Tackle ‘extreme Islam before it’s too late’, Aussie MPs warn

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Australia risks becoming a nation of “ethnic enclaves” that unknowingly buys livestock slaughtered “in the name of Allah”, senior Liberal MPs have warned.

Opening up a new political faultline, former immigration minister Kevin Andrews lashed out at political leaders who failed to speak out on the rise of extreme Islam, claiming the silence contributes to the rise of One Nation-type movements. Another Liberal frontbencher, Mitch Fifield, warned of the danger of “parallel societies” developing as has occurred in Europe where hardline Muslim groups preached sharia law rather than Western values.

Amid a robust debate in Europe over failed “state multiculturalism”, Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi warned Australia must avoid the mistakes of nations that allowed religious fanatics to prosper “before it is too late”.

Senator Bernardi warned of a growing “cultural divide” in Australia as hardline followers of Islam turned their backs on mainstream values. He cited the advent of Muslim-only toilets at a Melbourne university and the halal method of meat slaughter as cultural practices that must be opposed.

“I, for one, don’t want to eat meat butchered in the name of an ideology that is mired in sixth century brutality and is anathema to my own values,” he said.

Herald Sun, 9 February 2011

Dutch government rejects headscarf ban in schools

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Religious schools in the Netherlands may not ban Muslim pupils from wearing headscarves simply if it contradicts their core values, the cabinet said on Tuesday in answer to questions from the anti-Islam PVV.

In addition, the argument that the wearing of headscarves shows a lack of equality between men and women gets equally short-shrift from the ministers. “Fashion dictates all sorts of differences between the way men and woman dress,” the ministers said.

Meanwhile, a Muslim girl at the centre of a row over her headscarf at a Catholic school in Volendam has agreed to cover her head in the assembly hall and in school corridors only, the Telegraaf reports.

Dutch News, 9 February 2011

EDL supporters arrested on suspicion of publishing anti-Muslim videos

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Police arrested two men yesterday for allegedly publishing a catalogue of vile and racially inflammatory material on the internet.

One of the men, from Paignton, is thought to be responsible for a series of anti-Muslim videos. He was one of two men arrested by Devon and Cornwall police on suspicion of publishing racially inflammatory material at 8.30am yesterday. He and a 41-year-old unnamed male, also from Paignton, were yesterday bailed by Police until May. Material was confiscated from an address in South Devon and a banner was removed from the boot of a car.

A police spokesman said: “We have investigated a number of incidents across the internet after they were brought to our attention last year. We have yet to analyse what has been seized and will then be in a better to look at what, if any, offences have been committed.”

This is Devon, 10 February 2011

One Million United points out that the English Defence League have helpfully identified the two arrested men as members of the EDL.

EDL Devon arrests

Canadian salon worker fired for wearing headscarf

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Mehwish AliPickering, Ontario — A young Markham woman who works as an esthetician claims she was fired for wearing an Islamic headscarf because the salon “promotes hair”.

Mehwish Ali, a 22-year-old esthetician with Trade Secrets in Pickering, was fired Tuesday, a day after she says the co-owner told her the hijab was unacceptable. “I was devastated when I heard that,” Ali told theStar. “I have worn the hijab for more than 10 years and never felt any kind of discrimination.”

But Robert Facchini, co-owner of the franchise near Highway 401 and Brock Rd, categorically denies that. “This is a performance issue, strictly a performance issue,” he said. “Her performance was poor and it’s only based on those comments that the decision to terminate her was made. Nothing else.”

Ali disagrees and has turned to the Human Rights Legal Support Centre for help. “I couldn’t just shrug it off,” she said. “I had to do something about it.”

A graduate of the Marca College hair and esthetics school in Toronto, Ali started working at the Pickering outlet of Trade Secrets, one of Canada’s larger professional beauty retailers, six weeks ago.

She said she wore a headscarf for the interview, which was conducted by the store manager. A week later, Ali was hired and her job entailed doing facials, manicures, pedicures and waxing services. It had nothing to do with hair, she pointed out.

Everything was going well, said Ali. “I liked my work and the people I worked with.” Then, said Ali, Mylene Facchini, Robert’s wife and co-owner, walked into the store on Saturday afternoon and saw the young woman in the hijab for the first time.

On Monday, Ali said, Mylene was at the store when she walked into work at about 3 p.m. “I was wearing a bright red hijab,” said Ali, adding that Mylene told her that since Trade Secrets promoted hair, headwear was unacceptable.

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Sikh demonstrators in Luton deal a heavy blow to the EDL

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sikhs Against EDL

A delegation of Sikhs marched proudly joining a big rally against the English Defence League (EDL) held in Luton on Saturday 5th February 2011. They played the Dhol, a Punjabi war drum, as they entered the rally carrying a banner that read “Sikhs Against the English Defence League – Fighting Intolerance since 1699”, a reference to the establishment of martial Sikhism by the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

They were greeted with cheers by more than two thousand demonstrators gathered in the Park Square, in the center of Luton, who gave the marching Sikhs a great applause.

This comes as a great blow to the English Defence League as they had claimed that they are getting support from many Sikhs. The demonstration by “Sikhs Against the EDL” shows otherwise.

The Sikh protesters shouted slogans against Guramit Singh, one of the self-styled EDL leaders from Sikh background and called him a traitor. They claimed that he had brought shame to the Sikh community and should be locked up due to some of his recent speeches.

Varinder Singh spoke on behalf of the Sikh delegation and pointed out that the Sikh community has a proud tradition of fighting Fascism in the Second World War. He asked, “Given our proud history, how can Sikhs not oppose the racism and Fascism espoused by the EDL?”

Varinder Singh went on to condemn Guramit Singh (ethnic spokesperson for the EDL) and other racist traitors of Sikh origin joining EDL and expressed that these individuals should be held accountable.

Balwindar Singh Rana, also from a Sikh background said, “The Sikhs Against the EDL have launched a ‘Joint Statement‘ which has already gained support from some of the major Sikh and Hindu organisations, including many Sikh Student Societies, as well as many prominent individuals in this country. People are waking up to the dangers of the racist poison that is being spread by the EDL and they will no longer fall for their ‘divide & rule’ tactics.”

He further added: “In the ’70s and ’80s, whether we were Sikhs, Hindus or Muslim, we were all united against the racists and fascists of the National Front and the BNP. We now have to show the same unity again if we are going to halt this tide of racist hatred by the EDL.”

Salvinder Singh Dhillon from the Indian Workers Association pointed out that the rally was being attended by all communities was a proof that they all stand shoulder to shoulder against promotion of racism and fascism. He said that, “The poison of racism serves to divide people and weaken their common struggles against the attacks by the state on their livelihood, against imposition of tuition fees, and the pending massive spending cuts in social services, health and education.”

The rally was organised by Unite Against Fascism (UAF), a broad based organisation supported by numerous individuals and organisations including trade unions and members of parliament. Various speakers expressed their opposition to EDL and the racist British National Party (BNP). There was also a further protest in the Bury Park, near the Mosque, organised by the Muslim community and attended by nearly two thousand people.

SikhNet News, 8 February 2011

Some good news about ‘Islamic terror’ (David Cameron please take note)

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Ever since 9/11, Islamophobia has been a recurrent problem in a number of Western societies, including the United States. It’s been fueled by opportunistic politicians, hate-mongering bloggers, and any number of the other usual suspects. The lingering fear of Islam undergirds the present concerns that the turmoil in Egypt might give groups like the Muslim Brotherhood greater political influence there.

Trying to inject reason and evidence into this sort of debate is usually futile, but I do wish to report some good news. Remember the avalanche of Muslim-based terrorism that was about to descend upon the West? Well, according to the EU’s 2010 Terrorism Situation and Trend Report, the total number of terrorist incidents in Europe declined in 2009. Even more important, the overwhelming majority of these incidents had nothing whatsoever to do with Islam.

The report is produced by Europol, which is the criminal intelligence agency of the European Union. In 2009, there were fewer than 300 terrorist incidents in Europe, a 33 percent decline from the previous year. The vast majority of these incidents (237 out of 294) were conducted by indigenous European separatist groups, with another forty or so attributed to leftists and/or anarchists. According to the report, a grand total of one (1) attack was conducted by Islamists. Put differently, Islamist groups were responsible for a whopping 0.34 percent of all terrorist incidents in Europe in 2009.

Stephen M. Walt at his Foreign Policy blog, 9 February 2011

Evidently the news has failed to reach David Cameron, who last weekend told the Munich Security Conference:

It is important to stress that terrorism is not linked exclusively to any one religion or ethnic group. My country, the United Kingdom, still faces threats from dissident republicans in Northern Ireland. Anarchist attacks have occurred recently in Greece and in Italy, and of course, yourselves in Germany were long scarred by terrorism from the Red Army Faction. Nevertheless, we should acknowledge that this threat comes in Europe overwhelmingly from young men who follow a completely perverse, warped interpretation of Islam, and who are prepared to blow themselves up and kill their fellow citizens.

Dutch minister rejects Wilders’ charge that withdrawal of ham rolls means the ‘Islamisation of the Netherlands’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Home Affairs Minister Piet Hein Donner has rejected suggestions that the fact the police in Gelderland are not served pigmeat any more is an illustration of Islamisation of Dutch society.

The province’s corps is no longer served any ham rolls, according to local newspaper De Gelderland. This meat is not “halal” for Muslims. Party for Freedom (PVV) MPs Geert Wilders and Hero Brinkman had complained to the minister about this “example of unacceptable Islamisation of the Netherlands.”

According to the Christian democratic (CDA) minister, there is no question of this. In a letter to parliament, he writes that the “halal lunch packages” are only an “organisational measure”. Because a number of people “for whatever reasons do not eat pigmeat,” it was simply easier to scrap ham from the menu.

“Possibly the same could happen if the number of vegetarians increases enormously,” according to the CDA minister. “This would not be evidence of vegetarisation of Dutch society either.”

NIS News, 9 February 2011

Daily Star gives free publicity to the EDL … again

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL to become political partyENGAGE draws our attention to the front page of today’s Daily Star which reports the EDL’s supposed threat to contest parliamentary and council elections, under the headline “English Defence League to become political party”.

As you might expect, this being the Daily Star, the headline is not entirely accurate. The report begins breathlessly: “The English Defence League is set to break into mainstream politics with a bid to get MPs in Parliament. It wants to field official EDL candidates in national and council elections.”

But it goes on to quote EDL leader Stephen Lennon as saying something rather less dramatic about the EDL’s plans to transform itself into a political party:

“We aren’t ruling it out. I think this country needs a party that’s not afraid to say things some would consider unpopular. My hope is still that the Tories will take a tougher stance. We are a single issue group and at the moment we would rather have a dialogue with the other political parties – but that could change.”

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Guardian letter: signatories warn against Cameron’s ‘dangerous declaration of intent’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

We believe David Cameron’s statement that multiculturalism has failed was a dangerous declaration of intent (Blaming the victims, Editorial, 7 February). His speech was reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher’s infamous 1978 statement that Britain was “being swamped by alien cultures”. He has branded Britain’s Muslims as the new “enemy within” in the same way as Thatcher attacked the miners and trade unions.

David Cameron is attempting to drive a wedge between different communities by linking Britain’s multicultural society with terrorism and national security. His speech was made on the same day as the English Defence League brought its bigotry and violence to the streets of Luton. Mr Cameron’s aim is simple as it is crude – to deflect the anger against his government’s cuts from the bankers and on to the Muslim community. The prime minister is aping attacks by other European leaders like France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, who passed legislation banning the veil, and Angela Merkel, who has also made statements denouncing multiculturalism in Germany. We believe our multicultural society and the respect and solidarity it is built on is a cause for pride, and reject any moves by this government to undermine and destroy it.

We must not allow this coalition government to turn the tide back to the days when it was acceptable, through ignorance and fear, for people with a different religion, culture or skin colour to be scapegoated and treated as inferior or outsiders (seewww.PetitionOnline.com/mcfeb11/petition.html).

Martin Smith Love Music Hate Racism

Peter Hain MP

Jeremy Corbyn MP

Ken Livingstone

Salma Yaqoob Respect

Bob Crow National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers

Billy Hayes Communication Workers Union

Mark Serwotka Public and Commercial Services Union

Zita Holbourne TUC

Dr Rob Berkeley Runnymede Trust

Ziauddin Sardar writer

Farooq Murad Muslim Council of Britain

Dr Rob Berkeley Director, Runnymede Trust

Professor Tariq Modood Centre for the study of ethnicity and citizenship,University of Bristol

Mohammed Sawalha British Muslim Initiative

Dr Chris Shannahan

Benjamin Zephaniah poet

Lauren Booth broadcaster and journalist

Michael Rosen author

China Miéville author

Dr Avaes Mohammad poet, playwright, performer, analytical chemist

Sabrina Mahfouz poet and playwright

Tulisa Contostavlos, Dino Contostavlos and Richard Rawson N-Dubz,

Drew McConnell Babyshambles

Lowkey musician

Itch The King Blues

Daniel Stephens musician

David Peter Meads musician

Blaine Harrison Mystery Jets

Adio Merchant, Simeon McLean Kid British

Jeff Mirza comic/actor

Sabby Dhalu Unite Against Fascism and One Society Many Cultures

Lindsey German Stop the War Coalition

Hassan Mahamdallie

Weyman Bennett Unite Against Fascism

Gary McFarlane NUJ and Expose the BNP

Kanja Ibrahim Sesay NUS

Frances Rifkin Equity

Dr Jonathan Githens-Mazer European Muslim Research Centre

Bruce Kent One Society Many Cultures

Shemiza Rashid Creative Muslim Network

Laura Miles University and College Union

Gargi Bhattachryya University and College Union

Sean Vernell University and College Union

Sue Bond Public and Commercial Services Union

Revd Ray Gaston

Madani Younis Freedom Studios, Bradford, and the Artists of Freedom Studios

Mohammed Ali Aerosolarabic

Luqman Ali

Kinsi Abdulleh

Sarah Pickthall

Ayaan Aden

Tristan McConnell

Rabbi Lee Wax Chairperson, Inter religious Conference for European Women Theologians

Musleh Faradhi Islamic Forum Europe

Bruce Kent Pax Christi

Professor Danny Dorling Sheffield University

Letter in the Guardian, 9 January 2011