Church leaders in Bradford have urged people not to be fooled into thinking the English Defence League exists to defend Christian values.
The EDL is planning to hold a demonstration in Bradford on Saturday, August 28, but a petition calling for the march to be banned is set to be delivered to Home Secretary Theresa May.
Today, the Churches for Bradford group outlined its views on the EDL in a joint statement signed by the Reverend Barbara Glasson, of the Methodist Church, the Reverend Chris Howson, City Mission Priest, the Very Reverend David Ison, Dean of Bradford, and Father John Newman, of the Roman Catholic Church.
The group said: “Don’t be deceived – the EDL is not Christian.
“Let’s be clear: there are real debates to be had about the nature of British society, and how people of different cultures and faiths (or no faith) can live together in mutual respect while managing our inevitable differences in a civil and non-violent way.
“We also need to allow for principled dissent to aspects of British foreign policy in the Middle East and South Asia, while supporting the brave men and women who risk their lives for our country. However, the EDL is hijacking some genuine concerns for their own agenda.”
The Churches for Bradford group questioned why the EDL called themselves ‘English’ and not ‘British’, claming it was because many Muslims were proud to be British, along with other people in this country of Asian or African heritage.
The joint statement said: “Using the word ‘English’ is a hidden way of emphasising the priority of those with white ancestry. We should rather value all British people for who they are, and show the tolerance and acceptance for which the rest of the world has so often admired us.
“How would the EDL ‘defend’ us? Their badge quotes the motto of the (Yorkshire) Emperor Constantine, who conquered the Roman Empire by force, with a cross as his standard.
“But the Christian cross is utterly different from this. It stands for a God who comes in his Son to suffer and die for us, to win us over by love – not by violence and conquest. St George was actually a brown-skinned Palestinian who died for his faith in Jesus, who is revered by many Muslims as well as by Christians.”
Churches for Bradford added that the way to encourage mutual respect between religions and communities was not by provocative demonstrations, but by getting to know and understand each other.
The statement said: “This is how to defeat extremists, whether nationalist or religious.”
Churches for Bradford said it was “ironic” that the EDL wanted to stop Muslim women wearing the veil in public, but then sold ‘burka hoodies’ and red-and-white face masks on their website, so as to hide their own faces from others.
The church leaders said anyone who was concerned about genuine issues the EDL exploited should not stoop to the EDL’s level.
“Instead, get engaged with your neighbours,” said the group.
Churches for Bradford concluded: “We value our country immensely. We believe that the Christian faith has profoundly shaped our heritage and has something unique to offer to everyone in the world. And we believe in the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, that ‘good is stronger than evil, and love is stronger than hate.”
Telegraph and Argus
Friday, 6 August 2010
Anti-Pride posters in Nottingham spark Police complaint (UK)
A complaint of homophobia has been made to Nottingham Police after a group of men were seen putting up anti-Pride posters which read Gay Free Zone in the city centre.
A complaint of homophobia has been made to Nottingham Police after a group of men were seen putting up anti-Pride posters which read Gay Free Zone in the city centre.
The stickers and posters were put up just before Nottingham’s Pride festival, circa 31 July, and a member of the public has now made an official complaint to police.
The complainant says: “...the sticker showed a rainbow flag with the text written across it, ‘Gay Free Area’ and a quote from the Koran which wasn’t complimentary.”
He added: “I’m not gay but found the sentiment extremely offensive, blatant homophobia I’d say. If stickers were going around saying Muslim Free Area I’m pretty sure there’d be one hell of a fuss made about it.”
A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: “We are aware that posters and stickers, which oppose homosexuality, were distributed among parts of Nottingham, prior to the Pride March ... As part of our enquiries we have forwarded one sticker and one poster to the Crown Prosecution Service to establish whether this material amounts to a criminal offence.”
Pink Paper
A complaint of homophobia has been made to Nottingham Police after a group of men were seen putting up anti-Pride posters which read Gay Free Zone in the city centre.
The stickers and posters were put up just before Nottingham’s Pride festival, circa 31 July, and a member of the public has now made an official complaint to police.
The complainant says: “...the sticker showed a rainbow flag with the text written across it, ‘Gay Free Area’ and a quote from the Koran which wasn’t complimentary.”
He added: “I’m not gay but found the sentiment extremely offensive, blatant homophobia I’d say. If stickers were going around saying Muslim Free Area I’m pretty sure there’d be one hell of a fuss made about it.”
A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: “We are aware that posters and stickers, which oppose homosexuality, were distributed among parts of Nottingham, prior to the Pride March ... As part of our enquiries we have forwarded one sticker and one poster to the Crown Prosecution Service to establish whether this material amounts to a criminal offence.”
Pink Paper
Tory councillor suspended over 'Chaffrica' Facebook jibe
A Tory councillor has been suspended after he dubbed his home town ‘Chaffrica’.
In remarks on the Facebook networking website, he compared the town to an EastEnders storyline with ‘murderers, rapists, concerned ethnic minorities and gay men’.
Neil Rockliffe, who represents Chafford Hundred ward on Thurrock Council in Essex, claimed he was talking about his overgrown ‘jungle’ garden, denied that the comments were racist and said it had been ‘blown out of proportion’.
The Conservative group on Thurrock Council has suspended Mr Rockliffe while an investigation is carried out.
Mr Rockliffe is thought to have been on holiday last month when he posted on his Facebook page that he was ‘missing Chaffrica’.
He said: ‘Thinking the scriptwriters of EastEnders must live on Chafford Hundred ... has all the ingredients ... murderers, rapists, concerned ethnic minorities, gay men etc, etc.’
He said the comments were not intended to be public statements as his Facebook profile can be seen only by ‘friends’ and added: ‘I apologise for any offence caused.
'I absolutely refute the suggestion this was some kind of subliminal racist comment.’
The leader of the Conservative group at Thurrock Council, Garry Hague, said: ‘We are taking this extremely seriously.’
Daily Mail
In remarks on the Facebook networking website, he compared the town to an EastEnders storyline with ‘murderers, rapists, concerned ethnic minorities and gay men’.
Neil Rockliffe, who represents Chafford Hundred ward on Thurrock Council in Essex, claimed he was talking about his overgrown ‘jungle’ garden, denied that the comments were racist and said it had been ‘blown out of proportion’.
The Conservative group on Thurrock Council has suspended Mr Rockliffe while an investigation is carried out.
Mr Rockliffe is thought to have been on holiday last month when he posted on his Facebook page that he was ‘missing Chaffrica’.
He said: ‘Thinking the scriptwriters of EastEnders must live on Chafford Hundred ... has all the ingredients ... murderers, rapists, concerned ethnic minorities, gay men etc, etc.’
He said the comments were not intended to be public statements as his Facebook profile can be seen only by ‘friends’ and added: ‘I apologise for any offence caused.
'I absolutely refute the suggestion this was some kind of subliminal racist comment.’
The leader of the Conservative group at Thurrock Council, Garry Hague, said: ‘We are taking this extremely seriously.’
Daily Mail
2 NY men get decades in prison in hate crime death (USA)
Two men convicted of beating an Ecuadorean immigrant to death after mistaking him and his brother for a gay couple were sentenced to the maximum Thursday and will spend decades in prison.
Keith Phoenix was convicted of murder as a hate crime in the December 2008 death of Jose Sucuzhanay and sentenced to 37 years to life in prison. His co-defendant, Hakim Scott, was convicted of manslaughter but acquitted of a more serious murder charge. He was sentenced to 37 years in prison.
Both men were also convicted of attempted assault of Jose's brother, Romel. Phoenix's first case ended in a mistrial after a juror refused to deliberate.
The victim's mother, Julia Quituna, traveled from Cuenca, Ecuador, and sat in the courtroom with three of her surviving 11 children. Romel Sucuzhanay and Quituna spoke, barely above a whisper, through a Spanish interpreter, saying their lives were forever altered.
Scott and Phoenix were remorseful at the hearing, apologizing to their families and to the Sucuzhanays and reiterating their belief that the case was about a fight that escalated, not a premeditated attack.
"I want to offer my deepest, humblest apology for the outcome of that night," Phoenix said. "I swear to God that is not what I intended to happen."
Scott said he was raised in a family with morals and begged Judge Patricia DiMango to give him a second chance. "Not a day goes by when my heart does not hurt," he said.
But DiMango was not swayed. She told Phoenix it was "beyond the comprehension of any civilized person" that someone motivated "by the sport of it could take another human being's life in such a cruel and violent manner."
The judge called Scott the first physical catalyst because he got out of a car and broke a bottle over Jose Sucuzhanay's head.
The brothers were walking home, arm in arm, from a bar after a party at a Brooklyn church on Dec. 7, 2008, a cold night. Romel Sucuzhanay had put his coat around his brother to keep him warm and was helping him walk because he was drunk.
The defendants, also leaving a party, pulled up in an SUV and began yelling anti-gay and anti-Hispanic slurs, according to trial testimony.
Jose Sucuzhanay became upset and tried to kick the wheel of the SUV, and Scott got out and smashed the beer bottle over his head, then chased Romel Sucuzhanay down the block with it, according to trial testimony. Phoenix grabbed a bat from the back of the SUV and attacked Jose Sucuzhanay, cracking his skull, according to testimony.
The two drove away and were captured about 20 minutes later on surveillance footage crossing into the Bronx. Prosecutors ended their closing arguments by showing footage of Phoenix on a bridge, smiling.
Members of Phoenix's and Scott's families wept loudly in the courtroom after sentencing. They refused to speak to reporters outside court.
Quituna said in Spanish that she felt bad for them. "As a mother, I feel sad for the family of those who took my son," she said, quietly closing her eyes to gather her thoughts. "But they had no right to take the life of my son and leave his two children orphaned. For me, it is the greatest pain in my life."
Jose Sucuzhanay's brother Diego, who has acted as a family spokesman since the attack, said they would set up a foundation in Jose's honor to help the NYPD provide rewards to find those whose attacks are motivated by hate.
"Today's sentencing sends a message," he said. "The city will not tolerate hate against anyone ... against immigrants. I am sorry my brother had to die for this message."
Associated Press
Keith Phoenix was convicted of murder as a hate crime in the December 2008 death of Jose Sucuzhanay and sentenced to 37 years to life in prison. His co-defendant, Hakim Scott, was convicted of manslaughter but acquitted of a more serious murder charge. He was sentenced to 37 years in prison.
Both men were also convicted of attempted assault of Jose's brother, Romel. Phoenix's first case ended in a mistrial after a juror refused to deliberate.
The victim's mother, Julia Quituna, traveled from Cuenca, Ecuador, and sat in the courtroom with three of her surviving 11 children. Romel Sucuzhanay and Quituna spoke, barely above a whisper, through a Spanish interpreter, saying their lives were forever altered.
Scott and Phoenix were remorseful at the hearing, apologizing to their families and to the Sucuzhanays and reiterating their belief that the case was about a fight that escalated, not a premeditated attack.
"I want to offer my deepest, humblest apology for the outcome of that night," Phoenix said. "I swear to God that is not what I intended to happen."
Scott said he was raised in a family with morals and begged Judge Patricia DiMango to give him a second chance. "Not a day goes by when my heart does not hurt," he said.
But DiMango was not swayed. She told Phoenix it was "beyond the comprehension of any civilized person" that someone motivated "by the sport of it could take another human being's life in such a cruel and violent manner."
The judge called Scott the first physical catalyst because he got out of a car and broke a bottle over Jose Sucuzhanay's head.
The brothers were walking home, arm in arm, from a bar after a party at a Brooklyn church on Dec. 7, 2008, a cold night. Romel Sucuzhanay had put his coat around his brother to keep him warm and was helping him walk because he was drunk.
The defendants, also leaving a party, pulled up in an SUV and began yelling anti-gay and anti-Hispanic slurs, according to trial testimony.
Jose Sucuzhanay became upset and tried to kick the wheel of the SUV, and Scott got out and smashed the beer bottle over his head, then chased Romel Sucuzhanay down the block with it, according to trial testimony. Phoenix grabbed a bat from the back of the SUV and attacked Jose Sucuzhanay, cracking his skull, according to testimony.
The two drove away and were captured about 20 minutes later on surveillance footage crossing into the Bronx. Prosecutors ended their closing arguments by showing footage of Phoenix on a bridge, smiling.
Members of Phoenix's and Scott's families wept loudly in the courtroom after sentencing. They refused to speak to reporters outside court.
Quituna said in Spanish that she felt bad for them. "As a mother, I feel sad for the family of those who took my son," she said, quietly closing her eyes to gather her thoughts. "But they had no right to take the life of my son and leave his two children orphaned. For me, it is the greatest pain in my life."
Jose Sucuzhanay's brother Diego, who has acted as a family spokesman since the attack, said they would set up a foundation in Jose's honor to help the NYPD provide rewards to find those whose attacks are motivated by hate.
"Today's sentencing sends a message," he said. "The city will not tolerate hate against anyone ... against immigrants. I am sorry my brother had to die for this message."
Associated Press
MICHELLE OBAMA WALKS INTO RACE ROW ON SPANISH HOLIDAY
Michelle Obama and her youngest daughter, Sasha, seven, have arrived in Spain for a short holiday as US officials scrambled to defuse embarassing allegations of institutional racism against their host country. Hours before the first African-American first lady of the US and her daughter were settling into the luxurious Villa Padierna hotel on the outskirts of Marbella, the US state department removed a warning about police racism in Spain from one of its websites. "We have received isolated reports that racial prejudice may have contributed to the arrest or detention of some African-Americans travelling in Spain," the bureau of consular affairs had warned on its travel advice website. "Recently, two African-American US government employees were questioned by police in Barcelona for no apparent reason. One was detained and suffered physical injuries in the process." The warning disappeared yesterday, but was still accessible in the page's internet cache. Sources at the Villa Padierna hotel said that Michelle Obama had told them she had come to Spain to rest and relax. President Barack Obama, who turns 49 today, is not expected in Spain. His elder daughter Malia, 10, is at a summer camp. Secret service personnel working for the White House have already scouted several spots that the Obama's might visit, including the Alhambra palace complex at Granada. Michelle Obama is expected to see King Juan Carlos and other members of Spain's royal family, who are holidaying in Majorca.
Guardian
Guardian
Neo-Nazi arrested over U.S. synagogue vandalism was adopted by Jews
Police arrest 22-year-old Ian Jacob Baron for allegedly spray-painting 'death 2 Zionists' and 'work will set u free' all over Maryland synagogue walls. Washington police said Thursday a 22-year-old man arrested for allegedly vandalizing a Maryland synagogue earlier this week was adopted in the past by Jewish parents, The Washington Post reported.
Earlier this week, anti-Semitic phrases such as “death 2 Zionists" and "work will set u free," (after the infamous Auschwitz death camp sign reading "Arbeit Macht Frei"), were spray-painted through out the grounds of the B’nai Shalom Synagogue of Olney near Washington D.C.
Ian Jacob Baron, who at first denied the allegations and then admitted he was behind the crime, was known to the police as homeless and used to hang out in a shack which stated at the entrance that it was for "White Only!," police officers told the Washington Post.
According to the D.C. police, Baron was associated with several radical U.S. groups, and was convicted in the past in relation to crimes of a similar nature, defacing two private properties in the area, painting a swastika on a tree, and painting two mailboxes and painting a partial swastika on a driveway.
Haaretz
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