United Kingdom
East London mosque awaits EDL march with fear and frustration
Among staff at the East London mosque, the sense of anger at plans by the English Defence League to demonstrate nearby on Saturday is amplified by their belief that there are more constructive things they could be doing with their time than planning how to respond to the far-right group. The far-right group’s latest attempt…
Britain ‘giving in to sharia councils’ says Norway’s anti-immigration leader
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Siv Jensen, the 44-year-old leader of the Progress party who cites Baroness Thatcher as her inspiration, said: “What I have seen that the UK has done is to give in to the claims of sharia councils, and I don’t think we should give into that. In Norway we…
Stephen Fry hits back at accusations of Islamophobia
Stephen Fry has spoken of his frustration at being labelled an “Islamophobe” for criticising the violent acts committed by some Islamists. In a strongly worded blog post, the actor and comedian lamented that the “squeezed liberal finds himself in the position that he cannot criticise Islamofascism because it’s somehow ‘racist’”. He continued: “It is a…
Mosques tighten their security as attacks follow the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby
Kashif Ahmed pointed to a hole in the middle of the mosque’s carpet where the smoke grenade landed. On 22 May this year Geoffrey Ryan kicked open the front door of the Al Falah mosque in Braintree, Essex, tossed the incendiary device inside, and brandishing two kitchen knives threatened to kill worshippers. Five hours earlier,…
Closed-circuit television footage released of three suspects as Harlow Islamic Centre targeted in arson attack
Police have released CCTV footage of three men suspected of an arson attack on an Islamic centre. Officers were alerted to the incident by leaders of the Harlow Islamic Centre in Essex at 6.30am on Monday after they attended early morning prayers and found insulation foam sprayed under all of the shutters which cover the…