Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia

UK anti-Muslim hate crime soars, police figures show

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hate crimes against Muslims have soared in the UK this year, figures show.

Hundreds of anti-Muslim offences were carried out across the country in 2013, with Britain’s biggest force, the Metropolitan police, recording 500 Islamophobic crimes.

Many forces reported a surge in the number of anti-Muslim hate crimes after the murder of soldier Lee Rigby by two Islamic extremists in Woolwich, south-east London, in May.

But the figures could be much higher as nearly half of the 43 forces in England and Wales did not reveal how many hate crimes had targeted Muslims. Some forces admitted they did not always record the faith of a religious hate-crime victim.

Freedom of Information requests were sent by the Press Association to every police force in England and Wales. Of the 43 forces, 24 provided figures on the number of anti-Muslim crimes and incidents recorded.

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Judge rules against Geller, says ad campaign demeans Muslims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Geller and adA federal judge rejected a pro-Israel group’s assertion that its free speech rights were violated when the MBTA turned down a subway advertisement on the grounds that the ad was “demeaning or disparaging.”

The ad is paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, a New York organization that seeks to combat the spread of Islam in the United States. With bold, all-capital-letter text placed against a stark black background, the ad reads: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel; defeat Jihad.”

Officials with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority rejected the ad in November on the basis that it violated the agency’s advertising guidelines, which include rejecting advertisements that demean and disparage individuals and groups, promote alcohol or tobacco, and depict graphic violence.

On Friday, US District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton sided with the state’s transportation authority, saying in the ruling that “it was plausible for the defendants to conclude that the … pro-Israel advertisement demeans or disparages Muslims or Palestinians.”

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France to maintain a headscarf ban despite legal advice

Posted on by Bob Pitt

France decided on Monday to maintain a ban on Muslim headscarves for volunteer school monitors despite a warning that it overstepped the law requiring religious neutrality in the public service.

The Council of State, which advises the government on disputed administrative issues, said in a 32-page analysis that this neutrality did not apply to mothers who help escort schoolchildren on outings such as museum visits. Education Minister Vincent Peillon promptly announced the ban would continue because the Council’s opinion also said that schools could impose internal rules against religious wear. “The memo (establishing the ban) remains valid,” he said in a communique after the Council’s analysis was released.

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France urged to scrap hijab ban for school trips

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The French government was urged on Monday to overturn a ban on Muslim mothers wearing the Islamic veil [hijab] while helping teachers on school trips. The move comes amid criticism of France’s strict application of its secular principles.

France’s Conseil d’Etat (Council of State) told the government to overturn France’s de facto prohibition on Muslim mothers’ wearing the Islamic veil while accompanying pupils and teachers on school trips. The Council, which acts as an advisory body to the government, ruled that mothers simply offering teachers additional adult supervision on school outings should not be “not submitted to [the requirements of] religious neutrality.”

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Lewisham Islamic Centre responds to Telegraph’s ‘irresponsible journalism’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Lewisham Islamic Centre logoResponse to the Telegraph Article

It is with regret that the Telegraph, namely its editors Sam Marsden and Tom Whitehead published an article with a large photo of the Centre featuring prominently in its article on 19 December 2013 entitled “Lee Rigby killers had links to Lewisham mosque that ‘attracts radicals’”. The article is seeking to mislead and implicate the Centre to the unlawful killing of Lee Rigby which is wholly baseless and without foundation. As was set out in our press release on 19 December 2013, at no point has the Centre formed part of the criminal investigations into the killing of Mr Rigby and it has been made unequivocally clear that the murderers of Lee Rigby were in no way, shape or form associated with our Centre. It is clear from our website that the Centre is a well-regarded institution within the London Borough of Lewisham as is noted by the various testimonials on our website.

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Another ‘Muslim appeasement’ story from the Mail

Posted on by Bob Pitt

This year, it appears that Christmas hasn’t been banned because it offends Muslims – or at least I haven’t as yet come across that old familiar story or any of its many variants.

Still, the festive season wouldn’t be complete without some anti-Muslim story in the right-wing press. The Mail has run a report, which was then taken up by the Sunday Telegraph, that Muslim checkout staff at Marks & Spencer who do not wish to handle alcohol or pork have been told they can politely request that customers pay at another till.

You might wonder how prevalent this practice is at M&S – the Mail provides just one example of it happening. Other retailers – Asda, Morrisons and Tesco – appear to have adopted the more obvious solution that staff who object to handling certain products are not asked to work at checkouts.

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West Midlands: Religious hate crimes rise 60 per cent in two years

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hate-fuelled crimes in which victims have been attacked because of their religion have spiralled by an alarming 57.6 per cent in the West Midlands over the past two years.

As the region prepares to celebrate Christmas – with its message of peace and goodwill – Home Office figures show that assaults incited by faith discrimination rose to 82 this year. Last year just 52 such cases were recorded by the police and the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

Community campaigners warn that it could be just the tip of the iceberg because of a general perception that the authorities are either powerless, or unwilling, to act on complaints.

And the shocking figures do not include the murder of grandfather Mohammed Saleem, who was murdered as he made his way home from Friday prayers at a Birmingham mosque in April. Nor do they include this year’s nail bomb attacks on mosques in the Black Country because they occurred after the latest figures available from Government statisticians.

Mr Saleem, 82, from Small Heath was murdered by neo Nazi Pavlo Lapshyn, who had travelled from the Ukraine with the mission of starting a race war on Britain’s streets. The 25-year-old extremist was jailed for life for killing the peaceful pensioner.

Police are also currently investigating an alleged hate crime at St Andrew’s in which two Middlesbrough fans have been accused of taunting Blues supporters by ripping up a copy of the Koran.

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McDonald’s settles Fresno lawsuit over firing Muslim employee for beard request

Posted on by Bob Pitt

McDonald’s Restaurants of California Inc. will pay $50,000 to a Muslim employee who was fired in 2005 after one of its Fresno restaurants refused his request to grow a beard for religious reasons.

The payment is part of an agreement announced Friday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission to settle a religious-discrimination lawsuit against the restaurant chain.

Shaheed Khan, who worked at a McDonald’s restaurant on West Shaw Avenue near Valentine Avenue, asked his managers in the summer of 2005 to accommodate his religious belief to wear a beard at work, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Fresno.

The lawsuit alleged that Khan’s request was denied and later terminated. Khan had worked at the restaurant since 2001 and was promoted to crew trainer in 2003.

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Torygraph tries to implicate Lewisham Islamic Centre in murder of Lee Rigby

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Daily Telegraph has a report headlined “Lee Rigby killers had links to Lewisham mosque that ‘attracts radicals'”, which cites unnamed “Whitehall sources” as claiming that Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale “had links with the Lewisham Islamic Centre in south-east London, less than six miles from the Woolwich street where they murdered the soldier”.

The unnamed source is quoted as saying of the centre: “It does attract a radical crowd and radical speakers and has its fair share of converts. From that perspective it is significant. Adebolajo and Adebowale did go there, and anywhere that attracts extremists is of interest.”

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