Swastikas sprayed on college walls

A series of swastikas have been daubed on the walls of Swindon College. The graffiti was discovered as students arrived for lectures on Monday at the college's North Star campus.

Jaginder Bassi of Swindon's Racial Equality Council said he thought a leaflet by the British National Party against a possible mosque near the site might explain the damage. But the BNP has strongly denied responsibility for the graffiti and said it is not the type of thing they would do.

College maintenance staff removed the swastikas on Monday, which were daubed on an exterior wall in red and black paint. But the episode has left a bad taste in the mouths of college staff.

Swindon College spokeswoman Amanda Burnside said: "We think it was done over the weekend. From the school's point of view it is very regrettable, particularly since it has happened to the new college building."

When asked if a student had done the damage, the college's marketing manager refused to rule it out. She said: "We can never say never about the possibility that it was done by a student but it would be extremely disappointing if that were the case. Most of our students respect the new buildings and are proud of their surroundings. We have security guards on patrol at weekends to minimise the chance of these type of incidents."

Mr Bassi said: "I am quite surprised by this graffiti because it has not appeared in Swindon for a while. After a member of the British National Party was taken into custody last year the problem seemed to have gone away."

Mr Bassi thought one explanation was a leaflet being distributed by the BNP. The pamphlet he refers to is titled Swindon Super-Mosque?' and has been distributed around the North Star area. It attacks the possible construction of a new mosque on open ground near Osborne Road, and can be seen on the party's website. And though Thamesdown Islamic Association has not submitted any planning proposal, Mr Bassi thinks the leaflet explains why the swastikas appeared.

He said: "This graffiti may or may not be linked but it seems plausible. It is trying to create discord and antagonise people when there isn't anything going on."

But the BNP denied any involvement with the graffiti. Mike Howson, the BNP chairman for Wiltshire, said: "This incident has nothing to do with us and is probably some left-wing individual with too much time on their hands. We don't even know why people contact us about this kind of thing because the days of racist graffiti are long gone. As I say, it must have been someone who was bored and wanted to cause a stir."

This is Wiltshire

Muslims under attack at centre

Muslims are being pelted with eggs and stones in anti-Islamic attacks on the South Woodford Muslim Community Centre seven years after it was destroyed in a petrol bomb attack.

"A few weeks ago there were people throwing eggs at children leaving the centre," said Qaiser Malik, secretary of the Qurani Murkuz Trust behind the centre in Mulberry Way. "People have thrown eggs and stones from the flyover. They spit on our doors and have left ham and bacon on the doorstep. Apparently the same things are happening to people at bus stops in Woodford."

Redbridge is the ninth most diverse borough in the country with 28,487 Muslim residents, however racist Islamaphobic attacks are not uncommon and the Redbridge Racial Equality Council is addressing Islamaphobia in the community with a new myth-busting pack.

Dr Mohammmed Essam El-Din Fahim, head Imam and chairman of the South Woodford centre, said Islamic hatred has been stirred up by BNP leaflets being distributed in the area condemning Islam and the mosque.

David Landau, racist harassment co-ordinator at Racial Equality Council, who has compiled a myth-busting pack, said he was not surprised by recent attacks on the mosque.

"We do not know that this is to do with the BNP and it may very well be racist Islamaphobic behaviour that is happening anyway. These events happen because of the potency of these myths so it shows how important it is to have a pack like this."

The information pack contains impartial facts about Islam to help people challenge negative misconceptions about the religion, and is aimed at community organisations and young people. Mr Landau said: "The image people tend to have if Islam is either of a fundamentalist religion or of moderate Islam with fundamentalists rocking the boat as if that is unique to Islam. Actually this runs through religions, it is not that Islam is an especially aggressive or fundamentalist faith, you get that in pretty much every religion."

Mr Malik said the pack shows a good effort to clear up common misconceptions, adding: "A lot of people don't have any knowledge of Islam and there is a lot of misconception and ignorance."

If you would like a copy contact the Redbridge Racial Equality Council on 08514 0688.

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