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.
That’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.
Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly provided a platform for Tommy Robinson, head of the English Defence League, a violent, extremist anti-Muslim hate group in Great Britain.
O’Reilly hosted Robinson on The O’Reilly Factor to discuss the EDL’s efforts to, as Robinson described, “fight for Christianity, fight for our children’s future, fight for our culture, and fight for our country’s identity, which is completely under attack.” Robinson went on to claim that British politicians aren’t doing enough to suppress the growth of Muslim communities in the United Kingdom, adding “actions speak a lot louder than words.”
Although O’Reilly mentioned press reports describing the EDL as “fascist” and “racist” and described the group’s views as “militant” at the beginning of the segment, he failed to note the EDL’s history of incendiary and often violent actions. A 2010 “undercover investigation” by The Guardian found that the organization planned protests against Muslim communities in “a blatant attempt to provoke mayhem and disorder”:
Former Respect leader Salma Yaqoob’s appearance on BBC’s Question Time last night was typically impressive and won her at least one unlikely admirer.
Salma’s appreciation of the support she received was soured by the revelation that an EDL supporter with the Facebook identity of Steve Littlejohn had posted threats against both Salma and Unite Against Fascism joint secretary Weyman Bennett.
He wrote: “if that salma yaqueb’s there, cut her fucking throat, rip weyman bennets teeth out with pliers and carve edl across all the asian scum who try and attack us”.
Hundreds of people came together this evening to hold a vigil outside the Islamic community centre in Muswell Hill that was destroyed in a suspected arson attack.
Residents, politicians and anti-fascist groups turned out to show their solidarity with staff and users of the Somali Bravanese Centre in Coppetts Road, which burnt down in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
An English Defence League supporter who shouted abuse and used threatening behaviour during a demonstration in Walsall has been warned he could face a jail term.
Jack Beasley travelled from Durham to take part in the protest which brought Walsall town centre to a standstill on September 29 last year. Miss Rhiannon Jones, prosecuting, told yesterday’s hearing at Walsall Magistrates Court that the 23-year-old also allegedly threw a “missile” towards police. She said Beasley was seen on CCTV pointing aggressively at police and swearing.
Urgent talks have been taking place this week as police, council officials and business leaders prepare for hundreds of protestors to descend on Lincoln city centre.
At 1pm on Saturday, members of the East Anglian Patriots will gather at Lincoln Central Station in St Mary’s Street. They will then be escorted 300 metres by police to City Square, where they stage a two-hour protest at plans to build a mosque in Boultham Park Road.
The group claims its mission is to show anger at the “increasing Islamic encroachment on our way of life”.
A former Ukip canvasser who allegedly posted anti-Muslim comments and racist pictures online has been arrested.
Police quizzed pensioner Tony Nixon in connection with a Facebook account containing jokes about destroying mosques, setting Muslims on fire and running over people from Pakistan with a bus.
The 66-year-old, of Great Broughton, near Stokesley, North Yorkshire, was arrested by Stokesley police on suspicion of stirring up racial hatred under the Public Order Act. He was released on bail while inquiries continue.
DON’T LET THE RACISTS DIVIDE US
VIGIL
THURDAY 6 JUNE, 6-7PM
BRAVANESE CENTRE
116 COPPETTS ROAD, MUSWELL HILL N10 1JS
The leaders of an Islamic centre destroyed in a suspected fire bomb attack offered an olive branch to the culprits in a gesture of peace of just hours after the blaze.
Sayed Bana, 60, a committee member at the Somali Bravanese Centre in Muswell Hill, invited the thugs behind the blaze to end their campaign of violence and come to the negotiating table as the cross community hub lay in ruins.
He said: “To the perpetrators of this attack I say, forget about what you are doing and come join us in a dialogue and let’s move forward to a future without violence. I’m not angry at those behind the attack, I feel sad for them.”
His call for calm came despite English Defence League supporters taking to social media sites to praise the apparent attack and call for further attacks on the Muslim community. One user wrote on the Yorkshire-Leeds EDL Division Facebook page: “Crying shame, if only it had been full.” Another added on the same page: “Next time do one at 3pm on a Friday afternoon.”