Sikh man to be first non-white member of the BNP: why the surprise?

The Guardian today reported how a Sikh man who has campaigned for the British National Party (BNP) in support of its anti-Islam stance has been nominated to be the party’s first non-white member.

As the newspaper reported:

Rajinder Singh, who is in his late 70s, has twice lent support to Nick Griffin during the British National Party leader’s court appearances and appeared in an election broadcast for the party in 2005. There have been suggestions that he could stand as a BNP candidate at next year’s general election.

Mr Singh apparently came to Britain in 1967 and had a regular column in the BNP’s newspaper Freedom and has spoken at BNP meetings where he has been outspoken in his criticism of Muslims.

Whether Mr Singh is right or wrong in joining the Party is not up for question. Instead, the question is whether or not the onlooking public should be surprised?

Why oh why…? “Muslims must combat hate speech” take two

Further to yesterday’s post and my observation that “Since 9/11, Muslim after Muslim after Muslim organisation have fell over themselves to apologise and distance themselves from a whole raft of incidents that have been perpetrated by other Muslims with whom they have no association with whatsoever except that they hold the same yet differently interpreted set of beliefs”, I opened my inbox this morning to find that the Quilliam Foundation – the world’s first self-proclaimed counter-extremism think tank – had decided to go one further.

Instead of disassociating themselves from the events in Texas – something that they clearly have no association with – they have named and shamed a handful of Muslim organisations that have failed to disassociate themselves from either the actions of Major Nidal Hassan or “the engineer-cum-cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki” who has apparently been outspoken in his support of Hassan.

Whilst Quilliam begrudgingly praises the disassociation offered by Jamiat Ihya Minhaj al-Sunnah (JIMAS) and the Islamic Society of Britain (ISB) from al-Awlaki, they declare that the Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE), the London Muslim Centre, the Islam Channel, the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS), the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and the Cordoba Foundation through their lack of vocal disassociation from al-Awlaki are sending “a message of hostility towards our country, armed forces and American allies”.

Really?

“Muslims must combat hate speech”: Why…?

It is sometimes far more interesting to read the comments posted in response to articles on the Guardian’s, Comment is Free than it is reading the articles themselves. This is not to say that the articles are poor, but rarely do they pose really challenging questions. Instead, they typically say what might be expected and ‘fit’ the generic message of particular writer (as indeed this blog does of me).

This is true of Inayat Bunglawala’s latest post on Comment is Free, ‘Muslims Must Combat Hate Speech’. Well written? Yes. Challenging? Not really.

In fact after every ‘Muslim’ incident since 9/11, one or more Muslim organisation, spokesman (rather than spokeswoman), scholar and/ or commentator has written something similar, stressing the need for ‘true’ scholars to preach ‘true’ Islam. Indeed, many have themselves reinforced the notion that only ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Muslims exist – and never the twain shall meet.

In response to Inayat’s article – which draws a little to heavily on the opinion of his ‘friends’ for my liking – 1830 responded:

The idea that Muslim associations should be praised for dissociating themselves from the actions of the lunatic at Fort Worth is utter nonsense. Its what any decent, rational person would do.

This dissociation in itself no more deserves praise than the man who never beats women deserves praise for never beating women, or footballers deserve praise for not cheating. Not beating women and not cheating are (or should be) the norm – we do not praise people for not doing them any more than we praise people for not robbing banks.

And they have a point don’t they…???

Why do we need Islam Awareness Week? Keynote Speech in Sandwell 16th November 2009

Next Monday – 16th November – sees the launch of the 15th Islam Awareness Week (IAW). The theme for this year’s IAW is “Walk the Talk” and is all about recognising our common humanity, celebrating our diversity and respecting each other.

As part of this, I have been invited to present the keynote address at the launch of IAW in Sandwell. My presentation will focus on the question, ‘Why do we need Islam Awareness Week?’

The event starts at 9:15am at The Public in West Bromwich and hopes to bring together around 130 people from a variety of different backgrounds to share in the day. The event also incorporates the formal launch of the the Inclusive Muslim Action Network (IMAN). IMAN was initially conceived in October 2008 to form a collective voice for Muslims in Sandwell.

Anyone wishing to attend the Sandwell event or wanting to know more  can do so by getting in touch with Wenda Leslie on 0121 569 4638 or via email at wenda_leslie@sandwell.gov.uk.

For more information about Islam Awareness Week, then you can visit the national website by clicking here.

Landscape of neglect is fertile breeding ground for far right extremism

Following an approach from the freelance journalist Chris Arnot last week, I underwent a telephone interview with him about Muslim communities in the Black Country to support his research into writing an article about Anthony Cartwright’s novel, ‘Heartland’. The article has now been written and published and is reproduced below. The original article can be found on the Guardian website by clicking here.

Landscape of neglect is fertile breeding ground for far right extremism
Fact and fiction blur as Heartland novelist Anthony Cartwright take Chris Arnot on a tour through estates of despair

There is a passage in Anthony Cartwright’s novel, Heartland, currently being serialised on Radio 4, in which veteran Labour councillor Jim Bayliss ponders why his seat in Cinderheath is under threat from the British National party in local elections in 2002. “How could there be a Labour Party when there was no labour left for it to represent?” he muses. “It had become something else. There were jobs now, of course. The big losses had come some 20-odd years ago, but it was hardly the same – jobs for cleaners and security men, shop work and mobile phone sales… Even the call-centre jobs were going to Bangalore. This was the town’s position in the new world order.”