Woman now thought to be Afghanistan’s last Jew flees country

October 31, 2021 Article

For years, Zebulon Simentov branded himself as the “last Jew of Afghanistan.” He charged reporters for interviews and held court in Kabul’s only remaining synagogue. He left the country last month for Istanbul after the Taliban seized power.

Now it appears he was not the last one.

Simentov’s distant cousin, Tova Moradi, was born and raised in Kabul and lived there until last week. Fearing for their safety, Moradi, her children and nearly two dozen grandchildren fled the country in recent weeks in an escape orchestrated by an Israeli aid group, activists and prominent Jewish philanthropists.

“I loved my country, loved it very much, but had to leave because my children were in danger,” Moradi told The Associated Press from her modest quarters in the Albanian town of Golem, whose beachside resorts have been converted to makeshift homes for some 2,000 Afghan refugees.

Moradi, 83, was one of 10 children born to a Jewish family in Kabul. At the age of 16, she ran away from home and married a Muslim man. She never converted to Islam, maintained some Jewish traditions, and it was no secret that she was Jewish.

“She never denied her Judaism, she just got married in order to save her life as you cannot be safe as a young girl in Afghanistan,” her daughter, Khorshid, told the AP from her home in Canada, where she and three of her siblings moved after the Taliban first seized power in Afghanistan in the 1990s.

Despite friction over her decision to marry outside the faith, Moradi stayed in touch with some of her family over the years. Her parents and siblings fled Afghanistan in the 1960s and 1980s. Her parents are buried at Jerusalem’s Har Menuhot cemetery, and many of her surviving siblings and their descendants live in Israel.

But until this week, she had not spoken to some of her sisters in over half a century.

“Yesterday, I saw my sisters, nieces and nephews after around 60 years through a video call. We spoke for hours,” Moradi said. “I was really happy, I saw their children and they met mine.”

“They said ‘it’s like she came back from the grave,’” Khorshid said.

During the first period of Taliban rule, from 1996 until the 2001 US-led invasion, Moradi tried to maintain a low profile. But she risked her life by hiding Rabbi Isaak Levi, one of the few remaining Afghan Jews, from the Taliban.

Levi and Simentov lived together for years in the decrepit synagogue in Kabul but famously despised one another and fought often. The Taliban usually left them alone, but intervened during one such dispute, arresting them, beating them and confiscating the synagogue’s ancient Torah scroll.

IsraAid CEO Yotam Polizer said the organisation, which has provided relief after disasters such as the Japanese tsunami in 2011 and the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, had already extracted the Afghan women’s cycling team and dozens of other Afghans from the country when it heard about Moradi and her family.

He said Afghan diplomats overseas, Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s office, and Jewish businessmen. worked together to get them out.

Now, Moradi and six of her relatives are in Albania, and another 25 relatives made it to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates earlier this week. They hope to secure passage to Canada to reunite with her children who live there.

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Categories: Afghanistan, Eastern Afghanistan, Flee, Last Jew, News, Taliban, Zebulon Simentov

Pakistan’s government reaches deal with Islamists to end protest

October 31, 2021 Article

Pakistan’s government and an outlawed radical Islamist party reached an agreement to end a 10-day long, and at times deadly violent, rally calling for the closure of France’s embassy and the release of the party’s leader.

Neither foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi nor religious leader Mufti Muneebur Rehman, who took part in the talks, gave any details of the agreement at a news conference in the capital Islamabad.

Thousands of supporters of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan party marched from Lahore on October 22 toward the capital Islamabad.

They demanded the expulsion of France’s envoy to Pakistan over publication of caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed in France.

The protest march saw supporters clash with police at several points along the way.

At least seven police officers and four demonstrators were killed.

“Details and positive results of the agreement will come before the nation in a week or so,” said Mr Rehman, who said he had the endorsement of TLP party leader Saad Rizvi.

The violence erupted a day after the government of prime minister Imran Khan said it would not accept the Islamists’ demand to close the French Embassy and expel the French envoy.

It was not immediately clear on Sunday when the party would end its rally.

Thousands of supporters halted their march in Wazirabad, about 115 miles from the capital on Friday after roads and bridges ahead of them were blocked.

Paramilitary rangers were deployed to stop the protesters from continuing toward the capital.

Sajid Saifi, TLP spokesman, said supporters were ready to “pack up” but were awaiting instructions from the party’s leadership.

He said he hoped party leader Mr Rizvi and all the supporters arrested in recent days would be released soon.

Besides demanding expulsion of the French ambassador, the TLP was also pressing for the release of its leader, Mr Rizvi, who was arrested last year for inciting supporters to stage an anti-France protest.

Mr Rizvi’s party started demanding the expulsion of a French envoy in October 2020 after French President Emmanuel Macron tried to defend caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed as freedom of expression.

Mr Macron’s comments came after a young Muslim beheaded a French school teacher who had shown the caricatures in class.

The images were republished by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to mark the opening of the trial over the deadly 2015 attack against the publication for the original caricatures.

Mr Rizvi’s party gained prominence in Pakistan’s 2018 elections, campaigning on the single issue of defending the country’s blasphemy law, which calls for the death penalty for anyone who insults Islam.

The post Pakistan’s government reaches deal with Islamists to end protest appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Charlie Hebdo, France, Government, Islam's Prophet Muhammad, Islamists, Macron, News, Pakistan, Saad Rizvi, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan, TLP

Neo-Nazi Sam Imrie, guilty of terrorism offences, faces lengthy prison sentence

October 28, 2021 Article

Sam Imrie, the 24-year-old neo-Nazi, convicted of terrorism charges, including threats to burn down Fife Islamic Centre, was told to anticipate a “sentence of some length” when they return to Glasgow Crown Court next month.

The two-week trial concluded with the jury finding Imrie guilty of eight of the nine charges brought against him, including two breaches of the Terrorism Act, wilful fire-raising, drink-driving, and possession of child abuse images and violent, necrophilic pornography.

Imrie was found not guilty of preparing an act of terrorism, despite amassing a collection of weapons (two knives, nunchucks, an axe, a hammer, and a rifle scope) and filming, in a chilling evocation to the white supremacist terrorist who murdered 51 Muslims in Christchurch, had filmed his intent to live stream an arson attack on the Islamic centre.

He instead wilfully set fire to the doorway of an empty building and set fire to the foliage around a headstone located within St Drostans Cemetery in Markinch, on July 4, 2019, which they unsuccessfully attempted to pass off as the Islamic centre on the fascist Telegram page. When questioned, fellow Telegram group members expressed scepticism, with statements like “Looks like an abandoned building,” Imrie replied, “That’s the Islamic Centre next to the woods, r****d. I’m going to jail.” Imrie had also uploaded the video along posting various white supremacist materials to that Telegram page. For example, he wrote: “No guns. All I can do is burn them down.” He also wrote: “I will stream. Death to the Invaders!”.

Of the terrorism-related charges, the jury found Imrie guilty of glorifying the white supremacist terrorist responsible for the murder of 51 Muslims in Christchurch in March 2019 and Anders Breivik, the white supremacist terrorist who murdered 77 people in Norway in 2011, on Facebook and Telegram. The second charge concerned how he maintained a “record of information” helpful to somebody committing acts of terrorism – including possession of the individual screeds authored by both terrorists.

The 24-year-old did, however, approach the Islamic centre, as CCTV captured Imrie filming its exterior on his phone and uploaded a photo to the group with a racist caption that read: “Animals have their windows barred like a zoo.”

Imrie would boast online that “All my heroes are mass murderers.” In court, he admitted to regularly consuming far-right and neo-Nazi propaganda, collecting a dizzying amount of racist hate materials on their computer (ten-thousand images, according to news reports), including Holocaust denial. On Snapchat, he used the username “racewarplz”, and his computer password contained the N-word.  On Facebook, Imrie’s cover photo was of Adolf Hitler, with their biographical details having read “Seeing Muslims suffer,” with other neo-Nazi propaganda including 14/88 appearing on their profile. He considered Trump a “God”.

Before the age of sixteen, Sam Imrie appeared at Kirkcaldy police station after being caught writing “F*** Muslims” on a bus shelter, his mother Joyce revealed when giving evidence to the court.

When Police Scotland raided Imrie’s home after a tip-off from the Met Police in London (who had infiltrated the now-removed Telegram page @fashwaveartists), they recovered an iPhone which included a copy of the Christchurch terror attack live stream, which Imrie admitted to watching several times, along with propaganda images declaring the terrorist a “saint” who “did nothing wrong”.

He described an obsession with the white supremacist imageboard 8chan and how he became “red-pilled”. In contrast to “black pill” nihilism, academics argue, which deems it “impossible” to escape the social hierarchies, proponents of which claim face exclusion from the “blue pill/red pill” proponents who seek advantage from “knowing” how society “really works” to escape their difficulties.

Imrie also boasted of writing to Breivik.

We heard further examples of Imrie’s racist beliefs towards Jewish communities during the trial, where he expressed antisemitic canards of disproportionate societal influence and referred to the video-sharing platform YouTube as “JewTube”.

On Telegram, they wrote: “The SNP Party wants millions of Muslims to come in so obviously I want Sturgeon to die.”

Imrie denied all charges against him and argued that his neo-Nazi beliefs were unserious forms of humour, born from his health issues.

Police Scotland welcomed the verdict.

With the trial concluded, various news media headlines draw further attention to the inconsistencies in how far-right terrorism is framed, with some headlines avoiding the term only to use it in the body of the article. Examples included headlines like “Fife terror accused revered right wing mass murderers, trial told,” and “Scots white nationalist who idolised mass killers and spouted race hate convicted of terror offences,” to “Chilling video of Scot convicted of terror offences using bagpipe music to copycat Christchurch mosques mass killer” and “Man who ‘idolised mass murderers’ convicted of terrorism offences“.

In another egregious example, but from the body of a news article, a BBC article referred to the far-right terrorist who murdered 51 Muslims in Christchurch as a “far right activist” who “slaughtered Muslims praying at their mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019.”

Lord Mulholland remanded Imrie in custody and said: “Be under no illusion – you have been convicted of very serious offences including gathering information about terrorism and encouraging terrorism, child pornography and extreme pornography.”

Lord Mullholand also placed Imrie on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

We welcome the guilty verdict and hope a stringent and lengthy sentence reflects the harm caused to Muslim communities, given that Sam Imrie is an ideologically-driven racist and neo-Nazi who was guilty of terrorism offences. The personal safety of Muslims and the safety of all Islamic institutions across Scotland and, indeed, the United Kingdom is vital. The threat of far-right terrorism is a threat to Muslims and other minoritised communities, and we thank the diligent work of the police and the courts in a successful prosecution of a complex case.

 

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Categories: Christchurch, Far Right groups, Neo-Nazi, News, Police Scotland, Scotland, terrorism

Satanic teenager jailed for life for murdering sisters

October 28, 2021 Article

A teenager has been jailed for at least 35 years for murdering two sisters as part of a Satanic blood pact.

Danyal Hussein, 19, savagely stabbed Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, to death in a Wembley park in June last year.

The Old Bailey heard he had embarked on a “campaign of vengeance” against random women in a failed bid to win the Mega Millions Super Jackpot lottery prize of £321 million.

Police tracked him down through DNA and uncovered a handwritten pledge to a demonic entity called King Lucifuge Rofocale to kill six women every six months, which was signed in blood.

Hussein declined to give evidence in his trial, claiming he was not responsible for the killings or for writing the pact.

He was found guilty of two counts of murder and possession of a knife.

Following Hussein’s conviction in July, the sisters’ mother, the Venerable Mina Smallman, said she had “never come across such evil”.

On Thursday, Hussein appeared in court by video link from Belmarsh top security jail for “Covid reasons” while the sisters’ family sat in court.

Mrs Justice Whipple sentenced Hussein to life in prison with a minimum term of 35 years.

She told Hussein: “In the early hours of Saturday June 6 2020 you brutally murdered Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry.

“You had found these two women. You were a stranger to them. You surprised them, you terrified them and you killed them.”

She said Hussein had dragged the bodies away and posed them in an embrace to “defile” them in death.

The judge said the lives of his victims’ loved ones had been “shattered”.

She referred to a victim impact statement by the sisters’ mother who described being “haunted” by the knowledge of how her children suffered.

On the pact with the devil, the judge said: “I am sure you performed these murders as part of that bargain for wealth and power.”

As “bizarre” as the pact seemed, it was part of his belief system, she added.

She told Hussein: “You committed these vicious attacks. You did it to kill. You did it for money and a misguided pursuit of power.”

The defendant sat facing away from the court as he was sentenced.

Earlier, prosecutor Oliver Glasgow QC ruled out a whole life order for Hussein because of his age.

Mr Glasgow said there were “significant” aggravating features, included taking a knife to the scene and destruction of evidence.

He said: “His offending is a product of his belief in Satanism and his belief you could enter into a bargain with a devil.

“That belief system is something he researched for some time.”

In preparation for the killing, Hussein bought knives from Asda and a black balaclava on Amazon and signed up to a lottery betting website.

In the early hours of June 6 last year, he stalked his victims as they celebrated Ms Henry’s birthday in Fryent Country Park in Wembley, north London.

Hussein stabbed Ms Henry eight times, before he slashed Ms Smallman 28 times as she bravely fought back.

He then dragged them into bushes where they lay undiscovered for 36 hours.

During the savage attack, Hussein cut his right hand with the 12cm knife, which he dropped in the grass.

Over the next 10 days, Hussein spent £162.88 on lottery tickets and bets – all without success.

On the evening of June 6, the sisters’ worried loved ones reported them missing, but officers were not deployed to the park until the next day.

Before they arrived, Ms Smallman’s frantic boyfriend Adam Stone, who could not believe she would have left their pet bearded dragon unattended, found the bodies.

Officers then carried out a painstaking search and identified the DNA of an unknown male from blood on the knife, bodies and surrounding scene.

On June 30 last year, in a major breakthrough, a DNA familial link was made to Hussein’s father, who had a past caution.

Within an hour-and-a-half, Hussein was identified on CCTV buying knives in Asda and returning home after the murders.

Searches of his bedroom in south-east London uncovered a book of spells, handwritten demon symbols and two blood pacts.

Jurors were not told of the extent of Hussein’s obsession with demons, spells and potions.

He had come to the attention of police aged just 15 over fears he was vulnerable to radicalisation and violent extremism.

Before the killings, Hussein communicated with others about demons and love potions, and carried out online research about the far-right and Norse mythology.

It is believed he was influenced by the work of an American black magician who has links with a British-based Nazi Satanist group known as the Order of Nine Angles.

Last week, Facebook removed his page and Instagram account and YouTube launched a review.

Two police constables have been charged with misconduct in public office after allegedly sharing pictures of the crime scene on WhatsApp, and are due to enter pleas on November 2.

Separately, the Independent Office of Police Complaints concluded its investigation over the response to the initial missing persons reports.

On Monday, the police watchdog found the level of service provided by the Met over the weekend when the sisters went missing was “below the standard that it should have been”.

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Categories: Bibaa Henry, Danyal Hussein, News, Nicole Smallman, Norse mythology, Order of Nine Angles

At least 11 killed as ‘so-called Islamic State’ gunmen launch attack in Iraq

October 27, 2021 Article

Gunmen from the so-called Islamic State extremist group attacked a village northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 11 civilians and wounding six others, Iraqi security officials said.

The officials said the attack occurred in the predominantly Shiite village of al-Rashad northeast of Baqouba in Diyala province.

The circumstances of the attack were not immediately clear, but two officials said Islamic State group militants had kidnapped two villagers earlier and then raided the village when their demands for ransom were not met.

Machine guns were used in the attack, they added, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

They said all the dead and wounded were civilians.

Attacks targeting civilians have become rare in Iraq since the Islamic State group was largely defeated in the country in 2017, although it remains active through sleeper cells in many areas.

Militants from the Sunni Muslim extremist group still conduct operations, often targeting security forces, power stations and other infrastructure.

A roadside bomb attack targeted a Baghdad suburb in July, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens of others at a crowded market.

In January, twin suicide bombings ripped through a busy market in the Iraqi capital, killing at least 32 people and wounding dozens.

Iraqi officials blamed IS for those attacks.

Read more: Islamic State attacks Iraqi police near Najaf, kills seven

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Categories: Al-Rashad, gunmen, Iraq, Islamic State, News, Shia, Suicide Bombings, Sunni Muslim

“No Islam” graffiti in Sutton Park under investigation

October 26, 2021 Article

West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council have been alerted to anti-Muslim and Islamophobic graffiti scrawled on a sign in Sutton Park.

The graffiti, which reads “No Islam”, appears on a sign warning the public against swimming in a body of water in the park, which a Muslim family spotted when following a trial walk recently.

The Muslim family who spotted the graffiti shared their photo with us to raise awareness.

Tell MAMA has since flagged it with the local council and the police, and the family consented for us to use a photograph of the graffiti to raise awareness whilst protecting their anonymity.

We remind the public that anyone can report racist, harmful, and hateful graffiti – wherever it appears (including lampposts, bins, benches, signs, or public buildings).

The government’s Gov.uk website simplifies the process and locates the appropriate council by inputting the postcode information.

The Birmingham City Council website, in this example, states: “We remove graffiti from subways and recycling sites around Birmingham as quickly as possible. If the graffiti is racist or offensive we aim to remove it within 1 working day.”

In recent years, we have highlighted other examples of such graffiti – including on public buildings, walls, and in one example, a vehicle.

It remains unclear when the graffiti appeared, as the sign also shows signs of recent targeting with anti-vaccine and Covid-19 denial propaganda stickers since removed.

Where possible, we will provide updates on the matter in due course.

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: graffiti, News, West Midlands Police

Social media giants under pressure over Satanist linked to Wembley murders

October 20, 2021 Article

A Satanist whose work is believed to have influenced double killer Danyal Hussein has been removed from Facebook and Instagram following an investigation by the PA news agency.

Hussein, 19, stabbed sisters Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, to death in a Wembley park after making a blood pact with a demon.

Since his Old Bailey trial, it has emerged that he was an active member of online forum Becoming A Living God, set up by black magician E A Koetting.

Parts of Hussein’s pledge to “sacrifice” women for power and wealth appeared to have come from the US author’s work.

Yet Koetting continued to promote his books to more than 200,000 followers on Facebook and YouTube.

Following PA’s investigation with the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right (C4ARR), Facebook said it had removed Koetting’s page and Instagram account for violating its dangerous individuals and organisations policies.

On Wednesday, YouTube issued a statement to say it was “reviewing” the content.

The company stated: “Hate has no place on YouTube, and we are deeply saddened by this terrible incident.

“We have strict policies to ensure that our platform is not used to incite violence and we are in the process of carefully reviewing the content against these stringent rules.”

Professor Matthew Feldman, director of C4ARR, said some of Koetting’s work could amount to incitement to murder.

He said: “This is the best example I have come across of someone saying this is what you must do to become strong, powerful, rich.

“He has 87,000 YouTube subscribers and 128,000 on Facebook.”

“If 0.1% of people take that seriously, as Danyal Hussein clearly did, and think this is what I have to do to become famous, that’s 200 potential murderers.”

In his blood pact to King Lucifuge Rofocale, Hussein had pledged to “sacrifice” six women every six months to win a lottery jackpot.

Professor Feldman said Koetting had written about blood sacrifices to become rich, attractive and powerful – and even named the same demon, Lucifuge Rofocale.

His texts have also highlighted motiveless killing and making a blood pact.

Professor Feldman went on: “Koetting’s written works include texts that openly discuss and encourage murder.

“One book, Works Of Darkness, describes how to murder another person with a knife in a ritual sacrifice.

“Another book, Apex Of Eternity, advises people to study the terrorist handbook, provides practical guidance on how to kill another person.”

It quotes child murderer Ian Brady saying: “Always remember the first rule of murder: never kill a person that you have a reason to kill.”

One passage says: “What we’re looking for is the knowledge and skill needed to kill with any weapon, with no weapon and from a distance (as with explosives or traps).”

Professor Feldman said: “The text, in particular paragraphs and taken as a whole, can act as an incitement to murder.”

Apex Of Eternity was written for a Nazi Satanist organisation called Tempel ov Blood (sic), which has been cited as a major influence in seven recent UK terrorism prosecutions, six of which involved teenagers.

Tempel ov Blood is said to be the US branch of the UK-based Nazi Satanist group Order of Nine Angles (O9A).

In an apparent reference to Tempel ov Blood, Koetting wrote in one of his books that he joined “an American cell of the notorious British Order of Nine Angles”.

In a YouTube video, which has been viewed more than 17,000 times, Koetting discusses human sacrifice.

He says: “When you destroy the victim there is a release, a massive explosion of power and energy.

“If you can harness that and push it towards a goal, it’s powerful beyond most other forms of magic. It’s the blackest magic without a doubt.”

Later, he adds a caveat that he does not advocate harming anyone “to cover myself legally”.

Koetting follows a malignant form of Satanism called the Left-Hand Path, which grew out of the non-violent Right-Hand Path, which generally promotes white magic like ouija boards.

This summer also saw another double murder in Russia allegedly linked to a Satanist sect.

Professor Feldman suggested more could be done to support moderators of online content, and social media firms should “deep dive” into the background of figures like Koetting when they reach 10,000 followers.

The post Social media giants under pressure over Satanist linked to Wembley murders appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Biba Henry, E A Koetting, Magician, News, Nicole Smallman, Satanist

HYGGE cafe supports Muslim colleague with powerful anti-hate message

October 20, 2021 Article

The HYGGE café in Sheffield had a wonderful message of solidarity and support for its Muslim staff following an anti-Muslim and Islamophobic one-star review from a customer on Google after being served by a Muslim staff member in hijab.

In response, management replied: “Please rest assured that we will be doing everything we can to reassure ALL of our employees that their individuality, their religion, their race, gender, and personality – are what makes them perfect.”

Adding, “HYGGE is a family run business, and our mantra is to be inclusive, to be friendly, and to spread love – not hate. Your opinion has no place in this world, and I hope you learn to love a little more.”

Alex informed “George Cross” that “If you do find yourself visiting HYGGE again, please ask for me by name – as I’d be happy to tell you in person that you will never be welcome at our business, until you change your outrageous and despicable attitude.”

Screenshots of the retort went viral on Instagram, drawing deserved praise and support, with people promising to visit. Others replied, “this is another reason why I would visit HYGGE again!”.

Reflecting on Facebook, HYGGE wrote that “we felt it our duty to do what we can do to spread a message of unity and love, and to raise awareness of archaic and outrageous opinions that have no place in this world.”

Closing their latest statement with this powerful paragraph: “We as a business are so proud of each one of our staff, and we are so grateful to be a part of their lives. We will stand alongside each of them, and every one of our customers. There is no place for hate or discrimination of any sort in our business.”

Many have since flooded the Google reviews of HYGGE with equal levels of positive messaging and support.

Everyone at Tell MAMA warmly extends their deep gratitude to Alex and the staff at HYGGE for their show of solidarity and standing up to hate. Feel free to show them some love.

 

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Categories: Hijab, News, positive stories, Sheffield, workplace

Debunked: far-right Twitter falsehoods about Muslims in Rotherham

October 18, 2021 Article

A racist tweet comparing Rotherham to Islamabad and called for violence against Muslims is now the subject of a police investigation, following an investigation by Tell MAMA, after members of the public flagged their concerns.

The racist tweet shared on the evening of October 16 takes a video from a Mawlid (Milad un Nabi) celebration in Rotherham’s town centre in 2010 out of context to push harmful and racialised falsehoods that risk real-world violence to Muslims in Rotherham and beyond.

Circled is the old Alliance & Leicester bank which ceased to exist from 2011 onwards. The former Santander building has been vacant since 2014 in this part of Rotherham.

Another way to verify this falsehood is in its background – namely, the old Alliance & Leicester, which ceased to exist in 2011 after merging with Santander – the storefront has been vacant since 2014.

As of writing, the video accrued over forty-five thousand views, as some tweets in reply called for violence – including statements calling for the army to shoot them, racist conspiracies about ‘trojan horses’, to calls for mass deportations.

The investigation also unearthed a second racialised falsehood posted in reply to the above video and falsely claims to show the “changing face of Rotherham” over forty years, with the second image showing Muslims praying on the street in front of various police officers.

The origin of the historical photo is partly explained once again by YouTube. We traced its origins to a video montage of Rotherham in the 1950s and 1960s, first uploaded in 2014, where the image itself appears at the 2:58 timestamp.

Credit: YouTube/Billy244.

The image would later appear in a 2018 Rotherham Advertiser article about local history from Melvyn Jones and Michael Bentley.

Regarding the second image, that photo, taken on September 5, 2015, by local photographer Luis Arroyo, had captioned it, “Prayer time during the Rotherham Unite Against Fascism’s demo today.” As with 2021, in 2015 also, the image removed from its context became a lightning rod for anti-Muslim and Islamophobic agitators. Arroyo wrote on September 10, 2015, “It is a real shame all those negative comments flying about too.”

The men photographed were part of a broader anti-fascist protest in the town, one month after the racist murder of Muslim pensioner Mushin Ahmed.

That same day, Britain First, the far-right street defence movement arrived in the town, resulting in 800 police officers from forces nationwide attending.

The events of that day also drew attention to injustice and the subsequent acquittal of the Rotherham 12 – Asian men cleared of violent disorder charges for protecting their communities from the far-right in 2016 and 2018, with articles providing further context appearing that year, addressing issues with policing and communities mobilising to support the twelve men.

Its false caption, “College Street, Rotherham, 40 years apart,” appeared on Twitter on the afternoon of October 17, before a day later, appearing with identical language on the social media channels of the far-right agitator Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson).

Tell MAMA has debunked various falsehoods that gained traction on Twitter, notably during the first national lockdown last year.

 

 

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Categories: conspiracies, Fake News, falsehoods, Far Right groups, memes, News, Rotherham, Tommy Robinson

Patel: MPs will not be ‘cowed’ by terror-linked killing of Sir David Amess

October 16, 2021 Article

The Home Secretary has said politicians will not be “cowed” following the fatal stabbing of MP Sir David Amess, which police believe may be linked to Islamist extremism.

Priti Patel visited the scene at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea on Saturday morning alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to pay their respects to Sir David, less than 24 hours after he was killed at a constituency surgery.

Ms Patel said security measures were being put in place to protect MPs but vowed they will carry on serving the country unimpeded in the face of the attack, which the Metropolitan Police have declared was a terrorist incident.

Speaking at Southend Police Station, the Home Secretary said: “We will carry on, we live in an open society, a democracy. We cannot be cowed by any individual or any motivation… to stop us from functioning, to serve our elected democracy.”

Asked whether there could be a balance between the safety of MPs and the democratic process, she said: “It can be balanced, it can absolutely be balanced.”

Ms Patel said Sir David was “was killed doing a job that he loves, serving his own constituents as an elected democratic member and, of course, acts of this… are absolutely wrong, and we cannot let that get in the way of our functioning democracy.”

“So that is why there are measures under way right now – I convened meetings yesterday, I’ve been with the Speaker of the House, and with the police and our security services to make sure that all measures are being put in place for the security of MPs so that they can carry on with their duties as elected democratic members,” she added.

Sir David, 69, who had been an MP since 1983, was fatally injured while meeting constituents.

A 25-year-old man arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder is in custody at an Essex police station.

Official sources told the PA news agency the man is believed to be a British national with Somali heritage.

As part of the investigation, officers are also carrying out searches at two addresses in the London area, the Met said.

Scotland Yard said the country’s most senior counter-terror officer, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, has formally declared the incident as terrorism and said early investigations have revealed “a potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism”.

Politicians put on a united front at the church on Saturday morning, with Mr Johnson and Sir Keir individually laying flowers outside the building.

But MPs have raised concerns over their safety at constituency surgeries following the attack, sparking a debate over whether they should continue in person.

Veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman said she will be writing to the Prime Minister asking him to back a Speaker’s Conference to review the safety of parliamentarians.

Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, who was hailed as a hero for his attempts to save the life of Pc Keith Palmer during the Westminster terror attack in 2017, said face-to-face meetings with MPs should be paused until a security review has been completed.

Investigators believe Sir David’s killer acted alone and are not seeking anyone else in connection with his death.

According to reports, the knifeman was waiting among a group of people to see Sir David at the church and launched the attack shortly after the MP arrived.

Local councillor John Lamb told the PA news agency he dashed to the church when he heard Sir David had been “stabbed multiple times”.

He said: “David was there holding his surgery at that Methodist church and this person had gone there to join the surgery and when he got the chance and he went in to be seen by David, then he drew a knife and stabbed him.”

By the time Mr Lamb arrived, police cordons were up and he could not get into the church.

He said: “We knew it must be very serious because the paramedics had been working on Sir David for over two-and-a-half hours and they hadn’t got him on the way to hospital. We knew it had to be extremely serious and that the worst scenario could occur – we were hoping it wouldn’t but it did. That was when we heard that he had died.”

The Conservative councillor said a worker from Sir David’s office who was in the surgery during the attack was “not in touch at the moment because it’s so distressing, she’s getting counselling at the moment”.

Mr Lamb previously told the Daily Mail that Sir David was with two female members of staff – one from his constituency office and one from his parliamentary office – when a man “literally got a knife out and just began stabbing him”.

Chief Constable of Essex Police Ben-Julian Harrington said Southend West MP Sir David was “simply dispensing his duties when his life was horrifically cut short”.

Tory veteran Sir David, who was described by Mr Johnson as “one of the kindest, nicest, most gentle people in politics” was married with five children.

The attack came five-and-a-half years after Labour MP Jo Cox was killed by a far-right extremist in her Batley and Spen constituency in West Yorkshire.

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Categories: David Amess, Home Secretary, killing, News, Priti Patel, Terror-linked