Category Archives: Anti-Muslim violence

Harry’s Place and its allies inspire far-right violence again

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Islamia Village

The York newspaper The Press reported yesterday that the “Islamia Village” event that was due to be held near the city at Thorpe Underwood Estate over the bank holiday weekend had been called off at the last minute after the estate’s Trustees cancelled the booking.

This decision followed an extended campaign against Islamia Village, based on the claim that it would be hosting extremist preachers. The Islamophobic blog Harry’s Place, which had initiated the campaign, immediately posted a piece yesterday afternoon claiming victory for itself and its supporters.

The obvious question that arises is – why was Islamia Village called off so late in the day? After all, Harry’s Place took up the issue well over a month ago, back on 13 July, when it crossposted a piece from the Islamic Far-Right in Britain blog condemning the event. What changed over the past few days?

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Racist jailed for threatening Asian family with knife told them ‘I’m EDL’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Two men who subjected a “decent and hardworking” Asian family to a torrent of abuse have been sent to jail and banned from their shop.

Stefan Davis and Kelvin Barratt were locked up for ten months and told not to go within 200 metres of the family’s newsagents in Bulwell for five years. Judge Michael Stokes QC, who sentenced them, asked one of their solicitors: “Why should anyone put up with such behaviour?”

The men began their harassment at 7 o’clock one Monday morning as the family unloaded stock outside their newsagent’s in Bulwell. Barratt, 25, of Courtleet Way, on the Crabtree Farm Estate in Bulwell, pulled a knife as he delivered an onslaught of foul remarks and words. He asked one “what religion are you?” and she replied “what does that matter?” He replied: “Because I’m EDL (English Defence League)”.

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Death threat to rector of Lyon mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Kamel KabtaneKamel Kabtane has been threatened with death. The rector of the Great Mosque in Lyon announced on Thursday 23 August, that he had today received a letter containing death threats.

“This four-page handwritten letter with the words ‘personal’ and ‘confidential’ was sent to me at the mosque”, Kamel Kabtane told AFP, adding that he had already received another threatening letter from the same person at his home the day before.

In this letter, the author wrote in red: “A bomb will go ‘boom’ and it is not a pig’s head that you will find outside your mosque but your own…. Sod off quickly to Dubai and die there if you don’t want to die here.”

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Two new mosques get go ahead

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The BBC reports that two new mosques, in Cambridge and York, have been given planning permission. Both had been subjected to hostile campaigns aimed at forcing the local council to block the plans.

A leaflet was circulated in Cambridge last year denouncing the so-called “megamosque” and claiming that it was intended to “send a message of physical and numerical dominance”. This was followed by an English Defence League demonstration that ended in violence when EDL supporters attacked an Islamic book stall and threw Qur’ans at the Muslims running it.

The York proposal resulted in an EDL-supported petition and a Facebook page entitled “Say ‘NO’ to the York mosque” (which attracted 1,426 likes). The building design had to be revised after police objected that it lacked sufficient security measures to defend the mosque against attacks by racists.

So it is good to see two local councils taking a stand against the bigots.

Molotov cocktail thrown at Libourne Mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Libourne mosque

Another act of vandalism against a mosque. One day after Eid ul-Fitr, the festival that marks the end of Ramadan for Muslims, the mosque in Libourne (Aquitaine) was targeted on Monday night. An individual threw a Molotov cocktail at the front of the brand new place of worship, which opened in 2011.

Fortunately, the damage is not serious. Only a few traces on the wall show the start of a fire that was quickly extinguished. The Lilbourne mosque is, in fact, situated right in front of the town’s fire station. Firefighters intervened very quickly after one of them saw a person throw a Molotov cocktail and flee the scene by car.

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Arrest made in Rhode Island mosque vandalism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

North Smithfield police have arrested and charged a Cumberland man in connection with a case of vandalism at a local mosque.

Robert Scalso, 20, of Mendon Rd. is facing a misdemeanor charge of vandalism, police confirmed Monday morning.

Police said Scalso destroyed the sign outside Masjiad Al-Islam mosque on Sayles Hill Rd. earlier this month.

The crime was caught on surveillance camera Aug. 5 around 3 a.m. A person could be seen driving into the mosque’s parking lot and then smashing the sign with what appeared to be a hammer.

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Illinois governor signs religious tolerance bill at Eid celebration

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Pat Quinn signing billGov. Pat Quinn celebrated the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at a ceremony that drew 15,000 people to Toyota Park on Sunday morning in the southwest suburb of Bridgeview.

The governor used the occasion to sign a bill that will allow university students who have religious holiday conflicts with tests or assignments to ask for and receive alternate assignments.

Gov. Quinn also decried recent attacks against local Muslims, citing a shooting at a Morton Grove mosque, an attack on an Islamic school in Lombard and the desecration of a grave in an Evergreen Park cemetery.

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British Columbia: police look into mosque threats

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Victoria police are investigating provocative, anti-Muslim comments posted on the I Love Downtown Victoria Facebook page, suggesting the new Masjid AlIman Mosque on Quadra Street be blasted with a rocket launcher. The comments appear to have been posted late Thursday afternoon by Facebook user Dan Speed.

Speed’s profile page states his work and education include the Canadian Coast Guard (security), Canadian Forces, Department of National Defence, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Canadian Airborne Regiment, Sauder School of Business and Stelly’s Secondary School.

Times Colonist, 18 August 2012

See also CBC News, 18 August 2012

Daily Mail can’t even condemn a racist attack on Muslims without employing anti-migrant rhetoric

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Daily Mail reports that a drunken couple of Polish origin, Beata Jopek and her partner Maciej Matysniak, racially abused two hijab-wearing Muslim women, Hana Farah and Ithil Ibrahim, on a Leeds-Sheffield train.

It was Matysniak who first approached the two women and told them: “Shut the f*** up”, why are you so “f****** loud, aren’t you embarrassed about how loud you are? You can’t even speak English.”

Jopek then told the women to “go back to your own country”, screaming “no-one wants you here, you are f****** disgusting”. She shouted at one of them: “Take that f****** thing off, a white person wouldn’t do what you are doing.” She ripped the headscarf from one of the women and when restrained by a guard said: “If I lose the baby I’m going to kill the black b****.”

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Florida: firebomb thrown at Muslim family’s home

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Panama City police are investigating what appears to be a fire bombing in the Forest Park area.

It happened about 3:45 Wednesday morning at a house on Timber Lane in phase-1 of the subdivision called The Woods.

The owner’s son said he heard a loud noise outside of his bedroom window, looked out and saw the ground below on-fire. He called 9-1-1, then put out the fire.

Police say they smelled gasoline and found what appeared to be a broken and burned mason jar, lying on the ground below the window.

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