Le Pen and Wilders fail to form anti-EU bloc

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Marine Le Pen and Geert WildersFrance’s far-right National Front (FN) has failed to form an alliance with the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) of Geert Wilders, reducing both parties’ influence in the European Parliament.

Pan-European party blocs get more funding, staff and speaking time in the parliament. The deadline for forming a bloc expired on Monday night.

The new 751-seat assembly, elected in May, holds its first session next week.

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) has formed a bloc with other Eurosceptics. UKIP’s new allies are the Italian Five Star Movement of comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo, Lithuania’s Order and Justice Party, the nationalist Sweden Democrats and a few anti-EU MEPs from Latvia, the Czech Republic and France. Jointly they are called the New EFD (Europe of Freedom and Democracy).

Under parliament rules, a faction has to consist of at least 25 MEPs from a minimum of seven EU countries. The EU has a total of 28 member states. The FN and PVV failed to satisfy the seven-country rule.

Before the election Mr Wilders and FN leader Marine Le Pen had spoken of their common ambition to return powers from the EU to the nation states.

Ms Le Pen’s triumph, leading the FN to first place in the French election, gave her party 23 seats. It was one of the biggest surprises on an election night that saw big gains for anti-EU parties across Europe. In the last parliament the FN had just three seats.

Mr Wilders was disappointed with the PVV’s result, however. The party won just three seats and fell to fourth place in the Netherlands – well behind liberal and centre-left, pro-EU parties.

Both the FN and PVV want tougher immigration controls, reject the euro and want their countries to leave the EU. Both parties also campaign strongly against the spread of Islam in Europe.

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Rainbow balloons torn down at Bendigo shop

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jimmy Possum rainbow balloonsMembers of the local Muslim community, a Bendigo business and a city councillor are among those to have received supposed threats from anti-Islamic protesters in recent days.

Jimmy Possum’s Margot Spalding believes rainbow balloons, which were hung on her shop-front in support of diversity, were torn down by mosque protesters on Monday. She said it seemed like a concerted effort because four concrete beams bolted to the wall had been pulled out.

“In 18 months these flags haven’t once been targeted by vandals and the timing of this doesn’t seem like a coincidence,” Ms Spalding said. “It’s disappointing that people feel the need to be disrespectful. These things make you feel pretty threatened.”

And Ms Spalding says she isn’t the only one to be targeted – with many of her Muslim friends feeling the brunt of the protests.

“I know some Muslims living in Bendigo who feel fearful in town at the moment,” she said. “They feel like they can’t speak out from fear of reprisal in their own country and also what’s going on locally. And when there is a whole group in town that don’t like you, who are saying hateful, insidious things about you, you can understand why.”

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Anti-Islamic and right wing groups driving Bendigo anti-mosque push

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Restore Australia Facebook page

Bendigo has become a rallying point for a loosely affiliated network of right-wing and anti-Islamic groups providing cash and support for the fight to block the city’s first mosque.

The Bendigo campaign, which included the spread of black balloons, is just the latest in a string of challenges to the development of Islamic schools and prayer centres across Australia that have been linked to a handful of political groups and individuals.

Former Queensland One Nation candidate Mike Holt, the chief executive of non-profit organisations Restore Australia and Islam4Infidels, says his groups raised the money to hire a Sydney-based lawyer to fight the mosque proposal. “They use the mosques as a centre for jihad. These things are not like the tea and coffee churches,” Mr Holt said.

Another lobby group, the anti-Islamic Q Society, held a meeting in Bendigo on May 11 to talk to locals about how the mosque would affect their community and how to fight it.

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Spite club: Race-hate group who target Muslims organise street fighting sessions to train recruits

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A far-right group led by a notorious Scots rabble-rouser are promoting sinister “fight clubs” for their followers. And anti-racism activists claim Jim Dowson’s Britain First organisation are training boot boys to fight Muslims on the streets.

Mathew Collins of Hope Not Hate said: “They have been booking mixed martial arts gyms so they can fight among themselves, training for confrontations with Muslims.” Vicky Burns of Show Racism the Red Card Scotland added: “Britain First’s brand of racism and prejudice simply is not welcome here.”

Britain First have used a series of Facebook posts to attract recruits for fight training. One ad says: “Things are bad and will only get worse. Don’t you think it’s time to learn how to protect the ones you love – and yourself?” It adds that the fight clubs – apparently named after Brad Pitt’s 1999 film – will be rolled out UK-wide and free of charge.

Another ad says of the plan: “We feel this is a vital part of building a real movement for the future struggle to take back our country.”

Dowson’s rag-tag mob of former BNP members have already targeted Muslims in Scotland and beyond. They swaggered into mosques in Glasgow, Cumbernauld and several English cities, handing out Army Bibles to worshippers and telling them to stop Muslim men grooming young girls for sex. The invaders claimed to be carrying out a “Christian crusade”.

Britain First have also staged “Christian Patrols” in London, with supporters in military style fatigues marching through Asian areas waving Union flags.

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Police called to hate event at Minnesota school after ‘mob’ harasses Muslim woman

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Usama DakdokThe Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today called on the Bagley Independent School District #162 to rescind approval of tonight’s speech by Islamophobe Usama Dakdok following harassment of a Muslim woman by a “mob” at his earlier speaking event at the same school on Sunday.

CAIR-MN also called on local and state law enforcement authorities to consider bias charges against the harassers based on that state’s “assaults motivated by bias” statute.

Dakdok, who claims that American Muslims “will kill your children” and that “we are in war with Islam,” was invited to speak at Bagley High School by local Islamophobe Tammy Godwin. On June 22, during the second part of his three-day hate series, audience members said Dakdok incited the audience and endangered a Muslim woman attendee’s safety and security.

The audience members said the Muslim woman, who wears a religious headscarf, was part of a peaceful protest outside the hate event. She, along with others, entered the auditorium after the silent protest finished to listen to the speech. Their “Love Thy Neighbor” signs were lowered and not facing anyone inside. As the Muslim woman was quietly walking down the aisle looking for a seat, Dakdok stopped his presentation and singled her out. He asked her to leave, allegedly yelling, “Sister, I will give you one last chance to leave or I will throw you out myself!”

One attendee described an angry mob of Dakdok supporters who then began harassing the Muslim woman: “People were yelling at the Muslim woman, ‘Get out’ and ‘You weren’t invited.’ Men were getting to their feet and moving towards her to lay hands on her.”

The audience member announced he was calling the police out of concern for the Muslim woman’s safety. Godwin allegedly tried to interfere with the police call by attempting to intimidate the Good Samaritan by telling him, “Don’t you dare [call the police]. This will be on your soul.”

Three officers responded to the call, including the Bagley police chief, a Bagley police officer and a Sheriff’s Deputy. The Muslim woman was allowed to stay and an officer stayed at the event until it ended. One member of the angry mob, seemingly upset with Muslim presence, later approached the officer and asked: “Can I borrow your gun?”

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Guildford Four: Muslims ‘could face repeat’ of IRA bomb miscarriage of justice

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Miscarriages of justice, similar to the Guildford Four case, could be repeated with Muslims as the new victims, a high-profile barrister has warned. Michael Mansfield QC said Muslims were being “criminalised” in the UK in the same way as the Irish community living in Great Britain in the 1970s.

He was speaking after the death of one of the Guildford Four, Gerry Conlon. Mr Conlon and his three co-accused spent 15 years in jail after they were wrongly convicted of IRA pub bombings. Their convictions were quashed in 1989, following a long campaign for justice. Mr Conlon, 60, died at the weekend after an illness. His family said his fight for justice had “forced the world’s closed eyes to be opened to injustice”.

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UK ‘mosque-buster’ advising Bendigo residents opposed to Islamic centre

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Gavin Boby addresses Bendigo anti-mosque campaignA UK adviser to opponents of a proposed mosque in Bendigo is known as a “mosque-buster” who boasts of his record of using planning laws to block mosque applications.

Gavin Boby, a British planning lawyer and director of the Law and Freedom Foundation, met Bendigo anti-mosque activists while attending an anti-Islam conference in Melbourne in March this year.

The activists, who are also behind the Stop the Mosque in Bendigo page on Facebook, said Boby provided them with “individual advice” in their campaign against the Islamic worship centre, plans for which were last week approved by the Bendigo city council.

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Reports and comment from Islamophobia Watch 16‑22 June

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Reports and comment from Islamophobia Watch 16-22 June 2014