Burglars target Rotherham mosque, throw copies of the Qur’an on the floor

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Burglars have targeted a town centre mosque in an apparent hate attack. Raiders broke into Chapel Walk Mosque in the early hours of Tuesday morning. They ransacked offices, stole money from a collection box and damaged microphone equipment. They also threw copies of the Qur’an on the floor, leading one faith leader to blame right wing elements.

Rotherham Council of Mosques chair Saghir Alam said: “There was a lot of damage. I just can’t understand it. This is meant to be a place of peace, spirituality and worship.” He added: “This went beyond burglary because they didn’t just steal something and leave – they’ve damaged the electrics and thrown our holy books around. I can’t say for sure it was a hate crime, but these facts suggest that it is.”

Fiyaz Mughal, director of national anti-bigotry group Tell MAMA, said: “Given that the place was smashed up and holy books thrown on the floor, this could well be a hate crime. People target mosques because they are very visible institutions, so sadly this isn’t news to us.” He added: “Before the march on Saturday some were putting addresses of mosques on Twitter and saying: ‘Let’s smash them up.’”

Last week Chief Supt Jason Harwin said police are working with mosques to stamp out attacks on innocent Muslims, following a spate of street attacks. Saghir said officers have been “very proactive” in investigating these reports, as well as Wednesday’s break-in.

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Australia: senator’s burqa ban call condemned as ‘stupid and ignorant’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Cory Bernardi ban burqa tweet

Comments by a Liberal senator linking terror raids with a campaign to ban the burqa have been described as “stupid and ignorant” and designed to “feed prejudice”.

As news broke of the mass counter-terrorism operation across Sydney and Brisbane, in which 15 people were arrested and one charged, Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi took to Twitter to rail against the burqa as a “shroud of oppression”.

Senator Bernardi has been a long-time critic of the burqa, arguing that it is a “symbol of female oppression and Islamic culture”, carries security and identification risks and is “un-Australian”.

Labor leader Bill Shorten on Thursday criticised Senator Bernardi’s remarks, telling Fairfax Media that the last thing the country needed was “stupid” and “ignorant” comments from government MPs.

“Why on earth is this out-of-touch, out-of-line senator on a rampage with his ignorant and stupid comments?” asked Mr Shorten. “This senator’s comments should have no part to play in public life, fuelling fear and suspicion.”

Mr Abbott stopped short of rebuking his backbencher on Thursday when asked about Senator Bernardi’s comments at a media conference in the Northern Territory, saying there was no need to “fret about people’s faith” or “fret about what people wear”.

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Islamic State and Rotherham abuse ‘fuelling far right’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

EDL grooming placardIslamic State extremism and the Rotherham abuse scandal are fuelling a far-right backlash in the UK, one of the Home Office’s most senior advisers on right-wing extremism has said.

The anonymous worker claims the government has overlooked the problem amid its focus on tackling jihadists.

The Home Office says it is working to prevent “all forms of extremism”. But the Institute for Strategic Dialogue claims the government must engage more with the far right.

The senior adviser works directly with right-wing extremists as part of the Home Office’s Prevent strategy, and asked to remain anonymous to protect his personal safety. He says the government has underestimated the threat posed by the far right in Britain.

“This is one of the most worrying periods in right-wing extremism, given the growth in right-wing groups and the recent news events which are making them more angry,” he explains.

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New plans revealed for Dudley mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Dudley mosque new plan

New plans have been revealed for a new mosque in Dudley on the controversial Hall Street site.

Previous plans for the site faced strong opposition from protestors who said the building would dominate the Dudley skyline, it sparked violent demonstrations in the town from the English Defence League in 2010.

The new design has been developed after consultation with town planners and features a shorter minaret, down from 109 feet to 61 feet, and the floor area of the building has been cut by 16 per cent.

The proposed mosque’s designer, Al Samarraie of Archi-Structure (Consultant), said:

“The community has been at its existing site for over 35 years and the building is not fit for purpose, particularly for women, children, elderly and disabled people. The community want to build modern facilities that will be accessible to local people and offer a modern place of worship.”

The is development is lower than the highest roof level of the adjacent Allan Nuttall’s Limited warehouse and designed to be environmentally friendly with green living roofs.

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Three sentenced over desecration of Mayotte mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Mayotte protest against mosque desecration

Last January a pig’s head was left outside a mosque in the French overseas department of Mayotte. This act of desecration caused outrage among a population 95% of whom are Muslim and large demonstrations were held in protest.

Sarah Leduc and her friend Malika Lenormand got drunk at a new year’s eve dinner party and decided it would be fun to deposit a pig’s head outside a mosque, for a bet. Leduc’s partner, police officer Sébastien Milin, drove them to the Labattoir mosque where they left the head just before morning prayer.

The following day a photo of the pig’s head and the comment “the package was delivered” were posted on Facebook. The court was told that the Facebook page, apparently belonging to Leduc, also featured far-right material.

The three have been convicted of “incitement to hatred, violence or discrimination because of religious affiliation”. Leduc and Lenormand were given prison sentences of nine months, six months of which were suspended, while Milin received a six-month suspended prison sentence. In addition they were given two years probation, fined €3,000 each and required to pay €16,000 in compensation to the mosque.

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Don’t let EDL racists divide us! Unite Against Fascism counter-demonstration – London, Saturday 20 September

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Don’t let EDL racists divide us London September 2014

Justice for the Rotherham abuse victims – don’t let the racists divide us!

Demonstrate: Saturday September 20th, Central London

The EDL are cynically trying to exploit the Rotherham child abuse horror, and British fascists are attempting to unify around this. In Rotherham and in London, the EDL are planning to hold demonstrations over the next two Saturdays. Far right and fascist groups are attempting to recover from set backs anti-fascists have inflicted on them and want to divide us.

The EDL have seized on the appalling child abuse to engender racism against Muslims. They want to “racialise” the issue. UAF will be holding a counter demonstration against the EDL next Saturday, 20th September from 11.30am, at Downing Street. UAF invites all who reject attempts to divide our communities to join us. Bring your friends, families and banners.

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FIBA grants players permission to wear religious head coverings on a trial basis

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bilqis Abdul-QaadirInternational basketball’s governing body said Tuesday that players will be allowed to wear religious head coverings, such as hijabs or turbans, on a trial basis in some competitions.

FIBA’s central board met over the weekend at the men’s world cup and voted to allow a two-year testing phase that would let players wear head coverings.

Previous FIBA rules only allowed a player to wear a 5-centimeter headband to control hair and sweat. That drew objections that the group was discriminating against Muslim and Sikh players, who wear head coverings for religious reasons.

“We welcome this policy change by FIBA because it allows Muslims, Sikhs and others who wear religious head coverings to take part in the sport that they love while maintaining their beliefs,” said the Council on American-Islamic Relations National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “FIBA should be congratulated for responding positively to all those who sought reasonable religious accommodation for athletes of all faiths.”

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Demonstration will protest against EDL’s anti-Muslim violence

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Markaz-ul-Uloom Al-Islamia vandalism

A mosque has been vandalised during a far-right protest march in Rotherham, south Yorkshire, as tension rises in the town after the grooming scandal. The glass front door of the Markaz-ul-Uloom Al-Islamia, a Deobandi mosque near the city centre, was broken on Saturday.

Muhbeen Hussain, a local Muslim community organiser, said that the English Defence League had paraded through the city with a banner reading “Muslim groomers”. He also claimed that demonstrators smashed the windows of a halal butcher and a corner shop owned by a Muslim.

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Vandals forced Cardiff mosque to shut

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Rabbaniah Islamic Cultural Centre vandalismA Cardiff mosque has been forced to close after being smashed up by intruders. Police are investigating after the Rabbaniah Islamic Cultural Centre suffered thousands of pounds of damage after burglars pulled down the ceiling and ripped charity boxes from the walls.

The cultural centre in Grangetown was completely wrecked by the intruders who stole at least £4,000 of money stored in charity collection boxes and locked safes containing wages for staff.

The burglars first broke into the main hall but then rampaged through the mosque and cultural centre – tearing down the internal roof to get up to the office on the first floor. Computers were stamped on, CCTV cameras were pulled from the walls and doors have been kicked through.

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Oklahoma: Republican politician says Islam is ‘a cancer in our nation that needs to be cut out’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Rep. John Bennett addresses Sallisaw Republican meetingState Rep. John Bennett, R-Sallisaw, meeting Monday night with about 85 constituents at a Republican gathering at Western Sizzlin’ here, did not back down from statements he made earlier this month that were critical of Islam.

Bennett has been at the center of a political maelstrom that has gained national attention since he published comments on social media warning people to be wary of Muslim Americans and then refused to apologize in the face of mounting criticism.

Asked before the meeting whether he planned to apologize for his comments, Bennett said, “No. Because I’m right, and they know I’m right.”

“CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) used political pressure to make me back down, but I didn’t and I’m not going to,” he said to a standing ovation. Bennett, who served in the U.S. Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he has heard from people all over the world supporting his position.

In a lengthy presentation that included videos made within U.S. mosques, Bennett outlined a history of the Islamic faith and his views that Islam is a sociopolitical movement intent upon destruction of Western civilization and world domination. “Their goal is the destruction of Western civilization from within,” he said. “This is a cancer in our nation that needs to be cut out.”

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