Category Archives: UK

Supporter of EDL and BNP convicted of inciting racial hatred

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Darren ClifftA man who carried out a mock hanging of a man-sized golliwog doll while wearing a Ku Klux Klan costume has pleaded guilty to a charge of stirring up racial hatred. Christopher Philips, formerly known as Darren Clifft, 23, from Willenhall, will be sentenced on 19 December.

Wolverhampton Crown Court heard the hanging happened at an event in Wales in March. He was arrested after he posted three videos of the mock hanging on YouTube. Philips pleaded not guilty to a second charge of stirring racial hatred, which will remain on file after a request from the prosecution.

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Four suspects arrested after arson attack on Harlow Islamic Centre will face no further action

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Harlow Islamic Centre arsonFour people arrested in connection with an arson attack on Harlow Islamic Centre back in August will have no further action taken against them.

All four were released on bail after their arrests but detectives today confirmed they were no longer suspects.

As a result of the development officers investigating the incident have renewed their appeal for information and are asking people to have another close look at CCTV images [see below] that were released in the wake of the attack.

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EDL’s token ‘Muslim’ member convicted of threatening language and behaviour

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Abdul Rafiq and friends

The English Defence League’s only Muslim member has been fined by magistrates after pleading guilty to abusing Asians at a rally in Bradford.

Abdul Rafiq, 43, admitted using threatening language and behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress. But he is free to continue his activities with the far-right group after magistrates declined to impose an Anti-social Behaviour Order.

A court heard Rafiq, of Glasgow, was arrested at an EDL rally in Bradford, on the afternoon of October 12.

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Police release CCTV of man wanted in connection with attempted arson attack on Al-Hira Centre

Posted on by Bob Pitt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yxQdITVK40M

Footage of a man wanted in connection with an attempted arson attack at a mosque has been released by the police.

The man is wanted for questioning for the incident which happened in Beechwood Road, Luton, on October 4, when he was seen pouring engine oil along the pavement and then trying to enter a building through an open window at around 1.50am.

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Exeter University responds to EDL criticism ahead of national march

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL Exeter protest

The University of Exeter has responded to criticism from the English Defence League ahead of a national demonstration. The far-right EDL has used the university’s Islamic studies and Muslim research centres as justification for staging a national demo in the city.

EDL are expecting supporters to travel from around the country to a march which will take place on Saturday, November 16. A counter demo by a group called Exeter Together, aimed at showcasing the city’s diversity, is being held on the same day with hundreds of groups and individuals, one of the latest being Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw, signing up in support.

The full route of the march has not yet been made public, although the university said it is not expecting it to come near them.

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Torygraph gets slap on the wrist from PCC over inflammatory post-Woolwich article

Posted on by Bob Pitt

How to spot a terrorist5Pillarz reports on the outcome of complaints made to the Press Complaints Commission about an inflammatory article by Alan Judd (“How to spot a terrorist living in your neighbourhood“) published in the Daily Telegraph on 28 May, in the midst of the anti-Muslim backlash that followed the killing of Lee Rigby.

The only concession the PCC was prepared to make to complainants was to accept that Judd’s claim about most terrorists in the UK being Muslims was inaccurate. The Telegraph has therefore added the following clarification: “When this article was first posted it said that the great majority of terrorists have been Muslim males aged 16-34. The reference to terrorists should have read Islamic extremist terrorists in Britain. We have amended the article accordingly.”

As for objections to Judd’s disgraceful list of telltale signs of incipient terrorism among Muslims (including “a sudden ostentatious insistence on religious ritual, especially in a secular context”), which targeted whole swathes of the Muslim community, the PCC rejected these complaints.

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Gillingham man Andrew Grindlay accused of breaking into and damaging Jamia Mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Gillingham mosque vandalismA mosque in Gillingham was burgled and vandalised just hours after the horrific killing of a British Army soldier in south east London, a court heard.

Andrew Grindlay allegedly broke into the Jamia Mosque, in Canterbury Street – smashing a glass cabinet, pulling a shelving unit from the wall and scattering books around the room.

Urine was also running down the door to the mosque and collecting in a pool at the bottom, Maidstone Crown Court was told. The door frame itself was also damaged.

Prosecutor Bridget Todd said police had been tasked to provide reassurance to those using the mosque following the brutal knife attack on Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich on May 22.

A patrol car was stationed outside, but within one minute of the officers leaving their post – having been ordered to carry out a roaming patrol – and just half an hour after evening prayers had finished, the mosque was allegedly targeted.

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