Solihull Unite Against Fascism press release, 24 March 2008
BNP is inciting religious hatred on Facebook group – “Say no the Solihull Mosque”.
The BNP has used Facebook to help organise its campaign against the planning application by Solihull Muslim Community Association. The BNP facebook group “Say no to Solihull Mosque” claims to have 1600 members. It has generated over 1000 posts in under two weeks.
The Facebook group is being organised from Stoke on Trent, the administrator is based in Keele and the You Tube video is credited to Stoke BNP. The BNP administrator is openly using it as a recruitment tool, Alex E says “if you are fed up with mosques being built get involved in the BNP”.
The Group wall postings are inviting racist and islamophobic comment without the BNP organisers uttering a word. Examples of racist comments on the BNP Facebook site:
At 5:29am on 23rd March 2008
U avan a laugh???? Even if they did build a dirty mosque mans would just throw pigs guts at it!!!
At 10:35pm on March 18th, 2008
I have just heard the good news CONGRATULATIONS but the fight is not over. These bastards will not go away and until we kick them all out and send them back to their own countries we will have to continue fighting this war. But every time a muslim blows himself up or abuses a white person or tries to take over a neighbourhood we gain more supporters. Time is actually on our side and all of Europe is itching to kick these useless perverts out of Europe . I do not know one person who wants muslims in Europe and I know a lot of people around Europe . If Hitelr hadnt gone and messed things up for nationalism we would never have let them in. Well the tables are turning and these guys are toast.
At 12:43am on March 12th, 2008
fuck the pakis! this is our country! :@:@
These comments from the site are arguably an incitement to religious and racial hatred under the Public Order Act 1986. The BNP is responsible for publishing these comments if not directly speaking them. It is also in breach of the terms of use of Facebook. Facebook terms of use state that users agree not to upload, post or share content that the site deems “harmful, threatening, unlawful … inflammatory … hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable”.
A Solihull Unite Against Fascism spokesman said: “The BNP’s campaign against the so-called islamification of Solihull is clearly racist and is intended to direct hate against a particular section of the community. It is in clear breach of the Facebook terms of use and the site owners should take urgent action to close it down.”
Background Information
BNP and the Planning Application
The BNP has recently leafleted the Shirley area of Solihull in opposition to a planning application by Solihull Muslim Community Association for the development of a Community Centre. The focus of its campaigning is its opposition to the so-called “Islamification of Solihull”. The BNP leaflet is a combination of nimbyism and islamophobia. It claims the planning application represents a threat to the white Christian identity of the area against the encroachment of islam and “they are here to take your parking spaces”.
The leaflet against the planning application has successfully generated some media attention. See article in the Birmingham Mail: BNP campaign raises race-hate fears (11th March 2008)
http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/mail/news/2008/03/11/bnp-campaign-raises-race-hate-fears-97319-20603785/
On the 18th March 2008 the Birmingham Mail carried an article claiming that the planning application had been withdrawn:
http://www.birminghammail.net/news/solihull-news/2008/03/18/plans-for-muslim-centre-withdrawn-97319-20640399/
The BNP has claimed this as a victory for its campaign.
The BNP in Solihull
The BNP campaign against this planning application has been timed to generate maximum publicity on their way to the 1st May local election. It is claiming to be fielding a record number of candidates in Solihull.
The antifascist magazine Searchlight has identified Solihull as a key battleground in the 2008 local election where the BNP poses a threat in more than one ward. In 2006 a BNP councillor was elected in Chelmsley Wood ward and they achieved a strong result in Kingshurst and Fordbridge ward in 2007, coming within 78 votes of the winning candidate.
The BNP has doubled its vote in between 2004 to 2007 across Solihull. The campaign against the planning application has enabled the BNP to promote itself in the south of the Borough and to make an appeal to middle class voters.
BNP on Facebook
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/aug/10/digitalmedia.politicsandthemedia