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Last Friday Newham People's Alliance, which is committed to "fighting the institutional social and religious cleansing of Newham", organised a well-attended demonstration outside Newham Town Hall protesting against the local council's treatment of the Riverine Centre.

Newham Council is taking legal action to evict the Muslim organisation currently operating a temporary mosque on the Abbey Mills site, which is used by 2,500 people, and in December a council planning committee rejected proposals to build a permanent centre there – the so-called "mega-mosque".

A spokesman for the Trustees of the Riverine Centre was quoted by the Newham Recorder as opposing last week's demonstration and stating that Newham People's Alliance "have nothing to do with our organisation and they do not have our support".

Today the Recorder has published a statement from the Alliance, who say they are "a non-partisan muti-faith, multi-party pressure group formed to compel those in power into dialogue with the ordinary people of Newham" and that they "represent the working class majority who have been neglected by a mayor busy empire building at the expense of the most deprived and vulnerable people in his borough".

This is followed by a statement from Newham Council, which accuses the Alliance of busing people in from outside the borough to attend its protest and declares that the council "will not be bullied by a vocal minority into favouring one part of our community over others".

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Bremen is the third German state to recognize Islamic organizations as official religious bodies. Holidays, funerals and pastoral care will be regulated by state contracts. Other states will likely follow suit.

For Erol Pürlü, spokesman for the German Muslim coordination council, the signing of the contract with the city-state of Bremen marked a "day of joy". Three Muslim associations were officially recognized as religious bodies. "That sends a clear signal that Islam belongs to Germany," said Pürlü.

Bremen is the third German state to confer this status on Islamic organizations. Hamburg made a similar agreement last November, while Hesse officially recognized two Islamic organizations and allowed them to offer their own religious classes in schools in December.

Deutsche Welle, 29 January 2013

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Under the upbeat headline "Kev Carroll Becomes British Freedom Chairman", the British Freedom party reports the rather less positive news that their previous chairman, Paul Weston, has in fact resigned.

According to the BFP, Weston has "stepped down to concentrate on a literary contribution to the battle against Britain's national trajectory". Which I suppose is another way of saying that he has, quite understandably, decided that the BFP is a complete waste of time.

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Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny is breaking ranks with his Russian-speaking base by tossing his weight behind the controversial Sheepshead Bay mosque – a move that community leaders say could wreck his re-election bid because the shrine isn't even in his district.

Brook-Krasny – a Democrat whose area covers Coney Island and Brighton Beach, as well as parts of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, but none of the bay – gave his backing to the rising, four-story structure on Voorhies Avenue between E. 28th and E. 29th streets while speaking at an Arab-American Association of New York candidate forum in Bay Ridge on Oct. 11.

The lawmaker, himself an ex-Soviet Jewish emigre, said he supported the mosque's construction for personal reasons. "As people who came here for religious freedom, how can we deny religious freedom to another group?" Brook-Krasny told the largely Middle Eastern audience at PS 170 on Sixth Avenue between 71st and 72nd streets. "If we start taking freedoms from certain groups, we are no longer the country of the American Dream."

The stance puts him at odds with ex-Soviet Jews, many of whom belong to the Bay Group, which has long-battled the moque's construction in court, warned one Russian media mogul who added that Russian-speaking immigrants can be one-issue voters. "I wouldn't tell any politician who wants Russian votes to take a position that's pro-mosque," said Gregory Davidzon, owner of Davidzon Radio. "People will vote against anyone who openly supports the mosque."

Brook-Krasny said he's already feeling the heat from his constituents. "I have been grilled for my position," said the assemblyman, who added he won't be backing down. "I have three mosques in my district, and they are fine people, hard-working people – it's not fair and it's not right."

Brooklyn Daily, 18 October 2012

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Mehdi Hasan, political director of The Huffington Post UK, called for a crackdown on the culture of Islamophobia and argued freedom of speech was not an "absolute right" during a debate on Thursday.

Speaking opposite Times columnist David Aaronovitch at a HuffPost/Polis debate, on the right to offend, Mr Hasan argued free speech was being "fetishized" and claimed many free-speech campaigners in the west were guilty of "brazen hypocrisy. "

"We have a civic duty not to offend others," he told the a packed audience at the London School of Economics. How can you construct a civilised, cohesive society if we go round encouraging everyone to insult each other willy nilly?

"Yes we do have a right to offend but it's not the same as having a duty to be offensive. You have a responsibility not to go out of your way to piss people off. I have the right to fart in a lift, but I don't do it because it is offensive. Some people want the right to be offensive but then get cross when people are offended."

In what soon became a heated discussion, David Aaronovitch challenged his view that freedom of speech could be practised with discretion or restraint, telling Mr Hasan: "you cannot decide from your Olympian aerie what is good and not good." He argued that not being offended and being "less touchy" was the only way to live in harmony, saying "at a global level if we are going to get on we are going to have to put up with these things."

Mr Aaronovitch told the hall it was simply not practical to be offended in a world where social media allows offensive views to circulate with virulent intensity. "I simply cannot afford to be offended every time someone retweets something obnoxious," he said. "People need to get a thicker skin."

Mr Hasan argued that the debate about the right to offend in relation to the French cartoons and the US movie could not be divorced from the climate of Islamophobia, "depressingly rampant" in some parts of our society – especially the media.

"You can say things about Muslims which you can't say about any other group of people" he said. "For Muslims right now there is a huge sense of fear and insecurity. It is irresponsible to suggest we just need a thicker skin. This is a majority-minority debate. To pick on Muslims in France...Oh God, how brave you must be."

Mr Hasan told an audience member: "We crack down on anti-Semitism and we don't allow it to go mainstream in the same way Islamophobia is. I firmly believe this is a debate about racism too."

Huffington Post, 11 October 2012

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The racists and fascists of the English Defence League (EDL) were comprehensively routed on Saturday. Thousands of anti-fascists blocked their march route and stopped their rally in Walthamstow, east London.

The EDL only managed to mobilise 200, mostly hardcore Nazis. The anti-fascist demonstration, in contrast, brought some 4,000 people together representing all the diversity of one of London's most proudly multiracial areas.

"It's been a brilliant day – we completely trashed them," said Siobhan, a Waltham Forest resident. "We had a really united campaign that reached out to the whole community. We wanted to stop the EDL and that's what we did."

Police had planned to march the EDL down Forest Road from Blackhorse Road tube station to the town hall for a rally. But this route was blocked by the anti-fascist march, which staged a sit-down protest at a key junction between Hoe Street and Forest Road.

This mass action sent the police plans into disarray. From that moment on it was downhill all the way for the Nazis.

Anti-fascists split into smaller groups at this point, some staying at Hoe Street with others breaking off to occupy other key points. The EDL march was rerouted through the back streets of Walthamstow, where they met abuse and hostility from local people.

One group of around 400 anti-fascists broke through to occupy the EDL's rally point outside the town hall. EDL leaders Tommy Robinson and Kev Carroll were there with a dozen or so supporters. They had to take down their sound system.

Robinson and Carroll were visibly shaken by the size and anger of the anti-fascist presence at the very place they had planned to hold their rally. The pair were later witnessed having a blazing row with each other.

Meanwhile local youths in small groups played cat-and-mouse with the police and harassed the EDL. The police announced that the EDL rally had been cancelled and ferried the despondent racists back home the way they came. There were no arrests on the anti-fascist side.

At points the uglier side of the EDL's racism came out. A Socialist Worker journalist witnessed the EDL yelling "jump" as they passed a black resident looking down on them from his balcony.

But as they slunk off they knew they had been beaten. They couldn't even manage their characterstic grunting chant of "E-E-EDL". Instead the air was thick with local youth jeering at them and chanting "Nazi scum, off our streets".

The day had started with an anti-EDL rally nearby Walthamstow Central station, hosted by Unite Against Fascism and We Are Waltham Forest.

"We live just round the corner and we feel strongly about this," local resident Aftab told Socialist Worker. "It's about for our rights in Walthamstow. I lived here in the 1980s and I'm not going back to that racism. So it's good to see so many people here."

Speakers included local MP Stella Creasy, alongside speakers from mosques, trade unions, faith groups and local activists.

Mark Campbell from the UCU union at London Metropolitan University spoke about the battle there to stop the threatened deportation of up to 3,000 international students who have had their visas revoked by the UK Border Authority.

"There's a connection here," he said. "Racist policies by the government give confidence to racist thugs on the streets. That's why trade unionists have to stand up against racism and fascism."

The mood was confident and upbeat, especially when protesters saw the size and diversity of those that had come out to try and stop the EDL. This mood grew as they day went on and the extent of the EDL's humiliation became clear.

Weyman Bennett, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism, told Socialist Worker, "We came, we saw, we defeated the EDL. This magnificent alliance that brought together anti-fascists, trade unionists, faith and community organisations is a model that can defeat the racists."

Socialist Worker, 1 September 2012

See also "They did not pass: Walthamstow residents send English Defence League packing", Morning Star, 1 September 2012

And "Very few EDL show-up in Walthamstow", Indymedia, 1 September 2012

Also Peter Marsall "We are Waltham Forest greatly outnumber EDL in Walthamstow", Demotix, 1 September 2012

Update:  Over at Atlas Shrugs mad Pamela Geller has posted a fantasy account of the events in Walthamstow, according to which "1000 freedom lovers" (i.e. the racists and fascists of the EDL) were confronted by "Muslims kicking off and rioting burning cars". The source for this claim is a leading EDL member named Mickey Bayliss. That would this Mickey Bayliss. Memo to Pamela: if you're going to stick with the ludicrous story that the EDL aren't racist, you'd be well advised to avoid drawing attention to people like Bayliss.

Update 2:  See "Magnificent show of unity in Wathamstow", UAF news report, 2 September 2012

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One of the main jobs of Muslim teachers is to train the children to know the Arabic language. This is part of Islam as it will enable the student to have the capacity to learn the Qur’an and interact well with other Muslims. Many Islamic parents prefer when their children visit the Islamic schools and this will enable them to learn knowing the Islamic culture and the teachers play a big role in such cases. They need to know how to read and translate the teachings to the student. This makes the children grow up disciplined, and focused on the Islamic way of life.

The Muslim teachers need to have a specialty in the teaching field. This will make them know the subject area they are teaching and at the same time know the religion. When they have graduated and have the capacity to work as teachers, they need to settle with the subject of interest and teach the children well. Some of the teachers are good in games, while others are good in drama and community development. It is the responsibility of every Islamic teacher, to play the guidance role in teaching the children the Islamic way of life and his will improve their communication, and have the passion to know more about this religion.

It is the duty of the Muslim teacher to assists the children when they need further clarification when it comes to matters of religion. When one does not understand the Qur’an well or want to find out more on the teachings, the teachers need to be present and expound more on the subject matter. This shows a good example and the students have the chance to spread the word to other students who might also need this information.

When it comes to prayer sessions, many students tend to forget the routine especially if they are new converts in the Islamic world. The teachers need to set the example by leading the students in prayers and when it comes to fasting, they take time to initiate the meetings of the religious groups and take the front line in setting the best example. When the students see the teachers have set the best examples, they will also emulate them since they are the mentors and take time to instill the culture of Islam.

The teacher is the leader of the students and this means they have to live according to what they preach. It will be very indecent for the teacher to take sides when solving cases and yet preach equality. This means that the institution needs to settle with the Muslim teacher who has the passion to do according to the Islamic way of life. At times, the students need a role model and when they see the teacher is kind, peaceful and attention to the holy world, they seem to admire him and devote to the word. This plays a big role in boosting their education and religion in general. A good Islamic teacher lives by the word and strives to preach it to the entire world.

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Channel News 5 reports that former Saturday Night Live cast member Victoria Jackson arrived Tennessee this week in her capacity as a "citizen journalist" for the right-wing website the Patriot Update to highlight the threat posed by the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.

Jackson explained: "I'm trying to use my fading SNL fame to shine a light on a topic that nobody in the media will talk about. ... I think this big Islamic center will be a breeding ground for terrorists. I mean, duh! I mean, this is the Bible Belt, and Murfreesboro is the buckle on the Bible Belt, and it's a college town, so my feeling is they came here to convert people to Islam."

To which Jack Silverman of the Nashville Scene replies: "They came here to convert people to Islam. Uh, Victoria, is trying to convert people to their religion a problem? Because in the 15 years I've lived in Nashville, I've had people try to convert me to Christianity somewhere in the area of 15 to 20 times. And the number of times Muslims have tried to convert me? Uh, let me think. Zero."

Silverman is also unimpressed by Jackson's announcement that she had interviewed Republican congressional candidate Lou Ann Zelenik, who she described as "an expert on Islam". Silverman observes that this is "like calling David Duke an expert on black people".

Nashville Scene, 17 April 2012

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