Children told Muslim classmate “I’m going to burn your Holy Quran in front of you” on Xbox Live

A school in the Yorkshire area involved the police after students targeted their Muslim classmate over Xbox Live with Islamophobic abuse and threats, Tell MAMA can reveal.

Comments directed at the Muslim student included references to burning a copy of the Holy Quran, Islamophobic and homophobic comments about the student’s parents, and other threats.

Following the intervention of the police and the school, the parents have since relocated their child to a different school due to ongoing racist bullying.

The incident took place on March 23.

During the gameplay, four of the abusive students joined their game online and made comments which included, “I’m going to burn your Holy Quran in front of you.”

When the abuse was challenged the students replied with hateful comments about the Muslim child’s parents which included that their father was a “terrorist” who wears a “suicide vest”, and the homophobic slur that their mother is “gay”.

Others suggested that the young child should “kill themselves because that’s what Muslims do”. And if they failed to kill themselves with pork, they would do it for them.

One of the parents involved in the case consented for Tell MAMA to share this story anonymously.

The nature of online abuse showcases how the realities of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred continue to have an online element, though a clear majority of such cases occur on social media platforms.

A network analysis of social media perpetrators reported to Tell MAMA during the interim of last year revealed the influence of high-profile media personalities and political figures who contribute to toxic and discursive communities which allow Islamophobic speech to fester.

Over on Reddit, the popular /r/Games, a subreddit, with 1.7million subscribers was temporarily closed by moderators in protest at the Islamophobic, transphobic, racist, and misogynistic comments of some its subscriber base, according to Kotaku.

Academics have noted how linguistic profiling harms women of colour on Xbox Live, opening them up to misogynistic and racist abuse.

In 2017, Tell MAMA published a video to raise awareness of Islamophobia and other forms of abuse in online gaming spheres.

You can get advice from our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Or contact us via WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086.

 

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Categories: bullying, gaming, News, Xbox Live

Jack Renshaw Could Be Facing a Life Behind Bars. Found Guilty of 4 Counts of Inciting a Child To Engage in Sexual Activity

A neo-Nazi could be facing a life behind bars for plotting the murder of Labour MP Rosie Cooper while being investigated for grooming young boys for sex.

Jack Renshaw, 23, bought a 19in (48cm) Gladius knife to kill the West Lancashire MP and exact revenge on a female police officer who interviewed him, the Old Bailey heard. The plan was scuppered by whistle-blower Robbie Mullen, who was at a meeting in a pub when Renshaw announced that he was going to kill Ms Cooper in July 2017. It came just a year after Labour MP Jo Cox was stabbed and shot by a fellow far-right extremist, Thomas Mair.

Renshaw, from Skelmersdale, Lancashire, had admitted making preparations to kill his local MP and making a threat to kill police officer Victoria Henderson.

But he denied membership of banned extreme right-wing group National Action along with Andrew Clarke, 34, and Michal Trubini, 36, from Warrington.

A jury at his retrial was discharged, having failed to reach verdicts after more than 48 hours of deliberations and prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC said he could not seek a third trial.

It can be reported today that Renshaw is a convicted paedophile who was jailed last June for 16 months after he groomed two underage boys online.

Jurors at Preston Crown Court found him guilty of four counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

He also received a three-year prison sentence two months earlier when he was found guilty of stirring up racial hatred after he called for the genocide of Jewish people.

National Action leader Christopher Lythgoe, 32, of Warrington, and his right-hand man Matthew Hankinson, 24, from Merseyside, who were present when Renshaw outlined his plans, were convicted of membership last year.

National Action is the first extreme right-wing group to be proscribed by the Government since the Second World War.

In December 2016, it was banned by the then home secretary Amber Rudd over its support for the murder of Batley and Spen MP Ms Cox. Lythgoe reacted to the news by telling members that they would “just shed one skin for another”.

The North West contingent continued to meet in pubs and train together at a new mixed martial arts gym in Warrington, it was alleged.

Meanwhile, disillusioned Mr Mullen, 25, began leaking information about National Action to campaign group Hope Not Hate.

By July 2017, Renshaw was on police bail for making hate speeches and under investigation for child sex offences. He decided on “suicide by cop” rather than face a seven-year stretch in prison.

He bought a large machete to take revenge on a female investigating officer and kill his local MP. Renshaw unveiled his plan at the Friar Penketh pub in Warrington on July 1 2017 to Clarke, Hankinson, Lythgoe and Mr Mullen. Earlier that day, he had met convicted National Action members Darren Fletcher, 28, Adam Thomas, 22, and his partner Claudia Patatas, 39, in Liverpool.

After the pub meeting, Mr Mullen, from Widnes, Cheshire, reported the threat to Hope Not Hate and Renshaw was arrested.

Mr Mullen, who was granted immunity from prosecution, told jurors: “He said he was going to kill his local MP, Rosie Cooper. I said ‘Are you sure?’ and he said ‘Yeah’.

“He said he would kill her, then try to take some hostages to lure the police officer that was investigating him to try to kill her because she was the reason behind it all.

“He said his mind was made up. He had bought a machete.”

Renshaw said he would wear a fake suicide vest so he would be killed by police, Mr Mullen added. The defendant declined to give evidence in his retrial, but in his first trial last year explained his reasons for targeting Ms Cooper. He said: “I wanted to send a message to the state that if you beat a dog long enough it bites – she just happened to be my local MP.”

Giving evidence, warehouse worker Clarke said: “National Action was immature. I was tired of it. I was thankful for the ban.”

He told jurors a Swastika bookmark found in his sister’s loft was “a joke” and he only went to the Friar Penketh on July 1 on a “whim”.

He said: “Renshaw said something about an MP when I was drunk but I do not remember what he said. Whatever Renshaw was doing I heard it but I did not really pay attention because I was drunk.”

Office worker Trubini, who qualified as a teacher in Slovakia, admitted a shared ideology about white nationalism and opposition to multiculturalism.

But he said: “I would not jeopardise my job to be a member of a group that had no real impact.”

Trubini insisted he was “politically naive” and having tried to read Mein Kampf, found it “boring and badly written”.

As she discharged the jury from returning verdicts, Mrs Justice McGowan said: “You have obviously worked very hard. You have obviously been very diligent. You have obviously worked your way through all the material so we understand and respect the decision you have made.”

She remanded Renshaw into custody to be sentenced on May 17.

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Categories: Jack Renshaw, National Action, News, Robbie Mullen, Rosie Cooper

Briton ‘Like Something Out of Mad Max’ In Battle Against IS, Court Told

A British man accused of helping fuel the violence in Syria by joining Kurdish militants fighting Islamic State boasted his life was like something out of Mad Max in one of a series of dairy entries, a court has heard.

Aidan James, 28, from Formby, Merseyside, had no previous military knowledge when he allegedly set out to join the bloody war in 2017 on behalf of the Kurdish people.

James is on trial for engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts and for undergoing terrorist training for his involvement with groups associated with the Marxist political organisation, the PKK.

The PKK, or or the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, has been banned in the UK since 2001 for its advocating of Kurdish self-rule through both political and armed struggle.

James is accused of receiving training from the PKK, including weapons, before going on to fight with a series of Kurdish YPG units, or People’s Protection Units, in Syria.

Prosecutor Mark Heywood QC said: “Mr James is not charged with any offence that his purpose was simply to go to fight Isis, rather the charges are levelled against him because his intention was to lend support to advance a political or ideological cause.”

James prepared himself to join their cause in an “amateurish way” and underwent weapons training in Iraq for a month, the Old Bailey was told.

From there, he went to the Syrian border with Iraq for another month of training, jurors heard.

James had been monitored by police via the anti-terror Prevent programme after broadcasting his intentions on Facebook and had even been arrested on April 28 2017.

He had been bailed until the next month but the bail was cancelled and no further action was taken against him.

On the day his passport was returned, he wrote in his journal that he was still planning to travel to Syria or Iraq “to fight this most important of battles against the sick ideology of Daesh”.

James prepared for his trip by undergoing initial training in north Wales and by acquiring rudimentary combat equipment including body armour.

He later began planning his journey, arriving in Makhmour, Iraq, between the end of August and October 1 2017.

In a series of journal entries he described his training and a series of raids against Isis strongholds.

In one he mourned the death of a fellow soldier, writing: “Great guy.

RIP friend we will continue to fight.”

“Raids went good. After the raids we sat and drank shots of red bull and discussed politics,” another entry read.

In another he describes sitting on the roof of a humvee “with a 50 calibre machine gun, like something out of Mad Max”.

But he also expressed his discontent with the mindset of his commanders, complaining they were trying to brainwash him.

He wrote: “There’s a lot of f***ed up things here. Ideology comes before all else – it’s just basically a f****** brainwash factory.

“I’m here to help people. Not to get brainwashed and change my beliefs.”

Mr Heywood said: “He had picked his cause and it was the cause of just one of the many groups of people that inhabit that part of the world and would like it to be their own, the Kurdish people.

“The prosecution case against him is that he went as an individual to Syria to fight with guns and explosives.”

Mr Heywood added: “For these purposes, the law says that what he wanted to do was terrorism, even if his eventual fighting was against other terrorists.”

James denies engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts and two charges of attending a place used for terrorist training.

The post Briton ‘Like Something Out of Mad Max’ In Battle Against IS, Court Told appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Aidan James, Daesh, Kurdish, Mad Max, News

Far Right Extremists Have Viewed IS Bomb Manuals – Security Minister

Far-right extremists in Britain have viewed Islamic State (IS) terror and bomb-making manuals, the security minister told MPs.

Appearing before the Defence Committee to discuss global Islamist terrorism, Ben Wallace also highlighted how some “individuals are starting to pose significant danger”.

“The methods that are bringing these people to our threshold is predominantly through the internet,” Mr Wallace said during his evidence on Tuesday.

“Historically, in the past, they had no friends, they sat on their own, they couldn’t talk to anyone else – now they live in a virtual safe space.

“They communicate through the internet … sometimes we find them actually looking at Isis (IS) terror manuals to learn how to make bombs – obviously for a different reason.”

He said the internet has given the far right “better organisation and better momentum”, but that they are yet to reach the level of “determined conspiracy or cultural religious depth” of the Islamists.

“But individuals are starting to pose significant danger, it’s why Prevent in my view is very important to head them off,” Mr Wallace added.

He also said that nearly half of those in the so-called “Channel” part of the Prevent programme, dealing with individuals at risk of being drawn into terrorism, were involved with the far-right.

“Forty-three per cent are extreme right-wing neo-Nazis compared to 45% for the Islamists,” he said.

Mr Wallace said the prevalence of the right-wing threat is higher in different parts of the country – highlighting the North East and North West as particular examples.

He also referred to the period of the early 2000s when he said the banned extremist group al-Muhajiroun and hate preacher Anjem Choudary “were fomenting and recruiting”, adding: “Before these people crystallised into Isis fighters and volunteers – that is where we are seeing the far right.

“It is a bubbling group of extremists and we need to get in there using Prevent, using diversion, to prevent them becoming tomorrow’s terrorist groups.”

Asked whether the far-right threat is a new phenomenon, Mr Wallace said there have always been “neo-Nazis at large”.

“But it is a recent phenomenon that they are more capable, more organised and more able to live in a global community, which is also the same as Isis (or) Daesh,” he said.

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Categories: Ben Wallace, IS Bomb Making manuals, News

Muslims ‘Will Get the Protection That They Deserve’, Home Secretary Vows

The Muslim community in Britain “will get the protection that they deserve”, the Home Secretary has said, in the wake of the Christchurch massacre and subsequent attacks on mosques in Birmingham.

Sajid Javid told MPs in the Commons: “As Home Secretary I’ve been clear, far and extreme right-wing extremism have no place in Britain.

“The Government takes this issue very seriously and it is routinely discussed by ministers.”

His comments came as shadow home secretary Diane Abbott warned of “grave concern” in the Muslim community in the light of the massacre in New Zealand.

She urged Mr Javid to consider helping Muslim community centres with funding for necessary security.

Speaking during Home Office questions, Ms Abbott spoke of the growing threat from the far right, adding: “The Home Secretary will be aware of recent reports that right wing extremists are accessing Isis-related terrorists training materials.”

She asked Mr Javid to confirm meetings had taken place between senior Home Office officials, Scotland Yard and security agencies with senior representatives of both the Muslim and Jewish communities.

She said: “There is grave concern in the Muslim community in the light of the Christchurch massacre in New Zealand and the subsequent attacks on mosques in Birmingham, is he able to give assurances about access to funding for the security of mosques and other places of worship in the same way as funding is available to the CST (Community Security Trust) for the security of synagogues.

“And is he aware that there are very many Muslim community centres like my own North London Muslim community centre which is next door to the mosque, forms part of the same complex of buildings and feels very much at threat.

“Is he prepared to consider looking at helping them with the funding for necessary security?”

Mr Javid said he understood why there were “heightened concerns amongst our British Muslim communities, that is why we need to do more” and that soon after the Christchurch massacre he set out what immediate action the department was taking with the increase in the places of worship funding.

He said: “I think she’s right to raise the issue of Muslim community centres and that’s why I want to work with Muslim community leaders and others to listen to them about what needs to be done…. I think all (MPs) in this House are united to make sure that our Muslim community in Britain who we cherish feel hugely valued and they will get the protection that they deserve and no one should feel intimidated in any way whatsoever.”

Labour’s Alex Sobel (Leeds North West) called on Mr Javid to “urgently investigate with the Met Police how a convicted far right leader and groups were allowed to whip up hate right outside Parliament?”

Mr Javid replied: “Sadly what he has pointed (out), there have been many especially in recent weeks, instances of abuse and intimidation of MPs.

“Of course all MPs should be able to go about their business with complete confidence…of course all staff as well, everyone that works in the cradle of our democracy.

“And it’s important that the police, both the Met Police and local police forces and House authorities are working together which they are, I just had a meeting just last week with police officials and others to see what more we can do.”

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Categories: Diane Abbot, Extreme Right Wing, Home Secretary, mosques, News, Sajid Javid