Harry's Place

Nick Spencer, writing in the Guardian, can’t understand why British Muslims continue to vote for the ‘Islamophobic’ Labour Party:
The Iraq war was supposed to have poisoned Labour’s relations with British Muslims. Tony Blair’s apparently unqualified support for a bellicose Republican administration despised around the Muslim world was deeply unpalatable. Years of anti-terror legislation were judged [...]

Fahad Ansari is the Cageprisoners member who slandered Gita Sahgal as an Islamophobe and a dupe of US propaganda.
Readers may recall that he has said he finds al Qaeda preacher Anwar al Awlaki “inspirational” in an article republished on Cageprisoners’ website.
The article was republished in early October 2009. That was a little over a [...]

At the Muslim Council of Britain Gala Dinner tonight:
The MCB is delighted that distinguished personalities from the world of politics, media, interfaith relations and other prominent British institutions have accepted its invitation to the event. Speakers include the Rt Hon Jack Straw MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, the Rt Hon Nick [...]

Covering your face up is un-British. It is intimidatory. It has no place in our society.
What sort of person would make political demands, while clothed head to foot in black?

As Richard Bartholomew notes:
The speaker is standing in front of an upside-down Union Flag, which perhaps is a deliberate sign of distress; why the Indian flag [...]

You know, its one thing being anti-war, it’s quite another thing being pro-enemy.
During the Second World War, there were, for example, British Pacifists and Americans who did not think their country had a stake in a European war. A pacifist or an international isolationist can make their positions clear in a way that the reasonable person can discuss [...]

From The Observer, Letters Page:
Nick Cohen seemed to stress that principle, not pragmatism, should have guided the courts in ordering the disclosure of sensitive material to Binyam Mohamed in his claims of torture against the US government (“We abhor torture – but that requires paying a price”, Comment). At the same time, he was critical [...]

It hasn’t taken very long for Conservative Party supporters to take the election fight online into the gutter. Last weeek we saw spoof posters of asylum seekers cropping up, but featuring Gordon Brown as Adolf Hitler as Tory blogger Iain Dale has done goes far beyond anything that is even remotely acceptable.
There is nothing to [...]

The much trailed Rawnsley allegations of bullying by Brown have hit the media this weekend:
When Wood tried to brief him on which of the ambassadors he should speak to, Brown blew up in a staggering rage. “Why have I got to meet these fucking people?” he yelled. “Why are you making me meet these fucking [...]

A few days ago, I attended a remarkable public debate, between Bob Pitt of Islamophobia Watch, and Sean Matgamna of Workers’ Liberty. Bob Pitt, you know. Sean Matgamna is that rare beast: the founder of a Trotskyite group who is not a middle class Jew.
The debate was entitled “Islam, Islamophobia, Islamism: what should the left [...]

Last week this blog covered the boohooing of Middle East Monitor (MEMO) about London Gaza demo rioters being sent down.
MEMO is run by Daud Abdullah, the deputy secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB). MEMO’s “senior editor” is Ibrahim Hewitt, the chairman of Interpal.
MEMO has had another bawling session. [...]