Former FPÖ deputy convicted of inciting religious and racial hatred

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Werner KönigshoferDisgraced Tyrolean politician Werner Königshofer stood in the dock again Friday, to face charges of religious incitement for a publication he had posted on his blog. He was fined €800 for disparaging both the religion of Islam and the Turkish ethnic group.

The case stems from a document, entitled “Tirol or Türol” (implying that the region is being overrun by Turks). Published without a named author, the document generally disparages Turks and Islam in ethno-racist terms, citing – according to Der Standard newspaper – the ‘creeping orientalism’ of the state, and describing the Turkish immigrants in the region as ‘seed cannons.’

The court found that despite protections on freedom of speech being generally guaranteed in Austria, that there were boundaries, and that Königshofer had crossed them.

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Georgia congressional candidate says Islam ‘does not deserve First Amendment protection’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jody Hice (2)Jody Hice, a Baptist minister and talk-radio host, is running for Congress in Georgia’s 10th Congressional District as a stern defender of the First Amendment and religious freedom. But that freedom does not apply to those of the Muslim faith.

“Although Islam has a religious component, it is much more than a simple religious ideology,” Hice wrote in his 2012 book. “It is a complete geo-political structure and, as such, does not deserve First Amendment protection.”

Hice believes that the Muslim Brotherhood is infiltrating the United States, with the intent to impose Sharia law on all of us.

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Q Society spreading anti-mosque message in Bendigo

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Q SocietyThe anti-Islam group that brought controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders to Australia has emerged as a key force behind protests against the building of a mosque in Bendigo.

The goldfields city has faced a surge of anti-Islamic sentiment following last week’s approval of its first mosque. An anonymous group tied black balloons to the house of a local councillor who supported the successful planning application – meant as a warning linking domestic violence with Islam.

A Facebook group called “Stop the Mosque in Bendigo” has grown to nearly 8000 “likes” and carries material targeting councillors who supported the mosque as “traitors”.

It has now emerged that the Q Society, which describes itself as “Australia’s leading Islam-critical movement”, organised a meeting in Bendigo on May 11 to advise residents how to stop the mosque. The two-hour meeting was led by Q Society president Debbie Robinson and the group’s head of media and public relations Andrew Horwood. Gavin Boby, from Britain’s Law and Freedom Foundation, also spoke at the meeting via video link.

The event, which was attended by about 100 people, was advertised with pamphlets describing Islam as “totalitarian ideology” which brings violence, misogyny, homophobia and economic stagnation wherever it spreads.

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Queensland: 250 people heckle councillor over proposal to build mosque

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A community meeting has turned heated after angry Gold Coast residents gathered to object to a mosque being built in their area. A crowd of about 250 people heckled Gold Coast councillor Chris Robbins when she was explaining the council process of approving applications, in reference to the proposal to build a mosque on Cannon St, Currumbin.

“You can object to it, you can hate it or whatever, but the law is you can’t discriminate,” Cr Robbins said. “The town plan is not able to discriminate and say that a land use … can only be used for a particular religion.” Cr Robbins continued to attempt to quell the crowd – even as it started raining – by explaining how residents could object to the development through the council process. However, at times, her advice was drowned by cries about not wanting “that culture here”.

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Bendigo: rainbow balloons fly in support of diversity

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bendigo rainbow balloon demonstation (2)
Rev Cynthia Page addresses the crowd

Bendigo residents have responded to opposition to a mosque being built in the Victorian city with a celebration of diversity on Saturday. The celebration came after a lengthy debate over the issue which included anti-Islamic protests and one Bendigo councillor opposing the proposal because she was “not a fan of Islam.”

Bendigo Advertiser, 22 June 2014

Bendigo rainbow balloon demonstation (1)

‘Tyrant’ stereotyping worries US Muslims

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Tyrant posterThe release of a new FX Networks series about an Arab Muslim who returns to his home country with his American wife and children after 20 years in the US has sparked concerns of US Muslims, expressed worries about potential Islamophobic stereotyping of the whole Muslim world.

“In the pilot of FX’s ‘Tyrant,’ Arab Muslim culture is devoid of any redeeming qualities and is represented by terrorists, murderous children, rapists, corrupt billionaires, and powerless female victims,” Ibrahim Hooper, National Communications Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a statement obtained by OnIslam.net.

Hooper, who attended Wednesday night’s screening, added: “In ‘Tryant,’ even the ‘good’ Arab Muslims are bad.”

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Derisory turnout for Bolton anti-mosque protest: fascists outnumbered by counter-demonstrators

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Bolton anti-mosque protest June 2014Protestors demonstrated against a planned new mosque in Astley Bridge at the proposed site in Blackburn Road.

About 50 protestors, including members of the British National Party (BNP) and local residents, congregated in Blackburn Road, next to the proposed site of Taiyabah Mosque’s planned new building today.

Hundreds of people – among them people from the protest group Justice4Bolton and members of the local Muslim community – gathered on the site and on the opposite side of Blackburn Road to oppose the protest. Campaigners said it was a “disgrace” that the protest had been allowed to go ahead and that the demonstration was “opportunistic racism”.

A planning application has been submitted to Bolton Council for the construction of a new mosque building, with a dome and minaret tower, on disused land next to the current Taiyabah Mosque in Blackburn Road. The facility, if approved, will cater for more than 1,000 prayer mats and contain 19 classrooms.

Dozens of police officers were deployed to keep the peace during the demonstration, which lasted nearly an hour, and they managed to avoid any violent clashes. It is understood that no arrests were made.

Rhetta Moran, a Justice4Bolton campaigner, said: “I think it is a disgrace that they have been allowed to come out and campaign against a mosque. That land is the property of the mosque so they should not be allowed to drape their flags over the fences. This protest is opportunistic racism. They can dress it up as much as they like, it is Islamaphobic.”

One local resident, who asked not to be named, said: “I am as English as anybody else. The people in this community get on well and support each other, be they white or Muslim. We sort out problems for everybody in the community and work together. This new mosque will not create any problems.”

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Max Hastings explains the problems of the Muslim world

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Max Hastings assures Daily Mail readers that “most of the failures of today’s Muslim world are rooted in its own culture, rather than in our past misdeeds”:

The unpalatable truth is that most of the Middle East’s troubles derive from adherence to a medieval culture that recoils from innovation, promotes religion far beyond its proper place in mankind’s affairs, and institutionalises the oppression of women.

Young Winston Churchill wrote in his splendid 1899 history book The River War: ‘How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy . . . there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries.

‘The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.

‘Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities . . . but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it.

‘No stronger retrograde force exists in the world.

‘Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytising faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science . . . the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.’

These were intemperate Victorian words, but who can say that they are entirely inappropriate today?

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Bendigo councillor stands by anti-Islam comments

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Elise ChapmanBendigo leaders say they will not tolerate bigotry, especially from fellow community representatives, as councillor Elise Chapman remained steadfast in her comments about not “being a fan” of Islam.

Ms Chapman, who was one of two councillors to vote against a successful application for a mosque in Bendigo, reiterated she was not a racist and said people should not be made to feel so if they shared their opinions.

“My comments about not being a fan of Islam stand, although it must be noted I’m not a fan of many things,” she said. “The people of Bendigo have every right to object to the application for a mosque without being labeled a racist or bigot.

“My comment that I wouldn’t want to live next door to a mosque, also stands. Although it must be noted that I’d not like to live next door to a cemetery, nightclub, hotel, landfill, abattoir, train station…the list goes on. I think it’s sad that many residents are afraid to publicly voice their concerns for fear of being labelled racists and bigots.”

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