Al Spittoon | Heresy is another word for freedom of thought

Abid Hussain, Warsi and Hizb ut-Tahrir

By Guest | Published: June 10, 2012

This is a cross-post by Raziq (A former member of Hizb ut-Tahrir)

In light of the recent media revelations about Baroness Warsi’s links to Abid Hussain, and his subsequent denial of any involvement with Hizb ut-Tahrir, this short piece is aimed at clarifying his previous links to the group.

Abid Hussain (still taken from the 1995 BBC Documentary on Hizb ut-Tahrir ‘Public Eye’)

I knew Abid in the 90’s when he was involved with Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT). Back then he used to attend all of the group’s rallies & events, and was well known in HT circles as being a committed activist. In the mid-90’s, he also resided at the London School of Shariah in Tottenham for a while. At the time, the School of Shariah was the hub of all HT activity in the UK. This was when HT was under the leadership of Omar Bakri Mohammad. His brother Mohammad Nawaz Khan was and still is a senior member of HT. He was also the former spokesman of HT in Pakistan (where the group is now banned). Abid is also related to Baroness Warsi’s current husband “Iftikhar Azam”.

Posted in Islamism, Tower Hamlets, UK Politics | 2 Responses

How to win votes and influence people

By Abdul Hamid al Manchesteri | Published: April 3, 2012

By following two simple rules:

1) Invoke the “Eternal punishment of Allah” on people if they don’t vote for you:

2) Out-Muslim and out-Pakistani your Muslim opponent by claiming not to drink alcohol and insinuate the other guy is a lesser Muslim and unfit for public office because he might.

“Let me point out to all the Muslim brothers and sisters what I stand for. I, George Galloway, do not drink alcohol and never have. Ask yourself if the other candidate [the Labour candidate, Imran Hussain] in this election can say that truthfully. I, George Galloway, have fought for the Muslims at home and abroad, all my life, and paid a price for it. I, George Galloway, hold Pakistan’s highest civil awards.”

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRespect! Praise be to Allah!

Posted in Drollery, Religious Right Wing | 23 Responses

Caption Contest 30/03/2012

By Abdul Hamid al Manchesteri | Published: March 30, 2012

George Galloway wins Bradford West by-election on the RESPECT ticket.

Posted in Caption Competition | 9 Responses

Why I Left Islam

By avicenna | Published: March 14, 2012

An honest and thoughtful explanation of the results of a great deal of soul-searching by one ex-Muslim.

This is a brief unscripted video summarizing the reasons why i left Islam and became an atheist. The last part of the video got cut off because my video editing software was not working properly. My upcoming video will be criticisms of Islam. Subscribe to my channel for more criticisms of religion.

Posted in Apostasy | 5 Responses

The Free Expression Day of Action

By avicenna | Published: February 28, 2012

Two weeks ago, on a freezing cold Saturday afternoon, I made my way to the Old Palace Yard in Westminster to support the Freedom of Expression rally organised by One Law For All.

The rally followed several incidents in London recently where freedom of expression was curtailed in favour of fear of causing offence. In one incident, a talk on sharia law by One Law for All’s Anne Marie Waters was cancelled following threats of violence. Rhys Morgan was told by his school to remove a picture of Jesus and Mo from his Facebook page – a picture he had used in solidarity with the University College London Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society who had been asked by their student union to remove the same image. Both UCL and the London School of Economics have since passed draconian motions which will further restrict religious criticism or satire at their schools.

Posted in Freedom of Expression | 1 Response

Allies Not Enemies

By Guest | Published: February 18, 2012

This is a guest post by Hugo Schmidt

Everyone remembers the scene in Life of Brian where the Campaign for a free Gallilee and the People’s front of Judea are locked in a fistfight. One speaker stands up and appeals “We mustn’t fight each other. Sureley we should be united against the common enemy!” and everyone replies “The Judean People’s Front!”. In what might be called the islamocritical or islamorealist scene, I have been noticing something similar. I have lost count of the number of conversations I have had that go like this: Rightist: “Oh the Left are just a bunch of cowardly milquetoast nihilists. They don’t really believe in women’s rights/freedom of expression, they just use these as a way of attacking civilization and they’ll drop them at the first sign of a real struggle”. Leftist: “Oh the Right are just a bunch of racist, knuckledragging Neanderthalers. They don’t really believe in women’s rights/freedom of expression, they just use these as a way to attack the left, and they’ll drop them the instant they’ve got what they want.” There’s a certain element of truth in both stereotypes, as there is in all stereotypes, but there is also a great deal of falsity. And I am getting well and truly sick of it.

Posted in UK Politics | 58 Responses

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.

Posted in Islamism | 7 Responses

Al-Muhajiroun’s Plans for Mumbai-style Terrorist Attacks Foiled

By avicenna | Published: February 1, 2012

Who cannot be thankful and relieved when they hear this kind of news?

The Guardian identifies the terrorists:

The lynchpin of the group was Mohammed Chowdhury, a 21-year-old from east London, who pleaded guilty at Woolwich crown court on Wednesday to preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

He and eight other young men from London, Cardiff and Stoke on Trent were due to face trial this week, but in a last-minute change of plea they admitted the terror plot, but denied the intention was to cause death or injury.

Undercover detectives had followed Chowdhury and his right-hand man, Shah Rahman, observing Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament on 28 November 2010, during a massive surveillance operation which eventually led to the arrest of the terror gang.

There should be no ambiguity about their intentions and how they have been radicalised. Anwar al-Awlaki and Inspire magazine are all namechecked:

Posted in Terrorism | 5 Responses

The Guardian and David Miller

By Guest | Published: January 28, 2012

This is a guest post by Khalid Richards

Has anti-semitism become normative in the editorial policy at the Guardian? Here’s a story that suggests that it is certainly getting there.

Yesterday the Graun reported that Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, had awarded a £2M grant to the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity which provides security for Jewish schools. For the Guardian this was a “scoop” because Gove had sat on the CST board since 2007.

Unfortunately the Guardian failed to explain that CST is not the recipient of any of the donations it receives. It simply distributes funds to various security companies which provide services to Jewish schools, none of which Gove sits on the boards of. Even Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, tweeted this:

“I’ve had many disagreements with Michael Gove, but on this one he’s right: CST do a great job on security for Jewish schools.”

Posted in Antisemitism | 3 Responses

India’s Shame: Rushdie banned from the Jaipur Lit Festival

By avicenna | Published: January 27, 2012

Salman Rushdie was banned from attending the Jaipur Literary Festival. After even his video address to the Festival was cancelled, here is in an exclusive interview to NDTV’s Barkha Dutt. Rushdie says he is coming to India and the politicians will just have to learn to deal with it.