The newly-formed Berwick Unite Against Fascism group has been drumming up support ahead of a demo this weekend. The group, which came together in response to Scottish Defence League plans to march in the town this weekend, pledges to bring all platforms and all colours together to show that the town is united against fascism.

A spokesman for Berwick UAF said: "We had a very good day in Berwick on Saturday and garnered a lot of local support for opposition to the proposed SDL march in Berwick next Saturday. We distributed hundreds of leaflets explaining the situation and the reasons for opposing the SDL. The demonstration is open to all who oppose the SDL and other racist groups who threaten our town."

Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird is among those to pledge support for Berwick UAF. In a note to campaign organisers, she said:

"My thoughts and support are with you. I am proud to be Police and Crime Commissioner of a community that lives and works together – it's not where somebody has come from, but how they are going to reach their aspirations and dreams, regardless of where they were born, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.

"I hope that you are able to speak to as many local people as possible during your campaign. I was recently in Berwick, I know how warm and friendly the local residents are." She added: "Campaigners achieve much more by standing on reasoned arguments rather than bigoted views. I have no doubt you will be persuading local residents, encouraging them to support your campaign to show others that Berwick and surrounding areas will not tolerate small minded attitudes."

Posts on the SDL Border Division facebook page contain a series of anti-Islamic references and seek to drum up support for its Berwick demonstration.

Independent political writer and 'Chavs' author Owen Jones has also offered his solidarity to Berwick UAF. He said: "Racism and fascism cannot be debated with, it must simply be defeated."

Berwick Advertiser, 14 February 2013

View the Original article

An example of British National Party propaganda against the proposed centreControversial plans for Oswestry's first Muslim centre have been given the go-ahead. It will be sited in a 19th century former Presbyterian church.

The bid to change the church in Oswald Road, into a Muslim prayer centre sparked more than 70 objections and led to the town being targeted in a leafleting campaign by the British National Party.

But more than 40 people wrote in support of the bid by Oswestry Muslim Society and permission was given by Shropshire Council planning officers under delegated powers.

Planning officers revealed today that some of the objectors' views had not been placed on the council planning website where the public's representations can normally be viewed as they were of a "sensitive and potentially provocative nature".

A planning report said: "There have been a substantial number of representations received both in support of (41) and objection to (72) the proposal. Many of these relate either entirely or primarily to the race and/or religion of the applicants and individual perceptions about the potential influence on both the local and wider community. These matters are not material planning considerations and should not play any part in the determination of the application."

It said the bid was approved as the proposed use was appropriate for the building and would not have an adverse impact on the area.

Shropshire Star, 31 January 2013

View the Original article

Standing in Denver's main mosque on Christmas Eve, Christian, Muslim and Jewish community leaders launched an ad campaign promoting understanding and tolerance between the religious groups. "Love Thy Neighbor" ads on Denver buses are intended to combat anti-Muslim ads produced by the American Freedom Defense Initiative. The controversial group attracted attention with hateful posters in New York subways and DC metro stations.

The Colorado Muslim Society paid $5,000 for the "Love Thy Neighbor" ads, which focus on love as "a shared concept in the three religions." Other religious leaders and interfaith groups then publicly embraced the message:

They said the ad they unveiled — at a time on the calendar devoted to love and understanding — is meant to respond to recent national tragedies and to replace anti-Muslim ads placed on buses last month.

"Our country is in the midst of a lot of divisions," Temple Emanuel Senior Rabbi Joe Black said. "Hatred is only going to further violence and the breakdown of society."

Denver's tolerance initiative follows the lead of many faith groups around the country protesting the Islamophobic ads. The Denver ads proclaim: "9,757 Deadly Islamic Attacks Since 9/11/01. It's Not Islamophobia. It's Islamorealism." Colorado's religious leaders also stood together in solidarity after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Public renunciation of anti-Muslim bigotry is much needed, as hate crimes against Muslims have held steady at a record high. Meanwhile, anti-Islamic rhetoric has become commonplace in mainstream media.

Think Progress, 25 December 2012

View the Original article

PVV leader Geert Wilders is to step up his campaign against Islam in 2013, the parliamentarian told Nos television in an interview.

The fight against Islam is a mission for life, Wilders told the broadcaster. Wilders said he would step up his fight against "the biggest sickness" the Netherlands has had at home and internationally, "from Australia to America, from Switzerland to wherever".

Wilders also again renewed his statement that the Netherlands has a "Moroccan problem". It is Moroccan racism that they rarely rob each other, Wilders said.

Dutch News, 27 December 2012

See also Xinhua, 27 December 2012

View the Original article

Byker Grove will be transformed into an Islamic school. Council planning chiefs have given the go-ahead to plans to convert Bishop's Palace – used to film the popular TV series – into a fee-paying faith school.

The BAHR Academy will cater for up to 340 boys and girls between 11 and 16 in Benwell, Newcastle. But the development of the currently empty and run-down site will also include a community building, coffee shop and events space open at weekends.

The plans were approved by Newcastle City Council at a meeting yesterday despite some objections being raised by residents about traffic congestion and noise around the site, which was used to film the children's TV show which launched Ant and Dec and Donna Air to fame.

BAHR Academy principal Mufti Muhammad Abdulmuheet welcomed the decision, which he said will see a derelict building put back into the community.

"When it was run by the BBC, the site was not open to everyone but we want the public to come along, the community facilities are for everyone to use," he said. "We want to show that Islam is inclusive and we want to be a part of Benwell and Scotswood. At the moment the building is in a dire state but the community has raised funds to bring it back into use."

Evening Chronicle, 15 December 2012

Needless to say, the English Defence League are not happy.

The EDL staged a protest at the site in November 2010, during which they chanted "scum" and "no surrender to the Taliban". A week earlier a pig's head was left outside the building. The British National Party was also involved in the campaign against what it called "Burka Grove".

The EDL demonstration was organised by former BNP parliamentary candidate Alan Spence, who recently served a 7-month prison sentence for his part in an attack by an EDL gang on Tyneside Irish Centre.

View the Original article

On Friday, December 14, the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) will announce the launch of the "MyJihad" educational campaign at a press conference in the morning and at a community party in the afternoon.

MyJihad is an independent national initiative that seeks to share the proper meaning of Jihad as believed and practiced by the majority of Muslims. Jihad is a central tenet of the Islamic creed, which means struggling uphill in order to get to a better place.

Earlier today, the official MyJihad website was made live. The website includes detailed information about the campaign. View Myjihad website here: http://www.myjihad.org

On Monday, December 11th, the first bus ad campaign appeared on 25 Chicago buses. View the ads here: http://myjihad.org/photo-gallery/chicago-buses-live-shots/

The MyJihad campaign was founded by CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab as an independent initiative, with initial sponsorship by CAIR-Chicago and with a view for various organizational or individual sponsorships in later stages. The campaign is expected to quickly take on a life of its own.

Volunteers working on the campaign include activists and students, but the majority of volunteers have come from a group of working mothers who are disturbed by the prospects of their children growing up in an environment of gross misinformation about Islam that sometimes spills into outright hatred, such as with the recent anti-Islam ad campaigns sponsored by hate blogger Pamela Geller

The MyJihad campaign includes putting up public ads on buses and trains, as well as a social media component on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, where users are asked to tweet what their Jihad (struggle) is using the #MyJihad hash tag. Thousands of users have already tweeted and thousands more have liked the Facebook page.

"We have been overwhelmed with the participation of people of other faiths tweeting their struggles," said campaign volunteer and Naperville mom Angie Emara. "People of different backgrounds are finding a common language, they're learning to see themselves in one another as they share similar expressions of their daily Jihad."

The group hopes to follow up on the Chicago bus ad campaign with similar campaigns in New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Houston, and Seattle.

Ahmed Rehab released the following statement:

"Jihad is a term that has unfortunately been widely misrepresented by the actions of Muslim extremists first and foremost, and by attempts at public indoctrination coming from Islamophobes who claim that the minority extremists are right and the majority of Muslims are wrong. The MyJihad campaign is about reclaiming Jihad from the Muslim and anti-Muslim extremists who, ironically but not surprisingly, see eye to eye on Jihad. It is also about pushing for an intelligent and informed understanding of Islam and its concepts and practices in the media, the educational circles, and the public. Most of all, this campaign is about giving voice to our views, our practices, and simply put, our reality, a reality that is too big to be left out of the conversation."

CAIR press release, 13 December 2012

View the Original article

Headteachers on Teesside are being warned about a leaflet campaign by the British National Party targeting schools.

Cleveland Police has branded the content of the BNP leaflets as "provocative and detrimental to good community relations". The force has consulted with the Crown Prosecution Service regarding any potential offences and is awaiting their advice.

Teachers on Teesside are being called on to be vigilant about any possible BNP political activity seeking to engage young people.

The "Together we'll beat 'em!" leaflet "focuses on dangers faced by young people from organised gangs of paedophiles," say the BNP. The pink flyer, branded with a YBNP (formerly the Young BNP) logo, shows three girls, arms raised in a boxing stance.

Addressing "Dear Head Teacher/ Head of the Year", a covering letter from Adam Walker of the BNP, a former teacher himself, warns: "This problem is very real and the consequences in terms of social development for people targeted by the gangs is disastrous."

The letter goes on: "Whilst the British National Party fully recognises that paedophiles come from all walks of life, we are particularly concerned that in recent years, authorities up-and-down our country have attempted to cover up crimes where the perpetrators include groups of Muslim men."

Mr Walker, from Spennymoor, told the Gazette the leaflet drive was part of a national awareness campaign and, while he had only written to schools in County Durham, it was possible the BNP could contact schools "throughout the North-east". He added: "If schools aren't doing their job properly then we must do it for them."

Wendy Shepherd, children's services manager for Barnardo's, alerted Cleveland Police and local authorities after being emailed the BNP letter from an alarmed colleague. "I was very concerned on two levels," she said. "On one level they have made it so child and young person friendly that young people would think this is something to look at."

Wendy said it was "despicable" the way the leaflet encouraged the reader "to look at the Muslim community as all paedophiles and groomers".

Evening Gazette, 7 December 2012

View the Original article

The far right British National Party says it will stage "numerous days of action" over plans to create a new Muslim centre in a Shropshire market town.

Members of the Shropshire branch of the BNP say that they believe the word "mosque" has been deliberately omitted from a recent planning application to convert a former church in Oswestry.

The Oswestry Muslim Society wants to convert a former Presbyterian Church in the town into a Muslim Centre.

North Shropshire organiser of the party Mr Phillip Reddall said: "Our Shropshire branch is planning numerous days of action in Oswestry in the weeks leading up to Christmas. We intend to ensure that local residents are made aware of the plans submitted by Oswestry Muslim Society.

"We will be leafleting the area and speaking to residents and shoppers. We will be encouraging local people to submit objections to these plans via Shropshire Council's online planning register.

"I believe the word 'mosque' has been deliberately omitted from the planning application."

The application, for the building on Oswald Road, which has latterly been used as a furniture store, would include internal alterations.

Creating their own centre would end a 10-year search to find a religious home for the Muslim community in the town. They currently meet at Eastern Oswestry Community Centre for prayers every Friday afternoon and also for major religious festivals such as Ramadan and Eid.

George Miah, chief adviser of Oswestry Muslim Society, said: "For the past 10 years or so we have tried to get a place to worship in the area. It could be a place for sharing viewpoints, cultural differences and understanding people. Our children and female members can get together and invite the community for a cup of tea and to share our views."

The Muslim society has members in Oswestry and Welshpool, St Martins, Llanymynech and Chirk.

Shropshire Council planners hope to determine the bid for the new centre by January 11.

Shropshire Star, 3 December 2012

On its Shropshire Patriot website the BNP urges its supporters to bombard Shropshire Council's planning department with objections to the Oswestry Muslim Society proposal. While stating that the point of its campaign is to resist "the gradual colonisation of Oswestry", the BNP advises that there is "absolutely no point on commenting on religious or ethnic grounds per se" and that "valid comments might include concerns over parking or noise".

Update:   See also "Dismay over BNP's White Tigers defence group plan for Shropshire", Shropshire Star, 3 December 2012

View the Original article

Plans for a super mosque close to the Olympic stadium reveal that it could hold almost 10,000 people. Architects' drawings show that the vast mosque will be about the same size as Battersea Power Station. By comparison, Britain's largest cathedral, in Liverpool, can hold 3,000 worshippers.

Newham Council in east London is due to decide whether it will grant planning permission for the structure next month.

Former councillor Alan Craig has launched a campaign to stop the project. He has produced 100,000 leaflets, which were being distributed throughout the borough yesterday. Mr Craig said: "The mega-mosque is proposed and planned by a particularly disturbing Islamic sect called Tablighi Jamaat."

He said that Tablighi Jamaat had been promoting itself as open and socially integrated. However, progressive Muslims who support the campaign against the mosque view its beliefs as "narrow and divisive". He said: "In my view we would be mad, barking mad, if we let the project go ahead."

Sunday Express, 4 November 2012

This has prompted the usual ignorant and bigoted comments from readers:

"Why encourage the destabilization of society by pandering to the needs of Islamic sect's which are funder mentally detrimental to the religious and political stability of the British Isles. An Islamic state is being created from within with the aid of the political correctness brigade and short sighted politicians."

"... we WILL end up with a mosque on the CORNER of each street in the country because they are ALLOWED to do JUST as they wont. In some inner city areas there are several mosques within walking distant of each other, WHY do they need so many. US Christians NEED to start making our objection HEARD. NOW before its too late"

"You can put money on it that this will be a wahhabi mosque with most of the money for building and maintaining it coming from Saudi Arabia. It will be another centre like the Regent's Park mosque (Channel 4 undercover mosques The Return) for preaching hatred against us and all we stand for. I have said and written many time before that the Wahhabi version of Islam should be banned as a dangerous brain washing sect that is a danger to our national security and should be banned from the UK."

Meanwhile, further to the right, the Sunday Express report has provoked equally predictable calls for arson attacks on the mosque and those worshipping in it.

View the Original article

A man is calling for all Bournemouth cafes and takeaways to be obliged to say whether their meat is slaughtered by Muslim rules.

Animal rights campaigner Gary Hazel claimed some of the methods used are "very cruel" and people should be able to make an informed choice.

Jewish and Muslim communities are exempt from a law that requires animals to be stunned before their throats are cut. The RSPCA said that Muslim interpretations differ and sometimes the animals are stunned and sometimes they are not.

Gary Hazel, 37, a chef and publican from Bournemouth town centre, said: "A lot of people confuse the issue with race and religion. That's a distraction. For me, it's animal cruelty, and the way they slaughtered."

He spoke out after trying eight different cafes on a night out and finding all served Halal meat. He then went on a tour of takeaways between Ashley Cross and Boscombe with a vegan friend and after speaking to the staff said he found 41 out of 45 served Halal meat.

Mr Hazel has written to the council and Bournemouth West MP Conor Burns about the issue. He said: "Bournemouth council could make it a condition of licence that all meat products could be clearly labelled so we could at least make an informed choice about where we spend our money."

Bournemouth Council said the national law do not oblige takeaways to put up notices saying whether they serve Halal or non Halal meat. The council does have the power to compel those that advertise Halal meat to prove that it is genuine. Sarah Rogers, Senior Licensing Officer, said: "As far as licensing is concerned we are unable to impose conditions on licences regarding the origins of meat."

Cllr Dave Smith, the cabinet member for communities, whose portfolio covers licensing, said: "This issue is not a priority for the council at the moment. I am sure if customers inquire they would be informed how the meat was prepared."

Bournemouth Echo, 19 October 2012

The RSPCA briefing on religious slaughter in fact states that 90% of halal meat sold in the UK has been pre-stunned. If Gary Hazel's motive for this campaign was his concern that ritual slaughter without stunning is cruel – which is itself a matter of debate – then his demand would be for meat to be labelled as not having been pre-stunned, rather than labelled as halal.

It is also notable that anti-halal campaigners like Hazel rarely have anything to say about schechita, the Jewish method of ritual slaughter, which requires that all animals should be killed without stunning. There's a parallel here with the Islamophobes who bang on about Sharia tribunals constituting a parallel legal system but ignore the existence of Beth Din courts in the Jewish community.

Hazel's claim that the growing campaign against halal slaughter has nothing to do with race and religion is at best naive. Then again, I wonder if our anti-halal campaigner could be in any way related to this Gary Hazel:

View the Original article

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today unveiled an advertising campaign designed to counter anti-Muslim "savage" advertisements sponsored by a designated hate group that are now on display in Washington, D.C. , metro stations.

CAIR's counter ads feature a verse from the Quran stating: "Show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant." (The Holy Quran, 7:199) The CAIR 16-foot banner ads, which are scheduled to go up next week and stay up for a month in stations featuring the hate ads (Glenmont, Georgia Avenue/Petworth and U Street), also direct metro riders to the organization's "Explore the Quran" initiative.

"We hope to expand this anti-hate campaign in the nation's capital and throughout the nation," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "We need the community's help to challenge the growing propaganda campaign of anti-Muslim hate in our society with positive messages of what Islam is and who we really are."

He added that other groups are placing ads designed to counter Pamela Geller's hate campaign and welcomed their clear rejection of hate.

Sojourners CEO Jim Wallis stated: "When Jesus said, 'Love your neighbor as yourself' he didn't add stipulations. He didn't offer an extra addendum or an added qualifier. It meant love your neighbor; even if they don't look like you, sound like you, or believe like you do. We as Christians need to treat others how we want to be treated – with love and respect."

Awad noted that Geller, the sponsor of the hate ads, was recently the subject of a CAIR "Islamophobe profile" documenting the individuals and organizations involved in spreading anti-Muslim bias in the United States.

CAIR's profile of Geller states in part: "Geller's organization Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA) is designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which also named Geller as a member of the 'anti-Muslim inner circle.'"

Earlier this week, a broad-based coalition of 127 organizations – led by CAIR, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), Jewish Voice for Peace – DC Metro (JVP), and the Washington Interfaith Alliance for Middle East Peace (WIAMEP) – sent a letter to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) expressing concern about Geller's advertisements.

CAIR press release, 12 October 2012

CAIR is appealing for donations to help defray the cost of their anti-hate advertisements. Go to: https://www.cair.com/support/

View the Original article

The placement of Pamela Geller's anti-Muslim "savages" ads in the District of Columbia have spurred a wide range of religious groups to counter the ads' message. A coalition of 157 religious groups from across the DC Metro-area signed onto a letter to the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority, pressing them to take stronger steps to work against hate speech.

In the letter, the coalition requested that WMATA pursue greater outreach to communities before publishing possibly inflammatory advertisements in and on the area's public transit, add disclaimers to such ads that they do not represent WMATA's views, and allow free ad space to counter hate speech.

Think Progress, 11 October 2012

View the Original article

Britain could have its first Sharia-controlled zone if plans for a mega-mosque more than four times the size of St Paul's Cathedral get the go-ahead.

The East London mosque, known as the Riverine Centre, will hold 9,312 worshippers, compared to 2,400 at St Paul's. The 16-acre site in West Ham will include 40ft minarets, an Islamic library, a dining hall, multi-use games areas, tennis courts, sports facilities and eight flats for visiting Muslim clerics.

Islamist group Tablighi Jamaat has submitted updated plans for what Cambridge-based architects NRAP are calling a "contemporary Islamic sacred space" the size of Battersea Power Station.

But last night campaigners against the proposal claimed the application was a smokescreen for wider intentions to create a hardline Islamic enclave in the capital. They also insisted facilities for the wider non-Muslim community in East London would be minimal and disguise Tablighi's real aim to establish a global base.

The group has been dubbed an "antechamber of fundamentalism" by French intelligence officials. Two of the July 7 bombers, Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Sidique Khan, and failed shoe bomber Richard Reid, left, are believed to have prayed at a Tablighi mosque in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

Alan Craig, campaign director of MegaMosque-NoThanks, said: "Newham Council wants a mixed use of the site with homes, shops and business units. The mosque trustees say they want to build a mosque the size of Battersea Power Station. Either way, it will be the UK's first custombuilt Sharia-controlled zone."

Daily Star Sunday, 7 October 2012

This is just the usual ignorant, misleading nonsense we have come to expect from the right-wing press on the subject of the Newham "mega-mosque" (which won't even be the largest mosque in London, as according to the present plan its capacity would be rather less than that of the Ahmadiyyas' Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden).

The fact that Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Sidique Khan may have attended the Dewsbury Markaz is statistically meaningless given that the mosque holds 3,000 worshippers, nor is there the slightest evidence that it influenced their turn to violent extremism. And the Star yet again rolls out the claim that Tablighi Jamaat is an "antechamber of fundamentalism", in order to suggest that a "fundamentalist" interpretation of religious belief necessarily constitutes a threat, while at the same time happily quoting Alan Craig, leader of the right-wing fundamentalist political party the Christian Peoples Alliance.

The reliability of Craig's views on the Newham project can be gauged by the fact that, when he stood as the Christian Choice candidate for London mayor in 2008, his original election broadcast was rejected by both the BBC and ITV who demanded that he remove his unsubstantiated accusations against Tablighi Jamaat.

In fact Craig's statements in that broadcast – he described TJ as "separatist" and implied that they were extremists – were quite mild by his standards. After the failed terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow in 2007, Craig issued a disgraceful press release declaring that the Newham mosque was "linked" to the bomb plots, in which he made the following inflammatory claim: "Tablighi Jamaat radicalises and dehumanises Muslim young men. They have a growing and ominous track record as further young men follow Tabligh teaching about Islam and then go on to plan horrendous atrocities."

Meanwhile, in a press release headed "Irate residents launch campaign against West Ham mega-mosque", Craig boasts that he and his sorry little gang of bigots (masquerading as concnerned "residents") have been out leafleting in Newham in an attempt to whip up fear and hatred over the mosque among the local non-Muslim population. Craig's actions have received the warm endorsement of the "counter-jihad" movement (see here and here).

The Daily Star Sunday report has also proved a source of inspiration to the far right. The English Defence League's Facebook page has provided a link to the article, provoking the following comments from EDL supporters:

View the Original article

Today your Guardian teams up with Waltham Forest Council to stop the English Defence League (EDL) peddling its hatred and prejudice in our borough for the second time in two months.

Our joint campaign "Waltham Forest – United. Strong. Together." calls on the government to step in and ban the EDL from going ahead with its planned march through Walthamstow on October 27.

The move follows hot on the heels of the EDL's last parade through the town on September 1, when its route was blocked by opponents who outnumbered the marchers by 10 to one.

Waltham Forest Council leader Chris Robbins has written to Home Secretary Theresa May to demand a meeting on the subject of banning the EDL from its planned return.

The council is also hosting an online petition – which you can sign to show the EDL how unwelcome it is here.

Over the coming weeks, we'll bring you regular updates on the campaign and tell you how you can get involved in keeping these people away from Waltham Forest.

Cllr Robbins said: "Knowingly putting our borough's residents in harm's way is not an option and I will do everything in my power to ensure the EDL is not able to spout its words of hatred in this borough. While we agree everyone has the right to protest, this latest stand by people with no connection to our borough is an abuse of that right."

Why should this group of right-wing thugs be allowed to come here whenever they like, spreading venomous rhetoric and trying to stir up trouble in an area where thousands of people from different backgrounds live perfectly happily together? Why should we stand back and see our residents put at risk?

Get involved, sign the petition and help us keep this malevolent group of right wing hooligans away from our borough.

Waltham Forest Guardian, 21 September 2012

In his letter to Theresa May, Chris Robbins states: "We called for a ban on the last march, but also encouraged residents to stay away from any counter protest. We refuse to do this again and will instead be calling on our whole community to come out and show everything that is great about the tolerant and diverse community who live here."

We understand that Chris Robbins also sent a copy of this letter to London mayor Boris Johnson asking for his support. It would be interesting to know what Johnson's response was.

[Illustration from EDL News]

View the Original article

A poster campaign by the German Interior Ministry against some young Muslims who the ministry claim might be Islamist radicals or terrorists due to their behavioral disorder has met with strong criticism from four Islamic organizations, which have frozen their cooperation with the ministry's "Security Partnership Initiative."

On Tuesday, the four participating Muslim associations – the Turkish-Islamic Union (DITIB), the Association of Islamic Cultural Centres (VIKZ), the Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD) and the Islamic Community of Bosniaks in Germany (IGBD) – said in a joint statement that the recent campaign could create new areas of conflict and therefore miss the real target.

The posters read "Missing" in large font above a portrait of a young man or woman, in the style of a missing person poster. Beneath the headline it reads: "This is our son Ahmad. We miss him, because we don't recognize him anymore. He is withdrawing more and more, becoming more radical every day. We are afraid of losing him altogether – to religious fanatics and terrorist groups. If you think like me, get into contact with the counseling centers of radicalization."

The "counseling center of radicalization" was founded under the "Security Partnership Initiative", which was launched by the ministry together with Muslim associations in June 2011.

The associations said that a permanent unilateral contextualization of violence, security policy and Islam – even if this is done with good intentions – could only lead to incorrect perceptions within the society. These counterproductive patterns of action and thought, they argued, put the Muslim population – which is a peaceful part of the German society – under suspicion and exert social and psychological pressure. They also claimed that they expected the initiative "to join forces to take, develop and implement appropriate measures against extremism of all stripes, since they all belong to the same department."

The Islamic Council also claimed in a separate press release against the poster campaign that the posters stigmatized Muslims and strengthened "the fear of Muslims and Islamophobia." The Islamic Council recommends the ministry "devote all its energy and power to clear up the the National Socialist Underground [NSU] terror and regain lost confidence, instead of continuing to lose it by such actions."

Also the associations asked the ministry to stop the so-called "Missing" poster campaign. Instead, the Home Office should reflect "on suitable instruments," "which serve the welfare and cohesion of the whole society," they said.

Germany's left-leaning Green Party's North Rhine-Westphalia deputy Arif Ünal has described it a huge mistake of the Interior Ministry to focus merely on the concept of Islamist terrorists when the 20th anniversary of the racist attacks in Rostock is commemorated and NSU murders are being investigated and racist attacks escalated to such a high level.

"An Interior Minister should have taken solid steps in the fight against racism," he said, claiming that showing all young Muslim people as potential criminals will increase the prejudices against them and will foster a culture of fear. "Also, a behavioral disorder is part of young people's development. When we look at development psychology, we see that every young men and women at the age of 15, 16 or 17 is excessively shy and introverted. It is a dangerous approach to perceive this as a sign of involving in terrorist groups," said Ünal, who is also a therapist.

Meanwhile, Nikolaus Schneider, president of the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), has said that Islam and Muslims are part of Germany. Schneider has said that Muslims who bring their faith to Germany and live in this country belong to Germany, and so Islam belongs to Germany. However, Islam could have developed a cultural and social power to a very limited degree, he added. 

Today's Zaman, 30 August 2012

See also Deutsche Welle, which reports:

"MiGAZIN reacted with a satirical version of the poster, showing a picture of the interior minister himself, with the notice: 'This is our Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich. We don't miss him, because we don't recognize him anymore. He is withdrawing more and more, becoming more radical every day. We are afraid he will disappear altogether – into the hands of right-wing fanatics and terrorist groups'."

For the wider context, see Abdullah Bozkurt, "Germany playing dangerous game with Muslims", Today's Zaman, 30 August 2012

View the Original article

Canberra's Muslim community has described planning approval for the territory's second mosque as a ''victory of goodwill''.

The ACT Planning and Land Authority yesterday approved Canberra Muslim Community Inc's application to build a 500-capacity mosque on The Valley Avenue in Gungahlin.

In their assessment, ACT planners found surrounding roads could cope with traffic generated by the mosque and that the proposed 43 on-site parking spaces were sufficient. Planners also said several objections to the mosque on religious and cultural grounds were found to be "irrelevant" and "unsubstantiated".

Canberra Muslim Community Inc president Borhan Ahmed said the green light for the project was a "victory" following an organised campaign by the Concerned Citizens of Canberra to prevent the development.

"It's a victory over those negative campaigns," he said. "I am so happy we have made it after many years of waiting. We thank all the Canberra community for their support."

Mr Ahmed said work at the site would begin as soon as possible, but was subject to a number of conditions set by the ACT government.

But he was wary the legal action in the ACT Supreme Court by the Concerned Citizens of Canberra also had the potential to stall the development.

Canberra Times, 30 August 2012

See also "Mosque campaign lawyer also fought Islamic school plan", Canberra Times, 28 August 2012

View the Original article

Demonstration against the English Defence League, Tower Hamlets June 2010In March this year the English Defence League's political wing, the British Freedom party, launched a letter campaign aimed at persuading MPs who had signed Unite Against Fascism's founding statement to withdraw their support from the organisation. The hook for this campaign was provided by a witch-hunting article by Andrew Gilligan (a journalist greatly admired by right-wing Islamophobes) who had accused UAF vice chair Azad Ali of being a fascist. The model letter provided by the BFP also included the claim that Azad Ali had been "exposed at the web site Harry's Place" (which has been another source of inspiration for far-right racists).

It appears that the only positive response the BFP received was from Brian Donohoe, Labour MP for Central Ayrshire, who took up the issue after being contacted by George Whale, editor of the British Freedom website. To the delight of the BFP, Donohoe replied to Whale with a friendly assurance that he was pursuing the question of UAF on his behalf: "I have written to both the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary asking for an update on this website as I am sure the majority of these 'signatories' are unaware their names are listed there." Donohoe also relayed to the Home and Foreign offices Whale's accusation that UAF is an extremist group.

Giving Donohoe the benefit of the doubt, we can only assume that he was unaware of Whale's political background – though you'd have to be politically very naive not to suspect that a constituent demanding that you sever links with an organisation committed to opposing the far right might, just possibly, have some connection to the far right himself.

As it turned out, Donohoe was given an admirably firm brush-off in a letter from James Brokenshire MP, parliamentary under secretary for crime and security at the Home Office. Brokenshire made it quite clear that the Home Office didn't buy the BFP's charge that UAF is an extremist organisation:

Unite Against Fascism (UAF) was formed in Great Britain in late 2003 in response to electoral successes by the British National Party (BNP). It began as a coalition that included the Anti-Nazi League, the National Assembly Against Racism, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and leading British unions such as the Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) (now Unite) and UNISON. Its honorary president in 2012 is said to be Doreen Lawrence.

If Donohoe or any of the other signatories to UAF's founding statement objected to their names appearing on the UAF website, Brokenshire suggested, then the simple solution was to contact UAF and ask for their names to be removed.

The letter concluded:

Your constituent also makes reference to a Daily Telegraph article by Andrew Gilligan about Mr Azad Ali who is the Vice Chair of UAF. Dr Whale is concerned that Mr Ali appears to want to destroy British democracy and replace it with Sharia law. Sharia is not part of the law of England and Wales.

Sharia principles are the code of personal religious law governing the conduct of Muslims. They can extend into all aspects of people's lives (for example requirements to give charitably, to follow certain dietary rules and to pray) but provided an activity prescribed by Sharia principles does not contravene the law of England and Wales, there is nothing that prevents people living by Sharia principles should they choose to.

This is part of people's legitimate right to freedom of expression and we must ensure that where [there] is a need to address something that is a recognised problem, we do not stigmatise the vast majority of Muslims who live peacefully in the United Kingdom and who contribute fully to our society.

I hope this clarifies the situation for your constituent.

You may wish to ask Brian Donohoe why he allowed himself to be used in this way by a leading figure in a far-right group that serves as the political arm of a gang of racist street thugs. He can be contacted at brian.donohoe.mp@parliament.uk

View the Original article

BNP leader Nick Griffin is due to lead a demonstration in Sunderland tomorrow. Mr Griffin and members of his party are planning to take part in a demonstration against the use of halal meat in Subway sandwich shops in the city.

However, despite claiming their protest is neither politically or racially motivated, their plans were today condemned. Tahir Khan, chairman of the multi-cultural organisation Unity, said: "Picking on religious beliefs is very evil-minded and is wrong morally. I think the BNP is just wasting its time and resources."

As part of a day of action, they plan to congregate outside the St Luke's Terrace Subway shop in Pallion to raise awareness about what they claim is a "barbaric" practice.

In the past, the party has taken part in similar protests in other parts of the country, including South Tyneside.

Martin Vaughan, North East BNP representative, said: "My party has campaigned for many years about the barbaric slaughter of these poor animals. They should not be ritually slaughtered in this country and it's a barbaric way to kill animals. It's got nothing to do with religion. It's all about the health and safety of the animals. It's diabolical that this is allowed in this country."

According to Islamic law, halal meat must come from a healthy animal, the butcher must make a recitation dedicating it to God, and the jugular vein, carotid artery and windpipe must be cut before the blood is drained. With non-halal meat, the animal is stunned before having its throat slit.

The BNP also plans on lobbying the RSPCA about the issue, which they claim the animal charity ignores.

Sunderland Echo, 18 July 2012

In fact you can read the RSPCA's briefing on religious slaughter here.

Unlike the BNP leaflet, it is based on actual evidence, pointing out that 90% of halal meat produced in the UK is stunned before slaughter, whereas no kosher meat is pre-stunned. So, if the BNP's claim that pre-stunning is more humane were true – which is itself questionable – then their objections would be mainly directed against ritual slaughter within the Jewish community.

The fact that the BNP makes no mention of shechita is hardly accidental. They have concluded that these days there is little mileage in publicly promoting antisemitism and much more to be gained from stoking up public prejudice against the "barbaric" culture of Islam. Their supposed concern for animal rights is of course just a smokescreen.

View the Original article

Members of Gungahlin's evangelical community are distributing extremist material from overseas in their campaign against the construction of a mosque on The Valley Avenue.

A senior pastor at a Gungahlin evangelical church contacted The Canberra Times and supplied a video of far-right agitator Paul Weston, the chairman of the British Freedom Party. In the eight-minute video, Mr Weston says Islam was "worse than Nazism" and claimed Islamic influence in Britain would lead to civil war.

The Gungahlin pastor declined to be interviewed yesterday, but said the video had been circulated via email through associates in the community.

The pastor added that their church was not involved in the anti-mosque campaign by the "Concerned Citizens of Canberra".

In the video, Mr Weston said: "Islam in its most fundamental form is Nazism in its desire for global supremacy … In fact, Islam is even worse than Nazism".

Canberra Times, 13 July 2012

The video is an extract from a speech by Weston in Toronto in February. If you can stomach it, you can watch it here.

The British Freedom Party has been building links with co-thinkers in Australia for some time. Last November it ran an interview with the leader of the far-right Australian Protectionist Party.

Incidentally, the Canberra Times is holding a poll on the question "Are you for or against the proposed mosque at Gungahlin?" You can vote here.

View the Original article

A key figure in the opposition to the Gungahlin mosque is a Christian fundamentalist activist who lives at least 15 kilometres away from the proposed site.

The secretive participants in the campaign against the mosque have consistently told media and government that they are concerned with local planning issues including traffic and noise.

But The Canberra Times has established that the spokesman for the group "Concerned Citizens of Canberra" describes himself as a pastor with Olive Tree Ministries and hosts fortnightly meetings at a prayer house in Yarralumla.

Irwin Ross, a Higgins resident who lives a 20-minute drive from the proposed mosque site, hosted last Sunday's closed meeting at Gungahlin Library, but it is unclear whether or not he organised the meeting. The meeting was held after the Concerned Citizens of Canberra distributed anonymous anti-mosque flyers to homes in the northern suburb.

A biography for Mr Ross posted on the website of Canberra's Christian radio station 1WAYFM says he has ministered in churches in Australia, the Philippines and Russia and has "a passion to teach and preach on the Hebrew roots of Christianity". Mr Ross hosts fortnightly Passover dinners for a group at the Canberra House of Prayer in Yarralumla.

The Canberra Times contacted Mr Ross yesterday and asked about his activities as a pastor of Olive Tree Ministries but Mr Ross said he did not want to comment.

Associates and acquaintances of Mr Ross in the Christian community said Mr Ross was known around Canberra's churches for his stridently pro-Israel views.

The Canberra Times attended Sunday's Concerned Citizens of Canberra meeting in Gungahlin, but was asked to leave after participants opposing the building of the mosque said media should not be present. After the meeting, one of the participants made threats of physical violence to a Canberra Times photographer.

A detailed document by the group has since emerged that instructs Gungahlin residents on how to lodge objections to the proposed mosque plans. The document asks the ACT government to take into account the long-term effect the mosque may have on social harmony, and states a mosque "seeks to dominate the area in which it is placed".

Submissions to the government in response to Canberra Muslim Community's development application closed yesterday.

"There are processes in place for people to have their say," Multicultural Affairs Minister Joy Burch said. "Everybody has a legitimate right to raise concerns about various projects, but to guise concerns about faith, religion or culture through other things such as traffic – that is not the way we do it here. To me, anything that is biased against developments based on culture or faith is unacceptable."

Canberra Muslim Community president Borhan Ahmed said the organisation had been transparent in its development plans and just wanted to be given "a fair go". He said the development application addressed planning concerns such as traffic and parking and any noise would be minimal because the mosque would not broadcast the call to prayer.

Mr Ahmed said Canberra Muslim Community was happy to meet with the Concerned Citizens of Canberra to discuss any issues they had with the development proposal.

"I would like to say to them, I don't know them, but we don't want any problem with anybody around us," he said. "We are a very peaceful community and we are prepared to have discussions with them if they are open and come to embrace us. We are always prepared to talk to people and address any concerns that they might have."

Mr Ahmed said he believed the group represented a minority of views and he had received "overwhelming" support from the Canberra community for the mosque.

Canberra Times, 7 July 2012

The Olive Tree Ministries to which Ross is attached is presumably the Australian section of this Minnesota-based Christian Zionist outfit. Its founder Jan Markell defended the killing of nine people during Israel's May 2010 attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla on the grounds that this was part of "a spiritual battle between God's people and the satanic forces controlling Israel's enemies".

View the Original article