Category Archives: Anti-Muslim violence

Reims: Young woman wearing hijab is attacked

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Reims demonstration

The attack took place on Sunday afternoon in Reims (Marne). While she was driving with her husband, the young veiled woman was violently set upon by a passer-by.

The 17-year adolescent, an apprentice with the Compagnons du Devoir, started to insult her. According to the prefecture, he repeatedly asked her to remove her headscarf before “pouring a stream of racist abuse on her and her husband”. According to the testimony of the couple and Muslim and anti-racist associations in Reims, the perpetrator “put his hand through the window of the vehicle in an attempt to forcibly remove the woman’s scarf”.

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Cambridge man faces trial over knife and race charges after Woolwich killing

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Cambridge man accused of brandishing a knife and making racial comments on a train in the wake of the Woolwich killing faces a trial.

David Scott Camp, 35, of Romsey Terrace, was today remanded on unconditional bail by Chelmsford magistrates to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court August 19. He is accused of affray, possessing a knife or bladed point and possessing cannabis on May 23.

Camp is accused of using or threatening to use unlawful violence towards other persons is said to have had a folding lock knife on board a train travelling between London and Harlow and of having the cannabis on the same occasion. No pleas were entered by Camp.

Cambridge News, 10 June 2013

Sharp rise in Islamophobic incidents, says senior Met police officer

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Simon LetchfordThere has been a sharp rise in the number of attacks against Muslims, a senior officer in Britain’s biggest police force has said.

Commander Simon Letchford said abuse of Muslims may be more widespread than figures suggest as a result of under-reporting and the Metropolitan Police had stepped up security at some Islamic centres. He said around eight Islamophobic incidents a day were taking place in the capital every day, up from the usual rate of a single daily incident.

Mr Letchford urged Londoners to “stand shoulder to shoulder” in response to the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich.

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Four arson arrests over Islamic Darul Uloom School fire

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Four teenagers have been arrested after a fire at an Islamic boarding school in south-east London.

About 128 pupils and staff were evacuated from Darul Uloom School in Foxbury Avenue, Chislehurst, on Saturday.

Two 17-year-olds and two 18-year-olds were arrested on suspicion of arson on Sunday, the Metropolitan police said.

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Police patrol Islamic sites ‘at risk’ after fires

Posted on by Bob Pitt

There will be 24-hour police patrols at certain Islamic sites in London after two suspicious fires, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner has said.

Fires were started at a community centre in Muswell Hill on Wednesday, and a Chislehurst school on Saturday. An increased police presence has now been put in place around potentially “vulnerable” locations, said Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe. He called on Londoners not to be divided by the death of Lee Rigby.

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UK mosques urged to improve security measures

Posted on by Bob Pitt

An American Islamic group has been advising British mosques on security measures, including the installation of safe rooms and panic alarms, warning that they are at greater risk than in any other western country.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has discussed its revamped security regulations with the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) in light of the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby, 25, in Woolwich, south-east London, which it said had even provoked attacks in the United States.

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Lincoln anti-mosque protest meets counter-demonstration

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Anti-mosque protest Lincoln
Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Hundreds of people took to the streets of Lincoln on Saturday, June 8, for a protest against plans to build a mosque in Lincoln, as well as a separate anti-racism demonstration.

Around 250 anti-mosque protestors were in the City Square area, while around 100 people took part in the counter-demonstration in Cornhill. There was a strong police presence in the city throughout the day, with Lincolnshire Police getting assistance from Thames Valley and Metropolitan Police forces. No arrests were made.

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Salma Yaqoob threat allegations lead to arrest

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A man has been arrested after death threats were allegedly made on Facebook following a TV appearance by a former Birmingham City Councillor.

Salma Yaqoob, a former Respect councillor, shared the threats with her Twitter followers after she appeared on the BBC’s Question Time on Thursday.

West Midlands Police said a 37-year-old man from Corby has been arrested on suspicion of malicious communications. He is being held by Northamptonshire police, a spokesperson said.

BBC News, 8 June 2013

‘Anti-Muslim backlash’ has been grotesquely exaggerated: Britain remains peaceful and tolerant

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Tony ParsonsThat’s the headline to Tony Parsons’ column in today’s Daily Mirror.

Parsons assures his readers that most of the Islamophobic incidents that followed Lee Rigby’s murder took place online, and “some cretin foaming at the mouth on Twitter or Facebook is simply not the same as having someone stick a bottle through your window, or attack you in the street” (which of course ignores the fact that the former may well inspire the latter). He asserts: “The ‘anti-Muslim backlash’ is somewhere between a grotesque exaggeration and a plain old lie.”

This is just a rehash of the discredited Gilligan thesis. Parsons, however, adds a few ignorant and incoherent arguments of his own.

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