Monthly Archives: November 2006

Self-immolation – a new trend among Islamophobes?

Posted on by Bob Pitt

“Angered and distressed by the threat of the evils of Islam to his country, his homeland, his family and his kinfolk a German vicar committed suicide by setting himself alight on Tuesday (31st) in protest. The 73 year old Roland Weisselberg poured petrol over himself and set fire to himself in the Erfurt monastery, where Martin Luther took his monastic vows in 1505. Tuesday was a national holiday in parts of Germany to celebrate the Protestant Reformation. Despite robust efforts by many on the scene who rushed to extinguish the flames, Mr. Weisselberg later died of his injuries. In a farewell letter to his wife the vicar wrote that he was setting himself on fire to warn against the danger of the Islamification of Europe.”

BNP news article, 2 November 2006

We can only hope that Nick Griffin and the entire BNP leadership are inspired to follow Mr Weisselberg’s example.

BNP not racist shock

Posted on by Bob Pitt

bnp-islam-poster“46-year old Nick Griffin is the head of the British National Party, which is sometimes described as ‘far-right’ and demonized in the media.

“Two years ago, he was talking about what he thought about Islam and asylum-seekers. Unbeknownst to Mr Griffin, he was being secretly filmed by the BBC. The comments were then screened on ‘The Secret Agent’, a documentary which was more of a PC smear campaign than an objective assessment of the current BNP party policy….

“The BNP had a previous history of racism from when it first began, but Nick Griffin has moved the party forward like no other figurehead before, and overt ‘racism’ has not featured in any of its documents or policies since he became leader. The party is against immigration, against the culture of giving tax-payers’ money to so-called ‘asylum-seekers’, and most importantly, it is against the spread of Islam.”

Western Resistance, 2 November 2006

Worth noting that the proprietor of this site is also a great admirer of Peter Tatchell.

Federal charges urged in hate attack on NY Muslim

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on the Justice Department to bring federal charges against a number of teens who attacked a Muslim man in Brooklyn, N.Y., Sunday evening.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said prosecutors are calling the attack a hate crime. The victim, who will require reconstructive facial surgery, said: “They were saying you Muslim terrorist…get out of the country.”

A court hearing for two of the alleged attackers is scheduled for Friday in Brooklyn Criminal Court.

“The viciousness of this attack, coupled with the allegations of bias-motivated slurs should be sufficient to bring federal hate crime charges against the alleged attackers,” said CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar.

Iftikhar said that CAIR yesterday called on religious and political leaders to repudiate the growing Islamophobia in American society that can lead to such attacks.

CAIR press release, 2 November 2006

Mass protest against Khatami at St Andrews

Posted on by Bob Pitt

St Andrews protestAbout a dozen protesters gathered outside Younger Hall, where the university principal, Brian Lang, presented the former president with his degree.

Among the protesters was Maryam Namazie, of the Iranian Women’s Liberation group, who fled the country in 1980. “It is disgusting that St Andrews University is conferring an honour on this man, he is responsible for more than 1,300 deaths during his presidency,” she said.

The university defended its decision to invite Mr Khatami, citing his moderate views and willingness to talk with the west as reason to engage with him. The students’ association backed that decision.

“What we can offer is acknowledgment of a courageous stand against insularity and congratulations on real and persistent efforts to reach out and engage with nations of the west,” said history professor Michael Bentley, speaking after the former president received his honorary degree.

Associated Press, 1 November 2006

The Global Peace and Unity Event

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Global Peace and Unity Event
25th & 26th November 2006

The wait is over! Islam Channel brings back to you the long awaited Global Peace & Unity Event. This year it’s even more spectacular, with a vision which is ahead of its time.

The Global Peace & Unity event, the first of its kind originated in Europe, was organised to highlight and promote the need for global peace and unity among Britain’s varied and distinct communities.

This family event also seeks to break barriers and open bridges between the variety of cultures and groups that follow the Islamic faith, as well as with other communities with whom we share our space.

The Global Peace & Unity Event aims:

• To provide a platform for entertainment and knowledge.
• To encourage understanding and positive interaction between the Muslims and Non Muslims.
• To introduce the British Muslims and Non Muslims to the true face of Islam.
• Dispel the myths surrounding the Islamic faith and to promote dialogue.
• To build bridges across faiths, communities and societies.
• To promote Muslim businesses, Islamic culture and art.

Further details on The Global Peace and Unity Event website.

Australian media seizes upon Muslim cleric’s comments to whip up xenophobia

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Australian media, working hand in hand with the Howard government and the opposition Labor Party, has seized upon a sermon delivered last month by a Sydney-based Islamic cleric to escalate its hysterical campaign against Muslims.

Last Thursday, the Australian published translated excerpts from a sermon delivered by Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali last month, in which the Muslim cleric appeared to blame rape victims for their plight. “She is the one wearing a short dress, lifting it up, lowering it down, then a look, then a smile, then a word, then a greeting, then a chat, then a date, then a meeting, then a crime, then Long Bay Jail, then comes a merciless judge who gives you 65 years,” he said. This was an apparent reference to the extraordinarily harsh sentence imposed on 20-year-old Bilal Skaf for gang rape convictions in Sydney six years ago.

Hilali quoted an Islamic scholar who said that rape victims should be imprisoned for life because “if she hadn’t left the meat uncovered, the cat wouldn’t have snatched it”. He then continued, “If she was in her room, in her house, wearing her hijab, being chaste, the disasters wouldn’t have happened”.

The position that women are responsible for rape – which is, by definition, non-consensual – is backward and reactionary. The current political and media campaign against Hilali’s comments, however, is entirely hypocritical. It has nothing to do with a principled opposition to sexual violence against women. The banner of women’s rights and sexual equality is being cynically paraded by the most right-wing and chauvinist forces in order to advance their own agenda.

World Socialist Web Site, 2 November 2006

Veiled Muslim stopped from boarding a bus

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Muslim woman was prevented from getting on a bus in Greater Manchester because she would not remove her veil. The 22-year-old Manchester University student from Oldham says other passengers laughed when the driver refused to let her on because he could not check her identity with her bus pass.

Now the driver’s bosses at First Manchester are to meet with their trade association, the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), to seek advice on how to deal with the problem if other passengers with photo passes refuse to lift their veils. They say they have received no complaint from the woman and have been unable to track down the driver concerned.

The student, who didn’t want to be named, tried to board the 59 bus to Oldham. She said: “The driver asked to see my pass, but it has my photo on and he couldn’t see my face. I told him I would not remove my veil and he said I couldn’t get on.” She is now offering to help the company draw up guidance to drivers.

She said: “It is understandable because the driver has his duty, although he said it in quite a rude manner. It wasn’t nice and other passengers were laughing. Bus drivers should be told how to deal with this situation. The veil is my choice and my religious duty. I am willing to go in and help the company so everyone knows what to do.”

Manchester Evening News, 2 November 2006

Paris airport bars Muslim staff

Posted on by Bob Pitt

More than 70 Muslim workers at France’s main airport have been stripped of their security clearance for allegedly posing a risk to passengers. More than 100 baggage handlers and aircraft cleaners had been under surveillance for months. In all, 72 people were later told their passes allowing access to secure areas were being withdrawn.

Airport officials say some of the workers had frequently visited Pakistan and Afghanistan the previous year. Some of them are suing the authorities, claiming they are being discriminated against because of their religion.

The interior ministry last year ordered a security review of airport staff.

“Seventy-two employees had their badges withdrawn [because] they are linked to fundamentalist movements with potentially terrorist aims,” Jacques Lebrot, the deputy prefect in charge of the airport, told the AFP news agency. The “great majority” were linked to an “Islamist movement”, he said.

BBC News, 2 November 2006

One day in the life of Muslim Britain

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Criticised for their beliefs, clothing and attitudes; accused of not being British enough; reviled as the enemy within – not a day passes without Muslims being attacked in the media. So how does it feel to be Muslim in Britain today? Guardian writers asked people around the country – from a rear admiral to an organic farmer, a rapper to a gay rights campaigner, an accountant to a niqab-wearing teacher – to tell us how they spent last Friday.

Guardian, 1 November 2006