Portsmouth News, 28 March 2011

CAIR calls for assault on Muslim cabbie to be investigated as hate crime

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today called on the Department of Justice to investigate as a hate crime an incident in which a Southern California Muslim taxi driver was assaulted after being asked about his religion.

CAIR-LA said the Muslim driver was allegedly assaulted when he arrived at a Newport Beach, Calif., cigar lounge on March 19in response to a call for a taxi. The alleged victim reports that he was confronted by the owner of the facility when he inquired if anyone had requested a taxi. The man who identified himself as the owner allegedly told the victim, “I am a Marine officer, f**k you.”

Shortly after the verbal confrontation, a woman came out of the cigar lounge and confirmed that she had requested the cab. The victim stepped out of the cab to talk to the woman. According to the victim, three men then came out of the facility and confronted him, pushing him repeatedly and asked questions such as “What’s your religion?” “Where are you from?” and said “We’re going to f**k you up like we f**ked up your country.”

The alleged assailants reportedly followed the victim to his taxi when he returned to push the vehicle’s emergency response button, which failed. Once inside his taxi, the victim had begun to call 911 when one the attackers allegedly sat in the seat behind him, placed him in a headlock and proceeded to punch him. The other two men and the owner also allegedly began punching the victim. After a few minutes, the lounge owner reportedly said, “Stop, we’ve f**ked him enough.”

The victim sought medical treatment for facial and head injuries. Since the incident, he has missed work and reports that he is afraid to go to work.

CAIR press release, 28 March 2011