tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1 2008-05-16T11:42:46Z Founded by Civitas to encourage community cohesion Movable Type 3.34 tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.275 2008-05-16T11:33:49Z 2008-05-16T11:42:46Z

Two men have been arrested at the University of Nottingham under the Terrorism Act. Police said the men, aged 30 and 22, were arrested on Wednesday morning. One is reported to be a student and the other a former student....

James Brandon arrested at the University of Nottingham under the Terrorism Act. Police said the men, aged 30 and 22, were arrested on Wednesday morning. One is reported to be a student and the other a former student. Campus premises related to the two men are being searched.]]> reported that Superintendent Simon Nickless the response to the raid in local "communities". "Officers are working with community representatives to offer support and reassurance," he said. "The response has been calm and rational. Feedback is that people accept that this sort of police operation is necessary and reasonable for the welfare of communities."]]> tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.274 2008-05-15T17:43:54Z 2008-05-15T18:25:19Z

The West Midlands Police and Crown Prosecution Service have today been forced to apologise 'unreservedly' in the High Court and pay £50,000 damages to Channel 4's Dispatches programme 'Undercover Mosque.' Readers will remember that the Dispatches programme, broadcast last year...

Douglas Murray today been forced to apologise 'unreservedly' in the High Court and pay £50,000 damages to Channel 4's Dispatches programme 'Undercover Mosque.' Readers will remember that the Dispatches programme, broadcast last year (and view-able here), showed preachers at a number of British mosques making comments which were anti-semitic, sexist and homophobic. But in an astounding decision, the police decided to investigate not the preachers of hate, but the Dispatches crew themselves, attempting to charge them with stirring up racial hatred.]]> Having obviously failed to find any evidence for such an outrageous charge and having failed in their attempt to pursue the matter through the broadcasting regulator Ofcom (the police now entering into television criticism) the CPS and West Midlands Police simply libelled the programme-makers by saying that the views of the preachers in the programme had somehow been misleadingly edited and that the broadcast risked undermining 'community cohesion.' Since the CPS and police claims were shown to be defamatory and utterly unsubstantiated, Channel 4 rightly sued for libel. The success of this strategy and the complete vindication today of Channel 4 and the Dispatches team is a tremendous success in the war against the hate-preachers and the ludicrous culture of political correctness in Britain which has allowed such hate to flourish. When this case first arose there were two immediate deleterious effects. One was that important footage taken of hate-preaching in this country was somehow tarnished. Having had doubts cast on its authenticity, it was as though no such hate-speech could possibly be uttered in a British mosque - a notion that only added to the awful complacency of many of the British authorities. Secondly, the realisation emerged that there were elements within the British police for whom the task of shooting the messenger was more important than the task of fighting the fire. The fact that a section of the British police force honestly thought that the problem was Channel 4 and not the hate-preachers shows the astonishing culture which has emerged in the police force in recent years. It is not the job of the police to become television critics, and it should not be their role to attempt to enforce some ludicrously presumptous PC (pardon the pun) agenda. If the CPS and the West Midlands Police wanted to claw back any respectability they would now get back to doing what they should have done more than a year ago, and instead of pursuing brave and principled programme-makers, should consider going after the people who are actually undermining 'community cohesion.' Perhaps they will look into the original problem and finally pursue some of those who were shown on Dispatches calling for the murder of other British citizens. It might not salvage the CPS and West Midlands Police's reputation overnight, but it would certainly help start the process. tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.273 2008-05-13T11:12:19Z 2008-05-13T13:44:29Z

Who can fail but to be deeply moved, if not humbled, by the magnanimous words of compassion spoken by the mother of sixteen year old Jimmy Mizen, London’s latest teenage murder victim? They were directed at the family of her...

David Conway Who can fail but to be deeply moved, if not humbled, by the magnanimous words of compassion spoken by the mother of sixteen year old Jimmy Mizen, London’s latest teenage murder victim? They were directed at the family of her son’s suspected killer, another local teenager for whom the police are searching and whose family the victim’s own are believed to know. said: "You can imagine, that’s their child, they held that boy in their own arms as a baby. They must be in pain. It’s so painful that their child has been so cruel and so wicked. "There’s so much anger in the world… It was anger that killed my son… If I am angry, then I am going to be doing exactly the same thing as this young man." Out of respect for the mother of the deceased, all those, like the present writer, who might otherwise have been sorely tempted to feel anger on her behalf, and on behalf of all the victims of murder and their families to have occurred in London since the start of the year, should for once instead pause and consider just why it is happening. Yesterday’s BBC's Newsnight programme explored this question, as did in more depth a parliamentary debate held as recently as the end of last month. They make for sobering viewing and reading. But there is one point which, at the risk of raising the hackles of some, I should like to make in the spirit of Mrs Mizen’s saintly example. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. We have heard how the new mayor of London plans to make a reduction in knife-crime a priority, and so he should. Yet, in his youth, like David Cameron, another man who had had every advantage in life, Boris Johnson was not unknown to have got on the wrong side of the law and to have indulged in a little gratuitous violence himself. It was not in the mean inner city streets of London that Mayor Johnson and the right honourable Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition let off the steam that put them on the wrong side of the law. It was rather among Oxford's dreaming spires as members of the notorious Bullingdon dining club, much given over to trashing restaurants after drunken dinners booked under false names. Despite having expressed gratitude for "the blissful sponge of amnesia [that] has wiped clean the slate of memory", Mayor Johnson has managed to recall one such incident from that era when a fellow club member, now a top city lawyer, had thrown a plant pot through a restaurant window and the police had been summoned: “The party ended up with a number of us crawling on all fours through the hedges of the botanical gardens, and trying to escape the police dogs.” Mayor Johnson did not escape arrest and, along with several other club members also arrested, was obliged to spend the night in police custody. “Once we were in the cells we became pathetic namby-pambies”, said the Mayor. Of course, the scale of their misdemeanours does not begin to match that of Jimmy Mizen’s killer. But, then, unlike him, David Cameron and Boris Johnson had had every advantage in life, including an Eton-Oxford education. If theirs is the behaviour of the very most privileged, that of those far less privileged than they becomes, if not exactly less reprehensible, something over which we should be slightly less hasty simply to vent our fury. All manner of explanations can be given for the epidemic of knife crime currently afflicting the nation’s capital. They range from family breakdown and the absence of male role models for young boys, poor housing which forces them onto the streets, lack of adequate youth services, exclusion from school, inadequate law enforcement … the list is endless. In the spirit of Mrs Mizen’s words, I should like to end by quoting some words which offer a deeper and simpler analysis of the cause of the problem than any spoken on last night’s Newsnight or in Parliament last month. They were addressed to the children of Israel by Moses on the very last occasion he spoke to then before his death. That, you may recall, he was condemned to suffer without reaching the Promised Land because as punishment for having been led to disobey God’s command through anger. In words that still resonate to me across the centuries, he said to them: ‘This commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven …. Neither is it beyond the sea.... But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. ‘See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God ... by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply. And the Lord your God will bless you.… But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, … I declare to you this day, that you shall perish… I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him.’ (Deuteronomy 30) I don’t say it’s always easy to do as Moses bid his people that day. But if all were at least to try, I’m sure that the world would be a far better and safer place than it is. Why is his teaching and the rest of the teachings of the Good Book no longer adequately taught in all our schools today from the very earliest age, as it was and still is at Jimmy Mizen’s. That’s where I’d be beginning my examination of the causes of where, as a society, we are going wrong today. ]]> tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.272 2008-05-12T16:54:23Z 2008-05-12T17:32:15Z

Hassan Butt, a former member of al-Muhajiroun who claims to have rejected jihadist ideology, has been arrested by British police under anti-terrorism laws. Butt was arrested at Manchester airport on Saturday as he tried to board a flight to the...

James Brandon arrested by British police under anti-terrorism laws. Butt was arrested at Manchester airport on Saturday as he tried to board a flight to the city of Lahore in Pakistan. According to the Manchester Evening News he had brought his ticket for the flight just 45 minutes before it was due to depart. ]]> reportedly searched two houses in Prestwick, Lancashire and a third house in north Manchester. Two cars have also been taken away for forensic examination. During 2001-2, Butt was one of Britain's most prominent Islamic extremists, telling the media that he had helped several British Muslim volunteers to travel to Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban. More recently, however, he claimed to have abandoned his extremist beliefs and to have begun de-radicalising his fellow extremists. Before his arrest, Butt has working with journalist Shiv Malik on a book about his life. The book was due to have been published this summer. In the last few weeks, the Manchester police had demanded that Malik hand over his book manuscript to them. ]]> tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.271 2008-05-09T16:58:33Z 2008-05-09T18:10:52Z

Peace campaigner and former hostage in Iraq Norman Kember has said that he is helping to fund radical preacher’s Abu Qatada’s bail. Abu Qatada, who won an appeal against deportation which the government is currently trying to overturn, had appealed...

Robin Simcox said that he is helping to fund radical preacher’s Abu Qatada’s bail. Abu Qatada, who won an appeal against deportation which the government is currently trying to overturn, had appealed for Kember’s release when he was captured by the militant Swords of Truth group in Iraq in 2005.]]> escaping charges of connections to German terrorist cells, (despite being found in possession of £170,000 cash, including £805 in an envelope labelled ‘For the Mujahedin in Chechnya’) he has been described as a religious and spiritual inspiration to a whole variety of high profile terrorist and extremist groups ever since he arrived in the UK in 1993 on a forged passport. The Special Immigration and Appeals Commission labelled Abu Qatada a “truly dangerous individual” who was “heavily involved, indeed at the centre of terrorist activities associated with al-Qa’eda.” Convicted of terror attacks in Jordan, Abu Qatada has alleged links to “shoe bomber” Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui, a member of al-Qaeda convicted for conspiracy to murder Americans during the attacks on 9/11. Tapes of Abu Qatada’s sermons have also been found in a flat used by some of those responsible for 9/11, including Mohammed Atta. Abu Qatada is also said to be the “spiritual leader” of the al-Tawhid movement, which was led by al-Zarqawi, the eventual leader of al-Qa’eda in Iraq, and has links with bin Laden’s right-hand man, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Abu Qatada has also reportedly advocated the murder of Jews and attacking Americans and Brits. The man whom Kember supports is also alleged to have terrorist connections in France, Spain, Italy and Belgium, and has been sought out for guidance by extremist groups in Iraq, Indonesia, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco. Kember says that "I think people need to talk to him [Abu Qatada] more”. Instead of recommending dialogue with Abu Qatada, perhaps Kember should instead look at some of the actions of the man whom he is now offering financial support too. ]]> tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.270 2008-05-08T17:37:16Z 2008-05-08T17:49:59Z

Cambridge and Edinburgh universities today announced plans to open new research centres for Islamic studies. The centres are being funded to the tune of £16 million by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, chairman of the Kingdom...

Robin Simcox announced plans to open new research centres for Islamic studies. The centres are being funded to the tune of £16 million by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, chairman of the Kingdom Foundation. ]]> report for the CSC on the disproportionate amount of influence Saudi and Muslim organisations held a over UK universities, including Cambridge and Edinburgh, due to their lavish donations. Glees, director of Brunel University's Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, found that eight UK universities have accepted more than £233.5 million from Saudi and Muslim sources since 1995. The majority of this money has gone to Islamic study centres, who Glees found often gave a biased view of Islam and largely propagated anti-Western viewpoints. The HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies, which will be based in Cambridge, and the Edinburgh based Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre for the Study of Islam in the Modern World, say they aim to raise awareness of Islam and Muslims in Britain. The centres will run a series of research programmes, conferences, lectures and summer schools. ]]> tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.268 2008-05-07T17:10:58Z 2008-05-07T17:23:35Z

The jury in the airline bomb plot have listened to recordings in which an alleged plotter is giving another lessons in how to present a suicide video. The conversations allegedly took place in 2006, and were picked up by an...

Robin Simcox have listened to recordings in which an alleged plotter is giving another lessons in how to present a suicide video. The conversations allegedly took place in 2006, and were picked up by an undercover recording device placed in the east London flat which the prosecution claims the men used as a bomb factory. ]]> One of the accused, Abdullah Ali, is said to be telling a man who calls himself Umar Islam to ‘relax’, and that instead of trying to “speak posh English”, he should focus on giving “a bit of aggression.” Umar Islam then allegedly undertakes a lengthy rehearsal of his suicide message. However to the apparent dissatisfaction of Abdullah Ali, the performance is unfortunately still not up to scratch. Umar Islam’s recital is described as ‘OK’, but lacking in emphasis when discussing martyrdom operations. Abdullah Ali’s advice is to “give it some.” The British men deny conspiring to murder and endangering planes. tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.267 2008-05-06T10:41:52Z 2008-05-06T11:06:46Z

Another May, another Mayor mercifully less prone than some to praising preachers of hate, and now, to add further icing to the cake of all who long for this country to return to the days when it was a tolerant,...

David Conway Another May, another Mayor mercifully less prone than some to praising preachers of hate, and now, to add further icing to the cake of all who long for this country to return to the days when it was a tolerant, peaceful and civilised place in which to live, another moderate Muslim organisation to join the recently launched Quilliam Foundation in tackling the pockets of extremism and intolerance that remain among Britain’s Muslim community. British Muslims for Secular Democracy is surely to be added to the list of good things to have happened lately. They may be signalling the beginning of a return to what now, in retrospect, seems to have been a golden era of community relations in Britain just a few decades ago. This was before books started being burnt and death threats against their authors issued in public that were allowed to go unpunished. Yet, amidst all the recent cause for rejoicing, there is one small detail about last week’s launch of the BMSD that spoils our otherwise happy idyll. The launch reportedly took the form of a debate on whether a secular state was the best option for Muslims. Arguing that it was, the BMSC’s chair and co-founder Yasmin Alibhai-Brown rightly condemned the present government for ‘pandering to Muslims by granting too many concessions, fuelling their separation from the rest of society.’ Many of us will certainly want to respond to this part of Ms Alibhai-Brown’s remarks by saying: ‘Amen to that, sister!’ However, the specific issue she picked on to illustrate the sort of favourable government treatment of Muslims to which she was taking exception gives some cause for concern. For the specific example of such pandering that she claimed ‘would only damage us in the long run’ was the government’s acquiescence to Muslim demands for separate faith schools. The problem with her choice of example is that this is precisely an instance of Muslims seeking parity of treatment with other faith groups, rather than any especially favoured treatment. Of course, there are many secularists and people of faith in Britain who argue against all state-funding of denominational schools. Perhaps, the BMSD will turn out to be among their number. If it does, they will be welcome to canvass for that particular point of view along with the National Secular Society and the British Humanist Association. However, their condemning the government for yielding to Muslim requests for denominational schools of their own without their equally condemning the government for supporting other sorts of denominational school seems duplicitous, if it is the elimination of all faith schools that is their true agenda. Whether the state should withdraw its support from all denominational schools, of course, is a perfectly serious and proper issue for discussion, but it needs to be addressed head on to be tackled properly. As far as I am concerned, a better illustration of the sort of deplorable pandering to Muslims that still goes on too often by public authorities is the failure of the police, especially, perhaps, London’s Metropolitan Police, to be even-handed in their designation of hate crimes. Last Tuesday, the Hendon Times reported that, on the preceding Friday evening, two ultra-orthodox Jews had been stabbed streets apart in two separate incidents in Golders Green in what a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman reportedly described as having been ‘random and unprovoked attacks, but [that] were not being treated as faith hate crimes’. Shortly following the stabbings, a resident of nearby Cricklewood, Mr Mohamed Jama Ahmed, was arrested and later charged with two counts of assault involving grievous bodily harm. The recently elected new Mayor of London Boris Johnson has announced that he intends to make reduction of knife crime in the capital a priority. Newspapers reports at the week-end indicated that he is likely to call for the replacement of Sir Ian Blair as head of the Metropolitan Police should the number of such crimes in the capital not start to fall soon. Until it does, perhaps secularists, whether they be Muslim or non-Muslim, who favour an end to state support for faith-schools might wish to consider that Jewish ones at least offer their pupils, not exactly noted for their predilection for carrying knives let alone committing violent offences, a more secure learning environment than community schools would where they would be obliged to rub shoulders with other Londoners not all of whom might yet have been won round to the BMSD’s otherwise enlightened and entirely laudable point of view. ]]> tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.266 2008-05-02T16:03:21Z 2008-05-07T17:14:30Z

British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD) held their officially launch event in central London yesterday. Their official launch consisted of a debate chaired by Baroness Faulkner called ‘The Secular State – the best option for Muslims?’ The panel consisted of...

Robin Simcox British Muslims for Secular Democracy (BMSD) held their officially launch event in central London yesterday. Their official launch consisted of a debate chaired by Baroness Faulkner called ‘The Secular State – the best option for Muslims?’ The panel consisted of BMSD chair Yasmin Alibhai Brown, Ed Husain, Usama Hasan and Inayat Bunglawala. ]]> launch in two weeks, following the inception of the counter extremist think-tank, the Quilliam Foundation. ]]> tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.265 2008-05-01T10:19:44Z 2008-05-06T12:46:18Z

Sohaib Saeed, a spokesman for the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), the UK-branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, has begun a campaign on Facebook.com against the Quilliam Foundation, a new thinktank which aims to tackle Islamic extremism among British Muslim. Saeed's...

James Brandon spokesman for the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), the UK-branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, has begun a campaign on Facebook.com against the Quilliam Foundation, a new thinktank which aims to tackle Islamic extremism among British Muslim. Saeed's Facebook group, titled 'The Quilliam Foundation does NOT represent Islam', accuses the group of "seeking to cuddle up close with the Government and be the new absolute word in True-Pacifist-Islam-Not-Nasty-Islamism."]]> philosophy student at Edinburgh University and is head of the university's Islamic Society and the Scottish Chair of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS). This is not the first time that he has attacked those who seek to tackle Islamic extremism in the UK. In 2006, he criticised police plans to tackle extremism on schools and universities, telling Scotland's Sunday Herald newspaper that: “This type of policing exhibits a type of paranoia that stereotypes communities ... It’s politicised policing at a time when confidence in the system is already shattered. The police are pandering to the type of mentality that has led to a rise in Islamophobia.” In 2007, he similarly criticised 'Jihad the Musical', a fringe show at the Edinburgh Festival, which mocked jihadists for getting brain-washed by militants, telling Islamonline.net, a pro-Muslim Brotherhood website, that: "It will make negative perceptions of Islam worse ... I cannot see what positive contributions such a musical would make to society or how we can call it a positive entertainment as it addresses a sensitive issue like terrorism." Also in 2007, he responded to news that extremist books had been found in the King Fahd Mosque, the Saudi-funded establishment where he preaches, by apparently implying that it was not his job to tackle extremists, telling The Scotsman that: "If some people have a view . . . well, we are not the thought police, we don't know what everyone thinks ... And there are thousands of people who come and use the mosque." When not attacking anti-extremism initiatives, Saeed has described his own version of "moderate" Islam. In an article in The Guardian, titled 'If Qardawi is an extremist, who's left?', he claimed that "most Muslims" viewed Yusuf Qaradawi, the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader, as "a shining example of moderation: in its Islamic meaning. To us, being a moderate Muslim means to practise the religion faithfully, according to its letter and its spirit." Qaradawi is an advocate of suicide-bombing, wife-beating, female genital mutilation and killing apostates from Islam. If this is Saeed's vision of a moderate Muslim, it is not surprising that he is now organising a campaign against the Quilliam Foundation, a group which aims, in its own words, to "pioneer new thinking for our new times" and "revive Western Islam, our Andalusian heritage of pluralism and respect, and thereby find harmony in West-Islam relations."]]> tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.264 2008-04-30T17:12:38Z 2008-04-30T17:20:35Z

Andrew Ibrahim, 19, appeared in court yesterday on terrorism charges after police found bomb-making equipment inside his flat – including a peroxide-based explosive similar to that used in the July 7 London bombings. Ibrahim faces charges of possessing explosive substances...

Hannah Stuart charges of possessing explosive substances and articles for terrorist purposes as well as an intent to commit terrorism. He is currently being held without bail until another hearing at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, May 23.]]> reportedly found in Ibrahim's apartment in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol. It is believed Ibrahim recently converted to Islam and was arrested after a covert investigation prompted by an intelligence tip-off from within Bristol’s Muslim community. In a statement his family said: "We have been shocked and deeply distressed by the events of the past fortnight.”]]> tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.263 2008-04-29T09:12:59Z 2008-04-29T09:45:05Z

Patriotic history harmful to pupils; St George’s Day celebrations cancelled over spurious health and safety concerns; postal voting fraud on epidemic scale; Britain being carved up by Brussels into a set of regions of which the parts of some lie...

David Conway Patriotic history harmful to pupils; St George’s Day celebrations cancelled over spurious health and safety concerns; postal voting fraud on epidemic scale; Britain being carved up by Brussels into a set of regions of which the parts of some lie across the Channel.… With each day comes news of some fresh assault on the body-politic of this once great country. What is the cause of this spiral of self-destruction into which Britain seems lately to have chosen to descend? ]]> What I Saw in America. At the very end of the final chapter, entitled 'The Future of Democracy', Chesterton observes: "There is no basis for democracy except in a dogma about the divine origin of man. That is a perfectly simple fact which the modern world will find out more and more to be fact. Every other basis is a sort of sentimental confusion, fully of merely verbal echoes of the older creeds….The world cannot keep its own ideals. The secular order cannot make secure any one of its own noble and natural conceptions secular perfection. … "So far as … democracy becomes or remains … Christian , … democracy will remain democracy. In so far as it does not, it will become wildly and wickedly undemocratic. Its rich will riot with a brutal indifference far beyond the feeble feudalism which retains some shadow of responsibility or at least patronage. Its wage-slaves will either sink into heathen slavery, or seek relief in theories that are destructive not merely in method but in aim; since they are but the negations of property and personality [-- post-modern deconstruction? DC]. "Eighteenth-century ideals, formulated in eighteenth-century language have no longer in themselves the power to hold those pagan passions back. … Men will more and more realise that there is no meaning in democracy if the universe has not a significance and an authority that is the author of our rights. Owls and bats may wander where they will in darkness, and for them as for the sceptics the universe may have no centre; kites and vultures may linger as they like over carrion, and for them as for the plutocrats existence may have no origin and no end; but it was far back in the land of legends, where instincts find their true images, that the cry went forth that freedom is an eagle, whose glory is gazing at the sun." It seems these days it is only the eagle that any longer does. The lion and unicorn are far too busy watching Big Brother. ]]> tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.262 2008-04-28T18:03:37Z 2008-04-28T18:20:35Z

A letter published in Saturday’s Guardian, purporting itself to be from ‘a cross section of the Muslim community’, has criticised the Quilliam Foundation for being unrepresentative. The signatories claim to represent ‘a cross section of the Muslim community’ seems disingenuous....

Robin Simcox letter published in Saturday’s Guardian, purporting itself to be from ‘a cross section of the Muslim community’, has criticised the Quilliam Foundation for being unrepresentative. The signatories claim to represent ‘a cross section of the Muslim community’ seems disingenuous. The letter is the combined effort of Anas al-Tikriti, Yvonne Ridley, Ihtisham Hibatullah, Ismail Patel and Roshan Muhammed Salih. The signatories say they represent a plethora of different organisations, however the letter fails to point out their extensive links. ]]> Anas al-Tikriti joined the Respect party in 2004, of whom Yvonne Ridley is a key member, when he stood as the party’s candidate in Yorkshire and Humberside in the European Parliamentary elections. He is also the former president of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), the group to whom Ihtisham Hibatullah used to belong. MAB themselves are the parent group of the British Muslim Initiative (BMI), whom Ismail Patel is a spokesperson for. Roshan Muhammed Salih, whom is not listed on the letter as representing any specific organisation, in fact has extensive links with Yvonne Ridley. They worked together at al-Jazeera, and are now colleagues at Press TV, the Iranian sponsored state television channel. Therefore while the signatories claim to be representing a cross section of opinion and organisations, they are in fact all strongly tied to one another and minority Islamist groups; ironic, considering their accusations that Quilliam themselves are unrepresentative. The letter dismisses the Quilliam Foundation as “just another establishment-backed attempt to divert attention from the main cause of radicalisation and extremism in Britain: the UK's disastrous foreign policy in the Muslim world, including its occupation of Muslim lands and its support for pro-western Muslim dictators.” They also say that Quilliam has no “proven grassroots support within the Muslim community” and equate “all forms of political Islam with extremism and terrorism.” ]]> tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.261 2008-04-25T16:34:53Z 2008-04-28T18:15:35Z

A senior High Court judge has ruled that the Government does not have the legislative power to freeze terror suspects’ bank accounts. The government viewed these powers as being key in tackling domestic terrorism. Commenting on the case, the judge...

Robin Simcox ruled that the Government does not have the legislative power to freeze terror suspects’ bank accounts. The government viewed these powers as being key in tackling domestic terrorism. Commenting on the case, the judge described the freezing of terror suspects’ assets as “another example of an immediate reaction without it being thought through properly — which is rather the pattern with the anti-terrorism measures.” The Treasury has said it will appeal the ruling, and the suspects’ assets will remain frozen pending the outcome. ]]> said the sanctions had a “humiliating and devastating” impact on them. There are currently 59 people in Britain on the Treasury sanctions list, and The Bank of England has frozen 274 accounts, containing £656,000. Included on this list are jailed radical clerics Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada. £180,000 in cash was found in Abu Qatada’s home during a 2001 raid, and Abu Hamza has made £120,000 on a property transaction despite being in prison. The government’s asset-freezing powers allowed suspects enough money for basic expenses, and Treasury officials monitored their grocery bills. The men’s solicitors said “[W]e have the madness of civil servants checking Tesco receipts, a child having to ask for a receipt every time it does a chore by running to the shops for a pint of milk and a neighbour possibly committing a criminal offence by lending a lawnmower.” Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she was “very disappointed” with the outcome. ]]> tag:www.socialcohesion.co.uk,2008:/blog//1.260 2008-04-24T13:52:17Z 2008-04-28T18:15:52Z

The jury in the London suicide bombings case has been shown footage of Mohammad Siddique Khan saying his farewells to his baby daughter. Siddique Khan, the ringleader of the July 7th 2005 terrorist attacks on London, tells his daughter that...

Robin Simcox shown footage of Mohammad Siddique Khan saying his farewells to his baby daughter. Siddique Khan, the ringleader of the July 7th 2005 terrorist attacks on London, tells his daughter that he "has to do this thing for our future". The video was shown as part of the trial against Waheed Ali, Sadeer Saleem and Mohammed Shakil, who deny involvement in the attacks. ]]> The home videos show Siddique Khan saying: "Sweetheart, not long to go now and I'm going to really, really miss you a lot. I'm thinking about it already. Look, I absolutely love you to bits and you have been the happiest thing in my life. You and your mum, absolutely brilliant. I don't know what else to say.” "I just wish I could have been part of your life, especially these growing up... these next months, they're really special with you learning to walk and things. I just so much wanted to be with you but I have to do this for our future and it will be for the best, Inshallah [God willing] in the long run.” "But most importantly I entrust you to Allah and let Allah take care of you. And I'm doing what I'm doing for the sake of Islam, not, you know, it's not for materialistic or worldly benefits."