Category Archives: Islamism

To Haitham al-Haddad – it’s no longer business as usual; Love, the Netherlands

By Cross Post | Published: February 18, 2012

This is a cross-post by Hasan Afzal of StandforPeace

What an extraordinary few weeks it has been for those who battle the forces of Islamist extremism. First, StandforPeace exposed Haitham al-Haddad’s FOSIS London love-in, then the good folks at Hope not Hatecalled on the East London Mosque to ban him from an event there and to finish, the JC published the story that he had been banned from speaking at the London School of Economics.

It is completely understandable that al-Haddad would feel a little uncomfortable in the UK. After all, his supporters can’t bring themselves to wonder why someone who condones suicide bombings, female circumcision and self-exile from wider society would be despised by free-thinking people.

So, a few days ago, I was contacted by an internet acquaintance on al-Haddad visiting the Netherlands. Admittedly, I don’t know much about the Netherlands’ problem with extremism although I was aware of events concerning Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Theo Von Gogh and the Hofstad Network. It was enough to act.

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Posted in Islamism | 3 Comments

The cynical stupidity of Bob Pitt

By Guest | Published: December 7, 2011

This is a guest post by Amjad Khan

In a recent piece for the New Statesman, Quilliam’s Maajid Nawaz made the point that government should bypass Islamist front groups such as MAB, IFE and the MCB when engaging with Muslims. Rather Muslims should seek representation through their elected politicians, just like all other citizens, and Islamist inspired organisations should not be allowed to monopolise Muslim representation. Quite a straight forward argument you may think, who could possibly be upset with a challenge to anti-democratic means to representation and extremism?

Welcome to the world of Bob Pitt. Bob is an ageing and outmoded far-left blogger who has developed a reputation for making mind-bending and logic-stretching arguments in order to contort reality to his fit his cynical far-left worldview. In Bob’s world, Islamophobia is not a societal scourge to be challenged, but rather something to be exploited and manipulated for short-term political point scoring. His website www.Islamaphobiawatch.com’ is less about Islamophobia and more about attacking his political opponents, many of whom are Muslim.

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Also posted in The Far Left | 3 Comments

The Rise of the Salafists

By Effendi | Published: December 4, 2011

The unexpected victory of the Salafists in the Egypt and Tunisia elections has caught many by surprise, not least the Muslim Brotherhood who once thought that they would clean up, but now are faced with the prospect of having to share power with a segment they regarded as marginal. The rise of the Salafists is seen by some as the authentic reaction to the repression of Islamic practice by secular Arab despots. The Salafists regard the first century of Islamic history as the perfected state for humanity,  and now they see themselves as the real inheritors of the voice of the repressed Muslim majority. Their stake has been under-reported because attention has always been directed on the Muslim Brotherhood as the stakeholders of the Islamist vote.

The rise of the Salafists is arguably the most alarming dynamic unleashed by the Egyptian revolution.

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Also posted in Democracy | 3 Comments

Press TV is mere propaganda for Iran. It must close

By Cross Post | Published: December 1, 2011

This is an article by Houriya Ahmed which first appeared in The Times

Closing down the Iranian Embassy in London is not forceful enough. After the storming of the British Embassy in Tehran by a mob of petrol-bomb-hurling hardliners, the British Government was right to move beyond impotent expressions of “outrage” and demand that Iran’s embassy staff leave the UK within 48 hours.But Britain can do more in the face of what looks like officially orchestrated violence.

There is an arm – albeit unofficial – of the Islamic republic at work here that could be punished to show British disapproval: Press TV’s London operation should be shut down.

Launched in 2007 as an “alternative” to Western media, Press TV is an English-language satellite television channel with a licence to operate in London. It is funded by, and acts as a mouthpiece for, the Iranian regime. Muslim and non-Muslim female presenters are required to wear the Islamic headscarf in front of the camera while broadcasting from London.

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Also posted in Media | 3 Comments

“Those who support democracy must welcome the rise of the Islamic far right”

By Effendi | Published: November 28, 2011

Let’s suppose that, hypothetically speaking, far right religious nationalists were  to win the next elections in Hungary and proceed to take over the country.

Would you be just a little bit concerned by that prospect or would you rather be celebrating it as a victory of “the democratic process”? Over at the Guardian (naturally) the Director-General of al-Jazeera Wadah Khanfar goes for the latter option in the case of Arab countries from Egypt to Tunisia.

It’s titled “Those who support democracy must welcome the rise of political Islam”. Should we really? It also contains this execrable pre-emptive get-out clause:

However, political Islam has also faced enormous pressures from dictatorial Arab regimes, pressures that became more intense after 9/11. Islamic institutions were suppressed. Islamic activists were imprisoned, tortured and killed. Such experiences gave rise to a profound bitterness. Given the history, it is only natural that we should hear overzealous slogans or intolerant threats from some activists. Some of those now at the forefront of election campaigns were only recently released from prison. It would not be fair to expect them to use the voice of professional diplomats.

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Posted in Islamism | 2 Comments

Freedom of Expression and Thought on Trial in Tunisia

By Cross Post | Published: November 22, 2011

Potkin Azarmehr on the banning of ‘Persepolis’ by the Ennahda party in Tunisia:

I was so saddened to learn about the trial in Tunisia over the broadcasting of the animated movie, Persepolis. The Tunisian revolution which was supposed to be about the overthrow of a dictator will soon descend into a religious dictatorship, if the secular Tunisians remain silent about this sort of thing. Once again, my favourite quote by Edmund Burke “Evil Only Prevails, When the Good Remain Silent” manifests itself in our own times.

The animated movie, Persepolis, is not about attacking sacred values at all. Only a religious zealot moron could come to such a conclusion. It is in fact a brilliant depiction of how a revolution against dictatorship is hijacked by such extremists. It is a movie that pre-warns ordinary people what will happen if they remain silent and allow the extremists to take over.

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Also posted in Freedom of Expression | Leave a comment

Pakistan: The Technical Term For Such A Country Is ‘Shithole’

By Cross Post | Published: November 22, 2011

This is a cross-post of an article by Terry Glavin:

In the years to come, the history of the so-called “war in Afghanistan” will be little more than a footnote in a chapter about the lies successive American governments told themselves and the world about Pakistan – that American-subsidized, nuclear-armed, military-industrial crime syndicate with a bribe market for a parliament that masquerades as a UN member state. All we can hope is that chapter won’t be in a book about a nuclear holocaust that ended a sickening, paranoid hoax of a country that had held most of its 170 million “citizens” hostage and barely alive on less than $2 a day in the final years before it all went up in flames.

Here’s a rare and horrifying glimpse of the reality behind the lies: The Ally From Hell. Excellent journalism from Jeffrey Goldberg and Marc Ambinder.

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Also posted in Terrorism | 7 Comments

Invading Londonistan

By Guest | Published: November 15, 2011

This is a guest post by Chris Blackburn

As Bob Lambert’s credibility in Londonistan is sinking faster than Euro, it would be wise for anyone commenting on identity politics, foreign affairs and counter-terrorism to try to dissect his motives and background in dealing with the Islamists. We are, by admission, an esoteric group of political scientists and hacks who are trying to understand the complex implications of Bob’s demise. But, are we blinding ourselves to the obvious.

I believe there are a few questions which we need to urgently grapple with before we understand the nature of the beast. We also need to understand that Bob was the figurehead for a greater movement within Whitehall and the British Establishment. The first question being: Is Bob Lambert a liberal or a realist? Also: Does British neoliberal foreign and economic policy rely on having Islamists as union busters, left-wing bashers and regime destablisers abroad?; Was Londonistan build on realist foreign policy or was it developed by multiculturalism?

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Also posted in Police Spying | Leave a comment

Who Betrayed Raed Salah?

By Effendi | Published: November 3, 2011

This short, succinct film was sent to us by an anonymous genius. It is based on the Home Office’s decision to ban the Palestinian hate-preacher and anti-semitic religious leader, Raed Salah, from the UK.

graphisme web design

Also posted in Antisemitism, Lobby Groups, Police Spying | 1 Comment

Livingstone: The Police Spy Who Loved Me

By Effendi | Published: November 3, 2011

Martin Bright has an amusing piece on Ken Livingstone’s new auto-hagiography, Ken thinks he was never wrong. I beg to differ. Livingstone unkindly calls Bright a “minor intellectual”, an appellation Bright reclaims.

This is Bright on Livingstone’s favourite Islamist copper, Bob Lambert:

Bob Lambert, the Islamist copper, completed his doctorate on his own police work when he left the force but soon established himself as a regular Guardian commentator. He also set up the European Muslim Centre at Exeter University, with money from the Islamist Cordoba Foundation and Islam Expo, although he had to issue an apology for the first piece of work there after complaints from councillors in east London and local MP Jim Fitzpatrick who were wrongly described as Islamphobic.

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Also posted in The Regressive Left | 1 Comment

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