Teenager arrested over alleged mosque threat on Facebook

Leon RichmondA teenager has been arrested after allegedly posting a racist threat against a mosque on Facebook.

Leon Richmond, aged 18, from Smithills, is alleged to have made an “offensive” comment about the proposed new mosque in Blackburn Road, Astley Bridge, on a Facebook page. He has been bailed by police, who have warned that more arrests will follow.

The proposed mosque, which was given approval by Bolton Council members earlier this month, will be built on a plot of land off Canning Street.

Det Insp Charlotte Cadden, from Bolton North Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of making racial threats to cause criminal damage. This is the first of a number of arrests we will be making.

“People seem to think they can make racially offensive comments online with impunity but they can’t because it’s offensive and people are rightly concerned. If you have put something like that online I would advise you to remove it. We have captured some of the comments already and we are prioritising the most serious ones. The arrest made by police is a warning to people.

“All people have a right to a lawful protest if they are unhappy about something but this has far overstepped the mark and turned into racial verbal abuse and threats to damage that have caused a lot concern and upset in all communities. The comments are offensive to lots of people.”

The mosque plans, submitted by Taiyabah Islamic Centre, include a dome, minaret tower and 19 classrooms. They have prompted protests by objectors [see here and here] in the lead-up to the planning meeting on July 3. Protestors shouted abuse at councillors as the proposals were approved.

Cllr Guy Harkin, for Crompton Ward, praised the police for taking action against people suspected of using racist abuse.

Cllr Harkin said: “The people who use racist abuse don’t realise that there is an electronic audit trail of what they are up to and that what they are saying is against the law. Some people had legitimate concerns about the planning application but other people were hiding behind that when the agenda was really Islamaphobia and racism.

“People who have legitimate planning objections will be listened to but at the end of the day, some people were using that as a smokescreen for out-and-out racism. I’m glad the police are getting a grip of it. At the end of the day people break the law and police deal with it.”

He said one of his colleagues has been at the brunt of some of the abuse and said it was “appalling and unacceptable”.

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Vlaams Belang leader questioned about racist internet game

Dewinter Minder, minder, minderThe Antwerp prosecutor has opened an investigation into an internet game published on the website of Vlaams Belang politician Filip Dewinter in the run-up to the May elections.

The game was dubbed Minder, minder, minder (Less, Less, Less), citing Dutch politician Geert Wilders’ supporters when asked whether they wanted “more or less Moroccans”.

In the game Elio Di Rupo (PS) and Guy Verhofstadt (Open VLD) are represented as flies, which the player can swat. Also among the “enemies” to be swatted are Muslim terrorists and mosques.

Police have received several complaints about the racist nature of the game. This has resulted in the current investigation and Dewinter being questioned.

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Austrian parliament rejects FPÖ proposal for ‘burqa ban’

FPÖ anti-niqabThe Austria Presse Agentur reports that a proposal by the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) to introduce a law on the French model banning the “concealment of the face in public space” has failed to find a majority in the Austrian parliament.

Only the Team Stronach party supported the FPÖ’s demand for an anti-‘burqa’ bill.

While the FPÖ MP Carmen Gartelgruber denounced the veil as “a symbol of the oppression of women”, Nurten Yilmaz of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) questioned the feminist credentials of a party who had opposed changing a line in the national anthem that referred to Austria as the “home of great sons” to “home of great daughters and sons”.

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Call for ban on far-right marches in Berwick-upon-Tweed

Berwick anti-fascist protestBerwick Chamber of Trade’s chairman has led calls for a ban on future protest marches through the town by far-right groups.

John Haswell was speaking after the Ban the Burka demonstration by the Scottish Defence League and North East Infidels on Saturday. “They shouldn’t be allowed back,” he said. “It doesn’t do our reputation any good at all. We’re a seaside tourist town and this is the last sort of thing we want our visitors to see.” A survey he carried out before the event found 155 shops and businesses did not want the protest march coming through town.

Several businesses including Pier Red on Castlegate and The Leaping Salmon on Golden Square stayed closed, sacrificing profits to avoid the risk of potential trouble. Terri Conway, duty manager at The Leaping Salmon, said: “It was just the chance of something happening – we closed last year when the SDL came to march, and we would close again if they came next year. Obviously being closed on a Saturday, when the weather was eventually so nice, hit us very hard.”

Around 40 right-wing protesters marched down Castlegate, along Walkergate to The Parade and back via Cowport to the railway station. A 100-strong counter-demonstration organised by Berwick Trades Union Council [pictured] took place on Marygate at the same time.

Phil Thompson, secretary of Berwick TUC, said: “It is vital that we continue to organise, to unite, to make sure they are not allowed to spread their racist and Islamophobic hatred and violence in our community.”

One 39-year-old man, from within the SDL march, was arrested for disorderly conduct and summonsed to appear at court.

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Burqa ban isn’t enough says Strache

The leader of the right-wing Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) says that a burqa ban as proposed by his party isn’t enough, and that he’d like to ban the chador as well, according to a report in the news daily Heute.

After last week’s decision by the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which supported France’s ban on religious headgear, the Freedom Party announced that they would be introducing a similar measure into Austria’s parliament.

The rule is intended to target the burqa, a traditional garment from the Middle East which completely covers the wearer, including the hair and face.

Now Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the Austrian Freedom Party, has stated that the proposed ban doesn’t go far enough, and should be extended to include the chador, a traditional Persian head scarf which leaves the face uncovered.

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Aryan blondes too beautiful for niqab, says FPÖ

FPÖ zu schön für einen schleierAs part of his party’s plan to introduce a bill banning full-face veils, Austrian politician Heinz-Christian Strache posted on a social network an image of a young blonde woman with the phrase “Too beautiful for a veil.”

The campaign was launched by the right-wing Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) leader and Member of Parliament Heinz-Christian Strache on his Facebook page. According to the politician, the poster is aimed “against the Islamization of Europe.”

The image refers to the party’s recent call for a ban on wearing the Muslim burqa in public. Based on the judgement by the European Court of Human Rights, who didn’t oppose the legality of the French burqa ban of 2011, FPÖ plans to introduce the same bill into the Austrian parliament next week.

“In many conservative circles of Islamic immigration society there is a prevailing view that women are second-class citizens,” party spokeswoman Carmen Gartelgruber commented, adding that “one of the many tools of oppression is the burqa.”

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Piggin detained under Mental Health Act

Michael Piggin graffiti and gun

Teenager Michael Piggin, who kept a stash of weapons in his home but denied he was planning a repeat of the Columbine school massacre, has been detained under the Mental Health Act.

Piggin, 18, admitted possessing petrol bombs and component parts for improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Police discovered a hoard of petrol bombs and air rifles when they were called to investigate a public order offence from six days earlier at his home in Beaumont Road, Loughborough, in February last year.

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Angry protesters shout abuse as they storm out of Astley Bridge mosque planning meeting

Bolton planning committee anti-mosque protestAngry protesters had to be escorted from a planning meeting by security staff as it descended into chaos after plans for a mosque were approved. Councillors sitting on the planning committee had to leave the room while campaigners against the application were led out.

Protesters advanced angrily on committee members and shouted abuse, while one person was seen to knock over a chair as they stormed out of the meeting. One protester also appeared to throw money at the councillors before the meeting was temporarily halted and order restored.

Plans for the mosque, submitted by Taiyabah Islamic Centre, which will be built on land just off Canning Street, near Blackburn Road, were approved by committee members by 13 votes to 6.

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Police investigating after Britain First go to two Gillingham mosques objecting to a planning application for a new place of worship

Britain First Kent anti-mosque protest

A right-wing group descended on two mosques in Gillingham threatening action if a planning application for a new place of worship is not withdrawn.

It comes after Britain First went to the new Nasir Mosque in Richmond Road, Gillingham, and the Jamia Mosque in Canterbury Street, Gillingham. The group of seven, clad in green raincoats and flat caps, confronted a solitary man on the doorstep of the Jamia Mosque before going inside and tackling him and another man on issues including the segregation of men and women within the mosque.

Police are now investigating the incidents.

In a video shot by Britain First and uploaded to YouTube one of the group said: “Withdraw your application for a new mosque, ok? Otherwise we, Britain First, will run a big campaign against you guys personally and also the council and the Imam, yeah? You’ve got a mosque, yeah. We don’t want these huge mosques with domes and minarets in our towns with separate entrances for men and women in our country.”

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