In the aftermath of the anti-Islam Henry Jackson Society’s removal from its role as secretariat to two all-party parliamentary groups, because of its refusal to reveal the sources of its funding, Coolness of Hind urges the Muslim community and other interested parties to “complain to the Charity Commission with an aim to instantiate a statutory investigation into the HJS to verify it’s compliant with its charitable objects”.
A Message to EDL Supporters: “You’re being lied to!”
On the 31 December-2 January 2015, Luton Islamic Centre are organising a conference entitled “Return of Khilafah and Jihaad, the correct understanding”. The purpose of this conference is to clarify to the Muslim community, the deviated beliefs of ISIS, Al-Qaida, and their followers. From the supporters of ISIS are the UK based group Al-Muhajaroon.
Luton Islamic Centre has been in the forefront of warning against violent extremism and its advocates. We have produced and distributed across the UK, tens of thousands of anti-extremism leaflets, including 50,000 leaflets entitled: “Al Muhajaroon, the extremist cult exposed”. We have also funded the publication of several books written to refute the ideology of Al Qaida. (pdf link: http://www.calltoislam.com/pdf/Al-Muhaajiroon%20-%20The%20Extremist%20Cult%20Exposed.pdf)
More than 65,000 people have signed an internet petition against the right-wing PEGIDA movement since it was established on Christmas Eve. The signatures are being collected on change.org, with its organizer aiming to reach 1 million.
PEGIDA was formed in October in response to growing sentiment within Germany against immigration and Islam, with its protests particularly focused on the eastern German city of Dresden. The group’s name loosely translates to “Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West.”
The latest protest in Dresden on Monday drew a record 17,500 people. However, resistance to the movement is growing, with thousands joining counter-demonstrations.
“Now is the time to profess that the phrase ‘We are the people!’, regardless of origin, color, religion or whatever, has been and must continue to hold true,” organizer Karl Lempert said.
Several hundred marchers turned out in a Swedish town on Friday to denounce an arson attack on a mosque that injured five people on Christmas Day as the traditionally tolerant country confronts the rising influence of the extreme right.
A firebomb was thrown through a closed window of the mosque in the central city of Eskilstuna on Thursday, injuring five of the nearly 70 worshippers inside, two of whom remained in hospital on Friday.
Answering calls by the “Together for Eskilstuna” Facebook page to denounce the attack, a large group of people converged on the damaged mosque to show their support. “Several hundred people were there to deliver a message of friendship,” a police spokesman, Roland Lindqvist, told AFP.
According to police, windows in a second Eskilstuna mosque were broken overnight on Thursday, though authorities couldn’t say whether the two attacks were linked.
Sweden’s leftist prime minister, Stefan Löfven, denounced the “hateful violence”. “We will never tolerate this kind of crime. Those who want to practise their religion should have the right to do so,” Lofven told SR radio.
This is the notorious September 2013 cover of the French magazine Valeurs Actuelles.
As we reported at the time, to its credit the Union des étudiants juifs de France (UEJF) began legal proceedings against the magazine’s editorial director for incitement to racial hatred, on the grounds that the cover “contains an explicit exhortation to commit acts of discrimination or violence … against Muslims”.
The Collectif contre l’Islamophobie en France draws our attention to the fact that the UEJF’s complaint came up in court last week. The UEJF is asking the court to impose a €5000 fine and €1 in symbolic damages. The case will be heard in February.
Senior figures have slammed the decision to send commissioners into Tower Hamlets, whilst Communities Secretary Eric Pickles describes spending £1600 a day of local residents’ cash on them as ‘modest.’
Yet apparently Eric Pickles thinks that £1600 a day (plus generous expenses) of Tower Hamlets residents’ money on the Commissioners is a ‘modest sum.’ It might be very modest for Pickles who spends £500,000 of our money on limos, or for PwC who run multi-billion tax avoidance schemes while being slammed by Transparency International for ‘undue influence’ on Whitehall. But in Tower Hamlets where half of our children live below the poverty line,£1600 a day plus the £1million cost of the PwC report is anything but modest.
As Pickles’ hit squad arrived today, they were greeted with local trade unionists gathering at the Town Hall to oppose their appointment (video here). It is a sinister development and seems no coincidence that Tower Hamlets as the council which has most successfully resisted austerity is being singled out by the Tories. In spite of serious concerns with multiple local authorities, Pickles has gone for the one that blocked the hated bedroom tax, reinstated EMA and stood up to him over cuts.
In a disproportionate measure, twenty-six inspectors were deployed for seven months with few checks and balances following a questionable recruitment process, and the £1million cost to Tower Hamlets residents has been described as ‘punitive.’ And now they’re sending in commissioners.
But no failings have been found in Tower Hamlets’ high performing, multi award winning frontline services.
Tower Hamlets welcomed the PwC report’s clarification that they have not found evidence of undue publicity spending, of inappropriate property sales, bias in grant funding or of corruption. A good rebuttal from one of our councillors can be found here. But Pickles appointed commissioners to watch these functions anyway, and we’re paying for it.
30 anti-racist and feminist demonstrators braved freezing temperatures last night to express their anger and indignation after local Zionists failed to cancel a talk by Mordechai Kedar. Kedar is an Israeli lecturer with an appalling record of racist and misogynist views.
Despite cancellations of many of his other UK speaking engagements at synagogues and Jewish schools, following publicity about his outrageous statements, Sussex Friends of Israel provided him a platform at Ralli Hall in Hove.
This is perhaps not surprising, in view of SFI’s consistent record of unquestioning support for Israeli apartheid. What is puzzling is the failure of the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to deny Kedar entry to the UK. She has frequently exercised her power to exclude Palestinian visitors who posed far less of a threat to community relations.
UAF and Mend held a joint event to discuss how to combat the rise in Islamophobia in Parliament. The event was hosted by Diane Abbott MP and featured Muslim community groups. It was part of the annual Islamophobia Awareness Month programme of events in November.
This Thursday’s round table featured an in depth analysis of the concerning rise in Islamophobia and identified key areas where Government should make improvements if it is to be effectively challenged.
Diane Abbott MP highlighted how Islamophobia has reinforced and increased racism and outlined how the past decade has seen the mainstream media attack Muslims and migrants. Diane exposed the so-called debate of UKIP, which claims to talk about Europe but is actually a code for immigration, which in turn impacts on non-migrant settled black communities. She said that the debate ends up benefiting the far right because if people have been convinced that immigration is the problem, you cant move far right enough for them. Diane called for all communities to stand together and be united in the face of the rising racism and Islamophobia.
Meet the anti-racism heroes who came to the aid of two Muslim women as they were being attacked in a bigoted tirade in Newcastle.
The friends, who were skating at Newcastle West when they intervened to help the mother and daughter on Monday night, say more people need to take a stand against “weak” and “cowardly” vilification.
Scott William Papworth, 27, has denied verbally attacking the women and threatening to kill those who came to their aid, claiming he was only one of numerous people in the vicinity and that he had been acting in self-defence against the skating group. It’s alleged he swore at the women and told them: “We are Westerners and you’re not meant to be here.”
Mr Papworth, of Bingleburra outside Dungog, pleaded not guilty to five charges in Newcastle Local Court on Tuesday, including that he intimidated and stalked the women, assaulted one of the men who came to their aid and stole two mobile phones. Mr Papworth was refused bail after magistrate Ian Cheetham described the verbal assault as “made on a racial basis upon persons who were innocently going about their business”.
Prosecutor Sergeant Karl Moir urged the magistrate to consider the charges “in the present climate”. “We are not just looking at a vacuum here,” he told the court.
In a statement tendered to court, police alleged the two women were wearing traditional Muslim hijabs as they drove along Smith Street about 7pm on Monday. A man allegedly approached their vehicle and said, “We are Westerners and you’re not meant to be here” and then he punched the driver’s side wing mirror.
The daughter drove five metres and got out to fix the mirror. But as she tried to get back in the car, police allege the man forced the left side of his body into the car, took hold of the steering wheel and put his foot on the accelerator for about 10 seconds. The car was in park and didn’t move.
The statement said Patrick Burgess, James Turvey and four other men saw what had happened and became concerned for the women’s safety.
As they approached the car they heard the man yell out “you Musi c—s”. Police allege the man turned on the six friends and threatened to kill them. The man allegedly stole two of their mobile phones and ran off but was struck by a skateboard thrown by one of the friends. He later allegedly punched Mr Burgess.
“He was saying the worst things [to the women], racist profanities [then] he started swinging at each of us while we were trying to defuse situation as best we could,” Mr Burgess told the Newcastle Herald.
Mr Burgess said he felt “so disgusted” the women had been subjected to the abuse. “People need to know that this is not OK,” he said. “The way this situation has gotten is so not acceptable, and people need to start taking action and actively condemning this sort of activity. It’s the indifference of good people that is bringing us down.”
Since alternate MP for the Progressive Party Þorsteinn Magnússon’s resignation from the party last week, several other party members have followed suit and many other people have expressed their support.
As reported, Þorsteinn resigned from the party due to the inaction of party leaders in regards to comments made by then city council candidate, and current city council member, Sveinbjörg Birna Sveinbjörnsdóttir, about the building of a mosque in Reykjavík.
Þorsteinn had criticized Sveinbjörg’s conduct immediately following the initial comments in May. He resigned last week after several attempts to get the leadership of the party to condemn her actions, which he called “in no way appropriate for a civilized political party,” failed.