on Friday, March 22, 2013
A priest who has allowed Muslims to pray in his church has told how he has been hit by a barrage of abuse by internet 'trolls'.
St John's Episcopal Church became the first church in the UK to share their building with Muslims after Rev Isaac Poobalan saw members of a neighbouring mosque praying outside in the snow because of a lack of space.
on Wednesday, February 20, 2013
A Tube worker has been caught posting vile racist and anti Muslim messages online. Train engineer Martin Aitken used Facebook to insulted Muslim, Asians and disabled people in a series of offensive posts.
Aitken, who joined London Underground this year, was caught by the Standard following a tip-off and when confronted said: "Oh for f**k's sake – it's going to jeopardise my job."
Aitken began posting the hateful messages online as far back as 2010. One, from March 30 that year, read: "Did you know that in the time it takes to clap your hands, a Pakistani will die somewhere in the world. All together now – 'If your happy and you know it'."
On February 7 this year he wrote: "I just saw a muslim with three lions on his shirt. I f*****g love longleat Safari Park," followed a day later by: "Muslims of Britain. If you obeyed the law, accepted our values, integrated into society, abandoned terrorism, spoke English in public, made more of an effort with personal hygiene, charged the same price in your shops as the rest of the retailers, didn't burn poppies … then we wouldn't hate you … as much."
He also posted a distasteful joke about a disabled child, saying: "Can you spare just £2? Ranji is a 9yr old boy living in Namibia. He has only 1 leg, 1 arm and 1 eye. Each day he has to ride 7 miles along a narrow road on a rusty bike with bent wheels, no brakes and only 1 pedal. If you send me just £2, I will send you the video – it's f*****g hilarious."
In another vile post he penned a "poem" which read: "I know a p**i whose name is Jim. I love 2 lob tomatoes at him. tomatoes are soft & don't hurt the skin, but these fuckers do cos theyre stil (sic) in the tin..."
A co-worker said: "The content posted on Mr Aitken's Facebook timeline appears to demonstrate a deep seated hatred for anyone different to himself. He is using social networking sites to promote racism and his personal hatred of Muslims."
Aitken, who commutes to London weekly from Exeter, apologised for the "stupid" comments and insisted he was not a bigot because "my best mate is Jamaican".
He said he had now shut down his Facebook profile and added: "It is stupid. I did not see the offence it could have caused. I overlooked the fact I am offending people and I apologise."
He insisted he did not hate Muslims or was a racist, and said: "I was being stupid. I work at London Underground and there are a lot of people from all different walks of life and I get on well with all of them. "My best mate is Jamaican."
A spokesman for Transport For London said it was launching an investigation into the posts.
He said: "TfL expects its staff to adhere to the highest possible standards and will not tolerate bigoted and abusive behaviour from staff. The content of these posts has been brought to our attention and, in line with TfL's employment policies and London Underground's guidelines for the use of social media, we will be investigating this issue fully."
Evening Standard, 19 February 2013
on Thursday, February 7, 2013
Chris Joannides also messaged friends during meetings with his constituents asking for updates on football scores and complaining about missing his favourite television programmes.
The Conservative councillor for Enfield, in north London, has denied being Islamophobic and defended his comments as "blokeish banter".
Mr Joannides posted a photo showing a woman and child dressed in burkas standing next to two bin bags. He wrote underneath: "I saw her standing there and I told her she had three beautiful children. She didn't have to get all p***ed off and threaten me. It was an honest mistake!"
"I am not, never have been and never will be Islamophobic," he said this week. "The comments I made were against Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism including the demonisation of women, something the whole world is concerned about in the light of terrorist attacks on the West since September 11."
In other words, Joannides is arguing that Muslim women who wear the niqab are associated with "Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism". Does he really think that makes things better?
on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The constabulary placed an appeal about smashed windows at Southend Mosque on its Facebook page. But the post, to which anybody with a Facebook account could respond, led to a number of "unacceptable" messages.
The force said it would be reviewing policies following "an unprecedented level of racially emotive language".
Ch Insp Bradley Dickel said the appeal was put on the force's Facebook page on Friday. The police's media team, he said, had reviewed the comments – some of which he described as "deeply offensive, some of them racial, and wholly unacceptable" – over the weekend.
However, the police did not remove those messages until Monday afternoon. Defending the decision to delay the removal of some of the messages, Ch Insp Dickel said: "It is very difficult to assess, there is still freedom of speech in this country."
A police spokeswoman said: "All those who made offensive posts will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken."
Mohammad Qidwai, one of the founding trustees at the mosque, read through the comments when he was shown them by BBC News. "The more serious ones should be taken up by the police and pursued," he said, describing those responsible as "ignorant people" with "nothing better to do".
on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Gary Field's page on the popular social networking site is under the pseudonym of Pat Riot. Messages posted since the start of the year, when he was the EDL's area organiser, include comments directed towards Muslims.
The Isle of Thanet Gazette asked Mr Field to respond to posts put on his Facebook account. But after speaking with our reporter, Mr Field then said in a statement that he had left the EDL.
While he was still an EDL member, during his conversation with the Gazette, Field said that he is not a racist and that the comments posted on his page are simply his beliefs.
In an interview with this newspaper last year, Mr Field said: "Our aims are to highlight radical Islam through peaceful protests. It is not a case of colour but rather a small culture within Islam that radicalises people. We feel that honour killings, the grooming of young girls, burqas or sharia law have no place in Britain."
This is in stark contrast to some of the words posted on his Facebook page, some of which include: "Islam is evil", "There be (sic) blood shed if muzzrats moved into my street it wont be mine", and "kick Islam out of England".
When asked by the Gazette's reporter why these were posted on Facebook, Mr Field said: "They are my beliefs that I share with my friends. They have nothing to do with my work for the EDL or anything to do with my court case. I am fully entitled to air my views in what I believe in and I can't understand how it is of any relevance."
When it was put to Mr Field that he is, or now was, a leading member of what is considered a political party, he replied by saying: "They are not party views. They are my own personal views and I am within my rights to share them."
Isle of Thanet Gazette, 14 January 2013
Hope Not Hate notes that Field also uses the name Gary Milsom.
on Sunday, December 30, 2012
Facebook is a top social networking site that is used all over the world. This website allows people to get in touch with friends and family members near or far, and people are addicted to using it. It not only allows a person to contact people, but it helps an individual stay informed about the world around them. However, parents in Pakistan believe that this website has a negative impact on the youth.
The negative impact of Facebook is that it is distracting students from their school work. It is something that kids can spend hours and hours on. Facebook allows kids to play games, chat with their friends, and like their favorite pages. This addiction is the problem that is the concern of many Pakistani people. Pakistan has a very competitive environment. Students here compete to get into top colleges, universities, and to get the top jobs. In order to get these things you must have good results from your exams, and you must have some extracurricular activities. Facebooking does not count as an extracurricular activity. Kids have to strive and they work their bottoms off day and night, so that they can get to where they need to go. There are not equal opportunities for every student, so the children in this country have to push their studies to the limit. The more knowledge they have, the higher they will be able to score on their exams.
Parents are concerned because Facebook is distracting kids from what is really important.
Shenila, the mother of two sons who often use facebook says, “They are not paying any attention to school because they find Facebook entertaining. Facebook cannot help them earn big bucks. Not only are they neglecting their school work, but they do not listen to a word I say. I told both of my kids to turn off the laptop and offer their daily prayers. Both of them acted as if they had not heard me. This Facebook is ruining my children. Neglecting school work is one thing, but not offering prayers or respecting my authority is something serious!”
Facebook is affecting Shenila’s sons negatively; however, not everything is bad about this social network. Students can learn about Islam on Facebook, they can get help from friends on homework and so much more. This website should not be taken in a negative sense because networking and getting in touch with people is also very important for survival. However, if parents in Pakistan are having serious problems, then there is always the option of setting strict limits or blocking Facebook for good. These strict measures may not seem fair to your child now, but they will soon learn that the competitive environment in this country does not give opportunities to time wasters.
on Saturday, October 13, 2012
Amy Wilby, 20, admitting posting grossly offensive messages on the social networking site, when she appeared at Kirklees Magistrates' Court in Huddersfield. Her comments were made in response to Azhar Ahmed's rant that "all soldiers should die and go to hell", made two days after the deaths of six British soldiers in Afghanistan.
Wilby's comments are too extreme to print in full in a family newspaper. But they saw her slapped with a community order after District Judge Marie Mallon told her that she could not hide behind a "virtual world" when airing her views.
Wilby, of Gladstone Court in Dewsbury, was a teenager when she made the comments on her personal profile page on March 9. Vanessa Schofield, prosecuting, said that following Ahmed's comments numerous other people posted angry responses on Facebook. Many were cautioned but police decided to charge Wilby.
Judge Mallon was told that she posted five comments on her profile page under Amy Jane Wilby. In one she made a vile sexual statement regarding Ahmed and his religion. One statement that can be printed read: "I wasn't racist until I read this." Judge Mallon was told that following these messages police tracked Wilby down and looked at her phone.
She sentenced her to a 12 month community order, including 15 days of activity and 100 hours of unpaid work. Judge Mallon told Wilby that she would also have to pay £85 court costs.
Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 12 October 2012
Evidently Wilby is the individual who was bailed back in June on suspicion of inciting racial hatred.
Without seeing the offending messages it is difficult to say for certain, but based on the description in the Examiner report, which indicates that Wilby's posts were far more extreme than the comments made by Azhar Ahmed, and given that she herself stated that she was a racist, it is difficult to see why she wasn't charged with that much more serious offence.
So, as things stand, the outcome of all the online hatred and death threats provoked by Azhar Ahmed's arrest would appear to be that four people have been cautioned and just one has been prosecuted. When a well-known EDL supporter like Lacette Brooks, for example, posted the comment "Fuckin die cunt!" on the EDL's Facebook page, why wasn't she charged with any offence?
on Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Kenneth Holden, 30, was arrested after police were alerted to two updates he posted on his personal page on the social network site, abusing Muslims.
Holden, of Winskell Road, South Shields, pleaded guilty to two counts of sending an offensive message by a public communication network at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court yesterday.
Claire Wright, prosecuting, said: "On April 21, the two messages were brought to the attention of the police. Officers searched Facebook and found the defendant's page and saw the religiously abusive comments. He was arrested, and asked the police if it was because he didn't like Muslims."
Kevin Smallcombe, defending, said: "He was in the Army, and has some fairly strong views about Muslims. He supports some of the beliefs of the English Defence League and believes that the group was started after some Muslims spat on soldiers who were returning from Afghanistan.
"The comments on Facebook were of a religious nature. Some people say it is part of free speech, but by his guilty plea Mr Holden accepts he crossed the line. Most of our country has fair and tolerant views but some are extremists, on both sides of this argument." Mr Smallcombe added that while Holden supports the EDL, these posts were not in any way to do with the group.
Magistrates adjourned the case until Monday for the probation service to prepare a report about him. He was granted bail until then.
Shields Gazette, 26 September 2012
These abusive anti-Muslim posts "were not in any way to do with" the EDL, a group that specialises in abusing Muslims? Give us a break.
Holden's comments included death threats against Muslims. He claimed to have a pipe bomb and added "GIVE ME A GUN AND AL DO U ALL OSLO STYLE". Yet he was convicted only of sending an offensive message.
Even allowing for the fact that he was presumably charged with a religiously aggravated offence, this seems inexcusably lenient. You can imagine how much more harshly a Muslim would be dealt with if they posted terrorist threats on the internet.
on Thursday, June 21, 2012
A man who used Facebook to try to incite violence and urged others to attack the police and Muslims during the height of last summer's riots was jailed for three years today.
A jury took less than two hours to find Mitchell Stancombe, 21, guilty of encouraging and assisting people to commit violent disorder.
He made three posts on his personal page of the social networking site on August 9 starting with the words: "When are we going to start the Southampton riots then?" When told to shut up by a friend, he replied: "LOL - do a few coppers in."
He then made another post, which said: "f*** them. Hardly can do f*** all if we get loads together and have a right go. And why we are at it - the muslim revolt: give it to those c***s as well."
The posts, which could be accessed by anyone, were made during widespread rioting in Birmingham, Manchester, Derby, London and Liverpool.
Stancombe, from Totton near Southampton, denied the charge under section 44 of the Serious Crime Act 2007.
Press Association, 21 June 2012
on
Cwmbran Magistrates' Court heard labourer James Rogers, of Deepweir, Caldicot, wrote on his Facebook account on March 25: "What the ****? Just at Magor Services and there was a Muslim rag head praying on a mat. Makes me sick."
His friend Richard Orzel, a plasterer of Kensington Gardens, Newport, replied to the post writing: "Spit on the ****" to which Rogers replied saying he would have "kicked the **** out of him" if there hadn't been any CCTV around.
Police were alerted to the posts after two members of the public made complaints. The friends were then arrested and admitted writing the posts, which have since been removed.
The men yesterday pleaded guilty to making offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing comments on a public electronic communications network on March 25.
Rogers, 21, and Orzel, 29, were spared jail and were instead handed 28 days' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. They were each also ordered to complete 200 hours unpaid work and must pay £85 court costs.
South Wales Argus, 21 June 2012
on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
John Hurren is standing as a British National Party candidate for Coventry City Council. Via Hope Not Hate, here are some of his comments on Facebook:
It would also appear that Hurren shares Anders Breivik's views on the appropriate treatment for his leftist opponents:
on Friday, April 13, 2012
It was reported that anti-Islamic and other racist images and slogans appeared on the site of Dean Lowther, who is standing in Bracebridge ward in the city council elections.
Lincolnshire Police spokesman James Newall said: "Police have reviewed the material in question and a 45-year-old local man was arrested on suspicion of producing material inciting racial hatred in the south of the city this morning. He is currently helping police with their enquiries."
Lincolnshire Echo, 12 April 2012
According to an earlier report in the paper: "Muslim women were pictured with words stating that they are 'heading our way' and will claim benefits for their children from 'our race traitor Government'."
