The Government’s “go home” vans have been blamed for a racist attack on a Northamptonshire mosque by a local MP.
Labour MP for Corby Andy Sawford said he was “appalled” to see a mosque was targeted shortly after the Home Office’s controversial vans toured the country.
Teachers in Quebec say the Parti Quebecois proposal to prevent people from wearing religious icons and symbols is extremist – and not truly secular.
The Autonomous Teachers Federation (FAE) approves, in principle, of secular values and the separation of religion from the business of the state, but says that is not what the PQ is actually proposing.
“The right of our members to work is at stake,” said FAE president Sylvain Mallette, pointing out that many teachers wear religious icons, being they crosses, kippas, hijabs, or something else which reflects their faith.
Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland has lashed out at “racist comments” directed at Muslim Fawad Ahmed after the leg-spinner asked not to wear a kit displaying the logo of beer brand VB.
Through research, traveling and writing, a local Christian pastor is hoping to debunk stereotypes about Islam.
Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church invited Pastor Ben Daniel of San Jose’s Foothill Presbyterian Church to speak to the community last month after the release of his book earlier this year. His book, The Search for Truth about Islam: A Christian Pastor Separates Fact from Fiction, discusses Islamophobia in American society.
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today called on Walmart to discipline an assistant manager at a store in Hamburg, N.Y., who reportedly posted a photo of Muslim customers on Facebook accompanied with derogatory comments.
In his posting, the assistant manager wrote: “Halloween came early this year … do they really have to f**kin dress like that … your [sic] in my country … get that f**kin s*** off!!!!!!”
In a letter to Walmart, CAIR-NY asked that “appropriate disciplinary action” be taken against the manager.
Mass demonstration against EDL this Saturday!
Thousands of people are expected to turn out in Tower Hamlets this Saturday to oppose the racist English Defence League (EDL). The EDL intends to march upon the East London Mosque. Muslim organisations and trade unions have especially increased publicity in the borough this week, calling upon residents to rally against all forms of racism, but especially Islamophobia.
The calls follow an apparent arson attack upon Harlow Islamic Centre in Essex, last Monday, 26 August. There have also been other attacks, in June, a Muswell Hill mosque and community centre was burnt to the ground and ‘EDL’ was found painted on the walls. In July, three mosques in the West Midlands were subjected to bomb attacks shortly before the fascists mobilised several hundred on a Birmingham demo.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) blasted Fox News host Brian Kilmeade for linking a commonly-used Arabic phrase to terrorism, during an appearance to bolster his case for a strong military response to Syria President Bashar Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons. The Arizona senator has long called on the Obama administration to arm the rebels fighting the Assad regime and is pressing Congress to adopt an broad-based use of force resolution.
Michael Privot, director of the European Network Against Racism, welcomes the development of grassroots initiatives across Europe against racist violence and intolerance. However, he argues:
“Public actions like the ‘hijab outcry‘ in Sweden also communicate the need for more political determination to tackle hate crime. So far, politicians in Sweden and Europe have failed to develop effective responses, and there is often an unwillingness to recognize the severity of the problem.”
A planned march through Tower Hamlets by far right group the English Defence League looks set to go ahead this weekend – despite threats of legal action if no ban is enforced.
The borough’s mayor, Lutfur Rahman, was snubbed after requesting a meeting with home secretary Theresa May to call on her to ban the march or face a High Court battle. Sources at the Mayor’s office said a petition against the demonstration has been signed by 10,000 people, as opposition mounted this week.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said a decision on how to police the march will be taken as further intelligence is gathered – and refused to rule out a ban. “We will assess the available intelligence and develop the most proportionate and lawful response,” he said. “Given the dynamic nature of such events, decisions must be taken by the operational commands at the most appropriate time.”
The current issue of Searchlight magazine features an interesting study by Dr Paul Jackson of the “independent historian and writer” Bat Ye’or (Gisele Littman).
As the author of the Muslim-conspiracy “Eurabia” thesis, Littman has served as a major source of ideological inspiration to the “counterjihad” movement, not least to the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik.
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