Hungarian top court overturns village’s ban on mosques and LGBT displays

April 12, 2017 Article

The Constitutional Court of Hungary has overturned a ban on building mosques and Islamic headscarves in the village of Ásotthalom, two hours from the capital Budapest.

László Toroczkai, mayor of Ásotthalom, and vice president of the staunchly antisemitic far-right party Jobbik gained international notoriety following news of the ban. His ban also included a homophobic censure on the promotion of equal marriage.

Hungary’s commissioner for fundamental rights pushed for a constitutional challenge, and the court ruled that it aimed “to limit directly the freedom of conscience and religion, as well freedom of speech”.

The measures had been in place since November. And it sought came off the back of the refugee and migrant crisis affecting parts of Europe.

A BBC investigation also found links between Mr. Toroczkai and the British far-right. He told Victoria Derbyshire that: “He [Jim Dowson] came to Asotthalom a few times as a private individual, just to have a look. Nick Griffin also came with him.” This was confirmed in a post on Dowson’s Knights Templar International website.

On Mr. Torockzai’s official Facebook page, the antisemitism, homophobia, and anti-Muslim hatred are easy to find. On April 6, he posted in English, that: “The Visegrad Cooperation, which is built upon the unbreakable Hungarian-Polish friendship, will save Europe. All those who don’t believe in this should watch this video, in which Polish youngsters say no to the islamization of Europe. The Polish-Hungarian axis is as strong now as it used to be in the past centuries. It is indestructible.”

In previous homophobic statements, Mr. Toroczkai has ranted against the perceived ‘homosexual agenda’.

An antisemitic post crudely depicted the Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor and philanthropist George Soros as an octopus – evoking Nazi-era propaganda.

In a broader sense, however, this rhetoric is the bluster behind an egregious and illiberal clampdown on Soros-funded projects in parts of Eastern Europe.

Hungary has faced renewed criticism for a law that is said to target a major Budapest university. Tens of thousands took to the streets of Hungary’s capital to protest this proposed law. Nor does this obsession with Soros only sit within the extremes of Hungarian politics.

The Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called the university a ‘fraud,’ adding that “in Hungary, one cannot be above the law — even if you’re a billionaire.” Supporters of the Prime Minister are increasingly convinced that Soros intends to change the fundamental religious identity of Hungary by ‘flooding’ it with Muslim refugees. In other parts of Eastern Europe, this anti-Soros posturing can be found in the rhetoric of the former authoritarian leader of Macedonia, and in the actions of the current Macedonian government.This extends to Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Serbia. Poland’s ruling party is considering legislation to clamp down on Soros-funded groups.

 

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Categories: Antisemitism, homophobia, Jobbik, News

Timothy Martin Burton, Liberty GB Activist & Office Holder – Convicted of Religiously Aggravated Harassment

March 31, 2017 Article

For over 4 years, Timothy Martin Burton, harassed and intimidated the founder of Tell MAMA whilst using extremist far right networks to post up material targeting the faith of the founder. Details of the harassment that our founder suffered can be found HERE.

Timothy Martin Burton started off his ‘journey’ into far right extremism through the targeting of the then Director of Tell MAMA, Fiyaz Mughal, after he read an article in 2013 where Mughal was quoted within it. What transpired was a 4 year systematic campaign of harassment that led to Burton becoming a focal point for anti-Muslim haters and far right extremists from Australia through to the United States. Supporters of this individual also ended up being Pamela Geller, who was banned by the Home Secretary in 2013 from entering the United Kingdom. Her entry into the UK was regarded as “not being conducive to the public good.”

Burton went onto develop friendships with other far right conspiracy minded individuals and aided in supporting numerous blogs, statements and race hate material against Mughal, including ones that are currently being investigated. His targeting of Mughal was conducted through the Internet and was done underneath the Twitter pseudonym of ‘Catstrangler101’. The initial targeting in 2013 through this anonymous pseudonym meant that identification became a problem leading to the involvement of an external investigation company which identified the Twitter user as one Timothy Martin Burton from the West Midlands.

The interview notes after the arrest of Burton show a man who was exhibiting far right nationalist views and the interviewing notes said:

“He (Burton) stated that he has had long standing views about, as he terms it, the encroachment of Islam on the indigenous British population and how their needs are pursued to the detriment of society. Burton accepted in hindsight that he should not have sent the tweets and he would apologise to the victim.”

That apology was not to come.

In 2014, Burton was acquitted of material that was sent to the founder of Tell MAMA which involved calling him a ‘Muslim scumbag” and of promoting ‘Taqiyya’ – a concept used by far right extremists to suggest that Muslims lie to take over the State and to promote Sharia and the spread of Islam. Framed as the ‘Taqiyya’ trial by far right extremists and activists of the divisive anti-Muslim group, Liberty GB, Burton became emboldened and far right blogs consistently pumped out this term and tagged on the concept to Mr Mughal, thereby further adding insult against his faith identity. These aggressive, anti-Muslim and hateful messages continued for years through a range of blogs and sites in the UK and internationally.

Throughout Burton’s activities and the targeting of Mughal, there was ample evidence of a Muslim hater who was becoming more emboldened and extreme in his views. His initial anonymous tweets to Mughal in 2013 copied in the far right English Defence League and he also had the following text in his tweets:

“Hey Kuffar? Fed up of Islam? Don’t like your Muslim neighbours? Mosque in your area causing a problem? Call 1-800-DRONE-STRIKE – now.”

A video clip on his Twitter account showed a Qur’an burning ceremony with the following text attached to it – “I love the sound of Muzzies heads exploding in the morning.”

Burton then went onto try and build a career for himself through his affiliations with the anti-Muslim Liberty GB group that we have highlighted before. He even decided to run as the political candidate for Liberty GB in the 2016 General Elections for the Birmingham Ladywood seat, gaining only 200 votes. His campaign was based on how he had ‘stood up’ against Islam and how he had ‘won’ against Mr Mughal, a divisive position that no doubt, went down badly in the eyes of local voters, meaning that Liberty GB lost their deposit. Burton even titled himself the ‘Press Officer’ for Liberty GB where he turned up on the far right ‘Pegida’ radio station where he moaned about Muslims and Islam.

Burton however, who now felt that he had a purpose to what was an insignificant life in the public domain, relished his new found notoriety, though it was only a matter of time before he crossed a criminal threshold. This was to happen in 2017.

Liberty GB and the Link to Activities After the Murder of Jo Cox

Paul Weston – ‘Founder’ and ‘Chairman’ of Liberty GB

We have previously highlighted other key officers within Liberty GB, namely Paul Weston, who notoriously said after the murder of Lee Rigby in 2013 that ‘we are losing a racial war, we are losing a cultural war‘. He claimed that you would find ‘no white people in Tower Hamlets’ due to rising demographics of non-whites and Muslims.

In response to accusations of racism, Weston responded “If I want to avoid a civil war happening in my country, I am prepared to accept being called a racist“.

Weston quit Ukip after Lord Pearson stood down as leader. For him, the party would take a soft line towards Islam under Nigel Farage. He wrote in 2012 that “I think Islam will cause even more death and destruction in Europe over the 21st century than Nazism and Communism caused over the 20th century”.

Jack Buckby – ‘Press Officer’

Buckby’s toxic comments have previously been highlighted by us within Tell MAMA. Recently, Buckby told NUS campaigner Barbara Ntulmy “I hope you don’t get raped” in reference to Syrian refugees on Channel 4 news. However, his actions before and after the murder of campaigner and Member of Parliament, Jo Cox, have been the most revolting of statements from him.

Buckby stood in the Batley and Spen by-election after the murder of Jo Cox and months before the by-election tweeted out the following:

“Jo Cox was complicit in the rape of young girls throughout Yorkshire and beyond.”

In his own words: “nationalism is the cause we need to fight. The issue we’ve got is that young people do not associate with the word. So, as long as we keep the ideology it doesn’t really matter what word we use. Obviously, it’s all about spin.” Adding, that the language of ‘culturalism,’ which is ‘already important’ to nationalism, would help get young people involved with groups like the BNP.

When a student at the University of Liverpool, Mr Buckby tweeted a poster warning against sex with ‘intravenous drug abusers’, ‘bisexuals’ and ‘blacks’.

A now-deleted tweet from 2014 read: “Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. Please take time to remember those who were killed at the hand of fascism & hope Islam can’t do the same.”

In recent years, his incendiary rhetoric on Islam and Muslims has not changed. Further, he has made highly offensive and extreme comments about the LGBT and Jewish communities as well, yet Channel 4 gave him a platform to air such views without informing its audience effectively about his extremist ideology.

Burton Starts Up His Activities Again in 2016

True to form, Burton was back on the scene and started his harassment of the Founder of Tell MAMA in early 2016. He harassed Mr Mughal when Tell MAMA posted a job vacancy for a Caseworker for the national hate crime project. In a blog he caricatured the face of Mughal, copied in Liberty GB activists and other far right networks and suggested a toast to Mr Mughal with a ‘bacon sandwich’. He gloated in ‘winning’ his case and all the while e-mailing from an account entitled, ‘Freedom Lovin’ Infidel’ – a reference to so-called self-styled ‘Counter-Jihadists’ who target Muslims by enlarge. He repeated the term ‘Taqiyya’ on many occasions and also linked in the notorious ‘Gates of Vienna’ blog into his correspondence. He was now a fully fledged anti-Muslim far right activist.

In one e-mail, Burton stated the following:

“I forgot to thank you for passing my communication onto the Middle East transgender organisation. I thinks (sic) that it’s wonderful that you have such an enlightened group that supports persecuted minorities in this way.

It’s such a welcome change from the backward, misogynistic seventh century attitudes that we have come to expect from the followers of your ideology.”

Bizarrely, as a key witness Burton’s defence called one Sami Aldeeb to talk about the concept of ‘Taqiyya’. Aldeeb’s tweets include material showing the Qur’an with statements saying,

“This is a declaration of war against you, your family, your friends, your values, and everything that is precious to you.” At the previous trial, Burton’s defence relied on a member of Geert Wilder’s political party.

Conviction

On the 30th of March 2017, after a 4 year campaign, Timothy Martin Burton was found guilty of the religiously aggravated harassment of Fiyaz Mughal. A 4 year campaign that saw him being found not guilty, use language that few understood the impacts of, engage with far right extremism and ultimately lead him into the docks at Southwark Crown Court.

It was the persistence and tenacity of the founder of Tell MAMA, with the hard work of the Crown Prosecution Service and the MET, which led to the conviction of this far right extremist. The statement from Fiyaz Mughal, can be found below:

“I am relieved that the jury have seen this for the criminal conduct it is. For the last four years I have been subjected to a long running hate campaign at the hands of Mr Burton. I have received unacceptable abuse which has no place in modern day Britain. The outcome of the trial sends a very clear message – racial and religious abuse is completely unacceptable and is punishable by law. It also sends a message to far right activists who break the law in targeting people through religiously aggravated harassment. You will not succeed and you will be held accountable for your actions within the laws of our land.

There is also a message for Islamist extremists and those who perpetuate an Islamist narrative of the State being against Muslims or Muslim rights not being protected. This result corrodes your toxic narrative that holds back some Muslims from reporting in and accessing justice and your manipulation of our fellow British Muslim citizens against the State and its structures, is challenged by this ruling. The legal system works for all.

For others suffering from similar abuse, my message is very clear: report any racial and religious abuse you receive to third party hate crime agencies like Tell MAMA and to the police because this behaviour breaks the law. This judgment also sends a very clear message to social media companies, which have been extremely slow to monitor and curb this type of activity, that they have a responsibility to act to ensure their platforms are not used to break the law.”

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Categories: Far Right groups, hate crime, Jack Buckby, News, Paul Weston, Taqqiya

Early returns give Dutch PM Rutte big lead over far-right Wilders

March 16, 2017 Article

The Netherlands’ centre-right Prime Minister Mark Rutte roundly saw off a challenge by anti-Islam, anti-EU Geert Wilders in an election on Wednesday, early returns showed, a huge relief to other EU governments facing a wave of nationalism.

“It appears that the VVD will be the biggest party in the Netherlands for the third time in a row,” a beaming Rutte told cheering supporters at a post-election party in The Hague. “Tonight we’ll celebrate a little.”

Rutte received congratulatory messages from European leaders and spoke with some by telephone.

“It is also an evening in which the Netherlands, after Brexit, after the American elections, said ‘stop’ to the wrong kind of populism,” he said.

With nearly 11 percent of votes counted, Rutte’s VVD Party was projected to win 32 of parliament’s 150 seats, down from 41 at the last vote in 2012, but ahead of Wilders who was in third place at 20 seats, according to data provided by the ANP Dutch news agency.

The Christian Democrat CDA was second with 21 seats, the data showed.

At 81 percent, turnout was the highest in 30 years in an election that was a test of whether the Dutch wanted to end decades of liberalism and choose a nationalist, anti-immigrant path by voting for Wilders and his promise to “de-Islamicise” the Netherlands and quit the European Union.

The result was a relief to mainstream parties across Europe, particularly in France and Germany, where right-wing nationalists hope to make a big impact in elections this year, potentially posing an existential threat to the EU.

Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen is set to make France’s presidential election run-off in May, while eurosceptic, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany is likely to enter the German federal parliament for the first time in a September election.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, Peter Altmaier, could not restrain his joy, tweeting: “The Netherlands, oh the Netherlands you are a champion!….. Congratulations on this great result.”

France’s foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault tweeted: “Congratulations to the Dutch for stemming the rise of the far-right.”

The exit polls helped the euro rise to its highest against the dollar since Feb. 7.

REAL BELLWETHER IS FRANCE

But Mabel Berezin, professor of sociology at Cornell University in the United States, said defeat for Wilders, who has been in parliament for nearly two decades, should not be considered a sign that European populism is waning.

“He does not represent a populist wave. Rather, he is part of the political landscape and how his party fares does not tell us much about European populism,” she said.

“The real bellwether election will be Marine Le Pen’s quest for the French presidency, starting April 23 – that is where the populist action is and that is what we should be focusing upon.”

Rutte got a last-minute boost from a diplomatic row with Turkey, which allowed him to take a well-timed tough line on a majority Muslim country during an election campaign in which immigration and integration have been key issues.

The spat did not hurt the chances of Denk, a party supported by Dutch Turks, which looked set to win three seats, becoming the first ever ethnic minority party, in a possible sign of deepening ethnic division.

But while Rutte averted what in the early stages of the campaign looked like a possible victory for Wilders, years of austerity pushed down his share of the vote. His junior partner in the outgoing coalition, Labour, suffered its worst ever result, winning just nine seats, down from 38 last time.

That means it will likely take months for Rutte to negotiate a ruling coalition, with at least three other parties needed to reach a majority in parliament.

Wilders, whose Party for Freedom (PVV) is projected to increase its parliamentary seats to 19 from the 15 won in 2012, tweeted: “We won seats! The first victory is in! And Rutte has not seen the last of me yet!!”

The result is well down from his 2010 high of 24 seats while support for the two most pro-EU parties, the progressive D66 and GreenLeft, was way up.

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Categories: anti-EU, Christian Democrat, Dutch elections, Dutch Turks, Far Right groups, Geert Wilders, Mark Rutte, News, PVV

No more baseball bats – National Front no longer taboo for French youth

March 14, 2017 Article

Just a few years ago, it was hard to find students willing to admit to being National Front cardholders. When a journalist went looking for members of the FNJ youth movement during the last presidential election campaign, most would agree to speak only if their names were withheld.

Five years on, young activists supporting Marine Le Pen’s election bid say they no longer have anything to hide, as she cruises to an expected first place showing in the first round next month.

“It just provides for lively discussions,” said 21-year-old economics student Corentin Corcelette, who, far from keeping his views secret, says he talks about the rollercoaster presidential election with friends of all political persuasions on campus.

Sitting in the same car as they drove around Lyon to put up “Marine President” posters, 20-year old biology student Remi Berthoux was also happy to give a reporter his name. He joined the FN two years ago, he said proudly, “to defend France’s values”.

Once consigned mainly to the shadows, young National Front supporters have come out into the open, as voters their age have lined up behind Le Pen. Daily polls by firm Ifop consistently show her earning nearly a third of the youth vote in the first round, easily beating any of her opponents, although she is still forecast to lose in a second-round run-off in May.

She fares better among voters under 25 than she does among the population at large, often by a margin as high as 7 percentage points. That is a big reversal from her first bid for the presidency five years ago, when her 15 percent share of the youth vote was around 3 points below her overall tally.

DETOXIFYING BRAND

Winning over young voters has been an achievement for Le Pen’s campaign to detoxify the National Front brand.

In the past, when the Front’s FNJ youth wing put up posters, “they would do so in the middle of the night,” said Sylvain Crepon, a researcher at the University of Tours who studies the French far right.

“They carried baseball bats to protect themselves and would often be with skinheads,” he said. “Now they can do it in broad daylight, which shows people have grown more accustomed to the FN. It’s become more acceptable.”  

There was not a baseball bat or skinhead in sight on the early evening last month when a group of nine clean-cut young men including Corcelette and Berthoux put up Le Pen posters in the streets of Lyon and on its university campus.

“We absolutely don’t see ourselves as far right, but as patriots who are disappointed with other parties,” said David Sedoff, a 26-year old warehouse worker.

Demographics are a major difference between the far right surge on the European continent and last year’s rise of populists in Britain and the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump and the campaign to withdraw Britain from the EU both lost badly among young voters, on their way to victories won with overwhelming support from pensioners.

For Le Pen, the demographics are almost exactly reversed. She performs well among all categories of younger voters: those under 25, under 35 and under 45. Her worst results are among pensioners: the over 65’s are only age group where she consistently trails her rivals in polling for the first round.

Unlike their Anglo-Saxon cousins, continental populist politicians like Le Pen, the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders and Italy’s Beppe Grillo have turned young voters into their key constituencies. They feed on the resentment of a generation with little seeming hope of matching its parents’ standard of living.

In France, nearly a quarter of workers under 25 are unemployed, compared to a national jobless rate of about 10 percent, according to last year’s official statistics.

And those young people lucky enough to find jobs often work under far less generous conditions than previous generations. More than half of workers 24 and under have only temporary contracts or agency positions which come with few guarantees or rights, compared to 85 percent of French workers who enjoy full time contracts with strong worker protections.

While Le Pen’s theme of dramatic change appeals to many young voters, their grandparents benefit from the generous pensions of the status quo and worry that her plan to abandon the EU and its euro common currency would hurt their savings.

Young voters are also less likely to associate the National Front with its founder, Marine Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie Le Pen, who topped out at 17.8 percent of the vote in his repeated quests for the presidency and never crossed into the mainstream.

He was convicted repeatedly for inciting racial hatred before his daughter banned him from the party.

MAKEOVER

Since then, Marine Le Pen has carefully reconstructed the party’s image and distanced herself from her father. She is referred to as “Marine” — without her surname — on her official campaign website and posters, and eschews the FN’s torch symbol for a new logo of a blue rose.

She tends to emphasise economic issues, portraying the FN as guardians of working class voters left behind in the decade since the global financial crisis, and blaming the EU in general and the euro in particular for making France less competitive.

But hostility towards immigration and suspicion of Islam are still central tenets for the party. In a country that has Europe’s biggest Muslim minority and has been hit by a succession of Islamist militant attacks in the past two years, the FN’s xenophobia is no longer the barrier to attracting young voters that it once was.

The FNJ youth movement’s website proudly declares: “100 percent National Front! Zero percent migrants!”

“Europe, immigration, I’m against all that,” said Eric Barbosa, a 20 year-old baker, at a meeting of the FNJ’s Paris branch.

Its relatively recent arrival as a successful election force also gives the National Front an advantage over traditional parties in attracting young activists seeking political careers.

It offers more opportunities for ambitious youth to make their mark than the main post-war parties of the centre-left and centre-right, where vacancies for posts are blocked by older incumbents and veterans.

FN candidates in local and regional elections are routinely the youngest in the field, often in their 20s or early 30s.

That means a quick path into frontline politics for people like 23-year-old Victor Birra, a business student who joined the FNJ youth movement five years ago and is now its head in the Lyon region.

He describes the youth movement as the “academy for FN cadres”, comparing it to the grand public institutes that traditionally produce many of France’s politicians.

But future ambitions depend first on getting out the vote for Le Pen, he said. “We’re fighting to win the presidentials.”

The post No more baseball bats – National Front no longer taboo for French youth appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Far Right groups, France, Front Nationale, Marine Le Pen, News, Presidential elections

How fake far-right accounts spread hate on Twitter

February 28, 2017 Article

A Tell MAMA investigation has uncovered several fake far-right accounts spreading extreme anti-Muslim content on the social networking platform Twitter.

This loose network of accounts was created in late 2016 or in early 2017. Most claim affiliation to the English Defence League (EDL). Their Twitter biographies make bold claims, expressing deep hatreds of Muslims and migrants. Some hint at problems in their personal lives. Yet, our first clue about the true nature of the accounts concerns how their biographies are written. Take these four examples:

Born in ’63. Chelsea, EDL and proud. Likes: the pub, kids, beer, sex, football. Hates: Islam, Women (especially EX wife), forners and minorities in general. (@CFC_EDL)

53 divorced . Voted OUT. Not fond of Islam and foreners as they are destroying my country. Not racist just don’t like em simple as (@BoozerLee_EDL)

Born in 59, expat, hate foreners, Millwall fan, EDL, down the pub. Hate pakis, disabled, blacks, gays and refugees. Trying to get my kids… (@EDLLoyal)

Divorced. Have 1 son. Age 62. EDL & BNP. Ex National front. CEO of scaffolding. Love England, Pub & the darts. Refugees and Foreners not welcome in the U.K. (@Stevie_EDL)

The bolded parts of each biography are the most revealing. Note how the accounts almost always misspell the word foreigner. This is not an accident. In three of the four examples, the accounts misspell the word foreigner as ‘forener’ and once as ‘forner’. A second clue concerns how all the accounts allude to an alleged age or year of birth. Their supposed hatreds (be it women or Muslims) stand in contrast to their love of pubs.

Twitter did act to suspend Alan ‘Big Cock’ Lee’s (@FUCKOFFORNERS) account. Note how this Twitter handle also deliberately misspells ‘foreigners’. The photos attributed to this account are of Andrew Royston – an infamous figure in far-right networks. Nor is it likely that Mr Royston ran the account under the pseudonym as several tweets referred to his alleged sexual inadequacies. It’s also unlikely that such an account would make overt admissions of guilt over criminal matters.

Yet, in this pursuit of ‘authenticity’ come scabrous, harmful and ultimately hateful messages. For example, the @Steve_EDL account tweeted on February 27, ‘Just twatted a Pakistani mans skull for saying john terry is racist’ at 3:05 am. Just five minutes earlier, the @CFC_EDL account tweeted, “Just punched a muslim on way back from pub.” Now, it’s not impossible, but implausible that both incidents occurred in such proximity. Unless the individuals committed the offences while together, but there’s little evidence to suggest that.

Self-deprecating comments, however, are easier to detect. In one example, the @Stevie_EDL account tweets their interest in incest. Together, these ill-conceived far-right caricatures grow.

A useful way to measure the volume of fake EDL accounts is to check who @Stevie_EDL and @CFC_EDL follow on Twitter.

Quite often, the above individuals are involved in far-right movements. Others are not.

An egregious example of the latter concerns the now suspended @BigPaulLovesPub account. The photos and information provided in the account are fictitious. A reverse image search confirms that the photos posted on the @BigPaulLovesPub account are stolen from a Flickr album that were uploaded in 2010 from a user in the United States.

Of the many offensive fictions, one stolen photo is captioned: “Ready to go pub hope I see some of you lads there ina while, Know the owner well he knows to keep n***ers and muzzies out so theres no blood”.

The character of Paul is painted as a violent misogynist who admits to assaulting his wife. An entire narrative which spans several tweets continues this fiction, where the imagined wife has taken control of the account in apparent ‘revenge’. Other tweets visible before its removal show @BigPaulLovesPub interacting with other fake EDL accounts.

On Facebook, the page ‘Robust & Reposted Memes’ shared a screenshot of a @BigPaulLovesPub tweet on February 11 – perhaps unaware of its true intent.

The accounts may have also committed criminal offences. As revised guidelines from Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) stipulate: “the act of setting up a false social networking account or website, or the creation of a false or offensive profile or alias could amount to a criminal offence, depending on the circumstances.”

A communication defined as either ‘grossly offensive, indecent, obscene’ may fall under a Section 4 offence if the intended communication is ‘false’. It may also amount to an offence under the Public Order Act 1986.

To be offensive, however, may not mean a criminal offence has taken place. The CPS makes clear that context and public interest factors must be taken into consideration first.

Twitter stipulates that impersonation is a violation of their guidelines.

The nature of these fake accounts only serves to undermine the very real problem of far-right extremism online. Verified Tell MAMA data for 2015 revealed how 45 per cent of perpetrators of online incidents proved supportive of the far-right.

 

The post How fake far-right accounts spread hate on Twitter appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: EDL, Hate Speech, News

Why it’s important to challenge the far-right views of people like Jack Buckby

February 13, 2017 Article

Jack Buckby, the press officer for the far-right Liberty GB party, told NUS campaigner Barbara Ntumy ‘I hope you don’t get raped’ in reference to Syrian refugees on Channel 4 News.

Both featured in a live debate about the so-called ‘alt-right’ movement last week.

Mr Buckby’s notoriety grew in 2016 after he stood in the Batley and Spen by-election, the seat of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox.

Out of respect, major parties did not put candidates forward. A bulk of the candidates who did stand, however, came from traditional far-right parties.

Tracy Brabin, the Labour candidate, was elected with more than 86 per cent of the vote. Mr Buckby received just 220 votes. But it was never about votes. It concerns exploiting the legitimacy of the political process to further an anti-Muslim agenda.

Months before the by-election, he tweeted: “Jo Cox was complicit in the rape of young girls throughout Yorkshire and beyond.”

In the Channel 4 News feature on the so-called ‘alt-right,’ Mr Buckby alludes to his time in the British National Party (BNP) but remains free to present himself as a simple ‘conservative’ who longs to be part of this ‘winning strategy’.

In the live televised debate, however, he self-defines as a ‘paleolibertarian’.

In both segments, Channel 4 failed to identify the far-right ideas at the core of Buckby’s ideology. This failure to engage with his actual politics is not the most conducive way of challenging the far-right.

Mr Buckby has also appeared in the BBC Three documentary ‘Is Britain Racist?’ – where his ideology of ‘culturalism’ was challenged by journalist Mona Chalabi.

This concept of ‘culturalism’ is borrowed from the American John Press, who rejects multiculturalism at the promotion of ‘cultural preservation’.

Missing from both discussions, however, was the fact that Mr Buckby founded the National Culturalists (NC) in 2012.

An archive of an NC blog from 2012 called for the closing down of all Islamic institutions and the banning of halal meat. It also added that social services must hold regular inspections of Muslim families to ensure they were not involved in FGM or ‘honour violence’.

In July 2012, Mr Buckby spoke at a far-right conference and admitted that the idea of ‘culturalism’ was simply the means to make nationalism palatable to young people.

In his own words: “nationalism is the cause we need to fight. The issue we’ve got is that young people do not associate with the word. So, as long as we keep the ideology it doesn’t really matter what word we use. Obviously, it’s all about spin.”

Adding, that the language of ‘culturalism,’ which is ‘already important’ to nationalism, would help get young people involved with groups like the BNP.

When a student at the University of Liverpool, Mr Buckby tweeted a poster warning against sex with ‘intravenous drug abusers’, ‘bisexuals’ and ‘blacks’.

A now-deleted tweet from 2014 read: “Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. Please take time to remember those who were killed at the hand of fascism & hope Islam can’t do the same.”

In recent years, his incendiary rhetoric on Islam and Muslims has not changed. Further, he has made highly offensive and extreme comments about the LGBT and Jewish communities as well, yet Channel 4 gave him a platform to air such views without informing its audience effectively about his extremist ideology.

On his personal Twitter, Mr Buckby writes: “Islam is the most violent religion and political ideology on earth.” Or “I’m proud not to tolerate murder, paedophilia, rape and fascism of Islam.” He also described the prophet Muhammad as a ‘murderous prophet’.

Following the terror attacks in Orlando, he tweeted: “It’s time LGBT woke up and realised THEY are responsible for the death of 50+ people in Orlando. #OrlandoShooting.”

To promote a video where he misgenders Caitlyn Jenner, Buckby tweeted: “Trans movement is belittling what it means to be a woman”.

Regarding Jewish communities, Mr Buckby adds in the same blog: “if you’re a believer in the racial bell curve, the Ashkenazis are one of the most intelligent ethnic groups on earth”.

The well-known Bell Curve argument, debunked by virtually all social scientists, is “part of a much longer history of arguments about race and intelligence, critically rooted in early scientific racism.”

In September 2016, he recycled the falsehood that renovations to parliament would mean that MPs would be unable to drink in their leased location due to ‘Sharia Law’. A Treasury spokesperson denied this claim.

In a statement, the spokesperson added: “The buildings remain the property of the government, and the lease and associated documents explicitly state they are governed by English law.”

The matter of alcohol licensing is unresolved, but not prohibited.

Buckby’s views towards ethnic and religious minorities are highly offensive and extremely troubling. Buckby himself insists that his discourse is about ‘spin’ yet Channel 4 presenters could have more effectively challenged him by debunking his views and alerting his audience to his extremism.

In fact, Buckby is exploiting this appearance to crowdfund  from supporters in Europe and North America. It is no accident that his Twitter cover photo features Ms Ntumy’s horrified expression when she heard his inflammatory statements.

 

The post Why it’s important to challenge the far-right views of people like Jack Buckby appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Channel 4, Jack Buckby, Media, News, Sryia

French far right leader Marine Le Pen seen at Trump Tower

January 12, 2017 Article

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen was seen at Trump Tower on Thursday but a spokesman for President-elect Donald Trump said she was not meeting with him or his team.

“No meetings with anyone,” transition spokesman Sean Spicer said. “It’s a public building.”

Le Pen, whose National Front party holds anti-immigrant and anti-European Union views, was seen entering an elevator at the building, according to a Reuters witness. Earlier she was seen in the building with three men and declined to say why she was there, a media pool report said.

Reuters identified the men with Le Pen as Louis Aliot, her partner and vice president of National Front; Ludovic De Danne, her international affairs adviser; and Italian businessman George Lombardi, a Trump friend who lives in Trump Tower.

Le Pen, who is seen losing a runoff with conservative former prime minister Francois Fillon in next May’s election, has struggled to raise money for her campaign.

Her staff confirmed her multiple-day visit to New York, characterizing it as a private trip.

“She took two days to have a break,” campaign director David Rachline said.

Le Pen has sought to burnish her credentials with foreign appearances. Her staff in April announced that she would go to Britain to campaign for that country’s exit from the European Union but she ended up not going after being shunned by the Brexit campaign.

Trump Tower has been the site of a series of meetings between Trump, a Republican, and business and political leaders as he assembles his administration ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration. It also has become a tourist destination since Trump’s surprise November election victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The group Human Rights Watch mentioned both Trump and Le Pen in a report warning that the rise of populist leaders threatens global human rights. It cited Trump’s victory as well as Britain’s move to leave the European Union, which was led by Nigel Farage, who has been praised by Trump.

Le Pen is expected to earn enough votes in the first round of presidential voting in April to enter a second round election set for May 7.

Last summer Le Pen told a French magazine that if she were American, she would vote for Trump rather than Clinton. A week after Trump’s victory, Le Pen said she, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin “would be good for world peace.”

The post French far right leader Marine Le Pen seen at Trump Tower appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Marine Le Pen, News, Nigel Farage, POTUS, Trump, Trump Tower

How stories about Muslim cashiers refusing to sell alcohol go viral

January 3, 2017 Article

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The popularity of news articles about Muslim cashiers refusing to serve customers buying alcohol is no accident. Part of the success owes to sensational headlines. And to the insular online networks built on the narratives of anti-Muslim ideologues and the far-right which help these stories find a larger audience.

On December 28, 2016, the Sun Online headlined their story: “Shopper slams Tesco after Muslim woman on checkout refused to serve him alcohol”. The MailOnline’s headline was even more sensational. It read: “Furious Tesco shopper is ordered to ‘go and join another queue’ by Muslim cashier who refused to sell him a bottle of wine because it was ‘against her religion’”.

Lee Saunders, a 35-year-old father-of three, was unable to buy a bottle of rosé wine at a kiosk checkout due to the “religious beliefs” of the cashier. A duty manager then completed the transaction on December 13.

On the same day, the author and screenwriter Hanif Kureshi, tweeted: “Cashier in Tesco refuse to serve me alcohol on religious grounds. Good to see supermarkets lining up with Daesh-“.

Yet, the question remains: why did it take a little over two weeks for the story to appear online? It’s possible that Mr Saunders had waited for a reply from Tesco before approaching the Sun. But the promise of outrage in the headlines do not reflect the words of Mr Saunders. His comments are mainly directed at the store itself, not the individual staff member. He added that: “She apologised afterwards, but she’s been put in that position. It’s not entirely her fault to be fair.” Quite the departure from ‘furious Tesco shopper’.

David Upstone, a Tesco customer service executive to the board, told the Sun Online: “Our colleague works on the kiosk as alcohol is generally not purchased in this area.” He added that the colleague has been made aware that a customer should not have to queue again. And she can now request the help of a colleague if the situation arises again.

A Tesco spokesman told the Standard: “We take a pragmatic approach if a colleague raises concerns about a job they have been asked to do.”

This, however, did not stop the MailOnline story reaching 17k online shares. And reigniting the perpetual indignation of the far-right and anti-Muslim ideologues who often seek out such stories to confirm and reinforce their prejudices and anxieties.

A good example of this comes from the ‘Battle for Britain’ Facebook page. Having shared the MailOnline article on December 28, the Battle for Britain post gained more than 300 shares and over 600 comments. One such reply read: “I wont be shopping at Tesco again until they sort out the problem. British country NOT Muslim!” Other inchoate statements included: “Sack her we have had enough of these Muslims scum this is England” and “She should be sacked immediately If I did the same to a Muslim by refusing to serve them curry powder I’d be sacked”.

Britain First shared a plagiarised version of the story which gained over nine thousand shares. Allegations that Mr Saunders has expressed anti-Muslim views online have not been independently verified.

Nor does this story exist in a vacuum. Some stories are almost a decade old. In 2007, Muslim supermarket checkout staff at Sainsbury’s were allegedly given the ‘right to refuse’ to sell alcohol to customers. In principle, staff could raise their hand and allow a colleague to complete the transaction. A system which mirrors how underage checkout staff sometimes need the permission of their duty manager to sell alcohol. But the press only found an example of ‘at least one store’ in north London.

Sainsbury’s does not allow staff who do not consume pork or drink alcohol to refuse service to customers who wish to buy such products.

In 2013, Marks & Spencer apologised after a Muslim cashier refused to serve a customer trying to buy alcohol. The retailer endeavours to find more ‘suitable’ roles for staff who could not handle certain items because of their religious beliefs.

Speaking to the Telegraph, the unnamed customer said: “I was taken aback. I was a bit surprised. I’ve never come across that before.” Perhaps reflecting the rare nature of such incidents.

In a statement at the time, M&S confirmed that their push for inclusivity includes other religions. The Telegraph cites the examples of Christians requesting time off on Sundays and members of the Jewish faith requesting to not work on Saturdays.

Per the Jewish Chronicle, M&S also affords Jewish staff the right to not sell pig products or seafood to customers.

The scandal forced other supermarkets to clarify their position on this issue.

This 2013 story has recently been given new life on social media. Many recycling the myth of ‘Muslim favouritism,’ oblivious to the actual details of the M&S policy.

A year later, a branch of Tesco in Neasden Lane in London, apologised after a staff member refused to serve a customer seeking to buy ham and wine because ‘he was fasting for Ramadan’.

Nor is this approach for inclusivity just found in the United Kingdom. In 2015, Snopes debunked a rumour that the discount retailer Target was requesting that customers choose a different lane to buy pork or alcohol products to accommodate Muslim employees. The policy of Target, like M&S, is to reassign staff with religious objections to other roles away from tills. It did not stop anti-Muslim conspiracy theorists from spreading a doctored photo purporting to show this apparent and patently false example of ‘Muslim favouritism’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post How stories about Muslim cashiers refusing to sell alcohol go viral appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: alcohol, customer service, Muslim, News, Tesco

How stories about Muslim cashiers refusing to sell alcohol go viral

January 3, 2017 Article

LinkedInWhatsApp

The popularity of news articles about Muslim cashiers refusing to serve customers buying alcohol is no accident. Part of the success owes to sensational headlines. And to the insular online networks built on the narratives of anti-Muslim ideologues and the far-right which help these stories find a larger audience.

On December 28, 2016, the Sun Online headlined their story: “Shopper slams Tesco after Muslim woman on checkout refused to serve him alcohol”. The MailOnline’s headline was even more sensational. It read: “Furious Tesco shopper is ordered to ‘go and join another queue’ by Muslim cashier who refused to sell him a bottle of wine because it was ‘against her religion’”.

Lee Saunders, a 35-year-old father-of three, was unable to buy a bottle of rosé wine at a kiosk checkout due to the “religious beliefs” of the cashier. A duty manager then completed the transaction on December 13.

On the same day, the author and screenwriter Hanif Kureshi, tweeted: “Cashier in Tesco refuse to serve me alcohol on religious grounds. Good to see supermarkets lining up with Daesh-“.

Yet, the question remains: why did it take a little over two weeks for the story to appear online? It’s possible that Mr Saunders had waited for a reply from Tesco before approaching the Sun. But the promise of outrage in the headlines do not reflect the words of Mr Saunders. His comments are mainly directed at the store itself, not the individual staff member. He added that: “She apologised afterwards, but she’s been put in that position. It’s not entirely her fault to be fair.” Quite the departure from ‘furious Tesco shopper’.

David Upstone, a Tesco customer service executive to the board, told the Sun Online: “Our colleague works on the kiosk as alcohol is generally not purchased in this area.” He added that the colleague has been made aware that a customer should not have to queue again. And she can now request the help of a colleague if the situation arises again.

A Tesco spokesman told the Standard: “We take a pragmatic approach if a colleague raises concerns about a job they have been asked to do.”

This, however, did not stop the MailOnline story reaching 17k online shares. And reigniting the perpetual indignation of the far-right and anti-Muslim ideologues who often seek out such stories to confirm and reinforce their prejudices and anxieties.

A good example of this comes from the ‘Battle for Britain’ Facebook page. Having shared the MailOnline article on December 28, the Battle for Britain post gained more than 300 shares and over 600 comments. One such reply read: “I wont be shopping at Tesco again until they sort out the problem. British country NOT Muslim!” Other inchoate statements included: “Sack her we have had enough of these Muslims scum this is England” and “She should be sacked immediately If I did the same to a Muslim by refusing to serve them curry powder I’d be sacked”.

Britain First shared a plagiarised version of the story which gained over nine thousand shares. Allegations that Mr Saunders has expressed anti-Muslim views online have not been independently verified.

Nor does this story exist in a vacuum. Some stories are almost a decade old. In 2007, Muslim supermarket checkout staff at Sainsbury’s were allegedly given the ‘right to refuse’ to sell alcohol to customers. In principle, staff could raise their hand and allow a colleague to complete the transaction. A system which mirrors how underage checkout staff sometimes need the permission of their duty manager to sell alcohol. But the press only found an example of ‘at least one store’ in north London.

Sainsbury’s does not allow staff who do not consume pork or drink alcohol to refuse service to customers who wish to buy such products.

In 2013, Marks & Spencer apologised after a Muslim cashier refused to serve a customer trying to buy alcohol. The retailer endeavours to find more ‘suitable’ roles for staff who could not handle certain items because of their religious beliefs.

Speaking to the Telegraph, the unnamed customer said: “I was taken aback. I was a bit surprised. I’ve never come across that before.” Perhaps reflecting the rare nature of such incidents.

In a statement at the time, M&S confirmed that their push for inclusivity includes other religions. The Telegraph cites the examples of Christians requesting time off on Sundays and members of the Jewish faith requesting to not work on Saturdays.

Per the Jewish Chronicle, M&S also affords Jewish staff the right to not sell pig products or seafood to customers.

The scandal forced other supermarkets to clarify their position on this issue.

This 2013 story has recently been given new life on social media. Many recycling the myth of ‘Muslim favouritism,’ oblivious to the actual details of the M&S policy.

A year later, a branch of Tesco in Neasden Lane in London, apologised after a staff member refused to serve a customer seeking to buy ham and wine because ‘he was fasting for Ramadan’.

Nor is this approach for inclusivity just found in the United Kingdom. In 2015, Snopes debunked a rumour that the discount retailer Target was requesting that customers choose a different lane to buy pork or alcohol products to accommodate Muslim employees. The policy of Target, like M&S, is to reassign staff with religious objections to other roles away from tills. It did not stop anti-Muslim conspiracy theorists from spreading a doctored photo purporting to show this apparent and patently false example of ‘Muslim favouritism’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post How stories about Muslim cashiers refusing to sell alcohol go viral appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: alcohol, customer service, Muslim, News, Tesco

Ex-leader of Britain First Paul Golding jailed for breach of High Court injunction

December 15, 2016 Article

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The former leader of Britain First was jailed for breaching a court order banning him from entering mosques or Islamic Centres in England and Wales.

Paul Golding, 34, was served with a court summons by Bedfordshire Police on 2 November  after breaching a High Court injunction granted on August 11.

He will serve half of his eight week sentence.

The three-year banning order had restricted him from entering any mosque in England and Wales “without prior invitation”. 

Britain First had uploaded a video to YouTube showing members inside the Al-Manar Islamic Centre in Cathays, Cardiff on 20 August. In the video, party members made allegations of extremism against the mosque. This was denied by a mosque trustee. 

The Muslim Council of Wales also dismissed the accusations.

Golding, in an interview with IBTimes, days after the “mosque invasion,” insisted that he had not breached the order. The High Court however, detailed how Golding had driven four party members to the Al-Manar Centre. 

James Weston, counsel for the Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Police, said that members of the mosque found the actions of Britain First to be both provocative and unnerving. 

Passing sentence, the judge remarked that Golding’s actions were an affront to Muslims nationwide. 

Golding handed control of the party to his deputy Jayda Fransen last month. Fransen has faced her own legal difficulties.  She was convicted of wearing a uniform for a political purpose and a religiously aggravated charge in early November. 

The post Ex-leader of Britain First Paul Golding jailed for breach of High Court injunction appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Britain First, hate crime, jail, News