Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia

About 42% against mosque in Iceland

Posted on by Bob Pitt

42.4% of respondents to a poll from Market and Media Research (MMR) say they are against The Muslim Society building a mosque in Iceland.

According to the poll, respondents were asked how supportive or against different houses of worship they were. 42.4% said they were against a mosque in Iceland, while 29.7% said they were in favour.

Where other religions are concerned, results varied.

33.1% said they were against a Russian Orthodox Church being raised in Iceland (there already is one) while 33% supported the idea. 36.5% said they supported a Buddhist temple in Iceland while 23.5% were against it. Where the Ásatrú Society is concerned, 49.2% said they supported a temple for them being built in Iceland, while 11.1% opposed it.

The big winner from the poll was the national church, with 64.4% saying the church should be able to build more churches. 9.5% were against the idea.

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The Sun’s ‘Unite against Isis’ campaign is a proxy for anti-Muslim bigotry

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Imagine your average British Muslim family sitting around the breakfast table with the papers this morning. On the front page of the Sun, an image of a woman in a hijab fashioned out of the Union Jack and the headline “United Against IS” hollers out at them. In the right-hand corner, a subheadline urges them to “stand up to extremists”.

Yes, you there, Muslim – bleary eyed, sipping your coffee, who thought the activities of a militant group thousands of miles away had nothing to do with you – are you standing up to extremism right now? Is your Islam “British”? If not, then you are Part of the Problem.

It doesn’t end there. Inside, there is a flag cutout with “United Against IS” on it. Please stick it on your window or somewhere else highly visible to make it clear where you stand. Now, time for cornflakes.

The implications of this stunt are clear. Even though the editors shoehorned in an appeal to “Brits of all faiths”, this can only be a figleaf as the image clearly screams “Muslims”.

What the Sun says is that Muslims have to prove their British credentials with a display of loyalty – that their Britishness is not taken for granted until they do so. You are a shady Muslim first, and a citizen second. It may be masquerading as a jolly exercise in solidarity of the “Keep calm and carry on” type. But the subtext is pretty clear: “We are united against IS, Are they?”

Nesrine Malik responds to the “anti-extremism” campaign in today’s Sun.

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Scottish Defence League planning rally in Dundee in ‘next few weeks’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

SDL Glasgow February 2012(2)The Scottish Defence League (SDL) is planning to host a large rally in Dundee in “the next few weeks”. Organiser Graham Walker said scores of people are lined up to attend the city-centre demonstration.

The controversial group have held rallies in Dundee before that have been countered by members of Unite Against Fascism (UAF). It has branded the SDL – and its sister organisation, the English Defence League – as racist.

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South Dakota state Rep. condemned for ‘joke’ about Muslims that went viral

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Betty OlsonSouth Dakota state Rep. Betty Olson says she was just trying to be funny when she ended two recent newspaper columns with jokes about Muslim terrorists, 7-11 clerks, Motel 6 managers and the president of the United States.

But her comments went viral across South Dakota and the country this week, with many online comments referring to her as a racist, an ignorant Republican unfit for public office, and an embarrassment to South Dakota.

Her columns, carried in the weekly Butte County Post and online under the header Grand River Roundup, deal with the everyday occurrences of small western South Dakota communities in and around House District 28B, which includes all or part of Butte, Harding and Perkins counties. Topics often include harvest updates, high school football, cattle roundups, rodeos, campfire coffee, parades and the ever-changing weather.

But when she concluded her Sept. 10 column with a made-up warning from ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood that claimed if the U.S. continued meddling in Middle Eastern hot spots, they would end up cutting off America’s supply of 7-11 and Motel 6 managers, cab drivers, customer service reps for Dell, AT&T and AOL, as well as U.S. presidents, it ignited a viral firestorm and generated innumerable and decidedly unfavorable comments on internet websites and social media.

“You should be ashamed, Betty Olson,” one poster wrote to Talking Points Memo, a national website that published Olson’s remarks. “Once again, the comments you find humorous are racist, degrading and beyond disgusting. Shame on you and all who support your backwoods mentality.”

“I cannot believe, in this day & age, that someone as blatantly racist as you is allowed a public forum to make your sweeping generalizations about groups of people,” an East River South Dakota resident wrote. “Your callous disregard for the office of President of the United States, and your disrespect of a people you obviously know nothing about shows the world your true colors.”

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Czech Interior Ministry rules that spa town must respect Muslim dress codes

Posted on by Bob Pitt

TepliceThe Czech Interior Ministry has decided that the north Bohemian town of Teplice cannot issue a decree banning people from covering their faces in connection with the Arab clients of the local spa, daily Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) writes in its regional supplement today.

The Teplice town hall was considering introducing such a ban in order to make some Arab tourists more respect “European rules” and keep public space tidy.

“A decree cannot regulate the covering of faces,” the ministry writes in a letter to Teplice Mayor Jaroslav Kubera.

The ministry says such a public notice would affect Muslim women who cover their faces in accordance with their religious belief and this would go against the Czech Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, the paper writes.

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Skaters come to aid of Muslim women attacked in a bigoted tirade

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Newcastle anti-racist skatersMeet 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.”

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CAIR asks DOJ to probe Arkansas business declared ‘Muslim-free zone’ by owner

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jan MorganThe Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today said it has asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate a Hot Springs, Ark., shooting range that has been declared a “Muslim-free zone” by its owner.

The owner claims the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agrees with her claimed right to bar customers based on their faith.

In a letter to Attorney General Holder, CAIR wrote in part:

“[The shooting range owner] appears to be misinterpreting the advice given to her and refusing service to all Muslims, which cannot be a correct interpretation of compliance with federal gun laws and the U.S. Constitution.

“Given the recent spike in anti-Muslim rhetoric, including Islamophobic statements by government officials, community leaders and media outlets, death threats, and other bias incidents targeting Muslims, I urge you to investigate this matter soon.

“CAIR believes that systematically banning Muslims from a place of business is a violation of federal laws prohibiting racial and religious discrimination and will inevitably result in a hostile environment for ordinary Muslims in Arkansas.”

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‘Take if off and hang yourself with it’: Muslim students racially vilified

Posted on by Bob Pitt

SUMSAA number of Muslim students have experienced serious incidents of racial vilification on University of Sydney campuses in recent weeks.

In one incident, a female Muslim student was told to take her hijab off her head and hang herself with it while walking to Redfern Station.

Members of the Sydney University Muslim Students Association were also abused while promoting their annual Islamic Awareness Week.

A SUMSA member, who had asked another student not to rip down posters for the festival, was asked “What are you going to do, behead me?” – a reference to the recent, highly-publicised executions of Western citizens by extremist group ISIS.

In a similar incident, students handing out fliers for the festival were told that they were “trying to make 9/11 happen all over again,” and the University would be better if it had no Muslim students.

Several Muslim students at the University’s Cumberland campus have also reported being spat on in recent weeks.

SUMSA spokesperson Mohamad Raad says that Muslim students have been deeply troubled by this spate of Islamophobic attacks.

“As Muslims, we’re obviously aware that there are a lot of tensions out there at the moment, but you don’t expect these sorts of things to happen on an Australian university campus,” he said.

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Ben Affleck slams Bill Maher’s anti-Muslim sentiment as ‘gross’ and ‘racist’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

In a testy ten-minute exchange on “Real Time” with television host Bill Maher and author Sam Harris, Hollywood actor Ben Affleck slammed the host for commenting that Islam is the only religion that acts like the “mafia.” Along with journalist Nicholas Kristof, Affleck argued that ascribing an entire religion based on the actions of the terrorist group Islamic State, was “gross” and “racist,” while Maher and Harris shot back that criticizing Islam “gets conflated with bigotry towards Muslims as people,” a ploy that others have used to build on anti-Muslim sentiment in the country.

During the exchange with Kristof and RNC Chairman Michael Steele, Affleck took the lead to slam Maher and Harris for defending their generalization of Islam. Harris stated, “We have been sold this meme of Islamophobia, where every criticism of the doctrine of Islam gets conflated with bigotry towards Muslims as people.” Affleck asked, “Are you the person who understands the officially codified doctrine of Islam?”

To Maher’s idea of generalizing Islam, Affleck said, “It’s gross, it’s racist,” while Kristof added that the view of Muslims is “incomplete,” referring to the example of Malala Yousafzai, a teenager shot by fundamentalists, who is part of the larger peaceful Muslim movement. Harris panned both Affleck and Kristof’s responses saying that Islam is “the motherload of bad ideas” and that fundamentalists are not just the “fringe group” of practicing Muslims.

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The Moazzam Begg case shows how Muslims are criminalised

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Letter in the Guardian

On 1 October, Moazzam Begg was released after seven months in detention because of allegations arising from his time in Syria which included charitable and investigative work (Report, 2 October). Days before a much-delayed court hearing, all charges have been dropped. Begg has been a role-model and mentor to many, young and not so young, and this new period of detention has caused great distress among those who look to him for inspiration. The manner in which he has been targeted and detained – with, ultimately, no evidence being brought against him in an open court – will confirm the view that this is a concerted campaign of intimidation, designed to scare Muslim communities away from active engagement in public life. While we celebrate his release, we remain concerned that he has spent another lengthy period in detention because of laws that are fundamentally unjust.

We write to express our extreme concern about the use of allegations of terrorism and the arrest and detention of charity workers to slur and curtail the work of Muslim charities and organisations such as Cage, Interpal, Ummah Trust and HHUGS, including through closing bank accounts, lengthy investigations into charitable status and, at the extreme, the arrest and detention of high-profile campaigners.

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