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18 Responses to “British Anti-Muslim Nativists Riot, Muslim Immigrant Murdered”

1. Alex Stein says:

   September 11, 2009 at 4:14 AM

   I’m surprised you’re taking this at face value. It’s a grand simplification to say the European far-right (not sure where you get the term ‘nativists’ from ) are supportive of Israel. Plenty of BNP rhetoric, for example, is hostile. Much of their strategy is about sowing race hatred. What better way to do that than to get out an Israeli flag? This gives more ammunition to those who routinely compare Israel to the Nazi state, makes the pro-Israel camp more hostile in return, etc etc etc. Divide and Rule, far-right style.

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   • Moje says:

     September 11, 2009 at 7:31 AM

     I was born in Birmingham and lived there for close to 20 years. Although I live in a town close to London now, my family and friends are still living in Birmingham. There is a very large population of Indians and Pakistanis living there, most of whom are young Muslims. Attacks on Islam or Muslims would provoke these communities in to taking action, peaceful or violent, to defend the faith.

     As young Muslims outnumber the old in Birmingham, violence is often considered the best course of action for two reasons: 1) they don’t have time to plan out peaceful protests and public awareness campaigns – because that is too much like a chore – they want to “take action and take it now;” 2) The men are very macho and to them, the fist is mightier than the gob. I grew up with and know many of them.

     It’s blatantly evident that English Defense League knows how to light a fire because why else would they show up waving the one flag that is guaranteed to spark a violent confrontation? I wouldn’t apologise for the way those Muslims behaved on this occasion. But I won’t condemn it either. Especially considering there is not a single mention of Israel or Jews on the EDL’s website. I believe violence is never the answer, but in this case, whatever cuts and bruises EDL left Birmingham with they deserved. Type “israel site:englishdefenceleague.org” into Google’s search box and see for yourself. If there was a Jewish or Israeli affiliation that justified the flag then I would reconsider.

     There is another protest taking place today. This time it’s organised by Stop the Islamisation of Europe and taking place right outside Harrow Mosque in London. More confrontation to be expected:
     http://www.harrowtimes.co.uk/news/localnews/4592752.Harrow_braced_for_protests_outside_central_mosque/

     Reply
   • Richard Silverstein says:

     September 11, 2009 at 12:03 PM

     Nativists are those who favor “natives” as opposed to immigrants. It’s a very common term in the U.S. to describe anti-immigrant politics.

     So you’re saying that a bunch of drunken white racists who hate Muslims had the presence of mind to think that they would harm Israeli interests by waving an Israeli flag at their rally?? And that the self-same Muslim haters actually hate Jews and Israel? Wow, that’s a whole lot of deviousness for which I doubt they deserve credit.

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     • Alex Stein says:

       September 11, 2009 at 1:10 PM

       Do I think that the far-right has the presence of mind to sow dischord among Britain’s various ethnic communities? Of course I do.

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       • Richard Silverstein says:

         September 11, 2009 at 7:31 PM

         That’s not what I said. I’d prefer that you just state what you believe & not pretend you’re responding to a question or statement I made. If you do intend to respond to a statement I actually made I’d like you to use the terms I used & not invent convenient terms & pretend they’re mine.

         Reply
2. Alex Stein says:

   September 11, 2009 at 9:17 PM

   “o you’re saying that a bunch of drunken white racists who hate Muslims had the presence of mind to think that they would harm Israeli interests by waving an Israeli flag at their rally??”

   Not Israeli interests, but inter-communal harmony in the UK.

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   • Richard Silverstein says:

     September 11, 2009 at 11:21 PM

     This is the part of yr comment I was responding to:

     This gives more ammunition to those who routinely compare Israel to the Nazi state, makes the pro-Israel camp more hostile in return, etc etc etc. Divide and Rule, far-right style.

     YOU are the one who brought up the issue of the far right sowing disharmony within England’s ethnic communities, which wasn’t the subject of my post. My post dealt with the attempt by the English far right to make common cause with Israel against the Muslim hordes.

     In fact, I’d advise England’s Jewish community to make common cause with England’s Muslims to show the far right that this tactic will not work. I doubt the Jewish community has the foresight or will to do much of this since it would mean forging a relationship w. an ethnic group fr. which it is no doubt deeply estranged. But it should.

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     • Alex Stein says:

       September 11, 2009 at 11:30 PM

       And I was suggesting that it was an attempt to sow disharmony rather than to make common cause with Israel against the Muslim hordes.

       As for England’s Jewish community, there are plenty of inter-faith activities, so I’m not sure where you get “I doubt the Jewish community has the foresight or will to do much of this…” from.

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       • Richard Silverstein says:

         September 12, 2009 at 1:23 AM

         I don’t know what “inter-faith” activities means. I’d like to see evidence of British Jews engaging with British Muslims in a substantive way that deals w. tensions & political issues that divide them. Know of anything like that?

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         • Alex Stein says:

           September 13, 2009 at 11:26 AM

           Here are some activities to start with:
           http://www.threefaithsforum.org.uk/
           http://www.pjcea.org.uk/newsletter/2007/0705/0705ceji.htm
           http://www.ceji.org/dialogue/dialogueconference.php
           http://www.somethingjewish.co.uk/articles/2250_jewish_muslim_dialog.htm
           On a personal note, I have a friend who set up a very successful Jewish-Muslim group during the height of the Second Intifada. Not sure what it’s activities are today. I was also involved in a joint Israeli-Palestinian initiative to bring young Jewish and Muslim leaders from the UK to Israel/Palestine, but – for a variety of reasons – we unfortunately couldn’t get the project off the ground.
         • Richard Silverstein says:

           September 13, 2009 at 11:55 AM

           I applaud this activity and encourage it. But I’d like to see England’s chief rabbi and the leaders of the community involved & not just the usual Jewish community suspects who embrace this dialogue activity as a matter of course. I’m not minimizing the efforts you highlight. I applaud them. But I’d like to see it happening at a higher level.
         • Alex Stein says:

           September 13, 2009 at 12:08 PM

           It does happen at a higher level; even the Chief Rabbi gets involved sometimes, although I’m not up-to-date with the latest developments.
3. J. says:

   September 12, 2009 at 8:27 AM

   Alex,

   Fundamentalist Muslims hate Israel because they hate ALL INFIDELS. Non-believers are not tolerated in any country with Islamic law. Hamas’s charter includes a provision for killing all Jews. Even self-hating Jews, like you.

   Ahmadinejad and the Grand Ayatollah have announced that they are creating nuclear weapons. The Ayatollah has announced that Iran will use these weapons against Israel. I would hope that self-haters like you would wake up about Iran after the way protest was treated there, but it seems as though NOTHING these FUNDAMENTALISTS do or say can ever convince you to TAKE THEIR WORDS SERIOUSLY.

   Spreading hate of Israel, like you and Jimmy Carter do, is not Tikkun Olam. It is suicide.

   Reply
   • Richard Silverstein says:

     September 13, 2009 at 11:18 AM

     There actually isn’t a single fact in this comment. Further comments will be moderated until I can ascertain you’ve read the comment rules & will follow them. Meaning that you will make statements that are true & back up those with evidence.

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     • Bruce says:

       October 3, 2010 at 12:24 AM

       Well said. Iran is developing civilian nuclear power, and if they do happen to develop nuclear weapons, it’s purely for defensive reasons because Israel keeps threatening to attack them.

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4. P Mercer says:

   March 3, 2010 at 11:13 AM

   [comment deleted for violating comment rules]

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5. Andrew says:

   September 1, 2010 at 9:17 PM

   [comment deleted for comment rule violation]

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6. Bruce says:

   October 3, 2010 at 12:22 AM

   Look, I hate white nativists as much as you do (especially the lilly white ones you pointed out). But where in the article does it say they murdered a Muslim immigrant?

   Furthermore, it should be noted that the Muslims are quite capable of defending themselves. According to the article, they took it upon themselves to throw bricks at these white scumbags, for that they deserve some respect.

   Reply