Dominic Casciani reports on the rise of Islamophobia in the aftermath of Lee Rigby’s murder.
Category Archives: UK
EDL not welcome in Tower Hamlets
The people of Tower Hamlets demonstrating against the EDL in 2010
The fascist English Defence League (EDL) has announced plans to demonstrate in East London on Saturday 7 September.
They have attempted to march in Tower Hamlets three times before. On each occasion trade unions, Muslim, Christian, Jewish, other faith, LGBT communities, local elected politicians and many more stood together and prevented them from entering the borough. Now more than ever it is crucial we stand together again. The EDL is trying to stir up racial hatred following the murder of soldier Lee Rigby in May, we must not let them.
Wherever the EDL go attacks on Muslims and other communities occur. 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 in Birmingham. We want to show that the EDL and their fascist ideas are not welcome in Tower Hamlets or any other part of London. We need a vibrant demonstration of multi-cultural East London.
Unite Against Fascism is urging all antiracists and antifascists to join a demonstration opposing the EDL on Saturday 7 September 2013. We must stop these racist street thugs from dividing our communities.
EDL not welcome in Tower Hamlets – Don’t let the racists divide us
Saturday 7 September
Assemble 11am
Altab Ali Park, Whitechapel Road, London E1
Called by Unite Against Fascism
Taking a stand against Islamophobia in football
In an excellent post on the Mwy Na Chlwb blog, a Wrexham AFC fan expresses his concerns about Islamophobic chanting during a recent home game against Wolves, and the failure of the stewards to take any action against it.
He proposes a number of measures the club and its supporters should take in order to combat such expressions of bigotry.
Let us speak for ourselves: five women’s experiences of Islamophobic attacks
What does it feel like to have your hijab yanked off your head by a man shouting abuse at you? Or to be chased down the street, shouted, sworn or spat at because what you are wearing identifies your beliefs?
These are examples of what are described as anti-Muslim incidents specifically against women. Tell Mama, the government-backed organisation which records anti-Muslim behaviour, has said Islamophobic attacks against women have increased in the aftermath of the brutal killing of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich in May. It says approximately 70 per cent of the calls it received since then have come from women. Of reported street attacks, 75 per cent have been against Muslim women wearing Islamic dress.
For Andrew Gilligan, who has criticised Tell Mama’s statistics in the Telegraph and accused it of exaggerating Islamophobia, incidents such as “hijab yanking” are “at the lower level of seriousness” because they do not result in physical injury. Nothing has been as critical as the latest incident in France, where a pregnant Muslim woman miscarried last week after two men attacked her, but to entirely dismiss what some women have been reporting in the UK is still deeply undermining to those who have found themselves at the receiving end of unprovoked assault, physical or verbal, simply because of their faith.
Muslim women and their clothes, their relationships with men and their place in British society are written and talked about and discussed and debated to death – but rarely are Muslim women included in those discussions themselves. That’s why I contacted five Muslim women who have experienced varying degrees of anti-Muslim incidents to find out how it has affected them.
Huma Qureshi in the New Statesman, 24 July 2013
Dawkins finds a defender
James Bloodworth has posted a particularly stupid piece on his Spectator blog, entitled “It’s fine to be a ‘new’ atheist, so long as you don’t object to Islam”. He takes issue with Glenn Greenwald’s accusation that Richard Dawkins and other militant atheists are responsible for “fuelling the sustained anti-Muslim demonization campaign of the west”, and with Owen Jones’s statement that there is a “rising tide of anti-Muslim prejudice which dresses itself up as secularism”.
Bloodworth writes: “A closer examination of the polemics, however, reveals why Dawkins and co have so upset the left. They have fallen foul of an important unspoken code: while Christianity may be cursed to the skies, criticism of Islam must be bookended with ‘religion of peace’ disclaimers or refrained from entirely. The problem is not that the new atheists exult rationality at the expense of a deeper understanding of human affairs; it is that they are too consistent in their denunciations of religion.”
‘Tighten up laws on far-right groups’, activists urge
Community leaders in Birmingham are urging the city’s ten MPs to put pressure on Government to tighten up the laws on static protests following an English Defence League (EDL) rally in the heart of the city.
The protest was held last Saturday in Centenary Square, while a counter demonstration from the United Against Fascism (UAF) group took place a few hundred yards away in Chamberlain Square. To further complicate matters, more than 2,000 young Christians, including many African Caribbeans, were taking part in a three-day international convention at nearby Symphony Hall.
The day passed with no serious injuries, although one police officer was treated in hospital after being hit by a brick. Around 20 arrests were made and officers from West Midlands Police are still scouring “exceptional quality” CCTV footage with the aim of bringing more offenders to justice for public order offences.
Community leaders had met with police before the event urging them to postpone the rally, fearing that young people attending the Christian conference would be physically or verbally abused. But they were told neither police of Birmingham City Council had the power to stop what is known as a “static protest” from going ahead.
Desmond Jaddoo, of Birmingham Empowerment Forum has now written to all ten MPs calling for a tightening up of the law. Those he has written to include Khalid Mahmood, Gisela Stuart, John Hemming, Jack Dromey, Richard Burden and Steve McCabe. Councillor Bob Jones, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner has also written to Home Secretary Theresa May.
Police and council block SDL’s Pollokshields protest
Authorities are to move against a planned weekend march by the far-right Scottish Defence League amid police concerns of serious public disorder and the impact on community relations.
The group, a fringe organisation that opposes what it considers to be a spread of Islam, has applied to parade through one of Scotland’s most multicultural areas to commemorate the birthday of Kriss Donald, the teenager who was murdered by an Asian gang almost a decade ago.
But Police Scotland said the planned march through Glasgow’s Pollokshields area “might reasonably be believed to be intended to be provocative to the Muslim community”, falling as it does in Ramadan.
At meetings with the police and Glasgow City Council it has also emerged that rather than discussing the parade as a “memorial event” the SDL said they “would go to where there was a problem and mentioned Asian gangs and the raping of young girls”.
Does anyone know who this man is?
This photo has been widely circulated over the past few days. It was taken at the English Defence League’s demonstration in Birmingham last Saturday.
I have to admit I was initially a bit dubious about whether the photo was genuine. However, there is another picture of the same EDL member, which would suggest that it is.
The photo appears in today’s issue of the Sun, who are asking anyone who recognises this individual to contact them.
Once in a while, even the right-wing tabloid press can play a positive role.
Pavlo Lapshyn in court on terror and murder charges
A 25-year-old Ukrainian man has appeared in court charged with the “terrorist-related” murder of 82-year-old Mohammed Saleem in Birmingham. West Midlands Police said that Pavlo Lapshyn has also been charged in relation to explosions at three mosques. Mohammed Saleem was stabbed as he walked home after prayers from a mosque in Small Heath on 29 April.
Mr Lapshyn was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on Thursday.
Mr Lapshyn, who comes from the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk, appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court flanked by three police officers. He was dressed in black and only spoke to confirm his name and date of birth as 12 March 1988.
West Midlands Police charged the postgraduate student with murder on Monday evening. Mr Saleem was stabbed a matter of days after Mr Lapshyn began a work placement in the UK. In a statement on Monday morning, police confirmed Mr Lapshyn had also been charged in relation to incidents at mosques in Walsall, Tipton and Wolverhampton.
The court heard that Mr Lapshyn was accused of causing explosions on 21 June and 12 July, contrary to Section 2 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883. Mr Lapshyn is further charged under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006 with intending to commit acts of terrorism between 24 April and 18 July.
It is alleged that he bought batteries, a lunch bag, clock and green container as part of the construction an explosive device. It is further alleged that he carried out internet research to identify locations to plant explosive devices and that he visited at least one area in the West Midlands as part of that planning. He is further accused of buying chemicals online to make an explosive device and of modifying mobile phones to be used as detonators.
Man arrested after stone attack on Bletchley mosque
A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence after stones were thrown at a mosque in Bletchley.
Police were called at 3.29am yesterday, following reports of a man throwing stones and threatening the occupants at the mosque, located in Manor Road. The incident occurred just a couple of months after another mosque in Bletchley had been attacked, following the death of Drummer Lee Rigby.
Investigating officer Detective Inspector Dave Dachtler said: “A man has been arrested and is currently in custody where he will be questioned later today (Sunday). We will not tolerate any kind of hate crime in our community and we always treat any occurrences extremely seriously.”