Category Archives: Scotland

Twenty percent rise in racist incidents in Scotland

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Increased levels of Islamophobia and negative attitudes towards Polish people could be behind a 20% rise in racist incidents in Scotland, experts have said.

Every day in Scotland, 17 people are abused, threatened or violently attacked because of the colour of their skin, ethnicity or nationality. Statistics showed that 6171 incidents of racism were recorded in 2009/10 – a rise of 20.4% from the 5123 racist incidents recorded in 2008/9.

The figures, revealed in a freedom of information request to Scotland’s eight police forces, come despite there only being a 13% increase over the previous five years. Part of the rise is thought to be down to an increase in anti-Polish attacks, with the Federation of Poles in Great Britain saying there has been an annual 20% rise in racist incidents.

Alastair McIntosh, fellow at the Centre of Human Ecology and a co-author of studies into racism in Scotland, said Islamophobia is also a problem in Scotland. He said:

“Whenever you have the fear of poverty, people tend to become xenophobic, and I think that’s an increasing issue in Scotland with the economic problems we’ve had recently. Muslims in particular are having a hard time of it, and they all seem to get tarred with the same brush. It would be true to say Islamophobia is a problem in this country.”

According to figures released in 2010, race hate victims were most likely to be of Pakistani origin, with 48% of all those targeted classed as Asian, followed by white British. The majority of victims – 76% – were men and the vast majority of race hate perpetrators – 96% – were classed as white British. Of these, most were men aged 16-20, followed by men under the age of 16.

Strathclyde Police reported the highest number of incidents with 2826, while Lothian and Borders Police dealt with 1494 incidents. The lowest recorded total was in Dumfries and Galloway, where police dealt with 70 racist incidents.

STV, 11 February 2011

Childcare manager ran racist blog, claimed that Muslims ‘smell of curry and have a stupid religion’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A childcare centre manager behind a racist internet blog has been found guilty of misconduct by the care workers’ watchdog. Helen McClymont also leaked confidential information about children in her care on her daily blog, called “Helen’s Life”.

Now, the care manager faces being banned from working with children after an inquiry found she showed “ingrained attitudes of prejudice and racism”.

On her web page she ranted about Muslims, saying that “they smell of curry and have a stupid religion”.

The childcare worker, manager of Steelrings day care centre for children in Paisley, also posted racist remarks about Italians, Venezuelans and black people, while working at the centre earlier this year.

Scotsman, 3 December 2010

Man jailed for ripping off Muslim woman’s veil loses appeal

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A man who was jailed for two years for ripping off a Muslim woman’s veil in Glasgow city centre has lost his appeal. William Baikie, 28, had claimed that the prison term he was given after admitting the assault at Glasgow Central Station was excessive. But judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh ruled that a sheriff was entitled to impose the punishment he selected.

Lord Osborne, who heard the appeal with Lord Reed, said Sheriff Lindsay Wood had described the crime as “appalling and deeply intrusive”. The senior judge said: “We are not of the view that that is an overstatement of the character of the offence. We consider that it would require little imagination on the part of anyone to foresee what the likely effect would be of committing an offence of this kind, particularly in the circumstances in which we live.”

Baikie, described as a prisoner in Glasgow’s Barlinnie jail, earlier pled guilty to forcibly tearing off Anwar Alqahtani’s hijab on April 27 this year in a racially aggravated assault at Hope Street.

The married 26-year-old victim, from Saudi Arabia, was studying for a masters degree in English after arriving in Scotland in January. She was entering Glasgow’s Central Station when Baikie came up beside her, seized the veil and tore it from her face before throwing it away. He then ran off. The victim’s hijab was torn and she had to use a piece of cloth to cover her face before catching her train and arriving home very upset.

STV, 19 November 2010

Christian minister launches High Court case to keep Zakir Naik out of UK

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Christian minister is bringing a legal test case to try to prevent a radical Islamic preacher coming to Britain.

The Reverend Mahboob Masih will lodge papers in the High Court this week alleging that Dr Zakir Naik, an Indian-based television preacher, is “extremely dangerous to community cohesion, religious tolerance and race relations”. He will claim that the courts should give greater respect to Christian values and declares in High Court papers that Britain’s judges have adopted an “over sensitivity to Islamic sensibilities due to the threat of violence”.

Dr Naik had been due to lecture at a series of major venues including Wembley Arena and the Birmingham NEC in the summer but was banned from entering the UK by Theresa May, the Home Secretary, just two days before his arrival. Dr Naik is now taking the Home Secretary to court for a judicial review of that decision.

The Rev Masih’s highly unusual intervention is intended to bolster the Government’s case to keep Dr Naik out of the UK. The Church of Scotland minister will argue he has the right to make his legal protest because he previously lost his job as presenter of a community radio station after a disccusion about Dr Naik’s preachings.

Sunday Telegraph, 10 October 2010

Update:  Christian Concern For Our Nation reports that Masih’s case is being brought by the Christian Legal Centre whose director, Andrea Minichiello Williams, has been advising Masih.

Police officer found guilty of racial remark about Muslim colleague

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A policeman has been found guilty after trial of making an anti-Muslim remark to a fellow officer at a Christmas night out in Kincardine.

Gavin Ross (43), of Kirkwood Place, Coatbridge, who was a police sergeant in probation training at Tulliallan police college, Kincardine, told Dunfermline Sheriff Court that he “jokingly” called Sergeant Amar Shakoor “a f****** amusing bastard” at the meal, which was attended by 15 officers.

Ross was found guilty after trial that on December 10, at The Unicorn restaurant in Kincardine, he acted in a racially aggravated manner towards Mr Shakoor (44) by using the word “Muslim” and not “amusing” in that sentence.

Ross denied the charge and said he would not do such a thing as he had received “homophobic” abuse since the age of 14.

Mr Shakoor contacted the treasurer of the Scottish Police Muslim Association. He later gave a statement to a colleague and said he wanted the matter to be dealt with through the right procedures and wanted Ross to apologise to him personally. He also said Lesley Docherty had told him she could not believe what Ross had said.

PC Docherty told depute fiscal Benson that she was speaking to another officer when there was a lull in the conversation and she heard Ross make the remark. “After it, Gavin said, ‘Oh, you know I’m only joking,’ ” she said. “When I heard the comment I kind of gasped and my hands came up to my mouth.”

Sheriff Daniel Kelly said, “I am satisfied that the evidence given by Mr Shakoor and Ms Docherty was very precise. Mr Shakoor said that he became angry after the remark and that he did not eat his desert. Having looked at all the evidence closely I am prepared to accept the evidence given by Mr Shakoor and Ms Docherty.”

Ross was fined £500. Afterwards he said he did not wish to comment.

A spokesman for Strathclyde Police said, “Following the guilty verdict at Dunfermline Sheriff Court today, we can confirm that a report will be prepared for the Deputy Chief Constable for his consideration.”

Meanwhile, a Scottish Police Muslim Association spokesman said they were “happy with the result and the way it was promptly dealt with,” and a spokesman for the Scottish Police Training College said there was “no place here for anyone who behaves in a racist or bigoted fashion.”

The Courier, 27 August 2010

Poll shows more work needed against Islamophobia in Scotland

Posted on by Bob Pitt

The Scottish-Islamic Foundation have said that an opinion poll of Scottish society about Muslims shows mixed feelings when it comes to community relations.

The British Council/Ipsos MORI poll found:

  • Six out of ten people think Muslims are integrated into Scottish society
  • 46% of Scots think Muslims are loyal to the country, while 33% think they are not
  • Islam is viewed less favourably than other religions in Scotland

Respondents to the poll also expressed a feeling that integration was easier in Scotland than in England.

Commenting on the findings, Asif Ahmed chairman of the Scottish-Islamic Foundation said:

“There are few better places in the world to be Muslim than Scotland – but it can be even better. With more effort across the board, Scotland can be an exemplar to the rest of the world not just on coexistence between Muslims and others, but also harmony and cooperation.

“Compared to polls over the years in Scotland, the situation isn’t getting dramatically better or worse. Greater pushes need to be made for an upturn though as the anti-Muslim demonstrations in Glasgow and Edinburgh over the last year, coupled with the economic crisis, could mean things go the other way in the years ahead.”

Scottish-Islamic Foundation press release, 11 August 2010

See also BBC News, 10 August 2010 and the Scotsman, 11 August 2010

The full British Council report can be downloaded here and a summary here.

Scottish Islamic Foundation rejects Quilliam smears

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A Scottish Islamic group has been accused of sharing the ideology of terrorists in a secret list prepared for top British security officials. The Scottish Islamic Foundation, which receives funding from the Scottish Government, has been described as an “entry level” group for Islamists by the Quilliam Foundation. The list it has compiled identifies groups that it says local and central government should be “wary of engagement” with.

The Quilliam Foundation was co-founded by Ed Husain and Maajid Nawaz, former activists in the radical Islamist party Hizb ut-Tahrir. In a document sent to Charles Farr, the director-general of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, a directorate of the Home Office, it lists the Scottish Islamic Foundation and the Muslim Council of Britain along with numerous other groups as alleged extremist sympathisers.

The briefing document went on to say: “The ideology of non-violent Islamists is broadly the same as that of violent Islamists, they disagree only on tactics.”

Yesterday a spokesman for the Scottish Islamic Foundation said: “This is without any basis and we will take legal advice on our options for redress wherever allegations appear. QF (the Quilliam Foundation] is run by a pair of individuals whose intellect is such that they were self-confessed bona fide extremists as late as 2007. They now lecture others in a McCarthyite fashion about supposed links, when QF themselves actually support scholars who advocate a global Islamic state.”

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Racist thug jailed for attack on Muslim woman

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A racist thug who ripped off a Muslim woman’s religious veil and threw it on the ground was jailed for two years yesterday.

Brute William Baikie grabbed the veil from 26-year-old Anwar Alqahtani as she was on her way to catch a train from Glasgow’s Central Station. Miss Alqahtani, who wears the hijab to protect her modesty as part of her religion, had to use another piece of clothing to cover her face after the veil was ripped as Baikie pulled it from her. Baikie, 26, ran off but was later arrested by police after being identified on CCTV.

Miss Alqahtani, who had come to Scotland from Saudi Arabia to study for a masters degree, has quit her studies and is afraid to leave the house as a result of the attack.

Sentencing Baikie at Glasgow Sheriff Court yesterday, Sheriff Lindsay Wood told the racist what he did was an “absolute disgrace”. Sheriff Wood added: “The offence you committed was a shameful one. You are a man who has a number of racist convictions and you knew full well how offensive the act would have been to the lady.”

Daily Record, 27 July 2010

Racist attack on Islamic centre in Renfrew

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A frightening attack by a gang of hooded thugs on an Islamic centre was last night being treated by police as racist.

The group of neds in their late teens and early 20s who hurled eggs into the building while prayers were being held in the afternoon were yesterday branded despicable by one shocked worshipper.

At first those gathered at the centre were astonished at what was happening and didn’t have a clue what had been thrown. All that was heard were shouts of abuse and the loud noise of a main door banging shut. The alarming incident happened on Friday, May 7, at the Dar-Ul-Quran Islamic Centre in Paisley Road, Renfrew.

One man, who spoke to the Paisley Daily Express, said: “At the time it was scary. The attackers were very abusive and shouting at the tops of their voices. Then something was hurled into the building and we didn’t know what it was at first. This has never happened here before and we’re all disappointed. It was a despicable act.”

Police said there was a “racist incident” around 2.15pm while prayers were being held. There were a few worshippers inside when a main door of the centre suddenly opened and eggs were thrown inside.

Paisley Daily Express, 12 May 2010

Man jailed for arson attack on Glasgow Islamic Relief

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Stuart RoseA 26-year-old man who admitted setting a fire which caused £26,000 worth of damage to an Islamic Relief Centre in Glasgow has been jailed for 15 months.

Stuart Rose torched bags of donations in the doorway of the centre in Albert Drive, Pollokshields, on 2 July 2009. Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that the 26-year-old was captured on CCTV and traced through the taxi firm which collected him from the scene. He later told police he “was just having a laugh”.

BBC News, 14 April 2010

See also “Islamic Centre fire starter jailed”, STV, 14 April 2010

Update:  See “Glasgow fire-raiser dies in prison one day after he was jailed”, STV, 16 April 2010