For Mucahit Bilici, comedy offers the means to invert the distorting power of stereotypes. This is true for anyone who has experienced racism and Islamophobia. This inversion reflects a recent Twitter trend that ridiculed the Sun’s claim that one in five Muslims has ‘sympathy for jihadis’. The hashtag #1in5Muslims also created a wider discussion about Islamophobia. The polling company behind the Sun poll, Survation, faced criticisms for its methodological approach. It told the Guardian that it picked “1,500 Muslim surnames” from its database. Telephone interviews did not proceed until the individuals identified confirmed an Islamic belief. Monday’s edition of the Sun had claimed that this sympathy extended to ISIS. But the poll did specify any group. It rather sought, in a simplistic and vague manner, to gauge ‘sympathy’ with Muslims who had joined fighters in Syria. Fighters could extend to other groups including anti-Assad forces and Kurdish groups. The Sun’s political editor Tom Newton-Dunn wrote “if the poll reflected views across the country it would mean 500,000 have some support for jihadis“. To extend that logic, a Survation poll in March for Sky News asked the same question to non-Muslims. It found that 14 per cent had expressed ‘sympathy’. If that poll reflected national opinion it would mean [...]
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Are British Muslims, as Nigel Farage argues, “conflicted in their loyalties” to Britain? It is a statement that drew wide political condemnation; but somewhat misses the point. The statement has two clear aims: to suture the wounds of embarrassing financial revelations and reassure supporters that Farage shares their anxieties towards Muslims, their faith, cultural identity and immigration. In a speech to a eurosceptic rally in Hampshire, Farage again referenced a “fifth column in this country”. In the fallout of the Paris atrocities in January, Farage warned of a “fifth column” operating within Britain. Rhetoric that mirrors the language of Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik. Farage repeated the “fifth column” claim in March 2015. That Hampshire speech again reinforced the idea of a “Judeo-Christian” culture – a statement Farage also made after the first Paris atrocities in January. Yet the idea of this shared religious and cultural experience owes more to myth than fact. Farage also wants all faiths institutions to declare their funding in an effort to root out radicalisation. On November 16, Farage tweeted “It is deeply worrying that after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, 27% of British Muslims in a poll found some sympathy with the killers.” Perhaps, a reflection [...]
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This October marks two years since Tommy Robinson departed from the English Defence League (EDL). The Quilliam Foundation had called it “a huge success for community relations in the United Kingdom” and urged others, within far-right and Islamist circles to follow suit. Their staff “facilitated” both Robinson’s departure, and that of the EDL’s co-founder, Kevin Carroll. Quilliam had also offered both men education on Islam and training in lobbying. Robinson aimed to tackle Islamist ideologies “not with violence but with better, democratic ideas”. He later told BBC Radio 5’s Nicky Campbell “I want to lead the revolution against Islamist ideology, I don’t want to lead the revolution against Muslims“. When asked if he had regrets, he replied “I apologise if what I have said and represented has not resonated individually with Muslims”. Beyond these pristine, mineralised and rehearsed statements, the cracks sat in plain sight. Days before the announcement, Robinson’s Twitter feed continued to pump out anti-Islam content. Two days before Quilliam’s press conference Robinson had tweeted “Muslims created Islamophobia themselves… Go figure!!! They don’t challenge the extremists so we will!!!” Days earlier he tweeted that “Global war/holocaust on Christians… We all know it’s #Islam fueling it…“ Robinson retweeted an [...]
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More than 40 Syrian rebel factions have condemned the Russian involvement in a war that almost brought President Bashar al-Assad a “crushing defeat”. The United States views the Russian bombing of CIA-backed rebel forces as an intentional act. Nor can Russia stop ‘volunteers’ fighting in pro-Assad ranks. For some, this is a continuation of an old alliance. Russia’s ties with Syria deepened when the Soviet Union forged a military alliance with Bashar al-Assad’s father, Hafez. As Charles Lister argued “Russia’s claim that its forces are there only to target Islamic State should be taken with a large grain of salt”. In spite of this continued crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to draw support from the British far-right. Britain First wrote “We say well done Russia and good luck!” when news of the first airstrikes broke. The party accepts the Russian narrative without question – including the annexation of Crimea. Britain First extends a measure of support to Assad’s regime as a buffer against the competing totalitarianism of ISIS. A recent pro-Assad Facebook post read “TYRANTS DON’T VOLUNTARILY OFFER TO STEP DOWN. ASSAD HAS BEEN FIGHTING ISIS AND AL-NUSRA FROM DAY ONE. THE WEST’S ACTIONS IN SYRIA HAVE ONLY FACILITATED [...]
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A rare copy of the King James Bible, dating back to the 17th Century, reappeared in Wales. A moment of curiosity from St Giles Parish Church’s vicar Reverend Dr Jason Bray in Wrexham led to its rediscovery. The National Library of Wales later confirmed its authenticity. Dr Bray told the Daily Post that “The title page and the last page are missing but other than that it’s in good condition”. The first edition King James Bible dates back to 1611 and is one of just 200 copies known to still exist. It is also known as the Authorised Version (AV) of the bible in English Other English language bible translations did exist before the seventeenth century. Yet, politics often got in the way of a standardised translation. The 1408 Constitutions of Oxford made biblical translations in England forbidden. This ban attempted to prevent a rise in English “Lutheranism”. Only the educated classes had access to the authorised translation of the bible – St Jerome’s Vulgate. William Tyndale (1494–1536) left for Germany in 1524 hoping to translate the New Testament into English. It took two years for a complete translation to appear in England and Scotland. His first attempt failed after [...]
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Continue ReadingFour men accused of a faith-based hate crime will appear at York Crown Court on October 9 after a Christian teenager was allegedly the victim of four incidents that took place between July 2014 and May 2015. The York Press detailed how Andrew Addison, 30, and three others, are alleged to have filmed themselves assaulting the victim with a lit aerosol, taping a dummy to his mouth as he was bound to a chair, sending him a threatening message on Facebook, and binding the young churchgoer to a crucifix in early 2015. Christopher Jackson, 21, Alex Puchir, 37, and Joseph Richard Rose, 21, are charged alongside Addison with a religiously-aggravated assault in Hull. At an earlier court appearance, at York Magistrates Court, the prosecution alleged that the four accused men knew the victim was a committed Christian. Rose also faces additional charges relating to allegations of sending him a threatening message over Snapchat. Lee-Anne Robins-Hicks, defending the accused, indicated they would plead not-guilty.
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Continue ReadingH&M’s latest new fashion campaign ‘Close the loop‘ has drawn the ire of Britain First supporters. The source of their indignation is a Muslim model named Mariah Idrissi. Britain First concluded that ‘As the number of Muslims in Britain increases, so will their prominence in the media’. Though that logic presents a flaw, as Ms Idrissi told Fusion “It always feels like women who wear hijab are ignored when it comes to fashion.” Nor did Britain First inform supporters that the campaign also features a diverse cast: from an amputee model, to plus-sized models, and a group of Sikh men. Funny that. So why the single focus? Forget H&M or Mariah Idrissi for a moment. It is not about that. The story serves a wider purpose – to play on the insecurities individuals hold towards Muslims in Britain. A variety of comments called for boycott of H&M. Others opined that ‘Islam belongs in the desert away from the civilised world’. One user wrote that ‘I’m SICK of turning on the tv and seeing Muslims on it. I don’t pay a licence to see that sort of vermin’. To stray from a perceived notion of cultural identity invokes bigoted, racist, and [...]
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MPs are to debate claims that “foreign citizens are taking all our benefits” and immigrants are “trying to change UK into a Muslim country” on October 19. Any parliamentary petition signed by more than 100,000 people becomes eligible for debate. But are the 186,174 signatures collected genuine? The petition first appeared on a thread on Democracy Forum on August 26. When the poster first promoted the petition it had just 8 signatures. A day later, thanks to social media spamming, the number hit 1,000 signatures. As one poster reflected: “It’s now been shared on a few USA sites so hopefully will get a few more signatories”. By 7pm on August 27, the user who shared the petition wrote: “1400 is a reasonable number considering the petition is only 3 days old”. On September 3, a forum post confirmed that the petition had hit 8,000 signatures. But is that rise a product of online spam? Hours before that post, an individual in a 4chan discussion advocating the racist spamming of a pro-refugee petition wrote: “Guys 5,000 nearly signed this petition to end immigration to UK GET IN HERE, AND USE THE FROGS GENERATOR”. Screenshot of the post advocating the spam tactic [...]
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Continue ReadingHertfordshire Police arrested a man after three incidents of criminal damage caused at churches in Hitchin and Letchworth on August 25. A 38-year-old man from Letchworth was also arrested in connection with further incidents of criminal damage on August 26. The vandalism saw a stained glass memorial to World War I personnel smashed at St Mary’s Church, in Hitchin, alongside a depiction of Jesus Christ. Vandals attack St Mary's Church #Hitchin in an apparent religously aggravated crime any info call @HertsPolice on 101 pic.twitter.com/ha5QTdgWVP — HE Heritage Crime (@HEHeritageCrime) August 27, 2015 At St Paul’s Church, in Letchworth, the vandal threw more than 50 pieces of flint and brick through its windows. The attacks soon switched to St Mary’s, with the first incident at 2.10pm then 9pm. In total, damages total above £10,000. Before the arrest, Sergeant Stephen Oliphant told local press:”We are currently following a line of enquiry that they are religiously aggravated and, due to the damage caused to these historical buildings, the incidents are also being treated as a heritage crime”. In spite of the distress, Simon Moore, vicar of the Letchworth church, stressed forgiveness for the accused. Congregants banded together to sweep away broken glass. On [...]
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Continue ReadingNicholas Goodwin, 23, sent a Jewish mother a photo of himself with a Hitler Youth flag, after she stopped him from contacting her son. The photo depicts Goodwin and Callum Cochrane smiling as they posed with the flag. Elissa Wilson, their target, received the vile image via Facebook on January 29 – two days after Holocaust Memorial Day. Goodwin, admitted the charge of racially aggravated harassment, and received a six-month prison sentence. Cochrane escaped sentencing because he did not send or create the image. Wilson praised the sentencing and told the Daily Record, “Six million Jewish people were killed in the Holocaust. For anyone to glorify that is just vile. I’m delighted with the sentence. It shows that things like this are taken seriously.” That sentence adds to an increasing list of crimes committed by Goodwin. Last month, he appeared in court after threatening to stab a 16-year-old, Goodwin and another person, hurled racist abuse at the victim. The judge noted that Goodwin was currently serving three concurrent prison terms at Low Moss Prison. But the problem of antisemitism in Scotland is not limited to online racists. A breakdown of religious hate charges (with caveat). Credit: The Scottish Government. In [...]
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