Dewsbury Mosque Has Racist Graffiti Scrawled Over It

Dewsbury mosque shortened

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We have received a report of a mosque in Dewsbury having racist text spray-painted onto the windows. The graffiti was sprayed so that it was visible to those entering the mosque and clearly was meant to send a chilling message to the congregation of the mosque.

We will be contacting West Yorkshire police and offering a community impact statement on how the wider community is affected by the targeting of a mosque. The community impact statement we hope, will provide prosecutors with material that they can highlight in court when sentencing takes place to assess the wider impact of such actions.

If you have suffered anti-Muslim prejudice, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us and we have passed on the relevant material to West Yorkshire Police and will work with them where required to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. Finally, we are also aware that the mosque is reviewing CCTV footage. This means that there is a real possibility of the perpetrators being brought to justice.

Dewsbury mosque

Dewsbury mosque

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Categories: Dewsbury mosque, graffiti, hate crime, News

Murder of Asad Shah Has Taken Something From Us All.

Anti-Ahmaddiya

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The murder of Asad Shah has left a huge imprint on many communities, both Muslim ad non-Muslim. The 40-year-old was deeply respected and had posted a social media post thanking the Christian nation that had given him so much. He also highlighted the role of Christ in Islam and had truly straddled and held dearly, being British and being Muslim. It seems that in many ways, he was at peace in his adopted country.

His brutal murder and the violent manner in which he was treated, means that his death is something that we should actively mark. We should mark any murder, with a desire to redouble our efforts to value the sanctity of life and when someone is violated in such a manner, we should stand together and make clear that we as a society cannot and will not accept such actions. Many have done that by standing in silence, together – people of faith and no-faith. It is testament to his personality and to his humanity.

Whatever, the motivation, we know that Police Scotland regard this murder as religiously motivated. Asad Shah was an Ahmaddiya and the murderer, another Muslim of Sunni heritage. We cannot extrapolate and we must not influence process where justice needs to take its course. Yet, the current information provided is worrying and may indicate sectarian hatred.

We will however highlight the fact that we come across anti-Shia and anti-Ahmaddiya rhetoric through the work we do in Tell MAMA. We have highlighted this before on many occasions and these can be found here, here and here and our Director has also highlighted this issue. 

The fact is that such hate against fellow citizens cannot and should not be tolerated. It is unacceptable and should not longer be regarded as an ‘intra-Muslim’ issue. They are hate incidents and are recorded as such by us and dealt with in an identical manner by the police. We must remain vigilant against such forms of intolerance and whilst people may have differences in opinion, openly stating threats against Ahmaddiya Muslims or Shia Muslims is unacceptable.  We should not tolerate such hatred and sectarianism any more.

Examples of Sectarian Material Circulated

These are some of the examples of material that we have picked up:

Anti-Ahmaddiya 1

Ahmaddiya 3

Anti-Ahmaddiya

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Categories: anti-Ahmaddiya, Asad Shah, News, Scotland, sectarianism

Vacancy – Caseworker Role within Tell MAMA

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Tell MAMA – Caseworker Post Vacancy

Role Responsibilities

The main roles and responsibilities of the Case Worker include:

  • Assist callers into the Tell MAMA hotline and implement effective case management and recording systems, serving as first point of contact
  • Offer a ‘listening ear’ for all callers and provide advice and signposting to further sources of support or justice where beyond the remit of the project
  • Implement and adhere to strict data protection procedures in accordance with the Date Protection Act and organisational policy
  • Review existing cases and ensure that they are actioned and closed.
  • Work together with the wider programme team to assist in the preparation of a variety of briefings, reports and research documents
  • Work together with the wider team to prepare and deliver informative workshops and outreach sessions to build community awareness and confidence
  • Maintain internal and external communications relative to the post including developing and maintaining relationships with external stakeholders and ensuring stakeholders are kept informed.
  • Work together with the wider team to assist in the development and implementation of training sessions for volunteers and other team members as required
  • Periodically attend relevant training and development sessions and conferences.
  • Participate in team review sessions, one to one sessions and in audits that funding bodies may undertake.

In addition to any other duties as required.

Person Specification

Essential:

  • Excellent English communication (verbal and written) skills
  • At least 12 months’ experience in a similar role
  • Understanding of and empathy with victims of crime
  • Ability to sensitively provide services to beneficiaries with differing language, cultural and religious backgrounds within a multicultural environment.
  • Experience of liaising with statutory and non-statutory service providers on behalf of beneficiaries
  • Ability to liaise with and work in partnership with other agencies, interpreters and volunteers
  • Demonstrable commitment to equal opportunities and diversity
  • Well organised with experience of working under pressure, prioritising workloads and meeting targets/deadlines.
  • Excellent IT skills, including use of Microsoft Office packages
  • Ability to work on own initiative without supervision and the ability to work as team member.
  • Understanding of social media platforms

Desirable:

  • Fluency in a community language (e.g. Bengali, Punjabi, Hindi and/or Urdu)
  • Experience of working with Muslim communities
  • Experience within and understanding of the field of anti-Muslim hate and Islamophobia

Terms and Salary

Hours:                                   Full time, 37.5 hours per week

Contract:                             12 months fixed-term contract (subject to extension)

Salary:                                   £25K (gross)

Location:                              London (occasional travel within the UK may be required)

How to Apply and Next Steps

To apply, please submit a CV and Covering Letter (outlining your interest in the role and the ways in which you meet the essential and any desirable skills, competencies and experience required) to info@tellmamauk.org by 31st March 2016

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Categories: anti-Muslim hate, Caseworker, job vacancy, Opinions

Scottish Defence League protest falls flat but brings together hardened neo-Nazis

Credit: Paul Whiteside/Facebook

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The Scottish Defence League’s demonstration in Edinburgh on March 20 brought together just 50 white supremacists, nationalists and national socialists.

Social media posts confirmed that individuals had driven from Nottingham and Bradford to attend.

Like in Dover, the protest brought together individuals linked to or inspired by National Action, Combat 18, the Scottish and English Defence Leagues, North West Infidels, Misanthropic Division, Central Scotland Infidels and Blood and Honour. This protest, however, passed without violence or arrests.

Chief Inspector Bob Paris told the National: “I would like to thank the wider public for their patience and hope that the minimal disruption during the events did not spoil their day.”

A Unite Against Fascism counter-protest brought together minority communities and speakers from the SNP, Labour and Green Party.

Chants of “Refugees welcome, Deport the Nazis,” were said to have drowned out the vocal far-right minority.

Police Scotland had escorted the far-right groups to the City Chambers as they did not have permission to gather at Waverley Station.

One protester held a sign that read ‘Stop the Invasion Say No to Islam Say No to Mosques Say No to Halal Say no to Europe’. Others threw Nazi salutes – as one person wore a jumper promoting the infamous neo-Nazi punk band Skrewdriver.

Paul Whiteside, the EDL supporter who allegedly vandalised a proposed mosque in Lincoln, also attended the protest.

In contrast, the Stand Up to Racism event drew between 2,000 to 5,000 people in Glasgow on March 19. It coincided with other marches in London and Cardiff to mark UN anti-racism day.

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Categories: Blood and Honour, Central Scotland Infidels, EDL, Misanthropic Division, News, North West Infidels, protest, refugee, SDL

Police probe far-right vandalism at proposed mosque in Lincoln

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Lincolnshire Police are investigating claims that a supporter of the English Defence League (EDL) vandalised the site of a proposed mosque with offensive posters.

At 9:03pm on March 17, Paul Whiteside uploaded an image to his Facebook outside of the proposed site. Two of the posters made reference to child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. The other poster read ‘No More Mosques’. Whiteside captioned the photo ‘Licolnite mosque lol’.

Whitesidegate

One poster parodied the Daily Mirror’s front page headlined ‘Horrific betrayal of 1,400 children,’ published on August 27, 2014. The crude edits morphed the front page into the ‘Daily EDL’. Its subheading read ‘Don’t let it happen in Lincoln’.

The front page gave weight to the idea of a culture of ‘political correctness’ shielding criminals. This, however, did not tell the whole story.

For people like Paul Whiteside, these complexities do not matter. He’s already found the justification in his own beliefs. Whiteside posted, “The reason behind the posters on the gates of the mosque is a protest against all the mosques being built in britain”.

He went on to claim that, “Grooming gangs like Rotherham all stem from mosques, are you telling me that the information about the girls wasn’t passed around at the mosque but no-one at the mosque was willing to notify the police”.

Whiteside told the Lincolnite that: “The media aren’t telling you what’s really going off, grooming gangs all over the UK, terrorists storing weapons in mosques all over Europe.”

On Facebook, he speculates that the ‘influx of Muslim refugees’ will create more problems. He offers no evidence for it. But that’s not the point. He has his own online echo chamber – which contains conspiracy and hate websites. This crossover of conspiracy theory and hate sites fits Barkun’s theory of ‘stigmatized knowledge‘. In short, ‘stigmatized knowledge’ allows individuals to present information that mainstream institutions have not validated as ‘true’.

A self-confessed Trump supporter, he rejects political correctness and admires Nick Griffin. Anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Pamela Geller also appears in his Facebook ‘likes’.

A hatred of refugees and Muslims underpins much of his online rhetoric. In response to an article on Syrian refugees he wrote, “You are wanting to flood England with muslims and their ideology that as no place in the west,do you really want our beautiful home to end up like Sweden”.

Whiteside had attended a far-right demonstration in Dover on January 30. An event which brought together the National Front, North West Infidels, National Action, Misanthropic Division, British Movement and Scottish Defence League.

Tanweer Ahmed, the chairman of the Islamic Association, praised community cohesion at the expense of division.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 101 or contact Inspector Suzanne Davies, Community Policing Inspector for Lincoln South West Policing area directly.

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Categories: CSE, EDL, English Defence League, News, Rotherham, Trump

Aiden Fletcher avoids prison for headbutting Muslim doctor

Aiden Fletcher - Credit to the Nottingham Post

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Aiden Fletcher received a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to assaulting a Muslim doctor.

Fletcher, 23, headbutted Dr Syeda Jafari, who works in the accident and emergency department at the Queen’s Medical Centre. During the unprovoked racist assault, he told her “Go back to your own country”.

Dr Jafari was out with friends that evening, trying to locate the home of a friend who had recently lost her mother on October 29.

Andrew Conboy, prosecuting, said that Dr Jafari heard a man say ‘move out of the way’ as Mr Fletcher stood in front of her. Dr Jafari and her friends tried to leave the scene but the defendant grew more aggressive. Believing that she had insulted him, he assaulted her without provocation.

In mitigation, Serena Mandair said that Mr Fletcher had no racist views. And had been drinking that day after attending the funeral of a relative.

On February 19 the Nottingham Post reported that Aiden Fletcher faced the possibility of prison. That possibility turned into a six-month prison term, suspended for two years. The unemployed Mr Fletcher must complete 140 hours of unpaid work, as well as paying  compensation and £280 costs.

The assault left Dr Jafari with a concussion. Her father passed away worried about the safety of his daughter, as this was the first time she had faced such hatred and violence. She is now abroad mourning the deaths of two family members.

Through her own remarkable courage and support from our staff, she will donate the £500 costs to Tell MAMA. She told the Nottingham Post “It will go to a charity which heard about the case and which has been extremely supportive for the last six months. I am feeling a bit low because of the sentence”.

Dr Jafari’s kind gesture humbles our staff. We are very grateful for this donation. We will continue to support Dr Jafari beyond this trial outcome.  And we our glad that our continued support helped her through a very difficult six months.

The suspended sentence for Mr Fletcher is eyebrow-raising but may owe to the judge’s decision not to punish his children. He was convicted for affray in 2011 and will now face 40 sessions with a probation officer.

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Categories: Aiden Fletcher, hate crime, News, Nottingham, support

Slovak Neo-Nazi MP, Milan Mazurek, Caught on Camera Attacking Muslims in Slovakia

Milan Mazurek

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We have highlighted the shocking revelation of how neo-Nazis have been elected onto Slovakia’s Parliament and which we highlighted through our sister site, Religious Reader.

Below is a video of Milan Mazurek (aged 22) and who can be seen in the green shirt in the video shouting abuse to Muslims in Slovakia. He has been elected into the Slovak Parliament through the ‘People’s Party Our Slovakia’ ticket, also known as Lidova strana Nase Slovensko – LSNS.

Mazurek is seen shouting at a group of Arabs and Pakistanis or Bangladeshis and the group refers back to Turkey and the history of Ottoman rule in the area and which was turned against the family who it can clearly be seen, needed police protection around them. The aggression from Mazurek and the group of young men is evident as the family cower as the police usher them away. Comments abusing the sexuality of the Muslim women and linking them to terrorism are made and the comments are grossly offensive and targeted at the Islamic identity of the family. Further anti-Muslim comments are made about the faith of the individuals in the video.

Mazurek has previously stated his admiration of Adolf Hitler and is an active member of LSNS. He was also sighted in an anti-Islamicization protest that took place in 2015.

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Categories: Arabs, Far Right groups, Lidova strana Nase Slovensko, LSNS, Milan Mazurek, News, Parliament

How Britain First uses ‘victim narratives’ to boost support

Britain First

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Britain First deploys ‘self-victimisation‘ to reinforce group identity and support online. This strategy extends to a recent outrage with the Electoral Commission.

On March 9,  an article headlined ‘Electoral Commission: “Keeping London British! Is Offensive Slogan’ made bombastic claims of censorship. But it sounds familiar.

The party made similar claims against Royal Mail in 2014.  Royal Mail can refuse to deliver election materials if they consider it threatening or abusive. Paul Golding ignored this detail as Britain First were ‘victims’ of a greater perceived injustice.

Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (Section 29 2b), the Electoral Commission can reject ballot emblems if they deem it ‘obscene or offensive’. The Electoral Commission reiterated this point to the party. But Britain First accused them of acting as the “Commissar for Political Correctness” in elections. Again, the party reinforces accusations of censorship to party faithful.

This strategy serves a dual function: policies in the age of multiculturalism and ‘PC culture’ have a detrimental impact on the party and its supporters. Britain First rejects the label of ‘racist party’. And argues that they are victims of ‘job stealing’ and ‘welfare stealing’ migrants.  Britain despite Muslims making up less than 5 per cent of the total population in England and Wales. These contradictions are never addressed. Britain First tailors their language and output to reflect the anxieties of those who ‘like’ their page. Reinforcing these anxieties are not always enough.  Presenting solutions can build group identity and raise the potential of donations.

A strategy of targeted donations has paid off in the past. Britain First topped the Electoral Commission’s donations league table for smaller parties last year. In 2014, the party had tripled its donations from 2013 to £159,516 – but spent most of it on campaign work. This is a strategy that extends to supporters in Australia, Canada and the United States.

Like other far-right parties, Britain First seeks mainstream credibility. Jayda Fransen, deputy leader, sought that in the Rochester and Strood by-election. It mattered little that the party achieved just 56 votes. Fransen had posed for a photo with the BBC’s Nick Robinson (who later apologised for his error). The extra media attention had little to do with local issues in the Rochester and Strood area. Britain First wanted national attention for their anti-mosque campaign in the neighbouring constituency.

Jayda Fransen also admitted that the mayoral campaign is a PR move to increase their public profile. Fransen wrote:

‘The benefits to standing in the London Mayoral Election will be immense: Each Mayoral candidate is entitled to a two-page spread in a booklet that is delivered to 10 million people in London, 45% of which are still ethnically British.

Each Mayoral candidate will no doubt receive a lengthy Daily Politics interview and a plethora of other high profile media attention.

Contesting this election will cement Britain First as a powerful force on the “Right” of politics and will massively increase our public profile.’

Some of the top comments from some Britain First supporters to Electoral Commission story had the intended outcome. And it included:

‘OFFENSIVE? I don’t live there but such an insipid attitude offends me. If London isn’t British, then what is?’

‘London IS British. Whoever objects to that slogan is obviously some left-wing pond life.’

‘well if you guys don’t tell people to say it you are not breaking the law … so … Keep London British … stop the dismantling of the Westminster system and only recognise British law …’

 

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Categories: Britain First, London, mayor of London, Media, News

Crown Prosecution Success – Man Sentenced for Shouting Abusing at Vulnerable Girl

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Release from the Crown Prosecution Service

Roy Wakefield, 63, was sentenced today at Bexley Magistrates’ Court for two counts of using threatening, abusive or
insulting words to cause harassment, alarm or distress. The offences occurred on 19th December 2015 in the Erith area. The victim in the case is a 17-year-old girl who is partially sighted and is assisted by a white cane and assist dog.

This was prosecuted as a disability hate crime and therefore Wakefield’s sentenced was uplifted from 12 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months to 20 weeks’ imprisonment suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay £150 compensation to the victim and complete 150 hours of unpaid work. A restraining order was imposed.

CPS London reviewing lawyer Toyin Odumade said:

“Roy Wakefield purposefully targeted a young and vulnerable girl who was merely waiting at a bus stop on the way to meet friends.”

“Wakefield began aggressively shouting abuse at the victim who recognised his voice. She felt frightened and alone and was very upset by the incident.”

“Wakefield’s shameful behaviour clearly showed his hostility towards the victim’s disability and we were able to ask the court to increase his sentence accordingly.”

“We were able to assist the victim in giving evidence in court by applying for special measures which allowed her to give evidence via video link from a different room and also to have her assist dog with her while giving evidence.”

“The CPS is committed to tackling disability hate crime and to supporting victims through the prosecution process.”

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Categories: CPS, Crown Prosecution, hate crime, News, Prosecution, Roy Wakefield

Strand Campus in King’s College the Centre of an Islamophobic Hate Incident

Kings College

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We have received a report of an assault against a Muslim female student who was part of the ‘Discover Islam Awareness’ week which is held by the King’s College London Islamic Society (ISoc).

Muslim women who were at the stand outside the Strand campus were there to try and break down misconceptions about Islam and to respond to questions members of the public may have around Islam and Muslims.  They were approached by two men who disrupted the stall and the activities of the women, leading to an assault on a Muslim woman, where her niqab was pulled.

We have spoken to a witness on the Strand Campus of King’s College London and Roar News also reported that two men have been arrested for “using racially aggravated threatening words and behaviour.”

The incident has caused some anger with Muslim students who approached us at Tell MAMA and who stated that the security on campus did not intervene when the hate incident was taking place and that in their view, the inaction emboldened the perpetrators. According to witness, a handful of students had to intervene to stop the anger and abuse against Muslim women that was targeted by two males who approached the stand. Furthermore, Roar News also has highlighted the following comment from a student called Fatima Ali:

“security only called the police when the animal rights activists said the men were being aggressive but not when someone complained about a Muslim woman’s niqab being pulled down”.

The student news site also highlighted the following statement that King’s put out earlier on Friday evening. They stated:

“two security managers and a senior member of staff arrived on the scene and positioned themselves between both parties and attempted to defuse the situation. The two men were asked to leave the area but they refused. The police were called by security at 1.10pm and arrived at 1.50pm.”

Tell MAMA will be writing to King’s College London on this incident to provide further re-assurance to Muslim students on campus and to provide guidance to students both on and off campus around personal safety and security. Given the rise in anti-Muslim hate incidents over the last few years and a more visible set of anti-Muslim hate incidents nationally, it is imperative that university campuses work with ISoc’s or other agencies in ensuring that students get basic advice and support to reduce the risk of being targeted.

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Categories: hate incident, Islam Awareness Week, ISOC, King's College, News, Niqab, students