Ismaili community ‘pleasantly surprised’ by Worcester Park Tavern consultation

An Islamic group proposing a community centre in the abandoned Worcester Park Tavern have been “pleasantly surprised” by the feedback they received during a public consultation.

The police were poised and ready on Saturday for a rumoured protest at 2pm. However, the protest never took place and the Ismaili community say the majority of people who turned up on Friday and Saturday wanted to engage with them.

Shaheen Verjee, 34, is a member of the Ismaili community in north London, attends the Ismaili community centre in Finchley, and runs her own clothing business.

As a community volunteer she helped in both events and said: “On the whole we were pleasantly surprised. There were obviously a few people who came in having made up their mind and some people who quite clearly said ‘I don’t like Islam and I don’t want you here’ but that was very few.

“The main concerns that came up were about traffic and parking. People were also keen to understand to what extent it will be available to the local community. We were very keen to say people are happy to come to our centre.

“We are trying to make clear we are a very open community – we do believe in being inclusive.”

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Anti-mosque leaflet in Chipping Norton warns that David Cameron has ‘set up a special task force to ensure your children kneel before Allah’

Tahirul Hasan with anti-mosque leafletA man hoping to create a mosque in Chipping Norton said he was shocked and upset after receiving a “nasty” leaflet through his door.

As previously reported in the Journal, town councillor Tahirul Hasan hopes to open a Muslim place of worship in the town. The father-of-three was set to convert a shop in Hitchman’s Mews into a mosque after securing planning permission in February.

But after the plans were approved, the shop’s landlord George Wissinter received a sinister phone call threatening to burn it down if the plans went ahead and Mr Hasan’s plans were left in tatters.

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De Blasio tells Muslims he’ll end broad NYPD spying if elected

Muslims for Bill de BlasioNEW YORK — Democratic mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio told a group of Muslim supporters Wednesday that they won’t have to live in fear of being under constant surveillance if he’s elected mayor.

As WCBS 880’s Jim Smith reported, de Blasio, the front-runner in the Nov. 5 general election, said that, on his watch, NYPD surveillance tactics would only be authorized to follow up on specific leads and that the police force would be under the supervision of a new inspector general.

“The efforts of surveillance have to be based on specifically specific information, and obviously you need to go through a careful vetting process,” de Blasio said during a rally at Columbus Park in Downtown Brooklyn.

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Virginia Beach councilman who opposed mosque has close links to anti-Muslim hate group

Act! for America logoA few weeks before last month’s vote on the city’s first mosque, Councilman Bill DeSteph received a 25-page PowerPoint presentation. It came from the leader of the local chapter of ACT for America, a group concerned about radical Islamists in the United States, and alleged the proposed mosque had ties to Muslim extremists.

DeSteph, the only council member to vote against the mosque on Sept. 24, later said he had information that the facility was a threat to national security, but he declined to give details. He said he passed the information to the federal government.

That PowerPoint, other correspondence obtained by The Virginian-Pilot through the Freedom of Information Act and interviews show that DeSteph used information from the local ACT leader to help make his decision on the mosque, and that ACT hoped he would be a political voice in Richmond for its agenda. DeSteph, a former naval intelligence officer, is running as a Republican for the 82nd District seat in the House of Delegates.

Since then, DeSteph has mostly refused to comment on the mosque, citing what he calls an “ongoing investigation.” Last month, the FBI wouldn’t comment on DeSteph’s allegations. The FBI has not responded to a request for additional comment because of the partial federal government shutdown.

This is not first time DeSteph has raised questions about mosques or Islam. In 2010, he wrote to New York City officials objecting to plans for a Muslim community center near the World Trade Center site. The letter was nearly identical to an online petition from ACT.

At the time, DeSteph was dating the daughter of the founder of the national ACT group, Brigitte Gabriel, an author and activist. Gabriel and ACT Executive Director Guy Rodgers, a former field director for the Christian Coalition and a political consultant, live in Virginia Beach.

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Québec inclusif replies to Janette Bertrand

The Quebec writer and feminist Janette Bertrand has published (in four different newspapers) an open letter “To the women of Quebec”, co-signed by 19 other women (“the Janettes” as they have become known), which bizarrely claims that the proposed law banning the hijab is equivalent to the law granting women the right to vote. The letter reads:

All my life I have fought for equality between men and women and I have always thought that if we want to keep this equality we have to be vigilant. At this point the principle of gender equality seems to me to have been compromised in the name of freedom of religion. I would like to remind you that men always and still today use religion in order to dominate women, to put them in their place, that is to say below them.

Faced with the prospect of a step backwards I feel the need to speak out. So I agree that there should be a charter of Quebec values ​​– often rightly called the charter of secularism – and that the government should legislate. In this regard, we would never have had the right to vote, we would still be under the domination of men and the clergy, if the government of the time had not legislated. At that time, I recall, many men and women did not want this law, yet without the right to vote, where would we be today?

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Midlands terror bomb mosques see security tightened

Aisha Mosque bomb disposal teamCounter-terrorism police are drawing up security plans for three mosques which were hit by bombs, experts have revealed.

They are assessing the Kanzul Iman Central Jamia Mosque in Binfield Street, Tipton, where a nail bomb exploded in July. A review is also under way to see if extra CCTV cameras should be provided nearby.

Meanwhile, police are advising bosses at Wolverhampton Central Mosque, where officers found evidence of the “seat of an explosion” in July, as well as Aisha Mosque and Islamic Centre in Rutter Street, Walsall, where a home-made bomb went off in June.

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Tory press plays Islamophobic ‘dog whistle’ … with assistance from Labour

Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, has condemned the newspapers that provide their readers with a completely distorted view of the East London borough. The Evening Standard and Telegraph in particular have set out to “inculcate an idea that somehow this part of London is run by a bunch of incompetent, corrupt Muslims who plan to introduce Sharia Law”.

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Bradford Council to consider bid to make English Defence League illegal

A motion to have the far-right English Defence League deemed an illegal organisation on grounds of terrorism will go before Bradford Council next week.

Respect councillors Alyas Karmani (Little Horton) and Ishtiaq Ahmed (Manningham) have put forward a motion for debate when the authority holds its full meeting on Tuesday. They want to petition Home Secretary Theresa May to proscribe – be made illegal – the EDL and offshoot organisations “immediately”.

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Exeter group formed to counter EDL march

Exeter TogetherA group has been set up to counter the planned national protest being organised by the English Defence League in Exeter.

The EDL have announced their intention to stage a demo in the city on Saturday, November 16 and – despite the resignation of leaders Tommy Robinson and Kev Carroll – said it was still going ahead as planned.

City councillors have now joined with several local organisations in supporting a statement that condemns the proposed demonstration.

Exeter Together is an umbrella group that was formed two weeks ago after a meeting of 30 people. It is launching a statement that has already been backed by both Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors, as well as by many local faith groups, trade unionists and community organisations.

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West Yorkshire PCC in call for greater EDL powers

West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner is calling for forces to have more power to ban demonstrations such as those held by the English Defence League (EDL).

It follows an EDL rally in Bradford on Saturday that cost the force about £1m to police. Mark Burns-Williamson wants the government to allow chief constables to have the power to ban such demos. One EDL supporter at the rally told the BBC it was “the only way” to be heard.

About 1,000 police officers from several forces were involved in policing Saturday’s protest between the EDL and We are Bradford. Police said it involved about 700 EDL supporters and 120 counter protesters. Eleven people were arrested for public order offences.

At present, static protests such as those held by the EDL cannot be banned. Mr Burns-Williamson said he would be writing to the government “clearly setting out” that it “needs to review the legal framework”. He said he wanted more powers given to the chief constables, who in consultation with police and crime commissioners and other organisations, could make “informed decisions” about such protests.

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