A malicious campaign

Amid alarmist and misleading stories, more than 260,000 people have signed a petition against a so-called 'mega mosque'.

Today happens to be the deadline for signing an e-petition on the No 10 Downing Street website to oppose the building of a so-called "mega-mosque" in East London. The petition, started by a "Jill Barham", reads as follows:

We the Christian population of this great country England would like the proposed plan to build a Mega Mosque in East London Scrapped. This will only cause terrible violence and suffering and more money should go into the NHS."

As of midnight last night, this petition had attracted more than 263,000 signatories, making it far and away the most popular petition currently on the No 10 website. For some time now, incendiary emails have been circulating falsely suggesting that a "mega mosque" was to be built in West Ham with a capacity for more than 70,000 worshippers with the cost being met by public funds provided by the Greater London Authority.

Papers like the Daily Telegraph and the London Evening Standard have played to this gallery by running alarmist stories and online polls about the "mega-mosque".

In fact, the Tablighi Jamaat, the global Muslim missionary group that has owned that particular 18-acre site in West Ham since 1996 made it clear that they have not yet even submitted their plans to the local authorities in Newham Council and in any case the proposed mosque they would like to build will actually have a capacity of around 12,000 people, not 70,000. The Tablighi Jamaat have set up a website specifically to respond to the misinformation being spread regarding the proposed mosque.

And in a statement issued yesterday, the GLA also sought to clear up the confusion:

There are not now, and have never been, any plans by the Mayor or Greater London Authority to spend any public money on such a mosque. Indeed, it would be illegal for the Mayor of London to do so...The particularly vicious nature of the campaign against a possible Muslim place of worship in East London should be condemned by all of those who support the long established right of freedom of religion in this country, and all the more so as it is based on information which has long been established to be factually untrue.

There are currently around 1,700 mosques in the UK. While the earliest UK mosques were simply converted houses, as many British Muslims have become relatively wealthier in recent years they have donated money for larger, more prestigious, purpose built premises. The same has also happened with other minority faith groups; it's just that because there are more British Muslims than the combined total of British Hindus, Jews, Sikhs and Buddhists, you are generally more likely to see a mosque near where you live in the UK than you are a Hindu mandir, a Jewish synagogue, a Sikh gurdwara or a Buddhist temple.

And in what could be an inspired move, the Tablighi Jamaat have recently appointed Allies and Morrison - the people behind the refurbishment of the Royal Festival Hall - as their architects for the proposed West Ham mosque. Most mosques around the UK are functional rather than beautiful and it would great if the Tablighi Jamaat could take a lead in this area.

I don't really know who this "Jill Barham" is but the embittered tone of her petition reminds me of an interview I did for BBC Radio Oxford a couple of years back. I was on with the Daily Mail columnist Peter Hitchens who was complaining that British Muslims were generally more serious about their faith than Christians were and that Churches were in decline, while the numbers of mosques was increasing.

It was clear that Hitchens was aggrieved at what he thought was a declining religiosity among Christians. I don't know whether this is true or not, but complaining about Muslims building their own places of worship does not seem to be a very ethical way of arresting a perceived decline in Christianity.

Inayat Bunglawala
Comment is free

Note: Jill Barham is of course 'English Rose', a friend of Lancaster BNP's Chris Hill. Might have known really.

Model's 'monkey' jibe fuels race row

Miss Scotland becomes the latest celebrity forced to apologise after an offensive on-air comment about a black singer

The reigning Miss Scotland was embroiled yesterday in the latest racism row to be played out in the media after she called the black singer and actress Samantha Mumba 'a monkey' on a live radio programme. Nicola McLean, 22, later insisted she was 'not racist' and apologised for her remarks. She joins a string of politicians and celebrities who have had to apologise recently for inappropriate language on race.

At the end of a week when Patrick Mercer, the Conservative's homeland security spokesman, was sacked following a furore prompted by his remarks about 'idle and useless' ethnic minority soldiers, McLean's outburst has fuelled the debate around race and language. The beauty queen made the remarks live on Radio Clyde in Glasgow during a conversation about possible new judges for the X Factor talent show on TV. After Mumba, an Irish actress, singer and model, was described as 'attractive' by one of Radio Clyde's presenters, McLean said she thought she 'looked like a monkey'.

Yesterday, McLean admitted the remark was foolish but maintained she is not a racist. 'I am new to this job and have learnt that sometimes flippant remarks can be perceived in a negative manner. There was no malice or premeditated thought here, just a simple mistake and for that I am truly sorry.'

The Observer can also reveal that the Commission for Racial Equality has demanded fans of Tottenham Hotspur stop calling themselves 'Yiddos' or the 'Yid Army' - a reference to the club's strong Jewish links. The CRE says such behaviour could fuel anti-semitism. 'It is clear that in this day and age racist attitudes and comments are not acceptable,' said a spokeswoman. 'It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure regressive comments such as these do not undermine the achievements that have been made in race equality.'

The commission's intervention has given renewed impetus to an issue that has bitterly divided opinion among the club's supporters, Jewish groups and campaigners against racism in football. It comes as the police investigate video footage showing some West Ham fans chanting, 'I'd rather be a Paki than a Jew' during their 4-3 defeat by Spurs last Sunday.

Piara Powar, director of the Kick It Out campaign against racism in football, said: 'We have had complaints from fans that the chant is used regularly at White Hart Lane. One guy was in his seventies, had fought in the war and was Jewish, and he was deeply offended. A young fan went to Spurs with his dad and sang it but then used the word "Yid" inappropriately in the school playground.'

Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: 'The term "Yiddo" has always been regarded as abusive. It comes from the Russian "zhid" and means Jew. It is highly offensive and always has been.'

Race awareness campaigners say there is no excuse for those in the public spotlight failing to appreciate how their words will have political repercussions. 'The first time I was called a Paki I didn't even know what it meant,' said Denis Fernando, of the National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR). 'It was only when I understood the hatred behind the word and was able to put it into context I realised it was hurtful. People have got to understand the social structure behind words.'

Nevertheless, Britain appears to be much less concerned than New York over the relationship between language and race, according to race awareness campaigners. Last year, Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles had an on-air spat with actress Halle Berry after he adopted a faux black American rapper's accent. 'Are we having a racist moment here?' asked Berry, a suggestion furiously denied by the breakfast presenter.

DC Thomson, publisher of the Dandy, provoked outrage shortly before Christmas when it reissued a 1939 anniversary edition of the comic in which a character - Smarty Grandpa - used the word 'nigger' repeatedly. And the image of reality TV star Jade Goody was severely damaged after what many viewers believed was her racist bullying of a fellow Big Brother housemate, Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty. Yesterday it emerged police have dropped their investigation into the affair. Goody was forced to apologise to Shetty following her remarks. 'I'm not racist, but I can see why it has had the impact it's had,' she said.

More recently, the media have been criticised by some for repeated references to Lord Levy's Jewish background, leading to claims that certain stories about Tony Blair's Middle East envoy and chief fundraiser contain 'a whiff of anti-semitism'.

Race equality campaigners are now starting to express alarm over the number of politicians and celebrities who provoke fury over their allegedly racist comments but issue what are perceived to be only half-hearted retractions in which they deny their racist undertones. 'The relationship between language and race is extremely important,' said Milena Buyum, coordinator for the NAAR. 'In a court of law proving someone used the word "nigger" before an attack can be used to show it was a racist attack, which can add an extra two years on the sentence.'

Such an example is an overt link between race and language, but Buyum is concerned at the increasing preponderance of more subtle behaviour surfacing in popular culture, such as Jade Goody ridiculing Shilpa Shetty over her accent and her food while in the Big Brother house.

This argument, however, is met with a sharp retort from some cultural commentators who complain the Big Brother row was another example of 'political correctness gone mad'. Last week a head teacher accused police of overreacting when eight boys were arrested for chanting, 'Yid army' during a leaving ceremony at Chauncy School, Ware, Hertfordshire. Likewise, Mercer's comments last week drew support from many quarters, not least a number of black soldiers who served under him.

A growing backlash against multiculturalism has made tackling racism increasingly difficult, according to experts. They warn complaints from both liberal and right-wing commentators that multiculturalism hasn't worked and that ethnic communities are failing to integrate is perpetuating the fear of 'otherness'.

Additional reporting by Denis Campbell and Lorna Martin

They said what?

'She should fuck off home'
Former Miss Great Britain Danielle Lloyd talks about Bollywood movie star Shilpa Shetty live on Celebrity Big Brother.

'Shilpa Poppadom'
Jade Goody's name for Shetty.

'A fucking lazy nigger'
Ron Atkinson talking about Marcel Desailly, Chelsea's black defender, believing his TV microphone was off.

[I came across a lot of ethnic minority soldiers] 'who were idle and useless, but who used racism as cover for misdemeanours'
Former Conservative spokesman for homeland security Patrick Mercer.

'I'm a black American guy. A big fat black guy'
Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles interviews Halle Berry.

'Suicide bombers and limb amputators'
TV presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk's description of Arabs in a newspaper article.

Observer

Racist chants at West Ham investigated by police

West Ham United's season took a turn from the shambolic to the shameful on Sunday when large groups of supporters were filmed chanting racist and anti-semitic slogans at half-time of the club's 4-3 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. The Metropolitan Police confirmed that its football unit is investigating a complaint made by the Community Security Trust, an organisation that protects Britain's Jewish community from anti-semitism. Among the chants heard was one stating: "I'd rather be a Paki than a Jew".

Clips of the chants had been posted on the YouTube website by a member going by the username of "cockneymatt88". The trust noted that the number in the username might have been a neo-Nazi reference, the 88 being the eighth letter of the alphabet twice over, standing for "Heil Hitler".

Though the username took down the clips at about 5pm yesterday the Football Association had already forwarded the video to police. The FA will request that West Ham provide all available CCTV footage to investigators, and will push for prosecutions and for football banning orders to be imposed on guilty parties.

There had been a storm of protest from Tottenham fans to their club, who in turn lodged a formal protest with West Ham. "We have contacted West Ham and they are conducting an investigation," said Tottenham, "we are awaiting the outcome of that." West Ham distanced themselves from the actions of a section of their supporters while pointing to their own anti-racist credentials. "West Ham is a leading [anti-racist] campaigner and will not tolerate racist behaviour of any kind," said the club. "We will investigate this matter fully, attempt to identify the perpetrators and take the appropriate action."

The FA's head of stadia, Chris Whalley, will write to the relegation-threatened club today to demand an explanation for the security and stewarding provisions it has in place. The FA will want to know why there was no intervention from stewards to put a stop to the chanting, which took place at half-time when the home side were leading Spurs 2-0.

Piara Powar, director of the Kick It Out anti-racism campaign, said: "There are very, very clear guidelines given to stewards; there is a section on the training programme about how to deal with this sort of incident.

"Either these guys have not been trained in the right way or they have ignored their training and were too frightened to intervene. This had the classic ingredients: a passionate match, a relegation-threatened club against one known as a Jewish club. It's a throwback and it shows we can't be complacent."

Guardian