Tag Archives: The CST

The Israel Lobby?

By Yossarian | Published: November 17, 2009

Peter Oborne’s Dispatches programme was on last night, preceded by the Guardian article and comment piece and Opendemocracy pamphlet (pdf) which were released to coincide with the programme. I have been avidly following the inevitable online wranglings which ensued.

The CST’s response is certainly one of the best, particularly this gem of a detail:

There is another, very simple, example of how the programme makers appear to have decided on their theory and conclusions before accumulating any facts.  The Guardian opinion piece states:

For instance, Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) – once described by the famous Conservative politician and historian as “the largest organisation in western Europe dedicated to the cause of the people of Israel” – claims that 80% of all Tory MPs are members.

The Guardian news article states:

At least half of the shadow cabinet are members of the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI), according to a Dispatches programme being screened on Channel 4.

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Posted in Israel/Palestine | Also tagged , , | 33 Comments

CST Blow IHRC Out Of The Water

By Retired | Published: June 18, 2009

A while ago I blogged about the handsomely named Islamic Human Rights Commission and a briefing they had put out accusing the Community Security Trust of “demonising Muslims”.

The briefing was poorly researched, wilfully inaccurate rubbish. This didn’t stop Islamophobia Watch and Bungles from giving it a ringing endorsement.

Now the CST have responded.

CST wholly denies the entirely unfounded allegations made by IHRC. The IHRC briefing is full of basic errors, distortions and misrepresentations that completely alter the meaning of the articles that it claims to analyse. It contains supposed quotes and arguments in CST articles that do not exist; and omits relevant context from the quotes and articles that it claims to analyse. Worst of all, however, the IHRC makes these claims in order to accuse CST and its staff of propagating Islamophobia, when nothing could be further from the truth.

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Posted in Defamation, Islamism | Also tagged , | 1 Comment

Unhelpful and Trivialising Accusations of Islamophobia

By Retired | Published: May 28, 2009

The IHRC (Islamic Human Rights Commission), who organise pro-Hezbollah “Al-Quds Day” demonstrations with Azzam “Kaboom” Tamimi, and criticised the conviction of Abu Hamza as “creating an environment that can only further alienate the Muslim community”, have accused the Community Security Trust of demonising Islam and Muslims.

Many of the articles published on the CST website explore issues related to Islam and Muslims. These articles express Islamophobic views both against Muslims and against Islam itself. CST writers such as Michael Whine, Mark Gardener and Dave Rich centre their arguments upon an Orientalist reading of Islam and its history to fill out stereotypes about Islam and Muslims. Although the CST articles attempt to deal with contemporary issues, the arguments presented throughout the website are fixed in a skewed historical discourse about Islam. Their writings serve to demonize Islam and depict its adherents as being an intolerant and violent ‘other’.

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Posted in Antisemitism, Islamism | Also tagged , | 10 Comments

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