Llanelli’s mosque is set to be covered by CCTV cameras after thugs allegedly “kicked the door in” and followed a group of elderly women inside.
Category Archives: Wales
Another small EDL protest in Shotton
More than a hundred English Defence League protesters have marched through a Flintshire town to the site of a proposed new Islamic cultural centre.
The site at the Shotton Lane Social Club was burnt down in a suspicious fire in February. Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society was planning to turn the property into a multi-cultural centre. Police said their strategy ensured the protest passed off without incident.
Early reports had suggested between 200 and 300 people were taking part but police said it was just over 100. The march ended with speeches outside the Shotton Lane Social Club before the protesters dispersed.
Update: And over at the Casuals United blog you can find the EDL endorsing the arson attack on the social club.
BNP candidate posted threats of violence on Facebook page
A BNP candidate has been displaying highly offensive material that advocates violence against members of a Muslim organisation on her Facebook site. Politicians from mainstream parties have condemned Susan Harwood, a BNP candidate in Torfaen at next week’s National Assembly election.
The material, which uses abusive four-letter language about a group called Muslims Against Crusades, was featured on Ms Harwood’s Facebook site, but has since been removed. The Conservative candidate in Torfaen is Natasha Asghar, a Muslim.
Labour’s Lynne Neagle, who has represented the seat since the Assembly was formed and is seeking re-election, said: “This is outrageous behaviour by someone who pretends to be a respectable candidate in a democratic election. It’s one thing to oppose an organisation’s views, but her actions go far beyond legitimate criticism.
“It is totally unacceptable that BNP candidates continue to behave like this. People across Wales should know that a vote for the BNP is a vote for thugs and racists of the worst sort. If the BNP had a shred of decency, they would drop Susan Harwood as a candidate.”
Welsh Conservative candidate for North Wales and vice-president of the anti-fascist group Searchlight Cymru, Mark Isherwood said: “These appalling and offensive comments show the BNP in their true colours. People across Wales will deplore these racist and bigoted comments … and I am confident that the BNP will be defeated at the ballot box.”
Ian Titherington, director of elections for Plaid Cymru, said: “The BNP is struggling for candidates and scraping the barrel.”
Qur’an burning inquiry continues after case withdrawn
Police say they are continuing to investigate an incident in which the alleged burning of a Koran was filmed.
Officers are to pursue “further lines of inquiry” following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service before reaching a decision about charges. South Wales Police said this would “take some time to complete”.
Sion Owens, a BNP candidate for the Welsh assembly election who was accused of being filmed burning the Koran, had a case against him withdrawn on Monday.
Police said in a statement on Friday they were “continuing to investigate the incident” and were “consulting with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) while this work is ongoing”.
“Advice received from the CPS today has identified further lines of inquiry which will be pursued before a decision regarding any charges is reached and these will now take some time to complete,” the statement continued. “We remain grateful for the support of our communities, while the work of investigating these allegations continues.”
Mr Owens, 41, from Bonymaen, Swansea, was charged with a public order offence on Saturday. When he appeared at Swansea Magistrates’ Court, the CPS said it was withdrawing the case against him. It said at the time investigations would continue and that “almost certainly other proceedings will ensue”.
Joanne Shannon, another BNP candidate also arrested in connection with the incident, had already been released on police bail.
ITV Wales report on BNP Qur’an burner
BNP ‘Qur’an man’ to stand in elections
A BNP member accused of burning a copy of the Qur’an will still stand in the Welsh Assembly elections, his party has confirmed.
Sion Owens, 41, of Bonymaen, Swansea, had a charge against him dropped today – but was told by magistrates legal proceedings may resume after further investigations. Owens was arrested last weekend after The Observer newspaper reportedly handed police a video, which appeared to show Mr Owens dousing a copy of the Qur’an with paraffin before setting it alight.
The alleged incident drew widespread condemnation from political and ethnic groups in Wales – who are urging voters to shun the far-right BNP in the May 5 poll. Owens is third on the list out of four candidates the BNP is putting up for the South Wales West regional seat.
Plaid Cymru described the alleged incident as appalling but “hardly surprising”. A party spokeswoman said: “Our advice to the electorate of Wales is to ignore their call for race hate as we have always done, ensure they lose their election deposits and above all quickly recycle their leaflets – as that is all they are good for.”
The BNP issued a 2,000 plus word statement on its website in response to Owens’ court appearance, complaining of “hypocrisy” by the authorities. A party spokesman said Owens would continue to stand as a candidate in the Welsh Assembly elections.
BNP leader Nick Griffin added: “The British National Party does not favour burning any book, although if there is any repeat of last year’s Poppy burning insult and subsequent lack of police action, we may well review that position.” He also said the BNP favoured freedom of speech – saying there needed to be a “resistance to the intimidation” encouraged by Muslim extremists.
However, Swansea Bay Racial Equality Council countered the claims, saying the BNP had abused that democratic right. Chief executive Taha Idris said: “While people have freedom of speech and freedom of action in the UK, it is a privilege that should never be abused.”
BNP election candidate arrested over Qur’an burning
A senior member of the BNP who burned a copy of the Qur’an in his garden has been arrested following an investigation by the Observer. Footage of the burning shows Sion Owens, 40, from south Wales and a candidate for the forthcoming Welsh Assembly elections, soaking the Qur’an in kerosene and setting fire to it.
Superintendent Phil Davies of South Wales police, who led the investigation, said: “We always adopt an extremely robust approach to allegations of this sort and find this sort of intolerance unacceptable in our society.”
Owens was arrested within hours of police receiving the video. A second person, believed to have filmed the Qur’an burning, is also in police custody.
Photographs show Owens at a Welsh Defence League demonstration with a group of alleged Nazis including Wayne Baldwin, who has been pictured posing in front of a swastika flag. The Observer has also been passed images that show Owens’s face apparently superimposed on Hitler’s body.
Owens was officially announced last week as the BNP’s number three candidate for the South Wales West constituency of the Welsh assembly.
In 2008 he stood for the BNP in council elections, polling almost a fifth of votes in his ward but finishing last out of three candidates. His campaign posters at the time show him standing on a ticket against “mass immigration, enforced multiculturalism, political correctness”.
Update: See “BNP ‘Koran burning’ charge dropped”, Press Association, 11 April 2011
EDL returns to Shotton
The Deeside division of the English Defence League have announced another demonstration against plans by the Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society for a mosque in Shotton, Flintshire. Have these ignorant bigots no sense of shame?
You may recall that the EDL staged a demonstration in January against proposals to convert the disused Shotton Lane Social Club into an Islamic cultural centre. The protest was poorly attended, with a mere 100 people participating, most of them from outside north Wales.
But the EDL’s efforts weren’t entirely wasted. Just over a week later the social club was burned to the ground in what was not unreasonably suspected to be an arson attack, and the building has since been demolished.
But evidently that isn’t good enough for the EDL. Last week Mohammed Munchab Ali, chairman of the Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society, was reported as saying that plans to establish a centre with a mosque in Flintshire remain in place despite the destruction of Shotton Lane Social Club.
So the EDL will be returning to Shotton on 21 May. Or as the EDL Deeside Demonstration Facebook page puts it: “Round 2, Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society get ready for EDL but this time BIGGER & BETTER than before.”
Of course, with the building that would have housed the Islamic centre now reduced to charred rubble, the EDL are deprived of a concrete object on which to unleash their hate. Still, they can no doubt hope that their next public demonstration of Islamophobic hysteria in Shotton will inspire some sort of violent attack on the Muslim community of north Wales.
Update: The Facebook page “EDL Deeside Demonstration” has now been amended to “(UNOFFICIAL AT THE MOMENT) EDL Deeside Demonstration”.
Could the EDL leadership have concluded that a protest against an Islamic centre that has already been the object of an arson attack might be seen by the public as just a tad tasteless? More likely they have taken fright at the prospect of the North West Infidels muscling in on the event.
It was reportedly the NWI’s activists (along with their co-thinkers in the North East Infidels) who clashed with supporters of the EDL leadership at the Blackburn demonstration on Saturday, and their presence at the Shotton protest would very likely lead to another punch-up.
Further update: See “English Defence League supporters plan second Deeside demonstration”, Flintshire Chronicle, 7 April 2011
Muslim leader says Flintshire mosque still a priority
The man behind proposals for an Islamic Cultural Centre at a disused social club destroyed by fire says he is uncertain what the site’s future holds.
Mohammed Munchab Ali, chairman of the Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society, told the Leader that plans to establish a centre with a mosque in Flintshire remain in place despite Shotton Lane Social Club being burned to the ground early on February 4.
But he said any possibility of developing on the former social club land is out of the group’s hands and they remain in the dark over what the likely future of the site is.
Police yesterday confirmed they are continuing to investigate the cause of the blaze, although they have said they are treating it as suspicious.
Mr Ali, who reached an agreement for the society to move into the social club shortly before the fire, said: “What happens with the site in Shotton is beyond our control. We are still waiting to hear from the police about the fire. The situation has not really changed since the fire but we still want to create an Islamic Cultural Centre in Flintshire.”
The group is continuing to use Queensferry Community Centre but retain hopes they can expand by moving into a larger facility despite the fire and protests against the proposed development. Their hopes for a new centre include inviting all members of the Flintshire community to come and learn more about Islamic culture and to provide more facilities for women and children.
“Although we are still able to use the community centre, it is a limited facility,” added Mr Ali, owner of the Bengal Dynasty chain of restaurants. “We are finding difficulties because of the small space available and we wanted to expand our activities. “The reasons why we wanted to move are still in place.”
The site is now in the hands of receivers, with the remains of the building having been demolished. Community leaders earlier this week called for action to be taken quickly over the future of the land and clear up the “eyesore” of rubble that remains.
Mr Ali said he felt people had stopped talking about the fire during the past seven weeks but added there has been plenty of support for his organisation’s aims. He said: “A lot of people have written to us since the fire. We have had people wiring and saying they were very sorry about what had happened. If there is a positive over what happened, it has been the support we have received from people.”
Huge blaze at Shotton Lane Social Club
Fire crews are tackling a blaze at Shotton Lane Social Club and about 100 people have been evacuated from their homes.
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said properties around the fire were evacuated after the alarm was raised shortly after 4am, and residents have been moved to Deeside Leisure Centre in Queensferry. Firefighters from Deeside, Flint, Mold, Rhyl, Holywell and Wrexham were called out.
Flintshire Muslim Cultural Society is trying to raise £150,000 to buy the Shotton Lane Social Club and turn it into an Islamic centre. The plans have provoked strong protests and about 100 members of right-wing group the English Defence League marched through the streets of the town last month to voice their opposition.