MPs criticise Facebook’s failure to remove antisemitic and anti-Muslim pages

March 17, 2017 Article

Facebook were criticised by the Home Affairs select committee after the social media company had failed to remove anti-Muslim and antisemitic pages.

Yvette Cooper MP, chairwoman of the committee, added that the pages “The Truth About the Talmud” and “Ban Islam” do ‘have some deeply offensive and racist things on them’.

Simon Milner, Facebook’s Policy Director for the UK, Middle East, and Africa, countered that: “These pages, in and of themselves, do not violate, because we make it clear that you can criticise religions, but you cannot express hate against people because of their religion.” Mr Milner added that both pages were not ‘designed’ to attack Muslims and Jews.

This, however, is not the case. The profile picture of the “Truth About the Talmud” page, which has been publicly accessible since August 24, 2013, infers that the Talmud is ‘satanic’.

Not only is this point offensive to many, the antisemitic caricature is lifted from Nazi-era propaganda. The caricature first appeared in a 1938 edition (N.28) of the notorious Der Stürmer tabloid. Arguably, Nazi Germany’s most scabrous, incendiary, and popular printed propaganda sheet.

The ‘About Me’ section of the page links to the Facebook page of David Duke – a former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. This page also ‘likes’ William Pierce – the founder of the neo-Nazi group National Alliance.

Pierce authored the Turner Diaries, a book which influenced anti-Muslim terrorist Pavlo Lapshyn and Zack Davies, the neo-Nazi extremist who attempted to behead a Sikh dentist to ‘avenge’ the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby.

Other concerning content includes its use of antisemitic canards to push ‘anti-Zionist’ narratives.

Regarding the “Ban Islam” page however, the matter is more complex, as there are multiple pages with that name. Without knowing which page the committee reported, we have chosen to highlight two examples. In both examples, the pro-Trump messaging swells amid anti-Muslim and anti-Obama content.

Such polarising echo chambers intensify and incubate anti-Muslim fervour. It’s therefore, unsurprising that memes calling for nuclear strikes on Islam are welcomed in the comments.

In another post, the controversial album cover for the 1996 album Heavy Petting Zoo, from the American punk rock band NOFX, became an anti-Muslim meme. The added caption infers that Muslims, especially converts, are drawn towards bestiality.

When the committee pressed Mr Milner further for comment, he added that neither page ‘are run by hate organisations.’ He added that Facebook did remove reported content, just not the pages entirely.

MPs went on to criticise Google, Facebook and Twitter’s handling of extremist and terroristic content on their platforms.

The hate crime and its violent consequences inquiry remain ongoing.

The post MPs criticise Facebook’s failure to remove antisemitic and anti-Muslim pages appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Antisemitism, Hate Speech, News

On Muslim-Jewish solidarity in the age of Trump

March 6, 2017 Article

Threats against Muslims and Jews in the United States gnaw at the very foundations of safety individuals and communities feel. If there was ever a temptation to remain perpetually fearful and withdrawn, many Jews and Muslims have not.

This refusal has instead manifested into outward expressions of mutual support, solidarity, and good deeds. All of which offer an important narrative in the age of Trump. And for the years ahead.

Perhaps the most notable example of the above concerns the desecration of a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis last month. It created an outpouring of donations from Muslims and others across the United States. Two Muslim activists, Linda Sarsour and Tarek El-Messidi, asked that Muslim Americans donate $20,000 to repair the hundreds of toppled Jewish headstones. It took three hours to reach that goal.

Both activists remain confident that the sizeable donations will cover the costs. Additional funds will help Jewish centres improve their security and repair any additional vandalism.

Two-thirds of donations came from Muslims, according to the New York Times. Celebrities also tweeted their support of the fundraiser as the story made headlines across major media outlets.

For El-Messidi, however, it’s vital that Muslims contribute to the campaign. He told the New York Times: “I hope our Muslim community, just as we did last week with St. Louis, will continue to stand with our Jewish cousins to fight this type of hatred and bigotry”.

This kindness has created its own momentum.

Donna Penn, from Boston, responded to the fundraiser by writing: “Beautiful. I am so moved–as a Jew, as an American, as a human. Please know, we’ve got your backs too. In solidarity.”

In less than two weeks, three Jewish cemeteries, in St. Louis, Rochester, New York and Philadelphia were vandalised.

The toppling of gravestones at Jewish cemetery in Brooklyn, New York created fresh anxieties. Police, however, concluded that maintenance and environmental issues were to blame.

In Florida, the Muslim Student Associations of Florida State and Florida A&M universities sent bouquets of flowers to Jewish organisations on campus and local synagogues. The note attached extended the hand of friendship, adding: “In times of great division, it is important that we stand together in unity so we hope that these flowers can be seen as a symbol of our solidarity.” Rabbi Jack Romberg added that congregants got ‘a little teary’.

Jewish organisations have documented a sharp rise in threats in 2017. The JCC Association of North America, which represents Jewish community centres and schools, has documented more than 120 bomb threats in 2017. The threats began on January 9 with 15 bomb threats to JCC schools and community centres. More threats emerged on January 18, January 31, and February 20.

A week later, on February 27, 31 bomb threats were recorded against 23 JCCs and eight Jewish day schools in Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington state. Jewish community centres in two Canadian provinces also recorded bomb threats.

All of the hoax threats, however, are causing real fears and anxieties. In JCCs in Florida and New York, concerned parents have removed their children, fearing for their safety.

Others remain vigilant, refusing to change routine. The centres, after all, serve all communities, regardless of faith.

In Alabama, for example, 67 per cent of people who attend the Levite Jewish Community Center are non-Jewish. Like many other JCCs across America, their main function is to bring communities together, sometimes through arts or sports.

A Missouri man named Juan Thompson has been charged in connection with several bomb threats made against JCCs and the office of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Mr Thompson allegedly made eight hoax bomb threats as part of a campaign of harassment against an ex-girlfriend. In some cases, he is alleged to have used her name when making threats. In other examples, the threats were allegedly made in his own name in the hope of implicating his ex-girlfriend.

Law enforcement officials believe that the origin of the many of threats, however, come from abroad, according to CNN.

The ADL and other Jewish organisations met with the FBI’s leadership to discuss the recent rise in antisemitism and the collaboration between law enforcement and Jewish institutions.

Hate crime data from the New York Police Department also show a sharp rise in antisemitic hate crimes in 2017 when compared to the previous year.

The ADL continues to call on Donald Trump to take decisive action, including the creation of a federal task force to combat hate crimes. It should be added that the ADL’s director promised to register as a Muslim if Trump introduces a ‘Muslim registry’.

In the state of Indiana, staff at the Adath B’Nai Israel Temple discovered a bullet hole in a classroom window. According to Rabbi Gary Mazo believes the shooter fired their weapon from the playground.

The interfaith response to this recent rise in antisemitism includes hundreds attending a solidarity rally at the Rhode Island Holocaust Memorial on March 5.

Imam Mufti Ikram, of the Rhode Island Council for Muslim Advancement, said in his opening prayer: “We are here to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish brothers and sisters”.

Around 150 people attended an interfaith solidarity event at the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church.

For American Muslims, the attacks and threats also extend to their places of worship.

On February 28, two mosques in Maryland received threatening notes that read: “I will pay $100 to charity for every Muslim slaughtered”. Police confirmed that the envelopes containing the threats had stamps from Europe. The same threatening ‘Muslim Slayer’ note was sent to a mosque in New York.

This raises a worrying question: are European extremists also sending threats to mosques and JCCs across America?

Now, this point does not seek to diminish the growing problem of domestic extremism in the United States. It does, however, reflects how Donald Trump has emboldened white nationalists and white supremacists abroad.

On January 7, a proposed Islamic Centre in Austin, Texas, which was under construction, burned. An Islamic Centre in Bellevue, Washington caught fire on January 14.

In Victoria, Texas, a mosque which had served the community since 2000 was burnt down on January 28. The only synagogue in the area gave Muslims a key to the building so they would have a space to pray. A crowdfunding effort raised more than $900,000 to repair the damage.

A fire at the Daarus Salaam Mosque in Florida broke out on February 24. Some donations to cover repair costs came in multiples of $18 – $36, $72, $90 and more. Eighteen is a significant number in Judaism as it’s the numerical value of the Hebrew word “chai” which means life, according to Chabad. When giving charity, the number symbolically blesses the recipient with a long life.

Three of the four mosque fires have been ruled as arson, one investigation into the cause of the fire remains open, according to BuzzFeed News.

Other examples of hateful vandalism, have included rashers of bacon placed on mosque door handles in California.

Nor should we discount the exponential growth of anti-Muslim hate groups across the United States in 2016.

The Southern Poverty Law Center also recorded 867 hate incidents in the first ten days of Donald Trump’s inauguration. Of that figure, 300 incidents targeted Muslims or migrant groups.

A new executive order threatens to create a fresh ‘Muslim ban’. Under the previous executive order, the photo of Meryem Yildirim, 7, sitting on the shoulders of her father, and Adin Bendat-Appell, 9, sitting on the shoulders of his father, Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Apell, went viral after a Chicago Tribune photographer captured the moment during an anti-Trump protest at O’Hare International Airport on January 29.

The degrees of perception of Muslim identity has violent, and sometimes sadly, tragic consequences for non-Muslims. In a post-9/11 climate, anti-Muslim hatred has and continues to wrongly target Sikhs. A Sikh man was confronted in his driveway by a man who told him to “go back to your country” and shoot him in the arm. The victim is expected to make a full recovery.

The post On Muslim-Jewish solidarity in the age of Trump appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: anti-Muslim hatred, Antisemitism, Donald Trump, hate crime, interfaith, mosque, News

Who is Jacek Miedlar – Detained on Entry into the UK

February 25, 2017 Article

Today, British Border police detained firebrand Catholic priest Jacek Miedlar, who has become a focal point for far right nationalism in Poland and who was due to speak and march with Britain First activists through the town of Telford. He has previously been regarded as a “fanatical hate preacher” and a cursory glance at his web-site shows ultra-nationalism that is entwined with the use of religious symbolism and dogma in order to play on the strong sense of religiosity that runs through Polish society.

On the 7^th of September 2016, the Polish Catholic Priest, Jacek Miedlar, tweeted at Britain First’s Jayda Fransen, making contact after she posted a video in which she stated, “Allahu Akbar” Migrant opportunists attack police and invade Europe.” This was we believe, the first point of engagement between Miedlar and Britain First.

Jacek Miedlar is from Wroclaw in West Poland and has been suspended by his local Catholic church for his firebrand speeches that mix ultra-nationalism with religious fervour. Wearing the black clerical robe with a hooded top, his speeches are laced with anti-migrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric and his web-site paints a picture of Jews who seek to undermine Poland albeit through historical work through the Holocaust and he regularly uses the term ‘Jewish media’ on his web-site to paint a picture of Jews attempting to undermine the ‘standing of Poland’ in the international sphere. Much of the rhetoric talks about Poland being ‘hospitable’ to Jews and how Jewish media sources are seeking to undermine the state, leaving some readers with a chilling feeling that Miedlar holds some very questionable views on Jews and their place in Polish society.

Miedlar’s web-site also has articles posted by Jayda Fransen of Britain First, where she talks of an ‘approaching civil war’ in the United Kingdom. The interview on his web-site provides Fransen with the opportunity to talk about “Islam being the biggest threat to our nation” and the questions within the interview neither challenge Fransen, but provide her with an open platform to state the following far right propaganda:

“With the Islamization of Britain we meet in almost every corner of our country. Starting from the colonisation of our cities and our towns, and ending with the epidemic gangs who are ruthlessly raping and torturing our children. Islam is used as both a shield and a sword. What does it mean? Shield to defend against Muslims accused in the case of child molestation and public unrest, which is translated as “cultural misunderstanding.” Islam is also used as a sword in (sic) implementating the culture and traditions such as the presence of Sharia Law and to use churches for Muslim prayer.”

What is also bizarre is the sheer opportunism of groups like Britain First. For years, they have blamed migrant communities such as Eastern European communities for social ills in the country, yet they are now seeking to engage with ultra-nationalists such as Miedlar to recruit from the very communities they have vilified for many years.

We commend the actions of British law enforcement in detaining Miedlar from entering the country and in bringing his politics of division into the UK. The last thing we need is far right nationalism entering our country given that there has been one death because of the actions of a far right Ukrainian extremist who killed grandfather Muhammad Saleem on the streets of Birmingham. Miedlar has no place in the United Kingdom nor should he be allowed to poison the minds of settled Polish communities who work so hard to make a productive life in the UK. They deserve better and we will continue to monitor developments in this area.

The post Who is Jacek Miedlar – Detained on Entry into the UK appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Britain First, Catholic Priest, Far Right groups, Jacek Miedlar, Jayda Fransen, Jewish communities, News, Telford

Who is Jacek Miedlar – Detained on Entry into the UK

February 25, 2017 Article

The post Who is Jacek Miedlar – Detained on Entry into the UK appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Britain First, Catholic Priest, Far Right groups, Jacek Miedlar, Jayda Fransen, Jewish communities, News, Telford

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

Home Secretary’s Statement on Tackling Anti-Muslim Hatred

February 8, 2017 Article

This is a statement from the Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP, to Tell MAMA on the issue of tackling anti-Muslim hatred.

“This Government is clear that hate crime of any kind, directed against any community, race or religion has absolutely no place in a diverse, open Britain that works for everyone.

For me as Home Secretary, the safety and security of our families, communities and country comes first.

There is no place in Britain for organisations that glorify violence and promote anti-Muslim hatred and antisemitism. That is why in December last year I took action to proscribe the racist, Neo Nazi group National Action.

And that is why in July 2016 I published my comprehensive new cross Government action plan to drive forward work to tackle hate crime.

Tell MAMA are a key partner in our work to address anti-Muslim hatred. They have developed initiatives to improve reporting of anti-Muslim hatred, provided training for those who support victims and produced reports on the drivers and impact of anti-Muslim hatred that have helped to inform Government policy.

We must all stand together and send a clear message that hate crime will not be tolerated. I am grateful for the support of organisations such as Tell MAMA for the work they continue to do to tackle hatred.”

The post Home Secretary’s Statement on Tackling Anti-Muslim Hatred appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Amber Rudd, anti-Muslim hatred, Fiyaz Mughal OBE, Hate Crimes, Home Secretary, National Action, News

Trump Has Brought Jews & Muslims Together in the US. In the UK We Must be Bold

February 5, 2017 Article

For years, we have been stating that anti-Semitism, wherever it is found, must be challenged and openly challenged. We have come across it beyond Muslim communities, though sadly, we also saw it rear its head during the Gaza war, where Twitter became a platform where Gaza brought out latent anti-Semitism into the open. Sadly, it still continues in some small sections of Muslim communities where it has become virulent and it needs to be challenged head-on.

In the United States, Trump has managed to be the lightning rod that has brought Muslims and Jews together, but we know that in the UK, unchecked anti-Semitism continues. It is both overt and covert and is seen through the inability to separate advocacy for Palestine from anti-Semitic discourse. Also, the glib use of Zionism against members of Jewish communities without any real knowledge of their opinions, rumbles on. The latter is nothing else but anti-Semitism.

In fact, just yesterday we came across a mosque council that has produced an openly anti-Semitic article thinking that it is free speech and opinion. It simply is not and this is what we come across and where our stance is also targeted by some groups who have been caught out using toxic references and rhetoric against Jewish communities through the guise of ‘Zionists’. As if this gives them free reign to smear Jews.

We simply cannot stand by and allow such toxins to seep into non-Muslim and Muslim communities. For far too long, the issue of Palestine has been used by some within Muslim communities to intimidate, abuse and smear groups who believe that Jews and Muslims can, should and must always find accomodation for the rights and dignity of each community. Frankly, enough is enough.

Whilst one of the beneficial side effects of Trump’s election may be that it has brought many US based Jewish and Muslim groups together, here in the UK it must energise us to stand with Jewish counter-parts and colleagues and defend Jewish communities and their security and space in society without any hesitation. Time and time again Jewish communities have done this for Muslims. For example, after the murder of Lee Rigby, the Bravenese Muslim centre was torched and local Jewish communities in Muswell Hill came to their aid. Just a few days ago, US based Jews gave shelter to Muslims whose mosque was burnt down. The reverse must also frequently happen.

It also means being bold and challenging those who attempt to undermine such relations and challenge them we must. Their negativity and their divisions on the basis of advocating for Palestine, are a ruse. The last thing that Palestinians need are anti-Semites, separationists and tin pot campaigners supporting their cause and in doing so, delegitimsing it further. Frankly, the Palestinians deserve better than such advocates.

The post Trump Has Brought Jews & Muslims Together in the US. In the UK We Must be Bold appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: anti-Muslim hate, anti-Semitism, Antisemitism, Bravanese Centre, Jews, Opinions, Trump, Zionism

Quebec mosque suspect charged with murdering six people – court

January 30, 2017 Article

A French-Canadian university student was the sole suspect in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque and was charged with the premeditated murder of six people, Canadian authorities said on Monday, in what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called “a terrorist attack.”

Court documents identified the gunman in the attack on Sunday evening prayers as Alexandre Bissonnette. He was also charged with five counts of attempted murder, according to court papers.

Among the six men killed were a butcher, a university professor, a pharmacist and an accountant, according to police and Canadian media.

Police declined to discuss possible motives for the shooting at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec.

“They consider this a lone wolf situation,” the source said.

In Washington, U.S. government security experts were leaning to the view that the gunman most likely was motivated by hatred for Muslims, a U.S. government source familiar with official reporting said.

A man of Moroccan descent who had also been arrested was now considered a witness, although his nationality was not immediately known, a source familiar with the situation said.

Trudeau, who has made a point of welcoming refugees and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries, told parliament in Ottawa: “Make no mistake, this was a terrorist attack.”

He added a personal message to Canada’s 1 million Muslims:

“Know that we value you. You enrich our shared country in immeasurable ways. It is your home. Last night’s horrible crime against the Muslim community was an act of terror committed against Canada and against all Canadians. We will grieve with you. We will defend you. We will love you. And we will stand with you.”

Sombre parliamentarians observed a moment of silence. Trudeau was scheduled to visit Quebec City later on Monday.

The attack was out of character for Quebec City, a city of just over 500,000 which reported just two murders in all of 2015. Mass shootings are rare in Canada, where gun control laws are stricter than in the United States.

In addition to the six killed, five people were critically injured and 12 were treated for minor injuries, a spokeswoman for the Quebec City University Hospital said.

Federal Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters in Ottawa there was no change to “the national terrorism threat level” from medium because “there is no information known to the government of Canada that would lead to a change at this time.”

U.S. President Donald Trump called Trudeau to express his condolences “and offered to provide any assistance as needed,” said Trudeau spokesman Cameron Ahmad.

Over the weekend, Trudeau said Canada would welcome refugees, his response to an executive order by Trump on Friday to halt the U.S. refugee programme and to temporarily bar citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.

Trump’s action, which the president said was “not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe,” was widely condemned in the United States and abroad as targeting Muslims.

On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that the Quebec shooting was “a terrible reminder of why we must remain vigilant, and why the president is taking steps to be proactive, rather than reactive, when it comes to our nation’s safety and security.”

People bring flowers at the scene of a fatal shooting at the Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City, Canada January 30, 2017. REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger

FATHER OF FOUR KILLED

A father of four, the owner of a halal butcher near the mosque, was among those killed, said Pamela Sakinah El-hayet, a friend of one of the people at the mosque.

The mosque concierge was killed, as was Ahmed Youness, a 21-year-old student, El-hayet told Reuters. One of El-hayet’s friends, Youness’ roommate, was in the mosque at the time of the shooting. He was unharmed, she said, but in total shock.

Ali Assafiri, a student at Université Laval, said he had been running late for the evening prayers at the mosque, near the university in the Quebec City area. When he arrived, the mosque had been transformed by police into a crime scene.

“Everyone was in shock,” Assafiri said by phone. “It was chaos.”

Université Laval is the oldest French-language university in North America, with 42,500 students.

Vigils were planned for Montreal and Quebec City, the provincial capital, as well as in Edmonton. There was an outpouring of support for the mosque on social media.

“Last night’s shooting, targeting people of faith during their worship and prayer, is a deplorable attack on all Canadians and our most deeply-held values,” said Joe Gunn, executive director of Citizens for Public Justice, a group of Canadian Christians, churches and other religious congregations.

Incidents of Islamophobia have increased in Quebec in recent years. The face-covering, or niqab, became an issue in the 2015 Canadian federal election, especially in Quebec, where the majority of the population supported a ban on it at citizenship ceremonies.

The post Quebec mosque suspect charged with murdering six people – court appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: Alexandre Bissonnette, Canada, massacre, News, Quebec Mosque, Trudeau

Five dead in Quebec City mosque shooting – mosque president

January 30, 2017 Article

Five people were killed after gunmen opened fire in a Quebec City mosque during evening prayers, the mosque’s president told reporters on Sunday.

Earlier, a witness told Reuters that up to three gunmen fired on about 40 people inside the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre. Police put up a security perimeter around the mosque and declined to comment to reporters about the incident.

“Why is this happening here? This is barbaric,” said the mosque’s president, Mohamed Yangui.

In June 2016, a pig’s head was left on the doorstep of the cultural centre.

Yangui, who was not inside the mosque when the shooting occurred, said he got frantic calls from people at evening prayers. He did not know how many were injured, saying they had been taken to different hospitals across Quebec City.

Incidents of Islamophobia increased in Quebec in recent years amid a political debate over banning the niqab, or Muslim face covering. In 2013, police investigated after a mosque in the Saguenay region of Quebec was splattered with what was believed to be pig blood.

In the neighbouring province of Ontario, a mosque was set on fire in 2015, a day after an attack by gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris.

The post Five dead in Quebec City mosque shooting – mosque president appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Categories: 5 killed, anti-Muslim hate, killing, News, Quebec City Mosque

Frontline Insight: Lessons on hatred from Bosnia

January 24, 2017 Article

Kemal Pervanic grew up in a Bosnian Muslim village surrounded by Serbs. “My schoolmates were just my schoolmates and my teachers were my teachers and that’s how it was until the early 1990s,” Pervanic told the Thomson Reuters Foundation at London’s Frontline Club. But in 1992 he was in a concentration camp being interrogated and tortured by hisfavouriteteacher.

“If you are born in peace, and raised in peace, you take peace for granted,” Pervanic said. “If you speak to anyone out there right now, they’ll tell you that they’re crazy if you tell them that something like that may happen. But now after I lived through such events, I know that it can happen to anyone.”

It’s been over21years since the war inBosnia Herzegovinaended. Pervanic has become a writer and human rights activist. He believes that the process of reconciliation has hardly begun. “Reconciliation and peace building is going to take decades and many generations,” he said. “The process leading up to the war didn’t take long, five to seven years. So you destroy peace, you destroy a normal society so quickly. And it takes such a long time to rebuild it again.”

Now a British citizen, Pervanic splits his time between London and Bosnia. He fears that people in Western Europe don’t appreciate how fragile peace can be.

“We don’t think somebody will come take it away from us,” Pervanic says. “Because it can so easily be taken away from us we all have to become educators, and we all have to become involved in politics.”

The post Frontline Insight: Lessons on hatred from Bosnia appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Banja Luka, Bosnia, Genocide, Kemal Pervanic, News, Serbs, Srebrenica

MPs criticise Facebook’s failure to remove antisemitic and anti-Muslim pages

On Muslim-Jewish solidarity in the age of Trump

Who is Jacek Miedlar – Detained on Entry into the UK

Who is Jacek Miedlar – Detained on Entry into the UK

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

Home Secretary’s Statement on Tackling Anti-Muslim Hatred

Trump Has Brought Jews & Muslims Together in the US. In the UK We Must be Bold

Quebec mosque suspect charged with murdering six people – court

Five dead in Quebec City mosque shooting – mosque president

Frontline Insight: Lessons on hatred from Bosnia

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