Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia

‘Trojan Horse’ inquiry: Clarke report based on uncorroborated smear, anecdote, hoax, chatroom gossip and neoconservative assumptions

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Letter in today’s Guardian:

The new secretary of state for education, Nicky Morgan, makes various pledges following the “Trojan horse” reports on Birmingham schools. Several of her pledges are valuable. The basis for them, however, is unsound. Peter Clarke’s report is not “forensic”, as Nicky Morgan claims (Report, 22 July), but a biased mix of uncorroborated smear, anecdote, hoax and chatroom gossip.

It reflects neoconservative assumptions about the nature of extremism; ignores significant testimony and viewpoints; implies the essential problem in Birmingham is simply the influence of certain individuals; discusses governance but not curriculum; ignores the concerns and perceptions of parents and young people; and is unlikely to bear judicial scrutiny.

The Trojan horse affair has done much damage in Birmingham, both to individuals and to community cohesion. Political leaders have key roles in the urgent process of restoration and support for curriculum renewal. Alas, they will not be much helped by the official reports of Clarke, Ian Kershaw and Ofsted.

They will, though, be helped by the unique strength and goodwill of people in Birmingham itself.

Tim Brighouse, Gus John, Arun Kundnani, Sameena Choudry, Akram Khan-Cheema, Arzu Merali, Robin Richardson, Maurice Irfan Coles, Gill Cressey, Steph Green, Ashfaque Chowdhury, Ibrahim Hewitt, Baljeet Singh Gill, Arshad Ali, S Sayyid, Massoud Shadjareh, Abdool Karim Vakil and Tom Wylie

Joplin’s Muslims rejoice in mosque’s reopening

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Joplin Islamic Center

Two years ago, Muslims here were mourning the loss of their mosque, a place of worship the close-knit community was forced to surrender after an arsonist burned it to the ground during the holy month of Ramadan.

This Ramadan was different.

On Monday, families gathered for the first time at a brand new, $2 million mosque to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, a religious holiday observed by Muslims worldwide, which marks the end of the holy month.

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Kalgoorlie-Boulder council approves mosque during fiery meeting

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The City of Kalgoorlie Boulder approved the construction of a mosque in the inland city during a heated council meeting on Monday night, passing the motion six votes to four.

Acting mayor Allan Pendal said it was clear from the start of public question time the issue would be hotly contested, with what he described as a “vocal minority” clearly opposed to the planned construction of the mosque on Park Street in the suburb of Williamstown.

An alternative motion was put forward during the meeting that would have seen the application sent back to the council’s all-purpose committee to seek more information. The vote on that motion was deadlocked at 5-5, with Cr Pendal using his casting vote, as presiding officer, to defeat the motion. The original motion was then moved and passed 6-4.

Cr Pendal said the council was bound to judge the application on planning grounds, something he believed the anti-mosque supporters couldn’t comprehend.

“It was the biggest council meeting I’ve seen in nine years, we couldn’t actually fit everyone in the council chambers,” he said. “There was strong representation against the item. They were very vocal but they couldn’t seem to understand that we couldn’t judge the application on political or moral or religious grounds. This was a planning decision and they didn’t understand that despite me explaining it to them five or six times.”

He said the heckling of the anti-mosque group reached its peak during the debate of the item and at several points descended into abuse of council.

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Torygraph discovers ‘jihad on dogs’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Under the headline “Commonwealth Games Scottie dogs ‘disrespectful to Muslims’”, the Telegraph reports that the use of Scottish terrier dogs to lead teams around Celtic Park in the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last Wednesday has been criticised by “Malaysian politicians and religious leaders”. (In the Daily Mail‘s version of the story, the critics are elevated to “Malaysian officials”.)

The criticisms quoted were in fact raised by two individuals – one the leader of a minor political party and the other of an extremist movement – and it looks like their objections were not so much to the use of dogs as such but rather to reports that the dog supposed to be leading the Malaysian team refused to move and had to be carried by a team representative.

The Telegraph article helpfully explains: “Many Muslims refuse to have direct contact with dogs, which are considered by some to be ‘unclean’ in Islamic culture. Some overseas Muslim groups have reportedly previously called for a jihad on dogs.”

The article concludes: “A Glasgow 2014 spokesman said: ‘Glasgow 2014 have received no complaints from the Commonwealth Games Associations of the competing nations and territories following the Opening Ceremony’.”

So, another anti-Muslim story concocted out of nothing.

For the background to the “jihad on dogs” nonsense, see here and here.

Muslim school targeted by far right will open in September

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL Portsmouth protest
Members of the EDL and other far-right factions battle with police during a protest against the Madani Academy last August

An open day will be held for families interested in sending their children to a controversial Muslim school. The Madani Academy in Portsmouth is holding the event on Sunday. It is inviting prospective students along ahead of its official opening, which it hopes will be before September.

But last summer, demonstrations led by the English Defence League were held outside the venue in opposition to it opening. And there was outcry later in the year after a pig’s head was stuck on a spike on the back gates.

As reported in The News, the academy will be based at Merefield House, on the corner of Lake Road and Fratton Road. The people behind the academy won a bid to buy the building off Portsmouth City Council for £750,000. The management team said the site was the right one given its central location in the city and the fact it has a car park. They raised the £300,000 deposit for the building and the rest will be paid off in stages.

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Fury over ‘Muslim only’ rental advert as landlords fuel ghetto culture

Posted on by Bob Pitt

That was the headline to a report in yesterday’s Daily Star Sunday (the headline has since been amended to remove the reference to “ghetto culture”, although this remains in the article itself).

The inflammatory subheading, which suggests that there is a connection between adverts for rooms to rent and violent extremism, reads “Homes are being illegally advertised for rent to ‘Muslims only’ yards from where soldier Lee Rigby was killed.”

The Star even included photos of the adverts, without bothering to blank out the phone numbers, with the predictable result that the English Defence League has been encouraging its supporters to ring up and harass the Muslim landlords.

See Steve Rose, “An insight into the Daily Star exclusive on ‘Muslim only’ rental ads”, Tell Mama, 28 July 2014

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Germany’s biggest tabloid attacks Islam

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Nicolaus Fest comment piece

Germany’s biggest newspaper, Bild, was forced to climb down over the weekend after a highly critical and controversial comment piece which attacked Islam as a barrier to integration appeared in its Sunday sister paper.

“I don’t believe in God, but at the same time Christianity, Judaism or Buddhism don’t bother me. Only Islam bothers me more and more,” wrote Nicolaus Fest, vice editor-in-chief of the Bild am Sonntag newspaper in the editorial published on Sunday.

Fest then laid out why Islam’s “criminality,” “murderous contempt” and “honour killings” did not belong in Germany, in comments which prompted a raft of hostility online against the Axel Springer-owned tabloid. “I’m bothered by the considerably disproportionate criminality of youths from Muslim backgrounds,” wrote Fest. “I’m bothered by Islam’s murderous contempt for women and homosexuals. I’m bothered by forced marriages, ‘justices of the peace,’ ‘honour killings.'”

All this, wrote Fest, was making Islam “a barrier to integration” – something which should be weighed up when assessing claims for asylum and visa applications to Germany. “I don’t need any imported racism and I don’t need anything else Islam stands for,” he concluded.

The short piece, which by Monday morning had been shared over 9,700 times on social media, quickly drew harsh criticism of the paper by politicians calling it racist and calling for the paper to apologize to the estimated 4.3 million Muslims in Germany.

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Israel now, Ireland next: Dublin embassy in propaganda pics storm

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Israeli embassy Twitter images

An Israeli spokesman has confirmed that offensive images featuring European national icons were sent from his embassy’s official social media accounts.

Dublin was not the only city to come into the Israeli propaganda sights. A montage of pictures also showed the Mona Lisa in Paris wearing a niqab and carrying a rocket launcher. Michaelangelo’s David was shown in Arab headgear and wired up as a suicide bomber with a warning to Italy, while Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid was shown holding a gun.

The Israel In Ireland Facebook and Twitter accounts have been blasted for sharing the series of controversial posts.

An embassy spokesman told the Irish Sun: “Yes they were sent from the official Facebook but they were taken down, I don’t know why. Often things get deleted for space reasons but it wasn’t taken down because of any complaints.”

But disgusted online viewers called on the Government to take decisive action.

One said: “Feckin’ Facebook has taken more action against Israel in Ireland than our own Govt! Useless, spineless cowards. Further disgusting imagery from the Israeli Embassy in Ireland @IsraelinIreland.” Another fumed: “A disgusting piece of propaganda incitement attempt by @IsraelinIreland – embassy in Dublin. Simply disgusting. #GazaUnderAttack.”

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Anger as Islamic charity with Bradford base has its bank account shut down

Posted on by Bob Pitt

 

Ummah Welfare Trust (2)

An Islamic charity with a base in Bradford has been told that its bank account is being shut down, although it has yet to be told why. Now Bradford West MP George Galloway says he will “demand” to know the reason that HSBC has decided to shut the account of the Ummah Welfare Trust.

The registered charity, which has an office on Manningham Lane, believes HSBC has taken the action because some of the money it collects goes towards humanitarian projects in Palestine. It was this week given notice that its accounts were being shut in two months’ time. Although the account closure is not expected to hit the charity too hard, members feel it was morally wrong, and are calling for a boycott of the bank.

The trust had its account with Barclays bank shut in 2008.

Shoyeb Mayat, of the Bradford office, said: “We have no idea why they made this decision. We are in the middle of our busiest time for donations. During Ramadan we get 70 per cent of the donations we get each year.”

The group provides emergency relief in 20 countries across the world, including Pakistan, Palestine and India. It said the money goes towards providing medicine and grants to vulnerable people and children whose families have been killed or injured.

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Racist protest outnumbered in Marrickville

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Party for Freedom Ramadan protest

A small group of eight people from the racist, far right “Party For Freedom” held a protest outside Woolworth’s supermarket in Marrickville on July 26. They were objecting to a sign saying “Happy Ramadan” the store had put up earlier in the week.

The Party for Freedom is a newly formed group that grew out of the white nationalist Australian Protectionist Party. It campaigns against multiculturalism, wants to “halt Muslim and third world immigration”, encourage “culturally compatible migrants” especially from Europe and North America, and wants Australia to withdraw from the UN refugee convention.

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