Robin Richardson argues that the report by Peter Clarke into the ‘Trojan Horse’ affair, embraced by the new education secretary, is in fact a grave disservice.
Category Archives: UK
‘Report it!’ victims of hate urged
A campaign has been launched to encourage Muslims in Leeds to report hate crimes amid moves to improve the way police record such incidents.
The Building Bridges project, based at the Hamara Centre in Beeston, is behind the Report It! initiative, which urges victims to come forward following concerns that many are staying quiet. It comes after West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson pledged to look at whether hate crimes could be recorded to show the numbers of offences committed against particular faith groups.
Tafazal Mohammad, Building Bridges project co-ordinator, said it was difficult to assess whether Islamophobic crime had risen. He said:
“In some parts of London there is evidence that anti-Muslim hate crimes have gone up several hundred per cent. In Leeds we have got anecdotal evidence, but we want to be a bit more statistical in terms of trying to identify the extent of the problem. A lot of people won’t report it because they think it’s a waste of time and nothing will be done about it. We’re trying to say that if they don’t report it, in a sense they can’t complain if nothing is done.”
HSBC closes Muslim groups’ accounts
HSBC bank has written to Finsbury Park Mosque and other Muslim organisations in the UK to tell them that their accounts will be closed.
The reason given in some cases was that to continue providing services would be outside the bank’s “risk appetite”.
The wife and teenage children of a man who runs a London based Islamic think tank have also been contacted.
HSBC said decisions to close accounts were “absolutely not based on race or religion”.
“We do not discuss relationships we may or may not have with a customer, nor confirm whether an individual or business is, or has been a customer. Discrimination against customers on grounds of race or religion is immoral, unacceptable and illegal, and HSBC has comprehensive rules and policies in place to ensure race or religion are never factors in banking decisions.”
The bank said it was “applying a programme of strategic assessments to all of its businesses” after a $1.9bn fine in 2012 over poor money-laundering controls. “As a result of these ongoing reviews, we have exited relationships with business and personal customers in over 70 countries. The services we provide to charities are no exception to this global review,” the bank added.
Finsbury Park Mosque in north London [pictured] was written to by HSBC on 22 July. The only reason given for the intention to close its account was that “the provision of banking services… now falls outside of our risk appetite”. In the letter, the bank notifies the treasurer of the mosque that it will close the account on 22 September.
Khalid Oumar, one of the trustees of the mosque, questioned the motives behind the letters. “The letters that have been sent and the letters that we received do not give any reason why the accounts were closed in the first place,” he said. “That has led us to believe that the only reason this has happened is because of an Islamophobic campaign targeting Muslim charities in the UK.”
UKIP councillor brands Jaloos ‘call to war’, links to Facebook page proposing ‘cull’ of Muslims
A UKIP councillor has been accused of “scaring people with made-up information” after he branded an Islamic procession in Ilford “a call to war”.
The parade was actually Jaloos, an annual Muslim event to commemorate the martyrdom of the first Shia Imam, Imam Ali. Jaloos is celebrated across the world with similar processions.
Epping Forest councillor Rod Butler, from the UK Independence Party, tweeted a link to a video of the Jaloos and said: “Nice Islamic call to war in Ilford Essex today. Police didn’t bother to intervene, they didn’t understand language.”
Cllr Rod Butler didn’t understand the language either, because according to local Muslim activist Ale Natiq, the ‘call to war’ he heard were actually Panjabi and Urdu hymns recalling the of the holy Imam to “rekindle the spirit of standing up to injustice and rejecting tyranny” – the opposite of a ‘call to war’.
‘Trojan Horse’ inquiry: Clarke report based on uncorroborated smear, anecdote, hoax, chatroom gossip and neoconservative assumptions
Letter in today’s Guardian:
The new secretary of state for education, Nicky Morgan, makes various pledges following the “Trojan horse” reports on Birmingham schools. Several of her pledges are valuable. The basis for them, however, is unsound. Peter Clarke’s report is not “forensic”, as Nicky Morgan claims (Report, 22 July), but a biased mix of uncorroborated smear, anecdote, hoax and chatroom gossip.
It reflects neoconservative assumptions about the nature of extremism; ignores significant testimony and viewpoints; implies the essential problem in Birmingham is simply the influence of certain individuals; discusses governance but not curriculum; ignores the concerns and perceptions of parents and young people; and is unlikely to bear judicial scrutiny.
The Trojan horse affair has done much damage in Birmingham, both to individuals and to community cohesion. Political leaders have key roles in the urgent process of restoration and support for curriculum renewal. Alas, they will not be much helped by the official reports of Clarke, Ian Kershaw and Ofsted.
They will, though, be helped by the unique strength and goodwill of people in Birmingham itself.
Tim Brighouse, Gus John, Arun Kundnani, Sameena Choudry, Akram Khan-Cheema, Arzu Merali, Robin Richardson, Maurice Irfan Coles, Gill Cressey, Steph Green, Ashfaque Chowdhury, Ibrahim Hewitt, Baljeet Singh Gill, Arshad Ali, S Sayyid, Massoud Shadjareh, Abdool Karim Vakil and Tom Wylie
Bolton: racists scrawl anti-Islamic graffiti on Ironman triathlon route
Racist vandals scrawled anti-Islamic graffiti on part of the route used for Bolton’s Ironman event.
The words – which were described as “vulgar and racist” – were found on Rivington Road, an area that made up part of the bike route, written alongside messages of support for the Ironman contestants taking part in the race on Sunday, July 20.
Police are now hunting for those responsible for the messages, which included claims “Muslims mutilate the innocent”.
The graffiti is believed to have been on the road during the event, one athlete said. Ironman bosses have said they were “shocked” to see the offensive words but stressed it had nothing to do with the competition or anyone taking part.
Muslim spitting incident: police release CCTV images of suspect
Police want to trace this man in connection with a spitting incident in which a Muslim woman was left shocked and in tears.
Hasina Khan, who was born in Bristol, was on her way to work when she was attacked by a man in Cabot Circus at about 9am on Monday, July 21. Saliva ended up on her hijab and her left hand. She was also subjected to verbal abuse.
Investigating officer PC Hannah King said: “We are issuing several images of a man we want to speak to about this incident, which we are treating as a hate crime. The victim was left shaken and distressed by the ordeal and we hope by releasing these images, someone will come forward with information which will help us identify who this man is.”
If you can help, please call PC King via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 101 and quote reference 74214/14.
Torygraph discovers ‘jihad on dogs’
Under the headline “Commonwealth Games Scottie dogs ‘disrespectful to Muslims’”, the Telegraph reports that the use of Scottish terrier dogs to lead teams around Celtic Park in the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last Wednesday has been criticised by “Malaysian politicians and religious leaders”. (In the Daily Mail‘s version of the story, the critics are elevated to “Malaysian officials”.)
The criticisms quoted were in fact raised by two individuals – one the leader of a minor political party and the other of an extremist movement – and it looks like their objections were not so much to the use of dogs as such but rather to reports that the dog supposed to be leading the Malaysian team refused to move and had to be carried by a team representative.
The Telegraph article helpfully explains: “Many Muslims refuse to have direct contact with dogs, which are considered by some to be ‘unclean’ in Islamic culture. Some overseas Muslim groups have reportedly previously called for a jihad on dogs.”
The article concludes: “A Glasgow 2014 spokesman said: ‘Glasgow 2014 have received no complaints from the Commonwealth Games Associations of the competing nations and territories following the Opening Ceremony’.”
So, another anti-Muslim story concocted out of nothing.
For the background to the “jihad on dogs” nonsense, see here and here.
Muslim school targeted by far right will open in September
Members of the EDL and other far-right factions battle with police during a protest against the Madani Academy last August
An open day will be held for families interested in sending their children to a controversial Muslim school. The Madani Academy in Portsmouth is holding the event on Sunday. It is inviting prospective students along ahead of its official opening, which it hopes will be before September.
But last summer, demonstrations led by the English Defence League were held outside the venue in opposition to it opening. And there was outcry later in the year after a pig’s head was stuck on a spike on the back gates.
As reported in The News, the academy will be based at Merefield House, on the corner of Lake Road and Fratton Road. The people behind the academy won a bid to buy the building off Portsmouth City Council for £750,000. The management team said the site was the right one given its central location in the city and the fact it has a car park. They raised the £300,000 deposit for the building and the rest will be paid off in stages.
Fury over ‘Muslim only’ rental advert as landlords fuel ghetto culture
That was the headline to a report in yesterday’s Daily Star Sunday (the headline has since been amended to remove the reference to “ghetto culture”, although this remains in the article itself).
The inflammatory subheading, which suggests that there is a connection between adverts for rooms to rent and violent extremism, reads “Homes are being illegally advertised for rent to ‘Muslims only’ yards from where soldier Lee Rigby was killed.”
The Star even included photos of the adverts, without bothering to blank out the phone numbers, with the predictable result that the English Defence League has been encouraging its supporters to ring up and harass the Muslim landlords.
See Steve Rose, “An insight into the Daily Star exclusive on ‘Muslim only’ rental ads”, Tell Mama, 28 July 2014