EDL claims it has Muslims’ support (yes, really)

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL NoMoreMosquesThe English Defence League last night claimed it had been swamped with messages of support from all races. And the masked men also said followers of Islam had contacted the EDL after the group produced a video proclaiming it is “anti-fascist”.

Yesterday the Daily Star revealed exclusive photos of the group’s swastika-burning video, which was its response to critics who say the organisation’s true motives can be compared to the Nazis.

The EDL said its campaign is only against hate-preaching fanatics, terrorists and Sharia Law. It says it has wrongly been linked with the far-right and BNP and only calls for integration. It said moderate Muslims were welcome in the country.

Daily Star, 24 September 2009

Update:  See also “Richard Desmond and the far-right”, Tabloid Watch, 27 September 2009

Muslim prayer rally at Capitol Hill provokes hysteria from Christian Right

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Richard Bartholomew has the details.

Update:  See also Washington Post, 25 September 2009

The Rev. Canon Julian Dobbs, leader of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, is quoted as warning that the Islam on Capitol Hill event is “part of a well-defined strategy to Islamize American society and replace the Bible with the Koran, the cross with the Islamic crescent and the church bells with the Athan”.

Sun apologises to Ummah.com

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Extremist threat to UK Jews“Our story on January 7 about a ‘hit list‘ of top British Jews on the website Ummah.com was based on claims by Glen Jenvey who last week confessed to duping several newspapers and Tory MP Patrick Mercer by fabricating stories about Islamic fundamentalism. Following Mr Jenvey’s confession, we apologise to Ummah.com for the article which we now accept was inaccurate.”

Sun, 23 September 2009

See also the Guardian and the report by the Press Complaints Commission.

Muslim teenager was killed in ‘drunken racist attack’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Mohammed al-MajedA teenage Muslim student was killed after he and his friends were attacked by a gang of drunken racist thugs, a court heard yesterday.

Mohammed al-Majed, 16, suffered serious brain injuries when he was punched in the face by George Austin. The blow sent him flying and he hit his head on the road.

Al-Majed, who was days from returning to Qatar after studying English here, was chatting with fellow foreign students outside a kebab shop when a group of young white men and women allegedly began taunting them.

Paul Rockett, 21, allegedly took a drunken swing at Mohammed’s 17-year-old black friend Peter Henworth after demanding: “Where are you from?” His attempted punch missed and Peter fled – as one thug yelled: “Come back here, you n****r,” the court was told.

Rockett and Quinn later told police that Mohammed’s friends had started the midnight fracas and claimed the students were a gang who were “trying to turn all the kids into Muslims”.

Daily Mirror, 22 September 2009

Update:  See “Man convicted of killing Qatari student”, Guardian, 16 October 2009

Damian Thompson on ‘the Islamic settlement of Britain’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Damian Thompson 2Torygraph blogs editor Damian Thompson offers his thoughts on the demolition of the migrants’ camp in Calais:

“How interesting that French police waited until the end of Ramadan before forcibly dismantling the Calais ‘jungle’. That tells us something we really need to remember about a huge proportion of the illegal immigrants seeking to enter Britain: that they are pious Muslims.

“Note that there was a bigger fuss about the taking down of the mosque than there was about the removal of the makeshift houses. And note, too, that the refugees declared their determination to enter Britain (‘nothing will stop us’) almost in the same breath as their devotion to their place of worship.”

Thompson observes resignedly that he’ll “no doubt be accused of Islamophobia”. But that would be unfair. He isn’t some bigot who thinks Muslim migrants are all potential terrorists, he explains. He’s just against them because … well, because they’re Muslims.

SIOE plans to return to Harrow Central Mosque to protest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Stephen GashAn anti-Muslim group forced to call off a 9/11 protest in Harrow for fear of violent reprisals is planning to return if it can raise 2,000 supporters.

Stop the Islamisation of Europe had planned to demonstrate against Islam outside Harrow Central Mosque on Friday, September 11, but was forced to abandon the demonstration because of police fears of a riot in the streets of Wealdstone.

A handful of supporters who did turn up were chased away by hordes of predominantly Asian men, some wielding sticks as weapons, who had broken away from more than 1,000 pro-Mosque supporters who had gathered outside Harrow Central Mosque, in Station Road.

However, Stephen Gash, the SIOE organiser, told the Harrow Times he was thinking of organising another demonstration in Harrow, and a message has been posted on the group’s website confirming it will return if 2,000 people pledge to turn up.

Mr Gash said 60 people had traveled to Harrow on September 11, and insisted they had a right to protest against what he claimed was totalitarian mosques preaching Jihad.

The first protest was widely condemned by leading members of the Harrow community, but police have conceded they have no powers to ban a lawful and peaceful protest.

Harrow Times, 22 September 2009

Before you get too worked up about Gash’s threat, bear in mind that when this pathetic little man organised his “Stop Kuffarphobia” demonstration in London two years ago he told the police he expected a thousand protestors to join him. The actual attendance was variously estimated at between 15 and 30.

US Islamophobes mistake Shia martyr for 9/11 terrorist

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Houston store sign3HOUSTON — A Harwin shop owner has been dealing with outrage and threats after he posted a sign on the store window saying Perfume Planet was closed on September 11 to honor the martyr Iman Ali.

The sign generated a lot of bitter comments on the Internet and dozens of angry calls each day at the Harwin Central Mart. Folks were shocked, believing the shop was honoring a 9/11 terrorist.

“When we came back today, I didn’t go back into the store,” said Luke Vizena, who saw the sign last week. “I won’t do business with this store,” said his friend. Internet traffic was much angrier. One wrote, “This is sickening!!! How long will it take for us to become a Muslim country?” Another said, “I could not stay in the building it made me so sick.”

Store manager Imran Chunawala was stunned because the holiday had nothing to do with 9 /11. Then he realized what happened. This year a key Ramadan Holiday happened to fall on 9/11. “We did not explain enough in the sign because that is the exact same sign we put up every year on this particular day for this particular reason,” said Chunawala. He apologized for the confusion and put up a new sign thoroughly explaining the martyr they were honoring died in 661 AD.

“1400 years ago. That was a long time ago,” said shopper Dolly Korenek.

khou.com, 16 September 2009

See also Partisan Gridlock, 17 September 2009 and Snopes, 20 September 2009

Stirring up hatred

Posted on by Bob Pitt

UAF at Harrow

Letter in the Morning Star, 21 September 2009:

The planned demonstration by anti-Islamic thugs at Harrow Central mosque on September 11 was a spectacular flop thanks to an impressive mobilisation by the Islamic community and anti-fascist supporters.

The first group of anti-Islamists to catch sight of the mosque soon realised that they were no match for the 1,500 people already gathered there and quickly took flight, racing at impressive speed through the car park of the nearby Harrow Civic Centre with hundreds of anti-fascists on their tails.

Others never got to the mosque and one group’s demonstration was confined to a pub in Harrow town centre, where they were complaining plaintively to surrounding police about being denied their right to protest.

Soon the Stop Islamisation of Europe (SIOE) group, which was one of the main organisers, was announcing that its action was being called off and the still-complaining pub protesters were being marched under heavy police escort back to Harrow Tube station.

This humiliation, however, should not blind us to the fact that these groups are extremely dangerous and that they have no reservations about using physical violence against Muslims, anti-fascists, trade unionists and anybody else who stands in their way.

They want to stir up hatred against Muslims in the same way that Mosley and his blackshirts stirred up hatred against Jews.

The SIOE group is even calling for a boycott of goods from Islamic countries and from Western companies like KFC which are deemed to be too friendly towards Muslims.

The one concern I have over the events in Harrow is that, despite some mobilisation by the regional TUC, trades councils and individual unions, the labour movement was not represented in the numbers one would wish.

It is one thing to condemn these dangerous groups but words are not enough – bodies have to be put on the front line as well.

Richard Lynch
London NW10