Category Archives: Resisting Islamophobia

Mosque plan dropped but EDL protest to ‘go ahead’ in Sheffield

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Yorkshire EDL Sheffield anti-mosque protestProposals to turn a Sheffield pub into a mosque have been dropped – but the English Defence League still plans to hold a protest at the site.

Firth Park Cultural Centre had made enquiries about buying the former Pheasant pub at Sheffield Lane Top, which is for sale, and rename it Firth Park Masjid. But the group now says the £330,000 price tag is “too expensive” and it will be looking for an alternative site.

The English Defence League, which last gathered in Sheffield in June to lay a wreath “in tribute” to murdered soldier Lee Rigby, has organised a protest against the plans. The “peaceful” demonstration is to take place outside The Pheasant on Saturday, September 21 – and anti-fascist protesters are planning a presence.

When told the mosque proposal had been dropped, a spokesman for the EDL’s Yorkshire region, said: “The demo will still go ahead. There’s still a plan for a mosque somewhere in the area and we will be having a general protest.” He added several hundred members of the group are planning to attend the demonstration.

The protest was condemned by Sheffield Council deputy leader Coun Harry Harpham. He said: “The EDL are a right-wing organisation based on hate, and they are not the type of people we want coming into the city.”

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Muslim students banned from wearing veils at Birmingham Metropolitan College

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Birmingham Metropolitan CollegeAngry Muslim students have hit out at college chiefs after being banned from wearing religious veils for “security” reasons.

All students, staff and visitors to Birmingham Metropolitan College have been told to remove any face coverings so individuals are “easily identifiable at all times”. But the controversial ban of the niqab – a veil that leaves only a slot for the eyes – has sparked fury among some Muslim girls, who say they are being discriminated against.

The policy was revealed just days after politicians discussed banning the burka. Kettering MP Philip Hollobone – who refuses to see constituents who will not lift their veils – raised the issue in a Private Member’s Bill, saying it “goes against the basic part of the British way of life”.

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Abercrombie and Fitch ‘wrongly fired’ Muslim over headscarf

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hani KhanUS clothing retailer Abercrombie and Fitch wrongly fired a Muslim worker for wearing a headscarf, a judge has ruled. Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled the firm violated anti-discrimination laws when it sacked Hani Khan from a Hollister brand store.

Ms Khan was initially allowed to wear a scarf in the Hollister brand’s colours at the San Mateo, California store, but was later fired. The retailer had argued deviation from its “look policy” would affect sales.

But Judge Rogers of the Northern District of California said Abercrombie had not proven it faced undue hardship to accommodate employees who wear headscarves for religious reasons.

The lawsuit, brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, now goes to a trial on 30 September where a jury will determine damages.

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George Galloway calls for ban on EDL march in Bradford

Posted on by Bob Pitt

George_GallowayBradford West MP George Galloway has urged the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire to help ban a proposed march in Bradford by the far-right English Defence League.

The Respect MP said he fears the intended march on October 12 could mirror the EDL’s national rally in London at the weekend, which resulted in more than 160 arrests.

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600 join EDL protest against ‘sharia law’ in Tower Hamlets

Posted on by Bob Pitt

About 600 supporters of the EDL tried to march to the East London mosque on Whitechapel Road on Saturday but were stopped by police near Aldgate East station, around 600 metres from the mosque.

East of the police lines a far larger counter-demonstration waved Unite Against Facism and Hope Not Hate banners.

The march started just after 1pm south of Tower Bridge and the marchers walked through the City of London shouting and singing: “England” and “I’m English till I die.” Marchers included members of similar groups from Poland, Finland and Germany.

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Muslim teenager lashed out with knife after racist abuse at school

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Hassaan MansoorA Muslim teenager who suffered a slew of sickening racial taunts at school told how he “flipped” moments before threatening a fellow student with a knife.

Hassaan Mansoor, aged 17, snapped following vicious abuse from classroom bullies at Garnock Academy who branded him a “terrorist”. Mr Mansoor, of Howat Crescent in Irvine, was warned that because his mother wore a headscarf she would be stabbed if she came to school.

Appearing at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, he was spared jail and given a year’s supervision and told to serve 130 hours of unpaid work.

Outside court, an emotional Mr Mansoor said: “The abuse had been going on for so long but nobody did anything about it. I said sorry to the boy right after I took the multi-tool out of my pocket. I’m sorry for what I did and it’s the only time I’ve ever been in trouble. It was totally out of character and it only happened because of what they had been doing to me for so long. I went to another school after that and the abuse stopped.”

Mr Mansoor was one of just two Asian students and the only Muslim at 1300-pupil Garnock Academy in Kilbirnie. The court heard that his knife threat came after “prolonged and horrific racist bullying” in the classroom and canteen.

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Council leader wants EDL banned from Southwark too

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Police should stop the English Defence League from marching coachloads of supporters over Tower Bridge this weekend, the leader of Southwark Council has said.

Cllr Peter John said he was working to the wire to persuade senior officers at the Met to restrict the march to the north of the river. “We don’t want the EDL in Southwark, period, full stop,” he said. “What’s the EDL got to offer a diverse borough like ours? Nothing.”

Southwark News, 5 September 2013

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