Rebel Media: A Platform Promoting Division, White Nationalism and Fear Mongering

March 4, 2019 Article

We are launching this report on Rebel Media and its influence online in a world where click-bait content, conspiracy theories and untruths become fact in the minds of some.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE

This report, entitled ‘Rebel Media – a platform promoting division, white nationalism and fear mongering‘ highlights the following. Key points include the following:

  • Ezra Levant has made a career out of using inflammatory language to gain audiences. He is the founder of Rebel Media and he has previously accused Gypsies of being “rapists, drug-dealers, thugs and murderers”.
  • Former contributors on the payroll of Rebel Media have included Tommy Robinson, Lauren Southern, Katie Hopkins and Paul Joseph Watson. They are notorious for their anti-Muslim, anti-refugee and anti-migrant views as well as promoting views of a clash of cultures between the West and the East.
  • Central to Rebel Media’s message is the platforming of far right ideology, many would identify as ‘counter-Jihadi’ and with slants that seek to portray a world view of ‘them and us’ – with Muslims in Europe being viewed as ‘them’.
  • There are three heavily emphasized themes that make up Rebel Media’s output. These include, white nationalism, the rejection of ‘political correctness’ and its criticisms of Islam.
  • It has 1.156 million subscribers on You Tube and 169,000 plus Facebook followers. It also has 161,000 Twitter followers meaning that it has a substantial online reach that can influence people across national boundaries.
  • Groups like Rebel Media have successfully tapped into a wellspring of discontent and unease, ramping up fears that white people are facing a rapid decline managed by elitist institutions on the side of minorities and ‘homosexuals’ and by using immigration as a tool against white people.
  • Rebel Media essentially believe that there is an Islamist infiltration through increased number of Muslim migrants.
  • Ezra Levant, the founder of Rebel Media, was investigated for possible contempt of court charges for filming inside the Old Bailey in September 2018. The investigation was subsequently discontinued. He was filming Tommy Robinson during his trial for recording a short social media film outside Leeds Crown Court, which was hearing a grooming trial at the time.
  • Two former ‘Rebel’ staffers have suggested that Rebel Media raises over $1,000,000 dollars in subscriptions per annum. It also received a $2 million payment from the anti-Muslim think tank, the Middle East Forum.
  • It continues, like Infowars, to promote a view of white victimisation in a global world where liberal elites are conspiring against them.

The author of the report, Rabbil Sikdar said:

“Much more work needs to be done to counter the fake news around Muslims and the insinuation that building mosques or having halal-certified food amounts to a ‘Muslim takeover’. It alludes to a soft power approach by Islamists. People who buy into this false narrative are then likelier to protest against Islamic institutions like mosques and faith schools or call for fewer Muslims, or even support authoritarian measures against them. Rebel Media are essentially existing as a platform for the spread of fear and hate, and all their contributors work on this line. They have essentially globalised hate and we should be really concerned by that”.

The post Rebel Media: A Platform Promoting Division, White Nationalism and Fear Mongering appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Canada, Counter-Jihadists, Ezra Levant, Katy Hopkins, News, Rebel Media, Tommy Robinson, white nationalism

Convicted Bomb-Maker Had Pictures of Muslims on Dartboard & Images of Barack Obama

December 19, 2018 Article

A bomb-maker who had a dartboard featuring images of Barack Obama, the Duchess of Cambridge and Cheryl Tweedy has been jailed for five years.

Matthew Glynn, 37, had an arsenal of weapons including Samurai swords, axes and knives at his home in Horfield, Bristol. He kept a viable improvised explosive device (IED) – which posed a threat to life – underneath his bed. More than 6kg of explosive powders, as well as other chemical used for bomb making, were stashed in his property.

Glynn also bought a Wolverine-style weapon with four sharp blades, described as “horrific” by police.

Bristol Crown Court heard a colleague tipped off police after visiting Glynn at his home in July.

Rachel Drake, prosecuting, said: “He went straight to the defendant’s bedroom and saw a vast array of weapons. “He also saw a dartboard with pictures of Muslim people upon it and Mr Glynn said he had a dart board of ‘people I hate’.

“Mr Glynn gave a tour of his weapons, describing their origin and use.

“The following day at work, Mr Glynn joked that he had had him sat on a bomb when he had been sat on the bed.”

The colleague, James Grogan, did not believe Glynn at first but later reported the claim to police. Officers attended at Howdens Joinery, where Glynn worked, on July 23 and he insisted it had been a joke. But when police asked to check his home, Glynn said he was worried about his collection of swords and axes.

He then asked officers: “If I do have something, will it be classed as a terror incident?”

Mr Grogan described Glynn as being an anxious man who demonstrated “racist and homophobic views”.

The area around Glynn’s home was evacuated while explosives experts examined what was inside. Glynn’s bed was x-rayed and a bomb, containing explosives, ball bearings and nails, was discovered. Ms Drake said experts concluded the device “would have posed a threat to life” if it had been detonated.

There were pots containing more than 6kg of explosives at Glynn’s home, as well as other handmade devices. One was a tennis ball filled with explosive powder, which could have been used as a grenade.

Glynn also possessed books, leaflets and notes detailing how to make bombs and throw knives, the court heard. “It was an extremely large arsenal,” Ms Drake said.

“In interview, he said it was his intention at some point to go to an open space to ignite them to see what damage they could do.” She said he did not have an explanation for the dartboard of people he hated found at his home and denied he still held views expressed on Facebook.

“The Facebook pages demonstrate an element of Islamophobia and general racial hated,” Ms Drake told the court.

One posts suggested school trips to mosques should be banned, while another called for the death penalty for serial killers, paedophiles and terrorists.

Ramin Pakrooh, representing Glynn, questioned why his client’s Facebook postings had been raised in court.

“There’s a number of views expressed within his Facebook page such as views on immigration,” Mr Pakrooh said.

“That is absolutely a matter for him and is absolutely not for this court to censure these views unless these views have resulted in him breaking the law.”

Mr Pakrooh said Glynn “objected” to his dartboard being referred to as a “Muslim board” by prosecutors.

The board featured images of Barack Obama, Justin Bieber, Cheryl Tweedy, the Duchess of Cambridge and a Somali boy.

“It was a board for people he hated,” Mr Pakrooh said. “I don’t think any of the images on that board have escaped having darts thrown at them.”

Glynn had been collecting weapons for about 20 years and treated them as a “hobby”, his barrister said. The court heard Glynn had no previous convictions. He admitted five charges under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 at a hearing in October.

Sentencing Glynn to five years in prison, Judge Peter Blair QC, the Recorder of Bristol, said the defendant had expressed “hated of others”. He described his Facebook postings as “haphazard and irregular”.

“The really concerning elements of this case were the two bombs which were seized,” the judge said.

“One of them had ball bearings and nails in it and the other had ball bearings on it.”

The post Convicted Bomb-Maker Had Pictures of Muslims on Dartboard & Images of Barack Obama appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Bomb Maker, Bristol, IED, Matthew Glynne, News, Terror Incident, terrorism

As election nears, religious tensions surge in an Indian village

December 9, 2018 Article

Nayabans isn’t remarkable as northern Indian villages go. Sugar cane grows in surrounding fields, women carry animal feed in bullock carts through narrow lanes, people chatter outside a store, and cows loiter.

But this week, the village in Uttar Pradesh state became a symbol of the deepening communal divide in India as some Hindu men from the area complained they had seen a group of Muslims slaughtering cows in a mango orchard a couple of miles away.

That infuriated Hindus, who regard the cow as a sacred animal. Anger against Muslims turned into outrage that police had not stopped an illegal practise, and a Hindu mob blocked a highway, threw stones, burned vehicles and eventually two people were shot and killed – including a police officer.

The events throw a spotlight on the religious strains in places like Nayabans since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power at the national level in 2014 and in Uttar Pradesh in 2017. Tensions are ratcheting up ahead of the next general election, due to be held by May.

The BJP said it was “bizarre” to assume the party would benefit from any religious disharmony, dismissing suggestions that its supporters were largely responsible for the tensions.

“In a large country like India nobody can ensure that nothing will go wrong, but it’s our responsibility to maintain law and order and we understand that,” party spokesman Gopal Krishna Agarwal said. “But people are trying to politicize these issues.”

Nayabans, just about three hour’s drive from Delhi, has about 400 Muslims out of a population of 4,000, the rest are Hindu. Relations between the communities began deteriorating around the Muslim holy month of Ramadan last year when Hindus in the village demanded that loudspeakers used to call for prayer at a makeshift mosque be removed, local Muslims said.

“For 40 years mikes were used in the mosque, calls for prayer were made five times a day, but no one objected,” said Waseem Khan, a 28-year-old Muslim community leader in Nayabans.

“We resisted initially but then we thought it’s better to live in peace then create a dispute over a mike,” he said. “We don’t want to give them a chance to fan communal tensions.”

Reuters spoke with more than a dozen Muslims from the village but except for Khan, no one else wanted to be named for fear of angering the Hindu population.

Several among a group of Muslim women and girls standing outside the mosque said they have been living in fear since the BJP came to power in the state in 2017.

They said that Hindu groups now hold provocative processions through the village during every Hindu festival, loudspeakers blaring, something that used to happen rarely before. They said they felt “terrorised” by Hindu activists.

“While passing through our areas during their religious rallies, they chant ‘Pakistan murdabad’ (down with Pakistan) as if we have some connection to Pakistan just because we are Muslims,” Khan said.

HINDU PRIEST CHIEF MINISTER

The subcontinent was divided into Muslim Pakistan and Hindu-majority India at the time of independence from British colonial rule in 1947.

During the violence on Monday, many Muslims in Nayabans locked themselves in their homes fearing attacks. Some who had attended a three-day Muslim religious congregation some miles away stayed outside the area that night to avoid making themselves targets for the mob.

Muslim villagers say they are particularly fearful of the top elected official in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is a Hindu priest and senior BJP figure. Hindu hardliners started asserting themselves more in the village after he was elected, they say.

Uttar Pradesh sends 80 lawmakers to the lower house of parliament, the largest of any state in the country.

Considered the county’s political crucible, it has also been the scene for spiralling Hindu-Muslim tensions.

Adityanath said the lead up to the rioting in Nayabans was a “big conspiracy”, but did not elaborate.

In the only statement from his office on the incident, Adityanath ordered police to arrest those directly or indirectly involved in the slaughter of cows and made no mention of the death of the police inspector. He announced 1 million rupees ($14,110) as compensation for the family of the other dead man, a local who is among those accused by police for the violence.

Both men were Hindus and died of bullet wounds, although police said it was not yet clear who shot whom.

Police say they have arrested up to five people for the cow slaughter but have not given their religion. Locals say all the arrested people are Muslims. Four Hindu men have been arrested for the violence leading to the deaths.

“All invidious elements who may have conspired to vitiate the situation will be exposed through a fair and transparent investigation,” Anand Kumar, the second highest police official in Uttar Pradesh, told Reuters.

Asked if there was any bias against Muslims, Uttar Pradesh government spokesman Sidharth Nath Singh – who is also the state’s health minister – told Reuters: “We believe in equality and our motto is sabka saath, sabka vikas”, using a Hindi phrase often used by Modi that means “collective effort, inclusive growth”.

RELATIVE HARMONY

The two communities in Nayabans have lived in relative harmony for years, residents from both groups said.

But now Hindus in the village, who mostly say they support Yogi, accuse the Muslims of trying to turn themselves into the victims when they weren’t.

“Can’t believe they are raising our processions with journalists!” said Daulat, a Hindu daily wage labourer who goes by one name. “They are making it a Hindu-Muslim issue, we are not. Their people have been accused of killing cows, so they are playing the victim.”

At a middle school, metres from the police outpost near where the two men got killed, two women teachers, sitting on a veranda soaking in the winter sun, said its 66 students stopped coming for classes in the first few days after the violence.

“We worship cows and their slaughter can’t be accepted,” said one of the teachers, Uma Rani. “Two Hindus died here but nothing happened to the cow killers.”

Both teachers were Hindus.

Political analysts say relations between the two communities are likely to stay tense ahead of the national vote, particularly in polarised states such as Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP made a near-clean sweep in Uttar Pradesh in 2014, helping Modi win the country’s biggest parliamentary mandate in three decades, but pollsters predict a tighter contest next year because of a lack of jobs and low farm prices.

“Facing economic headwinds and lacklustre job growth, Modi will rally his conservative base by selectively resorting to Hindu nationalism,” global security consultancy Stratfor said last month.

Muslims say they increasingly feel like second-class citizens in their own country.

“The BJP will definitely benefit from such incidents,” said Tahir Saifi, a Muslim community leader a few miles from the area of violence who supports a regional opposition party in Uttar Pradesh. “They want all Hindus to unite, and when religion comes into the picture, other issues like development take a back seat.”

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Categories: BJP, India, Narendra Modi, Nayabans, News, Uttar Pradesh

Video of Racist Bullying in Huddersfield is not Shocking. It Happened to Me Too

November 28, 2018 Article

 

I was deeply disturbed by viral footage of a young Syrian refugee being beaten and humiliated at a school in Huddersfield. However, the attack, described by the media as racially motivated, did not shock me. Instead, the video is an ugly reminder of a history of racism in the UK.

Growing up in Huddersfield, I too faced and witnessed prejudice and bullying at school during the 90s. A devastating phenomenon that was even worse for my father’s generation in the 70s and the generation before him in the 60s.

As a British Muslim of Pakistani descent, who is proud to have been raised in Huddersfield, I and other Pakistanis were subjected to racial slurs, hatred and even violent attacks. The same was true for many black and Irish children growing up at the same time. There was no logic or rational basis to the prejudice we faced; it was pure hatred, based on generations of ignorance.

While children are the most cherished members of any society, they can also be a troubling and cruel reflection of the very worse aspects of society. A Primary School child is not genetically racist or prejudiced. He or she comes to discriminate between ethnicity, race and gender on the basis of their socio-economic environment or if they come across hateful material. Furthermore, if the spark of hatred and racism is struck up in the home, then it is large sections of the media and many public commentators who douse it with fuel.

There is ample evidence that media coverage of Muslims and Islam is disproportionately negative. Moreover, common sense tells us that hatred towards Muslims is only increased by headlines such as ‘Muslims’ Sympathy for Jihadis,’ ‘Muslims Tell us How to Run our Schools’ or ‘Muslims Tell British: Go to Hell!’. Despite this, the mainstream media will continue to influence playgrounds by providing platforms to hate preachers such as Tommy Robinson.

In my experience, it would also be fair to say that racism and prejudice are not exclusively a ‘white’ problem. For example, some of the worst hatred I faced was from fellow Muslim children and teenagers who would verbally abuse and assault me and others purely on the basis of sectarianism; because we were Ahmadi Muslims, a peaceful sect of Islam they disagree with.  Racism really does affect us all.

As a lawyer, human rights activist, long-time youth worker and grass root community activist and anti-hate campaigner, I have had the opportunity to work with thousands of young people in Huddersfield and across the breadth of the UK. One of the most powerful lessons I have taken from my experience is that children and even adults, if given the chance have the capacity to learn tolerance, acceptance and plurality.

By way of example, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community runs a series of community projects. These include tree planting, cleaning up fly-tip areas, visiting and helping the elderly, supporting World War II veterans through the Poppy Appeal, responding to floods and other natural disasters, and raising money for the most disadvantaged in British society.

In twenty plus years of carrying out this work, I have witnessed countless people embrace, thank tearfully and befriend young Muslims who took the time to help and value them. Even members of far-right parties have knocked on our doors not to abuse or assault us, but to thank us, shake our hands and tell us that our kindness has caused them to question and even shed their prejudice.

Experience has taught me that the fire of hatred that is raging across the UK and Europe can be extinguished by mutual love, compassion, understanding and kindness. For that to happen, we need to get up and pro-actively meet one another. Living in isolation will only breed ignorance, prejudice and racism.

Farooq Aftab is a member of the British Ahmadi community and works to ensure human rights and justice.

The post Video of Racist Bullying in Huddersfield is not Shocking. It Happened to Me Too appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Ahmaddiya, Ahmadi Muslims, Farooq Aftab, Huddersfield, Opinions, Syrian Refugee, Tommy Robinson

Anti-Muslim Hatred Does Exist – We Are the Evidence

May 8, 2018 Article

‘Islamophobia’ has once again become part of the social debate and with comments that it does not exist. 

Within Tell MAMA, we have repeatedly cited the fact that we are not concerned about criticism of religion or faith. Islam, like any faith, can be criticised and vehemently disliked and this does not mean that those who carry these feelings and views will be inherently anti-Muslim in nature. It is the latter that interests us, though we also have to caveat the former statement by saying that some people who hold such views, may be anti-Muslim in their outlook and actions.

Tell MAMA does not use the term ‘Islamophobia’ and we look at the impacts on people, property, institutions and the mental, psychological and physical health of people. Therefore anti-Muslim hate is what we measure and reduce and ensure support for the victims of such hatred. Which brings us onto the following – anyone suggesting that anti-Muslim hatred does not exist is playing fast and loose with the facts. The facts are clearly listed in the series of reports that we have put together on the back of hard data and evidence from victims which can be found here, here and here. These are just a few examples of the numerous reports that we have put out. Collectively, we have documented over 6 years of material in this area of work.

We also note that our Founder was cited around his comments on anti-Semitism within some sections of Muslim communities. His comments reflect a need to challenge all forms of hatred wherever they are found. His work in setting up Tell MAMA, have led to his harassment and targeting for years, simply for pushing back against anti-Muslim hatred. We also note how a handful of individuals and organisations use the politics of division by citing the reference and by-passing the years of work done by Fiyaz Mughal in challenging anti-Muslim hatred head on and in ensuring that we can monitor and measure it, whilst supporting victims at point of need. 

The last thing victims of anti-Muslim hatred need are the politics of division, despair and cynicism. They need our support and our collective care.

The post Anti-Muslim Hatred Does Exist – We Are the Evidence appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: anti-Semitism, Opinions

French Muslims Want to Be Like Anyone Else, Just Not Victims

April 7, 2018 Article

We have spent a week in France meeting with key organisations and with people who understand how poisonous the tentacles of Islamist extremism have been and how they have also given rise to greater feelings of anti-Muslim hatred, which have been fuelled by a number of factors. We have spoken to Muslims who see the victim narrative pumped into French Muslims who have suffered anti-Muslim hate incidents and to those who have had their fears expanded because of the perpetual victim narrative that Islamist groups in the country have been promoting. 

What is happening in France is troubling. It is troubling since the State is grappling with extremism, disaffection within parts of its population, anti-migrant attitudes and a hardening of political stances to groups who talk about discrimination. Yet, there is another issue that is layered on top of this and it includes Islamist groups who talk about Islamophobia as if there is a perpetual battle between Muslims and the State. They take a ‘them and us’ approach which is constantly filtered into discussions and talks at a local level and the impression that Muslims come away with after listening to such groups is that they are being targeted for persecution by the State. This thinking and the re-enforcement of the belief that Muslims are being persecuted by the State, does the following. It re-enforces just the Muslim identity within those who accept this toxic message and it further alienates and marginalises them mentally to their surroundings and to those who are non-Muslim.

This is not to take away from the state of emergency laws that were enacted in France after the massive terrorist attacks in Paris and which went on for two years, finally to be lifted in late 2017. There were real issues of infringements on civil liberties and life for some French Muslims is further complicated by abuse and racism. However, instead of raising the morale of French Muslims with hope, French Muslims are fed a diet of ‘raging Islamophobia’, a French State that does not care for them and a sense of being embattled that all plays into the hands of radicalisers. What women can and can’t wear is naturally a campaigning point for these groups, as is Islamophobia, something that we would term, anti-Muslim hate. Yet, the very defence of freedoms that these groups cite, they will not be willing to defend if, for example, a gay Muslim wanted to join them and speak about Islam openly. Or, if an Ahmadi Muslim wanted their open support, or if an ex-Muslim called for solidarity with them. Then these freedoms become a ‘pick and mix’ approach, something that shows how such groups discard democracy as soon as it does not suit them. 

France is in a complex and difficult place, though President Macron has made some really bold moves. The first of these is to reach out into the banlieues of France to try and reverse some of the deep unemployment and disaffection that is felt in these areas. He also has spoken of tackling the ‘slow burn of Islamist extremism’

France’s democratic values should not be at odds with Muslims. But with Islamists in the ascendance in Muslim communities in France, there is a risk that the very values that France defends, may become the ones that are attacked in the future.

 

 

The post French Muslims Want to Be Like Anyone Else, Just Not Victims appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Banlieu, Egalite, Far Right groups, France, Fraternite, Liberte, Macron, Muslim, News

‘Grom Legion’ – Military Enthusiasts With Views and Links That are Concerning

April 1, 2018 Article

We have previously highlighted the group Ogniwo, and their links to far right activities. Associated with Ogniwo at certain events has been a military enthusiast group called the ‘Grom Legion’. 

We have received the following information about this group which has a penchant for military weaponry.

Here is a picture from their Facebook page dated early 2016. It shows a picture of a man in military regalia suggesting this is how they deal with the ‘Islamisation of Europe’.

Grom Legion Posting

Additionally, here are Grom Legion individuals meeting with well know far right extremist, Marian Kowalski. We have highlighted his activities and statements before and the posting was also made on their ‘official’ Facebook page. 

 

We were also notified of members of Grom Legion wearing Ogniwo tops. For those who are not aware of Ogniwo, here is information that we posted previously on the group. They are active in the United Kingdom and are of particular concern, given their activities that we have highlighted before. 

 

Lastly, we are aware of the fact that some members of the British police service have posed with individuals from Grom Legion who host stands at community events and who pose in military regalia. Here is an example of this. We therefore urge police forces and those in statutory authorities to reflect carefully on such engagement and to conduct due diligence activities before engaging with groups.

 

 

 

The post ‘Grom Legion’ – Military Enthusiasts With Views and Links That are Concerning appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Grom Legion, Marian Kowalski, News, Ogniwo

Statement from Fiyaz Mughal on Dispatches “Who Speaks for British Muslims?”

March 26, 2018 Article

“We believe that tackling extremism within our own community and working with other groups is an essential part of tackling anti-Muslim hate crime. It is through partnerships like this and an enduring empathy around the human rights of others, which can help build alliances and stronger social cohesion. 

Our approach so far has been not to highlight divisions. This is contrary to groups whom Ware investigates in the programme entitled, “Who Speaks for British Muslims”.

The programme explains how some groups play on a divisive approach targeted at British Muslim communities.  But this agenda of tackling anti-Muslim hate and protecting social cohesion is too important to be left to those who would divide the community and ignore intolerance. This is why we chose to speak out and take part in the Dispatches documentary.

We will continue to fight for an inclusive approach to Islam, based on pluralism and where dissent is part of the cornerstone of healthy communities. We also know that colleagues in other programmes of work that we have set up, will continue to diligently tackle anti-Muslim hatred as they have done for over 6 years now. This means that we will continue to speak up where we see this approach being abused.

Faith Matters believe we have a better, more positive and, vitally, more effective approach to tackling anti-Muslim hatred than has traditionally been taken by some other organisations in this field. At the heart of our approach is a belief in universal human rights.

As a result, our approach is completely inclusive. We work with LGBT organisations, feminist campaigns, those tackling antisemitism, and groups tackling bigotry wherever it is found. We work with people of all faiths and none to tackle extremism in all its forms. We challenge intolerance within our own communities. We don’t pander to win support, but always go back to our founding principle of universal rights. We believe this approach strengthens our ability to combat anti-Muslim hatred.

We build alliances through the consistency of our approach. It is by building on this strong community of human rights allies; challenging communities when it does not adopt this approach and consistently arguing that anti-Muslim hatred has the same root causes as homophobia, anti-Semitism, sexism, racism and all other hatred-driven intolerances that we make our case.

We hope this explains why the decision was made to engage with the Dispatches programme entitled, “Who Speaks for British Muslims”.”

The post Statement from Fiyaz Mughal on Dispatches “Who Speaks for British Muslims?” appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: anti-Muslim hate, Channel 4, Dispatches, John Ware, Opinions, Who Speaks for British Muslims

Buddhist mobs target Sri Lanka’s Muslims despite state of emergency

March 7, 2018 Article

Sri Lanka shut down social messaging networks including Facebook on Wednesday to control violence targeted at the country’s minority Muslims, officials said, even after the imposition of emergency in the Buddhist-majority island.

Tension has been growing between the two communities in Sri Lanka over the past year, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam and vandalising Buddhist archaeological sites.

Some Buddhist nationalists have also protested against the presence in Sri Lanka of Muslim Rohingya asylum seekers from mostly Buddhist Myanmar, where Buddhist nationalism has also been on the rise.

Police clamped an indefinite curfew in the central highlands district of Kandy where the violence has been centred since Sunday following the death of a Buddhist youth in an altercation with a group of Muslims.

Buddhist mobs attacked mosques and businesses belonging to Muslims overnight, residents told Reuters on Wednesday, even after President Maithripala Sirisena imposed emergency for seven days to control the violence.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said there had been “several incidents” throughout Tuesday night in the Kandy area, famous for its tea plantations.

“The police arrested seven people. Three police officers were injured from the incidents,” Gunasekara told Reuters. There was no information about how many civilians had been wounded, he said.

Some of the violence has been instigated over social media with postings appearing on Facebook threatening more attacks against Muslims, the government said.

On Wednesday, it said Facebook, Viber and Whatsapp would be blocked across the country for three days.

Sri Lanka is still healing from a 26-year civil war against Tamil separatists that ended in 2009, with reports of rights abuses on both sides. Muslims make up 9 percent of the 21 million population, the smallest minority after ethnic Tamils, most of whom are Hindus.

UN rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said he was alarmed by the recurring episodes of violence against ethnic and religious minorities in Sri Lanka and sought accountability.

“There should be no impunity, either for the incitement that led to the attacks, or the attacks themselves,” he said in a speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The U.S. State Department in a security alert warned of the possibility of further unrest in Kandy, famous for a temple said to contain the tooth of Buddha.

A government minister said the violence in Kandy had been whipped up by people from outside the area. “There is an organised conspiracy behind these incidents,” Sarath Amunugama, a senior minister, told reporters in Colombo.

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Categories: Myanmar, News, Persecution, Rohingya, Sri Lanka, State of Emergency

“France first”, far right’s Marechal-Le Pen says in comeback speech

February 24, 2018 Article

France should follow U.S. President Donald Trump’s lead and fight for “France first”, Marion Marechal-Le Pen, seen as a potential leader of France’s far right, told U.S conservatives on Thursday in her first public appearance in months.

The 28-year-old former lawmaker, granddaughter of National Front founder Jean-Marie Le Pen and niece of party leader Marine Le Pen, temporarily withdrew from politics after her aunt’s presidential election defeat last May.

But she has long been viewed in France as a possible future leader of the National Front, and the fact that she was a keynote speaker at a conference that both Trump and U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence were addressing was widely commented on in French media as posing a challenge for Marine Le Pen.

“I’m not offended when I hear President Donald Trump say ‘America first’. In fact, I want America first for the American people, I want Britain first for the British people and I want France first for the French people,” she said.

“I came here today to tell you there is a youth ready for this fight in Europe today,” she told thousands of activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland.

Marechal-Le Pen, who is more socially conservative and economically liberal than her aunt, did not say if or when she was planning to return to an active role in French politics, instead mentioning her plans to open a management and political science school, which she said should train tomorrow’s leaders.

But the reception for Marechal-Le Pen, who has been praised by right-wing U.S. media such as Breitbart, was in contrast to her aunt’s visit to Trump Tower in New York in January last year, during the French presidential campaign.

Marine Le Pen, who has long aimed to burnish her credentials with foreign appearances, did not meet either Trump or anyone from his team during that visit and was photographed having coffee in a public area of the building.

While Le Pen has over the past months softened her anti-EU, anti-euro comments, Marechal-Le Pen lambasted the bloc, which she said was “slowly killing” ancient nations.

Blaming immigration and political correctness, she said in a speech delivered in English: “France is in the process of passing the eldest daughter of the Catholic church to the little niece of Islam.”

Marine Le Pen is hoping that a National Front congress mid-March will help her reassert her authority.

But in the complicated Le Pen family, whose rows have made French headlines for years, another possible problem for her is her father, who she expelled from the party but who said he would gate-crash the congress.

Meanwhile her niece told the activists: “Let us build on what you have achieved here so that on both sides of the Atlantic, conservatism may prevail.”

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Categories: Breitbart, Donald Trump, France, France First, News