Islamophobia Watch

Comparisons with the 1930s

Following the Secretary General's interview with the Daily Telegraph on 10 November, the Muslim Council of Britain releases the following transcript for the discussion relating to comparisions with the 1930s.

Dr Bari: "Muslims are in the centre of discussion that is accepted by everyone. There is a disproportionate amount of discussion surrounding us. The air is thick with suspicion and unease. It is not good for the Muslim community; it is not good for the society. I think it is creating a scare in the community and wider society. It probably helps some people who try to recruit the young to terrorism. Muslim young people are as vulnerable as any others. Under this climate of fear they will begin to feel victimised. Every society has to be really careful so the situation doesn't lead us to a time when people's mind can be poisoned as they were in 1930's. If your community is perceived in a very negative manner, and poll after poll says that we are alienated, then Muslims begin to feel very vulnerable. We are seen as creating problems, not as bringing anything good for the society."

The account as published only included selections,which is understandable given the limitations of space on the printed page. However what is inexcusable is an editorial insertion which has upset many and led to the MCB receiving abusive calls and hate mail. The Daily Telegraph insertion was a statement never made by Dr Bari: "Britain must, he warns, beware of becoming like Nazi Germany".

MCB news release, 15 November 2007

"... here is how John Reid could prove that he was really tough. Here is the bravest thing he could possibly say. He should say that the real problem in our society, and the reason we have so many disaffected and alienated Muslim youths, is that for a generation he and people like him supported the disastrous multicultural agenda. The reason that 40 per cent of British Muslims would like some form of Sharia law in this country is that the Left has traditionally deprecated British institutions and even the teaching of English. A truly brave John Reid would now publicly grovel to Ray Honeyford, the Bradford head who called for teaching in English and who was vilified and persecuted by the Left."

Boris Johnson in the Daily Telegraph, 16 November 2006

In a notorious article published in the Salisbury Review in 1984 Honeyford claimed to expose "the real educational consequences of the general acceptance of the notion that multi-racial inner cities are not only inevitable but, in some sense, desirable". Reporting on a meeting with Bradford Asian parents at his school, he wrote: "The hysterical political temperament of the Indian sub-continent became evident – an extraordinary sight in an English School Hall." He denounced as "totalitarian" the proposals that "Schoolbooks with a racist content should be scrapped. Racist teachers should be dismissed." And this is the man Boris Johnson acclaims as a hero!

"In recent years, anti-terror legislation, coupled with a multi-fold increase in stop-and-search rates, hundreds of false raids and detentions, control orders that are based on flimsy evidence and inconsistent judicial sentences have created a sense of suspicion, fear, intimidation, distrust and possibly even hatred throughout society. And not only within the Muslim community for whom these measures seem to have been designed, but throughout society as a whole....

"How would a person feel if they saw their street cordoned off at dawn by the anti-terror squad who then move to blast into their neighbour's house and drag one or two people out handcuffed and blindfolded? ... How should we view Atif Siddique, charged with possessing material (downloadable from the internet) being handed an eight-year prison sentence when Robert Cottage, formerly of the BNP and found with what was described as the largest haul of chemical explosives, a rocket launcher and a nuclear biological suit, was jailed for quarter of that term?

"What of Samina Malik, or the 'lyrical terrorist', who wrote silly and childish poems glorifying terrorism on the back of WH Smith receipts and who now expects to be handed a prison sentence following a media frenzy, and is seen and described in the same light as the DVLA bomber, Miles Cooper?

"The UK already has the longest pre-charge detention period in the western world and, by all accounts, it doesn't seem to be working. What is required is a new and creative line of thinking as to what mistakes have been committed and how new approaches can be adopted so that the fight for our collective security, safety and prosperity, can become a common ambition of everyone who lives in this country. That would be a way of life worth fighting for."

Anas Altikiriti at Comment is Free, 16 November 2007

OTTAWA – Liberals have lost their enthusiasm for forcing veiled Muslim women to show their faces if they want to vote in federal elections. Some Grit MPs now admit the party was wrong to jump on the bandwagon two months ago, joining the three other federal parties in demanding that Elections Canada insist all voters uncover their faces.

At the time, the parties were contesting three crucial by-elections in Quebec, where the issue of veiled voters was part of a heated debate over how far the province should go in accommodating immigrants.

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion was among those who initially urged Elections Canada to revisit its decision not to compel by-election voters to show their faces. But now that the Tory government has introduced legislation to require precisely that, Mr. Dion is hinting that Liberals won't support it.

Moncton MP Brian Murphy, who led off debate for the Liberals on the bill, suggested the issue of veiled voters is a tempest in a teapot. He said the legislation is unnecessary, that it targets Muslim women, and possibly violates equality guarantees in the Charter of Rights.

Globe and Mail, 16 November 2007

Determined MPs from across the political spectrum prepared to fight Prime Minister Gordon Brown's plans to extend detention without trial to 58 days yesterday.

Mr Brown has declared that he believes that a cross-party consensus can be found on the issue. But the Tories, Liberal Democrats and many Labour MPs are opposed to any extension of internment beyond the 28-day compromise that was agreed after former premier Tony Blair was defeated in the Commons in 2005 over proposals for a 90-day limit.

Back then, 49 Labour rebels voted against the government. Mr Brown enjoys a working majority of 69 seats in the Commons. If he can win the backing of some Northern Irish parties, over 40 Labour MPs would have to rebel to save traditional British liberties.

Click to read more ...

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton said Thursday a plan to map out where Muslims lived had been scrapped, saying strong reaction from Muslim communities forced the department to change course. "The proposal will not be moving forward," Bratton said, standing with several Muslim leaders after a closed-door meeting. "It's dead on arrival."

Muslim groups praised the move, but said reversing the damage would take a long time. "We hope to receive a written statement from the chief on the demise of the plan, and a recognition of the pain it caused in our communities," said Shakeel Syed, executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California. "We'll also wait to get new ideas of engagement from the chief."

Deputy Chief Michael P. Downing announced last week that the department's counterterrorism bureau planned to identify Muslim enclaves to determine which might be likely to become isolated and susceptible to "violent, ideologically based extremism."

The plan was immediately and roundly criticized by Muslim and civil rights groups who said it amounted to religious profiling. Many argued it would achieve the opposite of its intent, making Muslims hesitant to work with authorities. "My first mistake was not reaching out to more groups" before announcing the plan, Downing said.

Associated Press, 16 November 2007

Stand by for a denunciation of the LAPD at Dhimmi Watch.

Self-styled "comedian" Pat Condell, hero of the National Secular Society, delivers his verdict on the Muslim Council of Britain – "duplicitous, mealy-mouthed, unprincipled, terrorist-sympathising scum" – and helpfully outlines his prescription for promoting harmony between Britain's diverse communities:

"You know what's good for community relations? People who come to this country and adapt happily to our way of life, or if they find it's not quite to their taste they piss off and live somewhere else. That's really good for community relations. If you don't like how we do things in Britain, get out. You weren't invited here and you're not wanted here."

In the course of this latest rant Condell expresses indignation that he has become something of a hero among racists and fascists too. Now, why do you suppose that might be, Pat?

Video (if you can stomach it) here

A victim of a racially motivated vandalism attack spoke of his horror today as fears of an escalation of racist graffiti in Ipswich grew. Ipswich grocer Koysor Miah, who is a member of Ipswich's Muslim community, spoke of his shock after vandals daubed a string of swastikas and racist abuse on shops and a mosque in the town. Mr Miah said the attacks would frighten worshippers at Shahjalal Mosque after it was one of seven buildings targeted this week.

Abusive words were scrawled on the mosque and the side of Al-Amin Halal Grocery, both on St Helen's Street, and also on the exterior of a Suffolk New College building on Rope Walk. Swastikas were painted on a newsagent's shutter and the side of the Millennium Martial Arts Centre building, both on St Helen's Street, as well as in a subway on St Matthew's Street and on a front wall of a Norwich Road property.

Suffolk Evening Star, 15 November 2007

"What kind of leader launches an open assault on the press, accusing it of jeopardising public safety and demanding that it put its 'house in order'? What sort of ruler proposes 'guidelines' to the press on what stories it should cover, and even worse, what kind of language it should use to cover them, what kind of people it should employ, and what kind of values it should uphold and communicate to the mass of the population? Kim Jong-il, perhaps? Saddam Hussein, before he was chased into his hole in the ground and later executed? How about Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London?

"This week, 'Red Ken', as some people insist on calling him, launched a report on British media coverage of 'Muslim issues'. Titled The Search for Common Ground: Muslims, Non-Muslims and the UK Media, the report was commissioned by Livingstone's Greater London Authority. It explores the alleged rise of Islamophobia in the media. And in the name of tackling the apparent spread of prejudice through the papers (especially tabloid ones), Livingstone and his supporters have crossed a line normally only transgressed by despots: they're using their political clout to try to shape the media in their own image. Strip away all the PC lingo about 'protecting Muslims', and the London mayor's latest initiative comes across as an intolerable attack on press freedom."

Brendan O'Neill continues the ex-RCP's journey from ultra-leftism to right-wing "libertarianism".

Spiked, 15 November 2007

At Comment is Free Angela Phillips and Laura Smith discuss The Search for Common Ground: Muslims, Non-Muslims and the UK Media, the report published by the Mayor of London this week.