Massachusetts businessman who says ‘Muslims will destroy us from within’ takes offence at being called a bigot

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Muslims will destroy us from withinRussell G. Baker says he’s just speaking his mind when it comes to the controversial messages about the president and Muslims that he posts outside his Route 20 business, Baker’s Auto Body and Self-Storage.

But a recent sign – “Muslims will destroy us from within” – has sparked anger from some Muslims who say Baker is spreading hate and “Islamophobia.”

Baker, an intense 60-year-old man who can barely stand to utter the president’s name, takes offense that he’s been called a bigot, racist and other negative words by critics.

He said he started posting messages on the sign before President Barack H. Obama took office. “I did a little research through his background and I wasn’t a happy camper. In a nutshell, number one, he’s not who he claims to be and number two, he’s a Muslim,” Baker said.

MassLive.com, 2 October 2010

But let’s be fair to Baker. After complaints, he replaced the “Muslims will destroy us from within” sign with another reading “We’re on the eve of destruction”. On the other side, it says “Mosque at Ground Zero 73% say no! I’m 1.”

Canada: government bans leading Muslim from Defence Department event

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An Ottawa imam who calls himself a bridge builder between Muslims and other Canadians has been barred by the Harper government from speaking at a Defence Department event next week on the grounds that his organization has promoted “extremist views.”

Zijad Delic, national executive director of the Canadian Islamic Congress, was scheduled to participate on Monday in a National Defence headquarters ceremony recognizing Islamic History Month.

But Defence Minister Peter MacKay has cancelled the imam’s planned appearance after learning of it Friday. His office issued a statement saying the Canadian Islamic Congress has a record of fomenting hatred and has no place at an event honouring Muslim contributions to this country.

Mr. Delic has previously been cited for efforts to help Muslims integrate into Canadian society. He was one of 13 Canadians included in a 2009 book, The 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World, penned by Islamic studies scholars at Georgetown University. One of the book’s editors called Mr. Delic “a scholar who writes about how Muslims can integrate into Canadian society.”

Globe & Mail, 2 October 2010

NSS warns against Muslims ‘turning schools into madrassas’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Action is needed to prevent people with “extremist religious or political” views taking over academies, a board member of the country’s largest sponsor has warned. Geoffrey Davies, on the board of the United Learning Trust (ULT), which sponsors 17 academies, called for new rules that would stop an academy trust passing to groups “alien” to a school’s original ethos.

The news comes as schools minister Lord Hill said in a letter to the National Secular Society (NSS) that the Government will not legislate against proselytising in schools as more academies and free schools are established.

Lord Hill said in a letter to the NSS that he “did not think it appropriate” to legislate, as parents will choose a school based on its ethos. Lord Hill wrote: “That ethos may be Christian, Muslim or Jewish or it may have no faith ethos at all. Parents should be free to choose schools on the basis of their ethos.”

Terry Sanderson, president of the NSS, said: “We are alarmed at the prospect of extremist religious groups taking control of these schools and using them to brainwash children. What is to stop a Muslim group taking over a school and turning it into a madrassa at public expense if that is what parents want?”

TES, 1 October 2010

Netherlands: coalition deal with Wilders hinges on CDA conference vote

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The formation of a Dutch coalition government hinges on a Christian Democrat congress on Saturday after party legislators failed to resolve divisions over relying on support from the anti-Islam Freedom Party.

The legislators said on Thursday they were unable at a 15-hour meeting overnight to endorse a deal under which the Christian Democrats and Liberal Party would form a minority government with backing in parliament from the Freedom Party.

They said they had agreed to leave the issue to Saturday’s conference of all party members before making a final decision on forming the proposed coalition, whose main task will be to implement austerity measures.

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New trial sought in Oregon Islamic charity case

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Prosecutors in the trial of the Oregon leader of an Islamic charity branch used appeals to provoke prejudice and emotion that included waving the Qur’an in the air and throwing it on the table in front of jurors, his lawyers say in a request for a new trial.

Pete Seda, of Ashland, was convicted Sept. 9 of conspiracy to defraud the government and filing a false tax return in what prosecutors alleged was a plot to smuggle $150,000 to Muslim fighters in Chechnya by using the Ashland branch of a Saudi Arabian charity, Al-Haramain.

Among the defense’s objections filed last week is that on the morning the verdict was reached, a juror was seen at breakfast in a Eugene hotel reading a front-page story in USA Today about the plan of a Florida pastor to burn a Qur’an two days later on the anniversary of the attacks.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Cardani was named in the filing as the prosecutor who waved “the Qur’an around and then tossed it down on the table directly in front of the jury. The defense motion argues that Cardani waved the Noble Qur’an as he spoke to the jury about its distribution to “violent people, serving time.”

The defense said the use of the Qur’an “had the effect of allowing jurors to act based on emotion and also profoundly disrespected the defendant’s religion.” The action was part of a trial “tainted with fear of Muslims, Islam and terrorism,” the defense said.

Associated Press, 29 September 2010

55 per cent of Germans believe Muslim community is a social and financial burden

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Koln anti-mosque protestor2A majority of Germans believe the country’s roughly four million Muslims are an economic burden, a poll showed Thursday, adding further fire to a raging immigration debate in Europe’s top economy.

The survey, by the Allensbach Institute for the Financial Times Deutschland, showed that 55 percent of Germans thought Muslims “cost considerably more socially and financially than they produce economically.” Only one fifth of those polled believed the opposite. Anti-Muslim feeling was strongest in economically depressed East Germany, where 74 percent had a negative view.

The poll followed weeks of debate prompted by a member of Germany’s central bank, Thilo Sarrazin, who sparked outrage when he said the country was being made “more stupid” by poorly educated and unproductive Muslim immigrants. Most Germans, however, believe he is correct, the poll suggested, with 60 percent saying they agreed with his thesis and 13 percent disagreeing.

Sarrazin eventually resigned from the bank, but the controversy raised fears that a charismatic populist, like anti-Islam Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders – who is due in Germany this weekend – could win considerable support.

There are between 3.8 and 4.3 million Muslims in Germany, or between 4.6 and 5.2 percent of the population, according to government figures.

AFP, 30 September 2010

West Midlands Police apologise for spying on Muslim community

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Birmingham spy camerasBritish police apologized Thursday for a counterterrorism project that installed surveillance cameras in predominantly Muslim neighborhoods, saying that although the cameras had never been switched on, the program had damaged trust and caused anger in the community.

The surveillance program, which saw more than 200 CCTV cameras and number plate recognition devices put up in parts of Birmingham, central England, was conceived in 2007 after a series of terrorist plots were uncovered in the city.

Residents complained that they were not consulted about the program, and civil liberties groups protested that the measures were heavy-handed.

Protests from human rights groups led police to decide not to begin using the cameras after an installation program was completed. Some have been covered with plastic bags to reassure locals that footage or license plate details are not being captured.

An independent review conducted by Thames Valley Police, in southern England, criticized police in central England for the camera program. The review found “little evidence of thought being given to compliance with the legal or regulatory framework” before the cameras were put up.

West Midlands Police constable Chris Sims said authorities had made a mistake in not considering the impact of the cameras in intruding into people’s privacy. “I am sorry that we got such an important issue so wrong and deeply sorry that it has had such a negative impact on our communities,” he told reporters.

Associated Press, 30 September 2010

See also “Police surveillance of Muslims set up with ‘no regard for law'”, Guardian, 1 October 2010