Staten Island: Church backpedaling on selling convent for mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bowing to pressure from Staten Island’s xenophobic reactionaries, a local pastor has reversed his decision to sell a convent to an Islamic group that would use it as a community center and mosque.

In the wake of an ugly community meeting last week, Rev. Keith Fennessy, the pastor of St. Margaret Mary Church, sent a letter yesterday to Archbishop Timothy Dolan explaining that upon reflection he had “concluded that the contemplated sale would not serve the needs of the parish.” Fennessy had already signed a contract with the group, the Muslim American Society, to sell the vacant convent for $750,000.

MAS didn’t find out about Fennessy’s reneging until a reporter called to ask them about it – after seeing a press release on the Archbishop’s website.

Gothamist, 18 June 2010

Update:  See “Muslim American Society responds to Staten Island pastor’s bid to cancel sale of convent”, SILive, 18 June 2010

Unity statement against EDL protest in Wembley

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Local trade unionists, faith group leaders and councillors in Brent have backed a unity statement against plans by the racist English Defence League to “protest” at an event held by a Muslim charity in Wembley.

The statement says:

The racist, Islamophobic English Defence League is threatening to demonstrate in Wembley on Saturday 26 June against a peace conference, organised by a Muslim charitable foundation and aimed at building understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims.

The EDL is an organisation of violent, bigoted thugs with proven links to the Nazi British National Party. They should be condemned everywhere, but will be particularly unwelcome if they come to Wembley, part of this country’s most diverse borough.

We are proud of our diversity. In the London Borough of Brent, people live and work together, children study, play and grow up together in peace and mutual respect, regardless of faith or skin colour.

As residents and workers in this borough, we will not tolerate attempts to divide us or stir up hatred. We stood united to show that there was no place for racism or Islamophobia in the neighbouring borough of Harrow. We stand prepared to do the same in Brent.

Signed by:

Pete Firmin president, Brent Trades Union Council,Benjamin Rickman, secretary Brent TUC and Hendon and Wembley Unite, all 40 councillors in Brent Council’s Labour Group, Pete BroadbentBishop of Willesden, Felicity Scroggie area dean of Brent, Peter Murry Brent Green Party and secretary, Green Party trade union group, Navin Shah London Assembly Member for Brent & Harrow,Fr David Neno rector, Christchurch with St Lawrence, Brondesbury, Harrow College UCU branch, Alf Filer Harrow College UCU, Nick GrantNational Union of Teachers national executive, An-Nisa Society, Nisar & Rashida Dean, Tala and Thomas Birch, Jane Morris St Gabriels Church, Jo Lang president, Harrow Teachers Association (NUT),Jon Gamble secretary, Watford Trades Union Council, Nikita Joshi secretary, LGBT committee and student governor, Harrow College NUS, Joshua McKenzie vice-president, Harrow College NUS and NUS executive, Clive Morton vicar, Holy Innocents Church, Kingsbury

Demonstrate against the EDL

Brent and Harrow UAF have also called a counter-demonstration against the EDL on Saturday 26 June, 1.30pm to 6pm, outside Wembley Arena, Engineers Way, London HA9 0DH (Wembley Park or Wembley Central tube).

>> Get a leaflet for the demo here

Racial slurs used during attack on Iowa Muslim

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Iowa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-IA) today called on local state and national law enforcement agencies to investigate an allegedly bias-motivated attack on an Iowa Muslim as a possible hate crime.

CAIR-IA said an 18-year-old Iraqi refugee and his mother were reportedly assaulted following a recent softball game at Cedar Rapids‘ Tait Cummings Park by a member of the opposing team.

During the game, supporters of the opposing team allegedly shouted racial slurs at the victim and his team members. After the game, the victim was allegedly hit in the jaw by an assailant from the opposing team who shouted slurs such as “raghead,” “terrorist” and “camel jockey.” The victim’s jaw was broken in the alleged assault. The victim’s mother was allegedly assaulted by the same person when she tried to defend her son.

CAIR press release, 18 June 2010

East End protest against EDL on Sunday

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Racist EDL: Not Welcome in East London

Demo Sunday 20 June

Assemble 12.30pm Stepney Green Park

March to Altab Ali Park

Confirmed speakers so far include:

Christine Blower, general secretary, National Union of Teachers
Matt Wrack, general secretary, Fire Brigades Union
Hugh Lanning, deputy general secretary, PCS union
Cllr Helal Abbas, leader of Tower Hamlets Council
John Biggs, London Assembly Member
Anas Altikriti, British Muslim Initiative
Laura Maxwell, Jewish Council for Racial Equality
Rev Alan Green, Dean of Tower Hamlets and chair of the Interfaith Forum
Representatives from the London Muslim Centre, the Council of Mosques and Islamic Forum Europe
Speakers from other faith communities
Tower Hamlets councillors Lutfur Rahman, Abdul Ullah andOliur Rahman

Download leaflet here

‘Ground Zero mosque’ opponents made abusive phone calls

Posted on by Bob Pitt

LOWER MANHATTAN — Community Board 1 has received threatening phone calls since members backed a controversial plan to build a mosque near the World Trade Center.

Shortly after the board voiced support for the Cordoba House, a 13-story mosque and community center two blocks north of the World Trade Center site, the community board office and at least one board member received menacing calls, and notified the NYPD.

The board member, who requested his name not be published, abstained from CB1’s mosque vote and argued at the meeting that the board should not weigh in at all. But that distinction did not matter to the caller. “The guy used four-letter words and said I should die a horrible death,” the board member said. “He just launched into an attack, screaming at me.”

The board member called the police, and they tracked down the harassing caller, who had used a cell phone with a 347 area code. Since the caller had said, “You should die,” not, “I will kill you,” he was protected by the First Amendment, officers told the board member.

DNAinfo, 16 June 2010

National Review interviews Andrew C. McCarthy

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Although the task of monitoring Islamophobia can sometimes be a depressing experience, because of the sheer volume of anti-Muslim bigotry, it does afford the occasional moment of light relief. I couldn’t help laughing aloud at the NRO interview with Andrew C. MCarthy. The first question is: “What do health-care reform and ‘the Grand Jihad’ have in common?” To which McCarthy replies: “They both enjoy the support of Islam and the Left.”

Jim Fitzpatrick attacks anti-EDL demonstration

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Former Labour Government minister Jim Fitzpatrick is accusing anti-fascist campaigners of stirring up fear in London’s East End over an aborted march that was planned by the English Defence League this Sunday.

The EDL march was called off after an Islamic conference at Stepney’s Troxy venue was cancelled. But Unite Against Fascism is urging supporters to turn up anyway at Stepney Green Park this coming Sunday for a rally.

That infuriated Mr Fitzpatrick, who told the East London Advertiser this morning: “The EDL are not coming to the East End any more. So much effort was put in by the police and local authority which got the Troxy event pulled. Yet ‘Unite Against Fascism’ is going ahead with its march that will do nothing for the community.

“At best it is causing concern in the community and at worst stirring up fear and anger. Why are they not trying to reassure the community? It is dangerous for them to use EDL as a stick to stir up the community.”

The Poplar & Limehouse MP is accusing the organisers of using the EDL for their own propaganda when the danger has passed.

Unite Against Fascism’s website this-morning says its rally at Stepney Green Park and march to Whitechapel is still going ahead on Sunday “to hammer home the message that the EDL are not welcome in Tower Hamlets.

East London Advertiser, 16 June 2011

Welsh Assembly Member criticises police response to Cardiff EDL demonstration

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL Cardiff 2Police have come under attack from an Assembly Member for the way they handled a controversial protest march in Cardiff.

Leanne Wood told the National Assembly she had been “sickened” by the decision to allow members of the Welsh and English Defence League to rally in Cardiff.

The Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales Central addressed a counter demonstration by Unite Against Fascism on June 5. But she said she was “appalled” that South Wales Police had spent money “building a steel fence and kettling in the anti-racist protesters, while the English Defence League were escorted to a pub and then escorted on a march around the city centre”.

Ms Wood has asked the Assembly Government to examine what happened and report back “to make sure that a situation that happened in Cardiff a week last Saturday can never happen again”. She has also written to Chief Constable Peter Vaughan expressing her concerns.

A South Wales Police spokeswoman said they had not yet received Ms Wood’s letter. But Assistant Chief Constable Nick Croft has already responded to a letter from Ross Saunders, of the Cardiff Communities Against Racism group.

In his reply Mr Croft explained that the Welsh and English Defence League protest had been allowed to go ahead because it was lawful, even if the views expressed were “unpopular or disturbing”.

South Wales Echo, 17 June 2010

Cf. Nick Lowles’ recent article condemning “the complete failure of the authorities to address the growing EDL threat. Over the past few years hundreds of millions of pounds have been ploughed into community cohesion and other such initiatives but then we are told that groups that are deliberately setting out to whip up tension and violence cannot be stopped”.

He continues: “The problem appears to stem from the Public Order Unit at the Home Office, who have taken it upon themselves to act as the champions of free speech in advising successive Ministers that EDL protests should be allowed to happen…. They currently hide behind the legal opinion that static protests cannot be prevented but their real reason is far more ideological and short-sighted.”